dontscale

It's easier to share code nowadays given that momentum is part of a project's overall allure and that momentum is not easily recreatable.

From what I remember, you can change in and out of phone numbers like with Google voice - and there are a ton of them. I don't know if that matters for spammy calls - I don't know anything about that domain.

Twilio allows you to automate calls programmatically, and what a lot of the callers do is wait for you to say hello - they're robo dialers. I wonder how much Twilio has influenced that (unknowingly or deliberately)

Does anyone else wonder whether or not the explosion of solar panel telemarketing calls are a consequence of how easy Twilio makes it to set up call center operations and change in and out of numbers?

That was then. This is now.

This differs from other Python frameworks like ask-alexa-py by being geared towards HTTPS endpoint development.

ask-alexa-py is for Amazon Lambda.

A video tutorial on the github page shows how to setup ngrok for rapid app development https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask

In that case, you'd really enjoy Charlie Munger's parable about the Shoebutton Prince.

The story goes that one of Charlie's distant relatives had cornered some part of the 1920's shoebutton market. Back then, shoebuttons were smallish ornaments you put on your shoes.

The success entitled the prince to pontificate on any and all things in unlimited fashion--especially those outside the realm of shoebuttons.

Yep - that's the one. I remember it was slow and seemed to be built with either Java or Flash or something crazy.

I always suspected the cost was a function of the profits of the firms using them.

I think it is a smart move to force bundle the hardware and form the users' keystroke habits over a career. I imagine the switching costs are extreme.

I'm not a trader. I'm actually a programmer and just curious about a lot of things. One day, I contacted Thomson Reuters and asked to try their competing system, I think it was Elektron. It is a pure software system that I got bored with after a few days of exploring.

Talk about your SaaS. $24,000 a year for one of these babies. I think it's how he made most of his fortune.

Edit: corrected for year

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e...

I think the debate about Colleges vs. Bootcamps is an apples to oranges comparison

Algorithms are commoditized into libraries. Web design has been commoditized with templates.

Open-ended programming is still more complicated, but putting apps on the web today is easier than static HTML just 5 years ago. Parts of programming will continue being commoditized.

So if it's easy to create something and put it out there, the great and all-important challenge that faces developers today is making it matter.

Another project Google with kill in 6 months.

More like VI months?

It's good sauce

Copying and pasting from SO is perfectly acceptable as long as you know what the code is doing.

When I paste code, I include a comment with the link back to SO. I see it as the standard way of declaring a precedent in programming, where upvotes signal strength.

This is all correct except that financial accounting deals with external reporting and managerial accounting deals with internal reporting. But the distinction between bookkeeping and accounting is spot on IMO.

Hopefully getlektor.com graduates to a top-level project there one day.

I bet you didn't know I'd read it with the Trivago spokesman's voice in my head. ;-P

For those of us who are pissed that this is going down but need the status to get on with our lives:

nj48 is a known friendly who has identified himself to us. We're going to clarify later today.

https://twitter.com/seldo/status/712673227630313472

But you shouldn't condemn the developers over this. Arguably, there's not major differences between Colgate and Crest toothpaste, but having alternatives in the market drives innovation and keeps prices down.

Why... can't there be alternatives?

Great article

Ideas don't have to be original to succeed. Not at all. Having an original idea doesn't even give you a leg up. It's all about execution and having an idea that is at least desirable.

That's what Alex is trying to do. He's trying to find that mix.

Politics aside, does this seem terribly elitist to anyone else? Is this what plutocracy looks like?

There's an excellent book (you're probably aware of) called The Outsiders. It compares the results of operations focused CEO's like Welch to capital allocators like Buffett, Singleton, and Malone. The thesis is that overtime, the good cap allocators just blow everyone else out of the water.

http://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically-Rat...

“An outstanding book about CEOs who excelled at capital allocation.” — Warren Buffett

It's wise to work with accountants, but it's not enough. There are a lot of characters in business, and in order to know when they're full of shit (because sometimes they don't even know), you need to know how to count beans by the rules.

For example, a public company might report itself as profitable for some period based on operating earnings alone. But, you read their annual report and see they took a loss after tax with some extraordinary items. If you don't know what that means, then you don't know what it means--It really means they didn't make any money for the period, but they're going around talking about it like they did. I should mention that's all elementary stuff--there exists a whole field called "Forensic Accounting" where accountants work to spot fraud in financial reporting.

And small business owners can get mixed up too. They talk about their big revenues but don't mention they have a lousy 5% net margin. It can extend beyond trying to bullshit you--they can get into the habit of bullshitting themselves thinking they're ballers.

Accounting is the language of business. If you go into business, you should either know it or be willing to learn. It's not good enough to have someone specialize in it for you unless you want to be handed your ass when it comes to anything regarding business valuation--which concerns more than raising capital and m&a. For a business with resources, capital allocation is perhaps the most important concern and accounting is the toolset you work with.

Excellent work and general information. Templates are eating the world. I saw a post on HN the other day about no design jobs--the author got it wrong in his reasoning. Design jobs are shrinking because of templates. It's not economical for me to pay 5 or 6 figures for an original design, when I can have a good enough one to for 60 bucks.