What's strange is that I have 27 double-verified email addresses on my webapp that are on the myspace.com domain already since 2007. Myspace employees or what?
My words probably mislead--I should have said "workplace." I'm a mercenary. ;)
In my market the money's in .NET. The customers are all very nice people who appreciate my efforts, and I work no more than 40 hours per week, leaving me (a little) time for my own projects.
The work isn't especially fun, but that's why they call it "work" and there are times when it's interesting. And, the users _deserve_ attentive and considerate software development.
The main development is in .NET, but I introduce open source alternatives whenever possible (jQuery I love you!). It would be irresponsible, though, for the customers to abandon their massive investment in MS technologies. I believe this to be true of the enterprise in general; at home it was easy to say I'd never use Windows again, but this isn't feasible for a large organization. I think this will eventually change, but over a couple of decades and not years.
That's the reality facing IT executives, and I think it bothers us as developers more than anybody else. Most folks just want to do their jobs, watch a couple of viral videos, and go home.
P.S.: I've enjoyed reading some of your recent comments.
That's a perfectly valid excuse for running Windows and I applaud your efforts to introduce open source whenever possible.
Part of my current job involves trying to figure out how to help midsize companies leverage open source technologies. I'm thinking of putting together a list of common questions and misconceptions companies have about OSS and the respective answers and clarifications. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what roadblocks you have encountered in trying to pitch open source solutions.
"Craigslist doesn't have an open system. Craigslist blocks ip's of those accessing there system through a web application and they send out lots of cease and desist notices"
Screw it. Right now, a group here should build a newer, better Craigslist. Enough of you guys are in touch with the SV/Bay scene to bring the eyeballs required to kick it off, because as I see it, it's not a technical problem but rather a marketing one: what you need is a brief but intense "attention burst" to launch something like this.
The bleeding-edge users are all here, or only one or two degrees removed, and could make it work. [Don't look at me, I'm stuck on the East Coast.]
I believe Remember the Milk would fall into this category.
Does anybody know how they're doing? Back in March they said they're up to 500k users. I wonder how many upgraded to the $25 Pro account. Two percent maybe? That would mean $250k in revenues (spread among several people over several years). Just something I was pondering the other day!
I'm sure there are people who can shout louder than everybody else, but this may be one of those cases where the best way to achieve something, is to do something else first. [I hate stuff like that. ;)]
If you want to date a girl, you could just approach one after another until one finally says yes (e.g., "My name is George. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents."). Or you could improve yourself by learning how to cook or play music, getting in shape, etc., so you have something to actually bring to a relationship. At that point you'll either be turning them away, or you'll have a life and won't care (which can also be an attractor).
Same approach in the technical world. Do you have a blog? Or do you participate in open source projects, or attend conferences, or anything else to demonstrate how you bring value to others?
Another common path is consulting, which basically accomplishes the same thing. Prove your worth to others, and your goal of introducing a new product becomes much easier.
I think sometimes we may care so much about the end product that we have trouble switching from the techie role to the business role. But you have to save some of that energy for marketing, and it may be better to take a more dispassionate view of the finished product (or risk never releasing anything).
I agree--I find the light of halogen lamps to be crisp and without the hazy effect of traditional incandescent bulbs, making it easier to work for long periods of time without excessive eye fatigue.
About five years ago I moved to a new place and had a very hard time finding halogen torchieres in stores. I never learned exactly why, but I suspect it was due to liability issues, because this was around the same time they started putting bird cages on top of the lamps.
Yeah, it's like BW is blinded by the numbers--that money's not a personal gift to the founders (from "holed up alone in a room for 100 hours a week" to "Funding: $17.5 million"). Regardless, it's a validation of their efforts.
True success will be determined years from now based on the outcome of these investments.
