wuster

Edit to my own comment, should be "I don't think any social network will dominate a teenager's attention."

Absolutely, they will happily download 10 IM programs and keep them all running at the same time, able to multi-task between a half dozen communication channels. I think any social network will dominate a teenager's attention.

Exactly. ICS is going to be a major "polish" release for Android. I'm looking forward to next week's announcement.

I just quit my job to build tools in the Edu space - I am wondering if you'd be willing to reconsider using lightweight LMS tools that are feature specific and do not require participation in bigger ecosystems?

I'm sure some employees from his early days would have less flattering stories to tell, but it wouldn't be classy for them to tell them now that he's gone. So the other side of Steve will be buried with history.

Google has so many products, how would you expect a typical, hard-working employee to actively use all of them? They just wouldn't get any work done.

I just left Google after 3 years (to build my own projects). I echo Steve's sentiment that overall, Google is a company that really tries hard to do everything the right way. It's a company full of smart, well-intentioned people. There are many of these internal discussions, all of them would be fascinating to outsiders, but it's just (un)fortunate that this one was accidentally posted.

When I was learning Python, I had some giddy moments. I think charisma is an acceptable adjective for such a thing. =)

Perhaps it's a generational gap. I am under 30, so I only became familiar with Macs in the mid-90s. I can understand those of you who grew up in the late 70s - mid 80s and have much more nostalgic sentiments towards Apple and the Macintosh. It created industries and careers that didn't previously exist.

16-year Mac user here - I wouldn't go to the extent of saying Jobs changed my life. Apple devices influenced how I got my work done, which is non-trivial, but I won't idol worship him in an emotional manner. He's still only human just like the rest of us.

Every superhero needs an archrival. In many ways - they helped build each other's careers. I don't doubt Bill Gate's sincerity here.

Even if you're not a fan of Steve's style or products, he was a market maker for Apple's competitors. Great example is the modern smart phone race - if not for his zeal to create the iPhone experience, I think we'd still be lusting after Nokias and Sony Ericsson phones. shudder

I've wondered about this myself - while I admire his accomplishments greatly, the stories of the kind of fear and admiration of Steve as a boss makes me wonder if that type of personality would have jived well with my wanting constructive feedback and positive reinforcement. It appears that in his later years (2000s), he attributed credit to his team and thanked them for hard work whenever he introduced a major product.

Tangent: One person would have first hand knowledge of Steve's management style: Andy Hertzfeld of the original Macintosh team: https://plus.google.com/117840649766034848455/posts

Sergey regularly posts photos, ever since the launch of G+ field trial.

w00t!

Thanks for the post!

My group has been collaborating for weeks on our application. I think we must be on our 5th draft by now. At a certain point, I do feel like it's unproductive to keep second guessing how our answers will be parsed - we're just doing our best to listen to the great advice out here on HN, lay out the facts about ourselves, and hopefully make a good impression. Hopefully YC will like what we have to say!

BTW - my group of 3 is quitting Google, Facebook, and Microsoft to pursue our idea, and we will definitely do it with or without YC. It'd just be super nice to get that level of support.

There wasn't an obvious field to put in this information. What would be the most appropriate spot in the application for this?

I think your burnout is because you enjoy working hard, but have trouble knowing when to find that balance between productivity and happiness.

In my 7 years since college, I've worked at two tech companies, and I've experienced burnout at both at one time or another.

I'm dealing with it by:

1) managing expectations - people are generally reasonable when they're aware of your work load and can sympathize with your need for leisure time

2) don't be a roadblock, but you can say "NO" more often - when I was younger, I'd chase small wins here and there, but overall it did not impact my external performance metrics much. It would have been more productive if I focused on more impactful changes and leave some smaller tasks for newer team members (and use it as an opportunity to transfer knowledge + teach)

3) there's always more work to do - one more email, one more changelist, one more code blog to read, one more framework to learn, one more person to meet. I have accepted that I cannot possibly exhaust my mental todo list. Anyone out there who says they accomplish 100% of what they want to do is either lying or have a short list.

a CTO I can respect - one who writes code =)

I'd like a trustworthy and central repository for my current billing/mailing address that all the big companies simply "subscribe to". When I move, the update should be pushed to every bank/magazine/delivery company.

you mean... a... Woman Decoder?

a "Like" or "+1" button for employee interaction?

DVRs. For when I space out in long lectures or meetings =)

I love this spirit of sharing and collaboration spurred by git/github. One nice side effect of adopting these open source libs (and not re-invent the wheel in house) is that we'll all have transferrable skills between companies in this space. I like this positive trend.

I agree here. Doing that extra pet project at work is a zero sum game vs. doing your own pet project. I find that it's easier to "find purpose" with a side project at work (whether it's an util, or just fixing a bug) because it directly addresses a pain point for you and the people you see every day.

I don't think aspir said anything contradictory. His point was additive to the article, just addressing another possible mis-conception about these cables.

and someone more concise =)

More often, I see an idea that I've had for a while, then some group with the same idea gets vetted by YC and other investors. In this case, I would feel a little conflicted about still going forward with it due to possible "follower" perception issues, but I think two groups can honestly come up with similar solutions to the same problem.

Agreed with wccrawford. There are just so many things that become self-evident if you watch the trends. Seeing that the digital elite tends to hang out on the same sites and forums, it's hardly surprising that we'd find a spark of the idea from the same trends and lead to similar output.

Sidebar: you'd have to have access to a computer at 6 to start programming at 6. This was not a given even for a lot of Gen Y today. Not to mention the parental (or other source) mentoring and guidance that leads to a kid pursuing programming as a hobby at 6. While this is an easy opportunity in middle-upper class families, not every capable kid is going to grow up in that type of environment. IMO, this is where access to technology is a equal opportunity issue, as these high tech jobs and paths to entrepreneurship now often pass through these formative years in childhood.