skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Rails framework founder likens Java to Cobol: "Still relevant in the sense that languages never die"
... assuming that being "practically rich" causes happiness.

There was some study a while ago that said that most people would rather have 1000$ in a society where others have 10$ than have 1 million in a society where everyone is a billionnaire. (I made up the numbers, I didn't look for the actual thing. I'm not sure how they accounted for the "inflation" that such a mythical society would have)
At least we know now that memcached really, really works.
You should do fields required on the client-side, it now requires the complete server round-trip. Edge-case but still :)

Btw, congrats on launch.Cheers:)
I've seen many small niche companies in healthcare. An example is a software designed for IRB's another is a company that develops software for Homehealth agencies. (they sell the license at around $2500 per quarter per user seat.) I think the smaller the niche the better. Generaly if you are developing for a small market you MUST be an expert in that market too. It's better to become the primary software for an industry then yet another new addition

what industry will this be in?
That's (pre) feudal rather than capitalist, and it's not actually how it's working for you. Much of your wealth is in places where you don't have the physical means to reclaim it or defend it by yourself.

Much of your money is held in custody in some bank, where you put it because you trust they'll give it back to you when you ask for it, not because you think you can strongarm the clerks into returning it to you.

Maybe your car is parked out on the street. Even if you have it in a garage of your own, if some burglars came you may find it more reasonable to let your insurance company or the police take care of it rather than risk your life trying to stop it yourself via violence.

Those mechanisms work because there are rules in place about what is reasonable use of resources and wealth, and those rules could not be stable or widely respected if you couldn't defend they're just in some way.
I'm not sure how we would integrate with twitter. What are you thinking we could share between the two?
Epic, in current internet meme speak, means great or huge. When they say that they're worth $15B and the reality strikes and they lose $10B off that valuation, the fall will be huge (especially to investors).
Is it that big of a fail if it stabilizes with 50 million users? The real question is if they can find a way to monetize that (like AdWords did for Google) before they run out of cash.
wow...thanks...that's really embarrassing...
will you be data mining or connect to other job sites?
Love his writing style. Pity we don't have "creative writing" here in Russia: I only recently realized that I can't write or talk effectively.
allow me to be alerted of events i am invited to, rsvp to events, and create events over sms, let all of my twitter friends see that I am attending X event

could be a good way to spread virally if people see in their twitter feed 'susie is attending X ( coordinator.com/event/X )'

doesn't necessarily have to be twitter

just some kind of sms integration would be nice

if u really want to be the evite of small events, i don't want to have to go to my browser to create an event, if me and joe are chilling at a dive bar, hey lets make this a coordinatr event. sms is the easiest way.
Actually you're wrong because you're assuming that writing (trolls or anything) isn't a skill. It is, and if you got trolled it's your own fault and I'm your feelings were hurt. In addition, you obviously don't understand the first thing about "semantics."
Interesting to point out that he went on to fund ArsDigita University, which was, in fact, tuition-free. The lectures are still online: http://aduni.org/
Thanks for the feedback! What exactly did you not like about adding info to the profile? Any other suggestions you can make?

Let us know what you think of the sharespace page once you get some content tagged.
Considering that Facebook has been "valued" at $15 billion, yes, 50 million users is a failure. That would mean that they'd have to justify why each and every user is worth $300. A good percentage may be worth close to that much, but certainly not every one.
Not supporting Unicode or non-American addresses is not necessarily a mistake. It depends on who your target audience is. I know, it sucks for the rest of the world, but maybe it just encourages international startups.
Good points, and we're building out sms as we go. We already have the infrastructure to accept input on specific events so we'll be turning that on in the not-to-distant future. Creating events from sms is a little more tricky...
Idea for turning Justin.tv upside down:  task-oriented broadcasts for help (e.g., cooking together)
Imagine a site where people can ask for help while doing various tasks. For example, you might plan to do some painting in your house, but have little experience with this task. You could broadcast this as an event so that you can get tips while you are doing this task.

Taking it further, imagine people helping each other while doing similar tasks at the same time such as cooking.
But it's hard to imagine 75 year olds worrying about SEO. The people described in these stories seem to be just putting up websites to occupy time and have something to do. The little known fact about SEO is that if you have tons of great content, it doesn't matter what SEO you do, you'll get search traffic.
for every 1 cal of food energy produced in US, 10 cal from oil energy is used for its production.
1. Your name is so 2006. By choosing this name you immediately set yourself up as an also-ran instead of an innovator.

2. The first thing you did was ask me for e-mail and password. You did not give me a chance to try out your service. You did not give me a chance to see what it's about. You were unable to get me to type in my e-mail.

3. Your site is all about people and social events -- why are you using business-speak to sell it? Micro-events? Would a teenager or a college kid think that a "micro-event" is a cool place to be?

4. I didn't think your site was ugly until I read your "faq" asking why the site was so ugly. Then I was like .. hmm .. I think he's right ...

5. What determines if a user will switch from an existing system to a new system? if (valueAddFromNewSystem - painOfSwitchingToNewSystem) > (valueFromOldSystem * lazinessMultiplier), then people will switch. You have no control over the values of valueFromOldSystem or lazinessMultiplier. Here's my question to you: How do you think you are doing on the values of valueAddFromNewSystem and painOfSwitchingToNewSystem?
Facebook is less about making new friends as it is about communicating. I know you mention that you don't need any new ways, and I used to agree with you, but the plethora of options it provides for pinging your friends makes it quick, easy, and fun to keep in touch with far more people than you would otherwise. I'm not saying it deserves the hype it's gotten, but I definitely think it has some value.
"We will live in a society where the best educated engineers are not designing anti-lock brakes. They are either managing comparatively poorly educated people who are designing anti-lock brakes, stitching up wounds in people who were injured by faulty anti-lock brakes, or defending companies that got sued for their anti-lock brake systems that didn't work."

puke
"Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”
Behind the scenes at 37signals: Miscellaneous
You might be right, or I might be thinking of Windows 3.0.
The site looks good. I don't know if these things were covered already, but I went through and made a list of things that I would change. I sent it to you on the "Feedback" form too.

Notes on Coordinator:

Home page after login: Text says "Sorry, you currently don't have any events listed."

No reason to be sorry. I would change to: "No events listed (or, You haven't planned anything yet!). Click here to add an event!" or something that provides a way to change the fact that there are not yet any events.

On creating an event: The date box doesn't have a default date shown. I can't see what today is. Maybe make the current day show up a different color or have days in the past grayed out.

On friends: Longer names get extended past the box representing friends, instead of wrapping or adjusting.

Contact Us link at the bottom of the page should bring me to a page with forms to fill out, not attempt to open outlook or whatever program I use for email. If I want to email you with these, provide your email address on the "Contact Us" page.

Last thing, the pages don't have a "What's next" button. Meaning, After I add friends, I'm brought back to the page to invite more friends. There's no "Thanks for adding friends. We'll let you know when they accept. Here's the button to go back to the home page."
Microsoft Bumps Online Storage To 5GB
Nope, I attended a couple weeks worth of lectures (6.171) before dropping his class due to time. Of course, I had his class in 2003, so maybe he reversed himself on this issue.
Just read your feedback from the site, but thanks for the follow up! The calendar stuff is getting fixed ASAP, as are the friend names. We will be following up on the other items in the coming week.

Thanks again for taking the time to provide your input. Please let us know if you have any other suggestions as you continue to use the site.
I don't know... we could simply be entering the trough phase of the hype cycle. What might follow is a wave of more interesting apps that bring traffic back in full force. Time will tell.
Outsourcing: Get Over It.
"And notice that the machine has 2 disks..."

Yeah the first article shows which parts can be used for a $200 setup. I'm using mine as a file server/DL box < http://paulstamatiou.com/2008/02/12/how-to-download-with-new... > so I had more needs.
You're right, I have no animals or kids. I'm 21 and live in college pad with smelly guys.
Ask YC : What determines command of a programming language?
Most of you are great hackers. How do you determine that you have command of a particular language?

What kind of problems/ projects you take up while learning a language. I have read on yc that a lot of people start with a project after a quick refresher and learn the language on the go. Are there any standard problems that you attempt to solve?

I've been trying to learn Python but feel a lack of direction and an inability to assess my progress.

Please share your views.
I don't see the reality of the old adage "A fool and his money are soon parted" as being epic though.

Bigger fools is all. I won't lament their loss.
income - expenses = profit.

As long as profit > 0, it doesn't matter how big the niche is.

If you have only a single client with a custom solution, that could work. (I wouldn't advise that personally, though). If you're asking which niches could be profitable, I think the answer depends mostly on the "Expenses" part of the equation, provided income is not 0.
I think Facebook is trying to pull off a 'greater fool theory'... but they're running out of time since the hype cycle is on the way down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigger_fool_theory
"The broad set of interoperability principles it is announcing today will apply to the following products (including future versions): Windows Vista (including the .NET Framework), Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Office 2007, Exchange Server 2007, and Office SharePoint Server 2007."

In other words (if I'm reading this right), it doesn't apply to at least of 99% of Microsoft's installed base.
Interesting concept, a live web-video self-help social site. Hmm. Nope I don't think they've come up with a fancy name for this yet. You may be on to something.
As Hemingway penned at the end of The Sun Also Rises, "Isn't it pretty to think so?"

I've got no love lost for Java (I use JSF in my day job), but it isn't going the way of Cobol. Java continues to reinvent itself, be it Applets -> J2EE -> Struts -> JSF or it's most recent use for interactive menus in Blu-ray disks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#Java_software_supp...)

To further the point, here's one guy's list of Ten Amazing Java Applications. http://java.dzone.com/tips/ten-amazing-java-applications

Personally, I think JPC is pretty darn cool. I'm lukewarm about others and downright hostile to ThinkFree (uh yeah, if by "free" you mean spending lots of money).
Lots of girls

Eh, so you skipped over the middleman, money.
Social webcasting. I claim authorship of this new title.
Yeah i like that and think it keeps out of the users way.
But but but its beta.

My next app I am going to put in 'zeta' for the duration of it's lifespan, to show that its super-duper mature.
True enough, but Z either got greedy or started drinking his own kool-aid.

$1B is a ton. He should have taken that and went laughing to the bank.
Yeah I would like to see more of the site and service before I have to register. Could there be a test event area that shows the comments, photos, and all that and perhaps lets the guest add comments and such... this could be reset every hour, but quickly give me a better idea of the site.
Ha, I’m sorry. The name annoyed me too. However, keep in mind that the average web user probably has only heard of one “noun+r” website: Flickr. If you can withstand the heckling from the in-crowd, you probably don’t need to change your name, unless you think up something awesome.
That's just it though... rare is the time when I want to inform "everyone I want to" to come out for drinks in a casual setting.

One or two people max is the norm for a casual get together. Again, I think this is where I'm not in the target market... as you get older, your desire for large groups of people wains.

:-)
Some people like the name because it actually relates to what we're doing. Some people don't. If you have a better idea, we would love to hear some suggestions!

I understand your concern about micro-events but micro-blogs seem to be pretty popular, so we're thinking this is a good way to describe the area we're targeting.

For your number 5, there aren't a lot of people using events sites right now. Evite is by far the most popular, but no one is going to use it if they're going to a happy hour tonight, thus we are attempting to increase the valueAddFromNewSystem through exercises like this (user feedback) while minimizing the painOfSwitchingToNewSystem by simplifying registration and streamlining the process to get up and running.

It might also be applicable to add in an additional variable, which is painFromOldSystem. Attempting to perform a task while being hindered by banner adds and a confusing interface may go so far as to drive a person to a new site/service. While we obviously have no control over that, that variable is rampant in this market segment, so we like to factor it in to our decision making process.

Good point about the FAQ. We were attempting to have a light hearted, entertaining FAQ, but it isn't coming across that way to most people. Definitely looks like some revisions are in the future.

Thanks again for the recommendations!
I find that you really just need to find a problem that I myself am interested in solving.

As part of the process of completing the project all kinds of problems will come up simply due to the fact that you don't know the language; and you know what? You just solve them and carry on and before you know it, suddenly you're just writing in the language without thinking.

The idea of solving standard problems to me does not appeal, but only because they sound like textbook exercises, but really whatever does it for you.
Don't be sorry, I thought your post was funny. It's good to see a sense of humor when providing the feedback. I was going for the same humor but apparently it's not coming across that way...

We do face challenges from this domain name and we're still open to possibly using another. If anyone does come up with something they think is better, please post it!
Shoes, a Ruby GUI toolkit, now has some sweet apps.
* I suspect many people just check their profile,...*

I suspect many people spend hours and hours on it. These are the ones who should, perhaps, be urged to pay. The light users are more likely to leave on any harassment.
didn't rsvp in time, make sure you talk to the suits, they've got the money.
Good to know. Are there ever times when the phone is inconvenient to use? For example if you're at work, are you free to call your friends and arrange a get together or is that frowned upon?

I'm not trying to convince you to use our site! I'm really interested in your demographic and if there's any value we can add to a situation like yours. Thanks again for your feedback.
No. The phone is always convenient. More so than the internet. (And I have a laptop and work online all day)

I'd see value in maybe an sms service that could hold all my buddies numbers... that might be worth exploring... so I could, say, sms your site with "drinks after work @ cheers" and it would forward that to the "Drinking Buddies" list.
Video of a missile taking out the spy satellite. Welcome to the future.
output.

If you can solve your problems with the language, you command it.
That functionality is actually very close to being released. We'll keep you posted on when it's available for use. Thanks for the feedback!
That's a failure of the investors, not the site.
Hi all,

Ok, I'm not looking for a cofounder, but rather a lead developer to help commercialize our software. We are a funded startup company in Salt Lake City, UT. If interested, you can see our Craigslist ad at: http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/sof/576377282.html
When you can start thinking the problem through in the syntax of the language before you sit at the computer, odds are you've got a pretty good grasp of it.

You usually can't think the language if you're still referring to manuals/internet over 50% of the time for syntax/understanding.
(mis)Education
I was speaking in general terms, but the specific thing that brought that to my attention was the welcome notification -- the yellow box filled with "stuff you can/should do" after you sign up. My hunch is that it would be intimidating to new users -- there's too much text and perhaps too much ambiguity as to what's the next step.

It sounds like you guys have a good attitude for improving the site -- my only other suggestion is to log every single action users take, and base your product changes on such data, not on hunches like the one I offered above. :)
White People Like Recycling
Have you ever read something that made you feel just completely transparent? Try reading Stuff White People Like.org!
memcached is not in beta and hasn't been for a very long time as far as I know. Maybe you're thinking of memcachedb?
it's only yours if society accepts it as yours
I think I have command of a language when I can write something from scratch without spending much (if any) time in the docs looking up things.

How many languages have you learned before Python? The first is always hard, and the second is always the worst, because it's the first time you have to think above the level of syntax, but after that it's much easier. By the time you get around to learning number nine, all you have to conceptualize are the diffs with what you already know, which is a much smaller learning curve. So, to summarize, it gets easier with each one you add to your repertoire.

As for problems, I just start with the current one. I usually learn new languages because it seems well suited to a problem I have for some reason. Right now I'm really interested in parallelism, so I'm learning Erlang. I'm working on writing some kind of REST ROA stuff with it (and Yaws), for fun.
you bash email (which i like, don't see what's wrong with it) but i didn't see how you notify my friends instead of by emailing them.

personally, i'm only really available by AIM and email. maybe the target audience includes cell phone users and you send text messages or something? it should say how you contact ppl near the top of the FAQ.
At some point we have to stop and consider: what, exactly, is "the way of Cobol"?

Obviously "like Cobol" doesn't mean "useless". A hell of a lot of vital applications are still running in Cobol. Indeed, I'm sure that one way to locate a vital application is to look for one that is still running in Cobol.

And I seriously doubt that "the way of Cobol" really means "completely stagnant". Just because I don't notice the work that the world's Cobol hackers do doesn't mean that it isn't real. If nothing else, you would think that the Cobol folks have had to quietly and heroically build many, many things over the years just to make sure that available modern hardware and infrastructure can support their ancient codebase. For example, we all know that they had to reinvent all the date-formatting code a few years ago, right? That one even I have heard of.

What "the way of Cobol" means is "things happen, but nobody cares". The remaining Cobol code is very important, but folks don't go out of their way to create much more of it. There are people still inventing things in the Cobol universe, but they go quietly about their jobs with a minimum of fuss and marketing and absolutely no mentions in the popular press. It is intensely unfashionable, kids don't learn about it, and language designers make jokes about it.

Java's not there yet, but you can see the handwriting on the wall. It won't last another twenty years as, e.g., the de facto standard language for college students.
Completely agree about too much wording. Eliminate half of the words on the page, and then cut the remainder in half again, right?

We're trying to walk the fine line between an intimidating amount of words and not having enough content to accurately convey what we want to say. The welcome and all other wordy areas could definitely use another once over.

Thanks for the response!
Hey cousin_it, can you post an email in your profile to get in touch with you? Couldn't find any way to contact you privately without signing up for livejournal :~/ .
If you can handle multi-threaded server code as well as client UI code, you are very much good in that language. but the important measure is not a particular language, rather your knowledge of algorithm, oo concepts, design pattern, etc. And some languages are a must. i.e sql
Wired Readers' Lunar Eclipse Photos
Our intention is not to really bash email, but say that it is not the be all and end all for coordinating individuals. It's a great tool to use in conjunction with other means of communication for conveying our message, which in this case is event information. We should probably emphasize all avenues of communication that we support. Thanks!
Coor.di.na.tr!
Robert Scoble interviews Trip Adler of Scribd
That might make it seem kinda fake with stock photographs and all.
Anonymous Music Execs Confirm Details of MySpace's Upcoming Music Service
I'm practicing Python while solving problems from Project Euler. I think it is a really efficient way to strengthen your LANGUAGE skills. Try very hard to re-write your solutions in an elegant and clean way.
role names
ok this is a simple question. I am trying to come up with 7 levels of permissions and their respective role names. what I have is:

root, admin, manager, assistant,user,public,none

or

root, admin, publisher, editor ,user,public,none

I'm not too happy with this naming. could you suggest something better that would be understood by most users?
This is in the context of database
Thanks for your response. I had learnt C and Cobol before and those were driven by the projects I was assigned to. I am confident with the algorithm but I should reduce the frequency of looking up the manuals.
That is some thing I'm doing too. But I'll try the re-writing part. Thanks.
It's pretty great for that. It allows you to do complex layouts a little faster while keeping them readable. I'll be using it for any future sites I design.