

Ask HN: Is low-level programming dead? - hobin

...For startups, that is?<p>To be completely honest, I don't like web programming and most of the higher-level programming at all. I do dislike design, when I build something I want it to look good - I simply prefer working on the deepest levels of a technical problem. The part with grinding gears.<p>Basically, I'm mostly working on low-level software (assembly and C), and on interesting hardware. With that being said: do you think there is room in the startup world for these kind of projects? The initial investment appears to be higher, manufacturing hardware is a lot more trouble and low-level programming isn't done that much anymore. What do you think?<p>EDIT: I should note that for something to be interesting to me (a hardware startup), it doesn't even necessarily have to involve much programming.
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wmf
No, you just have to stop reading Hacker News because they don't know about
SolidFire, Calxeda, SeaMicro, Azul, SandForce, Violin, Fusion io, etc.

~~~
hobin
Fair enough. I can't promise I'll stop reading HN (I probably won't), but do
you have any recommendations for other websites that cover more hardware-based
solutions? (I _do_ read Hackaday, but that doesn't exactly count, although it
sometimes gives me an interesting idea or two.)

~~~
gcmartinelli
at genomicon.com the blogger talks allot about hardware. it's not exactly a
'HW startup' blog, but you might be interested.

edit: blog.makezine.com follows many HW startups also

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mindcrime
Launching a new startup that sells hardware _is_ more difficult, due to the
increased capital requirements, but I don't see any reason to think that it
can't be done, IF you can identify a legitimate need and produce a solution
for that need, that creates value for the user. Whether or not you _need_ to
write in Assembly I don't know, but if working in C floats your boat, just
imagine all the "things" you could build that might - for example - embed an
Arduino to solve some problem.

OTOH, if you don't necessarily need to get all the way down to the hardware,
but just want to solve hard problems that go beyond doing CRUD webapps, there
are all sorts of avenues open to you. AI / machine learning stuff, systems
level programming for middleware, VOIP stuff, and gosh-knows-what-else. Just
keep your eyes and ears open, think outside the box (yeah, yeah, I know,
cliche warning), and keep looking for opportunities.

~~~
hobin
Oh, I didn't mean to say that I need to write something in assembly or C _per
se_ \- I've done some Python programming on an embedded interpreter, too. My
point is that I like to stick close to the hardware.

I agree with your other point, though. Although I definitely love working with
hardware, I'll still take the avenues you mentioned over developing web-apps
any day.

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WTPayne
There will always be a need for people who understand the details. Having said
that, building demonstrable product quickly is more important in the early
days of an enterprise, so developers really need to be able to switch from one
to the other; working at a high level of abstraction early on, when you need
to move quickly to disrupt and / or capture a market, then move to a lower
level of abstraction to optimize and tune the enterprise to make it more
efficient within it's niche.

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Piskvorrr
A perfect example of the answer can fit into two words: Raspberry Pi.

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hobin
I'm not sure whether that would qualify as a startup. The Raspberry Pi
Foundation is, after all, a charity. But, your point still stands, because I
have to admit that if they tried to make money from it, they could.

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timbo621
No. Low level isnt dead. There are tons of opportunities out there. I would
recommend that you create something great and unique based on the PIC Micro or
AVR platform. Then pitch the product to a larger company. Have you ever done
any environmental monitoring? All datacenters need that kind of stuff and the
existing products out there aren't that good.

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carterschonwald
Is it the low level part that you like, or the reasoning about every detail in
a precise analytical fashion? Opportunities in both directions abound! Endless
endless opportunities for the right combo of capabilities and insightful
understanding of market need.

~~~
hobin
I'm inclined to say both, but I'm not sure, because working with hardware just
so happens to be my area of expertise. On the other hand, my official job is
that of a physicist, so you may have a point.

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hobin
(I found another error in my post, but I can no longer edit it: I _don't_
dislike design. I misread that on proofreading and edited it, silly me.)

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actionbrandon
trading companies love people like you - and in return for your expertise
they'll give you lots of money and give you a look behind the curtain. behind
this curtain you will find many problems you can solve for many companies
(that are all kind of related) willing to invest absurd amounts of money in
solutions.

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cjbprime
Look at all of the technology/hardware projects on Kickstarter -- they're
startups, right?

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jamesmcn
Why do you prefer a hardware startup to a new hardware project within a large
company?

~~~
hobin
For the same reasons people build non-hardware startups.

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fredsted
This question is meaningless without (a few) details about the product you are
making.

~~~
hobin
How so? This question isn't necessarily about whether there is room for me,
personally, to make a hardware startup. Rather, I would like to hear people's
opinions on whether they think hardware startups aren't a completely stupid
idea at all compared to the much more prevalent web startups.

~~~
jamesmcn
IT hardware doesn't seem to have a good track record in recent history.
Elevation threw a lot of money at Palm, Palm delivered an excellent OS and
phone (and finally tablet), and yet they weren't able to achieve the market
traction they desired.

On the other hand, everyone I know with money outside of Silicon Valley seems
to be investing in LED lighting companies.

