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9,800 | comment | Benja | 2007-04-07T00:53:00 | null | I guess I'm in the younger half, because on reflection, I realize that not only do I agree, but that this <i>is</i> old news to me. I'm not complaining, though -- this article made me realize something I didn't know consciously.<p>A lot of commenters here seem to argue that Microsoft still has the vast majority of desktop installations, and that this isn't likely to go away soon. I agree (I don't like it, but I think it's true). But I also agree that Microsoft isn't a <i>threat</i> any more, like it used to be. And, on reflection, I agree that it is web apps that are making the difference.<p>I don't think that Word or Photoshop moving online is what really makes the difference, though. Every hoary Windows competitor has had a word processor and an image editor. (Sure, they didn't match Word feature-for-feature; does Writely?) But I believe a major reason that prevented people from switching has been the long tail of applications: "It doesn't have any accounting software for plumbers!"<p>The feeling that Microsoft had a secure monopoly came from the fact that these long-tail programs were all written for Windows, because that was what was economic for its developers. Word and Photoshop always had a Mac version. Accounting for Plumbers never did.<p>Now, these applications live on the Web. And while the people using them still might use Windows, <i>it doesn't matter</i>; it makes Microsoft money, but it doesn't buy them any leverage. | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,801 | comment | amichail | 2007-04-07T00:56:30 | null | Startups are the ones with fresh ideas because larger companies don't want to take the risks. Larger companies could later acquire those cutting-edge startups when it is more apparent that their ideas are good ones. | null | null | 9,799 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,802 | comment | nonrecursive | 2007-04-07T00:59:46 | null | Did you read the article? By "dead", pg does not mean that Bill Gates has to resort to dumpster diving to get his evening meal. He's not saying that they're not still up and running, or that that they're not enormously profitable. He's saying that its "shadow is gone", that startup founders aren't afraid of it anymore. He's saying that another company, Google, is now the leader where Microsoft once was.<p>I'm not sure why you think it's necessary to dismiss the accomplishments of Google and Apple while at the same time being condescending toward the people who use their products. For example, to say "Google is popular because people like Michael Arrington, Walleywag, and those biased non-professional bloggers-turned-online-reporters sing praises toward Google" is to imply that Google's products are basically worthless and the people who use them are too foolish to realize it because they've been duped into using them by a cadre of clever bloggers. This doesn't logically support your argument that Microsoft isn't dead, so why say it?<p>If you want to show how pg is wrong, I suggest starting by rebutting his arguments, not putting down most of the people who enjoy this site. | null | null | 9,782 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,803 | comment | bootload | 2007-04-07T00:59:47 | null | <i>'... Steve Jobs is seeking two Wozniaks ...'</i><p>I'd say you're out by a factor of two taking into account the <i>'reality distortion field'</i> ~ <a href="http://tinyurl.com/2qznlq">http://tinyurl.com/2qznlq</a> | null | null | 9,786 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,804 | comment | volida | 2007-04-07T01:02:01 | null | I think Microsoft is playing it safe. And don't forget everyone, that MSN Messenger is being used by as much x20 times the users of Facebook. Microsoft did the smartest acquisition in 1997 when they bought Hotmail and caught the train. What would it stop them from doing that again? I don't know.
And what if they took PG's advice and their new move was his suggestion to buy all new startups?!<p>They introduced VS.Net and again they were able to provide services to the enterprise.
Then it killed the Sony Playstation.<p>
And to everyone who missed the point, I think thats what PG means with dead. They are not direct threat to someone starting-up --because their products are on the market which is the platform for accessing web services (Windows and IE), which web services is the new trend to bringing something of value to users), as much as Google is (because web services is their essential market) or another startup doing something similar.<p>I think MS will really worry when mobile devices become your desktop...But they seem to be catching up there too...
Maybe that explains acquiring Tellme for 800 million few weeks ago... <p>But does anybody even remembers MS's attempt to make a video sharing site. Whats was its name? I can't even remember...<p><p>
| null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,805 | story | gibsonf1 | 2007-04-07T01:04:44 | Is Microsoft Dead? (From July 21st, 2005) | null | http://mdipi.com/2005/07/is-microsoft-dead/ | 1 | null | 9,805 | 0 | null | null | null |
9,806 | story | gibsonf1 | 2007-04-07T01:05:56 | The Microsoft malaise | null | http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B629B28CD-9E0E-48CA-8E8B-243AA6E2CB92%7D&dist=lycos&siteid=lycos | 1 | null | 9,806 | 0 | null | null | null |
9,807 | comment | papersmith | 2007-04-07T01:06:34 | null | I think despite Steve Ballmer's fanaticism, Microsoft knows its dying. They're already diversifying into safer industries like enterprise, gaming, and media. These are not hostile takeovers like in the old days, they're major moves trying to position MS as a major player in the respective fields. I think the MS identity well remain, but it will become a much more diluted entity, with branches each going its separate way. | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,808 | comment | brett | 2007-04-07T01:08:53 | null | It would take an incredible amount of sack for Microsoft to deliberately break IE; there's no way they would ever take a risk like that and I really doubt it would play out like you think. Web based applications have way too much momentum. Initially the clueless would go without, but the backlash would be so severe in the development and tech communities that pretty soon the clueless would have a working alternative preinstalled. The big internet companies (the ones we should still actually fear) would step in right away and partner with consumer hardware companies to make this happen. | null | null | 9,779 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,809 | comment | me_jobs_r_u_woz | 2007-04-07T01:11:24 | null | A good one :-) | null | null | 9,803 | 9,786 | null | null | null | null |
9,810 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T01:12:30 | null | The problem with posts like this is that a lot of hackers here see themselves more like an all coding, all designing Steve Jobs rather than just Wozes who need a Steve. | null | null | 9,786 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,811 | comment | Leonidas | 2007-04-07T01:14:41 | null | I suggest that you start teaching yourself to code while you wait for a wozniak. You need to know your program inside out and the best way is to learn code to assist your programmer to do minor tasks. | null | null | 9,786 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,812 | comment | vlad | 2007-04-07T01:14:45 | null | We could call it vlad.tv or something. | null | null | 9,788 | 9,592 | null | null | null | null |
9,813 | comment | pg | 2007-04-07T01:17:38 | null | Microsoft was never the place new ideas and true innovation came from. But they did once have the power to shut down people who had them. They no longer do; that's what's changed. | null | null | 9,799 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,814 | comment | ph0rque | 2007-04-07T01:17:52 | null | Speaking of CAD software, how long until we will have an online version? (I would guess CAD software is on the same order of complexity as photoshop.) Are any perspective YCers working on it? | null | null | 9,774 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,815 | comment | mukund | 2007-04-07T01:19:08 | null | Leonidas is 100% right. Learn by poking around, google things or read books, thats one way you will be able to guide programmers. Sometimes it so happens that whatever you want may not be done with the tech u r using, so its better you also get technically sound ... think on those lines and advice/guide people to approach things | null | null | 9,811 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,816 | comment | randallsquared | 2007-04-07T01:19:36 | null | ...but not all of us. There must be a bunch of hackers here who'd rather not deal with people, but feel forced to because, well, who else is going to? <p>By the way, Steve Jobs is more of a design critic and salesman than designer. It takes different skills to do well at being a novelist vs. a book critic. | null | null | 9,810 | 9,786 | null | null | null | null |
9,817 | comment | me_jobs_r_u_woz | 2007-04-07T01:24:21 | null | Thanks for the suggestion; I am trying to avoid this path, as my best case outcome is that I will be an ok programmer - and that's not good enough to succeed. To win today, you have to have a real team. | null | null | 9,811 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,818 | comment | randallsquared | 2007-04-07T01:24:34 | null | I'm not sure I see the point, actually. Why would this be more interesting than the current reddit behavior? | null | null | 9,679 | 9,677 | null | [
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9,819 | comment | danw | 2007-04-07T01:27:40 | null | The mobile industry needs to be fixed. The sooner the better. I know the two major limitations are restrictive Operators and fragmented Handsets, I just cant yet find the correct solution. The best I can see is to fix it in the same way we made microsoft irrelevant. Ensure that phones have reliable fast low latency internet connections and consistent web browser support accross handsets. Its not ideal and it'll take another 5-10 years or so. | null | null | 9,711 | 9,711 | null | null | null | null |
9,820 | comment | mukund | 2007-04-07T01:28:06 | null | Well if you dont get good on tech side, you will see a dangerous thing creeping behind you bwahahahhaha (yeah u will hear that laugh this way) and this dreaded thing is losing your independence and become a puppet in the hands of your coder partners ;-) (just kidding), but think on these lines too, what will happen if those 2 woz tie u up for ransom? :D | null | null | 9,817 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,821 | comment | danw | 2007-04-07T01:29:36 | null | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | true |
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9,822 | comment | TrueOrient | 2007-04-07T01:31:26 | null | To paraphrase how management guru Peter Drucker put it "Growth that increases productivity is healthy, growth without an increase in productivity is fat, and growth that decreases productivity is cancer...."<p>Lately, MS has been coming up with nothing but Bloatware. To be productive these days, all I need is a Live CD of Linux Puppy and connect to the net to access all the online applications I need for work.... I store all my files online and access them from anywhere in the world....<p>Once I am on the net, it matters little if I use OSX, Windows or Linux. It is only a matter of time before Web based applications will be as good as desktop applications....<p> | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,823 | comment | me_jobs_r_u_woz | 2007-04-07T01:32:50 | null | That's why I am looking for great hackers, as opposed to good hackers. Great hackers know that the value of the group is greater than the sum of its parts ;-) | null | null | 9,820 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,824 | comment | abstractbill | 2007-04-07T01:34:25 | null | Media isn't a safe industry. Not for very long at least. | null | null | 9,807 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,825 | comment | mukund | 2007-04-07T01:34:55 | null | haha good that you have nice outlook on hackers ;-) | null | null | 9,823 | 9,786 | null | null | null | null |
9,826 | comment | timg | 2007-04-07T01:38:38 | null | you working on the product. <p>Not if you rushed a demo out the door just to have a demo..<p>Oh yes, we'll be launching something around the same time. | null | null | 9,719 | 9,667 | null | null | null | null |
9,827 | comment | amichail | 2007-04-07T01:38:51 | null | Even if Microsoft does not intentionally break IE, what incentive would it have to improve support for AJAX apps?<p>For example, what incentive would it have to support an offline mode for AJAX apps? | null | null | 9,808 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,828 | comment | aston | 2007-04-07T01:39:34 | null | I disagree with the general sentiment of the article (mostly the hyperbole), but one quote hit the nail on the head: "They're in a different world."<p>There's no question that Microsoft is still dominant in the areas they care about, and because of that dominance they're likely to stay there. At this point, I think people understand that dominance intuitively and so don't really even <i>try</i> to beat Microsoft, especially since the web-as-a-platform thing is looking so exciting. | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,829 | comment | amichail | 2007-04-07T01:42:09 | null | Users would have more control over what appears on the front page and for how long. Also, old submissions would still have a chance to make it to the front page.
| null | null | 9,818 | 9,677 | null | [
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9,830 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T01:43:54 | null | My friend applied and was rejected, so that might be a sliver of good news for people who haven't heard back yet. | null | null | 9,790 | 9,369 | null | null | null | null |
9,831 | comment | dfranke | 2007-04-07T01:44:02 | null | The link to 'The Other Road Ahead' is broken.<p>Edit: looks fixed now. | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,832 | comment | Leonidas | 2007-04-07T01:44:17 | null | Mukund explained what I was trying to say much better.<p>Learning the code will allow you to better understand and communicate with your programmer. Besides, if there are minor things like registration problems or design issues, you can do it yourself as opposed to bugging the programmer who is handling the major programming parts. Can you imagine the 'business' co-founder bugging the hell out of the programmer to take ONE word out of a category title while the programmer is trying to go through hundreds of lines to fix a major bug that is much more important than a category title?<p>I know everyone keeps saying "Wozniak needs a Jobs" and vice versa ...but in 'Wozniak' I bet there was a little 'Jobs' and in "Jobs" there was a little 'Wozniak'. Otherwise, there would be no way in hell they would have gotten along and worked together successfully. | null | null | 9,815 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,833 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T01:45:59 | null | I haven't seen any account signups that seem to be from YC, judging from logs and signup email addresses. | null | null | 9,667 | 9,667 | null | null | null | null |
9,834 | comment | aston | 2007-04-07T01:54:37 | null | Gerry Sussman in a fez! Yes! | null | null | 9,758 | 9,758 | null | null | null | null |
9,835 | comment | dfranke | 2007-04-07T01:55:52 | null | I think there are more efficient ways than SICP to learn Lisp if you're already a competent programmer. Scheme was my first functional language and I picked it up directly from R5RS. Then I moved over to CL by skimming ANSI Common Lisp and then reading On Lisp. | null | null | 9,758 | 9,758 | null | [
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9,836 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T01:58:51 | null | null | null | 9,757 | 9,711 | null | null | null | true |
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9,837 | story | blader | 2007-04-07T02:01:13 | Oh app, for crying out loud, go update yourself | null | http://miksovsky.blogs.com/flowstate/2006/06/hey_app_go_upda.html | 5 | null | 9,837 | 7 | [
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9,838 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T02:01:41 | null | This is one of my favorite posts on UI from my favorite UI blog. | null | null | 9,837 | 9,837 | null | null | null | null |
9,839 | comment | jmpeters | 2007-04-07T02:06:15 | null | I agree with the article in general, but you lost some credibility by equating Snipshot to Photoshop. I realize that you have an investment to promote, but please.
| null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,840 | comment | BobG | 2007-04-07T02:07:48 | null | Being nearly 50years old, what frightens me about MS is that they think they can sell an OS which they can remotely turn off without out a court warrant and then its up to you if your business hasn't gone bankrupt to sue them . This just shows complete and utter contempt for their customers.Which will do for them in the long run.My next box will be linux. Maybe the apple setup etc looks attractive to the younger generation but its only superficial. They have their own history of arrogant greed too. Bob G
| null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,841 | story | blader | 2007-04-07T02:09:15 | For Developers: Favorite editor fonts? | null | 2 | null | 9,841 | 9 | [
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9,842 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T02:10:26 | null | What is everyone's favorite font for editing code?<p>My own personal favorite is Triskweline: <a href="http://www.netalive.org/tinkering/triskweline/">http://www.netalive.org/tinkering/triskweline/</a><p>Clean and scannable. What's yours? | null | null | 9,841 | 9,841 | null | [
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9,843 | comment | BitGeek | 2007-04-07T02:12:58 | null | I realized Microsoft was dead in early January 2007 when it occured to me that vista was about to come out and I didn't see anyone who really cared. Of course now that Vista has failed to garner any real attention, this view is confirmed.<p>Further, I think that even on the desktop things are going to change and fast.<p>I don't think people realize just how well Apple is doing.<p>Their Mac sales are up something like %50, but they havent' really experienced network effects yet... as MS fails to come up with anything inspiring, PC owners are going to try switching in larger and larger numbers.<p>We aren't yet seeing the watershet that this is yet-- but the Mac has moved from the margins to a viable maisntream possibility.... and as PCs bought between 2004-2006 come up for replacement, a huge number of those machines will be replaced with Macs. <p>It was only in 2006 that people outside the software and web industry really started to see the Mac as a viable alternative.<p><p>Personally, I am starting to feel a bit odd, since suddenly there are all these new Mac users. <p>When the Mac becomes mainstream, I'll lose the comfortable non-conformity I've enjoyed since 1988. | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,844 | comment | me_jobs_r_u_woz | 2007-04-07T02:19:46 | null | Mukund and Leonidas, I have a reasonable understanding of programming; I designed and helped build a significant part of the code. I did not mean to appear as if I have no knowledge of, or desire to, learn code. But the opportunity I am talking about is to complete the transformation of the current app at hyper speed, so that we can fill the need right now, not in 12 months or longer. Surely, if the demand is as great as I am saying, someone will fill the gap very soon. | null | null | 9,832 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,845 | comment | Leonidas | 2007-04-07T02:22:49 | null | My next invention would entail reducing medication errors. Current available applications are developed by hackers who make it too difficult for non-hacker healthcare professionals to understand how to use. In addition, the logical layout of lab values, prescriptions and so forth is not optimized for decreased error. To have hospitals pay 40-60 million a year to license an ineffective, flawed, application is ridiculous. I've been in one of the most advanced hospitals in the United States and my gawd, they still use a "DOS" system like interface ...wth...60 million a year for that? <p>Personally, my error medication invention will be a contribution I'd like to make to patients and to my profession. You don't get second chances when you deal with patients.. a first error can kill.
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9,846 | comment | mukund | 2007-04-07T02:25:07 | null | hey dont take it seriously, i was just kidding on the programming part. I was giving what worst could happen. So if you have built and designed things then its better. We dont know what you are so we just assumed you to be like another manager guy | null | null | 9,844 | 9,786 | null | [
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9,847 | comment | erdos2 | 2007-04-07T02:35:42 | null | I recently acquired a Mac Book Pro. There was precisely one Windows program I wanted to run on it (SuperMemo) under Parallels, which received good reviews. Rather than wait to purchase a copy of Windows from the local CompUSA, I used an OEM copy of Windows from a defenestrated a DELL box (I replaced Windows with Debian). After installing XP as a guest OS under Parallels, I activated XP online by purchasing a product key through the Genuine Advantage program. <p>But that wasn't good enough for Microsoft. Microsoft informed me in their emailed order acknowledgment that I was some kind of felon: "To convert your counterfeit Windows XP software to a genuine copy of Windows XP using the new Product Key, you will need to download and run the Windows Product Key Update Tool on the same computer you used to purchase the electronic license for Windows XP." <p>The following week I received in the mail a Windows Genuine Advantage Kit for Windows XP Professional; it contained a letter asserting that I had "submitted a counterfeit report" with my order, and that this report would be "treated as confidential." Moreover, "...Microsoft's anti-piracy team investigates each and every lead we receive. Since investigations are ongoing and extremely confidential, we are unable to provide you with the status of the particular lead you have submitted. The length of time to bring about enforcements varies depending on the nature of a particular investigation." <p>Hateful monsters! Frightful miscreants! I suppose I deserve this for having anything to do with Windows. | null | null | 9,840 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,848 | comment | rebecca_d | 2007-04-07T02:36:01 | null | For your #'s game, which I think is a fun one... No one from Ycombinator has looked at our demo yet. <p>It was a wonderful deadline, no? We worked three straight days at the end that we'd have spread out otherwise. I imagine YCombinator often jumpstarts even the companies it doesn't fund. That would be interesting to see numbers on. How many companies YCombinator has played a role in helping indirectly. We've certainly been inspired by this process. | null | null | 9,667 | 9,667 | null | null | null | null |
9,849 | comment | mukund | 2007-04-07T02:41:15 | null | Why think of the next? we would put our entire energy into running this current one. There is no question of NEXT one unless we get this one up and running successfully.May be we may need to modify or add more things but if that is called NEXT thing then we will take it ;-) | null | null | 9,711 | 9,711 | null | null | null | null |
9,850 | comment | brad | 2007-04-07T02:45:19 | null | This is a very thought provoking essay. Very forward thinking. I agree with many of the things that you say, but the fact of the matter is that much of the economy - domestic and global - runs in a Windows environment. Most consumers still run Windows. Am I missing the point? Perhaps. I suppose it is true that anybody who takes personal computing seriously is running Firefox and Thunderbird and Google Desktop on Windows. In that sense, yeah Windows is dead. Personally, I use Macs, so I am well insulated from Microsoft. However, they are alive and well if only because of the Office suite. If I send a an OpenDocument file to ten of my friends, they won't be able to open it. If I send a Word file, everybody can open it. The point is, Microsoft is still quite relevant today. Although, I can see your points and would fully agree that free Linux could easily supplant Windows as a desktop environment (to run your stated Web 2.0 apps) or Macs. I applaud your essay; you take some interesting positions and provide some profound insight. Very interesting. Brad Engelmann.
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9,851 | comment | gabrielroth | 2007-04-07T02:45:54 | null | Wanted to point out a typo. You have:<p>"Thanks to OSX, Apple has come back from the dead in a way that is extremely rare technology."<p>I think that should be "extremely rare IN technology."
| null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,852 | story | sharpshoot | 2007-04-07T02:48:14 | The greatest Demos/screencasts you've seen | null | 6 | null | 9,852 | 11 | [
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9,853 | comment | brett | 2007-04-07T02:50:38 | null | You think Microsoft can stop web app innovation by just ignoring it themselves?<p>Their incentive is to maintain their market share. IE7 is their attempt to get their ass in gear for precisely that reason. The market's not going to stick around and wait for IE and the web will progress whether MSFT wants it to or not. | null | null | 9,827 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,854 | comment | RyanGWU82 | 2007-04-07T02:51:14 | null | I recently found Inconsolata, which I really enjoy for coding. As a bonus, it's free (as in freedom).
| null | null | 9,841 | 9,841 | null | [
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9,855 | comment | sharpshoot | 2007-04-07T02:54:18 | null | Hey all, was wondering about the greatest screencasts/demos you've seen recently. Trying to get in touch with interesting startups with demos for an app we're building. Also if you have an online demo or want to help me find people with cool demos email me, appreciate the help: sumon [at] zintilla [dot] com | null | null | 9,852 | 9,852 | null | [
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9,856 | comment | gknauth | 2007-04-07T02:54:42 | null | Is IBM dead? Maybe Microsoft is just another IBM. In 30 years, they may even be backing free software. | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,857 | comment | pixcavator | 2007-04-07T02:55:21 | null | Quote: "I'm now surprised when I come across a computer running Windows". "Insular" indeed! | null | null | 9,775 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,858 | comment | brett | 2007-04-07T02:55:27 | null | You bring up a hilarious caveat to "No one is even afraid of Microsoft anymore."<p>The people now afraid of MSFT are not their competitors but instead their customers.
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9,859 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T02:57:48 | null | Wow. It's beautiful. Thanks for the link. | null | null | 9,854 | 9,841 | null | null | null | null |
9,860 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T02:59:31 | null | This one is easy for me: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u3ekzwnYxw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u3ekzwnYxw</a><p>The screencast for Scrybe was truly amazing. Cnet described as the "Demo of the Gods." | null | null | 9,855 | 9,852 | null | null | null | null |
9,861 | comment | inklesspen | 2007-04-07T02:59:34 | null | I prefer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco_%28typeface%29">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco_%28typeface%29</a> | null | null | 9,841 | 9,841 | null | null | null | null |
9,862 | comment | amichail | 2007-04-07T03:07:13 | null | Well, apparently MS killed Java on the client:<p><a href="http://java.sys-con.com/read/37121.htm">http://java.sys-con.com/read/37121.htm</a><p>So yes, they could make life difficult for AJAX developers.
| null | null | 9,853 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,863 | comment | rebecca_d | 2007-04-07T03:13:52 | null | One of our co-founders is a wonderful web designer and, trends aside, the first question he asks his clients is 'who's going to be looking at this site?' The second question is 'who do you want to look at this site?' Everything from font to layout is designed to reflect the answers to these two questions. <p>I wonder about if websites in the future will be customized as the site loads to fit your personal tastes in color, font, style, content. An automated graphic design that can be deduced from your web behavior and that of others. All our Ycombinators would look different. Its seems both feasible and probable. Gate's recently talked about the 'personality' of the future computer.
Reminds me of the Psychology of Crowds work Aggregate Knowledge is doing (per an earlier post on Kleiner Perkins). | null | null | 9,241 | 9,241 | null | null | null | null |
9,864 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T03:15:24 | null | It depends on your software. In general, here are some questions I like to myself when I design a product in order to keep it simple:<p>1. What is the product supposed to do? A corollary is to ask, what can a user do with my product that he can't do without it? The answer to these questions should be a single, simple, focused answer.<p>2. What is the absolute minimum feature set we must have in order for the product to do what the user needs? Question EVERYTHING. If you're designing an email product, ask yourself if you even need folders. If you're designing a MS Word killer, ask yourself if you even need a Save. If you're designing a media player, ask yourself if even need a play/pause button.<p>After you have the minimum feature set, release the software and iterate quickly based on user feedback. Nothing can replace raw feedback from strangers who don't give a crap about you or your product. See what the users like and dislike about the product, based on first hand observation. <p>More tricky is keeping the product simple in response to user feature demands. Adding features is good, but only when you do it in such a way that it complements your answer to the original question: "What is the product supposed to do?" <p>You have to think about how each and every additional feature deeply integrates into your existing product, rather than tacking features on haphazardly. This is difficult to do. Google does this especially well (Search, Gmail). | null | null | 9,743 | 9,743 | null | [
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] | null | null |
9,865 | comment | epall | 2007-04-07T03:19:56 | null | He's complaining about PCs, but I've noticed similar issues with Mac apps. They don't have a system tray to go nuts in, but half of the mac apps I run check for updates at launch and bug me right when I'm trying to opens something. Some are smart enough to go ahead and do the update and tell me afterward, but they're in the minority.<p>This feels to me somewhat like the Vista shutdown menu. The programmers writing the individual apps aren't asking themselves "what if there were six apps like ours all asking to update constantly?" Come to think of it, this tends to be a pretty major theme in software development: ignoring user experience when other people's code is involved. Opportunity for improvement! | null | null | 9,837 | 9,837 | null | null | null | null |
9,866 | comment | bootload | 2007-04-07T03:27:09 | null | null | null | 8,496 | 8,494 | null | null | null | true |
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9,867 | comment | andreyf | 2007-04-07T03:28:13 | null | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | true |
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9,868 | comment | mdakin | 2007-04-07T03:32:12 | null | The architecture example is a bad one. While AutoCAD on Windows is by far the dominant setup there is a product for Macs called Vectorworks that is used by many firms. Several in the Boston area alone. | null | null | 9,775 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,869 | comment | theoutlander | 2007-04-07T03:32:48 | null | Once they have identified the promising ideas, they might look at the demos to narrow it down.... | null | null | 9,667 | 9,667 | null | null | null | null |
9,870 | comment | volida | 2007-04-07T03:37:12 | null | the fact that MS Atlas exists makes your AJAX hypothesis false.<p>Microsoft tried to kill XForms. The workaround of AJAX made Microsoft to open their eyes 10-12 months ago... | null | null | 9,862 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,871 | comment | zach | 2007-04-07T03:38:09 | null | The Xbox is a red herring. Microsoft's "Home and Entertainment" division still loses millions a day, six years after the Xbox unveiling, and has very little to do with technology in the first place, much less software innovation. | null | null | 9,782 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,872 | comment | vlad | 2007-04-07T03:40:01 | null | When my software starts, it auto-updates itself if necessary (takes only a few seconds.) My software also checks for updates every half an hour. If there's an update, it puts a notification into the status bar (of the program, not taskbar). It checks to see if the software is idle. If it is, it saves everything, shuts down, downloads and installs the update, and runs again. It takes one click to go back to where the user was when they come back from being idle.<p>A user is also able to select "don't install updates automatically" in which case they will still be notified in the status bar and when the program first starts that they have an old version. By clicking one button, the new version is downloaded and the program is restarted. So, the user is aware they need an update.<p>Finally, the updates themselves add new features and don't introduce bugs.<p>This works better than iTunes (where you have to redownload the entire program), the anti-virus definition updaters (that popup a progressbar over your screen or fill up your system tray), and the Adobe Acrobat Reader downloader (a crazy screen that tells me to update a program I don't even use very often.)<p>The news page that shows when you start the program tells you any news, so the users are still aware that new features are being added, even though the process was seamless. | null | null | 9,837 | 9,837 | null | [
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] | null | null |
9,873 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T03:46:03 | null | Sounds like an app I would like to use, and I don't even know what it does.<p>My only comment is the "and don't introduce bugs" statement ... that is a bit of a tough guarantee isn't it? =) | null | null | 9,872 | 9,837 | null | [
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] | null | null |
9,874 | comment | zach | 2007-04-07T03:46:22 | null | Come on, we're not talking about the homefront here, we're talking about the frontier. This is the startup news site; we're not here to talk about the current industry standard. | null | null | 9,781 | 9,770 | null | [
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] | null | null |
9,875 | comment | apansari | 2007-04-07T03:48:51 | null | Paul, excellent article. I have two additional reasons behind why Microsoft is "dead."<p>Reason (5): Steve Ballmer took over from Bill Gates as CEO in Jan 2000. Chief Sales Guy takes over from Chief Egghead and the company stops building products for its real users.<p>Reason (6): Web 1.0 hiring. Microsoft hired a huge number of people in 1998-2001, people who were too stupid or incompetent to get a job pretty much anywhere else. The good people all went to web startups then. This was the first crack in Microsoft's "we have the world's best people" armor. B players hire C players, and it goes downhill from there.
| null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
10015,
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] | null | null |
9,876 | comment | zach | 2007-04-07T03:50:10 | null | Someone tell Paul Graham he's made a huge mistake -- I just called Microsoft's phone number and got through! Yup, Microsoft is as vital as they come. | null | null | 9,775 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,877 | comment | vlad | 2007-04-07T03:50:17 | null | I forgot to mention that the big use for "don't install updates automatically" is if a user has one of those firewall applications that likes to ask for permission all over again whenever a program has been updated. Also, it means those who use Windows in a priviledged environment will be on the computer (not idle) to confirm Windows request for elevated rights. | null | null | 9,872 | 9,837 | null | null | null | null |
9,878 | comment | epall | 2007-04-07T03:54:51 | null | I came away from it thinking "Okay, yeah, I already knew that much. What's this nirvana you're talking about?" I suspect I'm not the only one who has been exposed to lisp but hasn't really comprehended it. This article did little to convince me or help me along the path to lisp enlightenment. | null | null | 9,661 | 9,661 | null | null | null | null |
9,879 | comment | vlad | 2007-04-07T03:55:18 | null | Thanks! Yes, that's more of the mental state I put myself in. :) But I have to say that I have developed a pretty good feel about when something is ready for release.<p>My program has to run all day. As soon as I release an update, I have to quickly run the old, installed version of my software to get the current update. Then, I make sure it actually starts. Let's say I add something that works great during testing, but crashes with a file access error on startup. That means the user will come back to the computer and see an error. At least if I introduce a bug that doesn't keep the program from loading, it means that I can then release another update later on which the update I just released will catch. That's what I meant. As long as the update doesn't make the program crash when it starts, the program will find any future updates to fix any bug I introduced, seamlessly.<p>I hope this helps somebody. | null | null | 9,873 | 9,837 | null | null | null | null |
9,880 | comment | chai | 2007-04-07T03:56:57 | null | "As Google becomes more and more application-oriented, it will look more like MS. While MS is pushing itself to be more web-based, it is snapping up Google's market share as well and therefore more Google-ish. The clash of titans will definitely be interesting. The winner will rewrite the rule of future computing platforms, while the loser will be left in oblivion and soon forgotten."<p>Full text here:<p><a href="http://not-your-cup-of-chai.blogspot.com/2007/03/distributed-vs-centralized-entities.html">http://not-your-cup-of-chai.blogspot.com/2007/03/distributed-vs-centralized-entities.html</a><p> | null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,881 | comment | Peter_G | 2007-04-07T03:57:09 | null | Like an Oliver Stone movie, this entry is interesting and fun to read despite being entirely wrong in every major respect.
| null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,882 | comment | vlad | 2007-04-07T03:58:36 | null | null | null | 9,864 | 9,743 | null | null | null | true |
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9,883 | comment | jim-in-austin | 2007-04-07T04:00:10 | null | I no longer consult but if I had a small business or non-profit as a client today I would:<p>- Hook everyone up to a high speed connection.<p>- Not worry about OS or platform as long as they could run Firefox or IE<p>- Sign them up with Google Apps ( <a href="http://www.google.com/a/">http://www.google.com/a/</a> )<p>- Sign them up with a web-based accounting system such as ACCPAC Online, ePeachtree, Oracle Small Business Suite, etc if they do in-house accounting<p>- Spend 45 minutes showing them how to admin the system via the web<p>- Present my bill<p>Of course Microsoft is dead.
| null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,884 | comment | randallsquared | 2007-04-07T04:03:08 | null | Well, the first part of my comment was a joke, and the second part was only asserting that Microsoft wasn't going to go away soon, because they're a de facto standard. <p>I'm not saying that I worry about them for my own projects, or that you should for yours. :) | null | null | 9,874 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,885 | comment | randallsquared | 2007-04-07T04:05:48 | null | Ah. For even more control over what appears on the front page, it might be useful to have a certain pool of points for each user, derived from site metrics, which the users could then apportion as they saw fit, rather than only one per submission. You really want this story to reach the front page? Spend half of your 34 points on it, or whatever. | null | null | 9,829 | 9,677 | null | [
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9,886 | comment | zach | 2007-04-07T04:08:00 | null | My apologies. I didn't get that "more seriously" indicated that the first part was completely tongue-in-cheek. | null | null | 9,884 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,887 | comment | cweekly | 2007-04-07T04:13:18 | null | "[E]ventually the open source world triumphed, in the form of Javascript libraries that grew over the brokenness of Explorer the way a tree grows over barbed wire."<p>${applause}<p>This is a beautiful simile, one I will repeat to others.
Also (I'm 32) this <i>feels</i> like old news but hearing it put so succinctly by you, well, it puts a big ol grin on my face. =D <p>Thanks, Paul -- and keep it up!
| null | null | 9,770 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,888 | comment | look | 2007-04-07T04:16:27 | null | POTS is a good example. Despite the wording, I think Paul was saying that: Microsoft isn't interesting anymore. It's unavoidable, sure, but it's just more brain-damaged infrastructure to work around.<p>Microsoft is now a nuisance, not a competitor. They can make business painful, but they aren't scary anymore. | null | null | 9,775 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,889 | comment | pc | 2007-04-07T04:18:33 | null | <a href="http://dabbledb.com/explore/7minutedemo/">http://dabbledb.com/explore/7minutedemo/</a> re-ignited my enthusiasm for web-apps. | null | null | 9,855 | 9,852 | null | null | null | null |
9,890 | comment | Goladus | 2007-04-07T04:25:57 | null | I recall it was specifically mentioned not to rely on an online demo. It's only a part of the overall process.<p>I suspect many of those questions reveal aspects of the applicants that aren't necessarily obvious. The questions on the app were all stimulating and I wouldn't recommend trying to second-guess any of it. | null | null | 9,716 | 9,667 | null | null | null | null |
9,891 | comment | SwellJoe | 2007-04-07T04:28:02 | null | I have it on pretty good authority that at least two of the three Wufoos would prefer to move back to the valley.<p>Our company is also staying in the valley for a while...though we'll eventually need a presence back in Austin (where I moved from for WFP07), because about half of the largest companies we want to sell to are in Texas. | null | null | 8,613 | 8,610 | null | null | null | null |
9,892 | comment | william42 | 2007-04-07T04:28:29 | null | IBM basically did what PG says MS should do. They started concentrating on PCs. | null | null | 9,856 | 9,770 | null | null | null | null |
9,893 | story | blader | 2007-04-07T04:31:06 | Strategy Letter III: "Let Me Go Back!" | null | http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000052.html | 3 | null | 9,893 | 1 | [
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9,894 | comment | blader | 2007-04-07T04:31:32 | null | Joel on lowering the barriers to entry. | null | null | 9,893 | 9,893 | null | null | null | null |
9,895 | comment | busy_beaver | 2007-04-07T04:32:21 | null | This one has actually been around for a while, but is still the coolest demo I've seen in years.<p><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=1ftJhDBZqss">http://youtube.com/watch?v=1ftJhDBZqss</a> | null | null | 9,852 | 9,852 | null | [
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9,896 | comment | william42 | 2007-04-07T04:35:19 | null | Hence the Cathedral and the Bazaar rule "release early and often". | null | null | 7,195 | 6,668 | null | null | null | null |
9,897 | comment | ehabkost | 2007-04-07T04:35:43 | null | I read this comment multiple times, but I just couldn't understand what is it about. | null | null | 9,776 | 9,770 | null | [
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9,898 | comment | bootload | 2007-04-07T04:41:10 | null | null | null | 9,485 | 9,483 | null | null | null | true |
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9,899 | comment | me_jobs_r_u_woz | 2007-04-07T04:45:01 | null | Hey, no prob. | null | null | 9,846 | 9,786 | null | null | null | null |
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