skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Google employees are only humans, too, you know. At least I think so... You make it sound as if working for Google was the ultimate fulfillment for every hacker, and that everything that somebody from Google says should be treated as a holy prophecy.
"The aspects of Perl I have seen are sufficient for me to wanting to avoid it like the plague."

From your description it sounds like you were frustrated by coding horrendous Perl and instead of learning it you moved to a language with training wheels. I'd rather just fall a few times while I'm learning so I can go much faster afterwards.

"Why would people choose Perl over Python or Ruby?"

It's fast in productivity and performance. There are great books. It's on every Unix machine. CPAN still reigns supreme as the ultimate library repository. These days there's some great frameworks for web development, my favorite being Catalyst with DBIx::Class and Template Toolkit.

Ruby is mostly just Perl without all the mental baggage of people seeing bad Perl code for years. The way a restaurant might avoid saying "squid" and instead say "calimari" -- it sells a lot better.
Now all I need is $18,000 a month.
Didn't you write something about it being quasi-impossible for a non-technical person to recognize a great hacker?
You might ask why you even need some huge reference for Java after using it for years?

You're moving from a verbose, bloated, over-engineered system to a terse and simple system. I think you're looking for something that doesn't exist because it's not how Ruby programmers work -- they use a language small enough to actually keep in your head and that's a huge part of the productivity to be had.
Why would Google want hackers who can't even figure out what projects to work on? If you're a great hacker Google should be watching what interesting projects you're working on.
1. The computer lab where the Vaxen are... d'oh. These days, check freshmeat, the programming sub-reddit, and mailing lists for languages/projects of interest.

2. All of them, and they keep writing new ones
yeah I out checked the agency and I wonder what the cost is now? Wonder it this is an area that can be optomised?
.. or resident aliens.
http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2553/ch01.html
One post I read, and I'm sure there are others like it, are from people with some great idea (secret, of course) and they need someone to actually do it.

Those crack me up -- what are they even bringing to the table? "You do all the work, and we'll give you a small percentage."
the best way in the UK i find is just to send an email with your CV. Agree to work for free for a while (month?) as a tester, they will love that your enthusiasm and if you dont get a permanent job, at least you would have learnt somethin.
mentors are a great thing to have, and good ones are hard to find. It's not someone you bug every time you have a little problem with your code, but someone who's been where you are now and can give you advice over a few drinks after work.

I can think of two colleagues who were critical in me ditching wage slavery and becoming a freelancer, one is a programmer, the other is a CTO but started as a network guy. I didn't learn much from them about being a developer, but I sure learned a lot about being a professional.
If you're creating a corporation, why not just disband the LLC? Why keep two company structures?
the one thing worse than secret ideas are the "like X but for Y" startups... eg "It's like Digg, but for Nerf Herders! We've done the market research, honest!"

(sure there are exceptions to the rule; "Google, it's like AltaVista...")
Tag cloud searching
i am working on a startup at the mo but am not technical, we got someone to build a proportype (by paying) but realise if you wanna iterate and create a decent app, you cant keep paying people. I wonder how kul and harjeet YC Alumni managed (as they are not coders)

the solution to my problem is simple

a) im learning how to code from the ground up xhtml, css, php, mysql and then prob move on to ruby (this will take many months if not longer)

b) im looking for a technical cofounder, problem is, they all have the 9-5 mentality.

I majored in Politics as well, maybe i need some Joe Kraus magic!
I like how both the app and the screencast are a bit rough - yet he still released them without being concerned that they aren't 'perfect'. Super great start on this - I'm sure he'll get some great feedback.
I don't usually look into the Java programming reference or tutorial anymore. However, typically every project involves some new technology, Hibernate, Spring, Groovy, whatever, so my feeling is that it's actually the job of the Software Developer to constantly learn new things. It's nice if the documentation doesn't get in my way then. Maybe I am mistaken, though, and it feels totally different for developers using other languages.

My ride with RoR hasn't been smooth so far. Far from having my first web app running within minutes. Instant Rails didn't work at all, and I spent hours trying to find a database driver for MySQL for Ruby. It's all very confusing. I suspect there is already a database driver bundled with RoR, but how would I know (documentation, where are you)? Googling only led me to some strange page where you could compile your own driver from C source code (and with what compiler, if I am on windows), which presumably was in some kind of alpha stage.

At least with Java I know that there usually exists a stable and proven solution... The training wheel analogy was maybe not so bad at all: Java applications just tend to be more stable than the scripting stuff. And other than bikes with training wheels in the real life, Java is also faster.
TechStars Summer Camp for Entrepreneurs: Winners Selected
How to Design a Good API and Why it Matters
I'd like to know which ones are also YC interviewees? pg said TS should accept anybody who makes it to the YC interview, but my feeling says the TS taste will be pretty different from YC.
If you have an entrepreneur's club, I've seen couple hackers hangout at that club. It is easier to work with a hacker who is already looking to be an entrepreneur than someone who is doing a Masters and looking forward to making that nice salary after graduation--selling your vision to him is one hard task.
Is this site legit?
I think I am encountering some bug - it says "5 comments" in the title but only 3 are shown.
Has anyone ever had success with a site like this?
There is more to a startup than just code. For example, from the sounds of it the producer currently seems to be the person with the highest workload at justin.tv (except for Justin, who is working 24/7).
Isn't ustream.tv (mentioned in the article) the same thing as justin.tv, though? They seem to have launched two days after justin.tv?
Have you ever blocked web pages for yourself?
Like blocking access to ycombinator so that you can do some work instead of reading news?
Learning Perl took me about two weeks, Ruby about a week :-), Java it took me about a month. It was soo painful to learn Java after Ruby and Perl. Cuz I was doing some mobile phone applications with J2ME. Thankfully I'm back on track with Ruby for my start up app.
"Compare that to Ruby, where you can't even get a specification of the current state of the language for free."

Err.... http://www.ruby-doc.org/

"What do you use for Ruby on Rails?"

Textmate. :-)

http://macromates.com/

BTW, you might want to have a look at JRuby. While it's still pre-1.0, it's moving along nicely. It will allow you to leverage all your knowledge of the Java class libraries.
I'm using eLance - this is just to get something started and then I'm hacking the features I want myself as and when I learn...oh yeah, and then get a co-founder with an unfeasibly large brain who can help you out!
This is the dumbest article I have read in a long time.
No, but I probably should!
Seth's Blog: Hoteling- Share Seth's Office Space
Find VCs and ask which of their portfolio companies are hiring -- VCs are actually quite approachable if you're not trying to get them to fund your company!

So go to tech meetups, web conferences, etc. or network through friends and alumni.

Another way: most of the "cutting edge" startup blogs (37signals, GigaOm, Venture Beat, etc.) have job listings that you can subscribe to by RSS.

One tracker at SeekSift -- http://www.seeksift.com/xml/BE9a28987F/rss.xml -- is using most of those sources for its results, so you could subscribe to it, or create your own.

(Disclaimer: my own startup is behind SeekSift.com)
The gun could pop out in emergency situations. It need not always point at people.

Moreover, you could have several guns, some more lethal than others (e.g., stun guns, etc).
Thanks; let me know if you use it and what you think: good, bad, or ugly (actually, especially if it's either of the latter two categories, because that's how we improve).

Thanks, too, for bringing up the point about the blog; there are probably ways of customizing the header to point to SeekSift.com but I got a little frustrated with Wordpress after I found out you can't change their favicon.
TechStars and YCombinator: Summer camp without the girls
Technology Review: Special Reports: 10 Emerging Technologies
Article is fairly clueless and he gets some of the key details wrong, but thought I should pass it along since it touches on YC...
From one of the comments, regarding Java, .NET, and C++. (How do we italicize on this forum?)

"The challenge for platforms like Ruby is to match these platforms and establish and develop a strong deployed base so that they become the entrenched platform of choice."

I'd say the challenge is not for Ruby to match those platforms, rather for Ruby developers to create products that make all the Java/.NET stuff obsolete. His comment makes a lot of sense if you start with the assumption that there's some X amount of code to write and maintain, and that a large corporation won't want to switch to Ruby. He's right. But that doesn't mean they won't want to switch to a product that eliminates the need for maintenance altogether.

The trick is, of course, figuring out how to outsell the Oracle salesman. http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html
Exclusive: Facebook May Launch Local Classifieds
So at least in 2005, it was the Open Source project that picked which applicants to fill their slots with.

My only exposure to SoC is this year, so it sounds like the process has changed.

Currently, the "mentoring organization" has to be accepted by Google (not sure why really), but after that, each student proposal also gets scrutinized by Google as well -- I guess it's how they keep all those new hires busy ;)

But it does seem to me like established Open Source projects can pretty easily get slots for SoC.

That's probably true, though I did hear anecdotal evidence about a large number of Apache projects not getting funded for whatever reason -- it's surprising, since you would think that Apache in particular would be important to them, unless they're already beyond using Apache themselves.
Microsoft died before the mainframe. There's irony for you.
10 Secrets to Marketing with Social News Sites - Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and more
Java flourishes in large companies because managers love the commoditization it offers: i.e. since "everyone" knows Java, it's easy to find replacement programmers.
10 slides to a powerful presentation that closes business
They're aiming at us but they'll never succeed.

http://ourdoings-killer.fotoroll.com/
He means slideshare.com
In Search of Effortlessness
I think I'm going to do this right now!
In fact, it's downright dangerous: if you want to get taken for granted by your corporate overlords, that's the way to do it!
"I remember that amazing feeling with Java that things just worked as I expected them to. "

You mean, as opposed to Perl, which doesn't work?

That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard on this forum.
Then why do they dislike single founders?
The issue is that we have a code base for the first company (Coding started about 6 years ago) that we want to develop into a different and much bigger product. The problem is much harder than our current startup, and we wanted to use the startup to help finance the bigger problem. We want to leave open the option of selling the startup and don't want to risk having to give up the legacy code and ideas which we think could be a dramatically bigger company. (The first company owns all that code). Once we develop the first ideas under the LLC further, we would have to convert it into a C Corp before going for investment. In the meantime, the LLC can own that code at low expense.
Many VCs actually post their portfolio's job openings on their website:

- Sequoia: http://www.hireloop.com/sequoia%2Denterprise/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp?fnc=comp

- Kleiner Perkins: http://www.hireloop.com/kpcb/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp

- First Round: http://www.firstround.com/openings.html

You might want to try to find a list of reputable VCs and google their websites for any job portfolios.
Don't blame Panama: The real threat facing Yahoo!
Just found this article from the dotcom boom area by chance: http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/05/02/sacrifice/index2.html - is it still like that to work for a startup?
C-a doesn't work either.
If it is legit, it has the distinct disadvantage that you probably have to go to Utah to try the service once you get through the first cut, and there is no indication of what kind of network they can provide.

I'll never forget driving through Utah listening to the radio, and the dj said "right now, I would love to play you this song - but I can't". I think they actually have sensorship there.
Great article. I guess Google wants the bootstrapping web 2.0 entrepreneurs to design good APIs to make acquisitions that much easier?
I used to do things like that years ago, but I've since found that the most effective thing is to engross yourself in what you really want done until you forget the distraction.
From the article:
"My personal practice has been to create an LLC (they are simple, avoid double taxation and still support multiple classes of stock if needed). If and when the time comes to convert the LLC to a C-corp, the process is not that difficult. Whatever costs you would incur in the conversion process, I think are offset by the upside you get during the time that you can benefit from being an LLC. An LLC can be setup for a few hundred dollars and likely meets the needs of most early-stage entrepreneurs."
there are a fair number of postings from multiple sites specifically about startups here -

http://www.gobignetwork.com/startup-company-job/
I know ruby-doc.org, but the only full specification of the language there seems to be the first edition of "Programming Ruby", which describes an older version of Ruby. There is nothing for the current version of Ruby.
30 Ways to Promote your Web App with Little or No Money
It's a damn good list to use when you're jump starting your user base. I could have really used this recently.
I know the Founder, Paul Allen (not the MS one) and they are good people. We do the same stuff at the Go BIG Network -

http://www.gobignetwork.com/small-business-funding/

I also blogged a few days ago about a company that got funded through Go BIG -

http://www.gobignetwork.com/wil/2007/4/13/anatomy-of-a-go-big_funded-company-propractica/10131/view.aspx

You can search through our investor profiles as well as see other companies that are posting.

Hope that helps.
What's the Difference between an Entrepreneur and a Robot?
Webware : The Webware 100
Study finds weak participation on Web 2.0 sites
So Reddit is a new nuclear submarine, I suppose?
Please educate yourself before making comments like that. The first amendment applies to all states, even Utah. Same goes for FCC rules which govern radio standards.

Regarding 'going to Utah to try the service' that is not correct. The site is a matching service for angels and entrepreneurs, they don't actually provide the funding.
It was simply an experience I had - so I feel very educated about it. My guess is that the censorship in this case was related to the owner of the radio station, and I'm guessing there is alot of that kind of private censorship in Utah - but I'm not sure (I experienced this a couple times on different stations in Utah). The incident happened about 15 years ago so things may have changed. Something I've never experienced in any other state - and I've driven through alot of states.
Partner with an Expert, Master Info Products, & Build a Profitable Sales Funnel
There's actually two startups that have working demos of this...
ThinkFree Launches API, Builds Partnerships
As someone with a bit of technical skill: when the greatest motivation to work on a project is the money you'll pay me, I have a 9-5 mentality, because that's what you're paying for.

When the greatest motivation to work on a project is the insane coolness of the project itself, things are different. Then, the money is just a bonus.

Can you figure out something about your idea that hackers will find cool?
clever plug...

but i'm pretty sure they're aiming @ us with http://revvu.com
Rentacoder and eLance are neat ideas, but they have the same problem that the job market as a whole does: you want good code from good hackers, and if you're not technically inclined yourself, you will have a very hard time determining who is a good hacker and who just talks the talk.

If you want a technical startup, you need a technical cofounder. "I'll just outsource the development" will doom you to failure. I know this because I am an employee of a startup that thought that way, and learned the hard way that execution matters; and spending umpty-million dollars in the first year on outsourced projects that you wind up needing to pay umpty-thousand-dollars in the first year of operation to replace -- well, let's just say that, even with venture capitalists involved, burn rate matters, and money you spend stupidly still counts as an expense.
Work free for a month? That's insane. Steer clear of any company that expects that.
Learning the basics? A weekend.

Learning the idioms? A month.

Mastery? Heck, I've been programming in C for 15 years and Perl for 10, and I don't think I'm a master in either.

And at this point I can pick up a new language (Javascript, say, which is my current sort-of project) and it's just a matter of learning syntax because I've used that concept in another language before.
A single isolated incident and your guesses do not constitute facts.
Idea: Start a website that connect/matches founders!
Why do webpages direct me to localised pages based on my IP address?
TS accepted startup teams before YC announced who's been accepted to the interviews. I, for one, received a phone interview from TS by April 1st.
It annoys me to no end - I already switched back to Yahoo as my primary search engine because Google sends me to the German page all the time. But Yahoo does the same with their mail service (luckily I hardly ever do it).

Why? It seems like the worst idea ever! Are programmers just sitting around thinking "let's do something really cool" and add this anti-feature? For the record: if I wanted the german Google, I would be clever enough to type google.DE instead of google.COM.

P.S.: I know there are ways to make Google show me the english page, but they either involve enabling permanent cookies or typing a longer URL.
Can Zenter compete with Google?
What is more important is where the trend is going rather than where it is right now.

From personal experience, I'd say this has good chance of not being accurate. Almost everyone I've run into has uploaded or thought of uploading a video or picture to YouTube or Flickr or Facebook.

--Zaid
It seems to be a Utah thing. I hadn't heard of them. I doubt it would work very well.
Certainly there are different strategies for different markets. I believe Facebook is a bit different from Virb; it started with a relatively new niche. In a way it still serves mostly the same niche, except that the niche it attacked proved to be extremely large, popular, and profitable.

If Virb is marketed as a MySpace killer, it's entering crowded arena and cannot escape a feature-by-feature comparison with MySpace. Assuming they are trying to grab defects from MySpace, it seems reasonable to sport a features galore -- as long as MySpace users can feel right at home. If they want blinky text, they got it. Embedded music? Got it. Want more than MySpace? Have more than MySpace. Stuff like that.

That said, I think it's more about being clear about your target market and your product goals. Considering iJigg though, I am not so sure about aiming for a similar userbase is what you meant by "similar goals". The reason I bring this up is because I'm interested in how you are planning the next steps for your product. I'm nobody to give suggestions here, but I would be cautious about aligning myself with Virb if that's what you're talking about.
Dekoh - an open-source challenger to Adobe's Apollo, launches
Also, I was able to find my job this summer by just checking out the websites of startups I'd want to work for. The first thing most startups do when trying to hire is post job descriptions on their site.
For me, it's been a combination of craigslist and the network of people that I have worked with in the past.

Having worked for 9 companies in the last 10 years, I've found that it's more about who you know than what you know.

And if you are well connected in the internet industry AND talented, startups will find you.

Also, get your resume on the web and let the search engines index it. You'd be surprised at how many random searches will lead people to it.
My personal experience is the contrary. In fact, I found this article eye-opening, which is funny, because the result seems so obvious.

It seems most people who join social networking sites are essentially voyeurs, and this has consequences for the kind of business I'd like to start.

What is the trend? I bet it's pretty constant, or slowly increasing. -But I have no data to back any of my statements up :)-
"Similarly, only two-tenths of one percent of visits to Flickr, a popular photo-editing site owned by Yahoo, are to upload new photos, the Hitwise study found."

Wow! That surprised me. This is very, very low. For a while, blogs were quoting various stats saying that 1% of users are creators, 10% are participators/aggregators (people who vote, comment etc) and rest are lurkers. New numbers are really unnerving since I have so much energy currently invested in a social/participant site. I think it's time to seriously start planning for a plan B.. "what if" situations.
Looks cool, but I worry about all these incompatible widget engines. It seems like a step backwards ("This widget best viewed with X").
Never heard of any of these people. From the high-tech "smart money" standpoint, this is not that attractive.
The robot is the one with wheels:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesmoon/432175003/
Zenter guys, launch NOW! Launch as soon as you can! Launch BEFORE Google and create some buzz before Google launches so that when people see Google's Presentations, they will think it's old and has been done before.
What is the "high-tech "smart money" standpoint"?
yer, definitely, and thats how im sellin it, in fact ive sold it to one technical person and he is willin to come onboard. prob is our site is php he is a c# man. i think he will be able to pick it up though. its quite strange really, i work for a technology company but there are no coders! lol
I doubt that microformats will be implemented in any meaningful way out of the box, and Apple has been somewhat hostile towards would-be third party iPhone developers, so I wouldn't hole out much hope.

Also, as cool as a mobile version of Safari is (and it is cool), but it's not quite as revolutionary as soom people seem to think. Opera Mobile/Mini and the S60 browser both do a solid job of rendering regular XHTML web pages for many months, yet there hasn't exactly been an explosion in Mobile Web 2.0 content (or microcontent).