I am considering a move to SV and this quote left me w the same question. How about it guys?
My perception so far is - It is quite possibly true, and I have noticed a strong anti-MS bias. I like and use Ruby\Rails but I have developed in .NET, and Visual Studio, C# are quality tools. VB.net is totally maligned but quite good: very English syntax w/o managing all the damn brackets.
I switched to open source because I hope to have a lot of users, thus a lot of servers. My feeling is the MS space is excellent for B to B, or internal intranet stuff, where the tight integration w Windows et al is useful and the licensing costs are moderate because of the low volume of users.
It’s a well documented phenomenon how idea-havin’ first timers just need a programmer to bring their vision to life, as though the idea is somehow half the battle (or 90%, as folks like me often get offered sweat equity deals–10% seems to be a popular number).
Not exclusive to first timers, I have a friend that for 10+ years shows every 1-2 years with this game changing idea that just needs a 5-10% "just convert this 1-page spec into code" founder.
The idea is half the battle. If it wasn't, you could write a hello world app and make a million dollars.
I'm a developer and from my experience, coding=50%, timing+idea=50%.
The reason most idea guys are worthless isn't because ideas are worthless. It's because they usually only have a very general picture (I want to write a Facebook clone that does X) when the details are what really matter.
The idea is huge. The vision and ability to execute it is huger. Point is I won't even work with people who think think "I just need a programmer" - they will not value your contributions and try to chisel you out of as much a s they can. After all, you're just a programmer, THEY had the idea.
This w/o getting into the fact that: product == original idea == never happens ....
Not to mention: Most older Americans are broke. An apt in the city (think re-populated smaller, older cities, and large towns) is cheaper to heat and cool, convenient; so then a car and it's attendant expense is unnecessary.
If I am old and divorced i'd rather have neighbors across the hall than a house to maintain, even if I can afford it.
This is before the housing crisis -it is much worse now
What you see above and below is where the US stood in 2007. Again because this data is as close to 100% accurate as you can get.
Avg Net Worth Bottom 25%: $4,600
Avg Net Worth Next 25 – 50%: $21,700
Avg Net Worth Next 50 – 75%: $78,900
Avg Net Worth Next 75 – 90%: $242,800
Avg Net Worth Top 10%: $1,606,600
I think this applies not just to motivation, but results/productivity. In 'The Fire From Within' (1984) Castaneda says that REAL learning (his emphasis) takes place only in a state of heightened awareness. The essential path to heightened awareness is attention; thus attention control is ESSENTIAL (my emphasis) to any kind of productivity gain or behavior change.
And sumukhi is correct - the pervasive marketing of instant gratification, whether from Madison Ave or Twitter et al is really creating a sort of de-evolutionary effect, whereby human behavior is often marked by self-destructive impulses, with the attendant lack of self-control.
Creativity may seem to arise during a period of inattention but has been well documented to actually occur (seemingly spontaneously) as a result of an immersion in attention (the "the harder I work the smarter\luckier I get" effect.
My perception so far is - It is quite possibly true, and I have noticed a strong anti-MS bias. I like and use Ruby\Rails but I have developed in .NET, and Visual Studio, C# are quality tools. VB.net is totally maligned but quite good: very English syntax w/o managing all the damn brackets.
I switched to open source because I hope to have a lot of users, thus a lot of servers. My feeling is the MS space is excellent for B to B, or internal intranet stuff, where the tight integration w Windows et al is useful and the licensing costs are moderate because of the low volume of users.