... and I've been contracting for about 10 years myself... I'll tell you why I love it:
1) Variety, variety, variety... Rather than getting tied to the same code for years, I get to move from project to project...
2) More control over my life... I can usually stay as busy as I want, but if I want to take a month off, I just stall signing up for the next contract...
3) It's been said already in this thread - there is no such thing as job stability...
4) I am constantly thinking about adding value for my clients... Rather than thinking of myself as an expense, I think, how can the client afford not to hire me... Everyone should do this - I think working on contract makes people think about this more...
5) Lots of tax advantages... I am in Canada, so I suspect you're able to write off as much or more than you can in Canada.
Summary of article...
on
Make Money Fast
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Just finished reading this in the magazine minutes ago... 20 something small time guy begins creating relatively good counterfeit $100 notes... Produces between 6 and 16 million dollars worth... All while on probation...
One interesting idea is that he doesn't pass the money himself, but rather sells it for 20% of it's value to others... The counterfeit money has a street price of around 70% of the face value... Interesting that there is a relatively clear distribution system and market pricing at various levels...
Pretty hard to find stores that take $100 bills these days around here, but the article notes that acceptance is improving, that counterfeit money is quite rare (1 bill per 290 people)... and that new bill technology is making it harder and harder...
Also points out that the vast majority of people are lazy, don't look at the bills, and that frequently even really bad copies will be accepted from time to time...
This book is unique in that it is geared towards software... I've read a couple dozen of general purpose marketing books... My background is a combination business / comp-sci degree - so I've got a fairly broad understanding of basic business concepts / business planning / strategy / etc...
I like this particular book for it's hard numbers in terms of expected costs for various marketing pushes... Plus expected margins / discounts that different sales channels will be expecting... This book in unmatched for it's numbers and specifics...
... And I agree with the reviewer... It's sitting on my desk now... Just about finished reading it cover to cover... Refer back to the existing chapters often... Some really good advice... We will be passing it around, and everyone will have a baseline in terms of marketing discussions, just as a book on software patterns give developers a baseline for design discussions...
2 caveats - the graphs/diagrams at the beginning look like photocopies of photocopies... kind of strange... and another curious thing is that when I got it in the mail, it smelled like tacos, but the smell is gone now:)
I guess in your world, no one who is unemployed has ever started a company before... That starting a company without money from an investor is impossible... Filling out 3 job applications a week is a fulltime job, takes over 60 hours a week, and there is no time for anything else...
Open up the yellow pages - do you believe that all of these companies were started by people who were already working _and_ received investor money? Joe the plumber was already working as a plumper for someone else, wrote a business plan, got 10M in VC money, so that he could launch Joe's plumbing...
Just stay in your safe world filling out your job apps, reporting to your government keepers, and not doing anything else...
... And there are ways to market your product for nothing but effort... Just look at our slashdot posts - it doesn't take anything but time:)... Writing an article for a content-based website, a magazine (hey - you might get paid for your article)... All generate leads, build reputation, and could be more worth-while and credible than an ad in a magazine...
A totally valid question... The initial post talked about being unemployed for a year anyway - doing what? Living where? I don't know, but unless they've liquidated everything, they've still got some kind of PC and can start coding instead of doing whatever else they've been doing for the past year (or perhaps in addition to whatever they've been doing for the past year...)
If you can't figure out how to generate some value from your skills, then starting a company is not for you, and if you're not willing to sacrifice a $X / hr job to work for yourself, why would anyone else hire you for that amount
... I've read through many skeptical comments, and I'm just picking this one more or less at random...
What do you need investor money for? You own a PC, or you wouldn't be on slashdot... Compilers are a dime a dozen... The biggest expense for many companies is R&D... It's not like you have to stop looking for a job while you're coding - you keep your skills current... The cost to enter the software development business is pretty much nil for someone who isn't working...
I guess before there were investors, there were no companies, and all companies have required investor money to get going...
I have a Leatherman Micra that I end up using just about every other day... Lend it to co-workers all the time too... Carry it everywhere (fits on a key chain)... All the basic tools in a tiny package -- rock solid... I got it as a gift from the in-laws... Truly a great gift idea...
I agree that office space / incubator space can be valuable... depends on your goals...
If your goal is to go away for a year to create the perfect [insert brilliant product idea here] by yourself or with a small team, then being in an incubator space where you are trying to land contracts is distraction from whatever it is you are trying to accomplish...
When you go into sell mode and are looking for revenue, then being in a close space is a great idea
Just to clarify... While you pay people that you must, you pay yourself enough to survive [food... shelter if you don't sleep in your "office":) ]... If I'm paying myself a tenth of what I would be making as an employee, I can only claim that amount...
"Sweat equity" does not count as an expense and is not claimable... They need to see money actually moving from one account to another... BUT don't take my word for it:) Trust what I say with as much as you paid for it:)
Rather than getting office space, rent a bachelor apartment... this allows you to pay home rates for your phone line(s), internet access, etc...
Don't get business cards until you absolutely need them (or print yourself as required)
Buy equipment only as you absolutely require it...
Offer people (more) flexible hours for reduced pay (ex: 70% of normal salary for 3/5 days work)...
Have employees work from home on their own equipment...
On the negative side... In a country such a Canada where you can claim R&D tax credits, you can only claim these credits on real expenses - so if you pay yourself (next to) nothing, you won't be able to claim any of that as a tax credit...
Re:virtual light
on
Human Pac Man
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I spend a fair bit of time thinking about this... Imagine being able to see the names of people at a party hovering over them... Or some high-level info about them, plus your own notes... Have the glasses record everything as well... add face recognition... Allows you to replay / view all interactions with someone just by looking at them... All part of ubiquitous computing...
I see where this is leading... Just to nip it in the bud...
I'm not saying the OSS are bad... I'm saying that when a system allows for a user to make changes, and I choose to take advantage of that (as an end user), that I am leaving the path of upgrades, and commiting to sticking with that version for the foresee-able future...
If I go an modify low-level (non-module) linux source code, in a particular distribution of Linux, do not submit by code changes back, then if I want to upgrade to the latest and greatest kernel, it's going to be non-trivial... Check out the struts site... Great, stable, framework... I use it, but find I need to make changes to 1.1... Now 2.0 is on the roadmap, and when it comes out, migration will be non-trivial for those that take advantage of internal code, modify the internals, etc... and migration may still be non-trivial even if I haven't made changes...
My point is that choosing to use a public framework, you must consider the path that the code is moving in... In the case of an apache project, it's going to be well-managed, well-defined, and as an open source solution, will be available for all to discuss / contribute...
I completely agree... Many frameworks are totally bloated and/or buggy... An inhouse framework will meet needs more closely, and will always be more efficient than a generic framework... When performance is important, and full control desired, an inhouse framework is the way to go...
You'll hear people argue that using an open source framework (and most are) will allow you to modify the code, but once you down the path of making changes, forget about upgrading as new versions are released...
I was going to say the same thing... I figure this must be a very early April Fools joke... Just look at the author's name... "Ingo Rammer"... Please... Way to go/.... Look's like you've fooled a bunch of people...
Didn't realize it was copy-protected until I got to work and tried to listen to it [now I know the logo to look for, but still...]... I only listen to CDs at work (on a computer...) Can't listen to it at all... This kind of attitude from the RIAA is like kicking customers in the b*g everytime they buy something from you...
Now I have to listen to the CD in 2 song chunks as I drive back and forth to work (and from what I've read - it sounds like I'm lucky to have it work on an in-car player...)
Not going to buy another music CD for quite some time...
Slashdot Mirror
1) Variety, variety, variety... Rather than getting tied to the same code for years, I get to move from project to project...
2) More control over my life... I can usually stay as busy as I want, but if I want to take a month off, I just stall signing up for the next contract...
3) It's been said already in this thread - there is no such thing as job stability...
4) I am constantly thinking about adding value for my clients... Rather than thinking of myself as an expense, I think, how can the client afford not to hire me ... Everyone should do this - I think working on contract makes people think about this more...
5) Lots of tax advantages... I am in Canada, so I suspect you're able to write off as much or more than you can in Canada.
I'm not saying that all of Canada is colder than everywhere else, but in the Ottawa / Montreal area, there have been a couple of good power outages in the past few years... A quick google for "ice storm ottawa power alternatives" or "ice storm montreal power alternatives" should give you lots of ideas... In 1998, in the winter, almost a million people went without power for about a week...
Pretty hard to find stores that take $100 bills these days around here, but the article notes that acceptance is improving, that counterfeit money is quite rare (1 bill per 290 people) ... and that new bill technology is making it harder and harder...
Also points out that the vast majority of people are lazy, don't look at the bills, and that frequently even really bad copies will be accepted from time to time...
Doing too many things at the same time... Yes I should have said that I refer back to the chapters that I have already read...
I like this particular book for it's hard numbers in terms of expected costs for various marketing pushes... Plus expected margins / discounts that different sales channels will be expecting... This book in unmatched for it's numbers and specifics...
2 caveats - the graphs/diagrams at the beginning look like photocopies of photocopies... kind of strange... and another curious thing is that when I got it in the mail, it smelled like tacos, but the smell is gone now :)
I agree 1/25,000 is good, but not great... I get about 2K spam / day... this would lose 1 email every 2 weeks...
I guess in your world, no one who is unemployed has ever started a company before... That starting a company without money from an investor is impossible... Filling out 3 job applications a week is a fulltime job, takes over 60 hours a week, and there is no time for anything else...
Open up the yellow pages - do you believe that all of these companies were started by people who were already working _and_ received investor money? Joe the plumber was already working as a plumper for someone else, wrote a business plan, got 10M in VC money, so that he could launch Joe's plumbing...
Just stay in your safe world filling out your job apps, reporting to your government keepers, and not doing anything else...
If you can't figure out how to generate some value from your skills, then starting a company is not for you, and if you're not willing to sacrifice a $X / hr job to work for yourself, why would anyone else hire you for that amount
What do you need investor money for? You own a PC, or you wouldn't be on slashdot... Compilers are a dime a dozen... The biggest expense for many companies is R&D... It's not like you have to stop looking for a job while you're coding - you keep your skills current... The cost to enter the software development business is pretty much nil for someone who isn't working...
I guess before there were investors, there were no companies, and all companies have required investor money to get going...
Those of you interested should check out the Association of Shareware Professionals ... Lots of good info here...
I have a Leatherman Micra that I end up using just about every other day... Lend it to co-workers all the time too... Carry it everywhere (fits on a key chain)... All the basic tools in a tiny package -- rock solid... I got it as a gift from the in-laws... Truly a great gift idea...
If your goal is to go away for a year to create the perfect [insert brilliant product idea here] by yourself or with a small team, then being in an incubator space where you are trying to land contracts is distraction from whatever it is you are trying to accomplish...
When you go into sell mode and are looking for revenue, then being in a close space is a great idea
"Sweat equity" does not count as an expense and is not claimable... They need to see money actually moving from one account to another... BUT don't take my word for it :) Trust what I say with as much as you paid for it :)
On the negative side... In a country such a Canada where you can claim R&D tax credits, you can only claim these credits on real expenses - so if you pay yourself (next to) nothing, you won't be able to claim any of that as a tax credit...
I'm not saying the OSS are bad... I'm saying that when a system allows for a user to make changes, and I choose to take advantage of that (as an end user), that I am leaving the path of upgrades, and commiting to sticking with that version for the foresee-able future...
If I go an modify low-level (non-module) linux source code, in a particular distribution of Linux, do not submit by code changes back, then if I want to upgrade to the latest and greatest kernel, it's going to be non-trivial... Check out the struts site... Great, stable, framework... I use it, but find I need to make changes to 1.1 ... Now 2.0 is on the roadmap, and when it comes out, migration will be non-trivial for those that take advantage of internal code, modify the internals, etc... and migration may still be non-trivial even if I haven't made changes...
My point is that choosing to use a public framework, you must consider the path that the code is moving in... In the case of an apache project, it's going to be well-managed, well-defined, and as an open source solution, will be available for all to discuss / contribute...
You'll hear people argue that using an open source framework (and most are) will allow you to modify the code, but once you down the path of making changes, forget about upgrading as new versions are released...
My 2 cents
You don't want to be driving while using this phone...
I watched the video link... Quick question for AIBO owners: Is that the speed that they travel at? Can they run or cover more floor space faster?
Now I have to listen to the CD in 2 song chunks as I drive back and forth to work (and from what I've read - it sounds like I'm lucky to have it work on an in-car player...)
Not going to buy another music CD for quite some time...
Kind of gives "Blue Screen of Death" a whole new spin, eh?