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by electic 4956 days ago
We run a lot of webservers, our own hardware, on Ubuntu and we do not have this issue at all. Rails doesn't cause Kernel panics. It sounds like they have a bad install or honestly, just don't know what their are doing.

Probably a bad idea to advertise you can't keep a simple webserver up. Probably won't get funded ever.
4 comments
drbawb 4956 days ago
Exactly. I'd sooner attribute kernel panics to faulty hardware or a corrupt install than a problem with Rails. (Sure, running a web-server might _exacerbate_ the problem, simply by exercising the hardware -- but it's unfair to attribute that to a problem with Rails/Ubuntu/"mystery.")

The fact that they could not achieve break-even/speed-gains on Rails 3 tells me the application was likely a less-than-stellar codebase to begin with.

I'd agree, if you can't get a Rails application running after investing $100,000 [minimum] in it, it's probably wise not to advertise that fact.

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jbigelow76 4956 days ago 

  >Probably won't get funded ever.
Amy Hoy is in the same bootstrapper camp that DHH and Jason Fried are in. Regardless of the situation, I imagine "won't get funded ever" is ranks pretty close to the top of her "don't give a shit list".
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electic 4956 days ago
Sure. But it also means a lot of people who are looking at her future projects will pause and think twice.
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ahoyhere 4955 days ago
Think twice, like what? "Gee, there's a woman with integrity who shuts down a service while it still works 99% of the time, and refunds my money, instead of growing it like a nutjob until it has weekly downtime like oh I don't know Desk.com"?

I do so hope you're right.

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Anderkent 4955 days ago
A service with a weekly downtime is still more useful than no service at all.
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bibinou 4956 days ago
Except 37Signals took VC money from Jeff Bezos.
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jbigelow76 4956 days ago
Not in the sense that most HN readers view VC money, as a necessity to launch or continue operations. 37signals was 2 and a half years into existence with multiple products and a few hundred thousand paying users. They didn't give up control and don't have to sweat out how to exit so their investor gets an acceptable ROI. 37signals would have been able to continue operations without the investment.

The investment looks like a way to formalize a long term relationship both sides desired. It doesn't resemble anything like 95% of VC deals that are associated with SV or the types of starts ups associated with HN's readership.

http://37signals.com/svn/archives2/bezos_expeditions_invests...

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bibinou 4956 days ago
>Probably won't get funded ever. that's a product from Amy Hoy[1]. I doubt they'll ever would want to get funded.

http://unicornfree.com/about/

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ahoyhere 4955 days ago
If you ask me, it's bad to advertise that you publicly speculate, with resounding authority, on things you know absolutely nothing about.

Haha, won't get funded ever? I have VCs knocking on my inbox doors on a monthly basis. We don't take funding. We have, however, brought in >$1 million in revenue on products since we started doing products, including http://letsfreckle.com.

The sysadmin I mentioned is one of the most respected experts in the community. He wasn't cheap. He had a fantastic legacy of very good, very public work. And yet, here we are.

When you run a real business, you will be faced with tough decisions. Hopefully you will be able to make wise choices as well.

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