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143 karma · joined April 20, 2011
Subject: Slack Global Model opt-out request.
Body:
<my workspace>.slack.com
Please opt the above Slack Workspace out of training of Slack Global Models.
To xena's point, we're not currently enforcing the limits :) We've been very cautious about that since, as I mentioned in a comment elsewhere, the limits have always been an experiment.
We're definitely considering it. We introduced the limits a while back as an experiment. In most cases, I believe the current limits don't make a lot of sense. Fundamentally, we were hoping to encourage the deployment of Tailscale to end devices (partially to increase users' security, partially to get a better idea of how widely Tailscale is actually being used). Unfortunately, the limits introduce the kinds of headaches that you're describing (and for IoT it can be a showstopper). The net effect across all users could be to actually discourage people from having fun and tinkering with Tailscale, which is the last thing we want.
Would you mind describing some of the other use cases you have for subnet routers? Do you have other mini k8s clusters you want to use them for? Other things? I'd love to learn more.
It would be neat if Slack reported stats on searches so that, for example, a company could better understand what key conversations should be moved into proper documents…but this is likely against Slack’s interests.
I wouldn't say mistimed so much as "we were excited to get the post up". Node sharing is indeed in invite-only beta, though we're planning on opening that up very soon. Apologies for any frustration/confusion.
The issue I remember the most clearly was one that an engineer Simon Barrett discovered: a specific sequence of MMX instructions would cross-talk (and cause the occasional bit to flip) on two perpendicular busses in the pipeline when run at a specific voltage/frequency. It sounds simple enough, but imagine trying to figure that one out.
We've been exploring the idea for a free (or significantly discounted) "family" plan (or even something like that for small teams). Please stay tuned over the coming weeks for some updates to our pricing and tiers.
I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on where you think we can add value and what it might be worth to you. If you're up for it, please email me at dfcarney@tailscale.com Regardless, thanks again for the input.
I, for one, really appreciate the nod. I agree our motivations align and I look forward to hearing more about what you and team come up with. All the best on things at ZeroTier.
Building on what katnegermis said, this is what we're trying to help with. We integrate with identity management systems and handle the key management (and NAT traversal) on top of WireGuard, making it easier to deploy and manage.
If you're interested, a colleague of mine wrote up a blog post on how things work: https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works/
Please email support@tailscale.com and we’ll help you out!
https://motion-project.github.io/ made it really easy for me to setup a webcam on my Raspberry Pi. Accessing that using HTTP over WireGuard (via Tailscale) from my iPhone when out of the house was one of those "delight and amaze" moments.
We integrate with existing identity providers (for instance, GSuite, Okta, Ping, AD) to perform authentication and generate keypairs. Public keys are shared via a coordination server (and each device's private keys never leave it). There's an (optional) additional layer of authorization required in which an admin reviews the endpoints asking to connect. A combination of user and machine certificates makes it possible to ensure that both the users and machines are managed properly.
So, basically, we're enabling the "enforcement" side of identity and policy management at the networking layer, with visibility into users and their devices.
I hope this helps! Please keep the questions coming.
That said, consulting is a great way to learn a lot, gain experience, make good money, and figure out what you don't want to be doing. If you want to go this route, read on...
Speaking from experience (having incorporated two software consulting firms and worked at that for a few years), I completely agree with the comments about sales/selling be such an important part of things. If you don't enjoy this (or have someone on your team who does), then you're going to get worn out pretty quickly. However, if you can land 1-2 big clients and setup some kind of continuous (ex. retainer-based) relationship then you're golden.
One option is to try and contract from your current employer. You obviously have the experience and the relationships already in place. Your employer won't be happy about you leaving, but might be amenable to hiring you on a short-term gig.
An alternative is to subcontract. Expect your rates to be lower, but you'll have more opportunity to gain valuable experience and won't bear the risk/burden of landing clients yourself. It's a lot easier to find your own contracts once you have a few projects (and a network of contacts) under your belt.
Regardless of your approach, advice I always give to people when they ask me about starting a business are: get a good lawyer ; and get a good accountant. Don't take the cheapest options because you'll regret it later. Find people in the space who come recommended, whom you like, and who have a track-record in dealing in your line of work.
Whether or not you decide to incorporate is up to you (talk to the aforementioned lawyer), but in my experience it's a no-brainer.
In terms of legal, you'll also want your lawyer to provide you with a standard NDA and contract that you can use in all of your engagements. Any lawyer with experience should be able to provide this pretty cheaply (at a fixed rate, hopefully).
In terms of an accountant (or a small accounting firm), you won't need much to get started, but a 1-2 hour consultation to get your bookkeeping and invoicing setup will save you a lot of time (and grief) later. Make sure that you can hand easily hand your invoices, bank statements, receipts, etc. to your accountant when it comes time to file your taxes. Again, if you cheap-out on this it's going to cause you a lot of pain down the road.
Other notes from experience:
- Switching from consulting to product is difficult and almost always fails unless you're willing to make a clean break. As a consultant you eat what you kill; as soon as you stop working then your revenue stream drops to zero. I've seen people try to work around this by expanding their consulting firm to handle larger and larger projects, but then the people at the top just spend more time managing everything and have even less time to work on products.
- You'll eventually come up with a good product idea, at which point you should be willing (and able) to completely stop consulting to work on it. This transition will hurt, but you should have enough cash saved up to make a go of it.
- It's okay (in Canada, at least) to start working as a sole proprietor on some (smaller) contracts, but don't expect any client to be amenable to you changing the nature of your relationship with them half way through a contract (for instance, if you decide to incorporate).
- The larger the client/contract, the more likely you'll need insurance (errors & omissions, liability, etc). This doesn't come cheap. I recommend starting with smaller clients and projects to mitigate this.
- Figure out what taxes (if any) you need to charge ahead of time and be very upfront about this (and your rates).
- If someone wants you to be on-call (ex. 2-hour response time to a phone call), then great. Charge them more for it.
- If someone wants you on retainer (ex. 20 hours/month for dev ops), wonderful. Consider giving them a discount for multi-month agreements because it's a low-risk and guaranteed revenue stream.
- Make it very easy for clients to pay you. Include all of your payment information on each invoice. Have multiple payment options, if possible.
- Expect to terminate agreements with some clients. This sucks, but it's sometimes necessary.
- In your contract, be sure to state that the client doesn't own the work product (copyright, etc) until they pay you. This doesn't mean you don't deliver things according to schedule if payment is a little behind schedule, but you have some recourse if things ever get nasty.
- Finally, be sure to check your current employment agreement to make sure there's nothing that would get you (or your colleague) in trouble if you both decide to leave and start a company. Two things come to mind: there might be some onerous (and probably unenforceable) non-solicitation clause that a lawyer could twist to state that you solicited your colleague (or vice versa) to leave (this probably won't be an issue); and there might be some non-compete that you have to be careful about if you're consulting on similar products/features to your current employer. In both cases, I think this would be low-risk, but talk to your lawyer.