Good point about the RAW. But I thought this was enabled in software via iOS 10, and was available on many other devices as well [1].
How does the RAW part factor in, especially if Apple is selling the feature based on "unretouched" photos like the ones from they keynote? I thought the point of RAW was that it would make for better post-processing.
Denver's not so bad. It would be a great choice after you've done whatever you're doing where you are now, there's a reasonable amount of tech work. Lot's of telecom (but that's not all), something to do with being at 105 west I've been told. Boulder is nearby, and lots of tech jobs there. Also the skiing is great, and only when you want to. :)
Ah, here we go, "Denver's west-central geographic location in the Mountain Time Zone (UTC−7) also benefits the telecommunications industry by allowing communication with both North American coasts, South America, Europe, and Asia in the same business day. Denver's location on the 105th meridian at over one mile (1.6 km) in elevation also enables it to be the largest city in the U.S. to offer a "one-bounce" real-time satellite uplink to six continents in the same business day. Qwest Communications, Dish Network Corporation, Starz-Encore, DIRECTV, and Comcast are a few of the many telecommunications companies with operations in the Denver area." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver
I don't know about the OP, but living in a city where the average cost of a detached house is well over $2M (CAD), I can assure you that flats and terraced houses can be quite pleasant too :)
Hey thanks for your reply! How do you like being a T.O. startup founder?
I'm not 100% committed to buying a house, but I don't have any runway to start out with my personal projects full time. What I meant to say was that I would never want to be in a situation where I can't meet my financial obligations (rent as a part of a longer-term lease, or mortgage payments). I am doing my best to get out from under my student debt and build my runway/rainy day fund as quickly as possible.
Do you think that low salaries might also be a function of brain drain? There are a lot of tech workers in Canada on visas, and it might be because a lot of Canadians leave the country to work in SFBA, NYC, Seattle, etc.
Could you point me to any resources for information about starting companies in Ontario, and receiving grants? You seem like you've got quite a bit of know-how :)
No problem! So far it's decent, but for the stuff I like (consumer-facing businesses) it's definitely nothing like the Bay. There's a lot less money for early-stage startups, there's a lot more government money (which is good and bad), and there's a more risk-aversion on behalf of founders and investors alike. Here's an instructive read: https://medium.com/toronto-tech/toronto-d0ea5da434e
I was fortunate enough to not have student debt when I graduated, so that's one thing that made my leap easier. Agreed, though - I don't wanna go broke either :)
I think braindrain probably plays a role... But ultimately, the issue is that there aren't even enough (successful) startups in the province to employ all those grads if they stayed.
Actually helpful resources are scarce but we could grab coffee or skype if you wanna talk about your options! My email link is in my profile. It's always best to find someone who has done exactly what you intend to do, so just keep talking with folks.
Thanks for the reply. I'm saddened to hear about the tough job market you're facing, but I'm happy to hear about your garage hacking :) I personally wish you the best of luck. Your GitHub repo's are neat!
San Diego seems like a great city, with much nicer weather than Toronto - I've heard a lot of nice things about it. While the housing prices are equally high, it seems like tech salaries are much higher there, compared to Toronto.
I would like to one day be in your situation, but I feel like starting an independent adult life is harder than it used to be (mainly from accumulating student debt) for graduates in previous generations.
Do you think you could elaborate a little more about your early career?
I have been passionate about electronics since I was 6 years old.
In my senior year in high school, I landed a part time job as an electronics technician. When I graduated, I worked full time for that company for 10 years as a self-taught electrical engineer. I started working on my college degree (Computer Science). I was able to take advantage of tuition reimbursement offered by the company to pay for college.
Student loans were not really needed back then as college costs were reasonable. I bought my first house.
I switched companies in 1989 and worked for almost 26 years
as an Electrical Engineer. I finished my Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science at the second company using tuition reimbursement, and my own funds. I really wanted to do a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, but there were not any evening classes available for EE at the time. Sold my first house, bought my second house and my vacation home.
Paid off my vacation home, refinanced my first home several times.
I think the main things which got me to where I am today are the following:
1. Think of debt as slavery. It should be paid off as quickly as possible.
2. Have as few children as possible. (I have none).
3. Don't spend frivolously. Live way before your means.
4. Try to do as many home and car repairs as you can yourself.
5. Make sure you are adequately insured. In the US, you need
medical insurance to cover medical costs and liability insurance to protect from lawsuits. As your assets grow, you need to adjust your liability insurance accordingly.
6. Invest regularly and often.
1. I should have started earlier. I didn't start working towards financial independence till my second job.
2. I should have bought more rental properties.
Regarding startups:
For hardware products, startups involve a lot of effort. You usually have regulatory things to deal with and that is a big burden. Also the capital requirements are more than a pure software startup.
Are you not confusing the typical PM acronym (project manager) with the Microsoft PM acronym (program manager)? Most of the PM's I know at Microsoft have product ownership roles.
I have some experience writing software, so I don't have a problem learning something new quite fast. If no documentation I read the code, that's no the problem.
Polymer looks good, but I'm not sure yet. I haven't seen nothing serious done with it.
Apart from the novel idea of being able to customize/personalize your phone, this has to be the biggest advantage Project Ara will have in the eyes of the average consumer. But as pointed out in some of the comments, backward compatibility and cost would be crucial, and hopefully, they won't offset the advantages.
The Portrait Mode effect is a non-desctructive edit on an original RAW/JPG image, from my understanding.