skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
The Supreme Court took a major step forward in 2007 by reducing the power of the teaching/suggestion/motivation test to prove non-obviousness. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSR_v._Teleflex

I find it interesting that the reason for YCombinator's existence belies the fundamental problem with software patents: the ever-diminishing barriers to entry.

I understand the problem that programmers have with software patents, but I also still see a great deal of value in the patent system (though for full disclosure, patents pay my bills).

Many people point the finger at the pharmaceutical industry as the big, bad bully of the patent system. Personally, I use it as my token example that the patent system is a positive by comparing the barriers to entry in developing new drugs (finding a safe, effective formula and performing clinical trials) to the relative ease of copying drugs (I'm not a chemist, but I'm pretty sure this is easy).

In this case, the alternative to patent protection for drug companies would be to rely entirely on the government to supply money for drug research and manufacturing. However, this leaves us to the whims of politics to determine what we need instead of letting a free market work. I suspect that there are plenty of Viagra fans out there that won't complain about the high prices of seemingly unnecessary drugs. I'm by no means saying that the situation with drug companies is good or that they can stand on moral high ground, but I do believe (unquantifiable opinion) that they have been a net plus on society because of patent protection.

The last thing I've been thinking about is that there is a variable that we can consider. Patents grant the patentee 20 years of the right to exclude others from making and selling the claimed invention. The date is certainly arbitrary, and was set at a time when the markets reacted more slowly to innovation and the rate of the advancement of technology was slower. Could it been time to shorten the patent term in order to free up the market?
Is it just me or did anyone else read this article this way:

Why would cross-platform developers use an operating system that only runs on on Macs? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with being productive? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with being productive! It does not make sense! Look at me. I'm a blogger ranting about being productive, and I'm talkin' about Freedom Zero! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense!

Apologies to South Park.
Trends, gaps and trends
I work for me, but I do have a little company: http://www.extravalent.com/ which is really just me.
Closures?
February 2007

This article could be useful to give to semi-technical users just getting around to EC2/S3, but the AWS forum and Google code sites have a lot more practical information for developers.
Please note that it is a PDF in the title!
More Combinators
November 2005

If the article is to be believed, the win32 IRC scene must be a friendly place. Certainly more friendly than the odd developer channels I occasionally visit.
Great hack!
Tesla sports car gets air bag waiver
Word. I want to see black shirts on Thurs!
This question has been on my mind for while.Hope to hear some great responses.
No, it is not just a correlation. The environment influences the development, that's all - genes are also clever enough to use the information in the environment for a more efficient encoding. Are you asking me to explain in a news comment how the human brain develops from genes, how the brain adapts to the environment, how psychology works, and so on and so on? Not all steps in the development process are fully understood yet, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.

Although I guess also yes, I would have claimed that other things than genes can affect human psychology.
An idea for testing "obviousness" that I find "obvious" but haven't seen suggested elsewhere: require patents to include a "problem statement" that motivated the invention and sets requirements for a solution.

If the patent's obviousness then gets called into question, find a small panel (3-5) of 'average' software designers, unfamiliar with the patent (perhaps new graduates?) and show them the problem statement. If they come up with an equivalent or better solution in a meager amount of time, the 'invention' didn't add a lot of innovation/value.
Squid as a reverse proxy can rate-limit inbound connections of various kinds of groupings, which may help, especially if you can define a grouping which is exclusively the kinds of remote IPs/user-agents/URIs that tend to become abusive. I believe Squid 3 even has a way to delegate the grouping decision to an external script, so you could write your own kind of triggering logic.
Serial Entrepreneur Dave Stubenvoll on Bootstrapping Wowza Media
ARM Ltd, Leuven office
Kudos! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense
The author makes several really big assumptions that I would be hesitant to agree with. The first that YCombinator is able to find the best that are an almost guarantee for the top 10% success. YC has an incredible community and is backed up by a large group of well connected and knowledgeable investors, and PG has stated that it's still difficult to determine who will make it.

The second is that this type of funding cycle will only be able to thrive for only the top few funding groups. The problem is that this is completely dependent on how many smart and determined hackers there are out there. So far I have not seen a shortage of them, and this community seems to reflect that.

I see this as a good sign, and hopefully there will be more of these funds out there that realize this is a good way to find that top 10%.

But still, I hate the idea of being paired with a "strategist". Thank god they don't make you bring in one if you don't want one.
Can anyone recommend a cut rate PR firm? Or, how do you do your own PR?
PR is incredibly valuable for startups, but I can't afford a real PR firm. Can you buy anything resembling PR for $1000? Is it ever worth paying money for SEO?

Outside of firms, how do you generate your own PR?
So, you don't have a complete theory of how the mountain, or gene, causes the personality change. You even agree with me in saying that no one does (as I said earlier). In your words, it's not "fully understood yet".

However, you believe that when it is understood, then we will know that genes and mountains do this thing. But how do you know what the conclusion will be, now?

Can you make up a possible mechanism of genetic causation? You don't have to prove this actual mechanism is being used, just invent one that could work.

I understand the causation up to (for genes) causing more/less of a chemical in the body, larger/smaller muscles, causing defects in the eyes or exceptionally good vision, something like that.

But how do you get from there to causing some significant effect in adult personalities? Like causing people to enjoy mountains, be republicans, or consider women bad at business.
Zed Shaw already exposed Jeff's hypocrisy:

http://www.zedshaw.com/conferences/cusec2008.html

Finally I watched Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror fame talk about what a lot of other people have said and why you should blog. I completely agreed with everything Jeff said, except for a tiny bit of hypocrisy he didn't fess up to until asked.

See, Jeff's talk was obviously changed up to compliment mine. He basically said what I said, that if you want to do software go work for a software company. Don't go work for a company that doesn't do software to make money. They won't respect you.

That's true.

He also talked about how blogging is something all programmers should do. Being able to write and influence people is important since that's how you get your ideas across. Nobody reads code but they do read English.

Also true.

However, then someone asked Jeff what he does, and he said he works for a .NET consultancy doing software for other people.

Sorry Jeff, that's not a software company. A software company actually sells software to people. People buy the actual software from you and if they don't your company fails. Jeff basically works for a consultancy that builds software for other people to sell. While he's probably the money maker, I'm betting that he's really not on the same level as his peers at a company like Microsoft.
I've been using a desktop app that does the exact same thing for 5 or 6 years now...
I had a little fun with that content. Tried things with the site, XSS, fiddled with the API..

Good lord, I could spider and index this site so very easily, and make off with a veritable treasure trove of data.

There's no way on the site to properly privatize an image, except putting a password on it.
Are they accessing pages, or just opening connections? Use netstat to see what state the connections are in.

Make sure syncookies are enabled if they are just opening lots of connections (http://cr.yp.to/syncookies.html).

You can limit parallel connections per host with iptables. See 'connlimit'. Drop any invalid SYN packets. There's also 'recent' which you can use to keep a dynamic list of ip addresses sending n SYNs over the past m seconds (then drop new connections). Bonus is that's the list of IPs is accessible/modifiable from /proc. Be careful not to kick out legitimate clients by setting too low a limit, though. Iptables can log, too, so maybe you can sample connections for a few seconds, 'sort | uniq -c' the ips, and decide on a cutoff.

There are also network appliances that will do similar things without loading your web server.

SHOW PROCESSLIST on your mysql, figure out what queries are happening. It could just be that you need a new index, more appropriate configuration, or better queries. In any case, at least it will give you a clue as to what is causing the load.

Use mod_status (or similar for your web server) to figure out what your Apache workers are doing. Modify keep-alive times.

If all else fails, see if your ISP can enable TCP Intercept on your nearest router. (http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios...).
Media Killed the Bookmarking Star: del.icio.us traffic falls below StumbleUpon, Reddit
sure - but what could webmynd do in 2 months to take advantage of the web? Also look beyond the desktop search and see the visualization element.

They could do (and will do) so much with that. Webmynd is a very young start up who are executing like tigers.

Obviously most people will condemn the idea as indifferent from what they are used to. Well this is the key differentiator between those who innovate & see possibilities and those who watch and fail.

Minor rant over. Give em a chance!
YC has only invested in software startups, to my knowledge. Certainly their focus is on startups founded by gifted programmers.

The one in Philadelphia, at least, will consider startups in the life sciences or pure sciences. They have ridiculous terms of service though:

>However, by posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting your Submission you are granting DreamIt Ventures, its affiliated companies and necessary sublicensees permission to use your Submission in connection with the operation of their Internet businesses including, without limitation, the rights to: copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate and reformat your Submission; and to publish your name in connection with your Submission.

http://www.dreamitventures.com/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Terms/Defau...
Good idea. The website is slow, even at 1:20 am Pacific. They allow you to import your LinkedIn profile and invite any of your linkedin contacts. They also offer 10% referral bonuses; you get % of your contacts' interview revenue. I can see why the registrations are growing exponentially even if it's invite only.

They evaluate you post-interview on the following:

---% - you took the interview seriously

---% - you were on time for the interview

---% - your profile was accurate

---% - they'd recommend you to others
I'm a full time student and working on my startup.
This is a bit dated. (A whole year old! :) Since that time, Amazon has added SimpleDB and two larger EC2 instances.
Good point. I was a fan of it (as a young-un). Enabled me to catalogue all sorts of stuff in a nice database (with multimedia before the term was common).

I think 2 reasons:

1) There are generally fewer open source projects with truly user friendly interfaces (cause its a lot of grinding work).
2) Hypercard made pseudo-programming easier for non programmers. Something that the type of people who tend to work on open source don't always agree with. Heck, if you don't workin in language XYZ, you are vile scum worthy of death, for XYZ <= blub.
The YC faq says they'll consider startups in any field but hold preference towards software.

I know your startup covers DNA testing, so even with the ridiculous terms of service would you still apply to them?
Crowd cheers as a rich guy gets parking ticket
I'd go for PR over SEO at first.
Extracting Digg's user count from hidden fields to discover what changes make Digg grow
Java development in 2008; Andy Glover's address at JavaWorld
I work for Logitech
I voted this up because I thought it was interesting. As has been said elsewhere in this thread, it's uncommon for a comic author to endorse a candidate. For me the news item here is not the content of the endorsement, but the fact that it took place.
startup kid
I emailed them and asked about that provision; their response determines whether or not I take them seriously. My company's also further along than they are looking for, so I would want a good valuation to do their program. I would really like to do a YC style program though, I think it would be a lot of fun.
Nokia Siemens Networks, in Portugal
It's $153 million. The headline is incorrect, since they want to buy the entire company.
The Depenguinator, version 2.0
This may not be useful for answering the "hacked a (non-computer) system" question on the YC application form, but I think a script which can run on a linux system and construct a bootable FreeBSD image qualifies as a cool hack nonetheless.
Use cache priming and serve slightly stale content out of the cache when the most recent data isn't cached and then update the cache in the background.

And check your indexes!

Plus, write a decorator around your database query function to log all queries and make a list of longest queries and longest average query times.
hey, what do you think about this story :

1 - the user pastes his error message
2 - he gets a list of possible answers
3 - if he finds a suitable answer, he clicks on it
4 - if he does not find an answer, you ask him to give his email adress so that you notify him when an answer is found
5 - if an answer is found you notify him
6 - after 48hours you send him a message with the subject line "nobody found and answer to your question. did you find one?"
Contrary to what the first commenter says, it is smart to use proper SEO techniques in the beginning.

You're going to get what pay for in relation to a PR Firm. $1000 will most likely give you Low-Level coverage for a term of 1-Month or less. Low-Level coverage is generally looked down upon as it often involves commenting on blog posts and submitting spammy topics to various social networks. While you'll be looking for results, the Low-Level PR Firm will value quantity over quality... and as you may receive a good amount of traffic, the spammy trail of how your service was introduced will always show as a black mark on your reputation.

Mid & High-Level PR Firms will generally charge an hourly rate based on Industry and the Mediums that you want to be advertised through (web, newspaper). It will cost you well over $1000 during the research/consultation period in which the PR Firm sits down with you and discusses how you/they want your product/service to be portrayed...

You can very well do your own PR by establishing your service and then generating creative copy that doesn't seem spammy/cookie-cutterish. You should then pitch articles to A-List Bloggers and Editors of websites such as Yahoo, CNET, TechCrunch, etc. Contrary to popular belief, editors are very easy to get a hold of if you construct your initial emails to them in a professional manner. Every time I've shot an email off to Michael Arrington I've gotten a response in less than an hour (and I'm nobody). Remember, you never want to come across as spammy or else your service will never see the light of day.

If you are unfamiliar with how creative copy should look, you should peruse through some startup reviews on http://mashable.com to see what type of content they are looking for.

Questions: confidential.forwarder@gmail.com (forwards to my personal email)
I have a home office.
Interview with Tom Perkins of KPCB: Part 2
Startups and "The Curse of Knowledge"
I've had good experience with users blogging and twittering about my search site, and this is probably not only cheaper but also more effective than paying for PR, especially if you're in the Web business.

Here is the "buzz" in the blogosphere:
http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?q=terraminds
And here on twitter:
http://terraminds.com/twitter/query?query=terraminds

Getting started is probably the hardest part, get all your friends to talk about your site etc., and if users like your service it should grow organically.
Myths about the rise of China and India
Snooze or Lose
The dubious rise of "neurolaw"
How to listen to Haydn and Mozart?
What Google learnt from the 5000 years old Mesopotamian scribes
Are Aliens Among Us?
Charity can induce an endorphin as high as sensations people get from morphine or heroin
The future of the $100 laptop
Likening it to a hardware dongle is seriously flawed.
I don't get this recent spate of Apple bashing. If you don't like them, don't buy them.

Personally, I'm getting my MacBook Air thanks.
Cory Doctorow on a new type of copyright
Million Dollar Consulting Hot Tips
> Europe really isn't socialist, at least not the wealthy countries here.

Norway and Sweden are tremendously socialist, and Norway is the wealthiest country in the world.

> Just because there is a law for public health insurance, doesn't make a country socialist.

Of course, it's always a mix and calling something socialist is maybe over the top, as is calling America capitalistic even though it has social programs such as Medicare, Welfare and Social Security. But please look at Sweden, for example, and tell me that I'm wrong in calling it socialist. It's a wonderful example of how socialism can work.

You mention Germany and England; both have superior healthcare (measure on many different scales) to the United States. The facts seem to disagree with you. As for what makes it socialist: While people are supposed to have insurance, everyone is by default insured and no one can lose their house, for example, from medical bills.

> I keep thinking about it, and I see no way

Germany has had the same healthcare system for over a hundred years, through hyperinflation and two world wars. Again, the facts disagree with you.
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Palette Generator: Automagically create a harmonious color palette from a photograph
S.T.O.P. - 4 Steps for Enjoying your Life
Meta 2008 Web Trends
AutomatticaEURXs Aggressive Ambitions
YouTube for Mobile Launched
Survey: Asia Shows Most Enthusiasm for Innovation
Software Tool Strips Windows Vista To Bare Bones
Want to try my Exorcist script version 6.66 that turns a FreeBSD system into a Solaris system?
Automattic Launches Group Twitter-style Platform
i work at this place called expedited travel, we expedite u.s. passports in 24 hrs and get visas in less than 1 week. (web developer)
Why Google Will Never Be Apple Cool
If you want to go the iptables route (have fun...) check out the --limit option.

Here's an example: http://www.webservertalk.com/message1796841.html
The point isn't that you can't run other OSes on Mac hardware. The point is you can run OS X only on Mac hardware.

This argument has been going on forever, of course. But that doesn't mean it doesn't make sense. It would be nice if you could run OS X on any old cheap hardware you chose, rather than the overpriced machines made by one company. That's the normal state of affairs for virtually every other OS people care about.
Software architect at a small consulting firm.
Using this technique I've found out some interesting things about Digg: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=106063
Really? The Air? It's the slowest Mac on the market. I just don't understand why you'd choose the Air over a regular MacBook.
It surprises me that a man who writes such an unusual cartoon as xkcd should have such a standard political viewpoint. I am baffled by the fact that people get so worked up about general elections. Yes, the outcome will have a profound effect upon one's life, but that outcome is almost entirely outside one's control.

My own preference is for much more power to be given to local governments, and for consensus-based decision making, rather than voting. But I think further expansion of those views would be off-topic.
How to configure Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, GMail for Outlook Express
Did they ever fix the security flaw you found?
Even here though, these debates sometimes turn acrimonious in short order. Maybe not as bad as reddit, but it worries me.
A formal language that sounds like

Put the first word of the third line of field "hello" into field "goodbye"

(which is actually goodbye = hello.lines[3].words[1]) is ridiculous. The HyperCard phenomenon though is something that should be researched by psychologists, because I myself, too, saw it many times how a complete non-techie gets something working in an hour or two. They get it quickly and "amazing" is just not the word. No other programming tool is as good at that as HyperCard.

And like the rest of the old good Apple stuff HyperCard can be traced back to Xerox PARC: that's NoteCards, a Lisp-based hyper-text system, according to Wikipedia.
How to create CSS layouts without using Float
Rethinking the meat-guzzler
Who is "they", and which security flaw are you talking about? I've found several over the years...
Thanks. I try to never do mean and petty, especially here.

All joking aside, I stand by my original comment. This is the best board I've ever seen. My personal "signal to noise coefficient" would be in the 90's. For reddit, it was once in the 60's or 70's, but those days are long gone. Two of the things that changed that are the posts about politics and religion. I know this board is about things that interest hackers, but I'd hate to see the same thing happen here. I imagine that it takes a certain amount of TLC to keep this board's quality so high.

As a startup hacker, I have to be very careful how I spend my time. Personally, debating sports, politics, or religion are total wastes of time. The cost is priceless; the benefit is worthless.

<resume proper time expenditure mode>
At my desk:-)

Home office, Innsbruck, Austria. My company is DedaSys LLC (always looking for partners), and I do a mix of consulting and working on my own stuff.
Staying Independent in the Games Industry
Write up your own press releases and send them out to niche publications. Also work on the copy of your website so things are a little more clear.
Exceptional Innovation (www.life-ware.com). We design hardware and software for smart homes.
Yahoo CAPTCHA Cracked.
Ruby jobs increase by 550% - up to 3.3% the size of Java jobs
Go To Google Groups. Get Tricked Into Downloading Malware. Do Not Pass Go
Borrowing at 100% Interest
Imagine having just one power supply for all your portable gadgets
How to Write Funny
These photos are really useful... I have some code for skin detection I've been writing and I need tests for. Now I can download massive sets of data and test the algorithm against it. I'm not going to do it anyway, but hell it can be _very_ useful if you decide to use it.
"People buy consoles like the Xbox 360 and Wii because they work with a minimum of fuss"

Shouldn't these be called out as dongles as well?

Why aren't they?
Pikans responding to pikans.

The world continues to shrink.