Earlier quoted context omitted.
FYI, rethinkdb.com is down.
It seems accessible to me.
It's back now, indeed.
How to pick startup ideas
71–80 of 83 posts
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't that something like SQL Server Query Notifications, where you can submit a query and the DB lets you know when the results have changed? Albeit your API looks much smoother. Speaking of which, I really hope at one point you reconsider the driver model. Having official drivers for only a few not-so-awesomely-typed languages is a big turnoff.
> Isn't that something like SQL Server Query Notifications Yes, very similar, but there are a few major differences -- open-source product, horizontally scalable, json data model, packaging/api designed for web developers from the ground up. When you add all of these up, the differences are quite dramatic. > I really hope at one point you reconsider the driver model. Yes -- after 2.0 is out, we'll start bringing the…
I am yet to read that blog post, but it seems to me that this problem should be solved at a different level.
The issue is that modern application need to work on mobiles and browsers, and be responsive. To be responsive you need to bring the part of the state that can be reached via the UI to the device. This suddenly makes your database distributed among your servers and your client devices.
The device may be a mobile phone or a laptop in an airplane, and it needs to work offline and on networks with high latency. This means you need to have an eventually consistent AP database across servers, browsers and mobiles.
Currently databases assume they live on servers and we hack our way with distributed state on the clients, but I hope this won't last.
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Isn't that something like SQL Server Query Notifications Yes, very similar, but there are a few major differences -- open-source product, horizontally scalable, json data model, packaging/api designed for web developers from the ground up. When you add all of these up, the differences are quite dramatic. > I really hope at one point you reconsider the driver model. Yes -- after 2.0 is out, we'll start bringing the…
I am yet to read that blog post, but it seems to me that this problem should be solved at a different level. The issue is that modern application need to work on mobiles and browsers, and be responsive. To be responsive you need to bring the part of the state that can be reached via the UI to the device. This suddenly makes your database distributed among your servers and your client devices. The device may be a mobi…
We're operating off of two hypotheses:
- Eventually consistent systems are fundamentally more difficult
to program for average developers than immediately consistent
ones (and when a more convenient system is an option, it wins)
- Connectivity is improving and will continue to improve, so
immediately consistent systems will always be a strong option
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#74What he refers to as "technology" companies are not ones innovating in any technological area. He's really talking about online application business-to-consumer startups ("appcrap"), for which there's a well-defined assembly line process. A real technology company is defined by their ability to do something hard that others have trouble doing. The first mover has an advantage, but it's not overwhelming. IBM didn't co…
> IBM didn't come out with the first personal computer - Apple and Commodore did. IBM wasn't a startup -- it had massive distribution resources. When you have access to an enormous distribution channel and massive marketing budgets, the rules are obviously different. > Microsoft didn't have the first operating system for x86 machines - Digital Research did. Yes, but Microsoft piggybacked off of IBM's distribution cha…
>AOL, MySpace, and Geocities effectively committed suicide.
Can you further explain this?
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't that something like SQL Server Query Notifications, where you can submit a query and the DB lets you know when the results have changed? Albeit your API looks much smoother. Speaking of which, I really hope at one point you reconsider the driver model. Having official drivers for only a few not-so-awesomely-typed languages is a big turnoff.
> Isn't that something like SQL Server Query Notifications Yes, very similar, but there are a few major differences -- open-source product, horizontally scalable, json data model, packaging/api designed for web developers from the ground up. When you add all of these up, the differences are quite dramatic. > I really hope at one point you reconsider the driver model. Yes -- after 2.0 is out, we'll start bringing the…
That's excellent. I was recently looking for a simple storage system and went with Elasticsearch despite it not fitting perfectly, because the interface worked well from Rust and F#. I was mainly interested in auto replication/HA. Rethink would have been a better choice, but the driver situation made me decide I didn't want to take on the risk.
Looking forward to 2.0.
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
>>> He's really talking about online application business-to-consumer startups ("appcrap") No, I don't think so. The author is Slava from RethinkDB. His company is definitely not "appcrap" (as you put it), and I think his same line of reasoning applies equally well to "real technology" companies (like RethinkDB), it just takes place on a longer time horizon. If you extend his metaphors to include the time to competit…
Exactly right. If Google can make self-driving cars, there are at least two other companies in the world (and probably many more) that can (and will) make competing self-driving cars. The timeline is a big longer, but the basic rules are the same. As much as we all like to think we're exceptional, we aren't.
On the note of self-driving cars, check out http://www.getcruise.com/
I just heard of them from a friend who will be joining and I was skeptical at first. Their model seems to be to attach/install peripherals to a non- self-driving car and turn it into a self driving car. That way they can compete on a level with Google (optimistically) but don't need to manufacture vehicles.
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#77What he refers to as "technology" companies are not ones innovating in any technological area. He's really talking about online application business-to-consumer startups ("appcrap"), for which there's a well-defined assembly line process. A real technology company is defined by their ability to do something hard that others have trouble doing. The first mover has an advantage, but it's not overwhelming. IBM didn't co…
> IBM didn't come out with the first personal computer - Apple and Commodore did. IBM wasn't a startup -- it had massive distribution resources. When you have access to an enormous distribution channel and massive marketing budgets, the rules are obviously different. > Microsoft didn't have the first operating system for x86 machines - Digital Research did. Yes, but Microsoft piggybacked off of IBM's distribution cha…
First movers don't always win.
http://staffweb.ncnu.edu.tw/clhung/MOT/Mohr02.ppt (slide 19 and on)
First movers have an advantage when they can raise entry barriers (economies of scale, network effects, switching costs).
However, fast followers or late movers have some important advantages, and if the early movers don't have significant barriers they can pull the rug from under them if they have a superior product or better business model.
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#78What an excellent post! I don't agree with every point, but this is thoughtful, clearly articulated, and the thought process reminds me of PG's best writing.
It did felt pgish - I don't like this way of trying to structure the world too much though. I think patio11 would agree with me...
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#79on saturated markets: many of the companies you've never heard of made their money building an easier to use X in a saturated market. If the dominant company in the industry has not made significant changes to their product in 10 years, then that's an obvious opportunity for a startup, even if the market is completely saturated. at least in B2B i've found that many companies solve a problem for their customer demogra…
Search on the web was a "solved problem" until Google came along and showed that all of the search engines before then were actually pretty useless. However, until Google came along we didn't know they weren't very good as any kind of web-scale search seemed like a miracle at the time.
Re: How to pick startup ideas
#80Two efficient market theorists are walking down the street. They see a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk but keep walking. One turns to the other and says, "If that was real, somebody would have picked it up already."