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38,037 | 38,025 |
nanijoe
|
facebook is down
|
crxnamja
|
You posted 24 minutes ago, and they seem to be up now, so I guess we should be calculating how much they lose per minute.
|
how much money are they losing per hour? when is the last time google was down?
| 1 | 1 |
2007-07-31 18:43:30 UTC
|
38,038 | 38,028 |
ivankirigin
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
What about sentimental value of things? What about accumulated worth of a box of things after opening it every few years? Little overhead -- it's just a box.Why save books, besides the memories? Convenience of being able to look things up? I like books, but my wifes parents are book sellers. They have hundreds of thousands of rare books for sale.She doesn't like to save anything but the most essential books. The mental load of throwing something away that _might_ have value is pretty high. It might be higher than the integrated attention paid to it in your basement -- unless you move often.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 9 | 105 |
2007-07-31 18:43:38 UTC
|
38,039 | 38,028 |
eposts
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
I've been practicing this minimalist form of existence for some time now. For those that have too much stuff, here is how you get rid of stuff:1. Mark a portion of your basement or apartment for some of your "stuff"2. After a year or two if you have not had to use something at all from this pile get rid of it - ebay, craigslist, garage sale or donate.3. You will feel good about less clutter.4. Repeat till you're left with only stuff you really need.The only place this hasn't worked for me is electronics "stuff".
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 19 | 105 |
2007-07-31 18:44:37 UTC
|
38,041 | 38,028 |
augy
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
I am going to bookmark this essay with the tag girlfriend.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 26 | 105 |
2007-07-31 18:47:48 UTC
|
38,044 | 38,028 |
nostrademons
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
"How do you protect yourself from these people? It can't be easy. I'm a fairly skeptical person, and their tricks worked on me well into my thirties."It's much easier to never get in the habit of buying things in the first place. I remember two particular childhood events that dramatically shaped my consumption habits:In the first, I was 4 years old and in the toy section of Spag's (a discount warehouse near Worcester), and really wanted a new Transformers toy. My mom said "Oh honey, we can't afford it. We can come back next month and get it." And then ran over to take care of my sister, who was throwing a tantrum over not being able to have a My Little Pony doll. I realized I could be the "good child" by never asking for stuff. From then on, my parents and I had a tacit agreement: they would buy me anything I wanted, and in return I wouldn't want much. Lesson learned: sibling rivalry can be a powerful motivator.For the second - my parents refused to let us watch any TV other than PBS until they'd sat us down and told us about advertisements. And when they did, the conversation was basically: "The commercials are just trying to sell you something. They want to control your behavior, so that you'll go out and buy what they want." I was 5 years old at the time and couldn't bear the idea of anyone controlling my behavior. After all, it was bad enough when my parents told me what to do. The idea that some nefarious marketing guy would reach through the TV and make me spend money was just abhorrent. Lesson learned: make marketers seem like parents, but with only the evil "You have to do this!" parts and not the comforting take-care-of-you parts.The end result of all this? I'm 26 years old and still using my high school allowance for spending money. Essentially every penny I've ever earned has gone into the bank and stayed there.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 0 | 105 |
2007-07-31 18:53:24 UTC
|
38,045 | 38,028 |
far33d
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
The sellers of stuff have convinced us (especially americans) that you can't just USE stuff. You need to OWN stuff. Need some specialized tool? Home Depot will sell it to you, but no one will lend it to you, unless it is large and very expensive. Worse, these sellers of stuff have realized that they can't sell you durable goods! God Forbid! Durable goods last forever! Instead, they've convinced americans that there is value in disposable stuff! Paper napkins and plates, disposable diapers, disposable tupperware, etc etc. Now they've turned those one time purchases into subscription plans. More stuff in your house. More stuff in landfills.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 8 | 105 |
2007-07-31 18:55:54 UTC
|
38,047 | 38,028 |
Psyonic
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Completely agree, but even question books. If they are especially valuable, sure, but I recently got rid of most of my books as I felt even they were weighing me down. Still not satisfied though... probably need to get rid of even more stuff.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 21 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:02:02 UTC
|
38,048 | 38,028 |
eposts
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
"In fact, the poorer people are, the more stuff they seem to have." Why would poor people have more stuff Paul? I see rich people living in McMansions have a lot more stuff than poor people and I am pretty sure Bill G has more stuff than me :).
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 20 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:03:54 UTC
|
38,049 | 38,016 |
far33d
|
Startup Required Reading: Top 100 VC Bloggers
|
drm237
|
Putting BeyondVC on the top 10 but excluding RedeyeVC is an awful mistake. Kopelman's writing is way more useful.
|
Securing venture capital is often an integral part of the success or failure of any startup business, even for those who initially began as bootstrappers. While it's no substitute for professional advice, the Internet can be a great place to research venture capital. These are 100 of the best resources.
| 1 | 7 |
2007-07-31 19:04:43 UTC
|
38,051 | 38,028 |
menloparkbum
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
I ditched 700+ books the last time I moved. From a purely physical perspective, books have an ownership cost that is as bad as anything else. Once you have more than 100, they become heavy and tedious to move around, require a lot of space, shelving systems, etc. I wrote a personal wiki type program that hooks up to a barcode scanner and lets me keep track of the books I have read. I just scan the book, it populates an entry, and then I have places I can store quotes and thoughts about the book. (I wrote this before Delicious Library and other such programs were widely available) I've found keeping track of what I read has made me a more careful reader and alleviates the need for keeping the physical book around. However, I still have a number of old books that I wouldn't bear to part with.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 6 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:10:29 UTC
|
38,052 | 37,881 |
ajju
|
Pmarca: Why brainstorming is a bad idea
|
abstractbill
|
The article mistakes more ideas for better ideas. The benefit of working in a good group is not that you get more ideas, but that you take the ideas that you get, prune the bad ones and combine the good ones to come up with the 'best' idea. If 'mutual respect' or 'fear of looking stupid' gets in the way of suggesting something while working in a group (as it quite often does) then you need to work on overcoming that fear (individually) and improving your rapport (as a group)Now if they could repeat the study after having predetermined some criteria to judge the 'best' solution to a problem, my hunch is that they would find that a group with a good rapport (not a bunch of strangers put together) would come up with the better solution (all other things - e.g. familiarity with the problem set, problem solving skills etc being equal between groups). But yeah, it's just a hunch.
| null | 2 | 21 |
2007-07-31 19:13:58 UTC
|
38,054 | 38,028 |
garbowza
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Finally... I'm not the only one that feels this way! This was a very well articulated essay. I obsessively avoid accumulation of objects because they dilute the actual value (to me, not a dollar amount) of the few things I actually enjoy.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 22 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:15:47 UTC
|
38,062 | 38,059 |
jsjenkins168
|
Amp'd CEO explains how he blew it
|
jsjenkins168
|
I guess this is what happens when MBAs run a startup, raise a lot of money, and then spend it too fast. Personal helicopters, 100+ porn DVDs, give me a friggin break
| null | 0 | 7 |
2007-07-31 19:32:05 UTC
|
38,072 | 38,028 |
jimbokun
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
When our kids play room is filled with a mess of toys, they mostly ignore all of them and act bored.If those toys are put into storage in the basement and just a select few toys are chosen to leave out, they show a lot more interest in those toys.We have also decided to hold an annual yard sale with other families on our street to get rid of as much stuff as possible every year.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 13 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:46:10 UTC
|
38,074 | 38,028 |
rams
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
"The average 25 year old is no match for companies that have spent years figuring out how to get you to spend money on stuff. They make the experience of buying stuff so pleasant that "shopping" becomes a leisure activity."Vance Packard's 'The Hidden Persuaders' was one of the earliest books to deal with this topic in depth. It's scary how they understand us better than ourselves. Book URL:http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Persuaders-Vance-Packard/dp/067...
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Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 14 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:48:29 UTC
|
38,076 | 38,028 |
Goladus
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
I don't think poor people have more stuff, so much as it is that poorer people tend to be less able to organize it effectively.Rich people have whole rooms or houses full of stuff that hardly ever gets used, but since it's indexed appropriately (eg "Summer Home" or "Ballroom" or "Gallery") and maintained that way by hired help, it doesn't bother anyone.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 31 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:48:39 UTC
|
38,078 | 38,028 |
paul
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Procrastination works well for me. Instead of not buying stuff, I just put it off until later, repeatedly.In some ways, having money actually makes it easier to not accumulate stuff, because you don't feel as pressured by "good deals".
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 4 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:49:40 UTC
|
38,079 | 38,028 |
byrneseyeview
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
What kind of heuristics do you use, besides "Buy it if you know who will be happy to inherit it"?
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 36 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:49:52 UTC
|
38,080 | 38,028 |
Alex3917
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
"Stuff - Paul Graham"Am I the only one who thought this was going to be about someone's taxidermy startup?In all seriousness though, I think the best reason to keep relatively unused things around is if they are objects of sociability. That is, things that bring people together such as alcohol, homemade bread, board games, etc. At one point I was even smart enough to buy a tea set because I thought it would help me meet girls. (Of course I wasn't smart enough to see that my gf would be Asian, but hey, who's complaining.) By definition objects of sociability are used less often because you need at least two people, but they seem to be worth keeping around.It's weird because we seem to be entering this phase in history where social status is signaled more by what you don't own than by what you do. For example, clothing with logos is generally considered tacky and lower class. At this point probably only another world war or a major recession could change this.
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Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 7 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:50:48 UTC
|
38,082 | 38,028 |
jmzachary
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
PG missed a couple of points in this essay. First, the proliferation of PODS and self-strorage businesses (at least in my part of the country) is further evidence that people have too much stuff. In my neighborhood, folks with two car garages park on the street because the garage is filled with crap. The other point is why people accumulate stuff (crap). Shopping addictions aside, people get more stuff to keep score. Stuff is a scoring mechanism, especially for folks with low self-esteem. It would be useful to collect data to see if there is a correlation or causation between education / achievement levels and accumulation of stuff. I would posit that high achievers and PhDs have less stuff than the norm.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 12 | 105 |
2007-07-31 19:50:51 UTC
|
38,083 | 38,065 |
ivankirigin
|
Thank you Paul Buchheit!
|
gibsonf1
|
Is there any way to store contacts in gmail -- like cell numbers and snail-mail-addresses? Task management could be better -- as that talk by Merlin Mann mentioned. And is zenter just gone? When will I be able to use the presentation tool they build? There are certainly some missing g.apps (pun intended).
|
I've now officially switched my architecture firm domain to Google Apps, and they are amazing - especially Gmail. A great added collaboration tool (especially the chat and the collaborative calendars!). No more MS Exchange! No more Outlook! No more enigmatic msg files! No more fighting with the spam filter! What a great day. Liberation.
| 5 | 10 |
2007-07-31 19:53:20 UTC
|
38,089 | 37,867 |
edgeztv
|
The Story So Far (Y Combinator Startup Auctomatic)
|
JohnN
|
Hey Kul, it was good running into you guys at eBay Live. Unlike Auctomatic, we (mystorespace.com) went the guerrilla route that day :) Our story is at mystorespace.blogspot.com. We also got swamped with requests for accounts the week after eBay Live. Working around the clock, we managed to launch our Beta two weeks later (also after having given more optimistic predictions up front - not the best way to go :).Just emailed you guys with some ideas.
| null | 0 | 21 |
2007-07-31 19:57:26 UTC
|
38,099 | 37,810 |
jsjenkins168
|
Cringely: Is Google on Crack?
|
pg
|
For those interested, the FCC just ruled on this decision today:http://www.moconews.net/entry/419-fcc-approves-open-access-w...They voted in favor of "Open Access" for 1/3 of the spectrum, which is a win for Google, but they did not enforce the other rules such as open network access. Google said they wouldnt bid unless all the rules were enforced but some speculate they might anyway...
| null | 3 | 26 |
2007-07-31 20:07:07 UTC
|
38,100 | 38,028 |
henning
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Duuuude. Like, the stuff we own? It owns us, dude. You know? It's all like, Fight Club redux, man.pauseDeep, man.
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Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 17 | 105 |
2007-07-31 20:11:43 UTC
|
38,103 | 37,923 |
capoeirista
|
Women in startups...Where are they?
|
Ultrapreneur
|
We're here, and we perceive heirarchies differently than you do.
|
I've noticed that all of the "Leader" postings are, or seem to be(by screen name) male, and was wondering where all the women are? if you're female hacker let me/us know your thoughts...
| 2 | 3 |
2007-07-31 20:13:13 UTC
|
38,104 | 38,025 |
dawie
|
facebook is down
|
crxnamja
|
And they might have been hacked: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38102
|
how much money are they losing per hour? when is the last time google was down?
| 0 | 1 |
2007-07-31 20:13:52 UTC
|
38,106 | 38,028 |
uuilly
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
I think the best way to avoid stuff accumulation is to throw away your TV. Or at least disconnect if from the outside world. Whether you think so or not TV makes you buy more stuff. I like to buy verbs, not nouns. While I was working in the corporate world I lived very simply and saved a lot. I spent all my money on travel. Later I dumped it all into a startup. People talked about the riskiness of startups but I just thought of it as paying to do something cool.
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Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 11 | 105 |
2007-07-31 20:14:54 UTC
|
38,109 | 38,028 |
some
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
"Every thing you own takes energy away from you."Wonderful sentence. This is how I feel too.However, I think its some kind of special mental handicap of nerds.There are people, who are living perfectly energetic and well in a huge pile of crap.Too me it looks like analytical people are scared by complexity of stuff, while intuitive people like it.
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Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 10 | 105 |
2007-07-31 20:17:12 UTC
|
38,112 | 38,063 |
twism
|
Anyone know how to move the text cursor (caret) using javascript in Safari?
|
twism
|
guess not... Safari sucks!
| null | 0 | 1 |
2007-07-31 20:18:05 UTC
|
38,114 | 38,065 |
nostrademons
|
Thank you Paul Buchheit!
|
gibsonf1
|
You're just finding this out now? ;-) I've been a loyal GMail user since it came out.I don't understand some of the Google hate that's been going around tech circles lately. In general, their products are really solid & easy to use. My startup's made extensive use of Google Docs & Spreadsheets, I use GoogleMaps for nearly all my directions, and both my primary e-mail accounts are on GMail.
|
I've now officially switched my architecture firm domain to Google Apps, and they are amazing - especially Gmail. A great added collaboration tool (especially the chat and the collaborative calendars!). No more MS Exchange! No more Outlook! No more enigmatic msg files! No more fighting with the spam filter! What a great day. Liberation.
| 2 | 10 |
2007-07-31 20:22:38 UTC
|
38,115 | 38,028 |
blored
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Paragraphs 8 & 9 are obviously allusions to ClutterMe.com
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Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 39 | 105 |
2007-07-31 20:27:36 UTC
|
38,119 | 38,028 |
kcl
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Just a week or so ago I went through the process of getting rid of all my stuff. My main reason for doing so wasn't to free up space in my room, it was to free up space in my head. I'm down to approximately one suitcase full of things---I even tossed out the empty suitcase. You start out with a huge mental block against throwing things away, but every time you throw something out you actually feel better, and the more things you throw out the easier it becomes. Eventually I got down to the bare essentials: a toothbrush, a few changes of clothes, and a lockbox full of important personal effects like my passport and birth certificate. The things I didn't want to carry around but couldn't bear to throw away I shipped to my parents' house. In fact, I shipped one of the last boxes there this morning (old photographs, letters from friends, postcards).If you have to ship a lot of books---are you really going to need your Sipser book anytime soon?---you can do it media mail for next to nothing.This is something I've wanted to do for years and I can't tell you how relieving it is to finally do it. I'd like to get down the level of the monk with just a rice bowl, or a hobo with a sack tied to a stick, but really I can't give up things like nail clippers and deodorant and razorblades, and little things like that still manage to take up space. (How much? About another laptop-case sized container.) Of course, it helps to have saved up some money first so you know you could reacquire things if you turn out to need them later. Luckily the process of saving for my startup has given me enough to do that. When I was a student I could've never tossed out my hairdryer...that's another thirty bucks. What if I grow my hair out again? With a little money in your pocket you can let the drugstore keep all of these things for you. Durable goods become disposable. America is totally geared for this. Every time I moved I would go to Wal-Mart and buy a whole new collection of silverware.One of the rules I used to use was to inspect my stuff before moving it out of an old place. If I hadn't used something in the previous year, chances are I wasn't going to use it in the next, and I'd throw it out. I found this to be a good way to reduce clutter. Of course, now I've gotten rid of a lot of things I did use in the previous year, I just found I didn't really need to use them anymore.On the extreme side I've gotten rid of my bed, though that's perhaps the one thing I miss. Sleeping on the floor is hard. It's kind of invigorating in a way, though it's downright uncomfortable at times. I'm enjoying it now, but when I finally buy my own place I'll definitely be repurchasing a bed.When you throw out your stuff you just feel better about your day, and when you get rid of things you really don't need, you find it simplifies your routine. When I wake up in the morning I spend less time primping and preening. I grab my laptop case and I head out to my workspace, and then I work without worrying whether I made my bed or if my dresser needs dusting. The experience is a lot like refactoring code. It's extremely liberating.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 5 | 105 |
2007-07-31 20:32:59 UTC
|
38,121 | 37,928 |
rokhayakebe
|
Reverse YC funding program. PG, what's your thought?
|
rokhayakebe
|
going around down voting isn't making a point is it? Its like the bully hitting the weak kid because he cannot respond intelligibly to his questions. Please speak your mind. If you cannot convince me without down voting, maybe you need to read a few blogs about how to get IT out of the brains. It is a very short distance, but for some it is a long way so they just go with the next best thing. In this vas that is down voting. Because you cannot hit me physically you are trying to get points away. I believe that is showing your level of maturity and if you are truly honest to yourself I am challenging you to put your startup name here and I will put mine.
We should all agree to disagree. If you do not like my comment then do not read them. Excuse my freedom of speech.
|
20 months from now I will be financially set from the sale of my not-launched-yet mobile startup and I will create the reverse yc program. Instead of funding techies, I will fund marketing and sales geniuses with unique ideas. We will provide them with the technical help they need to turn their vision into a product then they can make millions out of it. Meanwhile if someone has a few thousands in the bank you would run a trial program and get some proposal from non technical founders. For now I am still broke and in debt.
| 17 | 7 |
2007-07-31 20:36:49 UTC
|
38,122 | 37,988 |
portLAN
|
Los Angeles, CA - Startup in 3 days
|
iamyoohoo
|
> b) Do not copy something that has been done before.Can't wait! Do you think 9 roles is a bit top-heavy to start with?
|
Join a group to launch a startup from concept to prototype launch in 3 days in Los Angeles. See http://startup.eventbrite.com for more details.
| 2 | 3 |
2007-07-31 20:38:55 UTC
|
38,128 | 38,028 |
geebee
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
I think we're in a transitional moment in history, where stuff has become close to free but we're still locked into a mentality that values it. I don't think it'll be much longer before we come around to realizing it.Funny that Paul should mention kids. When my son was born, I was given a lot of plastic toys that make noise. I've seen them on the shelves at ToysRUs, and they are remarkably cheap. Thing is, my parents and their friends (who are crossing 60 these days) came of age at a time when a toy was a rare and expensive treat. They were generally made in the US, and required a lot of capital and first world labor. A large room full of toys was a sign of the very well to do. When they were kids, a new toy was a truly wonderful gift, and so they continue to give them.And yet their houses were relatively cheap relative to their incomes. For 20 and 30-ish people, the great financial challenge is housing, not plastic toys. So stuff is very cheap, but a place to put that stuff is prohibitively expensive. I have a feeling my 2 year old would really enjoy a toy workbench. The item itself is awfully cheap, and I could probably get one for $25 on craigslist, but the real estate it's sitting on is worth about $2k.(I live in one of the few remaining unfashionable blocks of San Francisco for the low low price of about $650/sq ft- on nob or russian hill this workbench would probably cover closer to $10k worth of floorspace). So here's another way to test a purchase. Think about how much floor space the item would cover, and ask yourself if it's worth the are*$/sqft.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 1 | 105 |
2007-07-31 20:45:07 UTC
|
38,129 | 38,028 |
brianmckenzie
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Starting a startup has led to big improvements for me in this area. Back when I worked for other people I was constantly buying stuff. Oh, the rationalizations I came up with for purchases of very dubious value. I felt that I had to have every piece of the puzzle, only I didn't realize that the puzzle can never be completed.Now that I've gone out on my own I don't have the time or money to spend like this anymore. It's such a change for the better.Here are some stuff-reduction techniques I use:Books: I have one large Ikea bookshelf. Several of the shelves are reserved as a 'rotating collection' - when the shelf gets full, I make myself sell some books on Amazon before I get new ones. The collection can never exceed the capacity of the one decent-sized bookshelf.Every August, I take an inventory of everything I own and how often I'm using it. This includes books, clothes, office supplies, everything. Everything gets divided into three categories based on usage: heavily used, not used at all, and marginal. I keep everything in the 'heavily used' category. I sell, give away, or throw away everything in the 'never used' category. Then, I make a list of everything in the 'marginal' category and keep it until the next year. If any given item is still 'marginal' the next year, I sell it.You'd be surprised how effective this is. What's especially amazing is the crazy stuff you can sell over the net - someone paid 50 bucks for a t-shirt I hadn't worn in 15 years. Last year I made enough cash doing this to buy a new Mac. The reduction in clutter is even better.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 3 | 105 |
2007-07-31 20:48:13 UTC
|
38,131 | 37,881 |
arasakik
|
Pmarca: Why brainstorming is a bad idea
|
abstractbill
|
I completely agree - personally, I find brainstorming ideas by myself and then bouncing off of other people in a group later on seems to be the most effective. Question for you guys: What is your ideal environment for brainstorming ideas alone? I've found that taking 15 or 30 minutes of quiet time to reflect/brainstorm before going to bed seems to generate the most high-quality ideas, imo.
| null | 4 | 21 |
2007-07-31 20:54:09 UTC
|
38,135 | 38,117 |
pg
|
What do you do when you find out that your idea is patented by someone already?
|
pbnaidu
|
Do it anyway. It's rare for a startup to be sued for patent infringement. But more importantly, in the course of working on this idea you'll discover your real one.
|
What do you do when you find out that your idea is patented by someone or loosely covered by a patent, especially when you find out late in the project implementation?
Do you go ahead with the product or do you drop the project and change directions?Please consider a scenario where you did do extensive research before starting the project and after 2 or 3 months in to the project you found out that someone has patent of your idea.
| 0 | 3 |
2007-07-31 20:57:19 UTC
|
38,136 | 38,117 |
ivankirigin
|
What do you do when you find out that your idea is patented by someone already?
|
pbnaidu
|
First, be open about it to any potential partners and investors.Second, are there any partnership options with the patent holder? Most people are smart enough to know a patent that is just held isn't all that valuable. Killing a startup won't help a company that isn't really in the field.Third, an extremely cynical patent lawyer tells me the whole system is extremely fungible. This might mean that you can get out of infringement easily.Forth, have any others tried to go against the patent and failed?
|
What do you do when you find out that your idea is patented by someone or loosely covered by a patent, especially when you find out late in the project implementation?
Do you go ahead with the product or do you drop the project and change directions?Please consider a scenario where you did do extensive research before starting the project and after 2 or 3 months in to the project you found out that someone has patent of your idea.
| 1 | 3 |
2007-07-31 20:57:20 UTC
|
38,146 | 38,028 |
mhartl
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
I've had the same epiphany, and was doing something about it as recently as today. One thing that stops me from getting rid of my stuff is that my dad has been associated with Goodwill Industries for years, and he is always talking about how he's donating stuff to Goodwill (but not before asking me if I want some of it first---which I sometimes take because even I get tired of saying "no" all the time). But Goodwill is like 15 minutes away, you have to put stuff in a box or a bag and haul it over there, and I've never been there before so I don't know exactly how to get there. My trash can, on the other hand, is right here. That doesn't seem like a big difference, but it's big enough that it has kept probably 50 lbs. of clothes in my closet and drawers that I never wear. I'm as resistant to guilt as anyone I know, but even I have a hard time throwing away "perfectly good" clothing that's only been worn once.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 25 | 105 |
2007-07-31 21:20:01 UTC
|
38,147 | 38,028 |
edgeztv
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
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samb
|
When I was a kid growing up in the USSR, "stuff" was really important to everyone because everything was really hard to get. Those who grew up in the West can't possibly understand how valuable even the most insignificant stuff seemed there. Petty theft was rampant. If you left a load of laundry unattended you could come back and find even your socks missing. The "stuff" mindset is very difficult for some people to break. Over the first few years living in the US, my mother had accumulated more useless stuff than most people who'd spent their whole lives here. After 15 years in the US, she still worries about leaving her stuff in the laundromat.I've been thinking about the subject a lot over the years and Paul's essay is spot-on. The more money I make, the more I dislike "stuff". I hardly bought anything since I started my first job after college. In contrast I used to buy a fair amount of junk before. My room was always cluttered and I hated being at home because I felt like the stuff drained all my energy.It's true that stuff owns people and not the other way around. My neighbor in Cambridge, MA keeps a backyard (more like a junkyard) full of used construction materials and equipment, including 3 dead trucks. He spends every single evening trying to straighten it out, but ends up just wheelbarrowing stuff from place to place without any noticeable progress. I, on the other hand, am now able to spend every evening working on my startup, and not having stuff makes me feel great!
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 2 | 105 |
2007-07-31 21:20:09 UTC
|
38,150 | 37,923 |
wseblen
|
Women in startups...Where are they?
|
Ultrapreneur
|
Here are some stats showing that younger women are closing the gender gap in high tech startups (although there's still a long way to go)http://libraryhouse.net/blog/2007/05/16/younger-women-close-...
|
I've noticed that all of the "Leader" postings are, or seem to be(by screen name) male, and was wondering where all the women are? if you're female hacker let me/us know your thoughts...
| 0 | 3 |
2007-07-31 21:21:48 UTC
|
38,153 | 37,928 |
webwright
|
Reverse YC funding program. PG, what's your thought?
|
rokhayakebe
|
"20 months from now I will be financially set from the sale of my not-launched-yet mobile startup"That's my favorite part.
|
20 months from now I will be financially set from the sale of my not-launched-yet mobile startup and I will create the reverse yc program. Instead of funding techies, I will fund marketing and sales geniuses with unique ideas. We will provide them with the technical help they need to turn their vision into a product then they can make millions out of it. Meanwhile if someone has a few thousands in the bank you would run a trial program and get some proposal from non technical founders. For now I am still broke and in debt.
| 9 | 7 |
2007-07-31 21:27:20 UTC
|
38,154 | 38,133 |
far33d
|
MobMov creates a new guerrilla theater while reviving drive-in culture
|
pg
|
This is brilliant! It creates a venue for films that can't achieve wide distribution through theaters without taking away the social aspects of going to a movie and taking away the allure of the big screen. There's definitely potential in this kind of thing.
| null | 0 | 3 |
2007-07-31 21:27:42 UTC
|
38,158 | 38,028 |
supahfly_remix
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
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samb
|
I agree that Americans are too consumed with stuff. More importantly, though, we don't even make our own stuff any more -- the Chinese do. While stuff might not seem important, if that supply line ever gets cut, we'll see how important it really is.The making of stuff also factors into global power. The US was able to win a war on two fronts in WWII in part because of its ability to make stuff. Remember the guns vs. butter axes on the production possibility curve in ECON101?
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 28 | 105 |
2007-07-31 21:32:48 UTC
|
38,159 | 37,995 |
horatio05
|
Survival lessons from Man vs. Wild's Bear Grylls
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terpua
|
He's a fake. "Survivor Man" would out survive him, and probably drag Bear Gryll's lifeless body back, along with all his camera gear.
| null | 0 | 6 |
2007-07-31 21:37:28 UTC
|
38,163 | 38,126 |
jsjenkins168
|
FCC meets Google's openness demands, but only halfway.
|
ph0rque
|
Ars seems to have the best explanation of the ruling I could find:http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070731-fcc-sets-700mh...
| null | 0 | 1 |
2007-07-31 21:52:11 UTC
|
38,167 | 38,069 |
arete
|
Anyone here in phoenix, az?
|
gregp
|
I am =)
|
Just curious : )
| 4 | 3 |
2007-07-31 22:02:13 UTC
|
38,176 | 38,028 |
apprester
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Paul makes a good point, though I have to say George Carlin made it much funnier!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 23 | 105 |
2007-07-31 22:13:12 UTC
|
38,181 | 37,928 |
ashu
|
Reverse YC funding program. PG, what's your thought?
|
rokhayakebe
|
this is a huge troll and everybody is just feeding it.edit: including me, duh!
|
20 months from now I will be financially set from the sale of my not-launched-yet mobile startup and I will create the reverse yc program. Instead of funding techies, I will fund marketing and sales geniuses with unique ideas. We will provide them with the technical help they need to turn their vision into a product then they can make millions out of it. Meanwhile if someone has a few thousands in the bank you would run a trial program and get some proposal from non technical founders. For now I am still broke and in debt.
| 14 | 7 |
2007-07-31 22:19:50 UTC
|
38,185 | 38,028 |
palish
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
"You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet."The first rule of YCombinator is..This is a good essay. My mother has a basement full of stuff, hallways full of stuff, and recently moved into my grandmother's house and filled her living room with stuff. Magazines, boxes.. Any average person would be appalled. She'd probably read this essay and go "Hmm.. Yeah, that's about right", then go buy another piece of furniture from Ikea.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 18 | 105 |
2007-07-31 22:22:08 UTC
|
38,190 | 38,065 |
jmpeters
|
Thank you Paul Buchheit!
|
gibsonf1
|
Thank you Woz and Jobs! Hey everyone, I just found out about these great things called "Personal Computers"! You should check them out, they're really cool!
|
I've now officially switched my architecture firm domain to Google Apps, and they are amazing - especially Gmail. A great added collaboration tool (especially the chat and the collaborative calendars!). No more MS Exchange! No more Outlook! No more enigmatic msg files! No more fighting with the spam filter! What a great day. Liberation.
| 0 | 10 |
2007-07-31 22:37:21 UTC
|
38,191 | 38,065 |
aston
|
Thank you Paul Buchheit!
|
gibsonf1
|
You should probably be thanking the team within Google who made Google Apps for that stuff.
|
I've now officially switched my architecture firm domain to Google Apps, and they are amazing - especially Gmail. A great added collaboration tool (especially the chat and the collaborative calendars!). No more MS Exchange! No more Outlook! No more enigmatic msg files! No more fighting with the spam filter! What a great day. Liberation.
| 6 | 10 |
2007-07-31 22:40:43 UTC
|
38,194 | 38,174 |
jamiequint
|
an idea for a start-up
|
blored
|
sounds like a feature not a business
|
I hate Captchas that make no sense and I routinely feel a reprieve when a catpcha has common lettters in sequence. For example, "dogbat" is easier than "hgzxmp". So how about a captcha that makes use of this. Maybe call it EZCaptcha or something.
| 2 | 1 |
2007-07-31 22:59:09 UTC
|
38,198 | 38,069 |
wcrosby
|
Anyone here in phoenix, az?
|
gregp
|
Robby and I both were from Phoenix before moving to Mt. View. I make regular trips back and am always interested in meeting up with fellow entrepreneurs ([email protected])
|
Just curious : )
| 1 | 3 |
2007-07-31 23:08:30 UTC
|
38,200 | 37,850 |
alex_c
|
How can engineering schools not teach startups?
|
aswanson
|
A few years back I was talking to the Electrical and Computer Engineering department head at University of Toronto about pretty much the same topic. He's very much an entrepreneur - started & sold his own business, knows lots of people in the industry, etc.It's not so much something to "teach" as a culture that needs to be encouraged. Sure, you can offer some business, accounting, economics (entrepreneurship?) courses to engineers, and to some extent U of T does that. But the important thing is, after you graduate chances are you'll do something similar to your friends. All your colleagues are only talking about grad school or working on their resumes and applying for jobs? Chances are that's what you'll do. Been throwing around business ideas with your friends since day 1? You might actually decide to start something.Don't know if there's an easy solution... good courses and guest speakers help... entrepreneurship/business clubs might help... but if the culture doesn't exist, how do you kickstart it?
|
I mean, every revolution in history has been driven by tech. So why do the business guys get taught entreprenership, capital markets, etc, while the guys with a chance to innovate are taught to crank turn and think in terms of bounded small problems. WTF?
| 1 | 10 |
2007-07-31 23:13:34 UTC
|
38,202 | 38,069 |
amccann
|
Anyone here in phoenix, az?
|
gregp
|
I'm here - working on a local health related internet startup while managing two other self-funded web startups back home in Orange County, CA (interested in meeting other Phoenix based entrepreneurs) - [email protected]
|
Just curious : )
| 0 | 3 |
2007-07-31 23:15:40 UTC
|
38,203 | 37,988 |
inklesspen
|
Los Angeles, CA - Startup in 3 days
|
iamyoohoo
|
Why decide on PHP/MySQL up front? Sure, they're popular, but that doesn't mean they're good.
|
Join a group to launch a startup from concept to prototype launch in 3 days in Los Angeles. See http://startup.eventbrite.com for more details.
| 0 | 3 |
2007-07-31 23:17:33 UTC
|
38,204 | 38,069 |
jamesbritt
|
Anyone here in phoenix, az?
|
gregp
|
Yep. Going on nine years.
|
Just curious : )
| 3 | 3 |
2007-07-31 23:18:18 UTC
|
38,207 | 38,133 |
rms
|
MobMov creates a new guerrilla theater while reviving drive-in culture
|
pg
|
But it's still illegal.Do laws count when they are completely unenforceable?
| null | 1 | 3 |
2007-07-31 23:29:03 UTC
|
38,212 | 37,794 |
jamesbritt
|
7 Tips for viral marketing
|
rchambers
|
So, who else feels that "viral" marketing is past its sell-by date? It now seems too willfully hip, and more conniving than clever.
|
Thomas Baekdal lists 7 tipps for successful viral marketing.
| 1 | 6 |
2007-07-31 23:52:31 UTC
|
38,221 | 38,065 |
henning
|
Thank you Paul Buchheit!
|
gibsonf1
|
I've heard before that what keeps many businesses chained to Windows is not Office but Exchange. If some spiffy online web app changes that, great.
|
I've now officially switched my architecture firm domain to Google Apps, and they are amazing - especially Gmail. A great added collaboration tool (especially the chat and the collaborative calendars!). No more MS Exchange! No more Outlook! No more enigmatic msg files! No more fighting with the spam filter! What a great day. Liberation.
| 3 | 10 |
2007-08-01 00:20:47 UTC
|
38,224 | 38,219 |
donna
|
Social Networking Consuming More Time
|
donna
|
Social Network Marketing:
Where to Next? http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_2000433
these are interesting reports...here are some attributes of existing social networks that i believe are making them attractive to advertisers:- all the customers are in one place (a single medium) so they're easier to target
- users naturally cluster themselves by interest, & many are similar demographic
- communication tools make word of mouth more efficient (e.g., I record all my recommendations)
- advertisers can buy off some users to enter spam into the network
- network growth rates are high
- ad prices are cheaper than tv & print ads (for the time being)
| null | 0 | 4 |
2007-08-01 00:29:44 UTC
|
38,230 | 38,196 |
msiegel
|
Ask News.YC: Should you rewrite your software from scratch?
|
palish
|
In one ongoing series of consumer products, my several-hundred-thousand-line codebase lasted for well over 10 years. There was no reason to mess with it. Yes, I thought parts were messy... but there was also great stuff in it that I'm very happy survived intact.Then decades later, on an entirely different product, in a different business...We had to migrate our product to a new OS platform, as well as needing to fulfill much wider requirements for our customers. The existing code just wouldn't allow this, even if it were stretched and stretched.So I rewrote most of the codebase.In some ways I was tortured knowing we had a functioning product that already handled things I was rewriting (even though it was on an obsolete platform). Especially since the rewriting process takes longer than zero.On the other hand, the new set of code turned out smaller, simpler, more reliable, much more flexible, and is now working well as a foundation our for business.Both sides of the argument make sense to me, I think it just depends on the situation.
|
The decision to rewrite software has hurt some companies. However, we only hear about the bad that's come from a software rewrite, never the good. So with today's new coding methods, do articles like this one still apply? http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.htmlHave any of you rewritten or made the decision to rewrite a large codebase? I know Kiko mentioned it as one of the things that hurt them. Microsoft was about to do it with their Pyramid Project, but it was axed.Another question, for YC: Do YC companies generally rewrite their projects after Demo Day (since it's supposed to be a throwaway prototype), or work with what they've got?
| 1 | 6 |
2007-08-01 01:02:36 UTC
|
38,232 | 38,196 |
mark-t
|
Ask News.YC: Should you rewrite your software from scratch?
|
palish
|
I completely agree with Joel. I've done major refactoring work by making a series of minor alterations that clearly don't change anything. This approach takes a lot less time and doesn't introduce nearly as many bugs. Our svn repository is at revision 4995, and that's forked from a project that's 4 years older. Imagine how many of those commits have been bug fixes, and you'll see the big problem with rewriting.
|
The decision to rewrite software has hurt some companies. However, we only hear about the bad that's come from a software rewrite, never the good. So with today's new coding methods, do articles like this one still apply? http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.htmlHave any of you rewritten or made the decision to rewrite a large codebase? I know Kiko mentioned it as one of the things that hurt them. Microsoft was about to do it with their Pyramid Project, but it was axed.Another question, for YC: Do YC companies generally rewrite their projects after Demo Day (since it's supposed to be a throwaway prototype), or work with what they've got?
| 3 | 6 |
2007-08-01 01:04:52 UTC
|
38,238 | 38,196 |
sanj
|
Ask News.YC: Should you rewrite your software from scratch?
|
palish
|
Writing "one to throw away" is an excellent idea. You'll figure out the hard parts of the problem and if it has a chance of succeeding. This is what a startup should do post demo-day.Throwing away something that's been tuned to target customers is a mistake. This is what Joel is talking about.Most importantly, these are very, very different activities.Except, of course, when time and money is ticking and they're not. Then you have to brave (which is what you call it when it works) or foolish (which is what you call it when it doesn't).
|
The decision to rewrite software has hurt some companies. However, we only hear about the bad that's come from a software rewrite, never the good. So with today's new coding methods, do articles like this one still apply? http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.htmlHave any of you rewritten or made the decision to rewrite a large codebase? I know Kiko mentioned it as one of the things that hurt them. Microsoft was about to do it with their Pyramid Project, but it was axed.Another question, for YC: Do YC companies generally rewrite their projects after Demo Day (since it's supposed to be a throwaway prototype), or work with what they've got?
| 2 | 6 |
2007-08-01 01:30:11 UTC
|
38,247 | 38,174 |
ivankirigin
|
an idea for a start-up
|
blored
|
Well, then you give spammers some apriori information, right? Spammers that know your system is used could tailor a solution that has a higher chance of defeating the captcha. This limits the reach of your service.Captchas are entering the realm of machine solvable. Soon enough, humans will find them so annoyingly hard to discern, many won't bother. And artificial artificial intelligence (e.g. humans solving captchas for porn) make them only a low fence.All around, it's a dead end.Recognizing humans isn't necessarily a dead end. Using a system of warped characters is.
|
I hate Captchas that make no sense and I routinely feel a reprieve when a catpcha has common lettters in sequence. For example, "dogbat" is easier than "hgzxmp". So how about a captcha that makes use of this. Maybe call it EZCaptcha or something.
| 0 | 1 |
2007-08-01 03:38:24 UTC
|
38,248 | 38,065 |
rms
|
Thank you Paul Buchheit!
|
gibsonf1
|
I had a very poignant moment when I started forwarding my Pitt email to my Gmail address... I realized that I would be using this email program for the rest of my life.Thanks.
|
I've now officially switched my architecture firm domain to Google Apps, and they are amazing - especially Gmail. A great added collaboration tool (especially the chat and the collaborative calendars!). No more MS Exchange! No more Outlook! No more enigmatic msg files! No more fighting with the spam filter! What a great day. Liberation.
| 7 | 10 |
2007-08-01 03:39:35 UTC
|
38,251 | 38,196 |
alex_c
|
Ask News.YC: Should you rewrite your software from scratch?
|
palish
|
During high school some people wrote drafts of assignments and then made a "good copy" to hand in (it was high school, so busywork was common, I guess?) A teacher warned us that this is not going to work in university.True enough, in university I quickly learned to get things right the first time - because I won't have time for a second try. It's a habit I've kept after I graduated.I think the parallel to software is pretty obvious. It's easy to say "I'll rewrite this later", but when later rolls around, you have 3 other deadlines to meet. Throw-away code might still stay in the production code for 2 years. Refactoring parts of the code is good and necessary, but there are only so many resources you can dedicate to it.I guess if you're seriously considering rewriting something from scratch, you're already caught between a rock and a hard place. Rewrite, and you miss an entire development cycle at least - time that could be spent enhancing or adding features. Stick with what you have, and you have to work with a codebase that makes development a nightmare (otherwise you wouldn't consider rewriting).Better to avoid it if possible - do a bit of planning upfront, refactor when you can, have enough tests that refactoring is safe.At my last job we rewrote a large part of the application - but it was done piecemeal, over two years, and never halted development or delayed new features. Refactoring was "snuck in" as part of deliverables whenever it was possible and safe. It was worth it because the new code performed up to 2 orders of magnitude better, and was much easier to work with - but we never would've been able to do it if we simply decided to drop everything and announce that we're rewriting the app from scratch.
|
The decision to rewrite software has hurt some companies. However, we only hear about the bad that's come from a software rewrite, never the good. So with today's new coding methods, do articles like this one still apply? http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.htmlHave any of you rewritten or made the decision to rewrite a large codebase? I know Kiko mentioned it as one of the things that hurt them. Microsoft was about to do it with their Pyramid Project, but it was axed.Another question, for YC: Do YC companies generally rewrite their projects after Demo Day (since it's supposed to be a throwaway prototype), or work with what they've got?
| 0 | 6 |
2007-08-01 04:10:08 UTC
|
38,258 | 37,995 |
mdolon
|
Survival lessons from Man vs. Wild's Bear Grylls
|
terpua
|
Forget what everyone says, this is still one of my favorite shows on TV just for the entertainment and thrill factor. Besides, I don't think Les Stroud's background and past accomplishments can even compare to that of Bear Grylls.Even if some parts of the show are dramatized or even fake, he is still an incredible person and his show is compelling.It's interesting to note that lots of the tactics and ideologies portrayed on the show can be applied to entrepreneurship too, it's quite obvious but I hadn't thought of that yet. I guess I was too busy watching Bear eat a live frog or snake!
| null | 1 | 6 |
2007-08-01 04:49:00 UTC
|
38,260 | 38,028 |
dfranke
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Stuff isn't really all that illiquid. Ebay and its ilk have created a reasonably efficient market for random junk. There's still a lot of overhead, though: writing the ad, monitoring the auction, and packing and shipping the item is time-consuming. No matter how good I got at it, it would probably still take $20 worth of my time. But if you're poor, it might still be worthwhile.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 30 | 105 |
2007-08-01 05:06:14 UTC
|
38,262 | 38,250 |
rms
|
HitForge: Another YC clone?
|
omouse
|
Their business model is pretty unique; it doesn't really derive much from YC.
| null | 6 | 13 |
2007-08-01 05:20:29 UTC
|
38,264 | 38,225 |
nickb
|
The Pmarca Guide to Startups, Part 7: Why a startup's initial business plan doesn't matter that much
|
staunch
|
He makes a good point but I'm not a great fan of Edison. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison#Criticism
| null | 1 | 16 |
2007-08-01 06:18:36 UTC
|
38,265 | 38,065 |
paul
|
Thank you Paul Buchheit!
|
gibsonf1
|
Thanks Fred, I'm glad that it's working well for you. (though obviously it's mostly due to the hard work of a lot of people who aren't me -- Gmail is a big project and I don't even work there anymore)
|
I've now officially switched my architecture firm domain to Google Apps, and they are amazing - especially Gmail. A great added collaboration tool (especially the chat and the collaborative calendars!). No more MS Exchange! No more Outlook! No more enigmatic msg files! No more fighting with the spam filter! What a great day. Liberation.
| 1 | 10 |
2007-08-01 06:27:48 UTC
|
38,266 | 38,065 |
orionlogic
|
Thank you Paul Buchheit!
|
gibsonf1
|
There are still countries where internet connection can go offline,from time to time, which makes online web applications risky.I wonder all these web service providers considers this what i call "the cost of being offline".Let's say, my work 40 hr a week can afford being offline for 3-4 hours for an invoice web application where as in email, this will cost me much more.
|
I've now officially switched my architecture firm domain to Google Apps, and they are amazing - especially Gmail. A great added collaboration tool (especially the chat and the collaborative calendars!). No more MS Exchange! No more Outlook! No more enigmatic msg files! No more fighting with the spam filter! What a great day. Liberation.
| 4 | 10 |
2007-08-01 06:35:14 UTC
|
38,273 | 38,028 |
orionlogic
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
i wonder if these advices applies to bookmarks as well.Where i have 5000 bookmarks to be read, look,store share but don't have time where my mind always echoes the importance and usefulness of these bookmarks i own.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 37 | 105 |
2007-08-01 06:58:46 UTC
|
38,277 | 37,928 |
brianmckenzie
|
Reverse YC funding program. PG, what's your thought?
|
rokhayakebe
|
I apologize if someone has already mentioned this, but it seems to me that what you're proposing is to provide seed funding for marketing companies. By marketing companies, I mean companies that place product quality second to the marketing apparatus.I have worked for several such companies, and at one time I was Information Coordinator for the American Marketing Association, so I've been exposed to a lot of marketing 'genius'. One thing I noticed time and time again in all these places is the prevalence of 'internal marketing'. When stripped of trendy buzzwords and platitudes about 'empowerment', internal marketing is a De facto ideology which stipulates that marketing is the primary driving force in every organization. It places product quality, customer value, and strategy in a distant secondary position. The problem with marketing companies is that their myopic focus produces reactionary organizations - more ad hoc institutions than enterprises. 'Marketing companies' are sometimes profitable, but rarely maintain a commanding market position for long if they get there in the first place. Contrast these with the real product companies of our time: Apple, Google, Craigslist, Facebook, Toyota. The real profit and value are being created by companies who focus on actual products. Some of these companies have little marketing apparatus at all, at least in the sense you're talking about. This reminds me of a silly aphorism: You rob a bank because that's where the money is. Providing seed funding to 'marketing geniuses' is like robbing twenty hot dog stands and hoping that one of them forgot to deposit their earnings that week. It's only a good plan if you can't figure out how to rob the bank.
|
20 months from now I will be financially set from the sale of my not-launched-yet mobile startup and I will create the reverse yc program. Instead of funding techies, I will fund marketing and sales geniuses with unique ideas. We will provide them with the technical help they need to turn their vision into a product then they can make millions out of it. Meanwhile if someone has a few thousands in the bank you would run a trial program and get some proposal from non technical founders. For now I am still broke and in debt.
| 3 | 7 |
2007-08-01 07:10:48 UTC
|
38,279 | 38,021 |
blored
|
Facebook down...
|
far33d
|
... so that's why she wasn't poking me back.
| null | 3 | 12 |
2007-08-01 07:15:48 UTC
|
38,281 | 38,117 |
blored
|
What do you do when you find out that your idea is patented by someone already?
|
pbnaidu
|
I agree with pg, go for it anyway.
|
What do you do when you find out that your idea is patented by someone or loosely covered by a patent, especially when you find out late in the project implementation?
Do you go ahead with the product or do you drop the project and change directions?Please consider a scenario where you did do extensive research before starting the project and after 2 or 3 months in to the project you found out that someone has patent of your idea.
| 2 | 3 |
2007-08-01 07:17:12 UTC
|
38,283 | 38,071 |
blored
|
How to Not Suck at Facebook Apps, Part I: Why It Matters
|
blader
|
The first thing I was asked by a non-YC incubator."How do you plan to acquire users?"
"I dunno, spamming" I reply.
"You should try facebook apps."Second angel non-technie guy I was talking to...
"now something like facebook apps, that's what we could get behind."Ok, fine. You're gonna get your stupid facebook apps. The point I want to make is that facebook apps now are like penny loafers in the 30's.Wear the heck out of them now and have a couple to show off to your friends, but eventually they are going to be Sunday only dress. Popular, but only 1/7th of your wardrobe.best.analogy.ever
|
I'm collecting my thoughts on the Facebook platform as a series of three articles on a guest blog.
| 0 | 2 |
2007-08-01 07:24:13 UTC
|
38,286 | 37,932 |
staunch
|
I hope pmarca doesn't continue posting quotes in place of thoughtful original content.
|
8en
|
I love knowing what he's reading and what inspires his thinking. I don't think these posts are in place of his original content, they're "extras". He's also well-aware that these posts aren't as popular. He mentioned his incoming traffic was way bigger with his original posts.
|
I started reading Pmarca because he is one of my personal heroes, and because he was one of the few guys that seemed committed to writing smart original content. Recently, I noticed a tendency to post re-post content with a 1 line descriptor. I know Marc is busy....what with selling his company for billions, funding twitter, and running Ning... but I'd rather see 1/3 as many posts that are all original, than see his blog become an amalgamation of repostings like so many other silicon valley rags. Marc doesn't have a comment form to save time, so I hope this gets to him. Quality is important; I think that's why PG's rare essays are immensely more valuable than the flow of half-baked banter coming out of blogs like GigaOm these days.
| 0 | 8 |
2007-08-01 07:34:47 UTC
|
38,294 | 38,289 |
staunch
|
Disqus: A YC Company Powering Discussions on Any Page?
|
staunch
|
There's a party on my forum http://staunch.disqus.com/Very impressive work they've done. I think this one is going to be a winner. Should solve a lot of problems that Joel Spolsky was just complaining about with typical blog comments. Reddit-style discussions for any page with full control for the owner.http://disqus.com/about/team/
| null | 0 | 7 |
2007-08-01 08:11:52 UTC
|
38,296 | 38,250 |
natrius
|
HitForge: Another YC clone?
|
omouse
|
It's an interesting concept, but the setup takes away a lot of the incentives that drive people to not have a life for months on end so they can succeed. If a venture succeeds, the people who actually did it only get a fraction of the payoff. If they don't succeed, everything's still okay since they can wait for someone else to succeed and still see a payoff.If everyone's waiting for another venture to succeed, they're not trying as hard to make theirs succeed.
| null | 2 | 13 |
2007-08-01 08:27:29 UTC
|
38,303 | 38,245 |
Tichy
|
Will Recommmender Systems Ever be Useful?
|
nickb
|
Why do people copy other people's blog postings into their blogs?
| null | 0 | 3 |
2007-08-01 09:06:10 UTC
|
38,304 | 38,289 |
blader
|
Disqus: A YC Company Powering Discussions on Any Page?
|
staunch
|
Wow. This is kind of a Good Idea.Good stuff Daniel.
| null | 3 | 7 |
2007-08-01 09:17:22 UTC
|
38,305 | 38,289 |
blader
|
Disqus: A YC Company Powering Discussions on Any Page?
|
staunch
|
This is kind of like a MyBlogLog but not crappy. Nice. Very nice.
| null | 2 | 7 |
2007-08-01 09:21:56 UTC
|
38,309 | 38,246 |
ntoshev
|
The Netflix Prize: 300 Days Later
|
nickb
|
From the YC crowd, Reddit and most recently Adpinion seem to try exploiting recommendation systems. My experience with Reddit's "recommended" page tells me it is useless for now. I hope Adpinion doesn't rely solely on getting recommendation system right.
| null | 1 | 32 |
2007-08-01 10:31:16 UTC
|
38,310 | 38,287 |
lkozma
|
Thoughts on using SQLite?
|
jamongkad
|
SQLite is a great piece of code, but it's intended for slightly different audience than MySQL and other client-server DBs. I'd use SQLite embedded in an application to store internal data, configuration, or as some domain specific file format. This way it is an alternative to xml or inventing your own file formats. (you get SQL queries for free). Where you expect concurrent access and high loads, a client-server still suits better. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
|
Hey guys has anyone YCer use SQlite in a production environment? For as long as I can remember I've been using MySQL, and I want to know if SQLite is a viable replacement.
| 0 | 9 |
2007-08-01 10:43:57 UTC
|
38,315 | 38,028 |
Tichy
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
I used to put my hopes onto the computer, but by now I am worried that it will merely shift the problem. While space is not a problem on todays hard drive, too much "stuff" still makes navigating it strenuous...Still, I can't wait for good ebook readers to appear, books are my single biggest "stuff problem".
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 33 | 105 |
2007-08-01 11:57:56 UTC
|
38,317 | 38,028 |
mojuba
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Unfortunately it's not only useless stuff we are buying. We are also buying lies in mass media. Basically, both are result of our inability to reason quickly and independently.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 34 | 105 |
2007-08-01 12:04:35 UTC
|
38,321 | 38,250 |
davidw
|
HitForge: Another YC clone?
|
omouse
|
Cool: not concerned about geography - that would be ideal for me.Dubious: I'd like to see a name or two associated with it, or a little bit more about them. I mean, anyone can put up a web page...
| null | 4 | 13 |
2007-08-01 12:15:15 UTC
|
38,322 | 38,250 |
rustartup
|
HitForge: Another YC clone?
|
omouse
|
Socialistic (community) approach to become capitalists (rich) - seems like a problem here.
| null | 5 | 13 |
2007-08-01 12:16:41 UTC
|
38,323 | 38,250 |
pbnaidu
|
HitForge: Another YC clone?
|
omouse
|
I am little suspicious about the website itself. It doesn't contain who's who (funny they're asking your resume without revealing their resumes). It doesn't contain contact details like phone number, postal address, etc. It's all up in the air.Seems like good old Nigerian emails scandal written all over it.
| null | 3 | 13 |
2007-08-01 12:28:57 UTC
|
38,324 | 38,246 |
sethjohn
|
The Netflix Prize: 300 Days Later
|
nickb
|
Great article. The limit doesn't seem to be in the algorithm (as this article makes clear), it's the ability of a 1 through 5 star system to accurately reflect a person's feelings about a movie.While algorithms for predicting your upcoming ratings based on your previous ratings may not be able to improve...surely there are some creative ways to re-think the entire system:Two obvious approaches would be to rate on multiple scales (funniness, intellectual weight, 'light'-ness, etc.), and to include a comment-tracking system alongside the simple rating system to provide a better more complex picture of the film (as Reddit, and YCnews do).
| null | 2 | 32 |
2007-08-01 12:29:40 UTC
|
38,327 | 36,577 |
kumar
|
Can I get some YC.News love for My Facebook App?
|
djworth
|
hi
|
http://apps.facebook.com/iwantone/
| 1 | 4 |
2007-08-01 12:56:50 UTC
|
38,328 | 38,028 |
theorique
|
Stuff - Paul Graham
|
samb
|
Following up on comments about buying good things that get heavy use...I'm typing this comment on a PowerBook G4 that has probably seen over 6 000 hours of use. At an initial purchase price of ~$1800, that's a bargain. I use this thing all the time and have realized so much value from it.[] Compare this to my "good suit" which cost about $600, and has been worn a total of < 50 hours (job interviews, special occasions, etc).Both are tools with a specific purpose but I get much more of a warm feeling using this computer, knowing that I bought a high quality tool and am using it to the fullest extent.[] This isn't a Mac vs PC comment - if you got a top quality ThinkPad or Vaio notebook and are using it daily, then you know what I mean.
|
Too much stuff is a bad thing. Everything I owned in 2000 would fit in the back of my station wagon. If it wouldn't fit in the wagon, it was out. Now I'm married, and covered up with stuff. When you get married, it's custom for people to give you more stuff. Most of it you don't need. Or want. But you can't just throw it away, after all, it's free stuff. (Sorry if this has already been posted, I didn't see it in the list and can't search....)
| 27 | 105 |
2007-08-01 12:57:48 UTC
|
38,330 | 38,196 |
Zak
|
Ask News.YC: Should you rewrite your software from scratch?
|
palish
|
reddit did, with good results.I think if you don't have a good idea of what you're doing when you start, you might need to write a throwaway version first, see what works and what doesn't, then write the real app. I suspect in many cases, bottom-up design will reduce the need to rewrite by giving you more opportunities to refactor instead of throwing out the whole thing.
|
The decision to rewrite software has hurt some companies. However, we only hear about the bad that's come from a software rewrite, never the good. So with today's new coding methods, do articles like this one still apply? http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.htmlHave any of you rewritten or made the decision to rewrite a large codebase? I know Kiko mentioned it as one of the things that hurt them. Microsoft was about to do it with their Pyramid Project, but it was axed.Another question, for YC: Do YC companies generally rewrite their projects after Demo Day (since it's supposed to be a throwaway prototype), or work with what they've got?
| 4 | 6 |
2007-08-01 13:02:35 UTC
|
38,334 | 38,307 |
gibsonf1
|
Applying the Pareto Principle to the GTD
|
thinkingserious
|
I think this approach is better than nothing, but wow, what a pain when you get new actions you need to add to manually numbered lists, especially if they're somewhere near the middle! Dynamic Prioitization is crying for automation :)
|
A methodology for taming huge GTD generated lists.
| 0 | 2 |
2007-08-01 13:20:16 UTC
|
38,337 | 38,196 |
Goladus
|
Ask News.YC: Should you rewrite your software from scratch?
|
palish
|
I think sometimes a rewrite is worthwhile, but basically Joel's advice is good. Don't just do a rewrite with this vague idea that you'll be able to do it right this time.
|
The decision to rewrite software has hurt some companies. However, we only hear about the bad that's come from a software rewrite, never the good. So with today's new coding methods, do articles like this one still apply? http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.htmlHave any of you rewritten or made the decision to rewrite a large codebase? I know Kiko mentioned it as one of the things that hurt them. Microsoft was about to do it with their Pyramid Project, but it was axed.Another question, for YC: Do YC companies generally rewrite their projects after Demo Day (since it's supposed to be a throwaway prototype), or work with what they've got?
| 5 | 6 |
2007-08-01 13:26:59 UTC
|
38,342 | 38,250 |
pg
|
HitForge: Another YC clone?
|
omouse
|
We know Naval, and it's not really a YC clone. Structurally it's more like Idealab or Obvious Inc, in that they develop ideas in house and then spin them off if they succeed.
| null | 1 | 13 |
2007-08-01 13:40:06 UTC
|
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