skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
It depends on what you mean by "fail". If it means "drop out before getting a PhD", then you are surely right. But that's not how most people who enter PhD programs in sciences define success. They want a tenure track position afterwards (possibly with a few years of posdoc positions in between), and eventually they want to become tenured professors. And I suspect--I can't back it with any numbers though--the failure rate for them is of the same order of magnitude as for startups.
Free Joyent Accelerator for Facebook Developers
I think that really depends on the internship. In most cases, it is false that working for a big company will be "nothing more" than a nice line on your resume. I've interned at both startups and big corporations, and learned an enormous amount at both kinds of companies.
With that kind of experience you should be able to sell yourself. Def. pitch yourself around, get introduced to people. Never stop asking how you can be of assistance even if it's emailing someone to a blog entry that may help their business process. Sometimes giving away business is the best way to get business.
I'd buy that for a dollar
Web Developers Are No (April) Fools
I've played it on the iphone and it's unexpectedly addictive.
Why'd this submission get dead'd?
Ask YC:  How would you continue your online presence after you die (e.g., in debate, etc.)?
How would you do it? What combination of AI & social apps might you try? What sorts of incentives would you have?

I'm more interested in practical solutions that can be built now. The stuff about uploading and simulating your brain isn't realistic.
I guess I kind of feel like this is asking, "Should I play rugby or do synchronized swimming this summer?" I mean, sure, they're both sports, but they're completely different games.

I feel like the things I learned in a big and small companies are largely orthogonal and it's hard to say which is more valuable without knowing what the original poster is hoping to use that experience for.
Congratulations to the JPMorgan deal team for putting together a great deal in really tough financial situations. I too had no idea that it was a private company.

To anyone wondering why their symbol isn't VISA: only NASDAQ companies have four-letter symbols. NYSE-listed companies have three letters or fewer.
Thanks to everyone that replied. My friend made a great comment today when he pointed out that, for the most part, people go to work at startups so that they can get in on the ground floor - pull those extra hours and accept less pay because hopefully you will be able to build the company out into a moneymaking venture. As an intern, those reasons are absent, since you're leaving shortly after you start with no stock or any other "i was there first"goodies anyways.

On the other hand, the web startup is probably more along the lines of what I would like to be doing long term, and one of the founders is already assuming a mentorship position - he called me a couple of times, and rather than trying to push his side, he's giving me some guidance and opinions on how to approach this kind of decision. This is, naturally, great for a student like me.

Still undecided, but i'll probably make up my mind throughout the night. Thank you for the candid discussion everyone!
Very cool. Reminds me of the LineRider game.
Thanks you all for your interesting replies (all comenters replying to my original comment).
Given the stereotype of single hackers, I'm not sure if this qualifies as a "practical solution that can be built now" -- but my plan for continuing my presence in the world (both online and offline) involves having kids. :-)
A section on "memory debugging tools" that doesn't include valgrind? This article is crap, sorry.
Wow, that's cool! I've played with the program (name?) that does this with pre-configured shapes--but to have something that an instructor or student can invent/draw live is uberschweet.
It is good to see a contradicting post here from time to time, as there are a lot of downsides to starting a company.

I found myself at the age of 30 many years into a company I started at 23, and it consumed my entire 20's. Every aspect of my life suffered.

Are people aware of the strange things stress can do to one's body? Look up 'IBS' in google. Try not eating for a year. That's just the stuff I can post.

I missed weddings and funerals. I did things I'm so extremely proud of, and things I'm ashamed of.

Here is the real rub: Once you hire employees, you have an obligation to give them a consistent paycheck. It just happens. This increases 10x when the employees aren't kids in their early twenties working for stock options making peanuts who get 10 job offers a week.

When you have employees who have families that depend on your company, depend on your health plan, your dental plan, your 401k matching funds, the pressure to maintain even when times are tough is huge.

The game can change quickly. Having employees will make it harder to throw up your arms when things get tough and say 'perhaps I don't have a winner here'. You will dig in, and continue the battle, and you are committed until it can survive on it's own. And sometimes that takes a couple years.

Or five.

Or ten.

So a word of caution. Keeping a company alive is tough. Closing down a company is tougher. A fairy tale ending is a pipe dream. Last time I checked, there are a very small number of Mark Cuban's, and this sure ain't 1998. And guess what Jerry Yang is doing: working his ass off to save the soul of his baby. His hugely successful baby.

He doesn't have to be there.

He made his billions. But things aren't right, and he can't sleep at night.

Success is hitting payroll every month. Never ever miss payroll. Any goodness above that is gravy. Anything worse than that is hell.

Would I change it all, and to have just gotten a job out of college, reporting to someone every day of my life? Hell no!! I love it. I could think of no better way to live my life. :)
Is Facebook Playing Favorites With App Developers?
But why would your kids share your view of the world and thus continue your presence? Kids are very rebellious nowadays.
Yeah, don't know why it was private for so long. Same with MasterCard. Their IPO was around 2 years ago.
I applaud the author's innovation, but I have to take issue with the recent trend of physics-engine-as-gameplay. I'm not sure if I'm too cynical (I can enjoy this game for a while) but I just don't find them fun in general. Phun (no pun intended) isn't really a "game" to me, it's more of a software toy.

I think it might be because realistic rigid-body physics are still fairly novel in games, and seeing realistic reactions in-game is inherently satisfying for some reason. I think we'll see a continuing rise in the number of "physics-based ______" formula games, followed by a sharp decline.
all well and good concecptually, but i don't see how the blurb following each emotionally intelligent noun is supposed to add much more to (or parenthetically confuse?) the standard meaning of these words.

in some case these seem to be predominantly internally-motivated or individualistic definitions/connotations of these terms and concepts. i thought the term had more to do with people in relation to others...

1. awareness- what about the effect of "individual emotions" on others? or "awareness" of entirely non-emotional factors in a given situation.

2. control- "resisting impulses and urges (delaying gratification)" To me this sounds like "resisting impulses and urges (until it is no longer necessary)" which is not necessarily "control". not that i'm sure "control" is the rubric for this, but what about plain ignoring or avoiding impulses and urges because they are simply that?

... and so on

in terms of offered definition, what is the difference b/w 5&6? creativity = thinking outside the box, innovation = seeking out unconventional solutions to problems... so if (seeking out unconventional solutions to problems) == (thinking outside the box), then i guess creativity = innovation, but then why are there 12 keys and not 11?

i don't want to shred this, i respect all of the terms and concepts alluded to in the post and am glad people care, but "keys to emotional intelligence"?

if you can agree that there is such a thing as emotional intelligence, i think you'd agree that there are no 5, 10, 12... "keys" to such a thing.
This article inspired me to write a blog post. It's mostly about my own site, but toward the end I mention that an economic downturn's likely effect on Snipshot and Disqus would be that they could find cheap rent easier. If this is wrong somebody let me know.

http://ourdoings.com/2008-03-19
<PEDANTIC> Important news and appropriate for HN, but the use of the word "drops" in the title is a poor word choice as it suggests that the IPO did NOT occur. If you're talking about the 'release' of a new hip-hip album, the word 'drops' might be appropriate...but it has the opposite meaning if you're talking about IPOs and lawsuits ;-) </PEDANTIC>

Visa is a fascinating company. There was a really good article about it in Fast Company several years ago.
Shotgun: The Rubinius Virtual Machine
I'm writing a web app that has a PHP/JSON backend and a very javascript-heavy front end. After spending some time in JS, it really sucks going back to PHP, as the language itself lacks so many things Java/ECMAScript has.

So the idea is to be able to use EMCAScript as a backend programming language with the ability to access files, SQL databases, sockets, do system calls etc. Since its too much work writing these from scratch, the project could be a cross "compiler" between ECMAScript and Python (or any other suitable language), so that people can write web software in one language only.
Buffett inspires me...the rest turn my stomach.
Making a total hash of it
Interesting, we are building a similar service and will probably launch in about a month. May the best one win ;)
I agree. I don't think I've really experienced the lows enough to comment on them. My past startup still returns passive income to this day, and my current one is still running and doesn't seem to be in danger of stopping any time soon.
VISA: it's everywhere you want to be, now including wall street.
What I'd like to know is, what % need to succeed for you guys to turn a profit. I'm sure it's too early to tell that too, but do you have any guesses?
[This is one of Dee Hock's favorite tricks to play on an audience. "How many of you recognize this?" he asks, holding out his own Visa card.

Every hand in the room goes up.

"Now," Hock says, "how many of you can tell me who owns it, where it's headquartered, how it's governed, or where to buy shares?"

Confused silence. No one has the slightest idea, because no one has ever thought about it.]

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/05/deehock.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/05/dee2.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/05/dee3.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/events/realtime/florida/dhock.htm...
with that title, I half expected to see a picture of a half Euro.
Not yet, but we may do that in the future.
I totally disagree with the assertion that it's important to try to do great things, or at all noble to encourage others to do so. For some of us it is, for some of us it is not, and it isn't universal. I don't think it's safe to assume that it's what is is best for everyone and try to encourage them to do it. It clearly is not the best course through life for most people.

It's incredibly selfish to try to convince others to sacrifice their own happiness to make the world a better place for you and to do what you think is important. If someone is happier working at Wal-Mart, and it means they won't author the next web-based [insert MS Office product here] why try to convince them otherwise? Because you want that social network for [insert hobbyist or demographic here]?
What exactly would be the point?
Interesting. Not sure I want to get his particular outlook on life though when I get older.
Don't fantasize about a mansion. Fantasize about an excited user.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=74030
Imagine if Einstein were to continue to argue for world peace today in numerous online debates.

Granted, most people are not Einstein. But I suspect many would like to have an effect on the world after their death.
Ask YC: Do you use a Wiki for Knowledge Management?
Do any of the startups or hacker groups here on News YC use a wiki for knowledge management? If so:

1. Which wiki app do you use?

2. How's your experience been with sharing ideas and knowledge within your group through wiki's?

3. How have you structured your wiki space?
I expected to see a share of Bear Stearns...
I always viewed someone with startup experience as having better management potential and as someone likely to be able to better see the "big picture." Whereas someone with more low-level big company experience as being more of a "good employee." With that in mind, you can see that the type of job in question will determine whether that experience is a positive or negative.
Took me a while to figure this out. Press release in disguise.

I'd not be so harsh if the predictions weren't so vague.
6.034 was the Scheme follow-on, and it's now Python, too.
Thanks for pointing out the rap exception to the word drop. No sarcasm.

I'm working on a new site that, in part, will be devoted to deciphering rap lyrics. Should be pretty dope.
Scientists spot organic molecule on distant planet
Like the design simplicity. A possible idea on how to differentiate it from reddit. Consider having an option that makes it almost like a media producer.

What I mean is, while the post link is interesting, when it comes to something like Hacker News I always click through for the comments, because they're usually great. What about combining this idea with almost a kind of private access and putting the point system to more use?

For example: You have the link (or topic) that is submitted as they are now, and then the discussion that occurs from the link (or topic). As people like it, they vote it up or down (giving it points). However, all this discussion is taking place not in public view (recalling the invite only). But each day a submission goes public (also opening up comments) based on which one has the most points. This essentially creates 1 piece of interesting material a day (similar to that of a blog) based on dynamic discussion.

Just a thought.
European countries ahead of U.S. on broadband, study says
There is definitely not a good correlation between high wealth and high taste (especially given the picture of the first house). But I would love to be proved wrong by some increasingly wealthy Ycers here :)
For Einstein to continue you'll have to use AI to simulate his brain - which isn't realistic, and contradicts your own idea.
The end of software…
Smackdown: Leander Kahney vs. Fake Steve Jobs
As an approximation, you could use a social approach where people try to imitate Einstein as closely as possible along with some way of evaluating which imitations are more successful than others.
So he is saying that lack of market share makes Chrysler like a startup? >.>
This really scares me.
Y Combinator's Demo Day - report from Don Dodge
Of course, mobile apps have the distinction of being used when you don't have another viable option anyway. Captive audience.
New Facebook Privacy Options Just Went Live - with Screenshots
Pylot: a free open source tool for testing performance and scalability of web services
Cool, thank you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Tappan_Morris%2C_Jr.
They are atrocious. If I had a billion dollars, I would build something like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein

(Actually, that is practically the perfect example of atrocious living quarters, but if you're going to do bombast, do it right.) If I had 10s of millions, I would pick up one of these, which are sometimes surprisingly cheap:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau
Wow - he comes off as a jerk, but this venture will probably net him another couple Gulfstreams
Remember The IPO? Didn't Think So
It looks very similar to the MIT whiteboard physics sketching app. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZNTgglPbUA
Solving Linear Equation with Regexes
In his book Sun of Suns, Karl Schroeder discusses an entity who is neither a physical person nor an AI; he's the product of a "game church", where people join up and take shifts beating out a heartbeat, or sending nerve signals to other people in response to signals they receive, and an intelligent entity emerges from that, despite the fact that none of the people are making decisions for that entity. Sort of a Chinese room thing.

I thought you might find that interesting.
I can't believe it's 2008 and we're still reading new stories about MD5 collision-resistance. We get it, anybody can manufacture N files with the same hash and different content. Don't use MD5 as a piece of your vote commitment scheme and move on. All of this was news years ago.

edit: MD5 is still good for random other stuff. If you MD5 something, it's not that easy for someone to find a collision with it. I'm anxiously awaiting the revelatory article on rainbow tables in The Economist.
Maybe it just me, but I never found the huge, marbleized, gold-plated mansions to be particularly appealing. Across the street from where I live, there are rows of multi-million dollar mansions that look like they were ripped right out of Scarface, and I just wonder what the motivation is... Don't get me wrong, I intend to have a nice living arrangement when it's all said and done, but I feel like that amount of luxury would actually detract from the livability.
Sounds like a cool idea. I'd like to meet some hackers out in Chicago.
Startup hiring manager: big positive

BigCo hiring manager: mild negative

People who hire generally look for the candidate that "fits" overall before passing the candidate on to more specific people. At a startup that's probably a bigger issue than at a large company, just because the culture is more malleable.
Amen to that brother!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Analysis

Different kind of security, but I'll check it out.
Something About Programming Better Than Programming
Dilbert's Ultimate House
How about Dilbert's Ultimate House?
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=141389
What people like about those places is the idea of living in them.

Unlike physical stuff, ideas can be arbitrarily expensive, so they comprise a lot of what gets sold to the very rich. I suspect practically everyone who owns a Picasso, for example, likes the idea of owning a Picasso more than they like the actual painting.
Ask PG: Hacker news "topcolor" bug 
I was playing around with the topcolor (for folks who don't click on their profile name, click on the user name on the top left, the last option is the topcolor option) by changing it. There is one page which does not use the new color, it sticks to the old color, that page is http://news.ycombinator.com/submit. Thought I would let you know.
In that case, I didn't suggest that virus penetration be the metric, but attempts at penetration.

Although it is likely that there is a correlation between attempts and the perceived vulnerability of the system, you would also expect a correlation between attempts and expected total success (which goes up with market share).
How to Crash Cocoa
Using Python to create UNIX command line tools
Spolsky lives in a Reality Distortion Field
Depends on the definition of succeed. IPO or HR acquisition? If the former, 1%. If the latter, more like 20-30%.
Yes--but not for a startup/hacker group. I brought a wiki into the enterprise to help manage my team of developers, support staff, testers, and product development.

We use MediaWiki- www.mediawiki.org

Our experience has been excellent. Everyone, even the non-techie business users got used to using it quickly, and now use it all the time.

I've created the "home page" of the wiki to be a dashboard, such that a list of projects and their statuses, people's tasks (working and todo), and important milestones are visible for all to see. Furthermore, I've encouraged the entire team to go into other's "buckets", pull work to do themselves and feel free to push work to others should they feel someone else is more competant or has more cycles to handle tasks. Everyone loves it.
Scientists induce retina regeneration in mice, curing blindness
How ebay uses eclipse
Ask YC:  Do you think hierarchical discussions with voting does not work?
The problem is that you could always reply to the topmost comment, thus making your reply highly visible.

Sure it may get down voted and hidden eventually. But I think it's still a flaw. After all, new submissions don't start on the front page. So why allow something like that with comments?

How can you address this issue?
And, of course, this is old news, and, of course, it only works with MD5 (and --- we expect, but do not yet know --- SHA1, but not SHA256).

Your takeaway from this article is, "don't ever use MD5 again". It has no value. Use CRC's for error detection, and use a SHA hash for security.
Ask YC: Prerequisites to quitting?
What would/did you do to prepare to quit full-time employment favour of a startup? Is your team of cofounders tentative or finalized? Detailed down to the paperwork?

How many months of living expenses should be ready?

At what stage is the product? Is there an idea chosen? A prototype?
Do you have examples where this has happened? Are you referring to another site?
What is MD5 good for? It's slower than a CRC and less secure than SHA1. It's a crappy universal hash (bad constant factors) and it's usually much too large for a unique identifier.
So you never feel like replying to the topmost comment so that more people will see what you wrote?
Install Anyterm for remote terminal access without SSH
and to think '' there are thousands of people paying for a service like this at myfamily.com ( a few more features, but barely)
Watch and explore outer space with Stellarium, Celestia, and Xplanet
Linux well-positioned in booming telematics market
Nice job man. The whole process from the user's end is about as simple and painless as it can get - something that, if done poorly, will kill a site quicker then anything. Nice concept and seemingly small/few bugs/issues for a just launched site. Kudos!
Real-time Linux distro tapped for enterprise VoIP
Hackers vs. Windows, Mac, Linux next week in big-money contest
How To Hack A RFID Credit Card For $8
Ex-MS staffer to demo Vista smart card hack
It never occurred to me. Conclude what you will about my intelligence.
Silicon compound superconducts at room temperature
Flash-based notebooks plagued by returns
How they hacked it: The MiFare RFID crack explained
Keeping up with the YCombinators
Hi. I left a job at Yahoo and my co-founder left a job at live-nation to start our company. I left about a month earlier and got our paper work together (business documents and the like.) I was also able to raise a little money from friends and family before we started. We have not taken a salary in months, and both of us have been living off our savings. We are young (25/24) so money is tight.

We had an idea, but could never have gotten things started if we didn't take a leap of faith. Quitting and getting things moving is the hardest thing to do. The first month feels very scary. We only had an idea, but in my opinion it was worth it to quit. I hope this helps.
Strong disagree. I work at one of the biggest companies. I help out with hiring. Startups are a plus, and it's not just me.

We, like everyone else, look for evidence that you've done stuff. In a startup, what you've done is obvious.
Oh, no, I've been duped! My musings will languish in limbo!

Oh, well. I should probably either retract them, refine them, or blog them, anyway.
Seth Godin wrote a whole book about this. (All Marketers are Liars, my favorite SG book as it were.)
Yes, it does. Thanks for sharing. It seems like you're pleased with your decision. And, good luck.
Any idea the direction you want to head? Or what are you into? Want to stay with Image design or storage systems?
with that title, I half expected to see a video of Robocop...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093870/quotes