Maxim Fridental

• Ich mag ein YouTube-Video. — 王靖雯/王菲-棋子 http://youtu.be/x606k4Mf2Kw?a #
• Ich mag ein YouTube-Video. — Lopez Murphy: Publicidad http://youtu.be/wKOSlN0fB30?a #

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• 俄罗斯的阴阳: http://i2.guns.ru/forums/icons/forum_pictures/001420/1420749.jpg 第三个分是《无价值》。 #
• Flash streaming von ZDFMediathek nervt, weil man die Pufferzeit nicht einstellen kann. #
• Google without the annoying left column menu: http://www.yandex.com/ #

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• RT @migueldeicaza: Android surpasses iPhone in sales in the US: http://tinyurl.com/23pj47k #
• @ContactHeroApp I'm not iPhone, I'm Android. Unfollow me. #
• OMG, I've just publicly admitted I'm checking who's followed me. Dear twitter-spammers, pls ignore it. I don't do it again, honest. #
• There are touch devices for pens and for fingers. What Chinese manufacturer will be the first producing a touch device for brush? #
• I love my new Salomon Epic Cabrio. You put them on and immediately feel yourself comfortable. 675g only. #true #salomon #fan #
• @teamsilverlight Any technical info to share? "HTTP Streaming" is Smooth Streaming? What codecs/containers supported? Encryption workflow? in reply to teamsilverlight #

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A prospective customer asked for a feature requiring a technology I’m not very comfortable with. I have just never used this technology before, but because of my extended experience of commercial software development, I still could give a reasonable cost estimate, which was 15000€.

Before this figure was communicated to that customer, a decision has been made to investigate the technology first. This research took around one and a half days, which is roughly 1000€. The result of investigation was that we can safely offer that feature for as low as 9000€. This time it was pure luck for the customer, because this technology had to be investigated anyway due to strategical reasons, so he has benefited from the results of the investigation for free.

But what would have happened if we had asked him to pay for investigation? Then, he would have invested 1000€  and saved 5000€. A 400% rate, not bad! Comparing this rate with high performance funds, the funds suck.

The thing is, he would have never agreed doing such investition. The result of the investigation could have been that the feature had required more than 15000€. In this case, the customer would have not only spent 1000€, but also paid more for the implementation. Because we work with fixed prices, by offering an unknown technology for 15000€ we also take over the risk of over-budget. Thus, without investigation, the expenditures of the customer are limited by 15000€. Gambling with a chance of 400% win, but also a loss possibility of 1000€+X  is too risky for most our customers.

Now, what would have happened if we hadn’t investigate the technology and offered 15000€ to him and he had accepted the offer? We would have spent the first 1000 out of 15000€ for investigation and implemented the feature for 9000€. The resting 5000€ would have been our insurance premium.

The more I learn about software developing business, the more it looks like selling insurances against technical risks and making money out of fear of unknown.

Sometimes, explanations of Chinese characters remind me an IQ test. Lets look at 身 for example. Here is it again, larger:

According to one book, you should be able to see a human profile here, according to another, it is a body with stomach and leg walking. Do you see them yet?

No?

How about the same character, but the way it has been written 3000 years ago (click on the image for more samples):

Better?

• Yikes RT @sizeof: raganwald: A New Law that Will Change the Way You Build Database Applications http://bit.ly/9WL1J4 #
• Ich mag deutsche Polizei @Damir: Wenn das Bild nicht irgendnen preis abräumt dann weiss ich auch nicht weiter: http://twitpic.com/1jxym7 #
• Russian Post accidentally reintroduced some elements of Iron Curtail. Scary: nobody in Russia is protesting. #
• @umputun А расскажешь, чем все эти nosql отличаются от старых добрых dbf файликов? "За что боролись", как говорится. #utp in reply to umputun #

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• Unfollowed my 2nd tweep because none of their pages displayed properly in my Android browser. Some ppl just don't get this social thing #
• Alt? Eher zu sozial. In Social, geek is the king. RT @HolgerSchmidt: "Viele Führungskräfte sind zu alt für Social Media" http://ow.ly/1DaNP #
• Its wireless! How hard could it be?.. http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2010-04-24/ #
• Did you know that Wowza Media Server supports Smooth Streaming? Unfortunately, not live streaming. #
• @Damir getting my popkorn and cola. I'm with Adobe this time. in reply to Damir #

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• Image of the day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/denmes/4528735661/sizes/l/ #
• 3 kg of food are enough to propel a man into distance of 110 km in 6 hours. #

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• Is it me or banner ads became much more personalized in the last weeks? Scary it works not only across sites but also country boundaries. #
• Who has once stuffed a sleeping bag into its compression bag may not complain about any usability issues in software ever. #
• Finger or stylus? Both! RT @sizeof: New Computer Interface Goes Beyond Just Touch http://ff.im/-iWZj6 #
• Google Wave is hacked and transporting wave of SPAM via address books since Friday. #

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• Impressive lifehack: http://ninite.com/ #
• Working in VS2010 for the first time, often find myself looking for a fullscreen button. May be it is this thick dark-blue frame… #
• Does Windows Phone Emulator have a measurable influence on sales of multitouch monitors and Windows 7? #
• RT @XaocCPS: Adobe will ship a critical patch April 13 to fix multiple high-risk security holes in Reader & Acrobat. #
• Silverlight expansion continues – support for set-top boxes and multicast Smooth Streaming announced. #NAB2010 #
• A valid point in case http://www.helpburner.com/blog/crossing-the-chasm-is-a-bad-thing-for-your-start-up/ #

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