skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Every single idea is derivative. Many successful products are simply about taking something that exists and then changing its focus or its look.

That's what he did, and he did it for bloody cheap. If you read the breakdown of his costs, you will see that the actual programming + site + logo just cost $4500.

Having dealt with code monkeys that need to be micromanaged, I'd much rather pay $4500 and see a finished product than waste my time micromanaging the development of such an application.

Is the idea stupid? No. It's a reasonable idea. It's a niche idea that has some potential if executed right. Did he overpay? No.

The hardest lesson I ever learnt was that it's often times really not worth it to do things yourself. As a hacker, it's tempting to always do things yourself, but realise at every single point in your life that it's time that is your most valuable commodity.

He's not a hacker. If he tried customizing pligg, it would cost him a lot more time than if he just hired people for $4500.
Ex-Cisco Executive to Lead Joost, Internet TV Provider
Java's crippled? I'm curious what you think that entails.

As far as I'm concerned, every mistake made in C++ with regard to object oriented programming was fixed in Java. Also, as recent benchmarking has shown, Java's speed is fine. If OS's were written in Java, you wouldn't even notice the runtime load period.
Ten Questions with the Chief Creative Officer of Threadless
It's strange to meter the base cost spending $1k for domain name registration... and more than $4k in legal stuff. The base cost is mostly zero in the real world as the founders should be able to write code instead to buy it, create a basic logo with inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org) in few minutes and get a cheap hosting somewhere.

A VC with a working mind can learn this without spending $12k ;)

Wasn't Ycombinator itself enough of a proof?
_expressive power_

What is that anyway? Can you measure it in something other than line counts? I'm wary of line-counts-as-metric. It seems to be a disease of PHBs and functional programmers oddly enough.

_severely crippled_

No pointers. What else?

There was nothing innovative about Java, but the advantages had nothing to do with "expressiveness" or "power" as I understand them. The advantages were:

1. No malloc(), no free(). If you've ever done large-scale C programming, you'll spend half your time bugging around with memory.

2. Platform independence. Well, you said it. I test on Windows and deploy to linux, and the only real problem has to do with the stupid C: and slash direction on Windows.

3. Don't discount Sun's advocacy. C++ is a pain in the ass, and where you're not optimizing for CPU cycles and real-time performance (where the garbage collector is a problem) it just isn't needed. But to break its inertia something a little more real-world than Lisp macros is needed. So...corporate advocacy has its advantages.

4. Massive libraries. They blow here and there, but put stdlib.h et al to shame.

5. All-in-one. It doesn't do anything perfectly, but a large system can be done all in Java. This is convenient because you don't need fifty different tool sets, can move serialized objects around between subsystems, etc.

_making interviewing process very exhausting_

Since you've avoided Java in your career, I suspect you made that up.

Edit: Btw, since I'm bitching about downmods, I'll just add that I'm not downmodding anyone here.
Not sure how this information is useful: the mom-and-pop businesses like the pizza place and copy shop look like they're deliberately understating their profit (perhaps to avoid the IRS?), and the finance types make a lot of money.

It's neither new nor interesting.
I think he did it to find out what the base cost of a web startup is.

You're being very charitable.

he may have learned less than he realizes. What he's learned is what it takes to make a prototype. Most of the work comes after that

Right, and it'll give him the wrong impression going forward.

Imagine being funded by him and having him complain to you that your site cost more than $12k to build.

That's one VC to avoid in the future.
You're right it's not new but I find it interesting to see how other industries make their money. For example I didn't realise that MOMA made such a huge loss on ticket prices or that yoga places make minimal profit.
I'm suggesting that we fund research into the problem of AGI. I'm not saying that we should be funding teams to code up someone's personal AGI hypothesis. In the past, too much attention has been focused on trying to code up an AI without any real justification for why that AI system would work, and this has led to the failures you cite. What we need is fundamental research into intelligence, theories that describe intelligence and how to attain it. This is how research progresses in other fields; rocket scientists do not come up with their personal favorite hypothesis of rocket propulsion then seek funding to try to build a rocket using that propulsion system. Instead, they form models and consistent theories to validate their hypotheses before actually attempting to build a rocket. Why should AI research be any different? If the implicit assumption is that general intelligence is fundamentally just too difficult to understand, I disagree, and have not seen a convincing argument making that case.
Netflix and the Art of Crowdsourcing Innovation
Well, for one thing it insulates you from the company. If the company gets sued, you might lose the business, but hopefully not your house.
Before Java, I had programmed in C, C++ and Perl. It was amazing that with Java things just worked the way I expected them to work.

Whenever I try to learn a language like Python or Ruby, I find myself chasing bugs for hours that I could never even have made with Java. Nevertheless, maybe the time has come to work with another language. But Java is not bad.

Edit: oddly, I don't remember this chasing of bugs with Scheme, even though it also is not statically typed. Hm... (I liked Scheme).
Hearing Voices in my Head: Stop adding pointless mobile features and develop a voice centric, voice controlled mobile phone
Expressive power is a few things.

Either:

- Pointers

OR

- Garbage-collected reference-counted objects

Plus

- Closures (incredibly important to have these)

Plus

- Compile-time macros

Plus

- Recursion

Shawn
The Future of Web Applications is "Local"
Expressive power corresponds to shortness of programs, but LOC is not the best measure of that. Roughly, expressive power is 1 over the size of the parse tree.
Another reason to incorporate is so that, when you have multiple people working on something, there is an entity for the code to belong to.
Should religion become Web 2.0? 10 great examples&#8230;
Rate-a-lawyer
But CNET says you may want to double-check that listing: http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-6188675.html
Seems like Congress forgot the immigrants that drive innovation and would rather worry about the ones who make sure it's cheap to get your lawn mowed.
Movable Type 4.0 Beta Launches, Platform To Be Open Sourced
If you built a site similar to this, only didn't use a pop-up music player, I would probably use it.
Let this be a lesson to all of us; don't do anything ironic or everyone will laugh at you.
Another reason why the term "Web 2.0" makes something out of nothing. Rephrase that as "Should religion be on the web?" and the question becomes ridiculous, but that's what it's essentially asking.
His blog is off to a great start. Lots of great insights in just the first week. I hope he can keep it up.
I think the reason for this is so people don't pass the keyword "mesothelioma" with every page, so the clicks are most valuable... from Google's perspective, it's to keep people from "cheating" and serving non-relevant (but more profitable) ads to their visitors.
Card Shark
I really do not want to start a war here, especially because I am not a big fan of C++. Quite the opposite. But I can answer some of your questions in case you genuinely want to hear what I have to say :-)

On expressiveness: I meant things like foreach loops, ruby blocks, python's list comprehensions, in-place on-demand functions, switch statements with strings, pattern matching, list goes on. Java is not much ahead of C++ in that regard. Not a real upgrade.

BTW garbage collection is not really a "feature" of the language. And no, these days people (quality C++ folks) do not spend any time debugging memory leaks. World has changed since early Unix days: smart containers, smart pointers and automatic unit tests largely eliminated memory leaks issues. I honestly do not remember when was the last time I used new() or alloc().

About being crippled compared to C++: do not even get me started. Lack of templates (until relatively recently and they're still not a real thing), lack of multiple inheritance nor mix-ins to replace them, no true functions of any kind, no choice of memory allocation: heap vs stack, this silly "everything is an object" idiom...

Again, quality libraries is something I asked to ignore, because it is really not a part of the language. And you are absolutely right here: Java folks have been enjoying the available pool of tools: an order of magnitude bigger than C/C++ guys ever had.

And, finally, on platform independence. Java does not run on Windows or Linux. It runs on one platform: JVM, which is conceptually is no different from C++ plus some kind of OS abstration layer, similar to what Mozilla/Apache teams have. Basic idea is always the same: language + runtime. Call it JVM or Library or VMWare host. Yes, I can always develop for Linux and run it under a virtual machine on any host OS, This solution arguably even better than "language VM", since you're taking everything you need to run from one host OS to another.
All the sites listed are web 2.0 sites.
I can't get rid of a feeling that Web 2.0 is a little bit about cheating rather than innovating. Seriously, everything interesting and truly remarkable was built in "Web 1.0" days: online search, online directions, blogs (yes, they are a lot older than most think :-), you name it - everything was built or invented back in late 90s.

With Web 2.0 people talk alot about:
- Using code that you did not write (god bless open source)
- ... and never spend a dime on (or contributing to) it
- Never worry about actual content/service
- ... and never pay a dime for content (let customers do it for you!)

so... basically Web 2.0 is largely about not creating anything, but rather finding ways of capitalizing on what others have done.

Do I sound to pessimistic? :-) Did I forget about AJAX? :-) But AJAX is just one function call and it's been innovated by Microsoft wa-a-a-ay back in Web 1.0 days.
Like I said, I don't have a problem with the idea, but the more derivative your idea is, the more likely it is that off the shelf solutions can be easily tweaked to build your product. Truemors is more derivative than most, so using it as a barometer for how much it takes to launch a startup isn't completely accurate.
I find it entertaining that even pg's most mundane posts get upmoddage like no other. I assume this is why he took himself off the "leaders" listing.
I'm curious - if individual founders write a significant amount of code before incorporation, do they then have to legally sign over rights to the code to the corporation once it's been formed? Are there persistent legal problems that might arise from working first and incorporating later, or can everything be solved by a good lawyer? (Assuming a good working relationship between cofounders...if there's no legal framework and then things get sour, I'd imagine there're lots of problems that might arise...)
'put it aside' != bail out

I'm not saying you throw it out, just switch the majority of your effort elsewhere. Keep your demo/beta or whatever running, and if people start using it, you'll see that and can move back to it. Further investment is all you should worry about.
Including demand based pricing?
Halfway through point 1 this article ceases being specific to social networking applications. I like the points.

It seems like a good article, but that may be because it matches the way I've been thinking.
Does anyone launch a site today with a decision to, ahem, use Web 1.0?
Demand-based pricing is a totally novel (and interesting) idea that is uniquely Amie St.
Land of Milk, Honey and 2.0... Israeli Startups
For Bloggers - Movable Type 4 Beta Released
Matt Maroon is a new entrant on my cool people list.
There is no good reason to distribute digital media by physical means. Record labels are useless relics of an dying era.
It's not so much legal problems you have to worry about. When the code belongs to a company the founders collectively own, they have more incentive to cooperate. Till you have such an agreement, any founder could bail and take his code with him, as supposedly happened with Facebook. Arguably any startup whose founders would do such a thing would be doomed anyway, but even in startups where the founders can trust one another, having the company own the code tends to make them cooperate more, as I've heard marriage does vs. just going out.
Ask.com has changed their look
This one is pretty Web 1.0.
Java has harmed Unix but helped Windows win

http://juwo.blogspot.com/2006/11/flatface-musings-java-has-harmed-unix.html
Someone already thought of MP3 players before the iPod and search engines before Google. Someone else in the market should be encouraging, not discouraging.

If they are doing it REALLY REALLY well, you have lots of options (which are laid out pretty well on that gobignetwork post).
Prediction: Facebook will be the largest social network in the world
Silly Enough to Try Again?
The next big Silicon Valley IPO
How to Kill a Great Idea - Friendster - Socializr
Pligg does voice to text and also allows SMS submissions?! Well, Truemors can do both of those things! Some people should really pay close attention to features of a site instead of jumping to silly conclusions.

Anyway, Truemors is NOT a waste. Guy has learned a lot from it and he will use the lessons he learned when he decides what and HOW to fund the next idea that some entrepreneur brings to Garage. He has recalibrated his brain's estimation tables and will use that knowledge to his advantage. That knowledge is priceless and I'm grateful that guy has shared it with us. You should be grateful too and please just ignore the jaded/arrogant/incompetent/jealous detractors that are trashing Guy in his blog.

To say that he has wasted a lot of money just shows how clueless and shortsighted some people are. I hope the author of this piece is not looking for funding or a job...
Amie Street isn't perfect. It's a beautiful idea, but it didn't work for me the first couple of times I've visited (I use Linux, so I pretty much expect websites to not work, if they do anything fancy...I just move on). This post caused me to check it out again, and the player does work now. Hooray!

Executing better is still a possibility. Niche-focused versions would also be a possibility. Most of the top ten on the front page suck. I've been a happy subscriber for years with eMusic and it's focused on indie music (I guess Amie also has a focus on indie, since no one else is taking part in this model right now, though the number 1 song at Amie right now is atrocious "soul" pop).
Joost is pretty impressive. They have a good product as well as great execution and marketing.

Before Skype, there were lots of VOIP companies and there are a bunch of TV P2P startups now. I wonder how this will play out.
Microsoft threatens its MVP dev - this is what happens when you base your business on proprietary platform
Seems Guy played that hand perfectly. He bet that 'inquiry minds want to know.' named it Truemors, or as I usually mistaken and slur Tumors. I'm unable to hold on to 'true rumors'. However, I disagree with Guy, he did create a business plan ... not one that requires 20 slides, but one that suits his own 5 second elevator pitch evangelist style.
"If you have 1 good joke out of 10, that's a good batting average" -- Jerry Seinfeld
When asked how many new jokes he comes up with that work (or maybe it was jokes in general, between different shows.)
microPledge: new startup to help developers get paid
This article portrays Jonathan Abrams as a victim, as if Friendster was an appendage. In my opinion any new creation is no different from any other product on the marketplace. Trends come and go, users change their minds and likes. The web represents a space where customer brand loyalties are in flux. If a product can not continue to fiercely attracted and gather the whole pie in it's market sector, some one who can will.
I like it, though I'll bet a hundred bucks it doesn't turn a profit in the first two years.
At first, the consistent trend over the past few years seems to indicate that immigrants start some kind of entrepreneurial endeavors 30% more frequently than native-born Americans do. That's a big number.

However, I think one can explain the statistics this way.

These are simply "average person" trends, and almost all U.S. businesses are still started by native-born Americans. Therefore, a "few" twenty and thirty year old Europeans moving to the US every year with a business idea would easily skew statistics. In fact, the only benefit or motivation to starting a business in most countries is simply that the dollar goes a long way in South America or Asia, and the Internet makes it possible for regular people to take advantage of that fact (as well as the entrepreneurship resources, blogs, and web sites.)

Also, according to last year's article (linked), this information is for any entrepreneurial activity, not just starting an actual business.
Heh! Well, if we do make a profit, sounds like you'll be adding $100 to it. :-) Curious what your reasoning is, though.
Would you take that hundred bucks and pledge it on the site?
Products Are People Too: A great way of thinking about designing your product
Why do you think not? Because only AdSense-based sites make money?
I'm highly skeptical of design by committee software. Most open source soft is not done this way. Please form some kind of a structure on how to incorporate features and how to prioritize them and WHO decides what goes in. Popular votes might not be the best indicator...
I'm curious: who are the people that still think "Web 2.0" is an interesting or useful term?

It seems that the debates over what it means, where it's valuable (if at all), and who should care, were had and done last year.
"My 27th birthday is right around the corner, so while I'm still young, that youthful feeling is fleeting."

Only if you let it be that way.
Startup Tips Day 5: James Thomas from Wacky Labs - he even includes some bonus wisdom
When he went on vacation and stopped posting for a week, the site seemed to slow down. So, obviously, people know what they're doing when they mod up. :)
At first I was like "Paul Allen loves facebook this much? Damn" Then I realized it wasn't Paul Allen from MS and classified this as more hype.

Social Networks are still very young, Facebook is promising but the game isn't won yet.
Go get them.
Well it's a little late for this prediction to very visionary..
You're dead right about design by committee -- the idea with microPledge is more like "funding by committee". Except that it's not a commmittee, it's a group of loosely-knit pledgers. They'll have their say in the project, but the design will still largely be done by the developer.

That said, very good point about some kind of way to prioritise and structure how and when features are included. We're thinking about it, and have a few ideas.
What are the best ways to manage the beta user process?
$4824.13 For Legal Fees
Free Downloads vs. Sales: A Publishing Case Study (how does giving free books impact your sales)
They're still small, right? Join 'em.
Technically what Guy Kawasaki has is a "web startup"... But it's more like "web page". Yes, the costs for making a web page are pretty small. It's just a bulletin board system with voting.

Let's not kid ourselves, if you're a programmer you can make a site like that in a few weeks in your spare time. Once you incorporate you are a ... web startup.
That happens with every startup I've ever seen, within months of starting it up--regardless of the quality of the startup. I don't think this is a very good way to measure startup potential.

You, as the entrepreneur, better be damned excited about your idea and your team and your product. So excited, in fact, that you talk about it all the damned time to everyone. Of course, talking is rare...you don't talk to many people during that phase, because you're busy working. But nonetheless, if your girlfriend isn't sick of hearing about what you're working on, then you might not be passionate enough about it to pull it off.
Guy's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" books literally changed my life, overnight. He showed how even the poorest school teacher like myself could get rich with a little financial know how. With Truemors he's just taking his philosophy to the next level. I know I'll be along for the ride with him.
I've thought of this before, but the issue is, what if people don't pay up? Or what if the developer doesn't deliver? Those are tough issues.
Apple Updates Mac Book Pro: Up to 1 hour extra battery life, LED backlit displays, 1920x1200 option, 2gb baseline
Guy Kawasaki explains the $4,824.13 in legal fees for Truemors
Part of the problem, though, is being able to pack all those jokes into a single, coherent routine.
Seems that we are more likely to throw down a $100 at a betting table, and gambling to winning it all , than on developers pioneering the next useful technology. Just noticing for myself how high the stakes really are. ;-D
... and this level of abuse is earned just by using a standalone tool in officially un-approved-of ways. It seems that using a fully-locked-down platform (e.g. F8, eventually Silverlight/PopFly or Flex) is an invitation to even greater headaches.

I understand the enthusiasm for these things - they promise to make development easier. But given that cell carriers take advantage of their devs, and that game console manufacturers take advantage of their devs, I wonder why more people aren't more worried about 'platform' taxes appearing in the future.
I planned to build something very similar this about four years back. Registered "Ransomware.com" just for the purpose (and still hang onto the domain, because one day I might come back to it). This was about the same time I started in on what is my current business, so it took a backseat.

Anyway, I think it's a solid idea--but the competition is stiff. SourceForge.net takes donations on behalf of its projects, every Open Source project has a PayPal link, Elance/rent-a-coder eats up the very specific work where only one person/company wants it, SitePoint runs "contests" sponsored by big companies. And, of course, your profit comes from taking a small cut, so you have to do a very high volume--hundreds or thousands of projects per day, if you want reasonable revenues for just a couple of employees. If it's a one-man shop, it's a solid business. By the time you take investment, or hire some additional employees, it could get ugly.
Too many people are expecting Joost to be the next Kazaa/Skype. That kind of expectation might be attracting the wrong kind of people. I think this CEO is probably one of those people. I'm sure the five years at Cisco has rotted his brain beyond repair.
Finfo.com - Personal finance for college students and young professionals
Very good questions, but we've thought them through and come up with some solutions. They're solutions we think are better than anything the competition's got, but we'll see!
Taking The Hard Way Out: Software entrepreneurs seek fun problems, not lucrative ones.
you're thinking of robert kiyosaki (also from hawaii, however :P)

(fwiw, i thought rich dad poor dad was fairly interesting -- i'm not going to hate on it as much as others might -- although it's alleged that some of both some of his anecdotes and financial success were exaggerated or false. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kiyosaki ; google will turn up other criticisms.)