Hey guys, author here, thanks all for the kind words. It's nice to see it reaching the front page of HN when someone with decent karma submits it.
Just to let you all know I've only spent about 6 hours on this and plan to polish it up somewhat as it's still quite rough. I've also got a bunch of other developers requesting inclusion into the site swell, which I'll also add.
Things on the todo list are visual polish, adding other services, new menu, adding the suggest feature, perhaps changing from just using the google search to better apis etc.
This is one of the things i wish dropbox did, so at least from my perspective this has potential. It'd be nice to see the website to get some information on it. :)
I think one of the main things is to go into it with a more positive attitude, i'm not criticising you or anything, but you seem to already view PHP with disdain.
Personally i'm a PHP dev and love it, sure its got its ugly parts, but what language doesnt. Its a very easy language to learn especially if you have prior coding knowledge, pretty much every single host out there supports it by default, and there is an excellent manual as well as a ridiculous amount of resources for learning it.
Personally i'd view learning any new language as a good thing, as at the very least it makes you a better coder in your own "native" coding language.
Its nice to see a company have fun with the more boring pages on most sites, usually its 404 pages. This might even re-convert people to reverse their decision.
Personally, I think of this as a good thing, obviously i've no idea what the job market is like where you live but if i was interviewing you and saw that you took time time off and actually accomplished something (instead of being a bum for 6 months) as something i'd definitely look for in a potential hire.
It shows you care about personal development, it gives you accomplishments to mention at an interview and demonstrates that you're self motivated.
So without knowing all other determining factors i'd say go for it. But like others are saying, only you know your own situation.
Always better to be prepared to walk away and find out the client is an asshole, than accept their terms and get screwed later. Congrats on not getting screwed over, but no doubt you spotted it due to past experience, like a lot of us.
I'm not saying you shouldn't do your homework but you should also not let yourself get into the trap of analysis paralysis. Instead of thinking you need to get everything in line before you start, just get the very least you need inline then just go for it. Any action is better than No Action.
I'm note sure if its my favourite but its one i find really interesting. Daniel Pink's talk on Drive, what makes people motivated to perform in the workplace. Really good for employers.
There is a TED talk on it and i've seen it but i actually like the RSA animate one better which is essentially the same talk.
While I do believe that a lower CEO salary is a good indicator that the company isn't going to be financially frivolous I don't view it as the most important thing.
That point however isn't the thing I take umbrage with, this line from the TC article is absolutely ridiculous: "In Startupland, everybody should be working towards the same goal: that big juicy exit."
Seriously? What the hell happened to actually building a successful business? I find it quite pathetic that the very small minority of start-ups go for this model and 37signals* are the best known for this stance.
The "big juicy exit" should be the exception that proves the rule and the sensationalist story people love to hear, not the status quo.
*I personally wouldn't class 37signals as a start-up, IMO they're a stable, mature, successful business.
Start looking into the local hacker/programmer/business meetups in your local area. You'll meet loads of contacts and everyones usually really friendly. The meetups i attend usually have 2-3 speakers each time, so you could volunteer to do a little presentation on your start-up, tell people what you've done, where you've got to and where you want to go. They'll enjoy it as your experience is still a learning experience of them and it also allows you to ask for advice on the problems you're currently facing.
Well i think HP are doing very well with their HP Envy line. I'm waiting to get myself an HP Envy 17. Its a main competitor to the macbook pro line but at a much better price.
Not to start a fanboy argument but this is one of the reasons i like Ubuntu. Native PDF support and it opens the files very quickly. I used to detest PDF files back in the day when i used Windows. I eventually found foxit but that became bloatware too, and then Sumatra, which is much better.
I called bullshit the moment i saw BBC's article, but then again, thats because i understand the basics of how RFID works.
The problem is, the general public dont, thus cant spot the bullshit. Which is the same for me when any publication runs a story on a subject on which i've little knowledge of.
I tend to be pretty cynical of everything i consume from the media, but it really bugs me that the large majority just buy this shit.