jamornh

I wonder how else they could monetize this game that would not leave a bad taste in the player's mouth though. It is a free game after all and so far there's no banner ads or any sort of direct monetization happening within the app itself.

Since they need to pay for the servers and the app's development, what would be the best way to sustainably develop this app while also not turn off players by charging some money in some way?

That sounds a lot like it will do very very well in Singapore especially if Singapore Post depots act as the hub for these drones. The entire country could be completely served by them.

Although there's no front lawn to speak of, so they will have to be able to slot things into mailboxes.

Looking at their getting started page, it seems to be much simpler to integrate in terms of getting the barebones map up and running.

I haven't had time to dive into it yet so don't take my word for it but I suspect it would be similar in feature and performance.

Thank you for the recommendation. I'm looking through it right now. Is there anything specific you wanted to point out that I should look out for? It's a pretty long document and I didn't want to miss anything important.

I am currently working on a location-based game for iOS and have been using Google Maps SDK and I'm extremely interested in this.

Google Maps has refused to respond to all requests for custom styled maps on iOS despite being the most requested feature.[1]

I've also tried MapBox but both have been giving very bad performance on iPhone 4... this could be just my code, however as a game I really need to perform a lot of animation on the map itself and these 2 options perform quite poorly in my experience.

Another issue with map SDKs is that there's usually no way to turn off road names. I just need the road vectors to be rendered (like Ingress) so players get a baring of where they are relative to their roads, but not necessarily the name of the roads. I imagine that it would be more performant if I could turn that off. Neither Google nor Mapbox allows this unfortunately.

Might give this a go to see how well it works with all the things we're throwing at our map functionality. Thanks!

[1] - https://code.google.com/p/gmaps-api-issues/issues/detail?id=...

Awesome work on Mobbles! Since we're also working on a similar concept, I guess we'd be competitors, but the more the merrier!

Ours isn't released yet though, so you have the leg up for now ;)

I too am not unhappy that this is an April fool joke.

P.S. - If you're interested, here's a video of our internal alpha with bugs and all : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc-PVpUlRLU

Out of curiosity, as I'm not aware of any patents that oculus actually owns on VR, do you happen to have any information on that?

> We can make custom hardware, not rely on the scraps of the mobile phone industry. That is insanely expensive, think hundreds of millions of dollars. More news soon. - Palmer [1]

[1]- http://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/21cy9n/the_future_of...

Couldn't whoever was piloting the plane act like they were still going to the right destination and then land them in a place where none of their phones have connection? Then it wouldn't be a problem to slowly move all the hostages to a holding area or something. Of course I don't think this was the case but it would be an explanation of why there has been no text messages etc if this were to happen.

I agree that what you prefer would be ideal, however a lot of things that happen on the Web isn't conducive to a real "true current state of progress" loader. Actually, a lot of things that happen even on local machines are not possible to be determined in an absolute sense. That's why most progress bars seem to progress in fits and spurts, not in smooth consistent amount over time... I think this is due to some tasks just take an indeterminate amounts of time. In those cases, a progress bar isn't much better than a numbered list of things shown as "to do" and "done." In the case like client server request response, which may be asynchronous, where responses are only received when it's "done" then it makes sense why these cannot show progress... Just that it's "still waiting." Not ideal, but I can't see a better solution that doesn't require sending multiple updates back saying "still not really sure when we'll get to your request" or "just fetched stuff from the dB, 2 more tasks to do."

I find the finger counting (3 with thumb, index, and middle finger) interesting. Here in Asia that could mean 8.

I was first taught to count starting from the index finger as well:

fist = 0

index = 1

index, middle = 2

index, middle, ring = 3

index, middle, ring, pinky = 4

index, middle, ring, pinky, thumb = 5

thumb = 6

thumb, index = 7

thumb, index, middle = 8

thumb, index, middle, ring = 9

(I am from Thailand, but I think this is how counting is taught in America as well?)

I thought this was universal until I went to Singapore. I was quite intrigued that in Singapore a "thumb" is not considered a number but rather a signal for "good" and instead they used thumb + pinky for 6. (The rest seems to be the same.)

Not sure why I brought that up, but I guess I had not realized that there was a difference in even the way we counted all around the world until that point.

EDIT: Formatting

Amazing, can't stop laughing!

- Ubuntu ported to the Web when you hit it with the stupid stick

- Why the cheapest maple syrup is the new compose in Gmail

- Oxford announces new degree in Computer Security, Dies at 78

- Cancer Vaccine, tailor-made for each cashier

- Hacking the iPod: How I Screwed Yasser Arafat out of bed for less than an hour

This would work if the affected party is making the call. It would still not ensure that the 3rd party caller will get reimbursed. A lot of domestic violence calls are real, yet the victims may not actually confirm that there were, in-fact, abuse (due to shame, fear, whatever) ... the reporter loses money in this case even when he/she just wants to report the crime.

The issue with charging money for 911 calls would be people who are not actually the victim of a crime (say, a bystander) will have a disincentive to call. In a world where some people already ignore crimes as "not my business" this cost will end up hindering reports from 3rd parties that are not involved. The most immediate example that comes to mind is something like domestic violence.

It is true that this could be _one_ of the flip side arguments in favor of using machines. However, as we probably know, it's a pretty weak one. I don't think any human beings should be subjected to having somebody else's idea of a "brighter future" shoved down their throats regardless of whether they agree with it or not. This is especially true when the people deciding this future is half way around the globe and does not actually have to live that future.

Remember "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

From the website: "Opens up large new areas of wind resource, including the vast resources offshore above deep water"[1]

Doesn't sound that far fetched that they would try to anchor this to the barge to try to tap that potential.

[1] - http://www.makanipower.com/why-airborne-wind/

However, I'd be concerned that the person with strong understanding of things will simply leave uninitialized static variables lying around in the code simply because they _knew_ it was always initialized to 0. It might work if your entire coding team has that innate understanding, but that is unlikely.

Sometimes I think that having deep and expert understanding of a language may cause you to create code that other team members cannot understand... not on purpose, but due to your assumption that these are common knowledge (whether they should be or not isn't the issue.)

I guess this this much more about cultural adaptation. Of course, when I referred to cheapness of food, I really mean the local food that you get just about everywhere on the street (which will usually be something with rice. That something could be a variation of hundreds or local side dishes so repetition shouldn't be a concern if you know how to order.) If you are looking for international cuisines then you will be paying high prices. Locals do not eat these daily and usually reserve them to Friday night outings or once a month kind of affair.

Most of the time I would agree with this sentiment, I don't think you're morally wrong to work on your own project while living in other countries without a proper visa; it's definitely not breaking the spirit of the law. Heck, you're spending your money here, all the better. It's obviously less of a risk if you work from home than a co-working space where you could be easily targeted if a random check does happen (as its meant as a "working space" and not a casual coffee shop.) Then again, I've also not heard of people being hauled off just yet.

Regarding this, you can also even get started for free by joining microsoft's bizspark program. Since they already know the tech, and its being produced cheap by Microsoft for start ups, I'm guessing most will figure that its worth it to just stick with C#.

Oh, my above post is referring to living in Bangkok City in Thailand. Here are some visa information:

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15388-Non-Immigran...

I believe you will need a business visa to legally work here (I am a Thai national so I do not have that issue) and getting one isn't a trivial task, unfortunately.

I suspect that the OP is most likely working using a tourist visa. IANAL but it is likely not legal if caught, but if you can get away with it, more power to you.

Are you sure you can do business meetings on a tourist visa? On a business visa is fine of course as you've declared that your intention is to be there for business, but having a business visa also require you to have a company that is sending you there on business before hand. Plus, I'm not sure how long of a stay you'd normally get with a business visa.

With a tourist visa, I think you're strictly not supposed to perform any business activities. You might be able to pass off your meeting as a "casual chat" if you want to risk it.

I highly agree that you should definitely research the law before packing your bags and heading for Bangkok to just start bootstrapping.

As hackerboos mentioned, it is illegal to "work" here without a work permit. As I understand it, even with a work permit, you're only allowed to "work" at the place that is specified on your work permit and no where else. If you are caught working outside your permitted working location, you can be deported.

It all sounds very harsh but I assume that this is often the way labor laws for foreigners are written by most countries; the main goal is to protect the local work force from unfair outside competition... that's just how it is.

Personally I think this depends largely on what types of community you're going to be around the majority of the time. If you're talking about living day to day, ordering food and getting around, you won't need much Thai to actually live here. Ordering food will require some pointing and sign languages at street food stores (most of them understand English numbers + sign language), but at restaurants in malls, English is "well-enough" understood and you won't have any problems (or they'll call the manager to talk to you.) Now of course, if you're in the startup scene, you're probably going to know some locals that can speak both languages well and are willing to help you around, however, you should alway try to learn the local language enough to get by on a daily basis.

In the startup community and the white collar working population, we understand English well enough to understand what you're saying but maybe not converse with you fluently 100% of the time.

EDIT: I'm only referring to Bangkok in this case.

I think that number is only if you're living very very comfortably. Personally, on a normal standard of living, I can get by with around $500 USD a month, and that's normal 3 meals a day with internet, phone, apartment (no pool or facilities.) Street food, normal portions are going around $1 to $1.5 USD so it's pretty cheap.

Now of course, you might be able to only afford to go to socialize at bars and restaurants once a month or else you'll blow that budget, but it's possible.

The "tourist tax" is quite difficult to circumvent. The best way is to make close local friends and get them to do all your ordering or negotiations for you. Normally food and drink prices are clearly written and are not over-priced unless you're at a tourist destination. Taxis are meant to always take meter so you should never take cabs unless they go by the meter. Some tourist-congested places are notorious for this (i.e. Platinum Shopping Center and Chatuchak Weekend Market), but it's quite easy to walk a little further from the main location and grab a meter cab. (At these places they also try to over charge locals, so it's not really just tourists :P)

Now, there will be instances where even local friends can't help. Such as entrance fees etc, if you look obviously foreign, you're going to be hit with a tax no matter what, but these places are usually tourist attractions and you're expecting to pay those anyways.

Thai national here, and as a fellow bootstrapper I would have to agree with most of the points of the OP. The reason why I left my well-paid job in Singapore and come back to Thailand to bootstrap my startup is due to the much lower cost of living and un-tapped talent pool.

I'd like to add that the quoted figure of $1,000 USD a month is rather high. Most Thais can get by with $500 USD. That is the current starting salary for undergraduates. Now, keep in mind that if you are a foreigner, there will definitely be a surcharge since it is expected that you are able to afford more. As a local, I can cheaply rent an apartment outside of Bangkok (granted without a pool) for $100-150 USD a month. If you include utilities, phone, and internet you might need around $250-$350 USD, and you will get air conditioning.

EDIT: As for food, his mentioned price of 40 Baht for a bow of chicken rice which has now supposedly increased by 25%. It feels slightly over priced to me, but not by much. The average cost of a bow of food is still around 30-40 Baht ($1 USD to $1.33 USD) per serving and have not increased, as far as I can tell, for the 2 years that I have been back. So if you're pretty frugal, you can definitely get by with $5-7 USD a day for food + drinks. If you really want to go for "ramen diets" then you can definitely get by with lower IMO.

The current going prices for co-working spaces in Thailand are around $7 - $10 a day, net, and most of these places open 7 days a week. But if you can work from home, you can ignore that cost.

Regarding the OP's point about the startup scene, he is correct. It's very much in its infancy and the local work-force are not as familiar with the startup ecosystem and are very risk averse. To add to that, most employees will not understand how equity work and will prefer to work for a safer and more secure jobs. This is a cultural thing so pushing the startup mentality is still a big hurdle that the great people at Launchpad and HUBBA are trying their best to overcome.

Overall I'm quite optimistic about the way Thailand is moving with regards to startups, but it is very much in its infancy and founders are not as well-informed. A lot of incubators and "startup schools" are in it for the fact that it seems like the cool thing to be doing, but most have no idea how to run one and no experience in the space. IMO, there isn't much right now that the founders can gain from the partnership since both sides are basically feeling their way around.

In the end though, I can't recommend Thailand enough as a place that you should come and bootstrap just for the cost of living, wonderful culture, and an assortment of holiday locations. Although, as a Thai, I may be completely biased.

EDIT: Of course, I'm not exactly familiar with the visa situation since I don't actually need it. Based on the OP, it seems pretty complicated, but still worth the hassle.

Sure, but even if Nokia was already on the path into irrelevance, Elop greatly accelerated the pace. He did this by announcing that Nokia would abandon the Symbian OS for Windows Phone OS; a distant 3rd in terms of the OS penetration. All this while the company had NO products to introduce with the Windows Phone OS for another 6 months, leaving all Symbian smartphones they did have at the time dead in the water. (Who wants to buy a phone with an obsolete OS?) This ensures a definite and immediate share price slide.

I'm not so sure that designing the UX around the assumption that the first time user will try things enough such that they figure out what ambiguous buttons do is a great idea.

If you are trading ease of use / lower learning curve for reduced 'visual clutter' (which is pretty subjective, personally I liked the card with the + symbol) I am not sure you made the right trade-off.

I would agree to a certain extent. We still have phones that last days before needing a recharge, but they are not smart phones (remember those Nokia candy bar phones?)

However, with the growth of smart phones, it seems that companies are focusing on one-upping each other on specs other than battery life. Most launches have always worked hard to keep the battery life at roughly 8 hours, no more no less, and spend any excess juice on more features. I'm pretty sure that the reason for this is the assumption that people will charge their phones at least once a day anyways, which would be a perfectly fine assumption IF the phones actually DO last 8-10 hours on normal use... but sadly for me, most of these phones usually last 5 hours with the level of intensive use that I put my phone through everyday.