stijnm's comments

Comments like this on a serious well written post with some good advice make me smile: "Ibod Catooga wrote on May 27th, 2009 Shit, negro, I woulda punched my dad in the NUTS if he tried that shizzle on me!" (http://sivers.org/mistake#comment-15816)

Beautifully eloquent.

I beg to differ when you say '[...] contrary to a doctor'. The semantics of a word are always subjective - even 'doctor' does not imply a clearly defined occupation/activity-set.

This is due to: - own experience I beg to differ when you say '[...] contrary to a doctor'. The semantics of a word are always subjective - even 'doctor' does not imply a clearly defined occupation/activity-set.

This is due to: - own experience - knowledge of a language - intelligence - ...

Sorry, completely off topic.

On topic: I had a quick look and I like the idea junglee

Some comments: - It is 'messy' in my subjective unprofessional view. (sorry to be vague) - It may be good for some of your lists to get some data/be influenced by 'trusted specialist sites'. - Colours are atrocious - It seemed to load slow switching between FAQ and Blog. (Only thing I tested.) - Try to have a separate section on your site for partners or those wanting to work with you commercially. Have a discrete link going from the main site to that separate section. I am looking at 'Advertise' link. Carrying on from the previous point, why have prime-website-real estate near the top of your page point to boring things like 'privacy' and 'terms'.

Just some random thoughts.

Good advice. Make sure you recoupe your costs - unless you are prepared to carry some of the cost as a strategic decision for your company.

I am wary of the fact you say 'promising new startup'. I would err on the side of caution and assume it isn't the giant success they(/you) hope it will be.

As a result, I would spread the risk: - Ask for a 'normal' payment, within their budget, trying to cover at least 50% of your cost estimate. - Then be as daring as you may negotiating your transaction cut on the gross.

So, I would reduce my risk as much as possible - who knows if it will take off?

Hi Drew,

thanks for the response - elevation will indeed play a role. I don't know by how much though.

However, I would say that for a v1 possible obstacles (mountains, other houses, fence, ...) could be ignored and just imagined by the user. If they have a good idea of the arc through the sky then they can make a judgement themselves.

For me, the key to v1 is to not go too accurate in our algorithm by taking into account all variables. Aim would be to make it useful for those who just need an estimate.

Thanks,

Stijn.

PS: I will look at the site more closely tonight to see how they manage it. No time now.

Interesting discussion, thanks for all your input.

But let me put a spin on it:

Should we in some way help Google (and others) to ensure the internet doesnt 'go down'? (perhaps oversimplifying)

This is assuming (I think correctly) that the internet is crucial in todays economy and that if Google (or other) goes down it will have strateguc economic impact.

For example, having special international oversight group, massive backup/resillience scenarios, etc.

Just a thought.

I could imagine the post office put a sticker on the envelope with the real address. This guarantees a correct address (as long as the whois info is correct).

Of course, have to see if it is practical or not.

There is a service in Belgium that if you move house you can pay the postal service a small fee (20EUR) and they will forward mail sent to your old address to your new address over a 6 month period. When they do this they simply put a sticker over the incorrect address.

I am guessing this is autmated and is a similar problem as my proposition.

They already automate much of the sorting by scanning in the address (if legibly written).

Would be small effort to scan a domain name and then do a lookup.

Some benefits (broad assumptions): - less to write so chance of it being legible goes up - no need to figure out postal address info - companies will like it because single brand name on envelope

And I am sure there are others. And I am also sure there are some disadvantages...