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cheez80on Swizz Beats is the CEO of Megaupload

isn't swizz beats also an ambassador for lotus cars?

cheez80on Ask HN: for those of you with hi-res displays, how big is your browser viewport?

i'm running a 30" at 2560x1600, but i have firefox sized to 1280x1200.

i'm in LA -- i've been trying to attend meetups that interest me. they're mostly out in the westside, though -- i'm in arcadia. getting out there is difficult.

there isn't a specific event to attend, but i signed up for startup weekend, which is coming up. hopefully there will be some cool people there :)

cheez80on Poll: What bug tracking software do you use?

we're in the same boat! too bad they raised the price from 10 to 15/month. cash flow is difficult as is :(

cheez80on How to use game theory to buy a car

ah, but never buy rustproofing (or optional alarm, tint, etc.) from the dealer! those are the optional extras that are marked up 200-500%. there are specialty shops that will do the same exact thing for much cheaper.

also, every modern car sold today has anti-corrosion measures, as well as corrosion warranties, so i don't see why you would pay extra for rustproofing. this might've been a good idea 20 years ago, but i don't think it's necessary today.

cheez80on Boot Beep: The Story and Source Code of the Mac's Boot Chime

http://www.macinstruct.com/node/138

install the preference panel they link to, then select "mute". works perfectly on my mac pro, macbook pro, and macbook air :)

cheez80on Ask HN: Which school do you attend?

me too, but i'm on a leave of absence, trying to get stuff off the ground.

cheez80on Ask HN: Musicians?

oh yeah, also made this whilst in hs with a friend.

http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR00828/

so i guess i dabbled in electronic music for a bit too :)

cheez80on Ask HN: Musicians?

drumset since middle school, orchestral percussion since about then too, and mallet percussion (and drumline stuff) since high school. wait, that sounds a bit misleading, since i don't do the orchestral, mallet, or drumline stuff anymore.

i also played piano since like 6. stopped when i hit high school.

cheez80on Ask HN: How many of you are 2nd gen Entrepreneurs?

both my parents are entrepreneurs; my father is in the import/export business and my mother opened and ran a fine watch and jewelry for a few years.

cheez80on Ask HN: Where are you spending your New Years Eve?

making prime rib. but if i weren't making prime rib, i'd be working. deadline for launch is coming up soooon!

cheez80on Ask HN: How do big web sites roll out new versions?

found it here:

http://www.cennydd.co.uk/2008/can-we-avoid-redesign-backlash...

"In a nutshell, a meaningless background was removed from a seller page. Pandemonium. After strong resistance the background was reinstated, to everyone’s satisfaction. In fact, the rebellious users were so placated that they failed to notice the designers slowly adjusting the background’s hex values over the next few months. The background got lighter and lighter until one day—pop!—it was gone."

cheez80on Ask HN: How do big web sites roll out new versions?

i remember reading somewhere that ebay changed the background color of their homepage from gray to white, gradually, over 6 months, as not to alienate customers who were used to the gray. can't provide links, and sorry because this isn't really related. i just thought that was interesting. :)

cheez80on Ask YC: Cars?

i have a 2000 infiniti Q45 anniversary edition - insurance group coilovers, peak performance multilink, work euroline N in 19x9.5 ET8 19x10 ET-11. it's almost 6" lower than stock, and i'm running -7* camber. most car guys think i'm crazy for doing it, and i'm inclined to agree but it looks so cool! too bad it's so impractical: i got stuck on the driveway at in-n-out a few days ago, and i can't carry more than about 500lb in the car with me at any time (that includes passengers), otherwise i'll rub. the entire trip. or worse, pop the bead on the tires. oh well.

i'm thinking of selling it though and building a porsche 964, rauh-welt style:

http://ll.speedhunters.com/u/f/eagames/NFS/speedhunters.com/...

forgive me though, i just enjoy blathering on aimlessly about cars :)

cheez80on Ask YC: Your workstation specs? (pc manufacturer, os, #monitors, size...)

mac pro + 30" cinema display, apple wired keyboard, and the kensington expert mouse trackball, running windows vista x64 almost exclusively. thinking about getting something with a 1600 horizontal resolution and running it rotated 90 degrees, like http://flickr.com/photos/blakespot/2371594617/in/set-7215760...

and for portable use, a macbook air also running vista x64.