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13,800 | comment | dpapathanasiou | 2007-04-17T21:40:06 | null | A great thing to do is invite your target users to try the app/service in your presence.<p>But don't lead them or demo anything; just watch how they start, and what they react to/don't understand.<p>We had a similar experience recently -- <a href="http://blog.seeksift.com/2007/03/02/an-epiphany/">http://blog.seeksift.com/2007/03/02/an-epiphany/</a> -- and it did wonders for our usability. | null | null | 13,785 | 13,650 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,801 | story | notagreatdeal | 2007-04-17T21:41:40 | I'm getting a bad deal at my startup - how do I renegotiate my salary and options? | null | 11 | null | 13,801 | 14 | [
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|
13,802 | comment | zaidf | 2007-04-17T21:42:25 | null | I was a kid admittedly but from what I remember and heard, few used the word "bubble" until it actually burst. <p>I love the following excerpt from an article:
"Do you think that a $300 million valuation of a combined company is realistic?"
"No question," said the older one, spreading his hands.
"The Internet? Slam dunk," said the younger. <p>You can read the entire thing here: <a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.06/es_burnrate_pr.html">http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.06/es_burnrate_pr.html</a> | null | null | 13,777 | 13,660 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,803 | comment | jey | 2007-04-17T21:42:30 | null | <i>Also, remember that Google vets each proposal, so they're funding those projects they'll be able to leverage in code, people (SoC is a great recruiting tool), or both.</i><p>False. Google only approves the Open Source projects which apply for SoC slots, but it seems to me that any established Open Source project can get SoC slots. It's the Open Source project's leaders who choose which of the project proposals to actually fund, not Google. | null | null | 13,772 | 13,742 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,804 | comment | gyro_robo | 2007-04-17T21:43:15 | null | It's one of those silver lining things. You end up doing your own start-up instead, which is usually what you preferred anyway.<p>I wonder how many top developers are vanishing from the workforce because their start-up succeeded. A year or three of hard work and then retirement.<p>Or they end up owning/running some other business, where they aren't using their most highly developed skill, programming.
| null | null | 13,707 | 13,575 | null | null | null | null |
13,805 | story | bootload | 2007-04-17T21:43:37 | google n-gram data | null | http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2006/08/all-our-n-gram-are-belong-to-you.html | 4 | null | 13,805 | 1 | [
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] | null | null |
13,806 | comment | andreyf | 2007-04-17T21:46:06 | null | From here: <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/were-expecting.html">http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/were-expecting.html</a><p>"Our due date is this summer." | null | null | 13,720 | 13,720 | null | null | null | null |
13,807 | comment | JMiao | 2007-04-17T21:46:10 | null | No, I hear ya. =)<p>But my question is if few people could recognize the coming of a bubble in 1999, what makes you think they're better at calling one out today? i.e. how easy it is to say "get out before the bubble bursts" | null | null | 13,802 | 13,660 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,808 | comment | dpapathanasiou | 2007-04-17T21:46:44 | null | <i>It's the Open Source project's leaders who choose which of the project proposals to actually fund, not Google.</i><p>No, it's the other way around; each code project submits a proposal to Google, and Google decides which project to accept or not (I'm part of a user group which submitted SoC applications this year).<p>The user group ("mentoring organization" in Google's terms) does have to file an application, once, at the beginning, so that Google can verify them, but after that, each project proposal from that user group/mentoring organization is subject to Google's approval.<p>Just being an established Open Source project does <i>not</i> mean automatic entry to the SoC. | null | null | 13,803 | 13,742 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,809 | comment | andreyf | 2007-04-17T21:49:56 | null | The company they aquired:<p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060819233054/http://tonicsystems.com/">http://web.archive.org/web/20060819233054/http://tonicsystems.com/</a><p>"Java PowerPoint® Specialist"? | null | null | 13,720 | 13,720 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,810 | comment | gyro_robo | 2007-04-17T21:51:23 | null | > Younger, more inexperienced developers should be looking, number one, to work with people who know a ton more than they do so that they can learn from the greats<p>Do you know anyone who actually learned this way? I, and others I know, learned mostly from reading (docs, books, code, tutorials, etc.). Great developers who are actually working don't want to be interrupted every time some inexperienced person needs help.<p>I also find presentations at conventions to often be painfully slow at conveying information. I can read in 5 minutes what it takes a presenter 30 minutes to talk about, and further, I can get answers to specific questions that always pop up when a presentation glosses over the details. Plus, if I already know something about it, I can just grab the knowledge "diffs" rather than sitting through 15 minutes of introduction.<p>Google is the #1 tool I use when programming.
| null | null | 13,723 | 13,575 | null | [
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13,811 | comment | dpapathanasiou | 2007-04-17T21:53:31 | null | This might be of interest to you: <a href="http://www.negotiations.com/articles/geeks-earning-more/">http://www.negotiations.com/articles/geeks-earning-more/</a><p>It's geared more towards working at an established company, but many of the principles are the same. | null | null | 13,801 | 13,801 | null | null | null | null |
13,812 | comment | Readmore | 2007-04-17T21:57:28 | null | While it doesn't mean too much that website is pretty bad. Maybe Zenter does have a chance. | null | null | 13,809 | 13,720 | null | null | null | null |
13,813 | comment | far33d | 2007-04-17T21:57:30 | null |
The longer you've programmed, the less time it takes. <p>But learning syntax and libraries is much different than (for lack of a better word) learning the "zen" of it. You could learn python and just write C-style code in it in a few hours, but it might take much much longer to change the way you look at and solve problems to match the strengths of a language.
| null | null | 13,775 | 13,775 | null | null | null | null |
13,814 | story | bootload | 2007-04-17T21:58:29 | google searchmash | null | http://www.searchmash.com/ | 1 | null | 13,814 | 0 | null | null | null |
13,815 | comment | notagreatdeal | 2007-04-17T21:59:21 | null | More details:<p>engineer number 6, employee number 8. joined pre-series A<p>salary: 75K, .5% of the company, location: bay area<p>engineers 1-5 have lower salary, but 3-10% of company<p>recent (useless, IMO) VP hires are making six figures with a larger % of the company. they joined after raising series A. | null | null | 13,801 | 13,801 | null | [
13838,
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] | null | null |
13,816 | comment | aristus | 2007-04-17T22:00:05 | null | For Algol-like languages it takes me about 5,000 lines written and 20,000 lines read before I feel comfortable with it. A good way to do this is to re-implement some pet program in the new language. That way you don't confuse the work of a new problem with the work of the new language.<p>[edit] I second far33d. You can write FORTRAN in any language. :) Each language has its own conceptual style, idioms, and so on. Learning how to think in a language is real fluency. | null | null | 13,775 | 13,775 | null | null | null | null |
13,817 | comment | andreyf | 2007-04-17T22:00:52 | null | From the source, it looks like this is running on RoR... wasn't YouOS re-written using web.py a bit back? | null | null | 13,390 | 13,384 | null | null | null | null |
13,818 | story | dawie | 2007-04-17T22:01:06 | So, Google did aquire their presentation software. | null | http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/were-expecting.html | 8 | null | 13,818 | 12 | [
13856,
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] | null | null |
13,819 | comment | gyro_robo | 2007-04-17T22:02:06 | null | RE: Caterina, it's funny when people write articles saying not to do what they did. I'm sure there were even more compelling post-bubble lists for why people shouldn't start web businesses in Canada, which obviously didn't stop her.<p>Of course if you always tell people they'll fail, you'll be right 90% of the time, but you'll also miss every single success.<p>When it comes to your own start-up succeeding, like Mark Cuban says, you only need to be right <i>once</i>.
| null | null | 13,565 | 13,565 | null | null | null | null |
13,820 | comment | Harj | 2007-04-17T22:02:56 | null | YouTube beat Google video by a mile. <p>Not everything Google does turns to gold.
| null | null | 13,720 | 13,720 | null | null | null | null |
13,821 | comment | omouse | 2007-04-17T22:03:41 | null | Definitely! Google seems to be over-reaching. They have a lot of apps and many people just don't know about them. And I thought they were going to concentrate on <i>finishing</i> apps not creating new ones! big wtf. | null | null | 13,787 | 13,720 | null | null | null | null |
13,822 | story | CYCY | 2007-04-17T22:03:43 | How can a non-hacker (with very basic C++ knowledge only) start a start-up successfully? | null | null | 6 | null | 13,822 | 24 | [
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13,823 | comment | dawie | 2007-04-17T22:07:37 | null | Depends on the Language, but for me its norammaly 2 Projects | null | null | 13,775 | 13,775 | null | null | null | null |
13,824 | comment | jaggederest | 2007-04-17T22:08:31 | null | I learned ruby functionally in about a month, and fluently (eg thinking in ruby idiom) took about three months of half-time work in it. I wouldn't say I'm a guru yet, though, just comfortable.<p>Haskell is still kicking my ass after six weeks of spare-time though, so I think it has more to do with the language than anything. | null | null | 13,775 | 13,775 | null | null | null | null |
13,825 | comment | dawie | 2007-04-17T22:10:21 | null | Learn another language, like Ruby | null | null | 13,822 | 13,822 | null | null | null | null |
13,826 | comment | Sam_Odio | 2007-04-17T22:10:55 | null | You're right - an LLC is not taxed like a regular corporation. However, neither is an S-Corp.<p>If I remember correctly from my corporate tax class, both LLCs and S-corporations are generally treated as "pass through entities" (if the appropriate elections are made). Therefore S-Corporations are not subject to double taxation.<p>Edit - here's more info: <a href="http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/A30CE890-BBAA-4B8A-AD66A33FA038988B/111/182/241/ART/">http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/A30CE890-BBAA-4B8A-AD66A33FA038988B/111/182/241/ART/</a> | null | null | 13,784 | 13,752 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,827 | comment | danielha | 2007-04-17T22:11:58 | null | I cringed when I saw the $25 million number and I cringed again when I saw what the site was. | null | null | 13,660 | 13,660 | null | null | null | null |
13,828 | comment | nostrademons | 2007-04-17T22:17:23 | null | Learn to hack? ;-)<p>There're two possible questions in the title, and I'm not sure which one you mean. Are you asking how a non-hacker can start a <i>tech startup</i>, specifically one focusing on the web? Or are you asking how a non-hacker can start <i>any</i> startup, be it biotech, finance, auto-body, housepainting, or some other industry entirely?<p>For the first question, you really either need to be a hacker yourself or convince a top-notch hacker to work for you. You can't expect to start a successful tech startup if you don't have good tech. I listed some ways that entrepreneurs repel potential tech cofounders here - <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=13000">http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=13000</a> - and also suggest some things you might bring to the table that might convince a techie to work with you.<p>If you're just looking to start <i>any</i> startup and don't care about the field, the rule is always "Concentrate on your strengths." Basically, you want to go into business being more passionate about the particular project you're working on than anyone else on earth (or in your location, if you have geographic barriers to entry). That's what'll convince customers to buy from you rather than a competitor. | null | null | 13,822 | 13,822 | null | null | null | null |
13,829 | comment | wotandonato | 2007-04-17T22:19:56 | null | If anyone has an extra: wotandonato-at-gmail.com Please!
| null | null | 12,556 | 12,556 | null | null | null | null |
13,830 | comment | SwellJoe | 2007-04-17T22:21:47 | null | They all came from TechCrunch, perhaps? | null | null | 13,664 | 13,650 | null | null | null | null |
13,831 | comment | zaidf | 2007-04-17T22:25:11 | null | Usually if you think you can you can; if you don't think you can it's only harder. | null | null | 13,822 | 13,822 | null | null | null | null |
13,832 | comment | rokhayakebe | 2007-04-17T22:25:29 | null | BOy boy. Zenter. I still would not care. Google is just bluffing right now. And it hurts me how many people cannot see that the big Giant has lost its way. | null | null | 13,720 | 13,720 | null | null | null | null |
13,833 | comment | dawie | 2007-04-17T22:30:08 | null | I wonder why they didn't buy Slide or Zenter | null | null | 13,818 | 13,818 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,834 | comment | SwellJoe | 2007-04-17T22:34:07 | null | Forget about C++. Learn a high level language that has the libraries you need for building an application quickly. Someone suggested Ruby, and he's not wrong. Python is another good choice, though it doesn't have an obvious "guided path to success" the way RoR works for Ruby. PHP will allow you to find a lot of potential co-founders, but it's probably not worth it...at this stage you don't have the know-how to recognize a good PHP developer, and a bad one will simply kill you (PHP is perhaps the best language for writing horrible code--the majority of stuff out there written in PHP is really frighteningly bad). That's not to say there aren't bad Ruby and Python developers...but the barrier to entry seems high enough to keep out most of the riff raff.<p>Find a co-founder who likes your ideas and trusts you'll get up to speed on whatever bits of the equation he/she doesn't want to handle. In a startup past the very earliest "get-to-prototype" stages there's a roughly even split between the sucky non-tech stuff and the actual development...you could take the non-tech stuff and leave the hacking to your co-founder. I'm quite technical and have developed a lot of software in the past ten years, but I found an even better developer and took on the sucky stuff while leaving him to handle most of the development. It's working very well (though I often find myself wanting to get back to real "work" when I'm doing the boring accounting/marketing/taxes/funding/support/etc. stuff--I have to remind myself that if we reach our goals I'll be able to hack anytime I want, in between rides on my robotic dinosaur, of course). | null | null | 13,822 | 13,822 | null | null | null | null |
13,835 | comment | rokhayakebe | 2007-04-17T22:34:10 | null | One of the first American Billionaires once said he could answer any question asked. He called in a meeting and ask each journalist to come armed with top notch questions (of course industry related ), which they did. The day of the meeting they were surprised to see 16 phones at the Great Entrepreneur 's desk. For each question asked he pick up a phone and call someone who then, somehow, provided the proper answer.
If you cannot code, need to start a startup and do not know the moral of this story, then you probably should go sit back and think for a few weeks before jumping into the middle of the ocean. | null | null | 13,822 | 13,822 | null | [
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13,836 | comment | patryn20 | 2007-04-17T22:36:22 | null | Seriously? People make that little at these startups? I understand making that little pre-funding, but you would expect to be paid in sync with the cost of living in those areas after the company has been funded. <p>You can't even rent an apartment on that out there, can you? Unless you have a roommate. <p>I am not saying I expected too much more, but thought at least $90k for anyone with any degree of talent would be reasonable. <p>I mean, crap, $90k would still be WELL below median income for experienced software engineers in Silicon Valley, wouldn't it? Salary.com seems to indicate it would, but that could be a biased source. | null | null | 13,815 | 13,801 | null | null | null | null |
13,837 | comment | omouse | 2007-04-17T22:36:55 | null | Who hired the VPs and why? Do the other employees feel they're useless? | null | null | 13,815 | 13,801 | null | null | null | null |
13,838 | comment | lindsayrgwatt | 2007-04-17T22:37:17 | null | Two thoughts for you:
1) What do you want - and more importantly: why do you deserve it? If you can't justify why you deserve more than a VP like that, then you can't justify it (Most powerful words in a negotiation are "where is that number coming from?")<p>2) What is your BATNA? That's jargon for "Best Alternative for a Negotiated Agreement": if you don't get what you want what will you do? Will you walk away? Is your company f!cked if you walk away?<p>Hopefully this can frame your thinking. | null | null | 13,815 | 13,801 | null | null | null | null |
13,839 | comment | dhoward | 2007-04-17T22:37:59 | null | I don't see it as a big deal but C corps require Board of Director meetings, Shareholder meetings, corporate minutes and corporate resolutions. From what I read, LLCs don't require these things but you may want to do them if your LLC involves more than a few people.<p>LLC taxes probably aren't much different than corporate taxes. Calculating profit is the hard part and you have to do that in both cases.<p>Creating an LLC is often just a little bit of paperwork, just like a corporation. It may vary, depending on your state. Since you only do it one time, anyway, the burden in terms of creation paperwork isn't usually significant. | null | null | 13,799 | 13,752 | null | null | null | null |
13,840 | comment | gyro_robo | 2007-04-17T22:38:30 | null | You want to be dead for sure before you might accidentally get shot?
| null | null | 13,770 | 13,763 | null | [
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13,841 | comment | Tichy | 2007-04-17T22:40:16 | null | Ok, of course it would take me more than a week to really get the zen of the language... | null | null | 13,788 | 13,775 | null | null | null | null |
13,842 | comment | dhoward | 2007-04-17T22:43:14 | null | Oh, and I suppose that the issuing of corporate stock might be considered more complex than creating interests in an LLC. Technically, it is probably not more physical paperwork or actual reporting but the knowledge and burden is probably significantly greater. | null | null | 13,799 | 13,752 | null | null | null | null |
13,843 | comment | gyro_robo | 2007-04-17T22:43:23 | null | It depends on how similar it is to what you're already familiar with. Learning a new imperative language is different from learning your first functional language.<p>I learned Python so quickly, I used to stare at the 2 lines I'd just written that did the same work as 20 in C++. My brain had to play catch-up since it was used to autopiloting while filling in the tedium.
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13,844 | comment | SwellJoe | 2007-04-17T22:44:16 | null | As others have said, it depends on so many factors. I'm still learning perl (my primary language) ten years after I started. I was writing working code in Ruby after a weekend, and I believe I could be fluent in it within a week or two of working primarily in that language. Python I've never set out to learn, but several years of working with Python projects and developers has given me the ability to patch in what I need in existing projects without a struggle (but I couldn't start from scratch).<p>It also depends on how you learn it, and who you learn it from. The pickax book is a fantastic book for learning ruby. Same goes for Learning Perl for perl. I've never seen a similar book for Python, but one might exist? For JavaScript you cannot beat Douglas Crockford's videos at the Yahoo! Developer Network. Absolutely fantastic...taught me everything I needed to know to be productive in the language in one weekend. JavaScript also happens to be a great learning language, as it has both functional and imperative constructs and pretty simple syntax and minimal keywords.<p>Find all of them (along with a few other good ones--Joe Hewitt's Firebug demo, in particular, is what you'll want after the Crockford vids) here:<p><a href="http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/theater/">http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/theater/</a> | null | null | 13,775 | 13,775 | null | [
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13,845 | comment | corentin | 2007-04-17T22:45:58 | null | Do you really think people would feel safer?
What happens if there are bugs or security holes in the system?<p>And, even if we assume the system is perfect, would you want to live in such a place? | null | null | 13,764 | 13,763 | null | null | null | null |
13,846 | comment | Sam_Odio | 2007-04-17T22:46:51 | null | Another interesting note: In some cases LLCs can be taxed as corporations (and therefore subject to double taxation), if the founders don't file the appropriate form.<p>Just to be safe, if you're forming an LLC, you want to file form 8832 and elect to be classified as a partnership (if there's more than one partner), or "disregarded as a separate entity" (if you're all alone). DO NOT elect to be treated as a corporation - unless you want to be taxed as such.<p>Check-the-box regulations:<p>- <a href="http://www.llcweb.com/struc.htm">http://www.llcweb.com/struc.htm</a><p>- <a href="http://www.irs.gov/irm/part4/ch47s05.html#d0e501936">http://www.irs.gov/irm/part4/ch47s05.html#d0e501936</a> <p>- Form 8832: <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8832.pdf">http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8832.pdf</a> | null | null | 13,826 | 13,752 | null | null | null | null |
13,847 | comment | create_account | 2007-04-17T22:47:54 | null | No, he means let the Idiocracy world of the future do this, if it's done, ever. | null | null | 13,840 | 13,763 | null | null | null | null |
13,848 | comment | gyro_robo | 2007-04-17T22:48:53 | null | Joe Kraus, founder and original president of Excite, was a political science major. But he had 5 co-founders who were developers. <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Kraus">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Kraus</a>
| null | null | 13,822 | 13,822 | null | null | null | null |
13,849 | comment | create_account | 2007-04-17T22:49:19 | null | <i>do you think anything about YC would be likely to change if this did turn out to be Bubble2.0?</i><p>Ya-huh: sell that overvalued portfolio faster than you can say "Common Lisp". | null | null | 13,760 | 13,660 | null | [
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13,850 | comment | corentin | 2007-04-17T22:51:17 | null | Technology can't solve all problems; crime is a social problem.
| null | null | 13,781 | 13,763 | null | [
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13,851 | comment | omouse | 2007-04-17T22:54:00 | null | Yes...Release the hounds! | null | null | 13,781 | 13,763 | null | null | null | null |
13,852 | comment | _csoo | 2007-04-17T22:54:34 | null | Since when is Startup News synonymous with reddit? | null | null | 13,763 | 13,763 | null | [
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13,853 | comment | amichail | 2007-04-17T22:56:20 | null | Whatever the reason, it still happens. So we need a solution. Technology can at least give us a short-term solution. Maybe later we will have better ways to deal with mental illness for example.
| null | null | 13,850 | 13,763 | null | null | null | null |
13,854 | story | usablecontent | 2007-04-17T22:57:19 | Netvibes Launches Universe-Highly Customized Pages | null | http://startupmeme.com/2007/04/17/netvibes-launches-universe-highly-customized-pages/ | 2 | null | 13,854 | 0 | null | null | null |
13,855 | comment | albertcardona | 2007-04-17T22:57:34 | null | So true (about Python vs. C). Same with java: I spend a lot of the time filling in straw. Python makes me think because almost every line is actually meaningful.<p>As for how long with a new language: speaking without quantitative data, I'd say differences in motivation are much larger than differences in languages, for languages with a reasonable set of libraries (i.e. brainfuck and the like excluded). | null | null | 13,843 | 13,775 | null | null | null | null |
13,856 | comment | vlad | 2007-04-17T23:05:18 | null | I think that this purchase was about the server technology to create and edit PowerPoint presentations as well to convert them to plaintext or PDF. Finally, they have their own stand-alone PowerPoint viewer that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.<p>From their web site circa 2004 via archive.org
----
Tonic's unique and patent pending PowerPoint® library provides an enterprise-ready API for you to programatically work with PowerPoint® documents, taking slide presentations to the next level of sophistication.<p>The library provides a 100% Java API to read, create and manipulate PowerPoint® presentations. Use the library to generate new slides, populate presentation templates or extract data from existing presentations. The library supports the standard PowerPoint file format that is used by PowerPoint 97, 98, 2000, XP, etc.<p>The library works directly with PowerPoint® files. This means you don't need the PowerPoint® application to use the library, only to view generated presentations.<p>Turn Slide Presentations into Powerful Business Tools
Here are just some of the ways to use Tonic's PowerPoint® library:<p>Convert PowerPoint® presentation into other formats e.g. PDF, HTML
Extract data from PowerPoint® templates
Auto-generate entire presentations from existing data sources e.g. a database or spreadsheet
Manage collections of presentations
Extract slides or data from existing presentations to create new ones
For examples of what Tonic Systems' PowerPoint® library can do for your business, see our Case Studies.<p>Availability and Pricing
The library is currently shipping. A license to use the library is priced at US $5000, where the envisaged usage is a single instance running inside a web application, serving unlimited users. For other usage models or inclusion in a product, we are happy to discuss different pricing options. Site and global licenses are also available. | null | null | 13,818 | 13,818 | null | [
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13,857 | comment | abstractbill | 2007-04-17T23:06:18 | null | I was thinking more in terms of them remaining an available source of early-stage funding even if other investors are panicking (in the event that a bubble bursts). I know people have made good money this way in the past... | null | null | 13,849 | 13,660 | null | null | null | null |
13,858 | comment | schoudha | 2007-04-17T23:07:49 | null | You can't win on brand name alone.<p>Zenter has some tough competition ahead of it but I'm sure they expected it.
| null | null | 13,720 | 13,720 | null | [
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13,859 | story | msgbeepa | 2007-04-17T23:08:56 | Marketplace For Creative Expression | null | http://tinyurl.com/22nefk | 1 | null | 13,859 | -1 | null | null | true |
13,860 | comment | dhoward | 2007-04-17T23:09:39 | null | Realistically, you probably can't.<p>If you go to the founders and threaten, they'll probably fire you. They got funding now so you're replaceable with somebody who will accept post-funding equity.<p>If you go to the founders and beg, they'll probably talk you out of it. They won't increase your compensation unless they see an increase in value.<p>If you go to the founders and say, "Tell me what I can do to really help the company" and then work like a dog to become an out-and-out performer, they may (repeat, may) appreciate your outperformance of the rest of the team and want to give you a big equity boost. It's hard to hate a total coding monster and you have to be a bad person to want to cheat somebody who will kamikaze himself for your company. Still, you have to do that for several years and really become the guy that they say, "If we only had three more guys exactly like him!" And, in the end, expect it to take years to build up a decent equity position and realize that they don't <i>have</i> to give you anything. And, of course, you've got to be a total coding monster. | null | null | 13,801 | 13,801 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,861 | comment | natrius | 2007-04-17T23:09:43 | null | If you're not a hacker and you're trying to start a business that requires a lot of hacking from the outset (such as anything computer-related), you're going to have to let go of the idea that this is going to be "your" startup. The beginning or a company's existence is the most risk-laden period, and it's also the period where the value you can provide is far less than the value the people actually writing the code will provide. You have to convince hackers to come on as co-founders (not employees), and compensate them accordingly.<p>The other option, as others have suggested, is to learn to code yourself. I doubt that you'd be able to do a good job of coding something up yourself without anyone with formal computer science training backing you up, but learning never hurts. If you know that starting a tech business is something you want to do someday, I'd say you should start learning how to code now. Personally, whenever a non-hacker tells me about something they want to start, I can't really see what value they're bringing to the table. Most ideas aren't that original (and don't necessarily have to be to be successful), so if they can't actually make the product, what good does working under them do for me? Business-types are definitely useful, but not until there's at least some sort of prototype.<p>I've never actually done a startup myself, so this is really just my personal intuition of the way things should work. | null | null | 13,822 | 13,822 | null | null | null | null |
13,862 | comment | far33d | 2007-04-17T23:15:29 | null | Zenter isn't even in private beta yet. | null | null | 13,833 | 13,818 | null | null | null | null |
13,863 | comment | vlad | 2007-04-17T23:18:52 | null | Slide and Zenter have nothing to do with each other, or Tonic. | null | null | 13,833 | 13,818 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,864 | comment | extantproject | 2007-04-17T23:19:17 | null | Weinberg was confrontational. He seems only out to argue. Paul handled it well. | null | null | 13,609 | 13,608 | null | null | null | null |
13,865 | comment | omouse | 2007-04-17T23:20:10 | null | If Zenter can be as cool as KeyNote is on OS X, they have nothing to fear from Google. | null | null | 13,858 | 13,720 | null | [
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13,866 | comment | Sam_Odio | 2007-04-17T23:22:07 | null | [deleted] | null | null | 13,763 | 13,763 | null | null | null | null |
13,867 | story | vlad | 2007-04-17T23:25:45 | Made in USA logo a differentiator? (49 comments) | null | http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?biz.5.478704.49 | 1 | null | 13,867 | 1 | [
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13,868 | story | realsandhill | 2007-04-17T23:26:14 | Does anyone know what Sequoia Capital Funded stealth mode startup Fotoroll is up to? | null | http://sequoia.fotoroll.com | 4 | null | 13,868 | 4 | [
13875,
14072,
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] | null | true |
13,869 | comment | webwright | 2007-04-17T23:26:32 | null | So you just create a contact form and expect feedback to come in without any effort?<p>Buy lunch for 5 local users and brainstorm. Get your friends to try the app, have a dinner party and brainstorm. Go to survey monkey and add a short survey to your app.<p>You need to seek out feedback from a broad spectrum of your users and ask specific questions (hopefully based on the voluntary feedback that you've received to date). | null | null | 13,650 | 13,650 | null | null | null | null |
13,870 | comment | gibsonf1 | 2007-04-17T23:26:40 | null | I think Zenter <i>may</i> need to come up with a new idea.<p>Google has marketing clout and web presence like no other (this is obvious). They also have incredible staying power, so if I am investing time into using an application, and I have 2 alternatives that are similar functionally, I would take the one with the best chance of future survival, and that is clearly Google. I guess the option they have is to create some amazing functionality that Google doesn't have in their version, and sell it to Google <i>if</i> Google's app is any good. <p>I guess we won't know until Google launches what they have. Zenter - Launch First and soon!! <i>Very</i> soon.<p>Btw: At Startup school, a guy from Google asked us about our startup and what we were doing, etc. It was clear they were looking for ideas there. | null | null | 13,726 | 13,720 | null | [
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13,871 | comment | nostrademons | 2007-04-17T23:30:19 | null | It's a little different when searching for technical experts, however, because it's often not possible to tell a technical expert from a technical nincompoop without a solid background in the subject. There are a lot of folks out there who can play buzzword bingo with the best of them, but can't actually sit down and code something. | null | null | 13,835 | 13,822 | null | [
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13,872 | comment | tocomment | 2007-04-17T23:34:02 | null | Here's how I try to think of it. There are going to be some features that you realize are crucial to add. They'll be so obvious you won't even need to write them down. The point of getting user feedback is not to get requests for random little things, but rather to find out how they are using the site, and discover with them those crucial features that are obviously needed.
| null | null | 13,650 | 13,650 | null | null | null | null |
13,873 | comment | tocomment | 2007-04-17T23:38:26 | null | Seeksift looks cool. I was a little frusterated though when I clicked on the blog and then couldn't find a way to click back to seeksift easily. | null | null | 13,800 | 13,650 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,874 | comment | danielha | 2007-04-17T23:39:03 | null | I'm inclined to say it makes no difference, but it might. Some may have small partiality to US (or western) software, but more for support and documentation reasons. Where or from whom the code was from is opaque to most users anyway. The topic reminds me of this particular essay, which is fitting: <a href="http://paulgraham.com/usa.html">http://paulgraham.com/usa.html</a> | null | null | 13,867 | 13,867 | null | null | null | null |
13,875 | comment | danielha | 2007-04-17T23:41:21 | null | What makes you say they're funded by Sequoia? I don't think they are. (And having the word sequoia in a linked subdomain doesn't count.) | null | null | 13,868 | 13,868 | null | null | null | null |
13,876 | comment | gibsonf1 | 2007-04-17T23:44:41 | null | Compatibility with MS Office is a big deal for business users - at least in the beginning. But the staying power will come from how well the app works on the web. | null | null | 13,856 | 13,818 | null | null | null | null |
13,877 | comment | schoudha | 2007-04-17T23:47:15 | null | I don't think emulating Keynote is the right play. Any online presentation app should be designed to exploit the inherent advantages that web applications have, i.e. collaboration, information retrieval, etc..<p>I don't think the goal is to replace Keynote or Powerpoint but rather provide software the lets people easily develop bring presentations for a web audience. <p>As a former iWork engineer, I think some of the stuff Keynote has can't be replicated effectively in a web application. | null | null | 13,865 | 13,720 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,878 | comment | danielha | 2007-04-17T23:48:09 | null | Never mind, another article shows that they replace text passwords with images. It makes it more interesting, though its practicality is yet to be seen. | null | null | 13,665 | 13,653 | null | null | null | null |
13,879 | comment | gibsonf1 | 2007-04-17T23:48:16 | null | Our actual product is different than our original idea when we formed the LLC although it uses technology from the original. What do you think of the idea of forming a C corp for the new application that is then owned initially by the LLC? (Our idea is to have core technology provided by the original LLC to a series of applications) | null | null | 13,784 | 13,752 | null | [
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13,880 | comment | RyanGWU82 | 2007-04-17T23:53:12 | null | The big reason why C corps are preferable is because S corporation shareholders can only be people -- not other businesses, like VC firms. (S corps also can't issue preferred stock.) An S corporation can't take venture capital without first reverting back to C corp status. But an S corporation can save a lot of money on taxes.<p>But although many of our businesses <i>want</i> venture capital, most are unlikely to get it. In fact, I'd hazard a guess that more tech startups will have income than will have external corporate funders. (This usually happens when the founders need some money, so they put their original idea on hold and do some consulting for a while. Eventually they're doing exclusively consulting, because it pays well, or at least it pays off quickly.) By that point, you're probably unlikely to remember the tax consequences and switch to an S corp.<p>Why not start out as an S corp, and switch to a C corp iff you acquire VC or sell preferred stock? | null | null | 13,784 | 13,752 | null | [
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13,881 | story | rokhayakebe | 2007-04-17T23:59:44 | Help. Google is lost. | null | 2 | null | 13,881 | 3 | [
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|
13,882 | comment | rokhayakebe | 2007-04-18T00:01:26 | null | Do you believe (like me) that Google has lost its way ( in anything other than search ) and is going into acquisition just in Hopes to find the company that will put it back into the road? | null | null | 13,881 | 13,881 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,883 | comment | danielha | 2007-04-18T00:04:35 | null | <i>"Btw: At Startup school, a guy from Google asked us about our startup and what we were doing, etc. It was clear they were looking for ideas there."</i><p>That sounds more like an interested hacker from Google who was genuinely curious about your project (like everyone else there), rather than a planted corporate development spy itching to report his scoops to home base. | null | null | 13,870 | 13,720 | null | [
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13,884 | comment | omouse | 2007-04-18T00:05:31 | null | Oh I didn't mean that it shouldn't try and exploit the advantages of web apps, I just meant that it should make presentations look better, by default, than those awful PowerPoint presentations we always see. | null | null | 13,877 | 13,720 | null | null | null | null |
13,885 | comment | dawie | 2007-04-18T00:07:52 | null | Vald, <p>Zenter is an web based presentation app that promises to really take advantage of being online. Users will have the regular functionality of PowerPoint, but with the ability to directly add content from the web (Google Images). Each public slide show will also be put into a public library, for other users to remix or just drop into their show.<p>Slide has more to do with photos, I agree. | null | null | 13,863 | 13,818 | null | [
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13,886 | comment | dawie | 2007-04-18T00:10:38 | null | Funny how they sing the same song all the time. ie. We have the biggest data center in the world, now you can use it. We don't make money now, but we will make shit loads in the future. Sounds like web 2.0.. | null | null | 13,633 | 13,633 | null | null | null | null |
13,887 | comment | danw | 2007-04-18T00:11:45 | null | From what I understand the google presentation software has been in development for quite some time and Tonic was aquired to help fill gaps in their software. | null | null | 13,818 | 13,818 | null | null | null | null |
13,888 | story | usablecontent | 2007-04-18T00:15:40 | Snap Launches Snap Shots | null | http://startupmeme.com/2007/04/17/snap-launches-snap-shots/ | 1 | null | 13,888 | 1 | [
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13,889 | comment | lindsayrgwatt | 2007-04-18T00:19:49 | null | Dude,<p>Here's another way you might be able to justify a re-negotiation.<p>Think of what value your company will have five years from now if it gets sold/goes public, etc. Let's say it's $100M; your options are worth $500K.<p>Now think of how much you'd be making if you weren't at a startup. Let's say it's $95K.<p>If you took your $20K and put it in the stock market and earned 7% a year on it (that's almost a sure thing as that's the historical yield on the market), you'd have $115K.<p>Now how likely is it that your startup is going to be worth $100M. Let's say it's 20%. Then your $500K is worth 0.2<i>500= $100K.<p>From that perspective you'd be better off working somewhere else under your current employment contract.<p>I have no idea if these numbers are legitimate in your case, but it could be another way of you getting a better deal.<p>Let me know if you want any more ideas. | null | null | 13,815 | 13,801 | null | null | null | null |
13,890 | story | twism | 2007-04-18T00:20:51 | Mozilla Firefox Start Page | null | http://www.google.com/firefox?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official | 1 | null | 13,890 | 0 | [
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] | null | true |
13,891 | comment | Goladus | 2007-04-18T00:21:51 | null | I'm using Python: Essential Reference by David M. Beazley(Third Edition) to learn Python. It's got a no-nonsense tutorial that plows through all the basics first, then has a large reference for the Standard Library. The reference is very similar (almost word for word in some cases) to the online library reference.<p>I haven't found anything yet, though, on advanced techniques or how to write "pythonic" code. I decided to start reading "On Lisp," instead.<p><a href="http://safari.oreilly.com/0672328623">http://safari.oreilly.com/0672328623</a> (Beazley's Python reference)<p> | null | null | 13,844 | 13,775 | null | null | null | null |
13,892 | comment | far33d | 2007-04-18T00:22:33 | null | I guess you haven't read this yet<p><a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/hiring.html">http://www.paulgraham.com/hiring.html</a> | null | null | 13,882 | 13,881 | null | null | null | null |
13,893 | comment | zaidf | 2007-04-18T00:28:57 | null | Ideally IF google really wanted to send someone to spy, it would be someone who is SEEMINGLY a hacker:D <p>Not that I think google is out of ideas. They probably have too many ideas. | null | null | 13,883 | 13,720 | null | [
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13,894 | comment | zaidf | 2007-04-18T00:33:26 | null | On a side note, time for a bury feature;) | null | null | 13,763 | 13,763 | null | [
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] | null | null |
13,895 | comment | Goladus | 2007-04-18T00:36:27 | null | I realize this doesn't quite apply to your post, but I'd just like to point out that the "hard to hate a kamikaze" mentality doesn't always apply in a corporate environment. The people you'd be negotiating with may be too preoccupied with political maneuvering to even notice.<p>Just a warning to anyone who might take that logic and apply it somewhere other than a startup. | null | null | 13,860 | 13,801 | null | [
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13,896 | story | usablecontent | 2007-04-18T00:45:03 | FreshBooks Launches Report Cards | null | http://startupmeme.com/2007/04/17/freshbooks-launches-report-cards/ | 1 | null | 13,896 | 0 | null | null | null |
13,897 | comment | rokhayakebe | 2007-04-18T00:48:56 | null | I have. Same for all his posts ( still did not get me to YC ), Still it seems tome that most of us are buying into this google thing. | null | null | 13,881 | 13,881 | null | null | null | null |
13,898 | story | mattjaynes | 2007-04-18T00:54:41 | When In Doubt, Make It Public | null | http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000840.html | 4 | null | 13,898 | 0 | null | null | null |
13,899 | comment | Goladus | 2007-04-18T00:55:36 | null | I agree. I doubt anyone will be surprised to find out Google's working on something that would compete with Wufoo as well. | null | null | 13,741 | 13,720 | null | null | null | null |
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