How the Internet’s Domain Name System Works

By David | Published: January 8, 2012

So what exactly happens when you type “davidxia.com” into your browser’s address field and hit “Enter”?

A website is simply a collection of online content ranging from text documents to images to video. All this content lives in physical machines called servers. Servers listen for incoming calls or requests from web browsers or applications and respond with the appropriate content.

Think of the Internet as having a giant Yellowpages phone book

So how does this content get from a machine that could be halfway around the world to your computer? Every machine that’s connected to the Internet… more...

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College Isn’t and Shouldn’t Be the Best Years of Your Life

By David | Published: January 7, 2012

“College will be the best four years of your life.”

If you’re a high schooler, someone’s probably told you this. If you’re an adult, you’ve probably said this to some impressionable young person. If you think this sentence is bullshit and at worst a harmful sentiment to say or hear, you’re with me.

Imagine a statesman declares to his country’s citizens, “The best years of our country are going to be the next four years.” I would think, “So you’re implying that it’s all downhill after that?” That’s essentially what adults are telling young people when they say… more...

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What Do Venture Capitalists Do All Day?

By David | Published: January 7, 2012

I just listened to a great episode of Stanford Technology Ventures Program’s Entrepreneurship podcast. This one has Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Dana Mead explaining what venture capitalists do as an industry, as individuals in their day to day life, and how he decides where to invest.

Mead’s talk is very informative. Here are some of my biggest takeaways. He said VC were originally a small, boutique industry but are now an asset class. The change from 1980 to 2006 has been more than a ten-fold increase. Mead said this was driven by university… more...

Posted in entrepreneurism, technology | 1 Comment

Why an Aesthetically-pleasing Internet is Important

By David | Published: January 4, 2012

I prefer to write code for backend. The plumbing, infrastructure, functionality of a product. Backend developers want the computer to spit out all the relevant data for a page as fast as possible. Their primary concern isn’t how it looks, just that it gets there efficiently.

But I’ve learned that functionality is necessary but not sufficient. Form that only fits function fails to attract users. A well-crafted web app must also have good design. This is why UX and UI are increasingly more important. In the early days of the Internet when only hardcore hackers and geeks were online… more...

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How to Work Happily with Developers

By David | Published: January 4, 2012

A person I recently met is planning on teaching a Skillshare class on how non-technical people can work happily with developers. She’s a community manager at a tech startup that creates 3D-printed products.

Her class idea got me thinking about what advice I’d give. Since I didn’t know how to program last year, it’s better to write my thoughts down now before I become a tech elitist who can’t relate to people who don’t know and don’t care about the difference between interpreted and compiled languages.

1. Don’t treat developers as commodities.
Why would you treat… more...

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How to Find Good Mentors

By David | Published: January 1, 2012

I spent time over the holidays thinking about what makes a good mentor. Here’s my summary after thinking about the mentors I’ve had so far.

Good mentors:

  1. cultivate long-term relationships with their mentees
  2. can distill their years of experience into good advice that’d take mentees years to figure out on their own
  3. want a mutually beneficial relationship where they get something out of it too
  4. have experience and proven track record in an industry related to the mentee

1. Ben, whom I’ve written about before, is a good mentor because he was good at setting aside… more...

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Why You Should Read Steve Jobs’ Biography

By David | Published: January 1, 2012

I’ve got 140 pages left to go in Steve Jobs’ biography, and I’ve laughed, shuddered, but most of all, felt inspired by all the pages so far. I can’t believe I didn’t know more about Jobs’ personal background; the creation, near death, and triumphant rise of Apple; or the myriad other people in the tech world that were related to Jobs’ life.

Isaacson writes with clarity and detail. The anecdotes are numerous and often funny. The portrait Isaacson paints of Jobs has inspired, scared, and taught me a… more...

Posted in current events, technology, writing | 1 Comment

A Difference Between New York and Silicon Valley Startups?

By David | Published: December 20, 2011

I just talked with a Silicon Valley friend who’s written code since middle school and has lots of startup experience. This friend recently moved to New York and told me the differences between New York and Silicon Valley startup mentality.

The thing that struck me most was his description of how the average Silicon Valley startup perceives itself and how that differs a lot from the average New York startup. Here’s his lengthy description boiled down. This is grossly generalized. I’m sure not every startup in New York is A and every West Coast startup is like B. I’m… more...

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How to Make Chocolate Soufflé, Sauce, and Truffles

By David | Published: December 5, 2011

On October 30, I attended Mehdi Chellaoui’s Intro to Chocolate workshop. It was the perfect laid-back class to do on a brisk Sunday afternoon. Mehdi held his class on the second floor of Zabar’s, a grocery and kitchenware store on 80th Street and Broadway.

He worked on a large table in front of an audience of about 26 people. Most were middle-aged and elderly women. Some were shopping at Zabar’s and happened to hear the announcement of the free chocolate class over the loudspeaker. I was one of only four guys in attendance. We learned how to… more...

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I Want to Learn How to Take Better Photographs

By David | Published: November 24, 2011

November 24, 2011
1:00 PM
I’m tired of using taking bad photos. I’m tired of seeing other people’s bad photos. I’m tired of point-and-shoots.

I’m not sure exactly what kind of photography I want to improve on, but often I see something beautiful and wish I could capture that moment.

Because I spend most of my time in the urban landscape of New York City surrounded by people, I’ll want to become better at taking photos of people and manmade structures. Not Ansel Adams landscapes.

Further incentives include the fact that the most searched for query on… more...

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