Project OrielEmbracing Change

“Most people fear change because they overestimate the risks and underestimate the gains. If you want to convince them to change, you have to address both issues.” from 37 Signals writeup on how to escape the waterfall. The Waterfall Model is a philosophy regarding the software development process originating from back in the 1970’s. A more modern approach, which has been gaining significant recognition, is Agile Software Development. Agile started in the 1990’s because “the waterfall model [was] seen as bureaucratic, slow, demeaning, and inconsistent with the ways that software engineers actually perform effective work.”

A redux is an item I posted about once, and more than a year later I still think it is every bit as interesting and relevant. If you missed it then, perhaps you’ll enjoy it now.

Did you know you can send money to anyone with only their email address? This is one of PayPal’s many features. The transaction fees are paid by the recipient, and only 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Not bad for to avoid writing checks and making trips to the bank to depositing checks. PayPal is owned by eBay.

From Wikipedia:

PayPal is a type of person-to-person (P2P) payment service. A P2P payment service allows anyone with an e-mail address to transfer funds electronically to someone else with an e-mail address. The initiator of an electronic funds transfer via PayPal must first register with and fund their PayPal account. A PayPal account can be funded with a check or money order, an electronic debit from a bank account or by a credit card. The recipient of a PayPal transfer can either request a check from PayPal, establish their own PayPal deposit account or request a transfer to their bank account. PayPal is an example of a payment intermediary service that facilitates worldwide e-commerce.

A redux is an item I posted about once, and more than a year later I still think it is every bit as interesting and relevant. If you missed it then, perhaps you’ll enjoy it now.

Jason writes about growing without adding staff:

By making things clearer and simpler we make help/support less necessary. We’re obviously here to help people when they need help, but we’ve seen significant growth in our customer base without significant growth in customer service requests. This is the biggest payoff of simplicity and clarity.

And also talks about wether it is really the number of features that matter

I don’t think the number of features is what makes software better or worse. One more or one less isn’t really the issue. What matters is the editing. Software needs an editor like a writer needs an editor or a museum needs a curator. Someone with a critical eye and the ability to say “No, that doesn’t belong” or “There’s a better way to say this.”

A redux is an item I posted about here and here, and more than a year later I still think it is every bit as interesting and relevant. If you missed it then, perhaps you’ll enjoy it now.

Information Week: Fair Use Worth More to Economy Than Copyright

“Much of the unprecedented economic growth of the past 10 years can actually be credited to the doctrine of fair use, as the Internet itself depends on the ability to use content in a limited and nonlicensed manner,” CCIA president and CEO Ed Black said in a statement. “To stay on the edge of innovation and productivity, we must keep fair use as one of the cornerstones for creativity, innovation, and, as today’s study indicates, an engine for growth for our country.”

A redux is an item I posted about once, and more than a year later I still think it is every bit as interesting and relevant. If you missed it then, perhaps you’ll enjoy it now.