hrasm

So at some point users are the product? The most common way to exploit that is advertisement. Is that what you are doing/will do? If so, how do the projections look? You will break-even when?

What is the revenue model?

What about something that lets you record a voice/text message and relay that to someone at a later time? (I haven't searched if such an app exists)

If you already have a programming background, my advice is build a simple app. Pick up a fairly easy framework (like CodeIgniter in PHP's case) to help you hasten your coding. Added advantage is decent security measures built-in that a neophyte can unwittingly leave out. Finally, tighten php.ini for production.

I would read that as a short lived slavery contract and never sign such a thing. My freedom to act on an idea I have at any time is much too important for me to give up.

Almost always, a lightweight connection pooler like pgbouncer can do wonders. It is so easy to configure and have it up and running that there is really no reason not to use it.

Nitpick: Are you the OP? If so, why the different HN handles?

You really should be consulting with a good lawyer who specialises in this line. You will get a clear idea on what is legal and what is not. You also want to make sure the IRS is happy with whatever arrangements you come up with.

Paul Graham has a good essay on the subject: http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html

I highly recommend reading his other essays as well.

I think Joel Spolsky also wrote on the subject.

At this point in your career path, I would say that both offer an experience from which you will be able to judge the kind of environment more suitable for you.

[When I was in Company One kind of place, I didn't learn much.]

Settle now. State your intentions and expectations and make sure both of you are on the same page. That "good friend" can head south real quick when the cash registers start ringing and disagreements arise at that point.

It is extremely close to my grandfather's (Indian). I suspect that that Indian generation really nailed cursive.

Dubai is morally bankrupt. Do not go there.

The problem I foresee with the "cheap/er" places that you mentioned is that they tend to suffer from infrastructure problems. This includes net connectivity/speed, powercuts, healthcare among other things. Be sure check that out thoroughly before you make a commitment.

Some places in Asia that I think will suit your criteria: Singapore, Okinawa. But they aren't exactly cheap.

Good luck.

Site is down.

I am by no means an expert but I do take care of some high availability systems. I could take a quick look at your arch. if you want me to.

The site is unreachable now (1540 JST).

I suspect that such a service provider will be hit by an avalanche of lawsuits.

Thanks for the informative response. Redirecting clients to separate site is a nifty idea. I might do just that.

Agreed. Debugging is a PITA in CI.

I just started building something. I had no experience in any of the web friendly languages before. I was looking for suggestions on frameworks and stumbled upon CodeIgniter (PHP based MVC architecture framework). I have been able to get satisfactory results. I think I might have had a similar level of success had I picked Django or some other f/w.

A wise man once said: "Learn everything; then forget everything."

I am very interested to know how you gracefully fallback to noscript mode. I am asking because I am in the process of building something that does fallback gracefully in noscript mode. It is extra work no doubt. Is it really worth it? Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

If you honestly think you are going to fold in coming months, why not hire a sales/marketing person? Hopefully, he/she will be able to turn your business around/get new clients/etc.

linode.com

Ubuntu.

You have to be a bit more clear. What exactly will the OS be used for: Desktop or server use? The answers may vary depending on that.

- Sign up for Amazon Cloud Services. It is free for a year. (this might have changed...check at the Amazon website)

- Go through their tutorials and/or peruse the forums for Ruby code snippets.

- Start slow by getting rudimentary code working in your environment and accelerate from there.

One planned way to mitigate this is to work a steady job for a while. Save a bunch and then dive in. You know exactly how long your savings will last.

Though a bit different from your question, I just read a story about Airbnb on how they funded themselves selling something at a fundraiser or some such.

Sure money is a good lubricant; but it doesn't stop someone who is really after something.

Note: The free SSL certificates are for non-commerical purposes only.