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Smarterware
smarterware.org · Personal blog · on HN since 2009
Smarterware is Gina Trapani's blog on productivity, software, open source communities and tech tips.
What HN saysHN links it for Hilary Mason's shell script post, open source community advice from the ThinkUp creator, and Google product coverage.
40HN people shared it
12linked it in comments
35stories submitted
579story points
12 years agolast shared
2009people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1How and Why I Switched to a Standing Desk3 people · 20 points · first shared 2011 · 4 comments on HN
- 2Hilary Mason: How to Replace Yourself with a Very Small Shell Script2 people · 122 points · first shared 2010 · 28 comments on HN
- 3Designers, Women, and Hostility in Open Source2 people · 61 points · first shared 2011 · 64 comments on HN
- 4Why Not Tumblr2 people · 49 points · first shared 2011 · 11 comments on HN
- 5Google Apps vs. Google Accounts Parity Coming2 people · 17 points · first shared 2010 · 3 comments on HN
- 6Hackers don't tinker because they got invited2 people · 4 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 7How to Set Up OpenID on Your Own Domain2 people · 3 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 8The Office Made of Cardboard2 people · 2 points · first shared 2009 · discussion on HN
- 9Gina Trapani's CodeConf Talk: Your Community Is Your Best Feature2 people · 2 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 10What Google Learned from Wave and Buzz1 people · 152 points · first shared 2011 · 62 comments on HN
- 11My Favorite Features in Froyo1 people · 29 points · first shared 2010 · 14 comments on HN
- 12Google Going Evil is the Godwin’s Law of Tech Commentary1 people · 28 points · first shared 2012 · 4 comments on HN
- 13Details on Twitter’s Imminent Geolocation Launch1 people · 15 points · first shared 2009 · 1 comments on HN
- 14One Year at My Standing Desk1 people · 11 points · first shared 2012 · 1 comments on HN
- 15Gina Trapani: Stop Looking Like a Phisher in Gmail1 people · 7 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
vitovito · 2014-08-12
I would suggest that believing "designers want to show off" is probably a bad assumption to be making. You can't make assumptions about what motivates people to contribute to open source projects.
I'd also be clearer about which "community" you want to receive your software well. I'd suggest it be the one the software serves, rather than the open source community, or the design community.
This was a big topic of discussion at HOPE X, for example, with regards to infosec software. Security software doesn't serve the communities its supposed to well, e.g. as demonstrated by Gus Williams' talk, "Solve the Hard Problem."
http://new.livestream.com/internetsociety2/hopex2/videos/58150994
Recommended reading:
http://smarterware.org/7550/designers-women-and-hostility-in-open-sour…
http://opensourcedesign.is/blogging_about/import-designers/
Bjoern · 2013-03-14
If you like the idea of this then you will also like this one. It goes a bit further, still on my todo list for interesting fun projects.
http://smarterware.org/6172/hilary-mason-how-to-replace-yourself-with-…
Hillary Mason
Substitute yourself by some small scripts
Document classification
Just stumbled upon a YouTube clip of one of the best Ignite presentations I've seen, by Hilary
Mason, a computer scientist at Bit.ly. Mason wrote a series of scripts that auto-respond to email
with particular content, and auto-nag folks she's emailed but hasn't gotten a response from yet. Hit
the play button to hear more. She says once the code's fit for sharing she'll put it up on GitHub.
Cannot wait.
http://www.hilarymason.com/blog/ignitenyc-the-video/
TillE · 2012-12-14
That's certainly Gina Trapani's philosophy with ThinkUp, and it seems fairly successful.
http://smarterware.org/7819/my-codeconf-talk-your-community-is-your-be…
Kylekramer · 2011-05-30
It is great that he is a well respected researcher, but I will question him when he implies a site is a phishing site when it quite clearly isn't (I'm sorry, if Google employees really wanted GV numbers/PINs and Gmail addresses, they wouldn't start posting a Google Doc in support forums to get them [1]) on the basis of a "Twitter consensus". I just prefer my researchers to do some actual research, not go off half baked in a public forum.
1: Not to mention that the form in question has been used successfully for its intended purpose many times. http://smarterware.org/6437/how-to-transfer-google-voice-to-your-googl…
vito · 2010-06-25
Might as well throw the normal GMail app into the mix: http://smarterware.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/android21-gmailundo.… (via http://smarterware.org/4308/android-2-1s-best-features-in-screenshots)…
jeff18 · 2009-12-04
Well, I am the op, so let me elaborate.
By default, Wave creates new "boxes" for everything, or lets you reply to other boxes. These boxes cannot be rearranged, only deleted, or have the contents changed.
I don't give a crap about these boxes, I just want to edit a single document like EtherPad. To achieve this in Wave, have to arbitrarily agree on which box you want to make the "main" box. You then need to click the little tab on this box and choose "edit box" every single time you want to make a change to it.
You also can't track who has made what change in the same box. Also, your cursor turns into a long string (your name) that shifts everything around in an annoying manner.
It is sort of a cross between EtherPad, a chat client, and a wiki. I just want a text editor.
For reference: here is what an embedded Wave looks like: http://smarterware.org/my-favorite-google-wave-bots
graue · 2012-12-13
I wasn't aware that Tumblr had an export function, and it looks like, officially, it doesn't[1]. There is a third-party migration tool to WordPress[2], but that's about all I can find. So unfortunately, not all is roses.
It would be nice if there were a standard format for storing blog posts and their metadata and attachments, so you could move from anything to anything. Perhaps the nascent Tent protocol[3] could do that when it's mature.
1. http://smarterware.org/8026/why-not-tumblr
2. http://tumblr2wordpress.benapps.net/
3. https://tent.io
maayank · 2012-07-25
A very nice video and story, but I would just like to highlight something. He says that he realized "there's no real know-how about how to work with cardboard beside making packages out of it".
I don't know if to say it's standard, but in industrial engineering there's certainly knowledge about it. For example: http://smarterware.org/890/the-office-made-entirely-of-cardboard
soyelmango · 2011-09-04
Oh, and here's Gina Trapani's blog post on standing desks… http://smarterware.org/7102/how-and-why-i-switched-to-a-standing-desk
abraham · 2010-08-03
Google is already testing this: http://smarterware.org/6394/google-apps-vs-google-accounts-resolution-…
seancron · 2010-06-28
If you have your own website, and an OpenID provider (you do if you have a Google account), you can use your domain as an OpenID uri by adding two lines to the
<head>
section of your homepage. For example:
<link rel="openid2.provider" href="https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/ud?source=profiles" >
<link rel="openid2.local_id" href="http://www.google.com/profiles/<username>" >
I find that it's much easier to remember my own domain than https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id
Source: http://smarterware.org/6286/how-to-set-up-openid-on-your-own-domain
TimSchumann · 2011-09-05
The Desk in the photo of the post soyelmago linked to is an Ikea Jerker.
http://smarterware.org/7102/how-and-why-i-switched-to-a-standing-desk
They don't sell them anymore, but you can usually find them in good condition on Craigslist for 50 to 150 USD. I've owned 6 or 7 over the years, and as I've moved pawned them off on family and friends.
Well worth investing in, one of the best desks ever made.
On the back pain, stop wearing shoes. Both sitting and shoes are horrible for your posture. Standing should help, but odds are it's going to take a long time.
Resources for Feet
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/05/07/vibram-five-fingers-sh…
http://lunasandals.com/
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/
Resources for Back
http://stronglifts.com/lordosis-why-it-causes-lower-back-pain-how-to-f…
http://stronglifts.com/the-reverse-crunch-get-your-six-pack-abs/
http://ericcressey.com/why-crunches-suck
http://ericcressey.com/tag/thoracic-spine-mobility
http://ericcressey.com/strategies-for-correcting-bad-posture-part-4 <- Read all 4 parts of that
Remember IANAD, but all of this stuff has helped me. Take it slow, don't do anything that hurts too much.
Feel free to email me with any question, Username@gmail
Cheers!