Facebook and Google Plus Rants --- Profitable Software Business --- Part 3

Great skills can still lead to weak or nearly useless products.

How ?

When you don't understand your domain properly, or if you don't plan ahead for changes.

I don't make money teaching design. But developers, software business owners should listen to Hoare, David Parnas, Dijskstra (small head), Eric Evans, Peter Coad, Richard Feynman, Rasmus Lerdof, Linus Torvald, Charles Simonyi (MS Word, Intentional software). Scott Bain, Kent Beck etc.

If they don't know them or won't listen, they should not be in software business, right? Can anyone claim to be wiser( streetwise or worldly wise or whatever) than their collective wisdom?

On bitbucket, google code repository, GitHub, I find a lot of django/GoogleAppEnginePython codes for almost anything: social network, forum, message board, LMS(learning mgmt system), ERP, CMS(content mgmt system), wiki, quizz, collaborative writing, shared whiteboard, mobile app etc.

Shouldn't we extract some value from them?

As we all know, Python is not Perl/PHP or even Java. It's very good-natured language.

Log-in, log-out from App1, quiz from App2, friendship invite from App3 etc are there for us to mix and match as our kids play with Lego.

If some of us can find a business model to go with that Lego-style app, we may make some money for us.

Does anyone have some guide/advice for that kind of not-cut-and-paste but rip-off-and-rebuild development? HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I asked a Singaporean programmers group this:

"Ok. Find me something that looks like this. (1) It's free and online. (2) I type main question, then choices, including if necessary, images too. And the answer. (3) I can add as many question I like. (4) I can print it out, and it comes out nicely. (5) I can let my students practice there. (6) There can be tip/hints for students. (7) Answers are graded. (8) I can edit them. (9) I can download my question sets. They work offline too! (10) I can go on, but this should be enough. This is 1 of 1000 things we can do for education/training etc. So I have no need to protect this. ... Please don't mention SCORM, IMS, Moodle, Atutor, Coursera, hot potatoes, whatever. If a nice thing is there, why would I code or ask others to code."

They cannot find. Mine is world's first and very good. Still they don't want to work for me for 8 hrs * 15 days for free. They cannot see the benefits.

Lazy Kids --- Relax but Be Fresh

For lazy parents with lazy kids

In boxing, the boxer with 10,00-hour practice beats your lazy son. In MMA (mixed martial arts), the fighter with 10,00-hour practice has no such guarantee. In battle mode, even Nai Khanomtom can be captured alive by the very weak Burmese soldiers. (In kick boxing, 1 on 1, Nai Khanomtom easily beat 10 Burmese boxers in a row).

So, creativity also counts.

Only in silly exams, work-hard folks beat work-less folks.

In good exams and in real life or real battles, trickiness/ creativity pays ... very handsomely.

(1) 1.5 x 1.6 - 1.78 678 = ....

(2) How many golf courses in China? Guesstimate.

Small Knowledge and Sophisticated Goals(a phrase from Peter Small's writings)

Your English is lame, your level is something like, "My father is U Hla, He's about 40 years old. He is kind and helpful. He works hard for our family."

And you know a few silly individual sentences like, "This is the House that Jack built," etc.

Some of your school mates have even better English.

You refuse to spend less time on FUN and more time on studying English.

You insist on scoring well on English essays.

Impossible kid?

Software be a lot cheaper, a lot , a lot faster and a lot, a lot ,a lot better. Impossible guy?

This is what happened with English essay.

1. It takes no brain to use "and," "or," "but," "so," "therefore,"? 
2. No brains to use "if," "when," "until," "as long as," "because," "since," etc? 
3. No brains to reformat "This is the House that Jack built" into "Father is the man who provides leadership for us." 
4. No brains to extend "Mather is the woman who provides management for us."

After reading my distinction between "leadership" and "management," now the teacher gets into a dilemma

First, if I did read something originally in English, I deserve 10% more marks AUTOMATICALLY. Second, if, most likely, I got the idea in Myanmar, but translate the idea into English, I deserve 10% more marks AUTOMATICALLY, too.

S/he has no ideas all this come from "This is the House that Jack built."

Now about better, faster, cheaper software! I am too lazy and too fun-loving to think up "original" ideas. But they say a lot of companies have done just that repeatedly. Why not us?

I refuse to learn. I insist on winning. I promise wins. Join me if you can!

I am at a dead end

This was written a few weeks ago. This doesn't reflect our current situation.

I am at a dead end. I never thought things could be this tough on this front.

But I am lucky because I can see irony/humor/joke in every situation, including this one. My usual trouble is I see and SAY things about 5 years ahead. I cannot/ will not wait to say what I've seen.

1.  "Math is easy," I said, even when I was struggling with simple sine and cosine etc.
2.  "Chemistry is easy," I said, even when I was struggling with periodic table and valencies.
3.  "Literature is easy," I said, even when I was struggling with the question of whether to use "aim to win" or "aim at winning." 
4. "Linguistic is easy," I said, even when I was struggling with John Lyons's summary of Chomsky.
5. "Software is easy," I said, even when I was struggling with how to switch on a PC, how to print 1 to 10 line by line !!! 
6. "A software business is easy," I say, even when I am struggling with how to run an EC2 instance etc.

People see my sweat, my shaky fingers, my grim face etc.

People see I was having lots of fun.

They didn't see what I saw in my mind. They didn't see the hard work I put in, though the working time may be short ;-)

Facebook and Google Plus Rants --- Profitable Software Business --- Part 2

Recurring Revenue Streams

What are we going to do about education?

Every newborn fish can swim. But every newborn Myanmar doesn't read or like Nat Shin Naung/Nawaday right away. Every newborn Singaporean doesn't read or like Water Margins, Han Fei Tzu etc.

Education is an ongoing business for every new generation. A lot like tax-prep software business.

Every new year is a new business.

Little Knowledge and Sophisticated Goals

The title is a phrase from Peter Small's writings.

I could not and did not bother to pronounce English correctly. I ignored phonetics and phonology because I lacked ability. But that has not prevented me ( so far, at least)to do anything I want with English.

Now I want to get big in software business. I cannot do phonology-like coding.

Will that prevent me from expressing my self?

Do I need phonemes /a/ vs /o/ vs /u/ to express my romantic love in sonnets? my patriotic love in dramas? my sense of humor in Seinfeld-like, Keaton-like, Bean-like acts? my observations in Lamb-like, Thurber-like essays?

What You Admire You already Have

Lightning-fast swoops and cloud-splitting soars inspire young eagles ... because they get it, have it already, at least in small measures

Product Development: Sum is More Than the Parts

Are you thirsty?

I have a bottle of H and another bottle of O and a kit with which you can combine that H and that O?

Will you be quenched and satisfied?

Or would you like just a bottle of high quality water at the cheapest price in town from me?

Education is a bit more complex than H2O. Yet many pieces are there, almost free. Who will mix them into A drinkable, usable form? Why not us?

Magic in Software

I read lots of silly stuff and had/have strange role models. One favorite theme : a kid was surrounded by real or rival-witch-created snakes/or some other obstacles. The kid took out a piece of paper, tore it into pieces, threw them onto the ground, OR fanned some leaves on the ground with that paper, and they turned into fierce birds etc , snatched away all those snakes etc. .... Silly? ...

What about Gmail, Hotmail, Filckr, Facebook, Salesforce.com? ....

They all started on a piece of paper, they are still a roll of characters/words and lines. Modern abracadabra, right? ....

My heart sings with software. Software is my heart. I live or die with it. One day, you just whisper into a screen and my Abracadabra will come out to serve you like the Genie of Aladdin's Lamp.

Inciting Google Plus Communities

Hi Everyone,

I want to reinvent Moodle. I want to retain about one-fifth of its features and do it in Django.

The problem is I am weak in coding. Is there anyone who wants to do this as an open source project? I can promise only 2 things :

1. It will be better than Moodle 
2. It will be better than Khan Academy on Google App Engine! Cheers!

Cao Cao's Assurance

Cao Cao was a famous warlord during the Three Kingdoms Period in Chinese history. At one time, hist troops were camping uneasily, there were alarms throughout the day and the soldiers were too fearful to sleep as the night came.

Cao Cao told them that he knew there were enemy troops nearby far outnumbering them, that they had seen him outwit the enemy many times before in similar situations.

Finally he suggested that they "put their hearts at peace and have a good night's sleep" for the coming battles.

This is the voice of True Hope. This how Andrew Carnegie added meters to his rather diminutive stature.

This is how I intend to sell my vision, my ideas, and my products.

Vision Flanking

Are you feeling a lot of pain?

Often I instinctively use what I call "vision flanking." "Flanking" is a military term, meaning avoiding the other side and going around it. In vision flanking, you stop seeing the other side, and they do not even belong in your sphere of existence.

For example, in 20 hours after I got the transfer order to move from Yangon to Maw La Myaing, the English Department or the English Major not longer exists in my Universe. The Dept/Major can no longer help me or harm me, it felt very cool! It still feels cool.

Yes, I still love it and its people, I still owe lots of gratitude, I still keep fond memories. Still we live in different Universes.

For example, some online programmers' groups in Singapore were full of hostile souls. It was hard for me to participate there. Their method seemed to be to subscribe to Google Alert, then post those links back to their Groups. No serious, substantial discussions or collaborations were possible, at least during my time there.

And the programmers still owe me something for my "serious" posts ;-) I can patiently wait for the pay back ;-)

For a non-attacking type, it is lucky that I was born with this "vision flanking." I'll flank to better universes whenever I was made to feel whatever pain.

Facebook and Google Plus Rants --- Big Words and Audacity

Recruitment on Facebook

I told an EDB conference in Suntec City in 2005, a few days after my wife and son arrived in Singapore, about our intention to "change the course of human history."

Very big words.

Very very big words.

Am I used to lying, boasting or madness?

A new chapter, a new journey has started already. Dangers and risks are there but no fear. Loneliness and sadness are there but no bitterness.

So, there is a good deal better chance to prove my BIG WORDS.

Audacious Problem Solving

Our software/programming team was having World-class problems, i.e. there are no solutions yet on Google, StackOverFlow, Quora, and many other online forums and discussion groups.

Is my design technically not feasible?

I joked, "That will work because I am the CEO". It's Steve Jobs's line to argue with his Engineers.

Then I said seriously, "That will work because I a monkey-scientist".  Such scientists are humble and playful and full of self-directed humor, the kind of sense of humor that Eistein said is good for preventing insanity ;-)

We solved the issues we had with Django ORM, by borrowing some techniques for Fowler's Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture and some techniques from J2EE world.