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allanchao

44 karma · joined December 29, 2010

I started programming when I was about 8, and have been a hacker ever since. I prefer the MS stack. I own a company that helps entrepreneurs start their startups, and I hold a key role for several startups. Feel free to send me an email or contact me, I'd love to get in touch.
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allanchao··on Ask HN: Bad co-founder breakup, what to do?
so painfully true =(
allanchao··on Ask HN: Bad co-founder breakup, what to do?
Thanks, I agree that lawyers can quickly escalate the situation. His email to me was already pretty hostile, but I am trying to keep it cool unless there is no alternative.
allanchao··on Ask HN: Bad co-founder breakup, what to do?
It's not, I deployed everything live, and he has access to everything.
allanchao··on Official enrollment for Stanford's online AI class has begun
I can't find any list of prerequisites for this class, though their FAQ https://www.ai-class.com/registration/faq implies that there are some. Does anyone know if this class is noob friendly? (as in someone with no CS or programming background)
allanchao··on Ask HN: Anyone recommend BaseCampHQ alternatives?
Thanks, my team is going to try out project turf for its 2 week trial, and then re-evaluate. so far so good (all I did was add tasks, but basecamp failed that test...)
allanchao··on Show HN: My 6 Weeks Project, MultiplayerChess.com
When I saw the domain name, I thought it would be about bughouse. Great app nonetheless!
allanchao··on Why I Don't Hang Out With People Named David
It's a nifty experience when you're browsing the web and come across a blog that uses the same exact wordpress template that you do... (http://allanchao.com/blog/)
allanchao··on Google silently correcting search terms. Anyone else having this problem?
Unrelated to autocorrection, but my little rant. If I type fast Google instant only catches the first half of what I type. I don't know what kind of javascript runs instant but it fails for fast typers. Happens on different computers and different browsers. =(
allanchao··on Ask HN: Am I qualified to start any startups?
This is not directly related to your programming concern, but you might find the article useful. Paul Graham's Why to Not Not Start a Startup: http://paulgraham.com/notnot.html
allanchao··on [dead]
No comment on the contents of the article, but (1) inaccurate article title (see below) and (2) incredible hard-to-read web design.

"I realize I might take some heat for lumping women, children and the mentally handicapped in the same group. So I want to be perfectly clear. I’m not saying women are similar to either group."

allanchao··on At least now we know why Color really got that funding
It's interesting that in a different article, I think it's Sequoia that said something along the lines of "something as revolutionary as this comes around once a decade. It's the next Google".

Seems like the goal of color is to aggregate vast amounts of real world data, like the Google of physical life.

allanchao··on Fukushima Engineer Says He Helped Cover Up Flaw at Dai-Ichi Reactor No. 4
"If the mistake had been discovered, the company might have been bankrupted, he said." ... "At the time, I felt like a hero," he said.

Tough choice. On the one hand, you have your friends, family, and your company; on the other hand, who could have expected there'd be a 9.0 earthquake.

allanchao··on Ask HN: How do you track business expenses?
I use Quickbooks 2011 desktop. It's pretty 1995 when it comes to user interface, but it actually does everything I need and want, and I wouldn't move without very good reason. It has the online connecting stuff that you're talking about, but I've heard from a lot of CPAs that using that feature correctly is more difficult than it sounds.

Business accounting is one of the most non-modern fields I've ever seen.

allanchao··on Ask HN: Anybody looking to hire a noob developer with weak skills?
It may be hard for you to find a job directly. A lot of lower level positions are filled by temp agencies. I would recommend looking into that. Think of a temp agency like an internship where you actually get paid decently - it frequently turns into a full time position.

Another way to go is to freelance. There are always small businesses that need little help here and there with their website. The key to that is to build relationships.

For developers who have more experience and also looking for jobs, going to events and speaking with recruiters can work well. Doesn't work for less experienced though, because it's not worth going through a recruiter for that ($$).

allanchao··on Ask HN: I feel severely underpaid. Is it me or them?
Two points. First, yes you are getting screwed. I pay developers in south asia more than you are getting paid here in the US. Please no flaming about that - it's relevant because the cost of living is so vastly different between US and (e.g.) India.

Second, some negotiation advice. Don't ask for a significant raise until you have a second offer. Negotiation is all about the BATNA (google it), and from what I've read, you don't have one. So go get one first, then negotiate.

allanchao··on Ask HN: What % of equity is a technical co-founder worth?
Sorry, but usually idea is worth virtually nothing. Having been a technical co-founder before and now the business founder, I've been on both sides of the coin. Unless you have actually built a profitable business before, it's very hard to justify the value that you bring to the table.

The technical co-founder already has experience and pretty much knows the issues he's going to face, and how he's going to handle them. If you haven't built a business before, then you do not know the issues that you'll face or how you're going to handle them. So his value probably far outweighs yours, even though it's your idea.

allanchao··on 'Color' is a trademark of Color Labs Inc.
That means it's been approved
allanchao··on 'Color' is a trademark of Color Labs Inc.
I'm pretty sure trademark protection only affects the domain that it's trademarked in. On the link below by personalcompute, it's the "Goods and Services". So that means you can still use the word color in normal use, but I'd be cautious of saying "there's a lot of color in that facebook photo".
allanchao··on CEO Friday: Why we don’t hire .NET programmers
Wow, this is the most personally insulting article I've ever read on HN. I've been programming since I was 8, worked at a successful startup (that used .NET exclusively), and do most of my pet projects on the MS stack.

I can't agree with him on any of his examples on why .NET is a bad platform. Backslashes and coordinates systems are trivial. I can't imagine any point for any startup where it's necessary to know the bytes going over the wire when dealing with networking. Code generation is an incredible time saver, and can easily be deleted if the generated code is unnecessary. Expensive servers have nothing to do with quality of code. I've never heard of a .NET developer allergic to open source, not to mention that also has very little bearing on quality of code.

I would propose that the platform is a tool, and a developer who can only use that one tool is limited. But it's totally ridiculous to discriminate against someone for knowing how to use the tool and having experience with it.