skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I once spent some time thinking about a way to help restaurant entrepreneurs (and make some money off of them). I didn't think of the analogy to YCombinator, but it is kind of the same idea. Here's my idea.

You build a restaurant, with a special kitchen. The kitchen is split into 4 or so separate work area, each fully equipped and with room for a chef and his assistants to work. There is one shared pantry and shared big walk in refrigerator. Each of the separate work areas has its own smaller pantry and fridge.

Each of the separate work areas is run by a separate chef, who leases the spot from you. There is a single menu, with a section for each chef's dishes, and the menu makes sure to prominently name the chefs.

You handle front of house. You also handle the wine, and maybe you also run a bar. You also keep the shared pantry and fridge stocked with all the ingredients that should be found in any fine restaurant's kitchen. (The individual chefs deal with stocking any speciality ingredients they need). Decor, advertising, and basically everything else other than composing the menu and cooking the food is handled by you.

The chefs set the prices in their section of the menu. You handle all the money, calculating each chef's share and paying them. You deal with the accounting, taxes, and all that.

The idea here is that a young, talented chef who doesn't yet have the resources to go out and open a restaurant can lease a spot in your food incubator, where all he has to worry about is covering 1/4th of a menu with fine food and building up a following. When he's well known and people are coming in just to eat his food, he can go off and start his own restaurant (perhaps with an investment from you--you've had a chance to see how he is as a chef, and to see at least some of his management skills by watching him manage his assistants).

Note also that this is a good place for the diners. When you are going out with someone, and you want Italian and they want Mexican, why argue about it? Go to the food incubator and one of you can order from the Italian chef's part of the menu and one from the Mexican chef's part of the menu. Think of it as essentially the fine dining or gourmet equivalent of the food court.

The beauty of this is that there are ALWAYS going to be young chefs who want to get out from being an anonymous sous chef at someone else's restaurant and move up to their own place, and so there should always be chefs eager to lease a spot at your food incubator to get that started. If they succeed, great! If they fail, there's someone else to take their place--and since you are making your money out of leasing space to them, you make money in either case. (On top of what you are getting for the wine and bar).
I think Neal Stephenson is actually part of the Long Now. Looks like they lifted something right from Anathem.
I followed the same path of Unfuddle to FB. I found Unfuddle to be an uninspired clone of Trac, however, which is exactly why I chose it -- I had used Trac and wanted a hosted version of that.
We copy no one

That is good as long as not copying folks is also the best business decision. You get no extra credit in your bank balance for not copying. On the other hand, lots of companies have done very well copying some basic idea from someone else and adding their own magic to it.
The customers you start off with are usually not the customers you end with. People grow, products grow.
Really? Someone is down voting this?

sadface
New Dating API could become the Facebook Open Graph of love
What if your passphrase to your truecrypt container (let's say it contains, for the purpose of this thought experiment, child pornography) is the true statement: "I am [for this thought experiment] a child pornography collector."

Wouldn't it be a violation of the 5th amendment to be compelled to provide that passphrase, because it is an admission against interest and therefore would be admissible if you disclosed it? Wouldn't it also serve to waive 5th amendment privilege, and possibly put you at risk of being forced to take the stand?

If it were an admission of a different crime, a court could grant you immunity on those unrelated charges, but if it is relevant to the crime the government is investigating by asking you to reveal your passphrase... how can anyone, luddite judge or not, separate "key" from "testimony" in that circumstance?
Listening Together: The Other Side of Social Music
I'm just glad somebody said something about their prices ... they're ridiculous now.
Wifi network visualization
Police ticket supporters of Emily Good for parking 1/2" too far from the curb
> "explore = copying yelp"

Oh come on, that's just disingenuous. That's like saying Netflix's recommendation system is ripping off IMDb - they're completely dissimilar features.

One seeks to use reviews to generate a one-size-fits-all rating. All users get the same "recommendations" based on this data.

The other seeks to match you with other user behavior in order to create personalized recommendations. I can't speak to how well Explore works (haven't used it much), but just conceptually it's completely different.
I wonder how many of us are now scrambling to dig up a copy of our stock option agreement. This sets a terrible precedent. In case you didn't get it yet:

READ YOUR LEGAL DOCS (sock options, IP, etc) and negotiate sketchy terms before you sign them!
Local advertising is a market worth many many many billions of dollars. In the future foursquare will provide more and better ways for local merchants to acquire new customers and treat their already loyal customers better. We'll charge for some of this. We think it will be a profitable endeavor.
I liked unfuddle and assumed they would add features, however after 1 year of usage it was clear that they were not big fan of features and didn't add anything useful (at least anything useful for us). Which always amazes me, how a startup can spend a year without adding any good features or just add 1-2 minor features and try to get away with it...
Sweden (and by extension probably all of Scandinavia) doesn't do punitive or exemplary damages.
لحظة الحقيقة الحلقة 11-تحميل لحظة الحقيقة الحلقة 11  
لحظة الحقيقة الحلقة 11-تحميل لحظة الحقيقة الحلقة 11
But I dislike that this economic model is advocating "addictive" game designs (and the addiction sooner or later is just becoming grinding). An MMORPG or online shooter is never finished, it is aiming for renewing the subscription every months.

I myself am more an old-school gamer and find it satisfying to play a game from intro to outro.
Interested in additional clients?

// I have to ask here, as you have no contact info in profile. Reach me at my last name on Google's webmail service.
Clickable: http://www.livebite.com/

----------

To be honest, I kept expecting it do something else. Once I came to grips with what is was--a collection of popular news links in a visually-pleasing and easily-navigable form--I was quite happy with it. No, it doesn't have comments--it's not HN or reddit. No, it doesn't have accounts--that would be effing worthless in its current state.

So here are a few minor suggestions:

* Make it so that clicking on--for example--the washingpost.com link will instead go to a LiveBite page containing only stories from the Washington Post. (This is very similar to what reddit does.)

* It'd be nice to have an option to see more than six stories at once. If you do that, it'd also be nice to have an option for a "condensed" view--with smaller or non-existent pictures, different layout, etc.

* The [Like] button seems a little funny where it is, but I can't think of a better pl--that's not true, I'd prefer it at the bottom. Um, I can't think of a better place with respect to actually getting people to click it, so I guess it's fine where it is. Some might say it fills in the space nicely, I'd say that I'd prefer a more minimalist look (and that the background is exciting enough as it is).

More major ideas--take 'em or leave 'em:

* Accounts. These would enable:

* Bookmarking (aka "saving", in reddit-lingo)

* Customizing the sources scraped. The option to remove a few defaults would be nice. The option to add more sources would be fantastic.

* Persistence for the UI settings suggested above.

* The ability to tag some sources as being "must-read" (or whatever) and then keeping track of which stories are read/unread.

* Probably other things that I can't think of right now. And maybe users themselves will start requesting things.

As I said, these are more major ideas that I just came up with on the fly (I'm not even proofreading this...). Some may not be in line with what you want the site to be, some may be just plain awful. Do what you want :)
Imerj - a dual-screen Android handset with Frog Design
Imerj decided to try out an Android handset with 2 displays. The result is called simply a prototype 2-in-1 SmartPad and was built in collaboration with Frog Design.
They really should have referenced in the email, but Dropbox does already have a file-level timestamped activity log that you can access for your account anytime:

https://www.dropbox.com/events

EDIT: Oops, my bad: this log only tracks add, edit, move, delete. It doesn't show what files have been viewed/downloaded. Sorry for the noise.
I don't see how providing a passphrase is an admission of anything. You're not stating a fact, you're just providing the passphrase, which could be anything (true or false).
Actually, what I'd expect is that they wouldn't tell me they even have a problem; I'd expect them to take down my requested changes according to their backup plan. (They do have one, right?)

For instance, there might be a form upon which an agent can write down required customer changes, that is then filed so that the system can be brought up to date later when it's back online.

If an operator "can't update" something, it is the fault of the company for not having contingency plans. Suppose Firefox was upgraded without a hitch and passed all their tests, but then there was a power outage in the server room...why should the customer even care about the difference between these two? Often the same contingency plan applies to many different cases, it's just a matter of actually having an organization with this kind of advance preparation.
True however this doesn't appear to track "reads" (unless I'm overlooking something?).
A big fraction of local merchants offer some kind of loyalty program. Everything from a branded credit card at the high end to a punch card at the low end.

Right now, that stuff is done on an ad hoc basis. If Foursquare ends up owning that market, they're going to make a mint. And a) nobody else comes close to owning it, and b) Foursquare is a better implementation than most existing loyalty programs, especially for a new user.
Sounds like it'd be bitch to counterfeit, but I think this just throws in the gauntlet for those interested in the challenge. Interested in what the processes they used to build the different features mentioned, at scale.
HINT: It's not about teen sexting.
> I'm racking my brain to find the examples I've seen, but there do exist in the wild "plain English" versions of contracts that are not binding (and they specify that) but instead contain comprehensible summaries of the salient parts.

See http://bagcheck.com/terms

Like docco for legal contracts.
I wonder if number of registered accounts on facebook already exceeds Earth's population and is kinda absurd to use in any kind of statistics.
I'm interested enough to want to see what you can come up with. On a related note, outsourcing dunning would be nice.
I like Open Atrium (http://openatrium.com/) because of its modularity and beautiful deafult theme. It's based on Drupal, so if you were building Drupal websites before then you will find it very easy to customize.
RIP Google Health
I wonder what is costs to produce each one.
They may just be counting those who were actively exploited, and excluded the cases where the guy and his friend were checking a few accounts. Since they reported it, it would be fairly easy to isolate their activities from other accesses.
Truecrypt can have hidden volumes, the truecrypt file may be split into 1.5gb / 0.5gb. The truecrypt file reports 2GB, but different passwords mount different the different sized volumes, hence putting in the 512MB password will mount a 512MB volume of a 2GB file.
Odd video, but since we're on the topic...

After a trip to the US last year it was easy to see the US currency is awful. Coming from Aus where we have polymer banknotes, the paper was just terrible, and I wondered why they hadn't changed it yet.

And don't get me started on having $1 notes and 1c coins. Immediately found them (the coins at least) entirely pointless and just ignored them.
I'm the guy in the article. So, I got a letter from the Skype HR folks indicating that if I were to persist on the path of exercising my options, then they would:
(1) exercise their right to repurchase the shares at grant-price, leaving me with net zero gain;
(2) demand tax withholding on the shares, valued at fair market value (substantially higher than grant price, given that the MSFT deal had already been announced)

The sum effect of 1 and 2 being net-zero gain on the shares, minus a large chunk of cash out of pocket tied up in a tax withholding account.

Terrible.
Programmers vs. Zombies
Recently, I've been trying to learn Ruby on Rails via Rails for Zombies (www.railsforzombies.org), and it's gotten me wondering: what's the deal with Zombies? (Yes, I'm going to use a capital Z.)

Our monsters have always described our contemporary fears. I think these are the eight most revealing monsters through the ages:

1. Ancient Mesopotamia - Golem: fear of the implications of Origin stories

2. Dark Ages, Europe - Werewolf: fear of the dual nature of self

3. Victorian Era - Vampires: fear of blood/rabies/sexuality/nobility

4. Industrial Revolution - Frankenstein: fear of the implications of medical science

5. Pre-World War II - King Kong: fear of the undiscovered/uncharted/unconquered

6. Post-World War II - Godzilla: fear of the discovered/nuclear technology

7. Baby Boom - Robots: fear of rapid technological progress

8. Internet Revolution - Zombies: fear of the lack of technology

Somewhere between #7 and #8 we changed our minds about technology. We went from being afraid the future would move on without us, to being afraid that we'd lose everything we've built. And take a look at who creates the monster - it's not the guy tinkering with science anymore, it's usually some prideful oaf abusing the scientist. Also note whose skills become fearfully useless in the Zombie apocalypse - the programmer.

To me, Zombies teach us:

1. People love technology and fear it's demise.

2. Many people are programmers and would fear the demise of their usefulness.

3. Most people believe programmers and their skills are the future - if they become useless, the future becomes a scary question mark.

Programmers, you are the world's only hope against the coming Zombie apocalypse. Only you can keep the Machines running to defend us against the onslaught. Who better to defeat the brainless army lumbering toward us than the tastiest brains on earth? Some ways to help:

1. Consider designing missile software in your free time that could be used to prevent alien asteroids from reaching earth.

2. Do not let your hubris cause you to join LulzSec, hack secret biological weapons facilities, and release strange puffs of green smoke into the atmosphere. I'll be so pissed.

3. Given the possibility you will not heed #1 or #2, at least become a ninja so you stay alive long enough to engineer us back out of the coming nightmare.
Apple's been disclosing theirs for years -- required to by GAAP -- but the thing prevents people from noticing it.

These only appear when notice of them is helpful, say in court cases and such. Sort of like using an eclipse to see a star through a gravitational lens. And even then you can't remember the case, or its role in the reasoning, just that Apple was totally not at fault.
Just wait for what we are planning to release ;-)
He's done a few more too: https://twitter.com/#!/BarrettBrownLOL

Guise! TEENS ARE SEXTING! COULD YOUR TEEN BE INVOLVED IN THE SEXTING CRAZE? http://hbgary.anonleaks.ch/aaron_hbgary_com/8403.html

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH TEEN SEXTING? WE'LL ASK OUR SEXTING EXPERTS: http://pastebin.com/pRhruKLG

OH MY GOD LOOK AT THE TEENS THEY'RE SEXTING AS WE SPEAK http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/...
Step 1: Base your entire business model on the latest buzzing platform (Facebook)
Step 2: ????
Step 3: Profit!!!
...
Step 4: Get banned, lose all your hard earned work.
That may be, but when the provider of said simple solution is simultaneously ratcheting up the price, people who are using the product will bleed over into other products.

It seems to me that the people who are attracted to the most basic set of features will also have the least amount of pain shifting to a new product while having the lowest price elasticity.
Two words: spam filters.
IOS 5 Beta 2 Available for developers
We started with GlusterFS, but got off it because we kept having significant downtime and data loss. We've since moved to MooseFS and haven't looked back... very happy with the choice.
via http://processing.org/exhibition/
The 5th amendment was written specifically for criminal proceedings. Why does the judge's request override his right to refuse being a witness against himself?
US paper currency is made up of 75% cotton and 25% linen.
Source: http://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncounts/cotton-currency.cfm
When considering product development it may help to focus on an early adopter group [1]. Use that to grow and add more features. Having a group of early adopters (happy test subject) is crucial.

"So, the minimum viable product is that product which has just those features (and no more) that allows you to ship a product that resonates with early adopters; some of whom will pay you money or give you feedback."[2]

While you could argue that some products appeal to certain segments (unexperienced users vs more experienced users), there still is no reason why you couldn't use that customer group and refine your existing product, create a secondary product (addition), or a new one entirely focused to that 'other' customer group. In this example, a new product focused to the more experienced user might be easier as that is exactly who you focus on for an early adopter group.

[1] Eric Ries "Harnessing the Power of Early Adopters"
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2291
[2] http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/03/minimum-viable-...
To charge someone for withholding evidence, wouldn't you have to show that they had the evidence? For example, in the case of a deleted file, you would have to show that they deleted the file after being charged. Else deleting any file ever would potentially be a crime. Now consider the case there that file is the encryption key.
That does not sound like a success story.
As far as I know it is the default state for many many people. The only clear exceptions I can think of is relativism. Even then, people tend to be relativists about particular subjects only (champions are politics and religion, where "respect" for the other's view is paramount, and plain telling them they are mistaken is often interpreted as offensive and intolerant).

The rest of the time, we just have a very hard time abandoning our beliefs. (I know It'd be hard for me to admit that functional programming is not superior to class based programming most of the time, even in the face of compelling evidence. I'd be likely to search for an escape hatch first.) It's truth that's important, but, probably because of the mind projection fallacy, we mistake our beliefs for truth, and therefore holds our current beliefs dear, which is rather silly when you think about it.

By the way, if being dropped in other bubbles compels you to find stronger arguments for your own, beware that those stronger arguments may actually be unjustified rationalizations. That would be a bad thing. Better change your mind in that case.

Fortunately you can train: http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/How_To_Actually_Change_Your_M...
Ask HN: Review my startup. Loqly -Be local anywhere
I request the YCombinator community to help us by taking a look at our app Loqly - http://bit.ly/e5u4jv and giving us feedback on UI and user experience.

Our Pitch:
Loqly allows you to Be local anywhere.
▸ Discover what is around you
▸ Ask the locals for recommendations
▸ See Foursquare tips, Yelp & Google reviews
▸ Navigate to an address using your fav GPS app
▸ Search anything (iPhone4, lawyers, dentists, schools). We are Google powered, we will find it for you.
> No lawyer would include a plain English version because if you do so you risk ambiguity.

On the contrary, lawyers exist who can draft "plain English" contracts without pointlessly impenetrable copypasta legalese.

We've found that at the end of the day, plain English contracts create fewer problems because both sides understand what's on the page and don't object to it later.

Granted, such lawyers are hard to find.

NOTE: In the UK, in unequal contracts (business vs individual, for example), plain English is a legal requirement[1]:

"According to the UTCCRs, a standard term must be expressed in plain and intelligible language. A term is open to challenge if it could put the consumer at a disadvantage because he or she is not clear about its meaning - even if its meaning could be worked out by a lawyer. If there is doubt as to what a term means, the meaning most favourable to the consumer will apply."

1. http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/legal/unfai...
I actually really like US currency. Most other currencies I've handled seem to be almost entirely paper, too large, occasionally different sizes... I really like uniformly sized bills that fit easily into a wallet, and the fabric in the bill seems to improve durability and lend a nicer texture.

Other currency just feels... cheap. No offense.

Agreed on pennies though. They had their place back when they were useful, but they are almost pointless now.
5th amendment is the right against self-incrimination. The response could provide self-incriminating evidence of an illegal act punishable by fines, penalties or forfeiture. Giving a password to your encrypted database could easily be interpreted as testifying against yourself as defined in the 5th amendment.

Relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik#at=950
.19c vs .10c for the old one but they will last 2.5 times longer. And the polymer and is from Australia.
source http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110620/boc-...
but you can still get people to your site through any means (not just Google). If you build a Facebook or Twitter app, and either of those companies compete with you, change their apis, ban you, your company is pretty much finished.

This is why I don't waste any time writing those kind of apps.
Secure. Durable. Innovative.

Sounds like a bad powerpoint presentation.
Decent article. The amount of mis-information on mobile app usage is staggering. The point the article makes about mobile-as-game-platform is really solid. But, I have to question the pie chart about "time spent per category." I would classify "camera, calculator, calendar, mail, maps, phone, messages, notes, and weather" as all "other" on that pie chart and those make up 95+% of my usage. Similar to DHH's point from a few days ago.