imjonathanlee

Maybe something related to the Expendables case? http://torrentfreak.com/makers-of-the-expendables-sue-6500-b...

I don't think their English would need to be on an A level, but at least enough to communicate their idea across to the panel. It really depends on how much of an issue it is- if they can't even begin to communicate without stuttering, then I don't think it'll work out very well.

+1

Quite so. It seems that a lot of assumptions were made, and I can see why it seems that way, but it was totally the wrong responses I was expecting.

I'm doing precisely what you did with the cabin, except I need to be out of the country to avoid calls from my clients even when they know I'm on vacation. The only calls I plan are taking are from Hong Kong itself in case an emergency happens (A recent relative had a stroke and is in a Hong Kong hospital).

Going to Hong Kong enables me to take trips to China, which is a lot of fun and doesn't require staying longer than a day to enjoy.

I'm also choosing Hong Kong because I can borrow the vacant house for free (courtesy of my parents). Going to Canada is around 1k round trip for me, whereas Hong Kong is 1.1k round trip. I'd rather go to Hong Kong in terms of that preference. The remaining $900 involves around $200-300 for china (paying the visa to visit there, transportation, etc) and the rest is for food.

I've considered going somewhere closer for a week, but I'll definitely burn out if I don't even have anything like China to look forward to. 2 weeks of coding non stop is fine but not 3 weeks( I've done 2 and barely managed to keep motivated towards the end).

It's a very healthy balance. I don't think it's because I'm not rich. Believe it or not, I'm not that pressurized to making money fast- I've saved enough from working to have already placed a down deposit on a house in Canada.

I'm really not frustrated despite what people think. I'm just tired of the 9-5 work 8 hour schedule that I've been doing and wanting to change exactly that. Instead, view my situation as someone who;s so interested in working on their startup that they want to quit their 9-5 job. That's exactly like me, except that I want to be able to spend more time on the startup which means quitting the life/drama/responsbilities/work/ I have here for 3 weeks.

haha I'm up by 6AM already, workout, make myself a fantastic breakfast, and begin coding with breaks in between. I'm looking to add more time to my coding schedule, not because I'm frustrated or stressed or even inefficient.

I chose Hong Kong because it's out of the country and one of the few locations I'm not particularly fond of (I've lived there for years, not much there for me). The only place I would want to go to on my day off is China, which is fun for me everytime.

I get plenty of sleep as I do now (6 hours) and sleeping in past that normally makes me feel groggy and tired. I have a very healthy schedule, with lots of small but good breaks in between my coding sessions.

I'm not sure why I'm being classified as impatient or lacking in self-discipline. I'm 23, but I've been working to support myself since 18. I don't rely on other people, especially my parents who work hard enough as it is, for money. I don't drink, smoke, or play games, and I've worked my way up as a sysadmin- enough to have savings to be unemployed for the next few years. As replied to the other posts, it's not so much the lack of excitement the startup brings me- it's precisely because it's so interesting that I want to take time off from the remaining things I do to support that cause.

I do work 15 hours + a day already, and sleep 6 hours. It's just a matter of me dedicating the remaining time I have that I don't use for the startup, so that I'll have more time for the startup.

I take time off, and I'm really not stressed. In fact, I maintain a rigorous schedule of working out and running, and eating healthy.

I also don't drink or smoke even though most of my friends do(most of them were in College).

Thanks for the tips, but I'm really not impatient, and each step I take is carefully planned.

I understand where people are coming from. I've made a few small startups- that all ended up unsuccessful. I'm at the point where my standards for ideas are much higher now, so when I actually do have an idea- I'm often so excited by it that I can't sleep for weeks thinking about how I would implement it.

The stuff that "distracts" us are responsibilities. They range from working part-time as a sysadmin to pay bills from taking care of family members who are in current need of my support, and having to deal supporting a friend who had to deal with an attempted suicide. I already sleep 6 hours, and spend the rest of my days working.

I figured that one hour less of sleep, and relocating myself temporarily will allow me to simply shift the remaining time that I don;t have for the startup for the startup. It's precisely because I'm excited to work more on my startup that I want to move things around.

It's a weird plan and a lot of money- but it means getting things done the way I see it. We've worked successfully in Cupertino before for 2 weeks with a similar schedule- the only reason we can't explore that option now is because there's certain family drama and social responsibilities I have to acknowledge if I go back there.

We've traveled to many parts of the world and I've lived in Hong Kong before. Each time I do take a vacation there- it's really not the most ideal place for me.

I'm not looking for a vacation, and I'm not stressed or too impatient for success- I'm just looking for a change of pace.

If we had to, we could stay for 4 weeks, work 3 and take more time to look around Hong Kong then for the last week.

I remember reading that exporting certain facebook content violates facebook's terms of use. Just a heads up to check the terms of facebook if you were to create an app for export.

When you stream something online, it's no different than downloading- it's just an instant version of it. I'm not sure into the details why mostly downloading makes it into lawsuits (maybe because it's easier to make a case), but from what I've read, it's still illegal if it's a copyrighted movie.

Those sites that lets you stream free movies are legal, at least in the United States. I built one of those sites myself so I know a little about them. As long as ALL your content are links posted to 3rd party sites, you're basically just an index. You don't expect people to sue Google for indexing bittorrent sites do you? Needless to say, you will still face legal complications- Sites that stream tv have been served before and shut down although the verdict usually results in a not guilty. If you check out the footer of those streaming sites, you'll notice almost all of them states explicitly "We do not host any content on blah blah.com. Please serve your DCMA copyright notices directly to the 3rd party websites that host them..."

Even the 3rd party sites that HOST the content is arguably hard to convict. The terms and agreements state that the responsibility lies with the actual user. The user agrees prior to signing up and every time they're making use of the website that they are not uploading copyrighted content.

The first question you should as is- what happens after you quit your new job? Would you go back to college, find a new job, create a startup?

It might be difficult securing another job to support yourself financially without the help of parents based on your age and the fact that you don't have a bachelors yet. I'm personally one that believes that a degree isn't necessarily a strong reflection of how well your skill level is, but others might not see it the same way, especially if they're paying you.

It might suck working for a company that develops apps that you're not interested in, but working in an environment like that might give you valuable experience. How long will it take before the web app is completed? Have you tried talking to someone else about why you don't like the app?

What are your aspirations? What are you trying to achieve? I'm not sure what you're actually looking for in a job or how you want your future to be.

Currently reading: The girl who kicked the hornet's nest

Top Favorites: Count of Monte Cristo, The three musketeers, Sherlock Homes and the Hound of Baskersville, Atlas Shrugged, The Client

there isn't one. It's just a general question. The specific question lies on what you personally use for your own startups. Just seeing what the most popular choices are.

I'm asking in general what methods are available. What methods do you use for your startup, not mine. I personally use facebook, twitter and close friends and family to promote traffic to.

I think so too. Path that was mentioned is a very unique and original idea to promote further interaction as an alternative to commenting. It saves a ton of time allowing you more time to explore.

HN is fantastic. It doesn't feel bulky because commenting is integrated with the original idea of the site. In fact, you can't do anything but read and leave comments.

For another site though, like a blog, or a photo sharing site, or even a news article you read online- there aren't a lot of alternative to comments.

Yes! Path is the one I'm referring to. I thought it was very innovative as well- and it ties in well to the concept of path. It mimics the real life emotions that your friends might have if they see how your life unfolds. I don't think that their emoticons could work with just any other site.

Real life conversations are valuable- sometimes it just feels like there's too much spam going on. I have a fully functional comment section, but just not sure if I want to keep it. I'm looking for a better way to improve engagement rates by making the comments somehow more interactive with maybe some kind of alternative.

Thanks for the thoughtful answer.

Do you see potential with your new idea? What's more important to you- financial stability or taking a chance to build something of your own?

If you have to, then a) could work- but I'd worry that your idea might be taken by the time it takes to build it while juggling a full-time job.

b) is good, but it also costs a lot more time than you might think. I outsourced for one of my projects and ended up more of a pain in the ass than having it done myself. The problem is that I have to dig through all the coding to fix a bug or completely rewrite a section that's coded wrong (your developers might not understand the exact function or idea you're trying to achieve) and you have to deal with having to take time out to explain everything in detail as the project progresses and often times lots of delays when a developer is no-show for a week.

C) I'd go for this option if you really believe in and love your idea. The prototype should be able to give you a good idea of whether or not it'll work and minimize your risk. If it doesn't work out and you can't get funding, it's still a soft landing and you can continue your work. If it's a big hit, then you could potentially be pursuing a life goal.

d) You could also sign up a co-founder or someone who's interested to work on the project with you. This would allow you to not outsource (Saves some money), have better control on the project and both of you are aiming towards a similar goal.

learning another foreign language, going out of country for summer (i work too hard, I really need a break) and meeting new friends.

How many hours do you work? The problem is when I'm working- i work way past 8 hours sometimes and though you don't feel it, the stress drives you nuts.

I'd put in a cap of 50 hours a week MAX, and make sure I spend time relaxing (doesn't mean watching tv at home) with friends or meeting new people. You need to step away from the computer for a decent break. I switched over to this schedule and found out that my sleeps were MUCH better. Turns out the reason was overworking.

I've been working myself for over a year and a half and it was depressing. Honestly, if your project allows it- find a cofounder who you can maintain a good relationship with (preferably a friend even), and work together.

The biggest problem with at home startups is the amount of hours you spend working- you can easily go past 40 hours a week, and it drives you nuts.

I'd recommend checking out letslunch.com and ... i don't remember the name of the other one. I'll post back when I remember. But those services are great because you can find people who you have similar interests with and talk with them over lunch.

If you have a good relationship with the owner, then you need to speak up and let them know that you're feeling the stress. Tell them that you feel like you need a change of pace. What you could do is have your boss look for a likely candidate and have that new employee shadow you for 2-3 weeks to make sure he's capable and can take over your duties before leaving.

If you feel that you can do better, you should really do it. Life's short but plentiful, there's always something better out there.

I'd say that ideas are not worth a dime unless it's actually implemented. I mean, if a person with a fantastic idea doesn't know how to implement it, or doesn't even try to- that idea's useless.

However, no matter how bad that idea is- as long as a person tries and implements it- that idea becomes priceless. I say priceless because every idea that you can turn into reality means that you've gained experience, and more in-depth knowledge about that particular idea. As cheesy as it sounds, knowledge is priceless.

I would love to.

You can reach me at jonlee@socialhowl.com

A whiteboard would be seriously the most practical. As a college student myself, I'd say that most textbook gifts given to you relating to your major usually collects dust in the corner of the room. A whiteboard though would be useful, for math classes or even GE classes that she'll need to take.

Blackboard is nice, but your roommate will hate you if you keep chalking away in the middle of night cramming for a final.

I would consult an attorney. If I remember correctly, the actual date that your product has been known publicly (the day that you do business basically) by others, is an important factor to patents as well. If basically you can prove that your invention was out their before theirs even if they file a patent for it, and your idea was publicly known and used, I remember my attorney saying something that you can argue your case.

I'd also place my money on empty threat- but you should seriously look into filing your own patent. I'd also email the guy to ask him what his online service is for some more background information.

I LOVE podio.com . Been through Goplan, Basecamp, Outlook, etc.

I like podio for the fact that it provides a user friendly interface and the plugin ability to easily add precisely the tools you're looking for.

I use a combination of google docs and podio. I'd brainstorm everything onto my google docs as an overview of entire project and steps, while each person on team responds to their respective tasks on podio.

I'd say that it's a definitely interesting concept- There could be a potential market for it since most people need a way to see what users think of the site. Depending on who those users are, they could even like it enough to market to their friends for you.

Perhaps I'm slightly biased towards design, but the first few seconds I saw the site- I felt it was like one of those promotional scam no risk money back guarantee how to make money etc etc schemes online. It might be because it's too template-like, but it doesn't reach out to me at all.

Also, I understand that there is a money back guarantee- but how do I know that 50 reviews at $450 isn't just outsourced by a copywriter in India? How do I know that I will get paid for each website and app job completed? Is there a quality standard that users must abide by to write a review? I understand that there's no real way to prove any of this, but what really helps me would be seeing testimonials, (I know, even these can be fake) or even better- give reputable companies a free trial and have them write a testimonial.

It's really a cool idea, but the above would be questions I'd ask myself the first time to your site.

I'd say it really depends on the target audience. I think google adwords are definitely more relevant in terms of the exact keywords searched, but facebook isn't bad either. Facebook would be better if it were to target people in a specific location geographically that would most likely spread the word to their friends if the ad interests them. It also depends on the business- would your small business be something that friends would share to each other about? How did the existing clients find out about your small business?