Linkseed/hacker_news_with_comments · Datasets at Hugging Face

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39,446	39,443	amichail	Why not let online ads fight it out in a geometric real-time game played by advertisers and consumers?	amichail	Essentially, this is a geometric version of social news where some links may stay on the front page a long time simply because they are taking comparatively little screen real estate and people don't mind having them there. Other links may take up more screen real estate and stay on the front page for long periods of time because many people deem them as important. In this version of social news, the submitter of a link would be always adjusting the size and/location of the link graphical representation.	The advertiser may display his/her ad along with all the other ads currently on display. Larger ads have the disadvantage that they will overlap with other ads and may end up underneath many of them.Advertisers may resize and/or move their ads at any time to reduce overlap.Whenever two ads overlap, they will then have to fight it out to see which one will go on top. This fight is on-going and may involve one ad appearing on top, later underneath, then on top again, and so on.To determine which of two overlapping ads goes on top, we would compare their current scores, where the score of an ad could be the number of visits minus the number of "hide" requests from consumers say.	0	1	2007-08-05 01:06:47 UTC
39,451	39,389	ivankirigin	Don't make the Demo look Done	nreece	This has never been my experience. If your managers can't believe you when you say the gloss is just good design and not a sign of completeness, get a new manager.If your manager doesn't understand anything about infrastructure, and reacts to a poor interface with talk of program cancellation, get a new manager.	null	3	18	2007-08-05 01:14:46 UTC
39,452	39,360	nreece	At which point do you quit? (dumb your idea)	rokhayakebe	When To Dump That Great Idea: http://www.forbes.com/2007/07/06/apple-amazon-myspace-ent-ma...	Is there a point at which you feel as if you needed to quit? I am working on two projects and at times I want to quit one and focus on the other, but I do not know which one to pick. Anyways most of the time I am very very confident that I will "make something people want", but there is that 5% of doubt that hovers. When do you know you need to dumb one idea and focus on something else?	0	1	2007-08-05 01:17:51 UTC
39,453	39,398	dood	In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich	nickb	An abject lesson in unchecked desire.	null	9	33	2007-08-05 01:17:58 UTC
39,456	39,374	dood	Being "smart" is hard work	extantproject	Reminds me of Gary Player's quip, in response to the suggestion that he was a particularly lucky golfer, "the harder you practice, the luckier you get."	Is being a founder similar?	1	12	2007-08-05 01:31:07 UTC
39,457	39,388	earthboundkid	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	From http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=80815 :"id Software has set up a second development team - and its first project is likely to raise some eyebrows."That group has begun by working on a web-browser-based version of the developer's popular Quake 3 Arena first-person shooter, Quake Zero, which will be funded by advertising."	null	2	15	2007-08-05 01:37:26 UTC
39,463	39,398	ecuzzillo	In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich	nickb	I know a guy like that. His take on it is that it's a combination of social pressure and families: families are often more expensive than any of ivankirigin's doing things to extremes, and they get more expensive as you put them in richer peer groups. I suspect that if you were single, being worth $10 million would sit with you just fine, even if you wanted to do extravagant things. (Not that that would make me choose to be single, though.)	null	4	33	2007-08-05 02:17:17 UTC
39,465	39,443	ed	Why not let online ads fight it out in a geometric real-time game played by advertisers and consumers?	amichail	Seems like there are more efficient ways to determine the effectiveness of an ad.	The advertiser may display his/her ad along with all the other ads currently on display. Larger ads have the disadvantage that they will overlap with other ads and may end up underneath many of them.Advertisers may resize and/or move their ads at any time to reduce overlap.Whenever two ads overlap, they will then have to fight it out to see which one will go on top. This fight is on-going and may involve one ad appearing on top, later underneath, then on top again, and so on.To determine which of two overlapping ads goes on top, we would compare their current scores, where the score of an ad could be the number of visits minus the number of "hide" requests from consumers say.	1	1	2007-08-05 02:20:30 UTC
39,469	38,908	litepost	Xobni's Facebook app replaces Facebook messaging with email	brezina	Wow! We're about to launch our Facebook app as well... http://www.litepost.com http://mail.litepost.com	null	1	53	2007-08-05 02:33:36 UTC
39,470	39,403	ed	Did anyone try pay per non-click advertising? Would that result in better targeting by advertisers?	amichail	You'd essentially be motivated to seek poor returns for a campaign. How would that create value for the advertiser?	null	1	2	2007-08-05 02:33:52 UTC
39,473	39,471	ed	Do we need, and does the web want, a new reddit-like site?	dood	I think you can effectively fake the appearance of community in the beginning, assuming you have the resources.A more important question is: how would you create value for a potential user beyond what the existing communities offer?	I've considered making a new reddit style site, incorporating a variety of improvements (probably like many readers here). Is there strong demand for such a service? How hard would it be to replicate the strong and thoughtful community reddit initially created today?	2	3	2007-08-05 02:37:06 UTC
39,475	39,471	palish	Do we need, and does the web want, a new reddit-like site?	dood	Judging from the comments, PG is considering launching one, so I don't know if you'd want to be in direct competition with him. But it'd be an interesting fight.It seems there will always be demand for clusters of intelligent people. If you can cater to that, go for it!	I've considered making a new reddit style site, incorporating a variety of improvements (probably like many readers here). Is there strong demand for such a service? How hard would it be to replicate the strong and thoughtful community reddit initially created today?	0	3	2007-08-05 02:50:43 UTC
39,477	39,464	nreece	Who was your Childhood Inspiration?	ed	Bill Gates :)	Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?	4	4	2007-08-05 03:00:03 UTC
39,479	39,306	ed	Inside Bebo's London Office [video]	farmer	The facebook video is pretty good too.	null	1	3	2007-08-05 03:02:19 UTC
39,480	39,288	portLAN	Kaizen, the oldest productivity improvement tool	nreece	Kaizen is the concept of continuous and neverending improvement. In Japan it stems from W. Edwards Deming's principles of statistical process and quality control imported from America in the 1950s as part of Japan's post-WWII reconstruction efforts in the manufacturing sector.Its citation here is virtually tautological: the tool to improve productivity is Kaizen, which means improving continuously! How stupendously helpful."Think, rethink and attempt Kaizen, with 100 per cent clarity and understanding;"Apparently all you need to get to 100 percent clarity and understanding on a fuzzy concept is a bulleted list instructing you to do so. Enlightenment, here I come.	null	0	5	2007-08-05 03:02:54 UTC
39,489	39,259	g00dn3ss	Desktop apps are dead (from a desktop apps developer)	tx	Hmm, let me think about the primary apps people around my office use when they want to get work done (instead of goofing off on the web). Artists: Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. Coders: Visual Studio, Eclipse, Emacs, etc. Project Managers: MS Project, Requisite Pro, JIRA, etc. Business/Marketing: Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.Only one non-desktop app in the mix there - that being JIRA. Looks like the death knell was a tad premature once again.	null	3	16	2007-08-05 03:24:29 UTC
39,490	39,367	portLAN	Billionaire Strategies	MrHaney	"Stay tuned for a series on the strategies employed by the self-made to become billionaires."Apparently one way is to advertise something you can't actually deliver yet. It worked for Microsoft, and apparently this blog is adopting the vaporware strategy as well.It's also simultaneously an example of anything with "smart" in the name not living up to the claim, and anything with "startup" in the name not actually being helpful to start-ups.	Billionaire strategies.	0	2	2007-08-05 03:26:28 UTC
39,493	39,398	vlad	In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich	nickb	Well, it's stories like these that make us pause and reflect that we are lucky not to have such troubles.	null	3	33	2007-08-05 03:34:56 UTC
39,496	39,495	ivankirigin	Quick Survey: How would you prefer to fund an account?	ivankirigin	This was my first Wufoo form. I'm amazed.Like I say in the form, I'm trying to figure out what to use, and gauge response to new options.	null	0	2	2007-08-05 03:38:48 UTC
39,504	39,495	nreece	Quick Survey: How would you prefer to fund an account?	ivankirigin	A PollDaddy.com poll would have been a better choice.	null	1	2	2007-08-05 04:18:04 UTC
39,507	39,481	nreece	Does an NDA make sense for outsourced developers during startup?	lvdbijl	Have them sign an NDA, and only disclose on a need-to-know basis. For example don't disclose information about unrelated business processes or complex modules. If you are new to outsourcing or you haven't worked with the outsourcing team before, it's always better to outsource only the less complicated and low risk functionality to start with.I'd rather hire a reputed techie or small team at RentACoder.com Or oDesk.com. They take care of payment escrow and NDA's etc.	I'm starting a startup, and I'm considering the option of outsourcing parts of the prototype development. I'd be interested in the opinion of everyone here on the following:1. What is your opinion about outsourcing initial prototype work in the first place? 2. To what extent do you think an NDA for outsourced developers is effective in protecting the 'idea'? 3. If this happens to be a not-so uncommon occurrence, I'd appreciate pointers in the direction of a generic NDA pertaining to this particular circumstance. Thanks.	0	2	2007-08-05 04:22:14 UTC
39,511	39,506	nreece	Yet another variant on reddit: Submitter determines and can change rank of link on front page	amichail	Aka meta-ranking. Digg already does this transparently by asserting the links initial rank based on the popularity of the users past submissions. But I get your point on having a truely democratic user-driven ranking system.	The idea here is that the submitter determines the rank of his/her link. Moreover, the submitter may change this rank at any time.The issue is that a link ranked highly will have to share that rank with many links. The probability that a user will see a link at rank k depends on the score of that link with respect to the scores of other links with rank k.	0	1	2007-08-05 04:48:15 UTC
39,514	39,398	henning	In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich	nickb	And here I was, happy to have health insurance and enough to pay rent.If only I were unhappy with millions of dollars.	null	8	33	2007-08-05 04:57:40 UTC
39,516	39,388	henning	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	Better to offend some than to bore everyone.	null	7	15	2007-08-05 05:07:41 UTC
39,517	39,422	stuki	How Startups Forecast Revenue for VCs	nreece	Dayum, no wonder some of these venture guys want to see a 'business guy' on board. I somehow doubt I could get a check out of this one if he asked about my Revenue Recognition Policy, and I answered: Uhh! Dude! Wanna check out some really cool hofs I wrote last night? :) On a more serious note, if one actually plans on making a living off of a software startup, without betting on simply getting acquired at a crazy valuation; at some point I guess figuring out at least roughly where the money will come from does become a bit of a necessity. Even if that means accepting revenue, at least partially, being a function of number of sales guys.:(	null	0	2	2007-08-05 05:09:23 UTC
39,519	39,466	zaidf	Why You Shouldn't Ignore Amazon's New FPS	PStamatiou	I am VERY excited by this! I'm surprised people aren't amazed by the oppurtunities the micropayments open up and secondly, the fact that amazon already has 70mil customers ready to use FPS!	Easy way to use micro-payments to your advantage. FPS is definitely opening some doors, allowing users to charge as little as 1 cent without issue. I already have a laundry list of ways I can use FPS and simple web services with micro-payments. What do you guys think of FPS?	0	25	2007-08-05 05:35:45 UTC
39,525	39,260	trekker7	More pictures of startup' offices	nreece	This is a pretty cool concept for a profit-making site actually, although I don't know if that was the intention. What would also be great is pictures of offices at historic tech companies like Digital and Wang, from back in the day.	null	0	12	2007-08-05 07:17:52 UTC
39,527	39,388	awt	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	I wonder if that guy has ever actually tried using OSX?	null	6	15	2007-08-05 07:37:30 UTC
39,529	39,388	jey	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	IBM will be king for a long time to come. Just because a few rogue techno-mavericks are starting to use these little "personal computers" doesn't mean anything. They have no effect on nor relevance to the rest of society. A dinky little machine is good for people who aren't serious and who just want a toy. You can't get work done on a little toy. Mainframes will always be the way real, serious, moneymaking business is done. After all, look at how much money is put into the mainframe market today. Do you see any self-respecting professional who doesn't pay attention to the mainframe market? It's obvious that "PCs" are for amateur hobbyist techno-mavericks who have nothing better to do with their free time than waste it.--While Mac may not win in the long run, Windows sure as hell is on the way to the land of nostalgia. It'll still be around, and people will still use it and depend on it, but they won't like it -- just like COBOL. I'd be pretty unhappy if my checks stopped clearing because all the COBOL programmers maintaining IBM 360s suddenly vanished.	null	0	15	2007-08-05 08:03:02 UTC
39,532	39,276	henning	The Startup Game: Making serious cash off casual web games	tomh	Web game programming seems more reasonable now that ActionScript is no longer retardedly bad.	null	0	11	2007-08-05 08:10:53 UTC
39,533	39,388	staunch	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	I think it's good etiquette to put a date in the title if you're posting something that's old, like this."Paul Graham is Braindead (April 2007)" or something.This guy's post is barely coherent and shorter than many comments on this site.	null	1	15	2007-08-05 08:26:39 UTC
39,536	39,464	ordersup	Who was your Childhood Inspiration?	ed	my mother actually... for saying the internet is "no place to make 'real money'"(i tend to try my best to prove people wrong w/ they say something i'm doing is impossible)needless to say, after making money as a PHP hacker for several years now... she still asks if i've looked for a real job. heh...	Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?	2	4	2007-08-05 08:43:28 UTC
39,544	39,464	ks	Who was your Childhood Inspiration?	ed	MacGuyver	Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?	5	4	2007-08-05 10:26:32 UTC
39,547	39,259	orionlogic	Desktop apps are dead (from a desktop apps developer)	tx	I think nothing is dead.We are in a phase that exploring the possibilities of huge network connectivity,distributed network services, the power of collaboration in content creating,knowledge shearing etc...I think the third phase will be somewhere in between desktop app. - web app. When that time come, we'll only need differrent kind of browser (or browsing experience) which present power of desktop app. and backed with the information rich web app. services and techniques.(3d surfing,clear navigation of web space in 3d,"web space" as a real 3d space experience)remember, life don't likes extreme sides.	null	6	16	2007-08-05 11:35:16 UTC
39,556	39,388	dpapathanasiou	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	This is a more valid criticism of Graham, without the personal attacks: http://www.raydeck.com/2006/10/paul-graham-is-hurting-the-ch...	null	3	15	2007-08-05 13:27:29 UTC
39,560	39,388	dejb	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	To be perfectly frank I think he has a point. Paul Graham has some great things to say and he is certainly not braindead. But on this one I think he is dead wrong.	null	5	15	2007-08-05 13:58:37 UTC
39,572	39,337	daniel-cussen	What after social networking startups?	diabloernest	Totally agree. Social networking sites are only one of hundreds of ways people want the Internet to process information for them.	If you keep up to date with startup ecosystem, then perhaps this question might have popped in your mind as well. Each day on an average 3-4 social networking startups are getting first round, and out of them some into second round funding. Is it just success copy syndrome, or they really make sense (to me, most of them do not). Why would one start a social networking startup, that is just a delta different from others? More importantly, where is this social networking breeze going to evolve? What will we see after it?	2	5	2007-08-05 14:59:49 UTC
39,575	39,398	zach	In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich	nickb	Well, there you go. If you wonder why a "normal" house in SV costs five times more than in St. Louis or Dallas, this is a profile of the answer. For that matter, I understand better why Athertonians live in $12M houses -- they'd be $4M houses in other parts of the country, so curiously they're getting more bang for the buck.And it has a reciprocal effect. When a major component of life, one's house, costs five times more, that depresses the wealth effect. When you're living among the super-rich, same thing. If these folks were living in Buffalo, they would be so acutely aware that they were exceptionally rich you wouldn't expect them to have anything to strive for. So there's a lack of a sense of privilege.But it's also interesting to see the cavalier attitude toward wealth that it engenders. To be the richest fellow in town and still strive for "just a little bit more" requires a rare mindset. But yeah, stick a multi-millionaire in a suburb of super-millionaires and golly, what's a couple million bucks? Not much. I mean, it's not like you're going to quit your job or anything.	null	1	33	2007-08-05 15:27:26 UTC
39,578	39,546	joshwa	Dear TechCrunch: nofoodhere's new concept already implemented - by live.com	nailer	The "infinite scroll" is definitely nothing new: http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/no_more_more_pages.ph...	Techcrunch reports on nofoodhere, a search concept that allows users to see further results by scrolling downwards, rather than having to click through endless pages of additional results. A great idea - but not quite so innovative...	0	3	2007-08-05 15:57:05 UTC
39,583	39,388	mattmaroon	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	Lol @ linkbaiting.	null	9	15	2007-08-05 16:24:00 UTC
39,584	39,464	iamwil	Who was your Childhood Inspiration?	ed	Never thought about startups until a combination of forces started coming into play all at the same time. Paul's article on what wealth really is, gave a different perspective. As for childhood inspiration, I don't think I ever had one. I remember liking to read picture books on robots. That's probably where some of it comes from.	Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?	1	4	2007-08-05 16:24:24 UTC
39,585	39,554	Locke	For Love or Money: Am I Making Right Decision?	Locke	I would love any feedback on blog entry, or more generally about the viability of the site as a business. I'm having a hard time deciding whether I broke the rule of starting a business around a hobby instead of around an idea with a lot of business potential.	null	0	1	2007-08-05 16:32:30 UTC
39,586	39,054	iamwil	My startup idea: ClipArena.com - I made it in one week. What do you think?	vuknje	btw, myyearbook.com has implemented something similar. At least your site doesn't give me motion sickness.	null	7	19	2007-08-05 16:33:15 UTC
39,588	38,028	maurycy	Stuff - Paul Graham	samb	Honestly, I hate buying stuff, and I'm pretty depressed every time I have to. It takes time to go to shopping mall, a very loud place, and there's always risk that a new thing won't serve me well. Later, even if it turns out that the thing is not that bad as I thought, time destroys it, what forces me to repeat the whole pain.	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....)	32	105	2007-08-05 17:16:12 UTC
39,590	39,464	vlad	Who was your Childhood Inspiration?	ed	Steve Pavlina's and Paul Graham's articles circa 2002 and up; Bill Gates/Microsoft (QBasic, Visual Basic, C); volunteer work and after school clubs to learn that it doesn't matter if you're making money/getting graded/successful/one of the starters, if you're around smart people and having fun and learning a lot; business articles in general; learning to focus on taking things into my own hands and think logically, regardless of what people say is possible or isn't; thinking (maybe mistakingly) that inventing or discovering something is commonplace and therefore I have to do it. Childhood inspiration for a startup? I was just happy to be learning English and didn't have a computer until I was 14.	Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?	0	4	2007-08-05 17:31:39 UTC
39,591	39,581	mattmaroon	The Importance of Saying "Oops"	jey	Not all progress must come from mistakes. He seems to equate the two. Big changes do not necessarily come from fixing big mistakes. They can come from recognizing new opportunities as well.	null	1	10	2007-08-05 17:57:57 UTC
39,595	39,466	Jd	Why You Shouldn't Ignore Amazon's New FPS	PStamatiou	When I first saw this, I thought maybe Amazon was balancing out its offerings by developing online games in the manner of Quake. Not so, but why the same acronym?	Easy way to use micro-payments to your advantage. FPS is definitely opening some doors, allowing users to charge as little as 1 cent without issue. I already have a laundry list of ways I can use FPS and simple web services with micro-payments. What do you guys think of FPS?	1	25	2007-08-05 18:15:51 UTC
39,602	39,596	pg	To the GetDropBox guys	aswanson	I think you want founders [at] getdropbox.com rather than http://news.ycombinator.com.	Have you considered extending your product to do encrypted backups on unused space in corporate networks. Each new PC comes with so much space that never gets used in a job setting. Maybe you could make like a bit torrent type of encryption/sharing client for each pc and a manager the sys admin could use. I'm guessing you guys are close to that type of a product.	0	1	2007-08-05 19:05:43 UTC
39,612	39,464	dfranke	Who was your Childhood Inspiration?	ed	Paul Graham as of when "Why Nerds Are Unpopular" was published. Eric Raymond before that.	Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?	3	4	2007-08-05 21:02:47 UTC
39,613	39,581	luxiou	The Importance of Saying "Oops"	jey	Great article. A good % of the things I regret are situations where I wasted time/energy defending something I knew to be wrong, simply to hide the fact that I was wrong.	null	0	10	2007-08-05 21:09:06 UTC
39,615	39,546	antirez	Dear TechCrunch: nofoodhere's new concept already implemented - by live.com	nailer	AFAIK the idea was introduced by the Humanized Reader, or at least the HR was one of the first good implementations.	Techcrunch reports on nofoodhere, a search concept that allows users to see further results by scrolling downwards, rather than having to click through endless pages of additional results. A great idea - but not quite so innovative...	1	3	2007-08-05 21:45:37 UTC
39,616	39,611	johnrob	Nah Seriously! Who designs the YC startups websites? Loving it.	rokhayakebe	I'll second that request!	Really guys, how do you come up with such designs?	6	26	2007-08-05 21:55:47 UTC
39,617	39,471	johnrob	Do we need, and does the web want, a new reddit-like site?	dood	I don't really see how you can improve upon yc news with a new reddit clone. The community here is like minded with its startup interest. Here is what would be nice: more yc news like sites for all my other interests.	I've considered making a new reddit style site, incorporating a variety of improvements (probably like many readers here). Is there strong demand for such a service? How hard would it be to replicate the strong and thoughtful community reddit initially created today?	1	3	2007-08-05 22:05:22 UTC
39,618	39,610	dfranke	Paul Buchheit visits Y Combinator	divia	I could have sworn last week that I walked past Paul Buchheit as I was getting off the T at Kendall. Now I know I'm not crazy. (I seem to be having a lot of these encounters lately. Today I ran into Matt Maroon on the way to lunch.)	null	1	18	2007-08-05 22:07:31 UTC
39,619	39,611	aston	Nah Seriously! Who designs the YC startups websites? Loving it.	rokhayakebe	http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9253	Really guys, how do you come up with such designs?	2	26	2007-08-05 22:14:46 UTC
39,621	39,388	zeantsoi	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	lotta koolaid being drank round here	null	8	15	2007-08-05 22:27:53 UTC
39,623	39,611	pg	Nah Seriously! Who designs the YC startups websites? Loving it.	rokhayakebe	Till now the only consistent force across YC startups was that I nagged people to fix the same kinds of things. But it's kind of amusing to read this, because this year we got Bryan Kennedy (http://pairwise.com) to fly out and fix up some of the uglier sites, and I can hear him down the hall talking to one group of founders right now.	Really guys, how do you come up with such designs?	0	26	2007-08-05 22:47:09 UTC
39,624	39,620	pg	Does anyone know how well VC firms are doing?	mqt	Basically the answer is what it always is: the top ones are making insane amounts of money, and most aren't making any money at all.In a world like that, it's meaningless to talk about average returns. It's like talking about the average net worth of a room containing Bill Gates and twenty subsistence farmers.	null	0	3	2007-08-05 22:52:54 UTC
39,625	39,610	ivankirigin	Paul Buchheit visits Y Combinator	divia	Will YC ever post videos of talks? I suppose that might take some competitive edge off. It might also be a problem for what is a semi-private meeting, with folks less willing to talk openly. No need to hurt the discussion.But it would be interesting either way. I suppose the video library of interviews with interesting people is pretty large.	null	0	18	2007-08-05 23:01:52 UTC
39,634	39,398	RichM	In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich	nickb	So if living among people much more wealthy than oneself leads to so much angst, why not try living among the lower classes? You ought to feel fantastic then.	null	7	33	2007-08-05 23:21:31 UTC
39,639	39,628	rms	A Mystery Solved: "Fake Steve" Blogger Comes Clean - New York Times	joshwa	Go go New York Times"The book, in part, led to Mr. Lyons's unmasking. Last year, his agent showed the manuscript to several book publishers and told them the anonymous author was a published novelist and writer for a major business magazine. The New York Times found Mr. Lyons by looking for writers who fit those two criteria, and then by comparing the writing of "Fake Steve" to a blog Mr. Lyons writes in his own name, called Floating Point (floatingpoint.wordpress.com)."The NYT also gets to IM the man himself."[Steve Jobs] said in an instant message conversation that he had no interest in reading Mr. Lyons's novel. "	null	1	10	2007-08-05 23:27:51 UTC
39,641	39,640	ivankirigin	Top Five Best Hackers of All Time	drusenko	Top N lists will hopefully not be part of web 3.0 :-P	null	3	11	2007-08-05 23:57:33 UTC
39,643	39,640	mxh	Top Five Best Hackers of All Time	drusenko	This is more like the "Top Five Best-Known Hackers of All Time". Surely, the real top 5 (with all due respect to RTM), whoever they are, never saw the inside of a courtroom.	null	1	11	2007-08-05 23:59:15 UTC
39,645	39,610	staunch	Paul Buchheit visits Y Combinator	divia	I hereby unofficially nominate PB as the first additional YCombinator partner.	null	6	18	2007-08-06 00:15:11 UTC
39,647	39,640	jey	Top Five Best Hackers of All Time	drusenko	Doh, when I saw "hacker" in the title, I assumed "skilled programmer"...	null	0	11	2007-08-06 00:22:43 UTC
39,648	39,610	aswanson	Paul Buchheit visits Y Combinator	divia	Wonder why he left GOOG.	null	5	18	2007-08-06 00:27:50 UTC
39,649	39,646	sharpshoot	Help with my business plan - please comment	mikesabat	I go back and read what i've saved. But i'm never going to pay del.icio.us a thing ever. I'd be intrigued as to where u think this is a business.	If you have a del.icio.us or furl account, how often do you go back and read articles? Do you ever go back and read or just add more?Thanks	0	1	2007-08-06 00:27:50 UTC
39,651	39,631	bootload	Write Well, Blog Better	Jd	"... "You see, most blokes will be playing at 10. You're on 10, all the way up, all the way up...Where can you go from there? Nowhere. What we do, is if we need that extra push over the cliff...Eleven. One louder. ... these go to 11 ..." ~ http://www.spinaltapfan.com/atozed/TAP00160.HTMKalid from instacalc wrote this ~ http://instacalc.com the articles a bit lame but the idea on the site is vg, and is well worth reading through. But writing about "writing blogs" is like "writing about playing guitars". Don't analyse, do.	null	0	2	2007-08-06 00:35:50 UTC
39,652	39,640	jsjenkins168	Top Five Best Hackers of All Time	drusenko	In case some haven't noticed yet, Robert Morris of Y Combinator is #4 on that list. Pretty cool.	null	5	11	2007-08-06 00:48:38 UTC
39,657	39,611	bkrausz	Nah Seriously! Who designs the YC startups websites? Loving it.	rokhayakebe	As an engineer with no design skills, that's the hardest part in getting together a team...I can't find a good designer. I may be able to pump out an amazing site, but if it looks like crap no one is going to use it.It sucks not being a jack of all trades (then again, I'd hate to be a master of none...)	Really guys, how do you come up with such designs?	1	26	2007-08-06 01:37:49 UTC
39,665	39,655	nickb	Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?	abstractbill	So your point is that all the patents and IP rights should not be allowed?	null	6	11	2007-08-06 02:07:31 UTC
39,670	39,668	bootload	Desktop Applications are not dead	delphi	"... C++ with MCF or WCL ... Microsoft .NET 2.0. C# 3.0 and LINQ ... Visual Studio and Delphi ...native Objective C and Cocoa ...'fat clients' ..."I've been watching this thread ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39259 ) notice the reply (by Antonio) is all tech (the original article by Eugueny user focused) but no mention of users wants or needs.	null	0	6	2007-08-06 02:33:22 UTC
39,673	39,655	palish	Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?	abstractbill	Don't you feel owning the rights to a piece of music is different than owning rights to salt, though? No one has a monopoly on music, because anyone can compose their own. The same goes with software. It's not artificial like restricting goods; it really is your hard work.When I said "Copying software is stealing", I was incorrect. What I meant to express was "Copying software is wrong if you can afford to buy it". There's something morally wrong about taking someone's hard work against their wishes and giving it away for free. I don't know what to call it, but don't you at least agree it is wrong?	null	1	11	2007-08-06 02:41:23 UTC
39,679	39,655	mynameishere	Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?	abstractbill	The key feature of property is the determination of its use, rather than mere possession. If you own something by law [1] then an infringement of that right is stealing. As for India, well, it just goes to show you're better off controlling the opium market than the salt market.[1] There are two kinds of ownership: By law, and by adverse possession. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession	null	3	11	2007-08-06 03:09:58 UTC
39,681	39,655	Goladus	Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?	abstractbill	I'm behind you 100% on this one It's nice to see someone taking a stand on this, it's been a pet peeve of mine for a long time.On a whim, I did a search for posts that I've made on this subject and came up with a bunch in just a few minutes, beginning in 2003 and the most recent being here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18823I put the rest on a page here: http://www.goladus.com/copyright.html (Basically random greppings from various forum threads in the past 4 years, They aren't proofread very well)	null	0	11	2007-08-06 03:34:18 UTC
39,683	39,655	Alex3917	Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?	abstractbill	Great post. I remember someone writing a short story based on that Gandhi anecdote for Kuro5hin a few years ago. Sadly I can't link to it because it never made it through the queue.	null	2	11	2007-08-06 03:39:56 UTC
39,691	39,640	bootload	Top Five Best Hackers of All Time	drusenko	"... Mitnick then embarked on a two and a half year coast to coast hacking spree ..."Mitnick is a good choice for #1 cracker (why do people persist with the 'h' & not the 'cr' ~ http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#what_is ). Mitnick is probably the best known ( http://www.takedown.com/bio/mitnick.html ) but his special area of exploitation is "primarily human" and focus of his book "Art of Deception". This makes him an exceptionally effective cracker, exploiting both man and machine. While some are good with machines, Mitnick is good with machines & humans cracks ~ http://www.kevinmitnick.com	null	2	11	2007-08-06 03:49:35 UTC
39,692	39,640	nailer	Top Five Best Hackers of All Time	drusenko	These are just computer vandals, none have created anything interesting. The article title is like a 'list of the best arsonists'. Not classy.	null	4	11	2007-08-06 03:51:48 UTC
39,701	39,699	nreece	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	As the saying goes, sleep over your problems and you'll have a solution in the morning.	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	2	43	2007-08-06 04:29:57 UTC
39,708	39,699	abstractbill	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	Couldn't agree more. I've done all-nighters, but when I'm refreshed I get more done in a couple of hours than I do in a whole day when I'm tired.Unfortunately I sometimes get bouts of insomnia... anyone have good tips on how to cure that?	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	3	43	2007-08-06 05:12:02 UTC
39,721	39,699	kirse	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	I fully agree, I've found that everything pretty much comes back to sleep, whether it's managing stress, work, or just plain getting sick. If there's any other athletes here, one of the key things you know is that you don't get stronger during the workout, you get stronger when you're recovering.Can't say I've ever pulled an all-nighter hackathon, though. My productivity drops off the cliff after 16+ hours of working.	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	6	43	2007-08-06 06:30:43 UTC
39,724	39,655	johnrob	Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?	abstractbill	I think this argument can be generalized. There are no real laws. Only consequences. You can do whatever you want. Some actions will cause the cops to throw you in jail, some wont. Timing is everything - what is illegal today might be legal tomorrow. Any law can be changed, if you can convince enough people.	null	4	11	2007-08-06 07:44:44 UTC
39,727	39,687	ordersup	Is YouTube Down?	vlad	it was for a while... http/1.0 error.YT died...and the world followed.	null	1	3	2007-08-06 08:22:38 UTC
39,729	39,674	davidw	The Top 10 Reasons Startups Fail	nreece	11. spending too much time reading "top N X's" lists.	null	0	8	2007-08-06 08:41:59 UTC
39,733	39,471	jgamman	Do we need, and does the web want, a new reddit-like site?	dood	i think there's plenty of room in the ynews/reddit model to go. don't think of it as the website, but in terms of the users. i think a big step forward will be the blogger of news aggregators. allow people to make a submission+vote page and bookmarklet as easy as it is to make a blog. add on a few preferences and bingo, an aggregator focusing on round the world blue-water cruising in ketch style 42fts internet access issues. for instance. i'd rather be plugged into 10 niche communities than a couple of generics.	I've considered making a new reddit style site, incorporating a variety of improvements (probably like many readers here). Is there strong demand for such a service? How hard would it be to replicate the strong and thoughtful community reddit initially created today?	3	3	2007-08-06 09:11:06 UTC
39,735	39,628	far33d	A Mystery Solved: "Fake Steve" Blogger Comes Clean - New York Times	joshwa	This was so much more fun when it could still possibly be the man himself....	null	0	10	2007-08-06 09:56:52 UTC
39,739	39,699	ashwin	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	22nd hour in progress...6 pots coffee, two packs of cigarettes, some java monster --> productivity peaked 5 hours back but shitty part is that I have to go for a 8 hour workday in 5 hours! and it has nothing to do with the hackathon..Miles to go.......	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	8	43	2007-08-06 10:14:57 UTC
39,743	39,741	wr1472	Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?	wr1472	I've been offered a development position in a startup. The technology is pretty cool and I think has potential. I think there is a high barrier to entry in addressing the same problem. The company has just secured round a funding and estimates there should be enough money to keep going for 12 - 18 months with the growth anticipated. I don't now these guys personally and only ever spoke to them during the interview. Would I be crazy to accept or should I be a bit more diligent?	null	1	1	2007-08-06 10:58:47 UTC
39,745	39,699	dpapathanasiou	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	I thought you were going to say: "Put news.ycombinator.com in your firewall's blacklist" ;)But I agree with your going-to-bed-early idea.And I'll add: spend the first 30 to 45 minutes after you get up doing some kind of cardio exercise (running, treadmill, cycling).You'll be much more relaxed and have a ton of energy all morning.	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	1	43	2007-08-06 11:42:38 UTC
39,746	39,699	pbnaidu	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	I agree with you. I read in National Geography Magazine that sleep is like managing an account. Sleep will catch up to you and you end up wasting more time by sleeping at odd hours to make up for the sleep debt created by not sleeping enough.Recently, I read this article that says humans just need 2hrs of sleep, sounds interesting, here's the link to it http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774680,00.h...	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	5	43	2007-08-06 12:01:17 UTC
39,750	39,741	joshwa	Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?	wr1472	Negotiate your percentage now (single digit percentage would be appropriate for non-founder with low employee number), and have it vest over 12-24 months. "negotiable in 3 months" smells fishy to me.	null	3	1	2007-08-06 12:34:07 UTC
39,752	39,747	nostrademons	Biggest "start-up" mistake	drm237	Not trusting "unproven" people in a startup can be a far bigger mistake, however. If you don't trust your employees, they'll quickly fall back into the "Okay, it's a bureacracy, I'll do the minimum amount of work and collect a paycheck" mode. Or they'll leave. Because there's little else they can do if you don't trust them.Instead, you should trust them, but always have contingency plans (which you don't tell them!) for what to do if they don't perform. You probably need those contingency plans even if you're doing the work yourself or have hired the best developers on earth. After all, nearly every software project takes 3 times as long as you expect (even when you account for Hofstadter's Law ;-)), and some things just plain aren't feasible.	My biggest startup mistake is one as well: I trusted unproven people (in a startup role). And they didn't prove.	1	4	2007-08-06 12:38:00 UTC
39,753	39,655	euccastro	Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?	abstractbill	Why do you call it Imaginary instead of Intellectual?	null	5	11	2007-08-06 12:47:08 UTC
39,758	39,699	ivankirigin	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	I see late night hacking as a tale of diminishing returns. For an extra hour of wake, how much less productive will I be tomorrow? How much earlier could I get up if I go to sleep earlier, and how does that time's productivity compare to now?This translates to: if I'm tired I go to sleep. Unless I have a deadline for the next day.	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	7	43	2007-08-06 12:53:45 UTC
39,760	39,388	nkohari	Paul Graham is Braindead	nreece	Guess I should come and defend myself just in case I ever want to come to the west coast. :)First off, the title is obviously not meant to indicate that Paul Graham is, in fact, braindead. In reality, I respect Paul immensely, and it was for this fact that I felt strongly enough that I had to comment. As for the title, I was simply matching one sensationalist title with another. (Note that the title of neither article was actually representative of its real argument.)Secondly, although many wish it (sometimes myself included), Microsoft is not dead nor dying. My core argument is that if Paul wanted to say that entrepreneurs shouldn't fear Microsoft, then so be it; his point would have been much stronger and well-stated. I also would have agreed with him... no one should be afraid of Microsoft, they're just a company.Instead, he said things like "no one uses Windows" and "everyone can see the desktop is over" and completely undermined his own credibility.Anyhow, as I said in another comment, it was just meant as a rant, and I'm surprised the post has gotten as much interest as it has. I still stand by what I said, but I probably could have toned down the sensationalism a bit. :)Thanks for visiting and commenting; it's very good to get the opposing view. I wish you could have read the 30-odd comments that were left, most in agreement, before I switched back to Wordpress and nuked them... :/	null	4	15	2007-08-06 12:59:43 UTC
39,770	39,741	wr1472	Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?	wr1472	I think what is negotiable in 3 months is the amount of equity. what I may ask for is the guarantee of some (read minimum amount of) equity in 3 months written into my contract.	null	4	1	2007-08-06 14:08:16 UTC
39,773	39,741	pg	Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?	wr1472	A startup is right to want a trial period for such an early employee, but 3 months is on the long side. Half that should be enough for them to decide.The percentage is impossible to predict. On average maybe 2% for a hacker. Less if they're post series A, or the salary is substantial.	null	0	1	2007-08-06 14:17:39 UTC
39,775	39,741	wr1472	Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?	wr1472	Salary is market rate, I think I may push for a shorter trial period, or more importantly a clause saying I will get a minimum amount - say 1% which we can then negotiate an increase on in 3 months.To be honest a trial period of 1.5 or 3 months seems inconsequential, what I am mindful of is at the end of the trial period, they change their minds and say they're not going to offer me any equity.	null	2	1	2007-08-06 14:32:50 UTC
39,778	39,699	pg	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	Even during Viaweb I still slept 8 hours a night (roughly 3-11). The most productive people rarely have more than 6 hours or so of really concentrated work per day, except in emergencies. If you can ensure you get that every day, you don't need to economize on sleep.My way of getting those 6 solid hours was a common hacker solution to the problem: I used the hours between 9 pm and 3 am, when no one could interrupt me.	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	0	43	2007-08-06 14:53:07 UTC
39,786	39,699	jsjenkins168	How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day	staunch	The longer the brain goes without sleep, the more sleep debt is incurred. So staying awake for long periods at a time is unproductive from a time perspective. I'd advocate the opposite: take naps.	Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.	4	43	2007-08-06 15:43:53 UTC

39,446

39,443

amichail

Why not let online ads fight it out in a geometric real-time game played by advertisers and consumers?

amichail

Essentially, this is a geometric version of social news where some links may stay on the front page a long time simply because they are taking comparatively little screen real estate and people don't mind having them there. Other links may take up more screen real estate and stay on the front page for long periods of time because many people deem them as important. In this version of social news, the submitter of a link would be always adjusting the size and/location of the link graphical representation.

The advertiser may display his/her ad along with all the other ads currently on display. Larger ads have the disadvantage that they will overlap with other ads and may end up underneath many of them.Advertisers may resize and/or move their ads at any time to reduce overlap.Whenever two ads overlap, they will then have to fight it out to see which one will go on top. This fight is on-going and may involve one ad appearing on top, later underneath, then on top again, and so on.To determine which of two overlapping ads goes on top, we would compare their current scores, where the score of an ad could be the number of visits minus the number of "hide" requests from consumers say.

0

1

2007-08-05 01:06:47 UTC

39,451

39,389

ivankirigin

Don't make the Demo look Done

nreece

This has never been my experience. If your managers can't believe you when you say the gloss is just good design and not a sign of completeness, get a new manager.If your manager doesn't understand anything about infrastructure, and reacts to a poor interface with talk of program cancellation, get a new manager.

null

3

18

2007-08-05 01:14:46 UTC

39,452

39,360

nreece

At which point do you quit? (dumb your idea)

rokhayakebe

When To Dump That Great Idea: http://www.forbes.com/2007/07/06/apple-amazon-myspace-ent-ma...

Is there a point at which you feel as if you needed to quit? I am working on two projects and at times I want to quit one and focus on the other, but I do not know which one to pick. Anyways most of the time I am very very confident that I will "make something people want", but there is that 5% of doubt that hovers. When do you know you need to dumb one idea and focus on something else?

0

1

2007-08-05 01:17:51 UTC

39,453

39,398

dood

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich

nickb

An abject lesson in unchecked desire.

null

9

33

2007-08-05 01:17:58 UTC

39,456

39,374

dood

Being "smart" is hard work

extantproject

Reminds me of Gary Player's quip, in response to the suggestion that he was a particularly lucky golfer, "the harder you practice, the luckier you get."

Is being a founder similar?

1

12

2007-08-05 01:31:07 UTC

39,457

39,388

earthboundkid

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

From http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=80815 :"id Software has set up a second development team - and its first project is likely to raise some eyebrows."That group has begun by working on a web-browser-based version of the developer's popular Quake 3 Arena first-person shooter, Quake Zero, which will be funded by advertising."

null

2

15

2007-08-05 01:37:26 UTC

39,463

39,398

ecuzzillo

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich

nickb

I know a guy like that. His take on it is that it's a combination of social pressure and families: families are often more expensive than any of ivankirigin's doing things to extremes, and they get more expensive as you put them in richer peer groups. I suspect that if you were single, being worth $10 million would sit with you just fine, even if you wanted to do extravagant things. (Not that that would make me choose to be single, though.)

null

4

33

2007-08-05 02:17:17 UTC

39,465

39,443

ed

Why not let online ads fight it out in a geometric real-time game played by advertisers and consumers?

amichail

Seems like there are more efficient ways to determine the effectiveness of an ad.

The advertiser may display his/her ad along with all the other ads currently on display. Larger ads have the disadvantage that they will overlap with other ads and may end up underneath many of them.Advertisers may resize and/or move their ads at any time to reduce overlap.Whenever two ads overlap, they will then have to fight it out to see which one will go on top. This fight is on-going and may involve one ad appearing on top, later underneath, then on top again, and so on.To determine which of two overlapping ads goes on top, we would compare their current scores, where the score of an ad could be the number of visits minus the number of "hide" requests from consumers say.

1

2007-08-05 02:20:30 UTC

39,469

38,908

litepost

Xobni's Facebook app replaces Facebook messaging with email

brezina

Wow! We're about to launch our Facebook app as well... http://www.litepost.com http://mail.litepost.com

null

1

53

2007-08-05 02:33:36 UTC

39,470

39,403

ed

Did anyone try pay per non-click advertising? Would that result in better targeting by advertisers?

amichail

You'd essentially be motivated to seek poor returns for a campaign. How would that create value for the advertiser?

null

1

2

2007-08-05 02:33:52 UTC

39,473

39,471

ed

Do we need, and does the web want, a new reddit-like site?

dood

I think you can effectively fake the appearance of community in the beginning, assuming you have the resources.A more important question is: how would you create value for a potential user beyond what the existing communities offer?

I've considered making a new reddit style site, incorporating a variety of improvements (probably like many readers here). Is there strong demand for such a service? How hard would it be to replicate the strong and thoughtful community reddit initially created today?

2

3

2007-08-05 02:37:06 UTC

39,475

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palish

Do we need, and does the web want, a new reddit-like site?

dood

Judging from the comments, PG is considering launching one, so I don't know if you'd want to be in direct competition with him. But it'd be an interesting fight.It seems there will always be demand for clusters of intelligent people. If you can cater to that, go for it!

I've considered making a new reddit style site, incorporating a variety of improvements (probably like many readers here). Is there strong demand for such a service? How hard would it be to replicate the strong and thoughtful community reddit initially created today?

0

3

2007-08-05 02:50:43 UTC

39,477

39,464

nreece

Who was your Childhood Inspiration?

ed

Bill Gates :)

Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?

4

2007-08-05 03:00:03 UTC

39,479

39,306

ed

Inside Bebo's London Office [video]

farmer

The facebook video is pretty good too.

null

1

3

2007-08-05 03:02:19 UTC

39,480

39,288

portLAN

Kaizen, the oldest productivity improvement tool

nreece

Kaizen is the concept of continuous and neverending improvement. In Japan it stems from W. Edwards Deming's principles of statistical process and quality control imported from America in the 1950s as part of Japan's post-WWII reconstruction efforts in the manufacturing sector.Its citation here is virtually tautological: the tool to improve productivity is Kaizen, which means improving continuously! How stupendously helpful."Think, rethink and attempt Kaizen, with 100 per cent clarity and understanding;"Apparently all you need to get to 100 percent clarity and understanding on a fuzzy concept is a bulleted list instructing you to do so. Enlightenment, here I come.

null

0

5

2007-08-05 03:02:54 UTC

39,489

39,259

g00dn3ss

Desktop apps are dead (from a desktop apps developer)

tx

Hmm, let me think about the primary apps people around my office use when they want to get work done (instead of goofing off on the web). Artists: Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. Coders: Visual Studio, Eclipse, Emacs, etc. Project Managers: MS Project, Requisite Pro, JIRA, etc. Business/Marketing: Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.Only one non-desktop app in the mix there - that being JIRA. Looks like the death knell was a tad premature once again.

null

3

16

2007-08-05 03:24:29 UTC

39,490

39,367

portLAN

Billionaire Strategies

MrHaney

"Stay tuned for a series on the strategies employed by the self-made to become billionaires."Apparently one way is to advertise something you can't actually deliver yet. It worked for Microsoft, and apparently this blog is adopting the vaporware strategy as well.It's also simultaneously an example of anything with "smart" in the name not living up to the claim, and anything with "startup" in the name not actually being helpful to start-ups.

Billionaire strategies.

0

2

2007-08-05 03:26:28 UTC

39,493

39,398

vlad

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich

nickb

Well, it's stories like these that make us pause and reflect that we are lucky not to have such troubles.

null

3

33

2007-08-05 03:34:56 UTC

39,496

39,495

ivankirigin

Quick Survey: How would you prefer to fund an account?

ivankirigin

This was my first Wufoo form. I'm amazed.Like I say in the form, I'm trying to figure out what to use, and gauge response to new options.

null

0

2

2007-08-05 03:38:48 UTC

39,504

39,495

nreece

Quick Survey: How would you prefer to fund an account?

ivankirigin

A PollDaddy.com poll would have been a better choice.

null

1

2

2007-08-05 04:18:04 UTC

39,507

39,481

nreece

Does an NDA make sense for outsourced developers during startup?

lvdbijl

Have them sign an NDA, and only disclose on a need-to-know basis. For example don't disclose information about unrelated business processes or complex modules. If you are new to outsourcing or you haven't worked with the outsourcing team before, it's always better to outsource only the less complicated and low risk functionality to start with.I'd rather hire a reputed techie or small team at RentACoder.com Or oDesk.com. They take care of payment escrow and NDA's etc.

I'm starting a startup, and I'm considering the option of outsourcing parts of the prototype development. I'd be interested in the opinion of everyone here on the following:1. What is your opinion about outsourcing initial prototype work in the first place? 2. To what extent do you think an NDA for outsourced developers is effective in protecting the 'idea'? 3. If this happens to be a not-so uncommon occurrence, I'd appreciate pointers in the direction of a generic NDA pertaining to this particular circumstance. Thanks.

0

2

2007-08-05 04:22:14 UTC

39,511

39,506

nreece

Yet another variant on reddit: Submitter determines and can change rank of link on front page

amichail

Aka meta-ranking. Digg already does this transparently by asserting the links initial rank based on the popularity of the users past submissions. But I get your point on having a truely democratic user-driven ranking system.

The idea here is that the submitter determines the rank of his/her link. Moreover, the submitter may change this rank at any time.The issue is that a link ranked highly will have to share that rank with many links. The probability that a user will see a link at rank k depends on the score of that link with respect to the scores of other links with rank k.

0

1

2007-08-05 04:48:15 UTC

39,514

39,398

henning

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich

nickb

And here I was, happy to have health insurance and enough to pay rent.If only I were unhappy with millions of dollars.

null

8

33

2007-08-05 04:57:40 UTC

39,516

39,388

henning

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

Better to offend some than to bore everyone.

null

7

15

2007-08-05 05:07:41 UTC

39,517

39,422

stuki

How Startups Forecast Revenue for VCs

nreece

Dayum, no wonder some of these venture guys want to see a 'business guy' on board. I somehow doubt I could get a check out of this one if he asked about my Revenue Recognition Policy, and I answered: Uhh! Dude! Wanna check out some really cool hofs I wrote last night? :) On a more serious note, if one actually plans on making a living off of a software startup, without betting on simply getting acquired at a crazy valuation; at some point I guess figuring out at least roughly where the money will come from does become a bit of a necessity. Even if that means accepting revenue, at least partially, being a function of number of sales guys.:(

null

0

2

2007-08-05 05:09:23 UTC

39,519

39,466

zaidf

Why You Shouldn't Ignore Amazon's New FPS

PStamatiou

I am VERY excited by this! I'm surprised people aren't amazed by the oppurtunities the micropayments open up and secondly, the fact that amazon already has 70mil customers ready to use FPS!

Easy way to use micro-payments to your advantage. FPS is definitely opening some doors, allowing users to charge as little as 1 cent without issue. I already have a laundry list of ways I can use FPS and simple web services with micro-payments. What do you guys think of FPS?

0

25

2007-08-05 05:35:45 UTC

39,525

39,260

trekker7

More pictures of startup' offices

nreece

This is a pretty cool concept for a profit-making site actually, although I don't know if that was the intention. What would also be great is pictures of offices at historic tech companies like Digital and Wang, from back in the day.

null

0

12

2007-08-05 07:17:52 UTC

39,527

39,388

awt

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

I wonder if that guy has ever actually tried using OSX?

null

6

15

2007-08-05 07:37:30 UTC

39,529

39,388

jey

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

IBM will be king for a long time to come. Just because a few rogue techno-mavericks are starting to use these little "personal computers" doesn't mean anything. They have no effect on nor relevance to the rest of society. A dinky little machine is good for people who aren't serious and who just want a toy. You can't get work done on a little toy. Mainframes will always be the way real, serious, moneymaking business is done. After all, look at how much money is put into the mainframe market today. Do you see any self-respecting professional who doesn't pay attention to the mainframe market? It's obvious that "PCs" are for amateur hobbyist techno-mavericks who have nothing better to do with their free time than waste it.--While Mac may not win in the long run, Windows sure as hell is on the way to the land of nostalgia. It'll still be around, and people will still use it and depend on it, but they won't like it -- just like COBOL. I'd be pretty unhappy if my checks stopped clearing because all the COBOL programmers maintaining IBM 360s suddenly vanished.

null

0

15

2007-08-05 08:03:02 UTC

39,532

39,276

henning

The Startup Game: Making serious cash off casual web games

tomh

Web game programming seems more reasonable now that ActionScript is no longer retardedly bad.

null

0

11

2007-08-05 08:10:53 UTC

39,533

39,388

staunch

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

I think it's good etiquette to put a date in the title if you're posting something that's old, like this."Paul Graham is Braindead (April 2007)" or something.This guy's post is barely coherent and shorter than many comments on this site.

null

1

15

2007-08-05 08:26:39 UTC

39,536

39,464

ordersup

Who was your Childhood Inspiration?

ed

my mother actually... for saying the internet is "no place to make 'real money'"(i tend to try my best to prove people wrong w/ they say something i'm doing is impossible)needless to say, after making money as a PHP hacker for several years now... she still asks if i've looked for a real job. heh...

Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?

2

4

2007-08-05 08:43:28 UTC

39,544

39,464

ks

Who was your Childhood Inspiration?

ed

MacGuyver

Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?

5

4

2007-08-05 10:26:32 UTC

39,547

39,259

orionlogic

Desktop apps are dead (from a desktop apps developer)

tx

I think nothing is dead.We are in a phase that exploring the possibilities of huge network connectivity,distributed network services, the power of collaboration in content creating,knowledge shearing etc...I think the third phase will be somewhere in between desktop app. - web app. When that time come, we'll only need differrent kind of browser (or browsing experience) which present power of desktop app. and backed with the information rich web app. services and techniques.(3d surfing,clear navigation of web space in 3d,"web space" as a real 3d space experience)remember, life don't likes extreme sides.

null

6

16

2007-08-05 11:35:16 UTC

39,556

39,388

dpapathanasiou

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

This is a more valid criticism of Graham, without the personal attacks: http://www.raydeck.com/2006/10/paul-graham-is-hurting-the-ch...

null

3

15

2007-08-05 13:27:29 UTC

39,560

39,388

dejb

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

To be perfectly frank I think he has a point. Paul Graham has some great things to say and he is certainly not braindead. But on this one I think he is dead wrong.

null

5

15

2007-08-05 13:58:37 UTC

39,572

39,337

daniel-cussen

What after social networking startups?

diabloernest

Totally agree. Social networking sites are only one of hundreds of ways people want the Internet to process information for them.

If you keep up to date with startup ecosystem, then perhaps this question might have popped in your mind as well. Each day on an average 3-4 social networking startups are getting first round, and out of them some into second round funding. Is it just success copy syndrome, or they really make sense (to me, most of them do not). Why would one start a social networking startup, that is just a delta different from others? More importantly, where is this social networking breeze going to evolve? What will we see after it?

2

5

2007-08-05 14:59:49 UTC

39,575

39,398

zach

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich

nickb

Well, there you go. If you wonder why a "normal" house in SV costs five times more than in St. Louis or Dallas, this is a profile of the answer. For that matter, I understand better why Athertonians live in $12M houses -- they'd be $4M houses in other parts of the country, so curiously they're getting more bang for the buck.And it has a reciprocal effect. When a major component of life, one's house, costs five times more, that depresses the wealth effect. When you're living among the super-rich, same thing. If these folks were living in Buffalo, they would be so acutely aware that they were exceptionally rich you wouldn't expect them to have anything to strive for. So there's a lack of a sense of privilege.But it's also interesting to see the cavalier attitude toward wealth that it engenders. To be the richest fellow in town and still strive for "just a little bit more" requires a rare mindset. But yeah, stick a multi-millionaire in a suburb of super-millionaires and golly, what's a couple million bucks? Not much. I mean, it's not like you're going to quit your job or anything.

null

1

33

2007-08-05 15:27:26 UTC

39,578

39,546

joshwa

Dear TechCrunch: nofoodhere's new concept already implemented - by live.com

nailer

The "infinite scroll" is definitely nothing new: http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/no_more_more_pages.ph...

Techcrunch reports on nofoodhere, a search concept that allows users to see further results by scrolling downwards, rather than having to click through endless pages of additional results. A great idea - but not quite so innovative...

0

3

2007-08-05 15:57:05 UTC

39,583

39,388

mattmaroon

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

Lol @ linkbaiting.

null

9

15

2007-08-05 16:24:00 UTC

39,584

39,464

iamwil

Who was your Childhood Inspiration?

ed

Never thought about startups until a combination of forces started coming into play all at the same time. Paul's article on what wealth really is, gave a different perspective. As for childhood inspiration, I don't think I ever had one. I remember liking to read picture books on robots. That's probably where some of it comes from.

Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?

1

4

2007-08-05 16:24:24 UTC

39,585

39,554

Locke

For Love or Money: Am I Making Right Decision?

Locke

I would love any feedback on blog entry, or more generally about the viability of the site as a business. I'm having a hard time deciding whether I broke the rule of starting a business around a hobby instead of around an idea with a lot of business potential.

null

0

1

2007-08-05 16:32:30 UTC

39,586

39,054

iamwil

My startup idea: ClipArena.com - I made it in one week. What do you think?

vuknje

btw, myyearbook.com has implemented something similar. At least your site doesn't give me motion sickness.

null

7

19

2007-08-05 16:33:15 UTC

39,588

38,028

maurycy

Stuff - Paul Graham

samb

Honestly, I hate buying stuff, and I'm pretty depressed every time I have to. It takes time to go to shopping mall, a very loud place, and there's always risk that a new thing won't serve me well. Later, even if it turns out that the thing is not that bad as I thought, time destroys it, what forces me to repeat the whole pain.

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....)

32

105

2007-08-05 17:16:12 UTC

39,590

39,464

vlad

Who was your Childhood Inspiration?

ed

Steve Pavlina's and Paul Graham's articles circa 2002 and up; Bill Gates/Microsoft (QBasic, Visual Basic, C); volunteer work and after school clubs to learn that it doesn't matter if you're making money/getting graded/successful/one of the starters, if you're around smart people and having fun and learning a lot; business articles in general; learning to focus on taking things into my own hands and think logically, regardless of what people say is possible or isn't; thinking (maybe mistakingly) that inventing or discovering something is commonplace and therefore I have to do it. Childhood inspiration for a startup? I was just happy to be learning English and didn't have a computer until I was 14.

Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?

0

4

2007-08-05 17:31:39 UTC

39,591

39,581

mattmaroon

The Importance of Saying "Oops"

jey

Not all progress must come from mistakes. He seems to equate the two. Big changes do not necessarily come from fixing big mistakes. They can come from recognizing new opportunities as well.

null

1

10

2007-08-05 17:57:57 UTC

39,595

39,466

Jd

Why You Shouldn't Ignore Amazon's New FPS

PStamatiou

When I first saw this, I thought maybe Amazon was balancing out its offerings by developing online games in the manner of Quake. Not so, but why the same acronym?

Easy way to use micro-payments to your advantage. FPS is definitely opening some doors, allowing users to charge as little as 1 cent without issue. I already have a laundry list of ways I can use FPS and simple web services with micro-payments. What do you guys think of FPS?

1

25

2007-08-05 18:15:51 UTC

39,602

39,596

pg

To the GetDropBox guys

aswanson

I think you want founders [at] getdropbox.com rather than http://news.ycombinator.com.

Have you considered extending your product to do encrypted backups on unused space in corporate networks. Each new PC comes with so much space that never gets used in a job setting. Maybe you could make like a bit torrent type of encryption/sharing client for each pc and a manager the sys admin could use. I'm guessing you guys are close to that type of a product.

0

1

2007-08-05 19:05:43 UTC

39,612

39,464

dfranke

Who was your Childhood Inspiration?

ed

Paul Graham as of when "Why Nerds Are Unpopular" was published. Eric Raymond before that.

Personally, I was never more motivated to learn about computers than when I would look through Kim Schmitz's (aka Kimble) photo galleries online. I think anyone who visited that site as a pubescent boy will understand what I'm talking about.For those of you who don't remember him, Kimble was a flamboyant, very (temporarily) wealthy, German hacker whose life consisted of buying exotic cars, hanging out with models, and traveling all over the world. Also, um, there was something about insider trading (but that's hardly inspirational).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz Who inspired you to focus on technology/startups?

3

4

2007-08-05 21:02:47 UTC

39,613

39,581

luxiou

The Importance of Saying "Oops"

jey

Great article. A good % of the things I regret are situations where I wasted time/energy defending something I knew to be wrong, simply to hide the fact that I was wrong.

null

0

10

2007-08-05 21:09:06 UTC

39,615

39,546

antirez

Dear TechCrunch: nofoodhere's new concept already implemented - by live.com

nailer

AFAIK the idea was introduced by the Humanized Reader, or at least the HR was one of the first good implementations.

Techcrunch reports on nofoodhere, a search concept that allows users to see further results by scrolling downwards, rather than having to click through endless pages of additional results. A great idea - but not quite so innovative...

1

3

2007-08-05 21:45:37 UTC

39,616

39,611

johnrob

Nah Seriously! Who designs the YC startups websites? Loving it.

rokhayakebe

I'll second that request!

Really guys, how do you come up with such designs?

6

26

2007-08-05 21:55:47 UTC

39,617

39,471

johnrob

Do we need, and does the web want, a new reddit-like site?

dood

I don't really see how you can improve upon yc news with a new reddit clone. The community here is like minded with its startup interest. Here is what would be nice: more yc news like sites for all my other interests.

I've considered making a new reddit style site, incorporating a variety of improvements (probably like many readers here). Is there strong demand for such a service? How hard would it be to replicate the strong and thoughtful community reddit initially created today?

1

3

2007-08-05 22:05:22 UTC

39,618

39,610

dfranke

Paul Buchheit visits Y Combinator

divia

I could have sworn last week that I walked past Paul Buchheit as I was getting off the T at Kendall. Now I know I'm not crazy. (I seem to be having a lot of these encounters lately. Today I ran into Matt Maroon on the way to lunch.)

null

1

18

2007-08-05 22:07:31 UTC

39,619

39,611

aston

Nah Seriously! Who designs the YC startups websites? Loving it.

rokhayakebe

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9253

Really guys, how do you come up with such designs?

2

26

2007-08-05 22:14:46 UTC

39,621

39,388

zeantsoi

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

lotta koolaid being drank round here

null

8

15

2007-08-05 22:27:53 UTC

39,623

39,611

pg

Nah Seriously! Who designs the YC startups websites? Loving it.

rokhayakebe

Till now the only consistent force across YC startups was that I nagged people to fix the same kinds of things. But it's kind of amusing to read this, because this year we got Bryan Kennedy (http://pairwise.com) to fly out and fix up some of the uglier sites, and I can hear him down the hall talking to one group of founders right now.

Really guys, how do you come up with such designs?

0

26

2007-08-05 22:47:09 UTC

39,624

39,620

pg

Does anyone know how well VC firms are doing?

mqt

Basically the answer is what it always is: the top ones are making insane amounts of money, and most aren't making any money at all.In a world like that, it's meaningless to talk about average returns. It's like talking about the average net worth of a room containing Bill Gates and twenty subsistence farmers.

null

0

3

2007-08-05 22:52:54 UTC

39,625

39,610

ivankirigin

Paul Buchheit visits Y Combinator

divia

Will YC ever post videos of talks? I suppose that might take some competitive edge off. It might also be a problem for what is a semi-private meeting, with folks less willing to talk openly. No need to hurt the discussion.But it would be interesting either way. I suppose the video library of interviews with interesting people is pretty large.

null

0

18

2007-08-05 23:01:52 UTC

39,634

39,398

RichM

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich

nickb

So if living among people much more wealthy than oneself leads to so much angst, why not try living among the lower classes? You ought to feel fantastic then.

null

7

33

2007-08-05 23:21:31 UTC

39,639

39,628

rms

A Mystery Solved: "Fake Steve" Blogger Comes Clean - New York Times

joshwa

Go go New York Times"The book, in part, led to Mr. Lyons's unmasking. Last year, his agent showed the manuscript to several book publishers and told them the anonymous author was a published novelist and writer for a major business magazine. The New York Times found Mr. Lyons by looking for writers who fit those two criteria, and then by comparing the writing of "Fake Steve" to a blog Mr. Lyons writes in his own name, called Floating Point (floatingpoint.wordpress.com)."The NYT also gets to IM the man himself."[Steve Jobs] said in an instant message conversation that he had no interest in reading Mr. Lyons's novel. "

null

1

10

2007-08-05 23:27:51 UTC

39,641

39,640

ivankirigin

Top Five Best Hackers of All Time

drusenko

Top N lists will hopefully not be part of web 3.0 :-P

null

3

11

2007-08-05 23:57:33 UTC

39,643

39,640

mxh

Top Five Best Hackers of All Time

drusenko

This is more like the "Top Five Best-Known Hackers of All Time". Surely, the real top 5 (with all due respect to RTM), whoever they are, never saw the inside of a courtroom.

null

1

11

2007-08-05 23:59:15 UTC

39,645

39,610

staunch

Paul Buchheit visits Y Combinator

divia

I hereby unofficially nominate PB as the first additional YCombinator partner.

null

6

18

2007-08-06 00:15:11 UTC

39,647

39,640

jey

Top Five Best Hackers of All Time

drusenko

Doh, when I saw "hacker" in the title, I assumed "skilled programmer"...

null

0

11

2007-08-06 00:22:43 UTC

39,648

39,610

aswanson

Paul Buchheit visits Y Combinator

divia

Wonder why he left GOOG.

null

5

18

2007-08-06 00:27:50 UTC

39,649

39,646

sharpshoot

Help with my business plan - please comment

mikesabat

I go back and read what i've saved. But i'm never going to pay del.icio.us a thing ever. I'd be intrigued as to where u think this is a business.

If you have a del.icio.us or furl account, how often do you go back and read articles? Do you ever go back and read or just add more?Thanks

0

1

2007-08-06 00:27:50 UTC

39,651

39,631

bootload

Write Well, Blog Better

Jd

"... "You see, most blokes will be playing at 10. You're on 10, all the way up, all the way up...Where can you go from there? Nowhere. What we do, is if we need that extra push over the cliff...Eleven. One louder. ... these go to 11 ..." ~ http://www.spinaltapfan.com/atozed/TAP00160.HTMKalid from instacalc wrote this ~ http://instacalc.com the articles a bit lame but the idea on the site is vg, and is well worth reading through. But writing about "writing blogs" is like "writing about playing guitars". Don't analyse, do.

null

0

2

2007-08-06 00:35:50 UTC

39,652

39,640

jsjenkins168

Top Five Best Hackers of All Time

drusenko

In case some haven't noticed yet, Robert Morris of Y Combinator is #4 on that list. Pretty cool.

null

5

11

2007-08-06 00:48:38 UTC

39,657

39,611

bkrausz

Nah Seriously! Who designs the YC startups websites? Loving it.

rokhayakebe

As an engineer with no design skills, that's the hardest part in getting together a team...I can't find a good designer. I may be able to pump out an amazing site, but if it looks like crap no one is going to use it.It sucks not being a jack of all trades (then again, I'd hate to be a master of none...)

Really guys, how do you come up with such designs?

1

26

2007-08-06 01:37:49 UTC

39,665

39,655

nickb

Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?

abstractbill

So your point is that all the patents and IP rights should not be allowed?

null

6

11

2007-08-06 02:07:31 UTC

39,670

39,668

bootload

Desktop Applications are not dead

delphi

"... C++ with MCF or WCL ... Microsoft .NET 2.0. C# 3.0 and LINQ ... Visual Studio and Delphi ...native Objective C and Cocoa ...'fat clients' ..."I've been watching this thread ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39259 ) notice the reply (by Antonio) is all tech (the original article by Eugueny user focused) but no mention of users wants or needs.

null

0

6

2007-08-06 02:33:22 UTC

39,673

39,655

palish

Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?

abstractbill

Don't you feel owning the rights to a piece of music is different than owning rights to salt, though? No one has a monopoly on music, because anyone can compose their own. The same goes with software. It's not artificial like restricting goods; it really is your hard work.When I said "Copying software is stealing", I was incorrect. What I meant to express was "Copying software is wrong if you can afford to buy it". There's something morally wrong about taking someone's hard work against their wishes and giving it away for free. I don't know what to call it, but don't you at least agree it is wrong?

null

1

11

2007-08-06 02:41:23 UTC

39,679

39,655

mynameishere

Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?

abstractbill

The key feature of property is the determination of its use, rather than mere possession. If you own something by law [1] then an infringement of that right is stealing. As for India, well, it just goes to show you're better off controlling the opium market than the salt market.[1] There are two kinds of ownership: By law, and by adverse possession. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession

null

3

11

2007-08-06 03:09:58 UTC

39,681

39,655

Goladus

Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?

abstractbill

I'm behind you 100% on this one It's nice to see someone taking a stand on this, it's been a pet peeve of mine for a long time.On a whim, I did a search for posts that I've made on this subject and came up with a bunch in just a few minutes, beginning in 2003 and the most recent being here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18823I put the rest on a page here: http://www.goladus.com/copyright.html (Basically random greppings from various forum threads in the past 4 years, They aren't proofread very well)

null

0

11

2007-08-06 03:34:18 UTC

39,683

39,655

Alex3917

Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?

abstractbill

Great post. I remember someone writing a short story based on that Gandhi anecdote for Kuro5hin a few years ago. Sadly I can't link to it because it never made it through the queue.

null

2

11

2007-08-06 03:39:56 UTC

39,691

39,640

bootload

Top Five Best Hackers of All Time

drusenko

"... Mitnick then embarked on a two and a half year coast to coast hacking spree ..."Mitnick is a good choice for #1 cracker (why do people persist with the 'h' & not the 'cr' ~ http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#what_is ). Mitnick is probably the best known ( http://www.takedown.com/bio/mitnick.html ) but his special area of exploitation is "primarily human" and focus of his book "Art of Deception". This makes him an exceptionally effective cracker, exploiting both man and machine. While some are good with machines, Mitnick is good with machines & humans cracks ~ http://www.kevinmitnick.com

null

2

11

2007-08-06 03:49:35 UTC

39,692

39,640

nailer

Top Five Best Hackers of All Time

drusenko

These are just computer vandals, none have created anything interesting. The article title is like a 'list of the best arsonists'. Not classy.

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4

11

2007-08-06 03:51:48 UTC

39,701

39,699

nreece

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

As the saying goes, sleep over your problems and you'll have a solution in the morning.

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

2

43

2007-08-06 04:29:57 UTC

39,708

39,699

abstractbill

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

Couldn't agree more. I've done all-nighters, but when I'm refreshed I get more done in a couple of hours than I do in a whole day when I'm tired.Unfortunately I sometimes get bouts of insomnia... anyone have good tips on how to cure that?

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

3

43

2007-08-06 05:12:02 UTC

39,721

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kirse

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

I fully agree, I've found that everything pretty much comes back to sleep, whether it's managing stress, work, or just plain getting sick. If there's any other athletes here, one of the key things you know is that you don't get stronger during the workout, you get stronger when you're recovering.Can't say I've ever pulled an all-nighter hackathon, though. My productivity drops off the cliff after 16+ hours of working.

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

6

43

2007-08-06 06:30:43 UTC

39,724

39,655

johnrob

Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?

abstractbill

I think this argument can be generalized. There are no real laws. Only consequences. You can do whatever you want. Some actions will cause the cops to throw you in jail, some wont. Timing is everything - what is illegal today might be legal tomorrow. Any law can be changed, if you can convince enough people.

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4

11

2007-08-06 07:44:44 UTC

39,727

39,687

ordersup

Is YouTube Down?

vlad

it was for a while... http/1.0 error.YT died...and the world followed.

null

1

3

2007-08-06 08:22:38 UTC

39,729

39,674

davidw

The Top 10 Reasons Startups Fail

nreece

11. spending too much time reading "top N X's" lists.

null

0

8

2007-08-06 08:41:59 UTC

39,733

39,471

jgamman

Do we need, and does the web want, a new reddit-like site?

dood

i think there's plenty of room in the ynews/reddit model to go. don't think of it as the website, but in terms of the users. i think a big step forward will be the blogger of news aggregators. allow people to make a submission+vote page and bookmarklet as easy as it is to make a blog. add on a few preferences and bingo, an aggregator focusing on round the world blue-water cruising in ketch style 42fts internet access issues. for instance. i'd rather be plugged into 10 niche communities than a couple of generics.

I've considered making a new reddit style site, incorporating a variety of improvements (probably like many readers here). Is there strong demand for such a service? How hard would it be to replicate the strong and thoughtful community reddit initially created today?

3

2007-08-06 09:11:06 UTC

39,735

39,628

far33d

A Mystery Solved: "Fake Steve" Blogger Comes Clean - New York Times

joshwa

This was so much more fun when it could still possibly be the man himself....

null

0

10

2007-08-06 09:56:52 UTC

39,739

39,699

ashwin

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

22nd hour in progress...6 pots coffee, two packs of cigarettes, some java monster --> productivity peaked 5 hours back but shitty part is that I have to go for a 8 hour workday in 5 hours! and it has nothing to do with the hackathon..Miles to go.......

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

8

43

2007-08-06 10:14:57 UTC

39,743

39,741

wr1472

Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?

wr1472

I've been offered a development position in a startup. The technology is pretty cool and I think has potential. I think there is a high barrier to entry in addressing the same problem. The company has just secured round a funding and estimates there should be enough money to keep going for 12 - 18 months with the growth anticipated. I don't now these guys personally and only ever spoke to them during the interview. Would I be crazy to accept or should I be a bit more diligent?

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1

2007-08-06 10:58:47 UTC

39,745

39,699

dpapathanasiou

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

I thought you were going to say: "Put news.ycombinator.com in your firewall's blacklist" ;)But I agree with your going-to-bed-early idea.And I'll add: spend the first 30 to 45 minutes after you get up doing some kind of cardio exercise (running, treadmill, cycling).You'll be much more relaxed and have a ton of energy all morning.

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

1

43

2007-08-06 11:42:38 UTC

39,746

39,699

pbnaidu

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

I agree with you. I read in National Geography Magazine that sleep is like managing an account. Sleep will catch up to you and you end up wasting more time by sleeping at odd hours to make up for the sleep debt created by not sleeping enough.Recently, I read this article that says humans just need 2hrs of sleep, sounds interesting, here's the link to it http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774680,00.h...

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

5

43

2007-08-06 12:01:17 UTC

39,750

39,741

joshwa

Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?

wr1472

Negotiate your percentage now (single digit percentage would be appropriate for non-founder with low employee number), and have it vest over 12-24 months. "negotiable in 3 months" smells fishy to me.

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3

1

2007-08-06 12:34:07 UTC

39,752

39,747

nostrademons

Biggest "start-up" mistake

drm237

Not trusting "unproven" people in a startup can be a far bigger mistake, however. If you don't trust your employees, they'll quickly fall back into the "Okay, it's a bureacracy, I'll do the minimum amount of work and collect a paycheck" mode. Or they'll leave. Because there's little else they can do if you don't trust them.Instead, you should trust them, but always have contingency plans (which you don't tell them!) for what to do if they don't perform. You probably need those contingency plans even if you're doing the work yourself or have hired the best developers on earth. After all, nearly every software project takes 3 times as long as you expect (even when you account for Hofstadter's Law ;-)), and some things just plain aren't feasible.

My biggest startup mistake is one as well: I trusted unproven people (in a startup role). And they didn't prove.

1

4

2007-08-06 12:38:00 UTC

39,753

39,655

euccastro

Paul Buchheit: What does it mean to own a "right"?

abstractbill

Why do you call it Imaginary instead of Intellectual?

null

5

11

2007-08-06 12:47:08 UTC

39,758

39,699

ivankirigin

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

I see late night hacking as a tale of diminishing returns. For an extra hour of wake, how much less productive will I be tomorrow? How much earlier could I get up if I go to sleep earlier, and how does that time's productivity compare to now?This translates to: if I'm tired I go to sleep. Unless I have a deadline for the next day.

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

7

43

2007-08-06 12:53:45 UTC

39,760

39,388

nkohari

Paul Graham is Braindead

nreece

Guess I should come and defend myself just in case I ever want to come to the west coast. :)First off, the title is obviously not meant to indicate that Paul Graham is, in fact, braindead. In reality, I respect Paul immensely, and it was for this fact that I felt strongly enough that I had to comment. As for the title, I was simply matching one sensationalist title with another. (Note that the title of neither article was actually representative of its real argument.)Secondly, although many wish it (sometimes myself included), Microsoft is not dead nor dying. My core argument is that if Paul wanted to say that entrepreneurs shouldn't fear Microsoft, then so be it; his point would have been much stronger and well-stated. I also would have agreed with him... no one should be afraid of Microsoft, they're just a company.Instead, he said things like "no one uses Windows" and "everyone can see the desktop is over" and completely undermined his own credibility.Anyhow, as I said in another comment, it was just meant as a rant, and I'm surprised the post has gotten as much interest as it has. I still stand by what I said, but I probably could have toned down the sensationalism a bit. :)Thanks for visiting and commenting; it's very good to get the opposing view. I wish you could have read the 30-odd comments that were left, most in agreement, before I switched back to Wordpress and nuked them... :/

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4

15

2007-08-06 12:59:43 UTC

39,770

39,741

wr1472

Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?

wr1472

I think what is negotiable in 3 months is the amount of equity. what I may ask for is the guarantee of some (read minimum amount of) equity in 3 months written into my contract.

null

4

1

2007-08-06 14:08:16 UTC

39,773

39,741

pg

Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?

wr1472

A startup is right to want a trial period for such an early employee, but 3 months is on the long side. Half that should be enough for them to decide.The percentage is impossible to predict. On average maybe 2% for a hacker. Less if they're post series A, or the salary is substantial.

null

0

1

2007-08-06 14:17:39 UTC

39,775

39,741

wr1472

Position in startup - emp. #5. Equity negotiable after 3mnths - normal? What percentage reasonable?

wr1472

Salary is market rate, I think I may push for a shorter trial period, or more importantly a clause saying I will get a minimum amount - say 1% which we can then negotiate an increase on in 3 months.To be honest a trial period of 1.5 or 3 months seems inconsequential, what I am mindful of is at the end of the trial period, they change their minds and say they're not going to offer me any equity.

null

2

1

2007-08-06 14:32:50 UTC

39,778

39,699

pg

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

Even during Viaweb I still slept 8 hours a night (roughly 3-11). The most productive people rarely have more than 6 hours or so of really concentrated work per day, except in emergencies. If you can ensure you get that every day, you don't need to economize on sleep.My way of getting those 6 solid hours was a common hacker solution to the problem: I used the hours between 9 pm and 3 am, when no one could interrupt me.

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

0

43

2007-08-06 14:53:07 UTC

39,786

39,699

jsjenkins168

How to Massively Increase Your Productivity and Happiness in 2 Hours Per Day

staunch

The longer the brain goes without sleep, the more sleep debt is incurred. So staying awake for long periods at a time is unproductive from a time perspective. I'd advocate the opposite: take naps.

Go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do!It's easy to fall into the sleep deprivation trap and think you're getting more out of yourself, even when you're really not. I've always found the need to sleep at all very frustrating, so this lesson is hard-learned for me.I'm still in love with my 36 hour hackathons, but now most days I'm trying to get enough sleep to feel energetic all day without in assistance from drugs like caffeine and nicotine.

4

43

2007-08-06 15:43:53 UTC