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fossleyon Why I'm an Entrepreneur

I think the difference is an entrepreneur has orchestrated the whole process and isn't just a sales person. They are a dreamer building their dreams in to reality. Anything that reflects the achievement is massive. If you love carpentry, then seeing somebody love your table will be the same. Selling tables at Ikea will probably not be.

fossleyon Why I'm an Entrepreneur

Great post. It is a hard thing to sum up. I think this HBR article (http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/09/entrepreneurship_as_disease....) talking about it as a disease is one of the best I read.

fossleyon Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

Agencies definitely worked for me. If you are good, it can be steady work without much of the risks.

fossleyon Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?

I don't have a portfolio site, but was successfully freelancing on the basis of referral for four years or so. I wouldn't take a random client on, because bad clients cost money. Reach out to anybody who trusts you to "get the job done" and get them to reach out. Networking and trust are essential.

Another idea getting your foot in the door as a freelancer at an agency. About 1/4 of my work (and best paid work) came that way. Gives you a client base to build from (though not your clients, it will give you demonstrable experience)

fossleyon How do I build a cluster of Raspberry Pis?

Need to buy more than one first ... im still waiting in the queue in the UK. Even then it is one-per-person.

fossleyon Ask HN: How do you learn to develop exploits?

http://nostarch.com/hacking2.htm/

A good book, not hugely in-depth, but enough to bootstrap some learning.

fossleyon Ask HN: How do you learn to develop exploits?

"I had an opportunity once to sit down with Don Knuth and play Halo on the X-box." ... best thing I will read today.

fossleyon Should I use Go or Javascript?

As a C programmer, this is flattering, but I also know it isn't true. I wrestled with Erlang for a good while before I got the hang of it. Going from C up the tree of C-like programming languages has its disadvantages.

fossleyon Ask HN: How do you get Freelance Gigs?

Spot on.

fossleyon Should I use Go or Javascript?

Knowing both C and Javascript, and loving them both ... I would go with Python+Flask as the sensible choice. However, Go is a cracking language but not all that mature. Javascript is great if you use a decent framework too.

As a C programmer though, I read http://startupitis.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/golang-its-amazing... and had to write some Go and didn't regret it. Not sure about its fit for web development, but good fun anyway. You may find yourself writing boilerplate with Go though.

Just play with them and see which you enjoy most. Enjoyment pays you back in productivity/motivation.

fossleyon Why Your McD's Burger Doesn't Look Like the One in the Ad

It used to be annoying that the food looks so different, but after that video ... I feel better ... and hungry. Some good communication there from the McMarketing Department

fossleyon Pure Python Operation System

Nice idea, though the way I see it, you are either:

(A) A user who doesn't care what language(s) their OS/toolchain/stack is built with; or

(B) A developer who sees the value in the right tool for the job. I love Python, but it isn't the right tool for all jobs

fossleyon Ask HN: I write queries at a top 3 retailer and I want to help you

na, just thought it was a good obfuscation is all. Fitting for your profession.

fossleyon Ask HN: I write queries at a top 3 retailer and I want to help you

Well, an analyst would protect an email like that ... seems legit.

fossleyon The Young Programmer: Arrogance and Abstraction

An article against ego that tries to encourage perspective, written by an author with such a big ego and lack of perspective he writes things like:

"Maybe, you think that because you avoid all the abstractions of higher level languages, you are somehow better and “purer.” Because you do pointer arithmetic and bit shifting, you really understand what is going on in a computer. No, you don’t. You understand C programming"

I'm sure somewhere in there is a heart-felt message though ... somewhere. I think he needs to meet more programmers.

fossleyon Are there any business books for Hackers?

... if only business followed the logic of programming languages ...

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

"That's just your lizard brain freaking out." True. All sounds like sane advice to me! This thread has been a much needed re-balancing of my freaking out on the whole!

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

Good post! I very much enjoyed reading it. You are right in many ways. Also greetings from fellow UKers.

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

Nope, I don't feel like we have lost! But it is a critical point in the road and easy to lose perspective. so trying to get as much input as possible. You make some really good points :)

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

Did the times when you didn't force a differentiation or change of direction due to competition turn out well for you?

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

I am very convinced, it is quite hard to ensure your approach is balanced when your "human" part is worried, your ego says fight and your gut says be smart. Great link btw!

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

Yes, this is what we are thinking of focusing on ... also trying to take advantage of trouble we expect they will face being mass-market. The trouble comes because the mass market we know. Most of us instinctively do. The potential niche/specialist markets are quite unknown quantities at this stage ...

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

This was what I was settling on. Although we are not a me-too currently this seems balanced when considering our overall differences.

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

This is true.

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

The worry isn't so much the PR. It's an all-round "were going to get our arses kicked", due to their combination of talent, funding, execution etc, unless we find a unique angle over them. Their execution is ... impressive. Also might be a blunt point for raising further funding unless we are different enough.

fossleyon Ask HN: Dealing with pre-launch competitors

i'm sure there is room for two, but with the competitive disadvantage we have ... surely it is wiser to differentiate to increase our chance of success? Also, they aren't quite nobodies ... they do their PR well and are reaping the benefits.