HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

jakemcgraw

270 karma · joined February 3, 2010

submissionscomments
jakemcgraw··on Raspberri PI Release Announcement
Hit the "Report This Item" link
jakemcgraw··on Apple announces Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
Wow. It's the reverse digital hub strategy. The peripheral devices (iPod, iPhone, iPad) are now more popular than the Mac. So, rather than sunset the Mac, Apple makes it so that if you own own of these devices, a Mac will be the default choice.
jakemcgraw··on Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online
I remember this feeling... yes, when Amazon started offering DRM free MP3 downloads at 80% cost of an iTunes DRM'd MP3. Digital video may finally be turning the corner, very exciting times.
jakemcgraw··on Go East, Young Man
He was paid from day one (in August).

Google author name and see if you can figure out his place of work.

jakemcgraw··on Go East, Young Man
I'll admit that the base pay wasn't great, though most compensation was bonus based, and the work load was chaotic (very busy one day, nothing for four days), but here's a timeline and I'll let you judge:

He joined us in August... We launched in November... He started shopping for another job in January... He quit in February...

He is my girlfriend's childhood friend's younger brother. After doing a year of postgrad at Columbia, he spent April to August looking for job, which did not pan out. I was putting together all of the tech for this firm, I knew they had an entry level position.

There was no interview process, no whiteboards, no nothing, I said "Hire this guy, he's hard working and smart, and look at those prestigious degrees!" They met him and then offered to hire him next day. So, this guy went from no call backs in a five month job search to being offered a job after a single interview.

Of course he felt that we were under utilizing his skills (he felt like a glorified secretary), but PR is a networking business, clients want to talk to the guy they've worked with for 20 years, not some dude who started a month ago.

I don't mean to drag all this out into the public, but, this op-ed is the definition of adding insult to injury. I like to make connections, if I know about an opportunity, I really enjoy putting people together. It's something I've always done and now I'm going to question myself every time because this blew up so badly.

jakemcgraw··on Go East, Young Man
I'd like to add a bit of personal perspective to this op-ed.

I personally know the author, Jon Levine, in fact, I'm the guy that got him the "dead-end job" with my family's firm. He's a member of the "I have an Ivy League degree, I deserve a job" a set. Never mind his degree was in history and political science, he felt entitled to a prestigious, high paying job in the worse economy in 70 years.

After a 5 month job search without a callback, I stepped in, did a favor and got him an entry level position at a very small PR firm. This was not a "dead-end job", he was the first hire at a newly formed company, there was definitely an opportunity for him to grow his career in a highly lucrative field. But, being that he went to NYU and Columbia (notice the name dropping in the article), growth didn't come fast enough for him.

We accommodated him (time off, flexible hours) while he spent two months trying to find another job. When nothing stateside panned out, he gave us three days notice before leaving for China. It's been a very surreal day for me, I'm incredibly disappointed that he chose to criticize a job which he only gained through my action.

I don't know whether any of you should go to China, but hopefully I've given you a little perspective on why he did.

TL;DR: I know author, he couldn't hack it stateside, took China job as last restort, not as some enlightened life decision.

jakemcgraw··on Intimacy 2.0 - a dress that flirts
Now, all we need is a flannel shirt version of this...
jakemcgraw··on Don't Give Your Users Shit Work
It's not about simplicity vs. complexity, or whether complex features are A Bad Thing. It's about matching complexity with utility. You shouldn't force your users to do a bunch of work (in this case building Google+ Circles or Twitter Lists) and then under utilize that investment of user time.
jakemcgraw··on iPhone 4S Pre-Orders Top One Million in First 24 Hours
> Better Linux connectivity.

Doesn't matter. No one uses Linux.

> Ability to easily copy files on and off the phone.

Doesn't matter. Everyone uses email for a file store.

> Ability to sync podcasts directly on the phone, without having to connect to a computer with iTunes (not used an iPhone for a while, they might have finally fixed this).

They fixed this, also, doesn't matter, no one listens to podcasts.

> Ability to run software Apple doesn't like (emulators).

Doesn't matter.

If you want to make an argument that Android is a better purchase option for mass market consumers, you'll need an argument that actually represents the mass market. I can't think of any argument, as Apple alternatives are always better: better media library, better app library, better product lifetime support (both in terms of software updates, product maintenance), better hardware, better (consistent) software, better branding. These are the things that matter to people.

jakemcgraw··on Node.js is Cancer
Non-blocking architecture is not the be all/end all solution for performance problems. By calculating large fibonacci numbers (pounding the CPU), he causes node to fall apart. Basically, there is no such thing as easy scaling, and any solution advertising such is lying.
jakemcgraw··on Textmate 2 - Alpha this year
mind = blown
jakemcgraw··on I was once a Facebook fool
See Gruber[1] on being a middle man. If your business is reselling someone else's content on someone else's platform, you're going to get fucked right quick.

[1]: http://daringfireball.net/2011/03/dirty_percent

jakemcgraw··on Tech recruitment: how not to do it
This guy is all over the NYC tech recruiting scene. I have some 20 emails from him over various tech mailing lists. Funny thing is, even though I see 4 or 5 emails a day from recruiters, his name is so unique I actually remembered him! I don't think people should be crucified for single outbursts, but it's safe to say that this guy is on a tear and needs taking down.
jakemcgraw··on Turntable.fm raising $5-10 M. at $40 M. Valuation
Needs: - Pro interface (just a list of users, not all this animated nonsense) - Embeddable images in chat - Sponsored rooms
jakemcgraw··on Programmable OLED watch by Texas Instruments and Fossil
If you can't get the price below $199 I can't imagine anyone buying this thing. Stack it next to an iPod Touch which retails for $230 and we'll see who goes for the watch. I think the era of Brookstone and The Sharper Image "neato gadget comes at a premium" is dead, but this thing harkens back to a simpler time.
jakemcgraw··on Warning: How Google Checkout Screwed Project Zomboid
I probably don't have the skills to write a video game from scratch... but I can knock out a payment processor integration in a day... so, why the hell do these companies keep relying on Google and PayPal to shitcan their businesses? Man up, get a real payment processor, where you can get real people on the phone. I'd suggest Chase Bank. If it's about conversions, if you're selling something people will only buy through PayPal, you're doing it wrong.
jakemcgraw··on Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon Cloud Player
Why can't Amazon bundle MP3 playback with their iOS Kindle app?
jakemcgraw··on For what are the Windows A:\ and B:\ drives used?
When I installed Windows 95, it was off of 14 floppy disks, feels good man.
jakemcgraw··on Full Trailer For Facebook Movie ‘The Social Network’ Hits The Web
As a PHP developer, I can confirm that this is what my life is like. EVERY. DAY.
jakemcgraw··on Diaspora's Curse - Jason Fried
Give them $25 for a t-shirt, it'll be like a pets.com t-shirt of yesteryear. Seriously though, even if these guys are a total failure, this whole episode shows that, if the conditions are right, open source software w/o a huge corporate entity can have a mass appeal. Exciting times.
jakemcgraw··on Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?
Absolutely, here's my story: Macbook always had some minor overheating issues, it would act erratically or shutdown, I think this only happened two or three times in three years. I took it in to the Apple Store once, they returned it two days later and said there were no issues. Flash forward to a week after the Apple Care Warranty expires, full on overheating issues, keyboard stopped working, Finder was running incredibly slow, to the point where all the animations where in slowmo. I bring the laptop in, even though the warranty was over a week expired and Apple was legally in the clear to charge me ~$800 for replacement, they replace the entire innards of the laptop and overnight it back to my apt the next day. I have never been more impressed with customer service like that before.
jakemcgraw··on The New Digital Underclass
Indeed, you're right, I suppose what I'm speaking about is an adversity to all forms of productive behavior (which I incorrectly labeled intellectualism) that I witnessed while in primary and secondary school. I just assumed that previous generations (I'm a member of the "millennials") must have had a higher percentage of productive members.
jakemcgraw··on The New Digital Underclass
Not so much the developing world, just take a look at the majority of students in the majority of schools across the US. Anti-intellectualism, previously relegated to a small percentage of trouble makers in each class, has blossomed, and is now the modus operandi for most non-honors students in the American school system. The days of Idiocracy are upon us!
← PreviousPage 2 of 2