Ask YC: What should one skimp on? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#21

Post by xenoterracide » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 8:15 AM UTC

rms wrote: post #18

xenoterracide wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

mm.... I would buy cheap desks. you know the $50 kind. And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. I can't stand working at a desk without a proper keyboard tray and mouse pad. In many ways having a comfortable working environment is very important. But comfortable != luxurious. Keep it cheap, just not so cheap that you can't get work done because it's not comfortable.

>And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. Surely spoken by someone who has never sat in an Aeron...

don't even know what that is. But chair brands don't matter to me. From what I have had to choose from in office supply/department stores. The cheap ones are more comfy than the expensive ones on average, and especially on a cost/value ratio.

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#22

Post by trevelyan » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 8:31 AM UTC

Hire people with laptops and you don't need to buy a lot of computers. Build a bigger office network when you have the money coming in to buy machines.

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#23

Post by maheshcr » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 12:55 PM UTC

do not spend on people who dont understand customers

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#24

Post by epi0Bauqu » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 12:57 PM UTC

andr wrote: post #5

Premature optimization. For most Web 2.0 startups, you can also skip IE6 support, at least in the beginning.

IE6 is still a significant %, and in most cases will be the second biggest browser for a Web site. In one large random sample on one of my sites, IE is 90% and IE6 is 45% of those.

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#25

Post by gcv » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 1:53 PM UTC

xenoterracide wrote: post #16

ken wrote: post #13

Desks. A perfectly functional desk can be constructed out of an ordinary door in mere minutes. http://web.archive.org/web/20010606140033/image.pathfinder.c...

mm.... I would buy cheap desks. you know the $50 kind. And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. I can't stand working at a desk without a proper keyboard tray and mouse pad. In many ways having a comfortable working environment is very important. But comfortable != luxurious. Keep it cheap, just not so cheap that you can't get work done because it's not comfortable.

Surely spoken by someone without back problems caused by sitting in bad, cheap, chairs.

Another vote for Herman Miller chairs, by the way. I've tried Humanscale and Knoll, but find that I don't like them and keep coming back to the Aeron and the Mirra. Great chairs, very supportive and comfortable.

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#26

Post by meredydd » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 2:11 PM UTC

gcv wrote: post #25

xenoterracide wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

mm.... I would buy cheap desks. you know the $50 kind. And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. I can't stand working at a desk without a proper keyboard tray and mouse pad. In many ways having a comfortable working environment is very important. But comfortable != luxurious. Keep it cheap, just not so cheap that you can't get work done because it's not comfortable.

Surely spoken by someone without back problems caused by sitting in bad, cheap, chairs. Another vote for Herman Miller chairs, by the way. I've tried Humanscale and Knoll, but find that I don't like them and keep coming back to the Aeron and the Mirra. Great chairs, very supportive and comfortable.

> Surely spoken by someone without back problems caused by sitting in bad, cheap, chairs.

Allow me to recommend the humble Pilates/gym ball. Comfortable, fun to bounce around on while thinking, and does wonders for your back. Plus, at £7 from your nearest Tesco, the price point is most definitely startup-compatible :)

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#27

Post by attack » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 2:53 PM UTC

yan wrote: post #3

Raphael wrote: post #2

Graphic design, if your concept or implementation is really stellar. Google and Reddit get by just fine. I've noticed that sites such as Digg will actually reduce graphics when redesigning the page, reducing clutter and bandwidth at the same time. That is, as long as your target audience isn't primarily composed of Apple users. Then it's graphics all the way!

''Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like,'' says Steve Jobs, Apple's C.E.O. ''People think it's this veneer -- that the designers are handed this box and told, 'Make it look good!' That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.'' http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E7D8113BF...

With the lavish resources they can throw at any project, it seems hardly appropriate for us to try to develop like them.

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#28

Post by mrtron » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 5:02 PM UTC

xenoterracide wrote: post #21

rms wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. Surely spoken by someone who has never sat in an Aeron...

don't even know what that is. But chair brands don't matter to me. From what I have had to choose from in office supply/department stores. The cheap ones are more comfy than the expensive ones on average, and especially on a cost/value ratio.

> But chair brands don't matter to me.

Surely spoken by someone who has never sat in an Aeron...

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#29

Post by donw » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 5:11 PM UTC

meredydd wrote: post #26

gcv wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely spoken by someone without back problems caused by sitting in bad, cheap, chairs. Another vote for Herman Miller chairs, by the way. I've tried Humanscale and Knoll, but find that I don't like them and keep coming back to the Aeron and the Mirra. Great chairs, very supportive and comfortable.

> Surely spoken by someone without back problems caused by sitting in bad, cheap, chairs. Allow me to recommend the humble Pilates/gym ball. Comfortable, fun to bounce around on while thinking, and does wonders for your back. Plus, at £7 from your nearest Tesco, the price point is most definitely startup-compatible :)

The nearest Tesco is a few thousand miles away. Cheaper for me to just buy an Aeron.

Re: Ask YC: What should one skimp on?

#30

Post by handelaar » Sat, Apr 19, 2008, 6:23 PM UTC

rms wrote: post #18

xenoterracide wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

mm.... I would buy cheap desks. you know the $50 kind. And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. I can't stand working at a desk without a proper keyboard tray and mouse pad. In many ways having a comfortable working environment is very important. But comfortable != luxurious. Keep it cheap, just not so cheap that you can't get work done because it's not comfortable.

>And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. Surely spoken by someone who has never sat in an Aeron...

>>And the cheap chairs are always the most >>comfortable, believe it or not.

>Surely spoken by someone who has never sat >in an Aeron...

I've sat in many an Aeron. It's the Slackware of chairs. IMHO it takes weeks to get all the settings right, and at the end of the process you've still got the unsettling feeling that your ass feels really hot for some reason not fully apparent.