Engineers are just middle class who didn't get screwed. The real bubble is in the medical industry and Wall Street and it's not gonna pop any time soon.
Some would say that the medical industry isn't seeing a bubble, as much of the inflation in prices and salaries is going straight to the insurance companies - so the real bubble is in Wall Street and Wall Street.
Yes the cost of health care is extremely inflated. However, it is not just insurance companies who benefit from this trend. Doctors' base salary is 189k while investment bank associates (2 years experience) get paid around that with salary and bonus. Most of the doctors I know are millionaires.
If the argument that medical spending cannot continue to keep rising at present rates, then I would argue its a bubble. I also do not believe 'going straight to insurance companies'. Their profit margins are usually around 5% (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=UNH+Key+Statistics)
Why would companies switch to delivering Android apps first if their paying customers are mostly on iOS? This is a business decision and not a religious/"I like X platform and you should follow" decision.
I wonder if this statement is true. The reports I read about Android vs iOS revenue are US market only, or about e-commerce payments.
I'm an app developer and we make a lot of money developing apps that never end up in the app stores. They are in-company apps, both Android and iOS apps.
There is a very big app market that you will never see.
It is mostly 'has been repeated to death so it must be true' statement.
The reality, as always, is way more complicated. Outside of the US market, Android and iOS have very comparable high end marketshare.
Depending on your niche and your business model, the good choice for your app can vary from one opposite to another.
Outside of games paying customers are increasingly irrelevant in the app store. It's becoming more and more difficult to make an app a profit generator in itself. These days mobile is more about reach for existing businesses. In this world user base counts.
It's also much, much easier to quickly iterate on Android without two-week delays between updates and a capricious review system.
I thought OP was very clear about the serious business reasons they see for US startups to make an earlier and more serious commitment to Android:
1. You will need Android support eventually (to go global, because users demand it, etc.).
2. If you try to add Android support later, you'll screw it up in ways that will be difficult to fix (e.g. porting iOS apps too slavishly, not taking advantage of Android-specific platform benefits, building a corporate culture that treats Android as second-class, etc.), especially since most of the best Android talent will want nothing to do with you.
The average user wouldn't care much about proprietary ports. What's exactly mindset from 90s when it was the first to bring smart phone to the mass market? Every company has its pros and cons. If Apple won't come out with anything new and come out with lacklustre updates, I might short it. But back in 2009, it was a laughable decision by Wilson. Investing is much irrational. One shouldn't be so emotionally invested in or against any company regarding money.
> The average user wouldn't care much about proprietary ports.
I think the opposite. More than once I've heard people asking me for a charger or phone cable. When those people happen to be not with Apple devices everything works just fine (microUSB, you know). When they happen to be with Apple devices they can't use them and need to look further.
They do care, since in such scenarios it's clear for them that Apple cripples usability of their devices for no reason by preventing basic ports interoperability. I often point it out for them in a sense "so stop using Apple". They say "yeah, I know it's stupid, but what can you do".
I've had the exact opposite experience: when I need a microUSB cable or can't plug into a friend's proprietary car stereo, I'm told "just get an iPhone!"
With iPhone marketshare still above 40% in the US (and holding steady), I think it just depends on which phone-demographic bubble you're in.
Outside of the US, I'm sure things are quite different. Aren't iPhones in the EU required to come with a MicroUSB adapter now, though?
I'm actually in US, but in my experience Apple devices are a minority. I agree it can depend on population and area you are in. I wouldn't expect it to hold steady. Apple aren't interested much in innovating in the OS itself. Neither is Google for that matter - Android is pretty stale too. It means that next coming innovative contender can disrupt the market.
Not sure whether EU dictates such thing as common ports, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do.
He sold his Apple shares because he doesn't own shares in companies where the BOD / PR team are obviously lying to investors -- specifically in regards to Steve Jobs' declining health.
I'm sorry for the author's experience but knowledge and preparation is the key to winning the war i.e. getting in the US and/or stay for certain amount of times. I'm not a lawyer but I have filed visa applications and petitions with the US Immigration Office USCIS many times by myself and have always been successful despite the fact that my country used to be in a war with the US. The laws are complicated if you don't read ahead and prep. If you do, it's a breeze. Hope this helps someone: visajourney dot com
I parted away with CS to major in biochem thinking it wasn't as fascinating (first course was in C++). This is definitely not a bad idea and also already implemented. Stanford has CS101 in entirely Javascript: http://www.stanford.edu/class/cs101/
I'm also tired of the "gender" articles on HN. BUT we don't have to agree that men are entitled (yes, I changed it) and so on. Since not all can agree to disagree, we will continue to see this (hopefully) once in a while.
This is actually necessary because of the first nauseating article. If you correctly remember, another Techcrunch post also made the round before jwz set the record straight.
I heard people telling women to have babies and quit learning (let alone starting their own companies) more than what Penelope has portrayed. Matter of fact, NO ONE has ever told me to join a startup or start one. This is not a first time Ms. Trunk has lectured us about what women think and want. Please, you don't present every female and all this talk should stop. Just do your job or whatever you want.
