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iKnowKungFooon Ask HN: I have 4 months and i need to earn $2000?

FYI, there are free online services that can convert PDFs to HTML. I agree with the Craigslist approach, but you might spend some time on http://www.codecademy.com learning how to write JavaScript. Also, use http://stackoverflow.com/ when you get stuck on how to do something.

iKnowKungFooon Ask: Anyone else annoyed with digital software downloads?

Nope, sorry. When I download software install packages, I tend to back them up myself. First it was to CDs, then DVDs and now on my Drobo and Dropbox.

The activation keys generally do not expire as long as the activation servers exists. Older software that never activated online works so long as you have the correct key.

I've been in a no-clutter kick for the last few years. In fact, I just moved & emptied out my storage unit into my new garage. I'll be spending the next few months selling off a wall of boxes of books, CDs and movies. The less physical media around the better.

iKnowKungFooon IPad Magazine Readers to Publishers: More, Please

I haven't bought a physical book for nearly a year. I've got a pile of business magazines that I need to read, but I'd prefer they were on my iPad as well.

Wired magazine's iPad app allows me to access all issues covered by my current and previous subscriptions to its physical magazine. I wish more publishers would do the same.

iKnowKungFooon Is ".com" domain still important for startup?

http://adage.com/article/news/o-overstock-backs-o-change/230...

Overstock.com changed their primary domain to "o.co" in what I can only assume was an attempt to make people type less.

Customers rarely entered "o.co", instead they entered "o.com" because that's what they expected to domain to be.

Result: tons of cash wasted as Overstock reverted to "Overstock.com".

Get a .com and move on.

iKnowKungFooon Keep your job for five years, get $50,000

I was loyal to a company for three years. It would have been longer but I saved them 300k with a project and they laid me off the day after it went live.

iKnowKungFooon Ask HN: Bartering for technical services?

If there is, I'd like to find it. A friend and coworker's garage would flood when it rains, so he hired someone to build a drainage trench to deal with it. The guy he hired started the job, found out that my friend built web sites and asked if they could trade the trench for a site. My friend got the trench, plus a new deck for the backyard in exchange for the site.

iKnowKungFooon Ask HN: Tips on Learning Front End Web Development?

1. Learn JavaScript (the language)

http://eloquentjavascript.net/ http://www.amazon.com/JavaScript-Good-Parts-Douglas-Crockfor...

2. Learn jQuery (a JavaScript library)

http://jquery.com/ http://www.amazon.com/jQuery-Action-Second-Bear-Bibeault/dp/...

3. Learn SQL (the language)

http://www.amazon.com/Sams-Teach-Yourself-SQL-Minutes/dp/067...

4. Pick an implementation

MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle

----------------------------------

After that, most application development languages are just syntax. Pick what feels best.

Learn how to use Ajax to tie client-side requests to server-side requests and you're marketable.

iKnowKungFooon Myspace moving to node.js

Who cares?

iKnowKungFooon Ask HN: Am I wrong to feel betrayed by whois for publishing my address?

This was all disclosed by whichever registrar you used. It's your fault for not noticing before you agreed to their Terms and Conditions. FWIW, there are some registrars (GoDaddy, for instance) that give you the option of a private registration, where they mask your public data with their own.

iKnowKungFooon Looking for a Website for (sharing) Books and getting suggestions

Dunno which site you're thinking of, but I've used Shelfari for a while.

iKnowKungFooon New Boston Globe website design

Abrupt in what browser? Chrome doesn't feel abrupt.

iKnowKungFooon Ask HN: Which javascript book is a must read?

^^^^ Ditto.

iKnowKungFooon Dispute with Web Design Company

Unless your contract outlined what would happen if it all crashed and burned, you're out $1k + the time and effort spent. I doubt it's even worth going after him for any kind of monetary compensation for the time he wasted. It's unethical sure, but you'll run into the same thing from time to time with "legitimate" web development companies as well.

Next time, make sure you outline or have them outline deliverable portions of the project. The deposit starts the project, but you need to see X within Y amount of time. if it's all good, continue, otherwise address the problems and define the next project deliverable. You might even need to incorporate payments after certain deliverables to keep everyone happy.

iKnowKungFooon Ask HN: How much should I charge for a customized program I already wrote?

You might want to ask this question on http://programmers.stackexchange.com/, then link to the question on HN. I think you'd get more replies there.

$5k might be fair, who knows? $5k total? per store? Does that include future installs?

Are you selling the source code too or just the compiled application?

If you're not selling the source code, are you going to license the software to him based on the number of installations or just give it to him for a specific price? You could sell it on a sliding scale based on the number of installations. If he has 22 locations and 5 installs per store, then have pricing for single installs and discount for a pack of 5 licenses.

You shouldn't give it away cheap just because it "wouldn't be too much trouble". Take into account the impact on business. How much time & money will your software save them? Remember time _is_ money.

Good luck.

iKnowKungFooon What laptop bag do you use?

Targus 17” CityGear Miami Messenger Laptop Case (TCG200) http://bit.ly/gsbveL Goes for about $40 @ Amazon.

I've got a 17" Dell so big, you could hit someone over the head with it and kill them. This was the only "slim" case I could find that it would fit in easily. I'm hoping to move on to a 17" MacBook Pro later this year and this case should work for it as well.

iKnowKungFooon Poll on the title for an O'Reilly JavaScript book.

How about "Modern JavaScript Applications"? Couldn't an app built with this methodology be wrapped into an iOS/Android application?

Edit: I almost want to just up-vote addyosmani's entry. :)

iKnowKungFooon The jQuery Divide:Understand where jQuery ends and JavaScript begins

I left a job where I'd built a simple UI to a complex back-end using jQuery. A former co-worker told me the guy who'd taken over that project kept complaining that he didn't understand "all this JSON" in the app.

Friend: "Can I see some of the JSON?" In-over-his-head Developer: "Sure, here." Friend: "That's not JSON, that's jQuery." Dev: "Whatever, it's the same thing." Friend: "No it's not and you thinking it is, is the real problem here."

iKnowKungFooon Ask HN: Why are Java developers so boring?

Doesn't matter if it's Java, .NET, ColdFusion, PHP or whatever. The majority of programmers out there are 9-to-5ers and couldn't care less about your company's vision. They're just looking to get hired, be told what to program, write code, turn it in and go home.

I think the problem is that most of the passionate, big picture developers already have jobs or have started their own companies.