skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Ask HN: Starting a bootstrapped startup
Hi HN peeps! HN's been an amazing place and over the past couple of months, I've learnt so much from you guys.

Anyway, I'm interested in starting a web service. I'd like to start a company but I'm uncertain about the procedures to do so. My company will be building a web service but I would like everything to go through my company's name. Is that feasible? Also, would I have to incorporate to open a bank account under my company's name?

Basically, I'm not sure if I need to incorporate to build a web startup or would I be able to just create a sole proprietorship?

Thanks!
I ostensibly have a 12Mbps connection, yet only get between 2-6Mbps depending on the time of day due to contention. And I live in an area with reasonably good broadband.

Things have a long way to go before a majority of westerners have access to solid, reliable 10Mbps connections.
I feel pretty much the same way. My big issue was having things open up in new tabs - from the address bar, bookmarks, history, and from searching. And I didn't want to have to worry about ALT-ENTER...

Finally, I found ChromePlus - which has a few quirks, but works nearly perfectly - and has this capability.

I miss Firefox, but Chrome is SO much faster, and it makes a difference on this several-year-old-refurb-box that I have.

I do wish we had noscript for Chrome, though. The only close extension I found was "notscript", which was... inferior. Didn't work all the time.
The two phases of computer networking:

1. Smart server, dumb terminal

You install the software on the server and the terminal makes a connection to the server; the terminal is only an input/output machine.

2. Smart server, smart terminal

You can install the software on the terminal itself and run the software locally. (A desktop application) You can install the software on the server and the terminal makes a connection to the server; the terminal acting as an input/output machine. (A traditional web site with POST requests) You can also install software to the server and the terminal downloads a copy of the software to be run locally, downloading data from the server as needed. (A 'web 2.0' web site or an app downloaded from an app store.)

The possible two phases of manufacturing:

1. Production at the factory, Consumption at the home

The factory produces the goods and the goods are delivered to the home to be consumed.

2. Production at the factory, Production at the home

The factory produces the machines for producing consumables, and the machines are delivered to the home to produce whatever the home requires.

Computers were one of the first "systems" to become decentralized. I believe it is only a matter of time before other systems, such as factories, become decentralized too.
Right, you can still do it but there can be some awkward consequences.

This is highly unlikely, but for instance if you're eligible for a draft, and both countries draft you, one of them is not going to be happy with your response.

There are probably some more likely scenarios where your obligations to one of your nations are in conflict with the other.
Well, that's inflammatory, but what if it's true?

Because it is such an inflammatory statement, it should be better supported, if that was the author's main point, or omitted, if it wasn't.

There's something else at work, though. I think that as soon as many readers read "racist", they mentally shut down as a defence mechanism.

"B ... b ... but it's an axiom that I can't be racist, so any argument that might cast me as racist must be wrong, without further consideration." It's the same thing you're arguing against.
I think not learning a second language has a lot to do with it. It's easy for most Europeans to pick up another language since they've already mastered a foreign language or two (including English).

But it's much harder for someone from the US to move to central Europe, aside from the UK and some enclaves that speak English.
not all are (auto-) biographies.

o'neil's book is very applied.

schwager's books are not all biographies, and include several very applied books. the market wizards series include significant amounts of practical advice on risk mgmt, exit strategies, trading plans, etc. -- from some of the best investors.

consider your level of commitment to trading. are you willing to dedicate 4 years of work to becoming a winning trader? are you willing to read 20 books about trading?

there is a zen aspect to learning about trading, which can help explain the value of biographies, when you think about it ;)

best wishes in your journey! ;)
What makes Google Instant effective? It's the n-grams, stupid
> Web pages haven't looked any different in 15 years!

Uhhh...

First of all, may $Deity protect us from AOL having any say in the Internet ever again. Ever.

Second of all... wow. That article would be stunningly scary if I thought it had any credible chance of coming to fruition. :-S
Umm, it is entirely possible to show up on time and looking presentable. Millions of people do it everyday.

You are not a precious and unique snowflake.
Transcribe Bentham
0% return over 5-10 years is the best you can do?... and even if you accept the conclusion, then of course there is the question of which index ;)
Maybe you should read the entire article.
The cover of the first volume isn’t really all that representative, that’s right. Here is a page from the fourth volume: http://www.scottpilgrim.com/images/previews/v4pre/v4pre__027...
I dumped firefox when safari four came out. Then I moved to webkit nightly (im still in love with the developer tools )
Maybe there is a market for an "instant search" instant search?
"Due to the difficulty of modeling the possibilities" ;) love it... the research field is littered with bad assumptions or self-imposed constraints leading to bad conclusions... intellectual laziness, imho.

If one doesn't want to become one of the best investors one should go home (i.e. not bother trying to trade, other than for entertainment).

There are investors that are consistently among the best, such that it is not a matter of chance. (check out Bayes theorem; Buffett also gives a nice explanation of this)
Our Car-Based Environments Are Making Us Sick
I'm pretty sure it's 30. I have an Icelandic citizenship (Iceland is one of the 30 in the EEA), and I'm working freely in one of the 27 EU countries currently.

All I had to do after I moves was to register with the local city authorities to indicate that I had moved there, and provide documentation proving that I had a job so that they knew they didn't have to put me on social security.

One might also make the counterpoint that while we can move between 30 states in the EEA US citizens can move between 50 states in their union, and their superstate comprises almost twice the surface area of the EU.
"Steve, I'd like to complain about the piss-poor reception I get on my iP-"

there is a flash of movement, a pause, and my torso slides gracefully off my waist, splatting to the floor
Is there also an expedited path to citizenship for "exceptional alien" ?

I was reading an article today about an Indian nanny who saved the life of a 2 year old Israeli boy during the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Israel honored her by granting her honorary citizenship and temporary residency in Israel.

Link : http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/14/israel.mumbai....
Alzheimer's Test - PAL Test for Alzheimer's Disease
Self-Control Matters Far More Than Raw Intelligence
Sorry that I did not mention that part: This was actually for a job interview. So, it had to be completed in a short amount of time.
Relational database pioneer weighs in on NoSQL
"You won't get rich"

Says who ?

Some estimates peg 37Signals as being profitable to the tune of $6 million per year. Divided equally between the 12 employees that's $500k each. Not bad for a year's work.

For more see: http://blog.jedchristiansen.com/2008/12/04/estimating-37sign...
I'm always amused that people on such an ostensibly geeky site have such intense hatred for lame, geeky kinds of humor. I kind of like it, though.
Funny, I dont use twitter (I like it though) or facebook, but just started aggregating rss feeds to my mail inbox.
Reminds me of a funny story a professor told me. Back in the days of apartheid, someone told a Japanese friend of his that in South Africa, that he'd have the same status as a "white", to which he retorted "Why would I want to be white?"
I wouldn't worry about this right now. Your biggest challenge is building your webservice and making into something people want. But to answer your question, it's a matter of how much paper work you want to go through now versus later. To create a sole propiertorship and get a bank account under your name requires very little friction. Any income is just personal income and it's all simple & straight forward. This is how I started all of my startups (well one was as a partnership, but still similar procedure). Once you start generating some real income and from a taxation point of view, it's worth incorporating, then do so.

Based on my experience in Ontario (Canada). YMMV.
Hit the nail on the head. Firefox will always be remembered fondly for me, but Chrome is so deliciously lightweight.

Hop on the dev channel release (7.0+) and enable hardware acceleration. Chrome positively flies.
Pretty cool, will try it out tonight. How well does it play with Python/AppEngine development?
> I can live and work permanently in 27 countries (including Finland) without having to change nationality.

How? I'd love to be able to do that.
It also has security clearance implications. Also if he moves back to Finland but remains a US citizen won't the IRS still be able to go after him for tax?
good for you, too bad the same flexibility does not apply to non-EU/EEA citizens like me who work legally in one of those countries but moving between them is nonetheless quite PIA.
As with so many things, it depends.

Where are you?
The VM is open source, the frameworks are open source. The language specification is open.

The only thing closed are codecs (many of which are licensed from other companies and can't be open sourced), DRM stuff and platform level code that glues everything together. On the other hand, there are open source versions of swf players that Adobe actively promote.

Unfortunately, community involvement (developers and early testers) in all these projects have been low. My understanding is that people within Adobe (and there are many who like Open Source) have no evidence that open sourcing more stuff is any better for the player, since the community hardly gets involved.

Adobe did launch a 64-bit Linux flash player on Labs. Most 64 bit users never used it, sticking with the nspluginwrapper method instead.

I'm sure more community involvement with existing open source projects at Adobe would pave the way for opening up of more stuff.
What is the point of this being on Hacker News? Someone started using Chrome yesterday, apparently, so now they want the world to know? Now it will get the dogpile of "me too!" comments.

This is unnecessary noise. Are we next going to have people telling us they've decided that Nike's are their new favourite shoe?

Flagged.
No, he's right. There is at least one eye-tracking study that shows that people from Asian cultures pay greater attention to the eyes when reading expressions. Relative to the Asians in the study, the Caucasians relied more on other parts of the face.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17605-human-facial-exp...

It's not clear whether it might be influencing different art styles, though.
Except Ireland. We're generally very good at getting the hell out of dodge when the government manages to do something horrible to the economy.
Apparently you don't carry throwing stars when you travel..

;)
External validation would be good. But I am also thinking about marketing, launch buzz ...
I like to think of angels like Nitro in a car...helps you with short term rapid acceleration (making connections, early funding, a sounding board to bounce ideas off of, etc..)

EDIT: So my answer is yes, you should start talking to them.
Dictionary definitions are oversimplified meanings of real world word usage. People, almost all people, use words in slightly to significantly different meanings from dictionary usage. Also, objecting to someones use of a word based on minor differences with the dictionary definition is a version of argument from authority.
Maybe I would actually start getting some serious work done
I hope part 2 explains why anime villains are almost always drawn to look like girls and assumed male.
Facebook, your word of mouth?
It's gotta be really, really "convenient" to be worth the hassle of arranging visas over the last 14 years (since he started working at Transmeta in California in 1996). Citizenship might be less paperwork, but there are other downsides he's taking on as a citizen.
Countries are such an old-school concept somehow.

EDIT: Downvotes? Come on. Especially today, especially in our world of modern technology, physical location is less important than ever before. Where's the sci-fi novel where they abolished countries after they found out we all live on a tiny planet orbiting one of a billion stars?
The latest beta of Firefox 4 runs much more smoothly and quickly on my Mac than Firefox 3.6. Version 4 is the last chance for Firefox. If it isn't considerably faster and more stable than version 3, I'll be off to Chrome.
I didn't take it as a personal attack on me. And I'm sure it wasn't intended as an attack - just as those that call things "gay" don't mean that as an attack, and those that call things "retarded" don't mean that either.

Doesn't mean it's not unhelpful and nonharmful.
That's not really true because you can always shell out Linux and do that chunk of work in some other language. You're not trapped in Smalltalk. I've used ImageMagick and Markdown in a Seaside app without issue.
I reckon Reminiscences of a Stock Operator & Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle are absolute MUST.
Instant Wikipedia
Instant Wiki after Google Instant and Youtube Instant.

-buzzcsk@gmail.com
I'm confused by some points.

1) Why were they writing their own system to do this? Haystack sounds similar to Tor, which is probably more tested.

2) How is hype being allowed to succeed in decisions made to address very real causes? The glamour of hacker culture appears to have won, over the science of hacking.
Because you get access to the tarmac which is supposed to be secured.
Even if it were so, I find this kind of attitude damaging for society.

It's the same thing in Europe or the USA: nationalistic pride results in more expensive products, and people complain why they aren't cheaper. If instead they are cheaper but produced abroad they complain why they were not made in our home country, and why are we giving money to foreigners.

If the Indian government found that the only way to get a 35$ tablet was from a chinese company, kudos to them to do what's best for their society. A cheap tablet will be a lot more useful than the damage it will bring to Indian pride.
Answer varies by location, but in much of the US you can do a sole proprietorship with a DBA (Doing Business As) and put the DBA on accounts and the like. This does not require incorporation - your county issues a DBA on a simple form filing, possibly requiring an ad in the paper. (Many banks will let you get a business checking account with a DBA, seeing as sole proprietor is the most common type of business in the US.)

FWIW, BCC has run for 4 years under my name in a pair of personal accounts without incident. I just formalized it with a Japanese DBA two weeks ago.
Besides the fact that I don't see any particular value in this post, I believe nowadays it's not only about the browser but it's environment and community around. If I'm to switch to Chrome, I need almost 100% coverage of my current add-ons. Since there's f.ex. still no tree-style-tabs (a priority for me), I won't even bother trying to use Chrome as my primary browser.
I know quite a few immigrants who love the standard of living but hate how USA dismembers them of their cultural identity and plan to emigrate back home or to some other place (truth be told not many did so far).

Not to mention hundreds of thousands of americans planning to retire abroad.
But don't you have to renounce all other allegiances?

Uruguayan law says that even if you renounce your uruguayan citizenship, you still keep it. I think this was put in place exactly because lots of Uruguayans were leaving for the USA (lots of Uruguayans is something like 50).
Read that more carefully: "The Supreme Court chose to leave in place the requirement that new citizens must renounce their old citizenship during US naturalization." Presumably, Linus was naturalized, rather than having a claim to United States citizenship from birth.
I think the media liked the 'Austin Heap' persona. A combination of that and a hot topic like Iran meant that many outlets decided to put normal journalism aside and report what looks like a non-story.

Hell, The Guardian made him Innovator of the Year: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/mar/29/austin-heap-mega...
Favorite quote:
"But things weren’t all bad! At its best, when the markets presented an apocalyptic Boschian landscape of damned souls torn asunder by hellish tortures, every Goldman grunt, sargeant, or general would close ranks and form a Greek phalanx of greed."
Yes, United States citizens are liable for taxation on their worldwide income (unless there is a tax treaty between the United States and the other country in question).
Seedcamp Week 2010: Europe fires up the warp drive for the Enterprise
I'm in a similar boat. Here's what I'm thinking of doing: sign up for free month, and then after 3 weeks (or they've used the system X times) email them a reminder to put in their credit card in exchange for another free month.
By living in a European country.
What's interesting is that stories like this have been around for decades but never deterred young ivy league grads from joining Goldman when the industry is popular.

Now so many people is quick to criticize the finance industry. Although it's true that the bailout was a great crime, I don't see how lobbyists, pharmaceutical executives and advertisers are much better. These guys get paid millions too...at least Goldman doesn't screw with people's mind.
But would anyone on HN seriously consider starting a startup today based around check-ins or a Groupon clone?

Maybe the steamrolling Zynga of the Groupon space hasn't yet arrived.
Sounds like you're looking for something a little more specific than just desktop patterns. Really, most of these patterns aren't web specific and could easily apply to desktop use as well (although the implementation would be a little different). Here is a collection of data visualization patterns, although I don't think it's based on real time data : http://interface.fh-potsdam.de/infodesignpatterns/patterns.p...
Should we be sceptical of science?
How old are you? It depends... maybe if you're 27 or older, but for me no way. I think San Mateo or further north is much better. The South Bay doesn't have nearly anyone my age it seems and there's nothing to do unless you want to go to a mall or BestBuy.
The things he hated about Wall Street are just as prevalent in SV, too.

Instead of worrying about whether or not he went to an Ivy school, his concern now might be: does he have investors with the "right" pedigree for his startup?

Face time with traders and MDs is replaced by hoping that all the "cool" tech blogs are writing his startup (no? writing a few troll posts on the startup's blog should fix that).

Etc.

Or, he could choose to forget all that and just build his company.

But if that kind of petty and superficial stuff got under his skin before, I don't see why it's going to be any different for him now.
"Trying to solve the issues for the millions of small and medium sized enterprises out there that have real problems in a time of economic upheaval is smart, very smart.

But will these produce the big exits which VCs tend to demand? The jury is out"
Haystack and Tor do different stuff.

Tor conceals your origin from the endpoint (web server etc).

Haystack conceals the fact you are communicating and about what, from a man in the middle, by pretending to be innocuous web requests.
"Software and Music are not exact duplicates, musicians can and do get paid to perform live"

..and those live performances are also pirated. How exactly is adobe photoshop CS5 all over the bittorrent networks not an exact copy of the one adobe is selling on their website?
I think Steve Jobs is our current hypnotoad: http://www.mostlymaths.net/2010/02/all-hail-steve-jobs-and-h...
For regular search, their SSL search page https://www.google.com/ is very close to "2008 mode". No luck on the image search part though.
I can't believe people are willing to assign any credibility to an anonymous dump of hex to pastebin.
"Merely that marginal cost does absolutely play a role and that people are really driving it down"

Which isn't true. The marginal cost of copying random bits is the same as the marginal cost of copying Microsoft windows.

The piracy culture that has become rampant in the last 10 years is driving the cost down.
I agree. India in general is a poor country. I don't give a rat's * where they bring it from if I can get a device just to play with for 35 bucks. You don't get a phone that cheap in contract from T-mobile in USA. Plus I hope that people rise above the jingoism and work as one for our future's own sake.
Third world America: The decline of a superpower?
No, the USA does not require that.
I have to admit, I always wondered why Naruto was a blue-eyed blonde white kid. This article helped me consider some of my own reasoning. I had just assumed Naruto had characters that reflected a mix of races instead of one race. The last sentence of this article is offensive though. It's a derogatory generalization. Personally it doesn't matter to me what the characters look like and I don't see why someone relating to a character is a negative.
One potential problem of removing links that people report is that it's possible to game that system. You'll soon have spammers sending a massive amount of requests to have their competitors removed form the index.
I'm a dual citizen of the UK and US.

Among my close friends, I know Canadian, Israeli, and Australian dual-citizens.

I've never heard of having to "renounce all other allegiances". (Note: it's entirely possible that there is some obscure method of obtaining US citizenship that requires it; but that's not the norm.)
Norwegian artist's Spotify income now higher than iTunes
This would explain the glut of sites such as cuteoverload.com
It's written quite well except for the missing articles (a,the). Add those and I would've thought him a native English speaker.
Except for the UI Patterns site which does organize techniques by vague user goals, the other sites are too focused on tactics (Oooo, shiny widgets!), and not on UI/usability strategy. A UI strategy needs to start from higher-level questions, like, What is the user trying to do, and how do we best support him/her?

I much prefer Tidwell's book, which is well-organized and presented at a more strategic level. And it's (mostly) free too:

http://www.designinginterfaces.com/
Relatedly, "Asian" is a category which exists in America a heck of a lot more than it exists in Asia.

(I was helping one of my friends with a grad school application. He got to race, asked me why a school would need to know this -- silly Japanese person, how would we run our racial discrimination departments without sorting you first -- and couldn't find Japanese on the menu so he picked Other. Quote, "The closest I saw was Asian American, but I think that's for Chinese people, right? Whatever, I'm certainly not American.")
yes. symptom of a dark age.