Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012 • Hacker News Board

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#21

Post by meaty » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:10 PM UTC

danilocampos wrote: post #18

meaty wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I actually designed two kits for maplin in the 90s before they started shipping velleman shit and containers full of Chinese plastic crap. Everyone sold the tools, kits and parts already. All that had been achieved is the application of hype and turning a bunch of prepackaged modules into a way of excusing the user from having to know what the hell they are doing. It's turned engineering into painting by numbers…

> Yeah I actually designed two kits for maplin in the 90s before they started shipping velleman shit and containers full of Chinese plastic crap. Sounds like you're actually embarrassed that she succeeded where you did not. > It's turned engineering into painting by numbers powered by social hype. Like the iPad is "just" a big iPhone. Most people who benefit from these sorts of products don't have a firm grasp of mat…

Most people who benefit from these sorts of products don't have a firm grasp of math and engineering to start with. Our education sucks in the US. Giving them a helping hand is a terrific way to swell the ranks of STEM professionals and introduce people to solving problems they would never have considered otherwise.

Just teach them engineering! Not pussy foot around and molly coddle them.

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#22

Post by rdl » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:12 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #20

danilocampos wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're embarrassed by a successful entrepreneur? Can you explain to me what is embarrassing to you? Is it the making money part? Is it the understanding a market and serving it part? Is it the education and knowledge sharing to better energize and expand the market part? Is it the persistence, perseverance and timing part? Is it the creation of a legion of folks who never would have participated had they not been giv…

Yes I will. I find it embarrassing in the same way as I find computer science portrayals in movies embarrassing. Hax0r the planet etc... Making money - selling overpriced modules and branded crap for way more than marginal profit (compared to say RS/Farnell/Digikey) and shipping an identity rather than tools to solve problems. Understanding the market - actually they created a new market full of flashing LED cube mac…

Paint by numbers is totally acceptable as a way to learn the mechanics of painting. Them, like you do with her kits, use the paints and brushes left over to do you own variations, then independent projects.

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#23

Post by danilocampos » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:14 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #20

danilocampos wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're embarrassed by a successful entrepreneur? Can you explain to me what is embarrassing to you? Is it the making money part? Is it the understanding a market and serving it part? Is it the education and knowledge sharing to better energize and expand the market part? Is it the persistence, perseverance and timing part? Is it the creation of a legion of folks who never would have participated had they not been giv…

Yes I will. I find it embarrassing in the same way as I find computer science portrayals in movies embarrassing. Hax0r the planet etc... Making money - selling overpriced modules and branded crap for way more than marginal profit (compared to say RS/Farnell/Digikey) and shipping an identity rather than tools to solve problems. Understanding the market - actually they created a new market full of flashing LED cube mac…

> Persistence, perseverance, timing? None are relevant.

Says the guy who gave up the space way back in the 90's while others get magazine stories. Sour grapes are rough man, I'm sorry. But you only embarrass yourself went you vent it so publicly.

I won't bother with the rest. You're deriving a lot of self-esteem from your knowledge of things that others don't have. But rather than rejoicing in the spread of that knowledge, you resent anyone who dilutes its scarcity.

People start small. Things aren't easy. Not everyone gets to the end. But I'm glad there are those who are willing to roll the dice and hope they can make a bit of money bridging a very wide gulf of knowledge and know-how.

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#24

Post by xradionut » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:18 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #5

Am I the only one who finds the 'maker movement' slightly embarrassing. There are plenty of us before Limor who did the same stuff without the fanfare and movement crap. This isn't a flame - I'm just surprised that the application of spin managed to produce such a ton of noise.

Yeah, there are a ton of us old farts that have been sniffing solder flumes and flipping switches for years. :)

Adafruit and newer companies of this ilk fill a need for us oldtimers and the newcomers. Many of my old sources of various parts and kits are dead, evolved or just didn't handle the transition to the internet well.

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#25

Post by jasongullickson » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:20 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #5

Am I the only one who finds the 'maker movement' slightly embarrassing. There are plenty of us before Limor who did the same stuff without the fanfare and movement crap. This isn't a flame - I'm just surprised that the application of spin managed to produce such a ton of noise.

Hang on let me pause my Creative Labs Nomad and finish this call on my Palm Treo so I can respond to your comment; oh wait...

Just because something is first doesn't mean it is best. Limor took something cool and made it awesome, and you can be sure that in a generation or two someone else will take her work further.

I grew up hacking on Heathkits and reading Forrest Mimms books and just as Mimms did for me as a child, Adafruit's products turn a new generation on to the fun, creativity and power locked up in understanding electronics.

The fact of the matter is that DIY electronics was fading out by the 1990's in no small part due to the ever tightening noose of proprietary technology and planned obsolecense in consumer electronics. In this environment, Adafruit was able to make soldering sexy and fabrication fashionable; how could anyone find fault in that?

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#26

Post by meaty » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:22 PM UTC

danilocampos wrote: post #23

meaty wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes I will. I find it embarrassing in the same way as I find computer science portrayals in movies embarrassing. Hax0r the planet etc... Making money - selling overpriced modules and branded crap for way more than marginal profit (compared to say RS/Farnell/Digikey) and shipping an identity rather than tools to solve problems. Understanding the market - actually they created a new market full of flashing LED cube mac…

> Persistence, perseverance, timing? None are relevant. Says the guy who gave up the space way back in the 90's while others get magazine stories. Sour grapes are rough man, I'm sorry. But you only embarrass yourself went you vent it so publicly. I won't bother with the rest. You're deriving a lot of self-esteem from your knowledge of things that others don't have. But rather than rejoicing in the spread of that know…

Hardly. I put the kits together in my spare time in the interest of spreading knowledge. The designs were open and published in a magazine in the UK as well. I don't do it any more because I am too damn busy, but the moment I retire,

I'm not driving self esteem - I'm just well equipped to say that you can't start without knowing the basics. I actually spent nearly 8 years as an engineering mentor, teaching others so I spread my knowledge. I also sit and help people but to be honest sometimes it's hopeless as they just don't have the fundamentals and aren't interested.

My problem is that the fundamentals are completely wiped out by the whole Maker movement in favour of short-cutting and getting things done, regardless of how dangerous or stupid they are.

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#27

Post by jfischer » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:29 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #5

Am I the only one who finds the 'maker movement' slightly embarrassing. There are plenty of us before Limor who did the same stuff without the fanfare and movement crap. This isn't a flame - I'm just surprised that the application of spin managed to produce such a ton of noise.

I welcome the maker movement and I'm glad that what I did as a kid is now cool.

I got my start in engineering by reading the manuals of my father's HeathKit projects and by building a simple computer using a Z80 and a few other chips that I got through mail order and Radio Shack. Back then, having a personal computer was much less common and I could imagine building something roughly comparable to what was on the market (Altair, Apple II, C64,...). A generation before me tinkered with Ham Radio.

Today, HeathKit is out of business and Radio Shack sells overpriced consumer goods. Our electronics is now much more sophisticated and there exists a much wider gap between what one can do from on their own vs. commercial products. I think there was a dry period after the rise of PCs and before the maker movement, where there wasn't much opportunity for a hardware hobbyist. Limor and others like her are coming up with really interesting projects that are still relevant in today's world. I appreciate their re-imagination and invigoration of this hobby and hope to get my son interested when he's a bit older.

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#28

Post by meaty » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:34 PM UTC

xradionut wrote: post #24

meaty wrote: post #5

Am I the only one who finds the 'maker movement' slightly embarrassing. There are plenty of us before Limor who did the same stuff without the fanfare and movement crap. This isn't a flame - I'm just surprised that the application of spin managed to produce such a ton of noise.

Yeah, there are a ton of us old farts that have been sniffing solder flumes and flipping switches for years. :) Adafruit and newer companies of this ilk fill a need for us oldtimers and the newcomers. Many of my old sources of various parts and kits are dead, evolved or just didn't handle the transition to the internet well.

The kits didn't survive, but the parts did.

The problem is no-one knows how to use the parts unless they are assembled into kits.

The whole maker movement solves this by making kits, therefore raising the bedrock abstraction for knowledge way too high.

The better solution would be to teach people how to use the parts, which is my problem.

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#29

Post by spamizbad » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:45 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #28

xradionut wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, there are a ton of us old farts that have been sniffing solder flumes and flipping switches for years. :) Adafruit and newer companies of this ilk fill a need for us oldtimers and the newcomers. Many of my old sources of various parts and kits are dead, evolved or just didn't handle the transition to the internet well.

The kits didn't survive, but the parts did. The problem is no-one knows how to use the parts unless they are assembled into kits. The whole maker movement solves this by making kits, therefore raising the bedrock abstraction for knowledge way too high. The better solution would be to teach people how to use the parts, which is my problem.

> The problem is no-one knows how to use the parts unless they are assembled into kits.

Huh? If anything, in the good old days, there were WAY more kits than there are today. Besides that, hobby electronics has a long history of doing stuff like "Here's a schematic, here's a BOM, and here's a paragraph on the 'theory of operation' that assumes a solid understanding of electronics and a bunch of domain-specific stuff. Good luck!" -- Pretty much the same as it is today, except we have resources like http://electronics.stackexchange.com/ to answer our questions. Wish that stuff was around when I was younger.

Kits just save you the trouble of making your own PCBs and hunting down parts on Digikey.

Re: Adafruit CEO Limor Fried named Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur of 2012

#30

Post by meaty » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 10:49 PM UTC

jasongullickson wrote: post #25

meaty wrote: post #5

Am I the only one who finds the 'maker movement' slightly embarrassing. There are plenty of us before Limor who did the same stuff without the fanfare and movement crap. This isn't a flame - I'm just surprised that the application of spin managed to produce such a ton of noise.

Hang on let me pause my Creative Labs Nomad and finish this call on my Palm Treo so I can respond to your comment; oh wait... Just because something is first doesn't mean it is best . Limor took something cool and made it awesome , and you can be sure that in a generation or two someone else will take her work further. I grew up hacking on Heathkits and reading Forrest Mimms books and just as Mimms did for me as a ch…

You mean Handspring Treo - yes I had one - a 180g...

No awesome here if you ask me. It is packaged in shiny and shipped out of the door.

Forrest Mimms books were crap to be honest. They were recipe books with very little practical use past stringing together hacks and full of all sorts of errors. Sort of a precursor to this.

I think you were brought up with the electronics assembly culture, not the electronics design culture. The two are very different.