insraq's comments

But the language support is not as good as Java and C#, which are static typed and IDE can make use of static analysis.

Agreed. They look cool, but they are usability disaster.

What's the difference between this and Yeoman ? (http://yeoman.io/)

I thought Akismet was the first to adopt such design: http://akismet.com/

When I program in PHP, I always use four spaces (converted by a tab), which is suggested by PEAR coding standard. Python mandates indentation. Four spaces is highly recommended. One tab is accepted but discouraged.

"The page is not available, but Justin is" - very creative.

I am looking for a markdown editor like this for sometime. You can add a "distraction-free" mode and perhaps place textarea and preview side by side.

Well as far as I know, the 'rippers' claimed by author has existed for a while now. This tweet is posted on Jul. 16 (http://www.weibo.com/1655212723/l4EWMiVcl ) while the author's post is posted on Aug. 30. So I would say this is just a coincident rather than a rip-off. And I believe the author should spend a little more time doing some research before accusing the wrong person.

Great post. I like the way author splits the big problem into smaller ones and reduce the learning curve by different stages. When I recommend vim to my friends, they are usually frightened by the OReilly's thick vi/vim book and most people cannot "survive" in vim before they give up.

I have encountered a similar situation and here are my thoughts, just for your reference:

1. Is competition really bad? Not necessary. Some times competitions are good. As I was working on a product of a relatively new area. One of the problem was that people were not aware of the importance of the product. Our competitor had done a good marketing job, widely promoting the concept and got reported by several media. After that, we found it much easier for us to convince people of our product.

2. It's good to have a mirror. If you have got a competitor, watch closely what they are doing and try to learn from their experience. The two products might look similar at first but you might be able to differentiate from them after several iterations. If launching a startup is like trying out new clothes, it is much better to have a mirror.

3. You have to share the market anyway. You cannot be the monopoly, or even oligopoly. Sharing the market with your competitors is inevitable. Even if you were the first to launch, there might be strong late-comers. So do not panic when you see competitors coming.

4. Learn to differentiate. Tell the difference between your product and your competitors'. Trust me, there are no identical products in the world. Highlight the (even the smallest) difference and tell people why they should choose your product.

5. Focus on what your competitor might ignore. You should try out your competitor's product and record your experience in details. Then check the flaws you have found to see whether the same can be seen your product. This is an effective way to differentiate your product, especially your competitor is large and strong. If you cannot have more functions, then optimize your user experience.

6. Do not pivot so early. I wouldn't recommend to pivot right away. Even if you plan to pivot, please at least wait for a few months - after you have made sure that you have no chance. After all your team have spent a lot of time on your product. If you give up so easily, it is hard to cheer up your team for your new product. Do not simply give up, face competition and you will never regret your decision.

7. Any chance to cooperate? If you can cooperate with your "competitor", things would be easier. But this might not be a good choice since your competitor is well funded and two teams might not get along with each other. Also you might lose your control of your product.

Note that this news comes from The Epoch Times, which belongs Falun Gong, an anti-PRC organization.

The Chinese government (CCP) declared Falun Gong illegal on 1997. The two parties have been "attacking" each others ever since. Falun Gong once interfered TV satellites in China. And Chinese government has banned all websites related to Falun Gong (using Great Firewall, of course).

All the sites in the screenshot are related to Falun Gong. That's why they are on the "target list". This is not evidence that China is hacking U.S. agencies. I am not saying that China has never done that - I mean even if China is doing that, they will do it secretly and will never disclose it on a propaganda TV program.

I personally think this news is misleading by not disclosing all the information.

Any chance the author can make a PDF or ePub version? I like to read it on my portable devices.

It's true. But building from source might be a pain for some people, especially newbies like me.