skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Biologists discover "first known species to live in isolation in its own ecosystem"
The DEA has busted down the door of 80+ year old neighbors.

From wikipedia:

"Kathryn Johnston (c1914-2006) was an elderly Atlanta, Georgia woman shot by three undercover police in her home on November 21, 2006 after she fired one shot at the ceiling, assuming her home was being invaded. While the officers were wounded by friendly fire, none of the officers received life threatening injuries, but Johnston was killed by their gunfire."
I think Yahoo is doomed. Sad to say, but all this hassle with Microsoft just killed them :-(.
Hacking Comcast's Motorola DVRs
Right, I think we're both in agreement here. To say that college athletes are unpaid workers isn't exactly true, but it also isn't entirely honest to say they're paid like a regular job. I responded to the parent of my post because it had been down-modded for simply saying scholarships are a form of payment.

If I were a high-school kid coming from a family with very little ability to help pay for college I'd say that sounds like fantastic deal.
Ok, I hate to sum up the UK in one word. But... duh.

The UK really needs another leader like Thatcher, this time not attacking socialism but the whole "using crime to sell surveillance" culture. Go Sir Ken Macdonald!
If you're in a creative position, talent is essential. But if you simply need to make the right decisions (or not too many wrong ones) and get the job done reasonably well to get ahead. For a guy like Ballmer (featured in the article), discipline and diligence far outvalue talent.
Ask YC: How to perform a Scheduled Maintenance?
I want to perform change to database schema change to an app, and want it to be performed without affecting the user data. So I thought it would be better to perform a scheduled maintenance by taking the site down. Any advices on areas I should be careful and gotchas I should consider when going for such process?
A poll for those who think we need to restrict H1Bs to protect American tech workers: Why? Do you have trouble finding a job despite your degree and qualifications? If so what kind of job? Furthermore, why does being born on US soil give someone exclusive rights to write code on it?
Give yourself enough time that you're confident you'll be able to finish the maintenance within that timeframe. I was bitten more than once by scheduling a maintenance window too small, and then becoming frantic as the maintenance window passed and I still wasn't finished.
I don't see how Google can draw away Yahoo's online ad revenue. Only in the sense that Google competes with Yahoo for search impressions. On the media side of things Google is not a serious competitor.

That Yahoo can't monetize the search impressions they do get as well as Google (and thus would benefit from Google monetization deal) is purely a technical execution failure for Yahoo engineering and executives. To this day you can't take an export from Google AdWords account and import it in Yahoo. They say you can, but their SEM system is not powerful enough to support anything nontrivial.
I've never met Derek (we've exchanged emails), but I feel a certain kinship. His previous startup was http://jpgmag.com. The real lesson for me is that there's a lot of luck in every startup. You can do everything right, and still fail, or do everything wrong, and still succeed.
ScreenToaster: a browser-based screencast tool
see also Eric's blog who begun a series about lean startups.

if remember well, he started here http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/2008/09/lean-start...
Motorola's $2000 luxury phone vs. the Rolex Submariner: The Ultimate Showdown
George Carlin Customization: 47 words you can’t use on custom NIKE sneakers
Ask HN: How do we add a second reply to a question we were asked re. our application?
We were asked a question regarding our application, to which we gave an answer. We also said we would follow up with another answer today. Is there a way to add a second reply?
Given the events of the last few years (the Terry Semel experiment, the botched MS acquisition - which cost every employee, presumably - and finally this preannouncement) Jerry should volunteer to be the first one to leave.
His bottom line is that to succeed through bubbles like these you have to create real value for people. A lot of companies and investments are too much like get-rich schemes. A long term focus yields a product that truly helps society, and the company will grow along with the society it is helping.

I also think that the point is well taken that it can not be on the backs of other countries. The more people in the world with disposable income, the more people there are to sell to. When so much of the world is in near poverty and has 0 disposable income, the entire consumer focus of so many of our companies seems a bit silly.
A lot of enterprise software fits in this category. My last employer was one of them, but its name or product wouldn't mean anything to the average reader of this site, since it's a niche financial product.
Bodybuilding came to my mind. People say they don't have good genes (I would say some percentage of professional athletes do have far better genes than anyone else, but not most professional or college athletes). However, unless they try lifting weights 4x a week and/or trying to be good at a sport for five years in their early 20's, they will never actually know.
sometimes the only way to change something, requires that it first gets out of control. its hard to create a revolution against nothing.
You can have the greatest, most feature rich offering in the world, but if your target market doesn't value the problem you solve or the opportunity you enable, you're never going to have revenue success. At best, you'll be opportunistic. And your product or service is effectively worthless.
Don't overestimate by orders of magnitude though. There was one change where I expected it would take 5 minutes, I said "Gimme an hour to be safe", and my friend (who was in charge of the server) posted a maintenance window for 5 hours. It actually took about a minute, and then people were left thinking "Has the downtime happened? Is it going to go down later?"
Big picture: the old world and social model is falling apart rapidly. There's no hope of repairing it, and most open-minded people really don't want to, when the opportunities for creative destruction and reinvention are so abundant.

What shall replace the old world is unclear. I don't know "the right answer". No one does. Those of us who will step to the plate are going to improvise an answer (or more appropriately, answers) to the many emerging problems and get some right, some wrong.

When I read a piece like this, I have to take it as exactly what it is. A proposed solution, or set of solutions. He's offering ideas, and they're worth consideration and debate, but it's not worth debating whether they're "right" in a platonic ("communism works on paper") rather than pragmatic sense, because the present and future are unprecedented.
Nintendo is pretty sick, with like $500k in profit per employee and $2.5 million in revenue per employee.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/31/fortune-nintendo-is-beatin...

We should all aspire to build companies like Nintendo, that are not the largest company in their space, but are still able to have the largest wins. Think of the chances that company has taken over the years to reinvent themselves yet they win big when they do.
That was kind of enjoyable. Not terribly deep, but enjoyable.
It's interesting that the article mentions a void existing nowadays, and reactions happening to that void. I've felt at times that a lot of the things I've learned were learned due to negativity: as in, I would be reading a site like Reddit and a part of me would change not because of an insightful comment but because there was nothing insightful being said. The same thing happened to me with writing, and it's happened in the last year with web design. I wrote extensively before I got good; I've run several online communities in the past. In both cases, I was helped along by critique, but that wasn't the end of things. There was always some point where I found myself learning by seeing people doing the same things as me, and realizing that that way was wrong.

I don't know if that's because of the Internet or if that's something that happens in general. Has anybody else had a situation like this before?
This is a good point. There will always be bugs that need to be cherry picked for critical status. Managing criticals and blockers is also important in the development feedback cycle.
"However if I was in yahoo"

How ironic, considering you are criticizing his English... You meant "However if I were in Yahoo" ;-)
Familiar pingg
Did they just use, as an example to prove that talent is not genetic, one former NFL quarterback having two sons who are NFL quarterbacks? Or did I imagine that?

I must have imagined that.
3 reasons to switch to git
Maybe the 10% can go to microsoft and try and get 10% of that 40 billion dollars they were tossing around a while ago.
This brings up another group who makes huge money at some universities - the people managing that endowment.

From http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510756
"Former bond managers David R. Mittelman and Maurice Samuels were paid $18 million and $16.9 million, respectively, for their work at Harvard Management Company (HMC), which invests the endowment. Jack R. Meyer, the firm’s former president, received $6 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005."

Not that they don't deserve it.
For those of you willing to pay for a canonical source on Toyota's philosophy, I heartily recommend The Toyota Way:

http://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Way-Jeffrey-Liker/dp/0071392319

It is much, much more than a 'lean system', although one of their major goals is to eliminate waste.

I'm also big fan of their 'go and see for yourself' (genchi genbutsu) philosophy.
Technically the athletes are being compensated. Not monetarily but with an education. This may not appeal to the superstar with pro ambitions, but for a majority of athletes an education(with a full scholarship) that might not have been available if they didn't play sports is appealing. Most Div I schools go out of their way to hire tutors for their athletes, something they would never do for the average student.
I don't think this is true. According to the article, talent is a result of hard work directed in the proper direction (eg, working on stuff that you aren't good at). And the number of billionaires you get from the group with 'no apparent talent' has at least two examples from the top of my head; Alan Sugar and Felix Dennis were both pretty close to this mark (if not in excess at points).
As an academic in training(phd student), I would never want to be a football coach at a top school. The hours they have to work to remain competitive are insane. One bad season or embarrassing loss to a rival and you will be fired. I'll take the promise of tenure over the extra pay. Also as previous posts have stated the imbalance in pay is skewed by comparing top coaches with all academics. I'm pretty sure coaches at a Div III school are not paid in 7 figures, probably not even 6 figures.
Tell me about it... I really like food.
jQuery is 15k when zipped. The minified version before gzip is closer to 55 k.

Prototype, when zipped, is 22 k -- just checked on a server I'm running.

They're closer than you think :)

*edit - that's for version 1.51... 1.6 when minified and gzipped by web server is 23 kb. Not a huge difference, but you get the point.
India Launches First Mission to Map Moon's Surface
How to write an XML parser app with the iPhone SDK
The problem is that without the huge income from sports there would be no money for the scholarships in the first place. In fact I attended LSU on an academic scholarship that was partly funded by the athletic department. Yes, it's not fair that a bright student won't get the same scholarship that a dumb athlete will get, but the dumb athlete brings in millions in ticket sales that fund his scholarship and scholarships for the rest of the student body. It's screwy but our society would rather spend money watching football than on science, but until thousands of spectators will pay $100 to watch me do long division we're stuck with this system.
The Real Threat to Microsoft Office: Maybe Not Web Apps
It seems the lesson is also to communicate the downtime effectively with your clients.
You've got fail.

As for YHOO, probably that awful color purple they put everywhere. Or their broadcast.com acquisition.
I personally hate the IPhone XML parser... TouchXML an open source alternative is way more intuitive.
Leather Repair, Maintenance, and Refinishing New York City
Leather repair, maintenance, and refinishing servicing businesses in NYC (Manhattan & Queens)and Nassua & Suffolk Counties.
I interpreted ChaitanyaSai's point as "Why bring in Bain and Co, people who have no special insight into what needs to be done for Yahoo to tell Yahoo management what to do?"

Why can't the top management at Yahoo decide what to do and do it? I mean after all these years at Yahoo don't they know who to fire and who to keep? All the data Bain and Co could get or process in the few weeks they work for, Yahoo management has too.

I would have thought that (making decisions and executing) was what the managers were being paid the big bucks for.

(I've never really understood the value of these consulting firms so if anyone can help with that I'd appreciate it).
Interesting note:

If you look at stock stats, 'The Market' expects more good to come out of Yahoo then it does of MS.

That's my understanding anyway. I always feel daft with these things.
Latest Apple Mac ad targets MSFT's internal budgeting?
I think it was meant to show that if you look beneath the inherited skill, you'll find a lifetime of hard work, just like with anyone else. Still, that's not what I'd call quality writing. I'm surprised it made it past the editor.
Small Ideas, Big Benefits [- Venturetts]
I think part of what he is saying is right. You can only work "profitably" if you have "resources" available to you. Take farming. Guess what, no matter how good at it you are, no matter how hard a worker, no matter how much you deserve to succeed, without land\seeds\water\ect, you can't get a start to prove yourself with and make a profit. So you get pushed into share cropping instead, which goes nowhere, at least for you...

Trapped by "commitments" you "freely" entered into... true on one level in a way but it's just not that simple. And who has\doesn't have resources in life? Who share crops and who owns the plantation? Is it a meritocracy? Do those who are most deserving get allocated more? Somewhat, hence the idea of profiting\bankruptcy. But also most of the people who can rise up in such a system have resources given to them to invest, probably by their parents. Invest in themselves (a chance at education), in a business, in many different ways. The opposite, those who are given little, give you the term "crushing poverty", were upon you will almost certainly share crop (and remain crushingly poor) or perish.

There's no easy magic solution, but at the same time trapping people into a world where they must submit to a life of drudgery (whether through physical labor, mental anguish, or both) in order to access resources held by those who were just given them... seems wrong. Perhaps instead we should work to push up the "bottom class"? Say, use technology and progress to bring us to a productive and equitable enough state everyone can have a great education, at least so far as they can prove themselves worthy of. I think it is clear that given human nature this will never happen... but that doesn't mean we can't dream that no one has to become a drone, nor decry the perpetuation of the share cropping system, in all it's forms.
This has become a rule for me: never criticize usage, grammar, or spelling on the internet. Fate immediately arranges for me a blunder of some sort to knock me down a notch.
Pretty impressive... Wonder how much is really automated...
Mobile ad network AdMob hits profitability, raises $15.7 million
I can see that - I guess it's his approach. I'm wary of anyone claiming to know the right answer based on little actual experience, especially when those claims are backed up by nothing more than statements like "we must do this or that,etc." If it was just some dude's blog post, it would be one thing but it's a post on Harvard's website so I'd hope for a little more rigor.

*Edit: I recommend a book called Deep Economy that does a much better job of explaining why these were good ideas worth investigating.
India launches first Moon mission
Shiny object!!!
Um, OK. Still doesn't change my opinion of the comment though. I can see I am however in the minority.
GMail gets auto-replies
OK so you observe that it's easier to hire foreigners in high tech than in law or medicine. How about you ask yourself a question then: do you want American high tech companies to match the efficiency of its healthcare and legal system, or maybe the other way around?
DAMN I knew that would happen. It wasn't his English I was criticising it was his grammar.

Also, I would think a comment on a thread versus a company wide email is a rather different kettle of fish. In a different universe.

Actually I will level with you. I wouldn't know good grammar if it hit me in the head (can it do that??).

But for the love of everything good, I wish he would capitalise his sentences.
English has become a key of sorts.

Most DIY education requires English.
In nine months we only grew to about 5,000 members

sigh...My startup has been running for almost 2 years and I've only got 4000 members. Still, we're profitable now, so I try to focus on revenue and not think too much about raw membership.

Still, I wonder why someone would just shut it down? A site with a community of 5000 is surely worth something to someone. Sell it to a friend for a beer or two?
Will this editor prevent I-maintain-my-own-cms users from entering text into their own websites? I hope it does.
That's a really interesting feature, implemented without UI suckitude. Always nice to see...
Yes, that's what caught my eye too. It's a bad sign.
I didn't mean to criticize you. I just couldn't resist, given the context :-)
Thanks for the link. They need an upgrade to their website. What they say they are about is pretty much exactly the type of thing I would like to support. But, I can't get enough information to either make a decision or actually donate from their one page site.

I have been thinking that a 'Kiva for Education' could be a great idea. I'm sure there's something out there. If anyone has a link please share.
Economy hurting your pocket book? Here’s your chance to get $250,000 in venture financing.
Just because a bug can be postponed doesn't mean it should be. It's worth fixing because it matters to customers, not because it matters to engineers.
If I had to guess he's shutting it down in large majority because of the tiresome spec work debate
Maybe it's time for a YC philanthropic intake.
Yeah, that was my first thought too - but the example does support the 'Deliberate practice is designed specifically to improve performance' idea. The father taught his children where to focus their efforts.

Also reminds me of one of Feynman's anecdotes where he mentions that his dad was really involved in educating him:

"My father taught me continuity and harmony in the world. He didn't know anything exactly, whether the insect had eight legs or a hundred legs, but he understood everything. And I was interested because there was always this kick at the end-a revelation of how wonderful nature really is." (from "Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track", an awesome book).
"He could not bring himself to ship a crappy product."

Interesting to see this quote from Jobs during today's Apple earnings call:

"We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that. But we can continue to deliver greater and greater value to those customers that we choose to serve. And there's a lot of them."

Almost like he knew we were having this conversation. :)
I never knew that the PriceGrabber.com guy was a hustler. If he raised raised no venture capital (only financing from friends/family) and sold the company for $485 million, I need to become one.
"I self-published a book in my senior year of high school."

I'm curious, what did you write about? Fiction/non-fiction? Still writing or just hacking?

Putting a book together at that age is a respectable achievement.
Billion-Dollar Blunders: How False Online Reports Sink Stocks
The Scariest High-Tech Haunted Houses in America
Wouldn't it take talent to actually perform deliberate practice? Most people don't have that kind of self control.
I wonder what the effect is though. I think a lot of people romanticise the world. Hungry childhood, unappeasable drive, learning to read from a half burnt book, learning to engineer by sneaking into a junk yard at night, every thread that can be used to claw out of poverty pulled, no opportunity missed. All those novels. All those biographies. All those stories.

It's easy to believe (as I write this, I do) that there are thousands of brilliant minds bursting with potential that can be unleashed with just the smallest scrap of opportunity. A thousand OLPCs dropped on poor children could do the trick.

But I think reality is harsher. I am not trying to put down efforts. And I certainly believe there are things that can be done.

The internet as an agent of globalisation, certainly has a lot of (yet unrealised) equalising power. But tapping it might be trick & take time.
not specifically mysql, but 'the art of sql' is pretty good for database optimization and performance
WOW, that is a lot of money lost. I wonder is someone is going to get sued because of it.
"A long term focus yields a product that truly helps society, and the company will grow along with the society it is helping."

There is a cooperation problem here, how do you prevent other companies from free-riding and reaping the value your company injects into society without adding any of its own?

Cooperation between human actors works because of an instinct for fairness. If we want the cooperation at a more macro scale, we're going to need a cultural sense of fairness to go along with it. I suppose we're seeing this now when walmart plays ads about how earth friendly it is, but we're certainly only a small fraction of the way there.
I really wonder about how they could control this though. So much power based on someones words and yet people have to have the right to make mistakes too. no?
I see a lot of this on here and it is understandable given the "startup attitude" that is necessary. But It does kinda bother me that people brag about turning down money.

I get the whole idea behind it. By turning down money you are reaffirming that life isn't about money and sometimes we have to take a little risk to do something that will make us happier yadda yadda yadda.

Just please keep in mind the amount of resources that an amount of money like 300k represents. Many people don't have the opportunity to make an equivalent amount in an entire lifetime of work. If the urge ever arises to be smug about how you turned down $x amount, please keep this in mind. We are a group whose skill set happens to be very valuable because we were born into circumstances that have allowed us to maximize our advantages (time, place, parents). It's humbling when you realize how much luck was involved.
I want to second this idea - Kent Beck is the best place to start. If you find XP too preachy, take a look at his Test-Driven Development: By Example.
I took a stab at answering this question here:
http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/2008/10/lean-start...
5000 members in SF/the Valley = 50 elsewhere. Are you actually profitable enough to support an employee? Because otherwise you're not really profitable.
Strong Sales Give Apple $1.14 Billion Profit
Not Sure What to Do Next in Your Startup? Pre-Sell Your Product
HP iPAQ Data Messenger