skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Your desktop where you are.
The server's written in Arc too. I wanted to learn how to write one.
We won't clutter it up. Look how minimal the YC site itself is.
in that case, I _am_ excited about Arc's progress ;)
It seems the best option is to find some one you've worked with already, mainly fellow students, coworkers and open source contributers. If none of the above work for you try going to conferences and other events. Personnaly I have found barcamp to be a great event. Anyone attending will be motivated and passionate. You'll also get to see everyone present on something. If someone is presenting on the same topic in which you want to create a startup then approach them. Chances are your on the same wavelength and you can discuss your ideas together.

Also the presentations give you a great idea of if a potential cofounder will be good at pitching to investors and give you an oppertunity to present about your own startup idea!
Amazon: ~1.3 million tags.
LibraryThing: >13 million tags!
Several of the startups we've funded use S3, and they seem to like it.
When you submit a duplicate URL it sends you to the original submissions page instead
I've heard many people give this wonderful piece of advice:

"Ignore your user's requests. They'll ask for every feature under the sun apart from the one that they really need. You'll spend all your time adding new features rather than making your site genuinely usefull"

Unfortunatly I cant find any citations. If only quotationsbook.com was ready!
Cal Henderson also has a Carson Workshops 'survival kit' available. Its called 'Building Enterprise Web Apps on a Budget' and its available from http://www.carsonworkshops.com/shop/PHP_Henderson.html. I havent purchased it myself but Carson Workshops normaly produce some top notch kits.
craig is amazing at replying emails - whenever i've emailed something about the site i've always had a reply on the same day. im usually lucky if i get an automated reply in the same week from ebay.
The simplest repro case is

1. enter text for the Q. Please tell us something surprising or amusing that one of you has discovered.....

2. Now hit update

3. Click the "edit funding application"

I expect to see the text in the last box. Instead it says nil.
When I reported the bug it used to be empty. I see the same behaviour
for all questions starting from "Do you have any ideas you consider patentable?"
For the question:

Why would your project be hard for someone else to duplicate?

I entered: Don't know

I can only see:

Don

I also tried Dont know

still only see Don
As answer for the question:

If one wanted to buy you three months in (August 2007), what's the lowest offer you'd take?

I entered:

1 million

all I can see is:

1
Could we add a domain name that each post refers to. That way we could tell blog posts, from PG essays, from e-zine articles.
You might also like http://mealticket.wordpress.com/, its the blog of kul's cofounder.
Mealticket - Current YC company Boso blog about their experience
I would quite like RSS feeds.

Specifically I would like an RSS feed for individual users so that if I like all the links submited by a particular user I can follow them easily.
If you don't already have a good co-founder, perhaps you are not yet ready to start a company. Try joining an existing startup instead. If it succeeds, that's great, but either way you've learned more about startups and hopefully met some people who would make good co-founders.
Hmmm ... the author has nothing but praise for PG, but one of the main thrusts of his article was that college students should learn more Java and C#.

Isn't that derided as blub programing languages around here?
And support paragraphs! Most informative, insightful comments take more than a couple of sentences. Currently, that makes them unreadable.
Google TechTalks - Municipal Wireless
Avis 3G-to-802.11 bridge
I read reddit almost exclusively through their RSS feed. Its a critical function for any site... what site owner wouldn't want to broadcast to an Opt-In audience of passionate users?
I find the most valuable part of this article the link at the bottom pertaining to questions cofounders should mull over before entering the venture together (For ease: http://onstartups.com/home/tabid/3339/bid/99/Important-Questions-Startup-Co-Founders-Should-Ask-Each-Other.aspx). I have had a struggle finding cofounders that complement my style, skills, and ideas. (Any coders out there that want to talk, hah?). One thing I find missing from this list is that if you can't address these issues, or fore go these questions citing the fact that they will be addressed when the time comes (because coding is more fun) then you should rethink your partnership all together. I find it much more important to ensure that anyone I am involved with is available for open and comfortable communication about all areas of the business.
Interesting. Perhaps they should be performing traffic analysis to see who's busy, and who's not?

I love to debate (reddit has saved my wife a regular earful), but I can't imagine surfing when I'm really "in the zone". I tend to do more directed documentation queries and explicitly avoid sites like reddit where I'm likely to become mired.

So yeah, for me posting frequency is inversely correlated with how busy I am. On the other hand, all of that reading, researching and debating generates a lot of new ideas.
I think the problem is that there are a lot of very smart people who are good at talking and generating ideas, but not so good at implementation.

If they're not regularly "going dark", they may not have the focus to succeed at a startup.
That was a bug, not a design choice; I just fixed it.
Can you tell us what kind of editor you're using to write Arc (and Arc code).

Is Arc suited to writing its own IDE?
You make a good point, although it is my experience that MIT does not echo Paul's feelings with regards to programming languages. There is obviously the group of hackers at CSAIL (Sussman et al.) that swear by LISP and the functional paradigms in general, but almost every class that involves a large amount of programming is in Java. Even 6.001 is being phased out for courses taught in Python.

As a current undergrad at MIT, I find myself sometimes struggling to determine whether I agree with Kevin or not. It does seem that my greatest selling point is my knowledge and experience with specific programming languages like Java and not any background I have in algorithms, discrete mathematics, etc. I feel that these other tools will prove more useful over the long term, but it's sometimes hard to continue to feel that way when the need for a summer job forces one to put away the common lisp book to read javadocs.
Adam's startup is making software that works closely with Outlook. In that sort of application it might make sense to use Java or C#.
Dan thats probably jason fried of 37signals
We never proposed there was no lower bound; the goal was more to discover where it was. And we now have, I think. Though in fact the main thing we discovered was how fuzzy it is.

There really are people who can start a startup when they're 19. Sam Altman, the founder of Loopt, was 19. But for most people the lower bound is about 22. One reason is that most people need to experience what a job is like to be sufficiently motivated to avoid it. Another is that few people are forceful enough at 19.
This is weird. I believe you, but I can't reproduce it. Can you send me an email at pg@ycombinator.com?
Getting Real: Free Book by 37signals
I can't find the reference now, but I *think* I've just read something suggesting that the install process for an Apollo applet will involve an "install-this-application?" confirmation dialog followed by a download of 30 seconds or so. If so then Apollo's less promising than I hoped. That kind of install may be low-friction by desktop-app standards but it doesn't compare to the ease of starting a browser-based AJAX or Flash application. (Consider how easy it is to use maps.google.com for the first time.)

Surely it will at least be that Apollo applications will run untrusted by default, and that an already-installed app will start automatically whenever you take your browser to the URL you downloaded it from?
Have you used it yourself? It looks like just another webbased OS.
Modal Box: easy Javascript popups
I don't know about the US, but in my country (The Netherlands) nobody has ever heard of Craigslist but a lot of people DO know eBay. I'm pretty sure this is in the same in many other countries and perhaps in the US too.

Sure, Craigslist may earn more with their fees.. but eBay can (easily) change their system to reflect Craigslist's.
Also, eBay could change their fees to reflect Craigslist's if they want.
A bit offtopic but, does stating your application is "Web 2.0-ready" really help? I'm tired of everyone calling their website web2.0-ready although most of the time it looks like they don't have a clue what they are talking about. It could be me though.
With Craiglist (San Diego) I've managed to find two apartments, two jobs, and a plethora of unnecessary information that titillates my mind. All I got from eBay was a Lord of the Rings replica sword for my boyfriend, and I had to pay for it. Hands down, Craiglist rocks...although my girlfriend would agrue in favor of eBay as she is an aficionado of coach handbags and can find them for cheap.
This is a great book. All of the advice in t is either excellent or at least thought-provoking. Highly recommended.

Now, that being said, I did order a dead tree version through the Lulu.com store (very nice store, by the way) and while I love the construction and print quality of the book, the internal page layout and typography were awful. And the choice of a glossy black cover shows annoying fingerprints after just a few minutes.

I'm glad that I've read this book because it has given me motivation to start something. I'm trying out a couple of ideas right now to see which one I like and will run with.

So, thanks to the guys at 37Signals, but have someone who knows what they're doing, help you with layout next time!
It wouldn't work to assemble teams of cofounders. A startup puts such strains on your friendship that you need it to be an established one.
10 Ways to Make Money Online
which ones are you thinking about?
editor: vi, ide: repl
If the startup fails then you'll have been working with other passionate people who are likely to be willing to give it another try. Perfect for cofounders.

There are online cofounder finder services available such as http://www.buildv1.com/ but I have yet to hear of any succesful partnership coming out of them. Best to stick with people you know in the real world it would seem.
Lightspeed Venture Grants
Project Aardvark - Movie and blog series about a group of interns creating a new product for Joel Spolsky of Fog Creek
It's good to see someone wondering about what to do to encourage younger founder in the more risk averse EU. Events like Barcamps and future of web apps are doing a great job of raising awareness and bringing the local startup communities together.

One of the most interesting problems that Saul has raised is finding the right people to fund. As YC has found an application form and interview don't always give you the best way of judging a team. Demos could provide a solution, as could recommendations & references. YC news is a very interesting solution, which I'll be keen in seeing the outcome of.

Has anyone got any ideas about how to find the right founders to fund?
Aye, sounds like chapter five from Getting Real possibly, "Start with No":http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ch05_Start_With_No.php
Quick and dirty solution is to add a quick description to the end of the title
Movers 2.0: Follow the Web 2.0 traffic trends
Skills but need a cause? Neurotech of meaning
Having been part of a few startups before, I it definately easier to do it with a partner(s). I'm currently doing my latest startup alone - but I dont' consider myself alone. I have two great programmers, even though they are working for me...I treat them like co-founders, we discuss everything not just technical issues, business model and even their love-lives! I'm also getting assistance from my network, people I've worked in the past with and people I've looked up to during my professional career. Each one of these guys have stepped up to mat and offered me guidance each step of the way. Some mentors I talk almost on a daily basis...I treat these guys like board members/quasi-founders also because without their guidance and support I'm sure it would be much harder. Startups are not built alone - they are built by teams...these teams are composed of people who may not be traditionally considered co-founders but I'd argue they are. So I respectively disagree with YCombinator shying away from one person startups - they really need to consider the entire infrastructure. (Sorry for the long post- Chandra)
eBay could change their fees to reflect Craigslist's? you mean eBay could make 90% of their site free to use?

hmm i'm not sure how well that would go down with their shareholders!
Sometimes it's not extremely expensive to get started, but it very time consuming. Does that mean youre more/less committed than another entrepreneur who has spent a ton of money getting a company rolling? I think a persons answer to these questions can tell what they value more. Additionally, I always have a hard time considering someone to be uncommitted to a startup if they are working a separate full time job to support their family. Whenever I come across that argument, I cant help but think: Just imagine what Ill be able to do when Im working 100 hours/week for my company rather than 60 for my company and 40 for another
Wisdom Of Crowds: ABC7 Futures Market
Tough AI problem -&#62; game -&#62; surfers will solve for free!
Important Questions Startup Co-Founders Should Ask Each Other
Great notes from a smart man. Del.icio.us has been one of my all time favorite sites because of its ease of use and simplicity.
http://www.buildv1.com/ may be what your looking for.
Stake Your Claim with Copyright
I wouldn't underestimate the value of the gmail API and set of mailbox migration tools. That and a promise of three-nines uptime.

I'm guessing they're going to make it easy to tie GMail into existing enterprise systems.

All in all, I think it's a very compelling offering.
#5 Source for cofounder - news.ycombinator.com :)
The Long tail and Mobile Web 2.0 applications
"It's a tool. The community can grow elsewhere." Agree or disagree? Is creating community a concern any web startup can afford to ignore?
EDIT: I should have said this is a submit article bookmarklet. I'm working on trying a like/dislike.

I've just made a realy quick and dirty bookmarklet. It's only tested in firefox 2 and it's not quite how I would like it to work but it's a start. I'll hopefully update it later to work better.

Just add the following URL as a bookmark:

javascript:(function(){var d=document;var b=d.body;var
c=b.insertBefore(d.createElement('center'),b.firstChild);
var dv=c.appendChild(d.createElement('iframe'));dv.id='ifrm';
dv.height='30%';dv.width='100%';dv.src='http://news.ycombinator.com/submit';
d.getElementById('ifrm').scrollIntoView(); })();

Let me know if it works.
mistake - please ignore
Atom or RSS support.
Facebook: Big, Sticky, & Growing
This was in fact a bug. It's now fixed. Sorry about that.

If anyone cares, it was because the http server is also written in Arc, on top of MzScheme, and we misread the MzScheme doc on make-limited-input-port to believe that limit-k referred to k of bytes. In fact it refers to bytes. So while we thought we were capping http requests at 2 meg, we were in fact capping them at 2k.
ideas are just a multiplier of execution
It depends a lot on the site. Theres far too many sites that just add community features when its not needed. My friends are on facebook and twitter, they dont need to be anywhere else.

So judge it based on your app. Is the hassle of adding your friends to the site going to be far smaller than the benefit?
ideas.yc.com.

we've all got more ideas than time, and it's a shame to let them languish in our individual imaginations. so how about creating a public clearinghouse for ideas where they're a) subject to reddit-esque competition, and b) "open source" -- available for anyone to pursue.

it'd be a meme pool.
hey, look at that... line breaks! =)
When they bought Odeo back from investors they admitted that they werent they're own users and that this had been a mistake. Selling on to someone passionate about podcasting makes a lot more sense. Personally I would love to see the performance and internationalisation of twitter being concentrated on more isntead.
Gates vs. Jobs
OnStartups is a great startup blog, expect a lot more of their articles to be posted here.
Dang, after only three days we already have YouTube videos on the front page. (I voted it up though.)
Heh, you beat me to that comment. Anybody want to post an xkcd comic? It's a realy good video but I decided to like it on reddit instead.

It seems the conversations I had at barcamp London and with the digg guys at FOWA are right- the only way to keep a community good is to keep it small and niche.
Sam Altman finally gets decent pic in publication
Has anyone considered applying to YC 07 with the idea of creating another Y Combinator? Passing a Y Combinator to itself..
It seems a reasonable model to say that outcome = idea x execution, but there's no reason to put the dollar sign on the execution.

Rather than

outcome = idea x $execution

The more honest model would be

outcome = $(idea x execution)
Startup Claims 100-Gbit/s TOE
Google News Search: 'startup'
Microsoft v. Google - The Value of Acquired IP
I tried it again and it seems to work fine. Thanks for looking at it.
The most insightful statement IMO: "If you're going into business with somebody that you've never actually worked on a project with, I'd recommend starting on something a little easier and smaller before creating the next Google."

I've often wondered what the difference is between working on an open source project on the side and working on a startup. The differences seem to be in expectation and in emphasis (what users want rather than simply scratching a personal itch). Now it starts to appear that there is a continuum between the two. Perhaps an open-source project is a good way to find co-founders.
If it is an excellent tool by itself, then it has a much better chance of acceptance. That is, if you yourself can't stop using it regardless of who else is using it, it is a stronger product. del.icio.us is like that- I started using it because it was a nice central place to store bookmarks regardless of who else was using it. It was only later that I started noticing how many others were bookmarking and even started using it as a search engine. Flickr- same thing. Youtube & myspace- still kind of the same- say I was the first user of youtube, I may still like it so that I can put my videos in one place and shoot off an email to my buddies to go have a look. The point is the tool better be compelling without a community or you'll never be able to grow a community. Even here the content coming from one poster is compelling (enough) even before a dozen users started commenting and posting, etc. Focus on the tool. I couldn't agree more.
buildv1 is quite rigid - and it doesn't have the activity of this site. I think the principle of buildv1 is great and essential - i'm not sure if the execution is quite correct.
NDA = Not doing anything
How Not to Talk to Your Kids - The Inverse Power of Praise
I really enjoyed this book too, you can feel the passion they have coming through in the writing and its contagious.
Maybe we don't need a famous guy...

Let's say that all interested European hacker teams on this site agree to move to the same city, for next summer. Then, we organize weekly get-together ourselves, and we get potential investors to attend those. Just like YC.
Has anyone else experienced this feeling when pursuing entrepreneurship?

"None of your friends are doing anything remotely like what you are doing," he said. "You lose all common ground."

I know I feel like that sometimes...

or like Hugh MacLeod Said (http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/003642.html)

"Once you become an entrepreneur, you find the company of non-entrepreneurs a lot harder to be around. Youve seen things they havent; the wavelengths alter, its that simple."
There are positions opening up for physics Ph.Ds in electronics (especially now that the size of the technology is becoming smaller and more apparently susceptible to the laws of quantum physics) There may not be a ton of opportunities now, but once nanotech starts moving out of the labs and into more applications I'd say the market will grow significantly.
if you guys are interested I could host this (the site and SVN) and maybe hack away at it a little bit (If you're doing it in Rails) I totally feel you on this one, its shouldn't be as hard as it is to find passionate people who are technical AND entrepreneurial.
forgot the email.... its jamiequint **AT** gmail
is this stolen out of the Getting Real book or did they steal it off of this guy's website??
Paul Graham also stated that Silicon Valley is impossible to be cloned in Europe. That doesn't mean successful start-ups can't pop-out in Europe. And they have, Skype, AllPeers, Six Apart, NetVibes, Fon etc...
Successful single founders is necessary to encompass a lot more characteristics. It's difficult enough to find 2 motivated people to take risk starting up, finding 2-in-1 it will be a lot harder. But if they try to avoid it, althout they don't exclude it, it doesn't mean it can happen at YC, or someone on his/her own.
Paul Graham also stated that Silicon Valley is impossible to be cloned in Europe. That doesn't mean successful start-ups can pop-out in Europe. And they have, Skype, AllPeers, Six Apart, NetVibes, Fon etc...
Successful single founders is necessary to encompass a lot more characteristics. It's difficult enough to find 2 motivated people to take risk starting up, finding 2-in-1 it will be a lot harder. But if they try to avoid it, althout they don't exclude it, it doesn't mean it can happen at YC, or someone on his/her own.
I think that's the point Allen is trying to make - if you're trying to build a sustainable company in its own right i.e. not looking to have Google acquire it, then it takes time. For example take Facebook - they have possibly the most viral product ever seen on the web and after two years they still don't know what their killer revenue stream is and neither have they IPO'ed. This stuff takes time!
I cannot explain in words how true that is for me. It's the very reason I moved halfway across the world to Silicon Valley from London.
I agree with the post. When an idea is new there is a tendency to feel like it needs protecting. If you're serious about it, though, and get your hands dirty with the details of implementing whatever it is, NDA's seem more and more silly. By the time you get a real good idea working you won't care if the whole world knows. You know that as simple as the idea sounded, it's really thousands of hours of blood sweat dollars and tears. You'll say- "oh, you want to do it also? go right ahead and try."
I love the idea of a founder/soon-to-be-founder based community, awesome!
Motivation for Smart People (minus chest-pounding)
There's minimalistic and then there's insufficient. I'm all for keeping it simple and functional, but a little aesthetic snazz can contribute to the end goal.

I couldn't find the 'Reply' link for a moment -- and I'm not even THAT blind. ;) Looking forward to that update!
It'd also be a plus to have the page jump to your newly submitted comment after the fact instead of ending up at the top of the page.