skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I'm not the one to talk, because you've built at least one more small online business than I have...

But it could be that it's time to build something else. You've built your product. You've tested the market, and it's not there. You've got a pretty good theory as to why: You're up against sites like Flickr and Apple's MobileMe and SmugMug and Facebook.

You have the data; now you have to let them speak to you.

Build a completely different product. You'll be a lot more efficient on your second try. You've obviously learned a lot already.

Or (if you insist) build a product built on the same engine but with a completely different marketing plan. The generic photo-sharing space is tough. Specialize more. Build (e.g.) a site for deer hunters ("IShotThat.com"), or baseball fans ("ViewFromTheBleachers.com"), or model railroaders ("TiedToTheTrack.com"), or quilters, or something.
Uh, oh. "Affiliate marketing." I think we have our answer.
Jsonpickle (early beta) serializes python objects to JSON
California judge rules early cell phone termination fees illegal
Could have done with a few fewer "but this guy was a friggin VP of a $100 million company!!!" moments, but still a good story.

I don't think anyone would recommend blind trust right off the bat. Of course you need to trust your employees, but only after they've earnt it in a probationary period of increasing responsibility and freedom.
Pets.com pulled its Sock out of the pack, created an enduring brand and achieved over revenue of $46M in just nine months in 2000.

Amazing.
Cuil Becomes Third Largest Search Engine (for a day)
.. and now we've got an example to remember.
Ask YC: Best Wordpress Plugins
For anything from performance to media to mobile to monetization. List em.
The Secret Curse of Expert Archers
Giles Coren's letter to Times subs
Ok, it's a wee bit off-topic. But it's a letter about passion for one's work and attention to detail. This is the kind of thing that makes Apple's products so gorgeous--there are programmers and graphic designers and hardware engineers screaming profanity when one damn pixel of their work is altered by someone who has no idea how important a single letter "a" might be.
This is based on CA state law, and (from the Mercury-News link in the post):

Whether Sabraw's ruling will stand isn't clear. Experts say an appeal is likely, and the Federal Communications Commission is considering imposing a rule - backed by the wireless industry - which might decree that only federal authorities can regulate early termination fees.

3e-3 cheers for the FCC. Sigh.
So does this mean it's time to buy a Sprint phone (or even iPhone, if the ruling applies to all carriers) in California on a long-term contract and then break it immediately? Before they change policies?
The fact that the cellular industry still has ETF policies and hardware lock-in is really sad. I mean, imagine if you had to buy your computer from your internet provider, and then it only worked with that provider. Switching from Comcast to Verizon would mean buying a new computer, and agreeing to some two year contract.

The fact that the iphone would cost $399 instead of $199 is not a valid argument in favor of the ETF lock-in. I'd rather actually own my hardware, instead of what basically amounts to leasing the hardware with a modest down-payment and a hefty penalty if you try and switch carriers or end service.

Just like with cars, some people may find it more advantageous to lease their hardware. Good for them, let them lease and make an ETF part of the agreement... but give us an option to 'buy the car' (or iphone).
...don't plan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_climbing
Tap Tap Revenge Approaches 1 Million Users, Music Industry Takes Notice
What do you mean by 'custom'?
Have you looked at the open Alexa, Yahoo BOSS, or other search engines that allow you to interact with them programatically?
What you say makes a certain kind of sense if you think of REST as a protocol. But REST is not a protocol.

There seem to be quite a few people these days who think that REST means nothing more than "uniform interface" and/or "resources". But that's only part of the picture.

http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/rest_arch...

"REST is defined by four interface constraints: identification of resources; manipulation of resources through representations; self-descriptive messages; and, hypermedia as the engine of application state."

P.S. I'm not sure why you think batch operations are missing from REST. GET/PUT/POST/DELETE can apply just as well to collections as to individual resources.
he is asking for a (hopefully positive) evaluation by early adopters, so that they may use the site and eventually recommend it to some late adopters outside his immediate family.
basics:

askimet, wp super cache (or any caching plugin), all in one SEO pack, google sitemaps, wordpress thread comment, wordpress database backup, cforms2, ultimate tag warrior, exec-php, adsense deluxe

specialized stuff thats good but only if you need it:

feedburner feedsmith, democracy ajax poll, easytube, flickrrss, social bookmark links (or some other similar one)

my $0.02
Ask YC: Legal Inquiry Regarding Client Issue
One of the designers on my team had a freelance project that he took on. We're pretty open about letting the guys work on their own stuff. Fridays are free days, and they're welcome to use whatever resources we have with the exception of storage and networked devices for their client projects. We also keep them on a confidentiality lease, they can't talk about internal stuff of our particular company.

Anyway, apparently my boy (Jim) was on a subcontract with this client (Bob). From what Jim told me, he asked repeatedly for certain resources from Bob to produce the site, which he never got (webhost info, etc) to effectively produce the site, so when the month was up the client emailed him asking for their initial deposit back, and are threatening legal action if they don't get it. There's no clause in the contract regarding breaches of contract, so our boy should be fine on that front.

This is where it gets interesting, Jim wants to counter-sue for loss of time and energy spent producing the site. He also watns to counter-sue for lost wages, as he completed the site weeks ahead of schedule, and simply could not deliver it because the client did not give him hosting details.

Does he have a case?
IPhone Developers Get Push Notification API
'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution
FWIW it's in our model...
It is amazing how the crowd thinks in waves good or bad, everybody kills for an ipod, everybody hates or loves the same things, we belive more in general opinion than in our own opinions.
I agree with you, that is a very shoddy piece of journalism. The LEDs are almost certainly less efficient than the sodium lamps they replace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy#Examples_2

Prototype LEDs are reaching 130 lumens/watt, low pressure sodium regularly get 150 lumens/watt in production. The efficiency of the LEDs used is probably around 80-90 lumens/watt.

The money saving is probably coming from the lower maintenance costs whilst there is an increase in energy use.
Nice and clean, but the omnipresent dollar signs might put off a lot of people. I'd suggest deemphasizing those a bit and adding some content to interest people who are still thinking about what to spend their money on. Tease them in the door, and don't greet them with a cash register as soon as they come in.
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Opens Up to the Masses
Based on an article by Gladwell (http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_08_21_a_choking.htm), this is closer to choking rather than panicking.

Choking occurs when an ingrained/unconscious skill is interrupted by conscious thought, like a professional athlete who chokes in the big moment. Panicking occurs when conscious thought is interrupted by the unconscious, like a pilot who can't respond to a correctable airplain failure.
cool... how do you make money if everyone is doing a 1-1 swap???
This business owner unfortunately had that coming to him. The rule is trust your employee's not trust your interviewee.
That must be where they got the colour scheme from.
Twine.com is cool, I've been using it alongside del.icio.us for the last few months
You already have that option with pretty much every phone except the iPhone. Every carrier will let you buy the hardware at an "unsubsidized" rate, and then get a contract with a higher monthly price, but no lock in. It's just that no one does it, because it is so much more costly.
NASA Found Water on Mars
Er, if you buy an unsubsidized phone you should get a lower-priced, non-contract plan. But you probably don't, which I guess is the point.
Bill Gasper... said: "Don't forget a data structure is merely a stupid programming language, and its point is that a data structure in effect, when given to the program that processes it, is guiding a computation and in effect constitutes a dumb little language that turns a specific application into a more specific one".
I don't think the government should be in the business of invalidating contracts that violate no one's rights. Those that don't like the terms don't have to get cell phones - I don't have one for just that reason.

Just because I don't like someone else's terms does not give me the right to bring the government in to give me a "better deal". The moral principle (not the business situation) does not change even if there are hundreds of millions of people that feel the same way.

Would you like it if one of your customers or acquirers agreed to do something in writing and then came back a year later to sue you for better terms? The fact that the cell phone companies are bigger and more established does not invalidate this principle.

If you want quality and value straightforward dealings as highly as I do, be principled and don't buy things you don't like. Try to to change the culture by reason rather than through the coercive force of the government; do it this way, and what you fight for will last far longer than some bullshit court ruling.
$199 instead of $399 might be a valid argument, if you were poor and just wanted a phone to talk to people and didn't care about lock-in.
The Art of Visual Thinking
ooh, i get it! as soon as you said "qwili", the names started to make sense. "Query for HOme & GArden", qwili = "Query for WIne & LIquor"... now that i check, the About section actually explains this. but it's buried. if you want a weird name like that to stick, at least use that mnemonic as the tagline! make it more visible!
http://www.microsoft.com/business/startups/default.aspx might not be exactly the same thing, but its not like MS is sitting on the sidelines when it comes to startups.
It’s 2018: Who Owns the Cloud?
The class is using /tmp for PID files. This will break your service on power outages or kernel crashes, as when your service is starting they won't be able to tell they weren't properly stopped, as all files in /tmp are cleared on reboot.

/var/tmp is the appropriate location for PID files.
The Trolls Among Us
I actually really like it. The design is cool and adds a lot of new UI features without over doing it or moving away from the simple and clean interface that made is so popular.
I really respect the painfully honest admissions from the author. It's hard writing about your worst mistakes and being totally forthcoming. Props for that.
Ask HN: The Quest for Webapp Publicity - Now What?
Hey,

I launched Streetread.com ( http://www.streetread.com ) about a month ago. Thanks again to all of you who provided great feedback after the launch (I added a handful of features and fixed things mentioned). Streetread is an innovative, free webapp for Wall Street investors. It aggregators the headlines for all of the stocks you follow plus over 20 of the leading financial websites, in a nice, ajax-powered interface. Checking quotes and news is extremely easy - much quicker than the regular Google & Yahoo finance, etc.

Anyway, in the never-ending quest for good publicity and user growth, I'm having some problems. I've gotten about 7-10 great write ups that really helped the exposure (Lifehacker, Webware). The problem is, I've pitched to hundreds of sites, writers, bloggers, etc, and it seems I can't get much of a response anywhere. It also seems that even sites interested in doing write ups aren't going to be interested in a month old website. I'm running out of publicity ideas and people to pitch to. It's definitely not the type of site you run advertisements for. I truly feel that 9 out of 10 'hobby investors' seeing the site would be very interested. I see sites getting 5 figure registrations within days of launching and just wonder how.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
Obviously you need to talk to a real lawyer. We, the random folks in the audience, can't tell who has what case unless we know what the contract says. It could say anything. And it could say different things to a lawyer than it does to you.

If you signed a fixed-price contract, I can't see how you're going to be able to collect more than the total price of the contract, nor can I see how "lost wages/loss of time" comes into it. You're paid based on deliverables. If the site is literally finished except that the client refuses to accept delivery, it's probably fair to bill the client for 100% of the agreed amount, and to sue if they won't pay; otherwise, it's quite likely that the contract says that you're entitled only to the deposit. This is the scenario that deposits are designed for.

Again, though, IANAL and I haven't read your contract.

The moral here is: Work only so long as your client has a pulse. Ping the client regularly, and if you ping the client and nothing comes back... stop working and start sending out reminders/dire warnings instead ("if you do not send X I cannot do any more work") until the client responds.

Contracting is risky work. That's why fixed-price contracts need to be marked up significantly.
The article gives you the option of seeing it all in one page, right next to the links to other pages.
Why the 'Mojave Experiment' fails
That's pretty awesome, really.

I wonder if they sizzled away the first extra-terrestrial life form(s) confirming it was water? =) (No, I don't believe this to be possible, but it would make an interesting historical footnote.)
Not using existing JS frameworks is a terribly stupid idea. Unless of course you're building your own framework and are willing to test it across all browsers, etc to make sure it all actually works.

I have used jQuery, Dojo and Prototype/Scriptaculous in several projects and there is just no way in hell I am going to duplicate all the programming effort that went into getting all the API functions working in every browser.

Never mind the documentation efforts, module system (hello Dojo!), the built-in compression tools, etc.

For a page that just needs one or two JS routines I'll code it up myself, but for more complex requirements I'll take a framework any day of the week.

Do you really want to figure out why your "setOpacity" function isn't working on Safari Mobile?
It depends on the situation.

I don't see Hacker News as a formalized discussion area. People congratulating each other and joking with each other tend to be observable in several places. This is a place for smart discussion, yes, but not necessarily formal discussion.

Given that, then yes. I would absolutely say a line like that, expecting people listening in to understand that it's a piece of hyperbole rather than an actual belief. The fact that I then responded rationally when the OP replied should show that, in fact, I don't hold him in any sort of contempt. And, if I was in a setting with reasonably bright people having a conversation, I would use the phrase "stupid, ignorant fuck." The language alone should have made it obvious that I was being hyperbolic to attempt a point of debate.

I guess that's not how you see it, though, so I'll avoid any sort of dialect like that in the future.
If I did, I most certainly would, it's an interesting discussion, but I don't so I can't. I used to be all hardcore libertarian like that, but as I get older I lighten up and see that it's a bit too idealistic and leads to anarchy which doesn't really work well in practice.

Pure libertarianism focuses too much on individual rights without acknowledging the reality that we aren't born into such a world, we're social animals and we're born into large societies that we're forced to conform to which in may ways benefits us all, but hurts us as well.

No one gets rich or wealthy alone, they get it from society and that can't be a one way street. Those people who have money to spend on roads only have it because of society, like it or not, the owe society something back for that.

Libertarians believe government doesn't work so the less there is the better, and this is mostly correct; big government doesn't work and can't because there is no one set of rules that all people will ever agree too, but local government, say city level, must work because the only alternative is lawlessness. That being the case, ridding ourselves of federal influence would allow us to segregate into like minded communities where rules can be established that all agree to. Some cities might want prayer in school, others might not, some want everyone to carry a gone while others want to outlaw guns, and that's as it should be, live and let live by recognizing that 300 million people won't ever agree so don't force them to.

The flaw in our society is not government, it's how big and non local we've let it become.
Wow, I just looked at his comment history, and you're right. The guy is a bloody moron and is self contradictory more than once.

wrigley: "I think when the net goes to the IPv6 there will be many more domain options"

There's nothing wrong with not knowing what IPv6 is, it's relatively domain specific knowledge. I know next to nothing about organic chemistry functional groups - but I don't go spouting bullshit in organic chemistry forums.
A similar story in sports is that of Rick Ankiel. He was a top pitcher in 2000 but he experienced some kind of panic in a playoff game that prevented him from throwing the ball over the plate. His story ended in success as he quit pitching and went on to become the great hitter and position player that he is now. It's really an interesting story: http://awurl.com/xqsndl148973
Google Exploring Venture Capital Arm
Unless it is illegal...
Sweet I heard the app was built on Symfony that snazzy PHP framework that Yahoo! uses for it's projects.
I didn't know there were elite archers. What year is this again?
The software that implements that probabilistic approach was intentionally written by programmers, and may well be very complex.

The analogy would be that your individual neurons don't really understand this text, but you do. The organization of those neurons is where most of the complexity lies.

So, unless you have lots of neurons, lots of time, and lots of room to terminate mistakes, chances are you can't build a brain that understands this text without first knowing how to connect all those neurons.
That was the core of the problem though: Having framed the guy as an experienced VP clouded all following judgment and kept the author from giving him the boot.
Sure it says a lot about how I think about it, I think people weren't meant push around artificial weights for hours on end boring themselves to death, it's not what our muscles are for. They're for walking and running and hunting and other physical activities that actually have a point beyond recursively working out to have muscles to work out with. Staying in shape should be a means, not and end.

It's cool that you've figured out how to enjoy it, but to most of society, it's an utterly boring mind numbing repetitious activity; that it has health benefits makes it no less so.

If your body was just naturally in great shape and required no exercise to stay so, you're telling me you'd still go to the gym and pump weights? For what possible reason?
k.no.lr
its not just electricity. decentralization is going to be the major hurdle of the 21st century. we may even get to the point of one world government before we realize how stupid and inefficient it is.
The incompetence of this kind of character seems obvious in retrospect but I've found if you've only ever worked with competent people it's dangerously easy to miss these guys.

I worked with someone similar a decade ago. I found myself thinking "This guy seems completely clueless but management likes him (and they're smart guys!). He MUST have a great track record -- how else would he have gotten this job? I guess I just don't know sales..."

Management's idea was "He costs us just a tiny bit in salary and if only one of his big ideas takes off we'll be rich!". Of course, none of Clueless Sales Guy's 'big ideas' went anywhere and correcting his constant PR errors drained resources from those of us who had at least half a clue.

Sometimes you can correctly judge people at first handshake, but I've found myself over-estimating the competence of far too many people based upon the context I've met them in.
i am not a legal professional.

but it sounds to me like the same reason that your client is not entitled to the refund is the same reason why your boy Jim isn't entitled to sue for lost time and wages.

lesson learned. next time, make sure to state that the down payment is considered a retainer for services provided and is non-refundable. tell jim that he's learned a hard lesson and next time to document his contact with clients and to halt work and inform them that they're delaying timelines if they don't have a pulse. include client delay provisions in the contract.
I truly feel that 9 out of 10 'hobby investors' seeing the site would be very interested.

The problem may be that every "hobby investor" is using some site already. There are communities on those other sites, some of them very old indeed, and those communities may be pretty sticky.

Generic advice:

Stop talking to bloggers, sites, writers. Those people are useless by themselves, as you have now discovered. PR can bring people in, but it can't make them stick.

Talk to some hobby investors. Find some online forum full of them and beg some of them to come and give you some feedback.

What site all those folks using now? What do they hate about that site, and can you fix it on yours?

I was going to suggest that you build something that would draw people in, like a fantasy-trading game... but a quick Google convinces me that the market for that particular idea may be totally saturated.
I count myself as one of the almost million users. This is a great app that is actually interesting to me (compared to guitar hero, et. all).

I'm really interested in seeing what ways free iPhone app developers will generate revenue. Tapulous certainly has a few options for this.
Cloud Computing TestBed initiative from Yahoo, Intel, and HP
HN beer in London August 8?
two lisp hackers and a designer (from USA and Poland) in the early stages of a startup (a social shopping site centered around a certain type of women's apparel) will be in London to meet with some potential (we hope) investors/affiliates from Aug 7-14

Unfortunately we will miss the HN meetups before and after it. I suggested an "elevator pitch" event where people could practice their elevator pitches on the 8th to the HN meetup.com group but got no response from the admin. So if anyone wants to get a beer on this night or is interested in some other type of meetup please give us a post :-)

ps, there's a lisp pub crawl starting at the Green Man on saturday:

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/browse_thread/thread/d471ec9d6683b3fd#

cheers

Nick
Yeah...I agree. However, I'd prefer more competition between oligopolistic telcos.
Ask YC: How do you network with people?
DNS Exploit Exposes Core Internet Challenge