fake_pg

Hi, I'm new here. What do you mean that "this post will be dead within the next couple hours"?

I didn't see the value of this talk. There were no great insights into the "post-crisis consumer".

Overall, the opinion touches on many subjects, but I agree with some of the comments on the NYT Site: not everyone can be an entrepreneur.

Perhaps the inflation of the idea of being an entrepreneur is the next bubble?

For example, before, anyone can own a house and, now, anyone can own a business. (A transformation of "why rent when you can own?" to "why work for someone else when you can be the boss?".)

It doesn't even support the reverse-reach-around-click. Very sad.

The commenter is trying to say that you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

Bottom line: what worked for them (37signals) may (or may not) work for you.

Should you drink their Cool-Aid? Only if you're thirsty.

Yes, perhaps the original question is too open-ended, but without a proper context, all answers will be leaning towards the abstract.

While I may express the solution in Objective-C, PHP or Python, I always think of the solution in terms of logic.

Also, if you have experience in multiple languages (and environments), then you're less likely to be constrained by a single mindset.

I take a slightly more abstract approach: I first think of the problem from the user's perspective (and their expectations), then I map out a work flow before diving into pseudo-code and wire-frames.

Overall, I agree with the parent because before you can dive into coding, you have to think of the problem and solution abstractly.

But which language is used for writing out the solution? Whichever is the best tool for that particular problem.

Argh...again with the questions.

Yes, "hackers" use Unix-based operating systems. Great hackers also generally insist on using open source software. Not just because it's better, but because it gives them more control. Good hackers insist on control. This is part of what makes them good hackers: when something's broken, they need to fix it.[1]

[1] I copied this from my essay, "Great Hackers" (http://www.paulgraham.com/gh.html).

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Robert Morris, and Sarah Harlin for reading earlier versions of this comment.

I agree.

Thanks to Ken Anderson, Trevor Blackwell, Daniel Giffin, Sarah Harlin, Shiro Kawai, Jessica Livingston, Matz, Jackie McDonough, Robert Morris, Eric Raymond, Guido van Rossum, David Weinberger, and Steven Wolfram for reading drafts of this comment.