HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

whichdan

1,260 karma · joined February 3, 2011

(They/Them) Director of Engineering in Boston
submissionscomments
whichdan··on Ask HN: How to write a web app that will outlast the latest JS trends?
Oh that's really interesting -- thanks for explaining it!
whichdan··on Ask HN: How to write a web app that will outlast the latest JS trends?
A blog post would be great -- I really like lightweight dev processes.

Do you use map files for debugging unminified JS?

whichdan··on The new PHP
Some people have tried forking PHP, and the general response is mediocre at best.

The big thing PHP has going for it is the huge amount of open source software, and the number of webhosts which support PHP by default. Most of the webhosts can barely keep PHP updated, and the ones who don't, justify it by wanting to avoid breaking backward compatibility with open source software.

Getting widespread adoption for a PHP alternative would be a serious feat.

whichdan··on Ask HN: How to write a web app that will outlast the latest JS trends?
I'd definitely be interested in reading how you organize and maintain your codebase. Have you developed an in-house framework?
whichdan··on Vienna again named world's most liveable city
I'm the exact opposite - the idea of spending 5-25min in a car, when I could be walking, sounds dreadful. I probably walk 500 miles a year or more, simply because I don't drive. I can't imagine moving back to a suburb.
whichdan··on I got fired after 2 weeks of being hired. Please help me understand something
How is saving $6k at best doing anything other than making your new employee resentful?
whichdan··on Ask HN: Which Tiling Window Manager do you use?
If you want some inspiration: http://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/top/?sort=top&t=year
whichdan··on Stripe adds multiple subscriptions
I'm sure this feature was in the backlog since day 1. Was it pushed off due to keeping Stripe as a minimum viable product, or were there some deeper complexities in implementing this?
whichdan··on Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK
The downside, though, is that the video is still playing on the laptop simultaneously.
whichdan··on Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK
If Chromecast supported Amazon Video, I'd probably use it more than my HTPC.
whichdan··on Tell HN: I made $11.21 on a single Hacker News Comment and so can you
That's interesting - thanks!
whichdan··on Tell HN: I made $11.21 on a single Hacker News Comment and so can you
How long after clicking on an affiliate link do purchases count for? And does each successively clicked affiliate link override the previous one? Also, as an affiliate, do you see any metadata, or just which items were purchased overall?

I like the EFF idea posted in a few other comments, but I'm wondering how affiliate links are handled in general.

whichdan··on Ask HN: Appropriate toy for a 1-year old girl that may lead to programming
Does Lego have any sets for children under 18-24 months? Once she gets a bit older, I agree that Lego Duplo would be a great choice, especially the gender-neutral sets. I can attest that playing with Lego as a kid was a huge part of what eventually made me interested in programming.
whichdan··on Ask HN: Best way to get to learn Ruby for an experience programmer
Make a Rails app, then look at how every feature you use is implemented. Just reading through the ActiveRecord source will get you some mileage.
whichdan··on What Hard Drive Should I Buy?
They have great reviews on Amazon, though.
whichdan··on How can I pivot my startup?
That's basically how EasyEndorse works, if you go to their website and submit the review using Safari. Texting testimonials is great in theory, but it would require either:

a) A custom shortcode, and a way to associate a message with a given restaurant.

or

b) An email address they could use in lieu of a number (since texts are essentially emails), but typing pizza-place-boston@easyendorse.com would be more verbose than just going to their site.

Did you have something else in mind?

whichdan··on How can I pivot my startup?
That's a really interesting way of looking at it, thanks. I've always seen it as sales-or-nothin'. I'll see if I can come up with some solid questions to ask.
whichdan··on How can I pivot my startup?
That's interesting. I'll add that change to my todo list, thanks!
whichdan··on How can I pivot my startup?
Ah, it's a hypothesis.. I am/was under the impression that marketing is partially a way of testing that.
whichdan··on How can I pivot my startup?
What sort of response do you think I should be looking for from cold calling? Any time I hear stats like "only 1-3% of calls will lead anywhere" it seems like a massive time-sink. But maybe that's unavoidable?
whichdan··on How can I pivot my startup?
I used to do contract programming, and worked with a few businesses who expressed issues with external review websites, but I have a hard time jumping from that topic to selling my product.

I unfortunately do not have any paying customers, nor much traffic in general.

"and find ways to reach out to them" do you mean lots of cold-calling?

whichdan··on How can I pivot my startup?
You definitely don't need an entire page dedicated to testimonials.

http://api.easyendorse.com/example.com/

I have it setup so you can drop in a form and/or list of testimonials using JS, PHP, or a popup window.

What made you think that an entire page is necessary? I'd like to improve the website's imagery/copy if it's at all unclear.

whichdan··on Your most important skill: Empathy
I feel similarly to you, and distinctly remember feeling empathetic even when I was young. Now, I see life as being deterministic, which makes it easy to think "would I not be behaving in an identical manner?"

Do you think that people who struggle with empathy have that issue partially due to a non-deterministic view of life?

whichdan··on How startups can compete with big company perks
Yeah, I was referring to your site. I was on Windows 7 at the time, and the text looked very blurry (like a low-quality jpg), but it looks sharp on my MacBook. If you can't replicate that on Windows, I'll send you a screenshot.
whichdan··on Python and Flask Are Powerful
For those of us who've used Authorize.net in the past, a simple API client is essentially magic.
whichdan··on How startups can compete with big company perks
Quick word of advice: shell out the cash for a better web design. The text looks awful and blurry on Windows 7 -- you have a great idea marred by poor presentation.
whichdan··on World's First Massive Online Degree Program Starts Today
For anyone skimming over this post, $14,861/semester adds up to $118,888 over four years.
whichdan··on Ask HN: How to become a Security Engineer
http://www.matasano.com/articles/crypto-challenges/

Complete the Matasano crypto challenges and hope they offer to interview you.

whichdan··on Ask HN: Best blog hosting site for lazy hackers
GitHub pages is great, but you'll probably want some time to play around with Jekyll. You can always use a hosted platform like Wordpress.com and switch off when you have more free time. Consider using Disqus for comments and Google Analytics for tracking if you want to be slightly more platform agnostic.
whichdan··on Zerigo terminates annual plans mid-way to jack rates 19x
Did they offer a refund, or just credit?
← PreviousPage 9 of 24Next →