skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Still love it (had one since release day). I use mine several times a day. Common usage:

- playing simple games

- watching video's on YouTube

- reading websites or magazines

- listening to NPR or Pandora radio

- weather reports

- calendar

- email

Stuff I thought I'd use it for but really haven't that much:

- reading PDF programming books (still prefer hard copies)

- reading eBooks

My brother and parents got one each too. The other week my Mom told me she was Googling all over the internet. She's semi-computer novice and really hasn't been online much since getting the iPad. Its opened up her eyes. All of my friends who have one love them too.
Sorry to go meta, but I think you started it with the following.

> people have been thrown off HN for considerably less than what 'Zed' gets away with

What is it with the quotes around the guy's real name? Is that some super lame attempt at dehumanizing your opponent? Even if you thought Zed was a pseudonym, it is the only name you have for the guy so, no quotes necessary. I think this is a Freudian slip on your part.

Zed Shaw is not going to get thrown off Hacker News for something he writes on his blog. Zed Shaw doesn't get away with anything. Many people listen to Zed Shaw because he wrote Mongrel, defrocked the Ruby/Rails priesthood, works hard and is really nice to anyone that asks for his help. Many other people don't listen to Zed Shaw because he takes the piss out of them, are thin-skinned or think he is wrong or rude or both. Zed Shaw earns and he burns just like the rest of us. He doesn't get away with anything.

> respond with grace instead of with bile

Conventional wisdom.

> "programmers listen to the biggest asshole"

Reality.

> you're on the wrong track

Oh no, I'm loosing them. I better attract the crowd with more conventional wisdom.
It's not easy, is it? Imagine being able to spool up a new environment (on one server as opposed to, say, 5 in production) and feed it a copy of production data, run tests, and then tear it down. And imagine knowing that this environment was identical to production in every way except for minor configuration changes to get it to run on one box. And when you're done with it? Throw it away. That's really powerful. A new employee comes on board? Here, here's your environment. Mess with it as much as you want, we can just rebuild it if you totally hose it. All QA except for performance testing, which would need to be done on real hardware anyway, could be done in these environments.
If I could get everyone to do anything at my command, I'd have a lot more fun with it than simply getting people to opt out of strip searches. Suffice it to say that chaos is not going to ensue, but a helpful amount of backpressure in the system might.
Isn't CouchDB fully capable of doing this by itself? Why add the Node.js layer? (Genuine question)
Good work. I love the minimalism.
I'd nominate reddit as a fifth, more recently-made one.

I actually don't think it's ugly--but I'd argue that it's as spartan as Google (considering its different functions), which did make the list.
If I were looking to invest in a startup, especially one by college kids, I can see the preference to having 2-3 cofounders. Because it reduces my risk as an investor in the case where one guy gets hit by a bus, and ensures that the cofounders have somebody they can ask for advice who is intimately knowledgable about and vested in the success of their venture WITHOUT necessarily having to lean on me, the investor, all the time -- because my time is finite and to further increase my success chances and happiness I want to spend time on many ventures, plus family and friends and life chores.

As an entrepreneur my bias is to single founder, precisely because that also reduces my risk. and maximizes my time efficiency.

Summary: which number is best depends on your role, whether you are the entrepreneur or merely the outside investor.
I have a sample size of one school to pick from, but I have to agree with this. The overwhelming majority of MBAs are quite normal in their outlook. I graduated from the #1 ranked MBA in Canada and I believe it's top 20 in the world (depending on whose skewed, biased ranking system you're using) and I met only 2 or 3 people who thought "big". Most people I met were getting MBAs because they wanted to move up in the organization or move away from engineering and get into management.
era check: photos taken 1939-45, which was WWII. Depression ended in the late '30s/early '40s.
Steve Wozniak On Antennagate, Google And Steve Jobs ( with Video)
I think this is one of those products that investors, and companies love, but from consumer point of view adds very little benefit. May even hurt some consumers by exposing credit card numbers.
Man, remember in 2000 when that guy was talking about lockboxes? What a dork!
And since the liberty (privacy) that's being abrogated here isn't even mentioned in the Constitution --- and reasonable, experienced Constitutional Law scholars can argue that we aren't guaranteed it --- that's a tough row to hoe.
All hope for is that they will design a scanner that scans me and my backpack instantly as I walk through it so I can arrive at the airport 20 minutes before the flight and not to wait in line to take out my laptop and remove my shoes. I can even pay $10 every time I go though such device to get to my plane faster.

And as for some overpaid TSA agent seeing me "naked"? You know, I really don't care.
I think these are all extremes that illustrate a point though. A less extreme point is airbnb's website. It's not necessarily ugly. However, it's definitely not going to win any awards for beautiful design either. And most importantly, the company's founders could definitely have come up with something better if they put their minds to it.

The point is that a startup can grow with a design that is a bit lacking as long as it does something that people want to use.
I can't really recommend it to people as a computer because there's quite a bit that it simply can't do. Even if I limit it to simply internet access I still come across sites where I can't book something/choose a date because the JS doesn't work. That'd be a real shitter if it was your only computer.
Yes: Dutch native, English fluent, Spanish pretty good, French ok, German basic.

One day I'll learn another language or two. Perhaps when I finally create that online language learning thing ;)
It's sort of however you want to look at it. The post is suggesting it's "because of" not "despite" the ugliness. I take the above comment to mean that these sites could perhaps be even more successful if designed more aesthetically. Dunno how much I agree with the sentiment (although I don't think it would kill craigslist to use a splash of color), but that's how I take it.
What does Slide... do?
Thomas, were you intentionally choosing a bland/generic logo in an effort to prove your point? Just from glancing at the 99 Designs logo store, here's a few logos that, while still generic (in the sense that they have nothing to do with bingo) seem to have a little more personality:

* http://99designs.com/logo-design/store/12556
* http://99designs.com/logo-design/store/12531
* http://99designs.com/logo-design/store/3090
* http://99designs.com/logo-design/store/1116
* http://99designs.com/logo-design/store/602
* http://99designs.com/logo-design/store/12572

It seems pretty obvious to me that many logos would perform better than the one you selected (a dangerous assumption, perhaps), although I wouldn't be surprise if Patrick's current logo out performs them all. I actually think his current logo is pretty good.
The biggest issue is the ability to learn quickly. There is probably little or no work experience yet. I would not put much weight into school projects. I would look for any contributions to open source or private projects.

My recommendation would be to work on an open source project starting now. You will get to work on a better project (since you get to pick) and quite possibly learn more. You might find out that this turns out better than an internship in the long road.
It's also very difficult to hold a good-looking smile for thirty seconds.

Some specifics from photo.net:

http://photo.net/black-and-white-photo-film-processing-forum...

From various Kodak publications of the period, recommended exposures in the 1920's on "normal" film would indicate a "modern" ASA rating of 25-50 with normal developement. The sensitivity of generally available films seems to have increased in the early 1930's and higher speed emulsions became also available.

Since there are readers here who may have never seen film: ASA 50 is considered on the very slow, insensitive side today. ASA 200 is typical, and ASA 400+ is fast.
This article forgot to mention ugliest of all - Facebook.
Given that Slide has received $78M in funding this exit does not look very exciting to my eyes.

Nevertheless, congratulations to Max for yet another sold company.
Ok, I'm not the original poster, but here goes.

The continued existence of the entire human race may depend on space exploration and subsequent colonization. One comet or black-swan type disaster could wipe out humanity as a whole. This is not without precedent (dinosaurs).
None of this carries over for non-monopolistic markets. Are monopolies the only place Groupon makes sense?
I am not the brightest person on the block, but I probably know more than most people on something.

If you have curiosity, you will discover something.
Computer Helps Forum
The MyCuredComputer Basic Fix Package was designed to give home computer users a safe, secure, and inexpensive option to the everyday aggravations of owning a PC. Computer tune-up’s get your system back to peak operating condition without the inconvenience of going to your local repair shop.
That's really cool! I want one :)

In all seriousness though I think if my property was 6' wide my first move would be build a basement and sub-basement and sub-sub-basement. The ground floor would be for my motorcycles, kitchen on the 2nd floor, den in the basement, sleeping in the sub and storage in the sub-sub. You'd barely need any square footage, especially if you use ladders instead of stairs.

I guess you could say I'm thinking like a submarine designer?
I'd really like to have this as the sound that plays whenever you do a successful merge in svn.
I wonder how you define ugly? To my eyes, Facebook ranks relatively well amongst the major sites on the Internet.
I lived in a country with 600-3000% inflation for a few years. The way we stashed was by converting assets to U.S. dollars.

Hope it helps.
There was a lot of talk about how you couldn’t use the device for ergonomic reasons prior to the launch. Anyone care to share experiences about that? An Gorilla Arm experiences? How/Where do you use it?
You're using a site right now that wasn't established early in the web, doesn't have great aesthetics or marketing, and seems to be doing okay.
Depends on how you define monopoly. The analysis is intended to cover any business that faces a downward sloping demand curve. That is, any one who is not a price-taker. A monopoly certainly does.
California's Prop 8 (gay marriage ban) ruled unconstitutional
Ask HN:  Tools for touring your product?
So I want to make a bunch of short video tutorials (<30 seconds) on how to use different parts of our product.

What's the best tool to use for screen grabbing and recording sound as well? (Keep in mind I'm on a PC)
Woohoo, exploding with XSS bugs.
I speak Spanish (I am Mexican), fluent English (I have been in the US since high school), and I am trying to learn French (beginner).
Twitter circa 1935:

http://gizmodo.com/5254222/olde-timey-notificator-machine-tw...
"... but the fact is being a great artist and knowing differential calculus are mutually exclusive."

Either you missed a 'not', or you need to stop and think about the number of people you've just insulted with this statement. Math and art have been strongly intertwined for a very long time, from the Golden Ratio of the Greeks to Da Vinci to Escher (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_and_art). Those who are good at math are frequently good at art partly because they can understand abstractions and separate them from 'icons' of objects and ideas. I would instead state that it is the rare great artist that doesn't have the ability to quickly pick up continuous math concepts.
Not sure which slides you were looking at but 3(old guy on the left is arguably larger than he should be), 12(portly gent on the right), and 66(a fine double chin if ever I saw one) have overweight people in them. Also it was the great depression not exactly known as a time of plenty.
Posterous DoS attack
Google is simple. That's not the same as ugly.
FWIW, my son was selected for a pat-down search when we flew in Canada on a domestic flight. Notwithstanding the logic of deciding that a 10 year old carrying a Nintendo DS was a security threat, the agent was quite respectful, asking for my permission first, being very clear what was going on, and performing the pat-down in a professional (to my eyes) and efficient manner.
Wait until some politician's daughter's "scan" shows up in public.
There were several variations. In one variation the `teacher' could see the `pupil'.
Last I heard, they were still trying to figure it out :)
Yet we're in an economic downturn, which is supposed to be a time of lacking as well and people are fatter than ever.
Steve Jobs' Jackling House Saga Draws To An End
Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional
Indeed. And from what I've heard, iStockPhoto has a ridiculous process that you have to go through to get approved...I think they are basically so "full" of submitters, if you aren't already in the system it's hard to break in. Maybe focus on that? (Not saying offer terrible pictures from just anyone, just saying that maybe their site has gotten almost too big...maybe there is a glut in the market.)

Something else you might consider doing is good integration/importing. For example Flickr has a check-box where you can easily "offer your photo for sale on Getty images"...while you probably can't get Flickr to add a box for your site right away, use their API to allow new users to easily import some or all of their Flickr photos right into your site for sale.

Perhaps also consider offering a mix of high-quality free and paid photos. For example (again using the Flickr API since I am familiar with it to some degree) there are a lot of amazing photos on Flickr that are license Creative Commons, meaning they are free for use in non-commercial works. Maybe go through yourself and find a few hundred really high-quality ones and offer those alongside the paid ones on your site, categorized and tagged.

There are definitely opportunities to be had, it's just a question of finding them.
For those who's getting the impression that Ellison is an ass, please read his whole letter (just a paragraph).
Google Ceasing Development of Google Wave
Value-by-alpha maps
You can just have them sync or activate it at an Apple store. You really don't need to do it again after that. OS updates would be out of reach, though, which are important. I'm still not sure why Apple tied the iPad to an iTunes install. It's such a brilliant device (wife and I love our 32gb wifi model) but this is a serious flaw.
How long 'til it gets to the supreme court?
Yea, Ellison's my biggest surprise there. I'm sure Jobs & 3 googlers would join the list at some point. But where the fuck is Ballmer!? He pretty much got his un-deserved billions handed to him.
I agree - although I view it a bit different. I always feel a disconnect with black and white photos, as if it's something that happened centuries ago or not at all. These photos somehow make it feel more "real".
I pointed out 4 loopholes which let one evade paying any taxes at all to the Federal government under this system. Meanwhile, said citizen would still be benefiting from the expenditures made by that same government (defense, highways, welfare net, etc.) I didn't even list all the loopholes or flaws with it (for example, no gift tax allows some pretty evil hacks to evade paying taxes as well. Also a citizen could buy goods and services from foreign countries and have them mailed home to him, and pay no tax to Fed govt.) Therefore from my perspective it's a horribly broken proposal as it stands now.

Also any tax scheme which allows the rich to not pay any taxes at all, while still requiring working class to do so, cannot be described as a Fair Tax. If anything the name is an Orwellian mindfuck where the substance is the opposite of the surface.

What's good about it is the attempt to drastically simplify the tax code and reduce the amount of government spying on private lives. That goal (assuming that was their actual goal) is noble. The means described, however, are not.
Possibly a talent acquisition of Levchin. If he doesn't quit, it seems like a good purchase.
I've always wondered this myself.
This is depressing to me. The interface still left a lot to be desired, but I was using it very successfully at my startup to collaborate on documents and interact with coworkers.

It never experienced the explosive growth they were hoping for, but I figured it was a long term play. I guess new strategic priorities ("Kill Facebook") are getting in the way of ongoing development.
Really cool designs, but the sizes themselves arent all that impressive IMO. A 300sqft lot with 3 floors can probably be at least 800sq ft of space, which isnt that bad at all.
I was much more impressed by the converting apartment in under 350 sq ft of space that was posted on HN a few months ago (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1294480)
You should deploy to heroku and not worry about munin, new relic, etc. Let someone else sysadmin.

For DMCA takedown requests, establish a process that allows the company to remove the script (a lot like youtube) without taking down the whole site.
Does it seem like some people would really like to be a social network created by Visa?
I think this goes both ways. I understand that sysadmins are human and get busy and/or make mistakes. Most of the time though, nagging developers could be pleased by sysadmins being a bit more proactive in communicating with people.

After all, when a ticket has been open for a week with no response, most people will start to get a bit frustrated and take it out on the sysadmin. A simple "Hey, know you've been waiting on this a while, but I have X, Y, and Z to take care of before I can get to it" will do wonders for sysadmin/developer relations.
Starcraft is a national sport in some countries. Not having LAN support is pretty significant because you can't get low latency like that any other way.
I would love to know the A/B difference between having the ugliest logo man can make (or simply no logo) and your currently best one (your original logo).

That could give you a scale of how much a logo can possibly affect your conversion rates. Maybe the difference can be as much as 20-30% with a bad logo, but you wouldn't know by A/B testing two random designs.

Regarding the logos' aesthetics, a lot of people want to chime in and they probably have something to their point, however since they are not designers they do not have the experience of knowing what people in general find aesthetically pleasing. Because when you design things for people you learn that you can't find anything that everybody likes, you can only find something that a greater percentage of people will find more beautiful than the next thing. You almost learn that designing based on your own opinion will always yield poor results, so you design based on what you've learned that the biggest percentage of people will like.
As near as I can tell it makes 14 y/o girls happy. I can wrap my head around a lot of small companies going big, but I never could find a way to rationalize the hype behind slide.
Cloud Computing reaches the mainstream?
Roundup - Prevent shell bugs
Google Kills Wave
CEO-Co-Founder Wanted
TMTC 29 - Ron Stephens from python411
I have a feeling I am, because I speak english fluently. Although I'm not truly bilingual: I started learning english when I was 4, but it was not the language I spoke, but rather the language I studied. I also don't feel that's such a huge asset, because being able to speak english is somewhat a must and being able to speak Russian is only valuable in Russia. I hope I find time and motivation to learn spanish someday.
The studies I have heard of talk of the benefits of skin-to-skin contact while feeding, which can easily be done with a bottle too. I'm not aware of any studies that point to any benefit of nipple vs. artificial nipple.
Also, while we're calling people for misspeaking, Staten Island is New York City.

True, but Staten Island feels like New Jersey -- even, I suspect, to most New Yorkers. I have a friend from Staten Island, and when I talk about going back to New Jersey, it drives her crazy.

I can't imagine people from New Jersey minding being mistaken for New Yorkers...
Biz insider says sales price @ $228m

Not a huge percentage more but I wouldn't complain about another $46m :)

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-just-bought-slide-for-...
That sounds like too much software to me. What's with the aversion to scp? You only have to do it once per box you set up... There's something to be said for having GitHub do everything 1000% for you, but there's also something to the unix philosophy that would suggest git is good at the version control thing, and scp is good for the configuration-file-moving thing.
The announcement is on the official Google blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-google-wave...
How to build a community: Defining purpose, market, channels & differentiators
Probably soon, but still a step in the right direction.
I always thought it was another case of Founder-itis. Popular founder = press = perceived popular product (almost no matter what it does) = good exit or a pity exit.
I saw that and wondered where $78 million goes in creating a games site. That seems like a tremendous amount of money. Oh well, congrats I suppose.
In nearly every large system I've been involved in designing, a "filesystem is a filesystem" would give you a great chance of rendering the system non-functional or performing so bad it might as well be non-functional when making simple design decisions based on knowledge about the problem made it easy to avoid in the first place.

Premature optimization is a sin, but making design decisions you know from experience has a major impact is not, as long as you measure to confirm afterwards.

We don't design by throwing dice - most decisions we make are based on experience or assumptions about what works and what doesn't. Measurements are important to challenge those assumptions, but it doesn't take away the value of making use of experience to create a reasonable baseline.

Where "premature optimization" comes in is where you start expending unnecessary extra effort to implement a more complicated solution without evidence to back up the need for it.

Spending a little bit of time to think through the requirements for major aspects of your system is not extra effort.
When I Say No...
As a German I need to have an ID card, but do not need to carry it with me. The same is true for many other EU states.

Civil liberties are apparently in decline everywhere, but I would argue that the EU is somewhat better than the US in that regard and that the actual abuse of laws is better in the EU.

I think you are slightly overacting. It could be that you as a non-EU-citizen were subjected to harsher standards. May I remind you that the US isn't that nice to non-citizens?
>My gut reaction is "learn to use git", but I am not sure I could rationally defend it.

Git might be a good indicator, even if it's not a tool used in the organization -- provided the person the candidate talks to knows of git. If someone knows git (or mercurial et. al.), I'm going to assume they've got decent knowledge of programming. They might not be the best programmer, but they probably want to learn, and are fast enough to learn new things.
New York City Has Most Millionaires In The Country