skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
With a big down payment they shouldn't have to care.
ROBOT HOOOOUUUSSSEEE!! Was my first thought when I read the title too. Tri-Lamb is also a worthy choice. Good taste! ;)
a thought provoking list of current trends on the web
Announcing Gigpack &rsaquo; Gigs for geeks. Subscription for early access.
What he refers to as "market" is a lot of what I think of as "product".

Really, how great is your product if nobody wants it? And how great is your team if they don't adapt whatever they are doing to build what people want?

I can imagine a lot of technology people falling into this trap though. They think that they've invented some great new technology and now they just need someone to make a product or license it or something (maybe they aren't sure, but they are certain that the technology is revolutionary).
Ask the guys who run SuperHappyDevHouse (superhappydevhouse.org), they have a house with ~6 nerds (I'm sure it was a huge pain to get organized, and many of them are older which I'd imagine helps). If you have enough reliable friends a small house seems like a nice option (they have a rather large house with a massive electric bill :-P).
Yes some crusty dean would always be hassling them and threatening to kick them off the Greek Council.
Summary: "um, um, um"... argh!
Paul Buchheit: Quick: All actions should have 'undo'
This book has some good suggestions for doing usability testing. It's worth buying:

http://tinyurl.com/22wqhr

One of the conclusions being "any testing is better than no testing".
Especially because ads don't really have much in the way of switching costs, like a lot of information products do.
Thanks for finding this article, Donna!

"looks a lot easier"? Please let everyone know when you've got it working!-))

To the best of my knowledge there's no neural network technology available today currently that could be described as providing "raw cognition". Neural nets are for the most part focussed on backpropagation networks, which aren't prevalent in nature. The brain has much more variety in it's architecture.

Gerald M. Edelman has argued that a biological approach based on evolution and biology will prove more fruitful than the physical symbol system hypothesis(PSSH) of "good old-fashioned AI". Edelman explicates his ideas in "Bright Air, Brilliant Fire: On the Matter of the Mind":

(http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Air-Brilliant-Fire-Matter/dp/0465007643/ref=sr_1_1/103-2087616-1051018?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182842907&sr=1-1).

In that book he clearly states his objections to the PSSH.

There is significant recent work on consciousness, tying it to neuroscience studies of the brain. Bernard J. Baars' explications of Global Workspace theory appear fruitful in leading us toward conscious computing. Right now I'm reading one of Baars' books, "In the Theater of Consciousness: The Workspace of the Mind":

http://www.amazon.com/Theater-Consciousness-Workspace-Mind/dp/0195147030/ref=sr_1_1/102-9391404-9424956?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182841961&sr=1-1

The Galernter article is extremely timely since it mentioned several ideas that clicked into place as I read Baars.

I was surprised to find that Baars is now working at the The Neurosciences Institute which Edelman founded:
http://www.nsi.edu/index.php?page=facilities_architecture
Were you trying to rent a house in Atherton? Group renting is very common in the Valley. In San Francisco it is the default housing situation for almost anyone under the age of 30.
You're right.

"The #1 company-killer is lack of market." is a euphemism for "when nobody buys what sells, you go out of business."

What else does the "The only thing that matters is getting to product/market fit" mean much more beyond "The only thing that matters is making money?"
It's obviously risky to go after hot markets, even though there's a lot of success to be had doing it. Joe Kraus says "Better to be a trendspotter than a trendsetter" and Marc is saying something like "Make something people want, in a really hot market."

So does the advantage of working in a hot market outweigh the advantage of solving a problem you personally have? I'm thinking it probably does. If you can make it past the initial hurdle on your own steam your "hot market" users can probably carry you to victory.
Max Levchin: "Facebook, in a big way, is the new internet."

There's been a lot of hype around that platform lately, but he's saying some things that'll make you look at it even closer.
Ludicorp made something people wanted: Game Neverending. Then they made something "hot market" users wanted: Flickr.

I think that's sort of what Marc was getting at.
No - Palo Alto and Mountain View were the focus.

There was 4 of us, each working at very well known companies and making each over $100k/yr, so we wanted a nice 4-5 bedroom house preferably with a pool and plenty of parking. Those types of homes were not very common and the 5 we found _really_ didn't want to rent their home to a misfit group of mid to late 20 somethings.
Who wanted Game Neverending? (I'm sure a few people, but not as many as Flickr presumably)
Okay it might be hard for me to prove it had fans. I'm basing that statement off my lossy memory of various interviews with the founders. It's possible it was almost no one but them, but I think it was at least a small number of genuine users.

Another very similar example:

Wrigley's Chewing Gum used to sell soap, which people wanted, and he'd give customers some free gum as an extra. He realized that he could do a much bigger business in gum itself.
Chicken and egg indeed. Your perspective seems to be based on a very "US" centric view, which is perhaps one way to look at the issue. Needless to say entrepreneurial activity may not evolve in the same fashion in India as it did in the US. For example there may never be a specific area or city in India which becomes a Silicon Valley^(SV)

In the US specific areas/cities have historically done better in somethings - especially technology. This may never come to pass in India because of the presence of very different dynamics.

Also, you assume that India already has a world of startups - it does not, it merely has an untapped potential. I will not answer your question about programming languages that have come out of India, or Open Source intiatives - I would merely advise you to count how many Indians have contributed to similar goals in Silicon Valley, you could start back from the 1980s - I think oppurtunity called them to the US and they wisely followed. Also please check similar sources for linux, even the ubuntu flavor has Indians contributing. IMO in the future resident Indians will contribute to such projects, historically some non-resident Indians have. This is so because today's infrastructre allows us. (contd..)
If the most important criteria for any seeding firm is how many startups exist in any given geographic area - I humbly disagree. It just indicates how easy it is to do business in a specific area, ideas and skills are not born in specific areas they occur universally. YC should actively look for great ideas from all over the world and then support the best, this may invlove moving them from thier current location, such as India, to one which is more conducive to thier pursuits, such as SV^^.The core competency for a YC type seeding company is to find talent and YCs primary service is to help hackers by providing an environment which gives them a shot. YC should be hunting for hackers who can create stuff that people want to pay for - in some fashion. Having existing startups IMO is not the criteria unless you wish to confound your judgment.

To summarize, you base your argument on a assumption that India should already be SV, while I think that is a superflous criteria for making great investment decisions as far as Tech startups go. I may well be wrong - but like you I try not to be blinkered.

PS: Please look at a wider spectrum when you talk of Tech Startups out of India, a great example is an IIT Chennai startup that works in a huge and untapped Indian rural market - can't recall the name. And that's just one, there are many more, I know of many tech startups out of New Delhi, who cater to an Indian audience.

^IMO Banglore and the Silicon Valley have very little in common - Indian tech startups are not yet geo-specific and may never be. Please don't compare Banglore with SV.

^^You may extend this logic to other industries and see that it works, Fashion comes to mind, Indian Fashion designers often also do work in Paris.
"There is one high-profile, highly successful software entrepreneur right now who is burning through something like $80 million in venture funding in his latest startup and has practically nothing to show for it except for some great press clippings and a couple of beta customers -- because there is virtually no market for what he is building."

I wonder who that is?
How Wrigley Went From Soap Salesmen to Chewing Gum Mogul
"If YCombinator helped with Visas"

Yeow I hope not! INS's visa rules are a legal and procedural snake pit, with plenty of people abusing and bending the rules to get a chance to come to the USA. IMHO YC should keep to doing what it knows best . It is bad situation but not YC's problem to solve.

I would imagine that YC has (a LOT) more work than it can handle. Why would YC want to add to it by expanding to India (or anywhere else. If India why not China? If China ... )
"Indian Fashion designers often also do work in Paris"

Do they ask angel funds focussed on the USA to "come to India" and sponsor their visas to France ? :-) news to me - please send some references.

"you base your argument on a assumption that India should already be SV"

Huh? I said there is little demonstrated high quality technical (significant contributions to open source projects) or entrepreneurial (in the Y fundable startup sense) activity in India.

That doesn't mean I argue that "India should be SV" as you claim.

you say

"YC should actively look for great ideas from all over the world and then support the best, this may involve moving them from their current location, such as India, to one which is more conducive to their pursuits, such as SV"

The problem is , this is very easy to say and very very hard (if not impossible), to do "all over the world" . As Paul Graham pointed out, it will be a (very) long time before YC can deal with all the great ideas in the USA.

I don't think (I could be wrong) YC has the bandwidth to run some kind of United Nations "Save the Startups and Good Ideas Worldwide" effort. They do their thing well in the scope they choose to work in. We should respect that choice.

Now you (or I) can ask them to consider coming to India , but if they reply "not in cards for now, we have lots to do here" then we should shut up and look for alternatives (imho) than whine that YC is not looking "worldwide" or "not helping with the visas " or whatever.

FWIW, my advice (as an Indian ,based in India and thinking of a startup of my own) is to put fingers to keyboard and start coding and "build something people want". That's great advice and that's what I plan to do, YC or no YC.

You can build software from India and you can host anywhere in the world (hosting fees are cheap enough that 3 months of work in Bangalore will get you enough funds. And someone pointed out the cost of living is so low in India you don't need angel funds) till you get a few hundred thousand users . At that point believe me you won't need YC to "get a visa" or get you VC funding.

Now as to the YC 's more intangible benefits,

Would I like Paul Graham's connections and advice working for me? Certainly.

Do I think I am somehow entitled to them just because "I want"? certainly not!

" great example is an IIT Chennai startup that works in a huge and untapped Indian rural market - can't recall the name"

I hope you can see the humour in that statement.

Anyway this is my opinion. If you think you can persuade YC to "come to India" or are depending on or hoping that YC will come to India to help your startup be successful, I wish you luck :-D

I'll go back to my code now.
Thanks for listening.
You've identified what people want - better ads that people are interested in clicking on. There is a startup idea right there...
I am not suggesting they change rules, I am suggesting that they setup a vehicle which can help hackers understand this snakepit better. They don't need to do it themselves they can get someone to aid the shortlisted folks.
Sabeer Bhatia - founder of hotmail?
What he is saying is not about "hot" markets, he says big markets. There are lots of "hot" markets that are not particularly big imho. For example videocasting. Then, there are big markets, that were not so hot, e.g. browsers around 2002-5. Before Firefox anyway.

If its hot, you probably have already missed it.
Wow: the mouse becomes the remote control!

That's the way i watch TV -- next, next, next ..., OK interesting but next, OK i like...

This is way better that the Joost interface....
I just want a quick preview, but a even quicker way to get to get to the next one...
If I understand correctly, what you call the "meta key" is just a part of the key.
"This is way better that the Joost interface"

For when watching quick, short videos...
1.As far as fashion is concerned, they do ask for both funding and contacts to sell merchandize, you should check. It is not cheap to do a ramp show in Paris or New York, it is not always succusful.I am not suggesting sponsoring visas - I never did.

2. I suggested that there is much demonstrated capability, I also suggested you do some research starting from the 1980s. I also highlighted why I think there has been lack of resident Indian success in this arena while non-resident Indians have had a better game.

3.I do not think it is difficult to identify good ideas from all over the world - YC already does it in an unorganized format. My contention is that in a virtual platform such as our trade offers us, thinking local is unnecessary and perhaps outdated baggage we carry. There is no need to deploy talent scouts or some such to find the necessary hackers, they will find YCombinator or other such oppurtunities - it just needs to be a more encouraging process than it already is.

4. I have no clue what gave you the notion of a YC United Nations save the world thingy?!

5. I am certain YC has lots to do, and I put up my thoughts for discussion on this thread that someone else started, pg has since then responded but the discussion on the Indian startup scenario can carry on nonetheless. Your comment about 'whining' is inappropriate. I will not regard it as a personal comment, just a poor choice of words - correct me if I am wrong. :)

6.I agree with your advice about hacking away and building something that people want. I hack too, have been doing it for a long while, intend to do it forever, thanks for the advice nonetheless.

7.I have some advice too, I suggest you study hosting costs along with hardware costs - there is no way any salary in Banglore(for a techie) is going to take care of your hosting costs and just how long are you planning to host for before you need help. If your startup is anygood, it will need some serious servers, If you need references for good hosting providers and thier price charts, send me an email and i will send you some. keios.titan (at) gmail. Obviously, hardware or hosting requried depends on your application. My startup project has fairly high hosting demands.

8.You said: "Do I think I am somehow entitled to them just because "I want"? certainly not!"

I said: What!?!

I would like Paul's advice and YComb's resources too, I do not think they will come to me - I will go to them.

9. Well if you suggest the humour is because i cant recall the name, then I don't see the humour. The IIT Chennai startup targets a rural population, I am not a target customer.

10. I am not in the least persuading YC to come to India, and certainly I am not betting on that. I am saying "that they should help hackers who don't know any better through all the other rigmarole involved if they shortlist them."

Its there decision and this is a discussion board you know.

Best of luck with your project, do let me know if you come to Delhi sometime :)
plinkplonk - find what u're saying pretty interesting, and wanted to bounce some things off you. What's best way to connect? You can email me at udai (at) askme (dot) com
i do believe that something Y combinator could be the early initiators of change, of course the startups are flaky but I wonder why google can hire top talent in bangalore and something like guruji cannot build a better search engine?? it can't be lack of talent ?
zoho is based in pleasanton if i am not wrong its just owned by indian that hardly makes it a Indian startup.
anyways it doesn't have to be Y Combinator i think there are pretty smart people will india who will start it sooner or later it just remains to be seen who it will be.
I don't think there's enough visas at the moment (even without YCombinator getting into the fray)
"I have some advice too, I suggest you study hosting costs along with hardware costs - there is no way any salary in Banglore(for a techie) is going to take care of your hosting costs and just how long are you planning to host for before you need help. "

Really? my last job at Bangalore was a little bit more than 80,000 $ - 38 lakhs to those who want the Indian equivalent - (but I have about 10 years of experience and if I do say so myself, I am pretty good at what I do.) . I plan to take care of my n hosting for a while.

Do you mind sharing (here) how much you think hosting would cost? YCombinator companies seem to get by for quite a while on comparaitive amounts of money.

But I could be wrong I was estimating about 250 $ or so per month for your own rackmounted boxes to start with.But let's say about 900 $ a month - . Do you seriously estimate spending more than 10,000 $ a year on hosting before hitting ,say, 100,000 users , at which point you'd have no problems attracting funding?

If you have about 2 years of experience, you can earn 10,000 dollars in 6 months (trivially easily) in Bangalore (if you are any good at coding). As I said earlier people just out of college are paid about 1200 $/month.

Also for "significant contributions to Open Source" (by which I mean something like "wrote and maintains the tcp/ip stack in Linux" or "added and maintains SSA based optimizing phase to the GCC trunk" or even "wrote Ruby on Rails or Django" (not things like "contributed documentation to Ubuntu" or "localized Strings to Hindi"), please name specific people and specific achievements.
of the magnitude stated above.

And then tell me how many of those people live in India so that folks like YC should look for them here.

And you can't brush the "not resident in India" part away. That is the point. The really good technical people from India move to the USA or Europe for the tech and startup culture (and of course $$$ :-P ).They still do. To find he most talented Indian Hackers therefore, a search in California is better than one in Bangalore. .That was MY point.

Ahh I am spending too much time on this. I have work to do and code to write.
Ciao
"I wonder why google can hire top talent in bangalore and something like Guruji cannot build a better search engine?"

Ha but that was my point. The really good guys prefer to work for companies (and mostly emigrate to America) rather than start their own companies in India.

Guruji can't build a better search engine because they aren't as good as the folks who work on Google's Search Engine.

hint: that (kind of core tech )work doesn't happen in Google Bangalore anyway.

hint2 : look at the bios of Guruji's founders and employees for evidence of significant technical expertise. Compare them to Page and Brin and the others who created the Google search engine :-)).

Someone will outcompete Google some day. It won't be Guruji.

Do you know how hard Google has found it to hire the (very few) people they have in their Bangalore centre in spite of offering astronomical (compared to the rest of the market) salaries? Talk to someone in Goog recuiting for their tale of woe.

I have friends in Goog India and I know what they work on - believe me it is nothing of company shaking importance.

The technical centre of gravity of Google (or Yahoo or Microsoft, or Oracle, or Intel) , especially on the innovation axis (which is what we are discussing here) is well away from the shores of India.

Google hires some 'technical talent' in India sure enough.But do they hire people good enough to create the next killer startup? There is no evidence yet. I'll be glad to be proved wrong.

"I think there are pretty smart people will India who will start it sooner or later it just remains to be seen who it will be."

I agree. But I'd bet on "later". It is not about how smart people are. Given a billion people one would expect quite a few smart people. It is (among other things) about what the culture is like as (you report) Sacca pointed out.
see my id details it includes an email address
Twitter meets podcasting, day 3 (TwitterGrams)
SuperHappyDevHouse (shdh, a hackers' home away from work)
VC Trending: Ditch Your Business Plan
λf (λx f (x x)) (λx f (x x)) House
Interview with Markus Frind - AdSense Millionaire
Are you suggesting the average coder earns over $80K+. I don't think so. If the average age for founders is 26, then they possibly have half your work ex, which translates to a significantly lower salary. Here we are talking about people in general not your case specifically.

Server costs can vary, but I would estimate my needs at around $1300+ within 6 months of launch (I will know exactly only once we have launched, I am hoping this turns out to be an understimation ;) and I am looking at service providers such as rackspace.com, servint.com, datapipe.com and serverbeach.com to name a few. Also what kind of servers are we talking here - in terms of hardware? Are you considering a separate db server? Can you refer me to some reliable host who has rack-mounted, dedicated servers at $250 and provides decent support.

I don't know how long most ycombinator companies get by and on how much. It might be interesting to know. I would 'assume' that $15,000 finish in the 3 months. That's a fully loaded cost of $5000 per month. Typically people and hardware are the biggest costs, because there are no employees I think the larger cost may be servers and connectivity. And so it seems server cost is significant. Maybe someone with facts can add to this.
"... While generation Y swaps physical social meetings for the convenience of Web 2.0 networking, what do the Web 2.0 developers do to keep in touch with each other? ... it seems that every 6th Saturday or so dozens of young software developers flock to a small mansion somewhere in SV to share technical tips, collaborate on the coding of pet projects & knock back a few beers while debating the data models underlying their virtual creations ... dubbed SuperHappyDevHouse & it has lured rank & file employees of Google, Oracle & and as yet nameless entrepreneurial endevours. ... they're trying to 'resurrect the spirit of the Homebrew Computer Club ..."

Today was pretty much wiped out for me today, waiting in cue at a hospital. So I got plenty of time to read the local IT News. Came across the description above. Anyone been there & care to highlight their experiences?