"I can't say it made me the coolest kid in school, but it was fun. Don't worry, I still got chicks because I played trombone and was in advanced math." <-- I can relate (except I played trumpet)
I enjoyed reading your story. Always inspiring to see someone with a passion just go out and build something themselves. You weren't building a business you were scratching your own itch. Congratulations on the sale.
I think the value here isn't really displaying weather. I believe the author effectively demonstrates an interesting technique that non-native apps can utilize to make them feel more native.
As far as awesome and simple non-native weather apps go, check out: http://pattern.dk/sun/
Am I the only one here on HN that finds the whole 37Signals vs HN battle entertaining? DHH makes a direct (sometimes arrogant) comment, HN jumps all over him, Jason "clarifies", and HN hugs Jason. DHH and Jason seem to have contrasting personalities which is probably an important contributing factor to their success. DHH says what he thinks, whether we agree with him or not isn't the point. Jason calms the storm. I'm happy for the Sortfolio customers who see value in the service continuing. I'm also glad that 37Signals shared at least some of the details behind the sale and the process. But most of all, I'm entertained!
HireHand is different is several ways. First, instead of taking the traditional recruiter compensation approach of a percentage of salary, HireHand charges a small fee based on the number of candidates we screen. It is in our best interest to find the best candidates so you will save time and money, and as a result we want you to use HireHand again and tell other business owners. We are also different in that we aren't stockpiling resumes to throw at 15 positions. You post the job and pass along applicants. We are able to charge much less than recruiters, because the first step of the hiring process is still your responsibility. However, HireHand's screeners have industry experience and specific skills to effectively identify which candidates match your needs.
I'm having a difficult time getting past the image that the author wants startups to sit around a campfire and hold hands chanting "we're all in this together". That is not the reality of business. Today it seems that the entrepreneurial spirit is being watered down, because it is considered "ok" to create a service with no monetization strategy or goal and simply hope for an acquisition. I believe competition breeds innovation as well as better businesses. It isn't about startup vs startup, it's about business vs business. Personally, I'm not building a company to see how many "friends" I can make (and subsequently share random thoughts and photos with). That being said, I do agree with the author's sentiment that in business relationships, just as in personal relationships, we have the opportunity/choice to do the right thing even when it doesn't necessarily make the most business sense.
I really like what you have done. Having transitioned from a Windows/Visual Studio .NET application development environment to an OS X and Rails development environment within the last year, this would have been very useful.
You made me laugh this morning, thank you. Should have added a "<yawn>" in front to make the snark complete. Adding the smiley face on the end was a nice way to soften the blow.
Actually, Trimble's focus is not on consumer GPS, it is on machine control (heavy equipment GPS guidance), survey, and build construction. I'm familiar with the machine control hardware through my involvement with a Trimble distributor. The accuracy, especially vertical, achieved through Trimble's machine control is incredible. However, that accuracy is only achieved through the use of a static "base" and mobile (attached to machinery i.e. bulldozer) "rovers".
I do agree that the technology has become much cheaper over the last 10 years, while Trimble's pricing has not fallen at the same rate.
