Mark Fulton's Blog » Web Development

Paul Graham on the Future of Software and Startups

Mark Fulton — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:43:43 +0000

Y Combinator founder, Paul Graham shares his thoughts and predictions on the future of software, startups, technology, the United States, Apple and more at last year’s Business of Software conference.

I have noted almost all of the key points from his speech below.

- Bio Tech – May be big, you can make money in this space.

- It’s hard to start a software company. You are creating value when you write software. Good place to be.

- ‘Efficient Markets’ emerging as information flows around. (AirBNB)

- Side note: YC is applying mass production techniques to venture funding.

- Measurement – Google Ads are popular because returns can be measured. Inventing a new way to measure more stuff is a good idea.

- Thoughts on the U.S.: As long as you have peace and people can make money and be entrepreneurs – then society will be prosperous. If bandits, government, invaders steal the money from people who make it then society could collapse.

- Let the good times roll in Silicon Valley. California is still rich. you can start a co. anywhere but it helps to be here.

- Higher resolution world, stuff gets done. Networks of little organizations that make things happen are more efficient. As products have more and more of a technical component, it becomes less of a good idea to become a big company.

- Economic inequality

- Moore’s Law working, but differently. Moving towards multi-core. There is a gap to be spanned in helping to build software on advanced systems.

- Want to deliver something? Think about what screen they are sitting in front of. (TV, iPad, Phone)

- Server based apps will continue to have a long run. Will become more complicated. Software and data will by default live on servers.

- Good customer service will be more important as it’s easier for customers to switch. They can also research and find out if you have good service. Customers now involved in designing your product. You learn alot from talking to customers.

- Apparently frivolous stuff often turns out very useful. (Facebook, Math, Twitter) – Bummed he missed out on his Twitter name. (Update: Found a good Twitter name @PaulG)

- Popular programming languages will emerge. Adopt the hottest languages. You should write server based apps in lots of languages. Don’t look down on “scripting languages” which are more abstract/powerful.

- Open source is big.

- Linux will never be a factor on desktop. (Paul cowers) The world has done design for you. Linux will be on servers for sure. Buy Apple stock. Hackers are a leading indicator of what people will be using in the future. (Audience was 40% – 50% Mac users)

- Everybody wants iPhones. Good for browsing the web. Problem for hackers because Apple are jerks. Android can’t compete with iPhone.
Apple cares about the iPhone the way Google cares about search.

- Design is something to bet on. China has made manufacturing a commodity. Design is software winning over hardware.

- Real-time is not bogus in the way “Web 2.0″ was. Something definite going on, it’s the computing equivalent from the change in going from dial-up to cable internet. Protocols may go real-time.

- Google Wave is going to be important. (Whoops)

- Venture funding is not going to go away because VCs need you. They may not have the upper hand they’ve had in the past. Will give people money on better terms.

- Founders will more and more have the upper hand. Investors are learning it does not work to fire founders. Really matters who the founders are. Technical founders more and more important.

- Programmers can learn to do business. It’s a lot easier for hackers to learn business than business men to hack.

40 Premium Web Design Resources Bookmarked This Year

Mark Fulton — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:54:54 +0000

I’ve just dived into the Design folder of my bookmarks toolbar and selected the best resources I’ve bookmarked in recent months.

I have a preference for tutorials and articles for beginners as well as freebies, icons, textures and WordPress.

Enjoy!

Inc. Magazine Goes Local for Business Meccas

Mark Fulton — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:24:53 +0000

One of my favorite publications for entreprenuers, Inc. Magazine has just launched 12 local sections for major business hubs around the world.

Each city’s local section has 5 featured articles, sub-categories of local topics of interest and a full archive of articles related to the city.

For example, the San Francisco local section has a great feature on how to find the perfect location for your Bay Area startup. It includes this Google map by Posterous founder Gary Tan; a must see.

The page also includes sub-sections for the city, including Venture Capitol, Google, Facebook, Digg, startup incubator Y Combinator, Silicon Valley and other topics of interest.

I think these geo-features are an excellent idea that will become an increasing trend. They show a lot of promise towards engaging readers on a personal level which will lead to lots of referrals for Inc. Magazine.

The next step would be to integrate the local sections with popular social networks and include real-time feeds from Twitter and Foursquare.

Here is the full list of new local sections for you to explore:

Inc. Magazine plans to include more cities in the coming months.

Blogging Tool: Aspect Ratio Calculator for Perfect Videos and Images

Mark Fulton — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:10:24 +0000

I find myself using this aspect ratio calculator all the time. It is especially useful when embedding videos within blog posts to get the dimensions just right.

Simply type in the original width and height on the left values and your desired width or height on the right.

Also useful for scaling large images to fit properly.

Microsoft Introduces WebMatrix Beta for Windows

Mark Fulton — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:34:50 +0000

Microsoft has introduced WebMatrix Beta. It looks to be an overhauled imagining of Frontpage, updated for today’s standards.

Website management is starting to get a bit overwhelming for beginners. There are many different CMS options available and an huge array of plugins for common features and functions.

WebMatrix runs from your Windows desktop. The software allows a user to manage, edit and publish HTML, CSS, JavaScript and other site files. A new “Razor” syntax supposedly makes ASP.NET coding simple.

Apps and open source software like WordPress can be installed and managed using WebMatrix.

WebMatrix seems like it will be a good option for new web developers to learn the ropes and save a lot of time.

Link Directories Making A Comeback

Mark Fulton — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:34:17 +0000

I’ve just received word from the PHPLD team that a new version is nearing completion. I may do a formal announcement on DotSauce when it is officially released and I get a chance to take a look at new features and updates.

The latest word from PHPLD:

The next version of phpLD is just about ready. We’ll be making some formal announcements soon, but if you are interested in learning a little about it beforehand, we have some threads going in the supporters forum, and also it is possible to test the beta. Feel free to stop by the supporters forum if you want to find out more.

We also want to remind you that Google approves of directory submissions as a method for building links to a website. They don’t care for directories that lack quality, and accept anything, but if you are taking care to produce a quality directory, Google approves!

Last but not least, we have a new product coming out soon called Link Blocks. It complements phpLD. It’s a CMS that uses phpLD widgets, with full drag and drop capabilities, and allows users to have their own pages. It’s just about ready, and we’ll send you the information soon. We’ll be sure to make it very affordable for new users.

There are a couple of other product announcements and enhancements coming soon as well. We’ve been working continuously all year, and things are really starting to pickup pace. We continue to make phpLD more valuable to you as time passes, so that your purchase with us will be something that always has value. We hope you will find that phpLD is a product that keeps on giving, and we have much more to give this year!

Best Wishes,
phpLD Team

Little has been revealed, but it sounds very promising. I am always pleased to see solid business solutions and applications innovating. Drag and drop CMS? Yes please!

It’s important for PHPLD to stay on top of the latest design and usability standards. It’s also great to see when they take advantage of social networking integration which can provide a needed boost in site traffic.

Socialrific - Unique directory powered by PHPLD

Stay tuned for the future of web directories.