erikj54

Elixir is to Erlang what Scala is to Java. They leverage the Erlang VM in the same way that Scala leverages the JVM.

Never heard of them, but here is some interesting verbiage for something that has not launched yet: "New ‘Battery Saver’ mode" -- How is it new if we haven't seen the old.

It also seems pretty unlikely you would launch 3 separate devices at the same time, but maybe they are that talented in Vienna.

I'm a bit late to the party here, but figured I'd chime in with my own experiences. I spent a many days staring into WebKit and can honestly say that finding your way around does get easier. When you are searching for things, it helps to have a good base grasp of what IS, and what is NOT WebKit. Webkit is many, many things, but people make some common mistakes about what it is. Unfortunately, to get anything done with WebKit, it requires a huge amount of work, and platform specific implementations and support, which add the the general confusion.

Do we know the names of these payment providers? I have no doubt the porn industry must have a slew of companies supporting them.

If anyone runs a business on this list, who does your payments?

I had the same experience, but their customer experience was pretty great. I have yet to start up the Droplet again, since they threatened to shut down my service.

>If so is this a result of a differently structured legal system, or just a "cultural" difference?

From an uneducated opinion on the piece this seems to be the difference between Common Law vs Statutory Law. In Common Law the precedence of cases is used, where opinions and subjectivity are perhaps more inclined to change a decision, in contrast; Statutory Law has more to do with the enforcement of prescriptive laws written down by the legislature. While both Canada and the U.S are based on common law, we seem to lean further to the common side then our neighbours to the south.

Your post focuses on what others are saying. Why are you so worried about why everyone else likes CS? "You can't stand the idea of making something so meaningless". Get out of the valley, people all over the world are using software and technology to solve real problems. If you are looking to "do what you love", why not instead focus on the impacts of your contributions....you seem to highlight this as important. Here is a neat project to apply for: http://codeforamerica.org/. OR go teach CS to other students in High School: http://www.teachforamerica.org/.

Your experience underlines a post I wrote recently about the underlying topic that exists here. People seem to concentrate on end goals, vs process. If you think you will start enjoying writing software, you probably never will. You won't wake up and suddenly find a new language that inspires you. In my experience it is the people that enjoy process, and challenges in the CS discipline that truly succeed. An appreciation for process, details and the ability to work in many different areas is something I cherish.

I would step back for a while. You might find that you do enjoy things more than you realize. Time away from something, doing something else can trigger a greater appreciation. Take a step back. You might also take a look at the alternatives. While you mention briefly the idea that you should "do what you love", I might be careful with that statement. Society has lied to you that it is always possible to do this.

This is really a pillar of the stoic philosophy, or at least as far as I interpreted it.

The awareness you speak of is quite freeing and empowering when you take the time to consider it. The appreciation you gain based on a stoic style of living can be quite freeing for people. It isn't just about using the information though as you mention, it is about being aware of it. Whether you act on it or not, you can gain some peace.

This site seems to put forward that idea, that knowing about it will in turn provide you with more appreciation and a better way of coping with the death as well.

Agreed, this is a good summary. My first initial reaction was one of slight skepticism, but one can reason pretty easily the output can be done on the server. When you work back on logic that way, what about having your site pre-built sitting on the server with only oj.s on your dev machines? As evan mentioned re-usable components that are easily dropped in to create faster website builds. Seems like an interesting concept to me.

I joined Linked In 3 months ago. Personally I did it as I was starting a new company and wanted to "discover" this magical sales and marketing tool I've been disappointed by the noise, and general low level of barrier to entry on most things. The fact that endorsements are so easy, or that making a good profile, filled with content look attractive decreases the value of it as a tool. I dislike Linked In, I wish I hadn't joined it.

That is great. It shows you the value of the endorsement is really nil. Personally, I'm not as impressed with an endorsement unless it is from someone, who themselves is well respect, or holds a high position. The original concept was good, but it was a low lying fruit, perhaps it is time for some AI by Linked In to try and solve the problem.

If you have money and resources, sure perhaps the sales cycle in Enterprise is dead. The part I think is missing from this article is that rarely are systems this simple. Most Enterprise level systems require some sort of "integration" where there are several moving parts. A good salesmen is able to pitch why your product, or company can perform this. Perhaps Atlassian has enough momentum now to not need a salesforce, but what about smaller companies that are trying to get customers? How do you convince them to buy a product that is still in development? Your article speaks to features specifically-- I've seen first hand a good sales person can portray a positive story that makes users gloss over missing "must-haves" and trust your team can deliver these as part of a project.

It is spam. There is no doubt, the goal at least from my perspective as someone who has been experimenting with sales and selling is to send a quick note that is hopefully a bit personalized and allows them to be interested in your product...this script obviously allows you to do that at scale.

I decided to teach myself some ruby this afternoon. The idea is that using Mustache, and a list of names, a salesperson would be able to automate some of the targeted e-mails they send to a market vertical. ie: Imagine going after a single industry and having target material including attachments, white papers and a good template. The offer can include coffee, along with their name and company. Looking for some feedback on usefulness compared to MailChimp or tools.

Bang on. Does this not remind you of Levis jeans during the gold rush. Few miners really did well, but the companies that supplied the miners all did well. http://davidrbradley.hubpages.com/hub/Levi-Strauss-American-...

There does seem to be the same sort of frenzy in Canada. You can hear it in normal conversations all the time: 'Wow I can't believe you do that, it's so confusing to me. I could never write code.' It seems this mystique is what is paying us so well.

>I build things that enable new activities

I would be cautious with this callous mentality towards the miner. I wouldn't jump so quickly to the conclusion that he/she is not "learning. Continuously" as you say you are. The miner may very well be. The issue the article raises is a good one, what validity is there that someone can put the value they create so much higher then another.

What happens one day when your profession is no longer well paid? Think for a minute that you did not have the mental capacity to compete in the new 'tech world' in 20 years. Would you expect that you are paid in accordance with your lack of ability, or would you hope you are still given an equal shot.

Personally this article hits at the heart of the somewhat libertarian style commentary on Hacker New. One that I myself am all too engulfed in as well. Perhaps we aren't as valuable as we may think?

I agree, this is another example of tech giving people a platform they never had, regardless of why or why not we should donate.

"That might be partially true, but that's like deciding not to swing for fear of getting a strike."

Hmm, not quite. It is more like not trying to swing for the fence, and trying to hit a double or single. Every once and a while you connect right in the "sweet spot" and the ball flys over the fence.

I read "The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and Gumption was the thing that stuck with me the most as well. I'm glad you picked up on the same point I did. I think Gumption is just the act of applied inspiration. Much the same how 37 Signals says "Inspiration is perishable", for me; Gumption is the day to day. It is taking the inspiration and the clarity and acting on it.

Interesting if this is in fact the goal. I would argue you still will have a mix of both. No ubiquitous environment, but Web apps will get first class support on upcoming platforms. At least this seems to be the most logical route. If you've ever used Cordova or "PhoneGap" you would know about the plug in architecture and how it is in fact still the wild west. Developers write native extensions to do things the underlying JS API can't, this won't change for a long time until the Web API does. The future is a mix of both Web and native, not just the Web.

This article unfortunately resonates on a personal level. This is why I believe I enjoy consulting so much. On a short term basis I can put up with ignorance, credit taking, silent treatment etc (All the qualities respondents mentioned in the survey). For a long term career I'm not sure I could last.

I'm curious if anyone has any stories of how they overcame a Manager that was not their Champion? I have been thinking about this a lot. In my short time at large corporations it seems you really need someone on your side to move up the ladder a bit.

Was I the only one who saw this for the genius it was. The author walked us through the pain, selling us the problem. How he would never sell us a book he just wrote without developing a rapport. Then over the next paragraphs he transitioned us into buyers:

"Once you’ve had a chance to learn a lot from my material, and you’ve had enough time to start to trust me, then I tell you about the book."

then

"To put it in web marketing terms, the conversion rate will be incredibly higher by asking for the sale after building trust."

Followed by how hard it is to do this:

"It’s actually really painful to setup."

Oh but wait! I have a software suite that does this for you: "With ConvertKit it is easy to set up a new landing page, upload a PDF or another file to offer as an incentive, then let the subscriber opt in to an email course."

And then the buy now link :).

Pure genius. Nice article.

This is true. There is indeed a biological explanation for many of these behaviours. We are programmed to believe that tall men would infer strong mating partners, or someone to avoid in the case of a male.

For females, it is quite similar. Women who possess certain qualities appear more attractive and we generally look more favourably upon them in society.

This problem is indeed real, but it is perhaps more subconscious then we wish to believe.

You can tell this article is old when it reads: "...opened a new empty Subversion respository".

> winner-take-all markets with huge network effects

I'm not sure what that statement means. It is not winner takes all, with your logic there is only room for 1? Mobile is a growing market, if you think there is no room for competition your betting either Apple or Android will be the only platform.

RIM still has quite a bit in cash reserves. Traditionally the haven't listened to their users since they've been on top. They had the rug pulled out beneath them and hopefully are starting to listen. I'm interested to see if BB10 can really make a splash. I think aiming for #3 is a achievable goal. If they become a true #3, I wouldn't be surprised if some loyal customers coming back if BB10 works.

Actually RIM pushed radio and mobile forward. Intel had to innovate on projects just to support RIM's early phones. Not to mention their work in networks with Telco's. They used to make phones that lasted for weeks always on....but I digress.

The Buried Life are actually a group of guys from my hometown Victoria B.C. This was written by Julian Smith, but was reposted by them. It highlights many things we already know, but #13:learn to program shows how important software is becoming.