skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
My initial response was to dislike the idea of presentations all using the same format - it sounded boring and uninspired. But Demo Day is not for the teams but for the investors and I can't imagine being slammed with dozens of interesting ideas all while trying to choose which to invest large sums of money into. The similar presentation formats likely help the investors stay focused on the idea and the team.

I wonder if this "investor friendly" presentation format evolved from the experience of YC doing this year after year. An example of the Y Combinator partner's experience that Paul sometimes refers to...
I'd have loved to try it, but it requires SilverLight. Would it be possible to hook this up using a JavaScript REPL like http://try-clojure.org ?
I only see stories over 100 points via: http://news.ycombinator.com/over?points=100

...except if I get bored on a Friday and look at new topics, which explains how I saw this link in the first place...
Confessions of a Content Farm Hand
Buffett: Social-Networking Sites are Overpriced Ahead of IPOs
Python Core Mentorship Program
Domain Specific Language Nonsense
I'm sure it would be possible, but my js skills aren't quite up to the task...
A/B testing is just one component of a good product development cycle. The easiest pitfall, though, is that the data only tells you what -- not why. This can lead you to make data-based design decisions blindly.

I think the ideal design and development cycle incorporates A/B testing at the end to spot any outliers: You should already have done in-person usability and user testing. It's extremely cheap and, in some cases, almost magical. Seeing a real person use your product will guarantee you plenty of "a-ha!" moments.

After testing with real users, I think it's appropriate to test with statistical users: You've already tackled the most glaring issues with what you're building, and the knowledge of how real people use your website can often help show you the "why" of the data, rather than just "what".

Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think" has a chapter near the end on user testing on a shoestring budget. I'd highly recommend it.
This is easily solved by text (again hidden moved off-screen for the normal user with CSS enabled).

"Thank you for filling out our form. Press <hotkey> to submit the form or <hotkey> to review."

"If you are not a real person, input your state now. Otherwise press <hotkey> to skip
State : <input field>
> now give us (maybe optional) infix notation and get rid of the parenthesis (also optional)

Ruby.

And it's not elitist - it's just not your taste.
Clickable:

http://www.typesandotherdistractions.com/2011/03/try-purity....

Both the links you give are the same- was that intentional?
It's 2011 and tags are increasingly a problem rather than a solution. Real semantic technology is on the horizon. It's time to send tags to the recycle bin.
On a Mac, you can try Vitamin R (http://www.publicspace.net/Vitamin-R/). Very active development, works well with Things and Omnifocus.
Having actually looked at the thing on App Store, I realized that it also solves very nicely a classic problem of social photography: bunch of friends/family at a gathering, all taking pictures, 'you take one with me in it' etc., but then everyone goes home with a separate set of photos.

Sure, Facebook, Bebo etc. alievate that problem somewhat by having people upload their photos and sharing with their friends list, so you might eventually get to see everyone's photos. Assuming they bothered to upload and tag. But Color guarantees that everyone walks home with The Definitive Album for that event, with no extra effort required.

From a user perspective, that's a pretty big win. Just put Color on your grand-dad's phone and suddenly he gets to join the fun, without the whole registering/tagging/uploading/friending/browsing rigmarole.
Drawing some calculus on a window doesn't count as a new theory of relativity.
There is this show in Canada called Dragon's Den. I think it's called Shark Tank in the US. If you don't know what I'm talking about, basically you pitch you business idea to about half a dozen rich business people. If they like what they hear, they invest their own money into your business.

One of the most frequently cited reasons for not investing (even when the business seems quite promising) is that they either have no sales, or the company value being presented was too high.

I can't help think of this when I see $41M invested into a startup that has no users, no sales, and has not been proven yet in the market place. The Dragons would tear it apart.

What am I missing here? Does Color has SO much potential that it offsets the massive risk? Or is it that when we talk about the "internet", we are operating under a different set of rules?

But didn't they say that before?
For those on OS X, there is a very nice application to do just that, it's called Vitamin R[1]. It works by "Time slice"... Add a new time slice (let's say 30 minutes) write your goal, and click "Start".

At the end of the time slice you can either start a new task, take a timed break, or an open-ended break. I find it works very well and keeps me motivated...

[1] http://www.publicspace.net/Vitamin-R/
I think that this hits the nail on the head. If the code is ready to be used by consumers, it should be ready for developers to inspect it.

Imagine if a writer said "I'm ready to publish my book, but I'm not willing to release the manuscript to editors". This isn't a perfect analogy since I'm sure Google do massive amounts of in-house QA, but it seems like the more feedback you're getting on the code, the easier it will be to whip it into shape. Saying you don't want to release the source because it's not ready or not mature is almost nonsensical.
How to become a famous Rails Developer, Ruby Rockstar or Code Ninja
I was surprised to find that when I pressed control-f and typed "duh" that zero results were found in the comments.

However flawed the experiment might've been, it's obvious that if you add barriers (e.g., CAPTCHAs) before some end goal and detract from user experience then you decrease your conversion rate.
PSA: the "historical domain sales" are wildly inaccurate.

I suspect there was a bug in the script/procedure he used to scrape, because they don't match up to the sources below.

Edit: here's a decent list http://www.webcooltips.com/the-most-expensive-domains-sales-...
The incorrectness of the argument was never in doubt for me, to be honest. I was merely wondering whether this was out of naivety or a cynical parody. And in this day and age (and especially on the internets) I'm more prone to assume cynicism. Until I reread the first few paragraphs.
I agree that this is a good reason why Google doesn't want the code released, but I do not believe that it is a good reason not to release the code. If your Open Source software is good enough to be shipped, the code should be good enough to be released. In this case, I think it's more an issue about how Google is managing expectations with the system.

I think it would have made more sense to release a one-off Android branch for the Xoom. In addition, I would have:

1. Made it clear that this code release is a targeted device code release, and will have major issues with other devices.

2. Released a somewhat detailed timeline for when the stable, generalized 3.0 code is expected to be done.

The first keeps the homebrew community happy, because they have something they can hack with on the Xoom. It might boost sales marginally, too.

The second keeps the tablet manufacturers happy, because they now have a timeline for when Google is going to get a generalized tablet OS out the door.
In my experience, the problem you describe is non-existent. I don't see manufacturers trying hard to get the latest and greatest onto their devices; what I see is consumers having to complain long and loud before manufacturers and carriers will upgrade to already-obsolete versions. As an owner of a device still running 2.1, I would be happy if we had this problem you're concerned about.
If a popular site uses captcha and you can make it work without, sounds like an opportunity.
Social games not really social
I have a few domains I would like to sell. Would you give me a quick valuation range like you just did with those?
F-35 Jets Have Back-Door Software
Actually he was referring to http://xkcd.com/810/
What if the author in your example and his friends shipped the unavailable code as a consumer product and called it Android Smart Tablet?

They've been making a lot of noise for years about Android the open source software stack for mobile devices. Now they
're releasing mobile devices, calling it Android, basing it on Android, and keeping the source to themselves; Weak.
The Art of the Business Narrative
> You don't want to start a startup.

I'd like to add "enough" to the end of this option: You don't want to start a startup enough. That's because starting one is just one of your many options--perhaps your current job is paying you a very comfortable salary. You have to compare starting a startup to your best alternative (opportunity cost), and see if you want it enough to justify giving up that alternative.
Google Delays Distribution of New Android Source Code to Outside Programmers
Many automated form fillers for normal people, such as LastPass or even FireFox's form fillers will fill out the submission forms and submit them quickly as well. Perhaps not as quickly as an automated script, but worth looking out for.
I've been in the android market for a year and have done over $100k in sales of my games, and you hit the nail on the head. Create lots of games, and not just for the money. You have to be having fun while creating or it becomes a miserable job. I'm falling into that rut myself, and because I've spent so much time working on my flagship game, I've gotten behind. Competition of that game has increased, sales have slowed down, and I'm scrambling a little now to get my other games polished and selling at a higher rate.

All the while, I'm sick that I'm not loving what I'm doing anymore as I chase the dollar. I think it's time for me to reboot and spend my time on a game I've always wanted to play and make. If I love doing this again, my success will sustain itself.
A College Degree Is Still Worth It
When do you think Facebook will enter search?
Hellobar hits downtime for logged users
Twitter co-founder Dorsey: Instrument everything
Explainer: What "Android on the BlackBerry PlayBook" really means
Warning on Honeypots-- some mobile devices like Blackberry seem to trigger them on our service.
Dead Heat: Groupon Down Another 32% in March, LivingSocial Ties It Up
Looks like two seasons a year, spring and fall.
Yes. Eventually is not now. Right now, Honeycomb is a closed source OS. Allowing politicians to live in the eventually (so they can keep their pet issue alive to get re-elected and not solved) has done us no good. Allowing companies to pull the same trick is not acceptable either. Open should not be a marketing term.

As mellis said http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2369108 they shipped product so the source should be good enough to ship also.
Or to quote a crazy English band,
'All you touch and all you see,
is all your life will ever be.'
I've been looking for a place to print my editor notes. This is perfect, thanks.
Yep, that's a great idea. In fact, I had blogged about one in the past. Here it is: http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/split-testing-blog/left-vs...
There's no single way to block spam. I just showed two of the most basic methods I used. There are lots more that can be setup if spam starts to become a problem without resorting to captchas.
For iOS you have to provision the device and then sign the app as part of the build process. For the Playbook, you only sign the app so there are fewer things to go wrong. The tools run from the command line, but work well if you follow the instructions. My biggest complaint is that it can be tough to find documentation when you do have an error.
Really can't argue with the Oracle that there that the majority of these are over-valued. In a sense that just means they are priced for success though we know many will fail or be limited niche businesses.

The key statement though as it relates to a specific company is: “Some will be huge winners, which will make up for the rest.”
OpenBSD does not sign patches. They do not release binary patches to base, only source, and they are not signed. Go to misc and ask them to sign patches. They'll flame you forever and suggest if you want to be sure the source is from them to buy one of their CDs.
Saw the movie last night after the recommendations on this thread.

What stood out the most for me is how Warren Buffett disowned his grand daughter, Nicole Buffett, for taking a part in the movie.

Here is an exert from the article[1]:

"Buffett said she received a letter -- in response to one she sent asking her grandfather to explain why he disowned her -- in which he told her she had "never been considered a real family member, that I have not been legally or emotionally adopted" by him. Nicole Buffett reads from the part of the letter in the documentary."

[1] http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/02/21/us-wealth-buffett-...
so who is using this
4chan's Fight to Remain Anonymous
Thanks. Really helpful suggestions.
The idea Google is waiting to have polished this release to open it so device creators don't ship it is flawed.

If such were their concern they would revoke the use of the Android trademark and manufacturers could have to call it by a different name avoiding the issue.
1. UK != England and Wales. (Scottish law is radically different -- based on defamation rather than libel/slander -- and oddly enough, Scotland isn't a libel shopping destination.)

2. The English libel law (which is what's up for reform this year) was pushed through in the 18th century as an alternative to the dueling field for blue-bloods with swords to defend their honour. It succeeded admirably in reducing the death rate, but the challenge/defense model implicit in a mediated replacement for dueling between peers doesn't transfer well to a situation where we have corporations using it as a vehicle for SLAPPs.

I'd really like to see, as a principle of law, the axiom that corporations do not have a personal reputation that can be impugned-- that reputation only applies to living human beings. As an example of why, consider the McLibel Case: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/McLibel
Could you get similar types of valuations for non .com domains? For example .me?
http://listening-tests.hydrogenaudio.org/igorc/Public%20Mult...

you can get all_samples.zip from http://listening-tests.hydrogenaudio.org/igorc/all_samples.z...
I agree. I wrote a book for O'Reilly and it has sold well, but I know that there are people out there with pirate copies of the eBook (perhaps there are lots), and although I'm happy to receive money from people two factors play together: I make hardly anything from the book (author royalties are small and compared to the effort, 6 months full time work, insignificant) and I'm much happier when someone reads it and likes the book then when I receive money for the book.

Initially, I was freaked out by all these copies on file sharing sites. Now, I just ignore it.
Observation is available to anyone at any age. A person who is outside of the tech bubble may also look at the market from a psychological point of view rather than a pragmatic one.
Congratulations on your success! And good luck with the reboot.
But that is your phone that is closed, not the OS.

I don't like what the carriers and manufacturers tend to do with Android and I wish it would change. In the meantime I'll stick with my Nexus One.
I see. I guess most people are using HN differently than me. I'm mostly interested in the articles themselves and I often come across items that have no upvotes and no comments but are totally what I want to read. I'm only interested in comments if the article itself has caught my eye. So the total number of comments and the group curating of the front page doesn't do much for me.
Show HN: idle.fm - Spotify playlists based on your Facebook profile
idle.fm is an app that looks at the music you have "liked" on Facebook, then builds a playlist on Spotify based on recommendations.

I built it in the few hours I have free during the last couple of weeks. There's still a few rough edges (it's quite slow at the mo) but I thought I'd show you guys. It should work on iphones, although there aren't tailored views yet.

Do you think it's worth me continuing development? Suggestions, problems?

Disclaimer: it posts to your profile when you create a playlist.

http://idle.fm
If you run 100 different A/B tests and only 1 of them produces good results, you are only going to publish about that one good result and not the 99 other unsuccessful results.

You'd better be sure those "1 in a 100" results had a confidence level well above 99%. I think misunderstandings of statistical analysis play a large part in the mistrust some people (mistakenly) have in A/B testing. If you get your analysis wrong, you'll slowly realise that the promised gains of the test turn out to be lies, hence the comparison to snake oil.
Fiduciary duty obliges the agents (CEO, board) to act in the best interest of the investors. This is a legal obligation.

But recently there have been some ideas about redefining fiduciary duty:

http://www.lawforchange.org/lfc/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID...
Clicky: http://idle.fm
That's not completely anonymous. Building up a reputation around a pseudonym increases the likelihood of something unmasking you.
These are the same reasons that Apple gave for not allowing flash, undocumented API calls ... etc. For some reason Google gets a pass from many while Apple was pilloried.
Sure there's a way this could somehow bone you in the future-- if one of those "friends" you loan the copy to decides to put it online for everyone to grab, everyone thinks you seeded it, and suddenly, you're a jerk.
Took a look at Linode since it seems to be so highly recommended.

Looks like it will be a significant learning curve since I will need to install everything myself (LAMP stack, svn, etc). Is there any way to do a 1 click installation?

Thanks again for the help.
Excellent point. It's worth noting that there are a substantial group of people who say they want to do something but never find the time. Writer John Scalzi has an excellent response to that: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/09/16/writing-find-the-time-...
SearchForce, ClickEquations, AdGrok (YC company) all have good solutions. There are other similar providers as well...
Excellent book, however the Yale site is only referring to a specific version, this very good book is anything but out of print:

(Non-aff link): http://www.amazon.com/The-Illusions-of-Entrepreneurship-eboo...

I particularly like the sections why people start their businesses (usually because they can't/don't like to work well with people above them), and what age most people are when they start them (in their 40s) and succeed.
When I first saw the honeycomb demo I thought to myself
"How are they gonna fit that ui on a phone?"

I guess the answer is they aren't.
A Nation of Dropouts Shakes Europe
I stand corrected. KHTML is LGPL not GPL.
Ya, I can't reveal numbers, but they're blowing up.
In other news: How to become just a developer
We only publish results that are statistically significant (albeit with 95%+ confidence)
Yes, obviously. There is no language that does not have a grammar. It's a requirement of all languages.

The point is, lisps have sometimes been referred to as "syntaxless" historically, for the reason that the grammar is that of the AST, not an arbitrarily designed grammar.

Ie. machine's grammar vs language designer's grammar.

You are right in saying it is not entirely correct to refer to them as syntaxless from a purely technical, linguistic point of view. But by throwing out his point as "technically incorrect", you are missing an important point about lisps.

Also, mentioning tokens that are used in Common Lisp doesn't quite compare to the verbose, heavily syntactical grammar of say, C++. Let me know the next time your lisp implementation throws you something called a "syntax error". You can't even get code to compile when you miss a parenthesis, which takes about three seconds to locate, tops.
Tests with widely used apps (such as the apps that ship with OS X) would be very useful.

Other than that minor nitpick, an interesting article :)
>As you age, you naturally accumulate things that will make >it harder for you to start your startup: a spouse, kids, >aging parents who need care, an expensive lifestyle, a >career, respectability.

I have to say I completely agree with this. I'm only 31 and finding it hard to take on much risk given the fact that my family relies on my income very heavily. This leaves me trying to spend time in the evenings and weekends to work a B2B SaaS product idea that I have. I've thought about paying another developer to write it, but it's an app that's targeted towards the IT Services/Managed Services industry and writing it requires some background knowledge of that industry.
It's more about capturing that balanced, professional, editorial tone than about the words themselves.
users will associate that crappiness with the Android trademark

That's a legitimate concern, but it could be fixed by not allowing people to use the Android trademark on hardware that Google deemed crappy.
Spammers make money off of volume. The more expensive it is to deploy each individual spam, the less money spammers make. Processing and running javascript, retrieving and inlining external CSS, and rendering HTML all take time. Writing custom bots also takes time.

I think the goal is to make spammers lose the arms race simply because the payoff has become too small. If we can do that without CAPTCHAs, so much the better.
This is a good method... especially if you look at it over the course of more than one page. If you have a multi-page signup funnel, you can watch the time it takes someone to get from the first form to the last.
I recently took advantage of the Borders bankruptcy to snag several o'reilly hard copies at 40% off. I've always loved having the hardcopies. Even with 2 big monitors there's always enough shit vying for screen real-estate.
Sorry, I live in Scotland but still get sloppy with UK / England.
When I feel I absolutely must post a snarky one liner, I try to add on an actual decent comment at the end of it. It gets the joke out there, but hopefully doesn't add to the noise.
I think the author misses the major argument, which is "I have to make rent". Most startups never get to the point of making a profit.

This is why now isn't generally a good time to start a company (unless you are able to raise substantial investment). Now is a great time to get a job at a funded startup, save money, learn skills, make friends - once the bubble pops you'd have the basic ingredients to start your own thing (and - possibly - without a job anyway, so have nothing to lose)
That kind of text will still confuse the majority of Web users. It's the kind of thing my mom or wife would show to me and say, "So am I supposed to put my state in? Why do they have it there if I'm not supposed to fill it in?"
I've been using a modified version (50 minutes work, 10 minute break) for about 3 years now. It's invaluable and I don't even use a timer anymore. I don't even stay at my desk for the 10 minutes, I go chat, or step outside, or grab some coffee. I think just the act of getting up, away from the desk does more than being on a short deadline.
Anybody ever tried applying the Kelly Criterion to investing in a bubble? That is, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_criterion with the "fraction of bankroll" being the amount of your portfolio invested in the bubble? That way, you could rebalance regularly to avoid subjecting an undue amount of your retirement fund to the riskiest parts of the market, but still reap some of the benefits.