
Hire this guy for love - cleverbaker
http://mibake.co
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tptacek
For PSD2HTML? And that round trip ticket price? Ok. Shoot me a mail. (See
profile)

~~~
veemjeem
Didn't that YC company, Markupwand, do something like this automatically?
Since they've vanished, I wonder if this problem is hard to do automatically?

Photoshop CS6 has this feature built-in, but it generates horrible css -- it
reminds me of the days when people used Dreamweaver to output their html.

~~~
jason_wang
Doing it _correctly_ is not trivial.

Beyond the CSS layout, you typically have to cut up the assets and put them in
an image sprite. An automatic service wouldn't be able to cut up images
correctly if the PSD is flattened. Even with layers, overlapping layers would
give the automatic service issues (or bad CSS in the end).

PSD2HTML is more art than science.

~~~
thesunny
Markupwand is no longer available but (full disclosure) we've built a
Photoshop plugin that does high quality conversions.

The goal is to create HTML and CSS that is identical to what a designer
creates by hand.

The plugin takes any Photoshop image and return a virtually identical web
page.

I say virtually identical because every browser renders text slightly
differently and it would not be proper HTML/CSS to absolutely position and
size text exactly to the Photoshop file. In a browser, the exact height of
text will vary on each browser/OS and the proper way to write the HTML/CSS is
to use static positioning and floats to position items to handle this. In this
manner, if there is an image below some text, if the text wraps shorter or
longer, the elements below will shrink up or expand down to preserve the
design.

It also automatically supports Google fonts. You can use any Google font and
it will automatically link them into the file.

It also has CSS3, IE8 and IE9 compatibility levels for your taste. The CSS3
version creates a smaller web page because it can use rounded rectangles and
gradients.

Also, some designers will always prefer to code by hand but some parts are
rote (e.g. specifying width/height, font size, font family, etc). We can shave
off most of the conversion time by generating all the assets and a reference
sheet with all the CSS styling, the x/y positions so that you can have full
control over your code but still save lots of time.

We can also generate a layout sheet that contains all the elements and styling
except for the positioning so you can choose to float, absolute, relative
position, etc.

We also export in HAML, Slim, Jade for HTML formats and LESS, SASS, SCSS and
Stylus for CSS formats.

But at its simplest, open your image, and click one button and it will
generate a web version of any Photoshop image.

www.webbsy.com

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JDGM
I really like how he put, at the bottom:

> This minimalist site was bought, written, and launched in under an hour!

That simple sentence accomplishes so much.

1\. It acknowledges the basic look of the site and that he is totally aware of
this. i.e. If he does work for you it will not automatically just look like
this basic site. Of course! (But good to clarify)

2\. Despite being super-basic, it's still a legitimate design choice
("minimalist") and he is also aware of this. i.e. He understands style, at the
very least to the extent of a popular archetype.

3\. He bought the site, wrote it, and launched it. i.e. Although he is
offering PSD to HTML, he may well be able to help and advise on other aspects
of getting a website online so potentially could be the only guy you need to
use.

4\. It all took less than an hour. i.e. Everything involved in setting up that
site would have been within his $65/hour, so it gives something to work from
in estimating how much hiring him [for a more complicated job] might be.

I don't think I'm reading too much into it, that one sentence seems
deliberately written to imply all those things. Which, means:

5\. He can write skilfully. i.e. Communication with this guy will be pretty
clear.

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gjmulhol
As someone who has been in such a relationship before while on a very tight
budget, I have respect for this guy. It is really hard to put up a post asking
for business like this, too, I imagine.

To the OP: Good luck to you. I hope you not only find business and get your
ticket but also do a great job for those who hire you. I sincerely wish you
happiness and success in your relationship and your work.

~~~
cleverbaker
Thank you. That means a lot.

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sagarpatil
Hiring him for a project.

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icn2
I am just curious if he makes $65/hour how come he didn't save up 300 hundred
? It is just 5 hours his time.

~~~
pandler
It's a great marketing ploy.

~~~
nicolethenerd
Not sure why you were downvoted - this is a brilliant way for him to get his
name out there. Before this, we never would've heard of him, and now he's at
the top of HN.

~~~
veemjeem
Right, it also shows that simple personalized honesty is probably better than
marketing stunts that portray something incredible. This reminds me of those
tear-jerker google ads, like the "Dear Sophie" one.

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yadongwen
This is ridiculous to me..

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bengotow
Hey! I live in Nashville and there's plenty of work out here. With a week or
two you could probably find a gig here and turn it into a business trip. Boom
30% discount come tax time!

Hell - while you're in Chattanooga stop in at
[http://colab.co/](http://colab.co/). Their office is close to downtown. Find
a project based out of Chattanooga and see if they'll pay for you to fly out
every couple months!

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flyingyeti
Definitely an effective way to get your name out there.

I'm curious how the "you pick the rate" method is working out for you? The
calendar on your site [1] still shows early December - does that mean you're
no longer accepting clients this way?

I'd also love to know more about "Free Dev Time" (5 hrs/night). That seems
like an interesting way to explore some new projects and technology without
the hassle of estimates and contracts. And because you want to convert these
people into paying clients, you've got some motivation to actually finish the
projects you start for them, as opposed to personal projects that seem to fall
by the wayside (for me, at least).

Great work, I'm inspired! And good luck with that plane flight. Looks like
you'll have plenty of new work opportunities.

[1] [http://rcodeteam.com/availability/](http://rcodeteam.com/availability/)

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bcjordan
Awesome example of the power of personalizing a request. Funny enough, it has
the same story arc (reunite with your sweetie!) as the Hipmunk explainer story
video
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6teBPUgz4Y8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6teBPUgz4Y8)

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downandout
I'd be interested to hear what kind of success he has with this approach. Some
would see it for what it appears to be. I assume many more would consider it
unprofessional at best and begging at worst. I tried a similar approach a
while back (pitching services while highlighting a personal financial need)
and received overwhelmingly negative responses - around 15:1 negative to
positive. Sadly, most people just don't care what you need and seem to be
offended if you tell them.

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recuter
This makes me bitter. :/ But good luck to him nonetheless.

~~~
davidgerard
Why bitter?

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mrgriscom
Talk about living paycheck to paycheck...

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twodayslate
Why is this on the frontpage of hacker news? This is just a terrible
advertisement.

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fuddle
Its probably easier to just set up a profile on elance and oDesk.

~~~
veemjeem
Sure it is, but would you have the same visibility as this? You could also say
that couchsurfing.com existed long before airbnb, but airbnb is vastly more
popular. Creativity comes in different forms.

Setting up a profile on oDesk means you'll be competing with all the firms in
India who say they can do the same job for just under 10 cents an hour.

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siscia
So sweet, best of luck.

I have been in just the same condition, but my ticket was just a little more
expensive, and I just didn't have any time...

I would hire you if only I needed something...

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shanselman
But...$300?

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huhtenberg
> Hire this guy for love

Why 3rd person if you self-submitted this, cleverbaker?

~~~
pathy
Probably because it gets more clicks than "Hire me for love".

Seems to have worked?

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thenerdfiles
This is pretty awesome.

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jayhuang
Michael, I might have some work for you.

Shoot me an email.

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hazeltree
That is legit. Good luck man!

