skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
You're presumably trying to compete with eBay, which is certainly an ambitious goal. I like that about your team: you're aiming high. The problem is that it might be too high right now. I think you need to find a niche and then expand as your customers want it.

For the average internet user, onista is probably a bit overwhelming. Hell, its even overwhelming for me and I read HackerNews! I get to the site and think eBay. Then I see social networking and think Facebook. Then I see automatic negotiations. It's not clear from your homepage how all of these are woven together to create something that benefits users. I think a lot of people will see this and say "I don't get it" and move on.

My 2c:

- Do usability testing with some normal people. Figure out what they don't get and where they get lost and make changes
- Maybe simplify the homepage and make it clearer how the site benefits the users

- Who is your target audience? Consider finding a niche.

- The color scheme... while very web 2.0, you might do better with something more distinctive. I don't know who came up with the colors for HackerNews, but it's different and I've come to associate that combination of colors with this site. It has an identity. Go to the nearest bookstore and spend some time flipping through the magazines finding color schemes you like. Test a few out on onista and see what works.

Your site has a lot of potential, but you've got to get passed this initial stage for it to matter.

I keep thinking of WebVan for some reason. I'm not sure if thats good or not...
Stay in school. It's a pain to catch up on your studies, you have to wait for the start/end of the semester, and a degree is always nice to have, especially if you've already invested significant amounts of time into it.

On the other hand, starting a comany is something you can do at almost any time, including after you graduate. If you don't have a burning passion for a specific idea, don't drop out of school for it now.

It sounds like you don't know for sure what you want to work on if you drop out, and you just want to start a business. I suggest you stick it out with school and then go for your idea. If you know exactly what you want to do with a startup, then it's a tougher choice. I'd still lean towards staying in school and finishing your degree, depending on how far you are from graduation, though.
Id have to tip my hat to this...

Ive written a lot of C++, it was 'the one true way'..
but then I did see alot of people using python, ruby..
I learned a bit of lisp, and kind of de-conditioned myself.

If your not gonna use Lisp/arc/scheme/python/ruby...
then, actually, I would go with C and not C++.
You are just above the metal and you see exactly whats going on, and you dont spend time making cleverly convoluted constructs of infinite generality...

In C, you just get shit done. With a bit of discipline you can get a lot of the benefits of OO and even some of the benefits of FP in your C code. Heresy, I know.

I do love C++ still, its nice to see good RNG and regex APIs going into the language.. but its a bit verbose on balance.

gord.
It's a much more hands-off approach to getting things done, but RescueTime has been awesome. Simply seeing how you actually spend your (computer) time might just be enough to make you more productive.
Thanks, I think we need to rework on wording to express the exact message out there.
I disagree with a lot of this article - firstly, I wouldn't call Microsoft extremely diversified. Sure - they have a lot of products - but the cornerstones are Windows and Office.

Microsoft is fixated on their platform - Windows, Office. Almost every other play Microsoft has is really a funnel for revenue into these (and their closely associates). Microsoft's play is all about "seamless, easy integration". That is, you get SQL Server, it runs on Windows, it integrates nicely into VS.NET - which is integrated into your IE browser.

To innovate, Microsoft needs to move beyond this. They may have the best engineers in the world, but it's hard to break away if the mentality around these products persist.... Everything needs to work with Outlook, or Live Messenger, or search, or whatever. Microsoft is all about pre-canned and all the advantages and disadvantages that brings.

On the other hand, these are hugely profitable products for Microsoft. It's hard (and perhaps reckless) to let go of this as a strategy.

In my view, Microsoft needs to break itself up a little in order to create niches and to innovate. This means - don't integrate everything - open things up - attack markets that aren't already Microsoft mainstays.

The microformats and social network integration as an idea is fine - very semantic web - but Microsoft simply couldn't execute it at the moment. It would get tangled up in this machinery.
Thanks. Yeah, what you suggested is better wording.
This post is a bit overly critical, but I'm being honest and hopefully you'll understand what I mean.

Your site design feels very dated, unprofessional and cluttered. Simple things like rollovers are wonky and nothing lines up - it's hideous. The fact that everything is done in tables stands out like a sore thumb and adds to the "this was made in 1998" effect. I'd dismiss your site straight away based on its design.

Your site is too complex and has no single "hook" as to why someone should use your site over the more popular alternatives. You need a core idea that can be summed up in a few words - the fact you needed 7 points to summarise the site is a bad omen and smells of too many half-implemented ideas. Tou need to figure out what the core problem is and what your solution is. Note most successful sites can be summed up in 2 or 3 words to potential users - "Internet Auctions", "Web E-Mail", "Search Engine", etc.

It also badly fails the "Do I have a reason to use it?" test. Basically, a good test is whether /at this moment in time/, irrespective of /any future/ growth, it's useful to people. In this case, the answer is a resounding "no" - for neither buyers or sellers who are all already on eBay and their ilk. It's a /serious/ uphill struggle for a site to take off from that point and is a major problem you need to solve before you can expect anyone to use the site - and, believe me, 'word of mouth' is not the solution.

Another problem is that the site is too big - you don't need so many categories and sub-categories when you have so few items on it so they become a real challenge for anyone using the site. Remove them until they become necessary, and link to your listings on the front page.
Having an initially small site fosters community and makes it easier to use, and it's comparatively trivial to split a site into smaller parts if and when it's required.

Honestly? Today it's honestly not something I would even consider using and I can't imagine anyone wanting to use the site. If I were you I'd seriously consider shutting the site down for now, figuring out a simple hook, how you're going to make your site initially popular, and how to take on eBay (these are the huge social problems, not technical problems), and then redesigning with that in mind. Let's not forget you're trying to succeed where bigger names like Yahoo! Auctions have failed.
Ativiti looks cool, but in this article they say that the user shouldn't have to do anything differently, yet they call themselves a `platform'. I haven't actually tried the app, so maybe it isn't fair to say, but if I see `platform' I usually think of complex all-encompassing products that require some integration.

I think one of the reasons that there are so many apps that could be considered task management apps is that everyone has different ideas on what task management is. Also, there is some value in having local task items that are available in the tools that you already have at your disposal, ie Outlook. For us (shameless plug: http://www.ubernote.com), we wanted to have task lists inline in notes where we already had data, so we added the feature. Add one more app to the list....

Good luck with Ativiti
We did talk to attorney and I think we need to do more research to be absolutely sure
Yeah, I never thought of that one. Sure we will work on hiding the address.
Doesn't Google learn peoples interests with the personal search?
I don't disagree with the statement that Henry Ford gave the public the automobile (instead of merely a better horse). I agree with your analogy (as long as "faster" can be replaced with "better" -- since horse-based transport had other problems besides merely being slow). My understanding is that all other efforts, around that time, toward automobile production fucused on charging as much as possible per unit, and limiting production toward that end. Even Ford's early investors felt that that was the only profitable way forward, and he had to fight to get them to agree to do the opposite -- minimize price and maximize production.

Henry Ford, more than any other individual, replaced America's, and the world's, horses with the automobile. (I use Ford's 1922 book My Life and Work as reference for these statements. http://www.google.com/search?q=ford+my+life+and+work)

.

And while we are on the subject of analogies, we might mention Sony which, in 1983, instead of giving the world a better analog phonograph player, gave the world the Compact Disc player.
Great suggestions. We just came out of coding phase last week and now we are going to give our best shot to get sellers and buyers. Suggestions like these really help a lot. Thanks again.
agreed. I love RT
Thanks a lot for great feedback. Soon I will change the page using all your suggestions as they perfectly make sense.
As far as design goes, there are only 3 of us working on this app on part-time basis and work includes design and coding.
That is great, but it doesn't work well for teams. Paper also attracts coffee stains, so you tend to write a new list every other day. Gets tedious quickly.

I really think a good software solution is the way to go. (Disclaimer: my startup is working on one)
I think halo's critique is pretty much correct. You've done a good job with the site, but I just can't see it gaining any traction against ebay, craigslist, etc.. in it's current form. You've got a lot of nice features, but consider stripping the site down a bit and focusing on a specific niche or interesting concept that is easy to convey. For instance, what if the site was entirely focused on submitting things you want and submitting things you have and it automatically matched up buyers and sellers. Not saying that's a great idea, but it's one example of how you could take one of your concepts and focus on it entirely to begin with. Then as people start to use it you can expand your site and start adding in the other pieces. Anyway, that's what I would consider doing if I were in your shoes. Also, like matt1 said, usability testing and focus groups would be a good idea.
Yeah, this is an important question. I currently use rememberthemilk but I feel there is a potential to do far more. I discussed this recently (my interest is more about things outside the office than inside it): http://arvindn.livejournal.com/89794.html The commenters there had some good suggestions as well.
But I never said that. I don't even think that. It depends completely on the startup's goal.

In a comment 15 hours ago I stated it's probably not worth it due to current cheap hosting prices.
Here's I think a better way of saying his point:

It's best to learn programming metaphors in languages that are idiomatic. Multi-paradigm languages are often more confusing, because when you're new to programming learning the paradigm is as important as learning the language.

Thus I'd say that languages like Pascal, Java, Lisp, Smalltalk, etc. are relatively good beginners languages, while languages like Perl, C++, Ruby, Python, PHP, etc. are not.
Which jmtame submitted an "ask HN" about earlier today. I don't know how realistic its premises are, if they are to be found in jmtame's comments in this thread. The first few minutes sound pretty fruity and pretentious, but I'll withhold judgement until I've given it a few more minutes. But, I'm suspicious of folks who think they understand a huge array of topics well enough to make pronouncements on them that are contrary to a majority of experts in each field. (And, of course, I realize the irony of making such a statement in a thread that I started by pontificating on a topic on which I am clearly an interested amateur rather than an expert in the field.)
I have a feeling it's like Priceline. On the spread/difference between the reserve/strike price and the bid.
3 is not large. if you admit it's not statistically relevant then it's irrational to be convinced of anything.
C makes perfect sense for nginx, as it's a web server, not a web app.
Hide Your Data With A Fake Phone Jack
I haven't seen Zeitgeist, but from your description and the comments on the original submission, I assume it's one of those conspiracy-theory films about the power elite and economic exploitation?

I think you might be surprised by how much of the middle class is aware that they're being fucked over by elites. Most of the folks my parents have had over for dinner just nod and agree when my dad goes off on his conspiracy theories. Where I went to college, many of the sociology courses had us reading about and discussing the power elite. For my part, I'll freely admit that I think it's likely there are conspiracies by people in power against people not in power, I just don't think the ones we hear about are the real ones. (Think about it: if these people were as powerful and clever as most conspiracy theories make them out to be, why would they let you know about it?)

Then the question always is: what do we do about it?

In one of your previous posts, you said: "And our professor said that in AA meetings, the first step is recognizing there is a problem. The second step is getting angry. And the third is taking action or doing something about it." As a kid, I used to believe that complaining served a very real purpose, because it drew attention to the problem. Didn't make me very popular. I gave up that belief when I realized that nearly every competent person (including many of my peers) already knew, they just understood that they were not in a position to do anything about it, and thinking about it just made them miserable.

The big difference between AA and the world around us is that AA is all about your personal behavior, yet the world around you is other people's personal behavior. Some wise person on the Internet once said, "Control yourself, because you can't control others." Asking "Why don't you do something about it?" is the wrong question. Asking "Why don't I do something about it?" is the right question, but finding an answer can be somewhat difficult.

Raganwald once wrote a great blog entry about "dangerous ideas". I'm looking for them - one of the reasons I gave up on my last startup (other than I didn't think it'd work) was that even if it succeeded, it just made sheeple more sheeplike. But dangerous ideas usually aren't obvious. If you find one, run with it - maybe you'll be the one to change the world.
Apple's heart bleeds on fake Jobs data
Dude, don't even think about dropping out of high school... at least get your GED and graduate early.
The search box (only thing I looked at, first thing everyone will try) is vulnerable to cross-site scripting; it checks clientside for non-alphanumeric characters, but if I submit the form directly through a proxy, I can get a results page with a Javascript popup on it.

It looks like I can read any message sent between users on the system. When you read messages, your backend locates the messages using a client-specified "mid" parameter. I sent a message to myself; it wound up with "mid" 51. 50, 49, 48 --- the system didn't generate errors when I tried to view them, but didn't show any content either. But when I asked for message ID 47, and clicked "forward" on the "empty" message, the message content textbox was populated. Ouch.

You may have some work to do on security before you start clearing transactions. Let me know if you'd like some advice.

Two other notes:

* Wow, signing up for an account was painful. Why do you need so much info from me just to get an account name? Also, why on earth does your PHP app care how I enter a phone number? I used dashes instead of parens, and you rejected it. Ouch ouch ouch.

* Have a copywriter --- they're cheap --- run over the whole site and fix the grammar and spelling.
Last time we were under serious ddos, the attack vector shifted several times in response to our countermeasures. One of those shifts was looking quite similar to what fyodor describes. An attacking machine opened 1000+ connections, sent the request, then shrank the receive window to 1 byte. The botnet segment doing that was maybe ~500 zombies or so.

Of course, it's trivially mitigated on linux with iptables connlimit match (fyodor mentioned that, too).

The punchline: our colo provider insisted on having a PIX firewall in front of our box, with stateful packet inspection and all that. And, of course, that was way too much state for it to keep. So the PIX has gone down and we've got our 24 hours of downtime.
I actually found that feature made me angry. So the true price is hidden, and I have to mundanely increase my bid until I find the minimum? Why not just give me the minimum and forget about the gimmick? I quit the video and left the website after seeing that part.
It's a nice site. I'm glad you have a demo video; that's a Web 2.0 trend that's exceedingly helpful. I like being able to watch a short video to find out what a site can do without having to randomly click through to try to figure it out.

Here's the problem: you spend the first full minute of your video listing your competitors and talking about their process. I understand you're trying to build a comparison, but why don't you just show your product off and let people draw the comparison themselves? You could also put the comparison closer to the end. The longer the video is, the more people will drop off partway through, so you want them to see more about your site and less about your competitors.
Poor people tend to make bad decisions on things like that because of their perspective. $1/day doesn't feel like a lot of money even when you are only making $600/month. Especially when you have some fixed costs like gas that take so much out of your income.
I think that the best first programming language is one which makes programming fun. For many students, this is the TI graphing calculator programming language! For others, PHP is certainly exciting because the effects of your code are often easy to see.
I think you were being sarcastic. But I think you put your finger on a fundamental mistake people seem to instintively make when drawing conclusions from any evolutionary concepts. Jumping from 'do' to 'should do', 'will do', etc.

For castration to have an effect on genetics, you'd need it'd need to be universal for hundreds, thousands or preferably, millions of generations. To affect memes it could happen within a few generations, but the science on that is a lot weaker.
When PHP Actually Is Your First Programming Language
David Allen, founder of Quest Online, dropped out of high school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_M5IMVjeSM

A lot of the most-successful members of the Terman gifted-group dropped out of high-school.
We are charging 3% of the closing value for each product that is sold.
We also offer optional premium services (like eBay) that enhances look of the listing. There is some charge for showing product in "featured products".

In future we also plan get some ads but nothing decided on that yet.

Hope that explains,
You didn't, jgalvez did, and that's where most of this discussion forked off from.
The first useful program I wrote was in TI-BASIC. Not the greatest language in the world, but it made my physics homework easier.
Thanks for the honest feedback.

About the design, yes all points taken. Actually we are programmers and tried to do as better job at design as we could. May be we need to get professional designer and I surely hope to generate enough business to be able to afford that.

You are right, we need to reword lot of content to express the exact message. I did 4-5 rounds of user-testing from usertesting.com and redesigned, but sure there is lot of room for improvement.

I think we need to do better job at explaining that we are not auction site and we are not trying to attract users who like auctions. Rather we are trying to attract people who like the price-negotiation and also Alibaba model. We tried to explain that in the demo video, but seems like we need to do better job.

Thanks for the feedback. This is what I love about hacker news. Very good and honest feedback.
You know, I never thought that free markets vs Communism made very good polar opposites. They don't cover the same sort of ground. They clash terribly over invisible hand vs command but Communism also covers a 17th- 18th centuryish theory of history at its core. What do free marketeers have to say to that?

The command vs freee hand, particularly for physical goods production has been largely decided. I think very few politicians left that would directly control production in a red sort of a way. They might for micro political reasons, but probably wouldn't try to control the economy some other way.

Marx got moulded into a religious figure. But read in a similar context as Kant, Bentham, or even Ayn Rand, it's definitely interesting.
Entrepreneurs to play big role in space
Thanks for pointing out. Soon I will fix these issues.
Omnifocus on Leopard autosyncing with my iPod Touch is the killer app for me.

I have tried about 5 different apps, index cards, notebooks, etc but nothing has integrated into my life as easily as this (I already carry my iPod everywhere). Although it is expensive.
These people are lunatics.
If you're blogging for profit, pageviews is the only relevant stat. If you're blogging for shits and giggles, none of them matter at all.

Me personally, I measure it in user participation. Total comments, or maybe comments per post, would be a better metric.
1. The one liner

What is your exact meaning?

I suggest forgetting about marketability, memorability, etc. of the wording, and trying to continue this conversation with a long time ebayer:

Onista is an auction-less social marketplace where people can buy and sell products."

"Huh?"

Use as many sentences as you need. Work out the meaning, then get it into a zinger. If you can't well then find another way of communicating that. Not everything fits into a one-liner. There are other ways of saying things. Start by working out what it is people need to understand before giving it a try.

2. the terminology

Social marketplace I think that's industry jargon. Do users use the term social to describe things (social news, social networking, social bookmarking?)
I'd suggest not using "instant gratification."

I see that and think "I had some instant gratification before my date in the shower so I could last longer if I got lucky."
10+ years Android experience req'd

Slight possibility of massive layoffs

Rockstars only pls.
Ruby threading bugfix: small fix goes a long way
If you owe the "IRA" money, they just kneecap you, so hiding your data isn't going to help.

Sorry, couldn't resist.
Yeah because slashdot (as part of "the open source community") has something to lose but isn't a part of the economic decision. This isn't a moral cause & there's no need for strawmen. Nobody said anyone's forcing anyone, nobody said developers aren't entitled to work for money. There's a lesson here to be had.
If you use ads, either the ads are unrelated and the advertisers will be uninterested, or your sellers are unhappy because your advertising competes with them.