skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
After the first paragraph of reading this, all I could think of was "holy crap, this person has really just written every excuse in the book NOT to write iPhone apps."

There are a million excuses to not diet and exercise, to not do a startup, and to not do anything in life. Your job as an entrepreneur is to work around the obstacles. Give Apple an app that they can't afford to reject. Don't do anything stupid that would cause your app to get rejected.

Yes, better rules can always be written, but your job is to deliver kick ass apps to the public. GET 'R DONE!
Apple has other evangelists on the payroll already. Some examples: User Interface, Graphics and Media, Developer Tools, Frameworks.

These evangelists have often helped developers shed more light on bugs against Mac OS X which are blocking the shipping of apps. Also, they're often a great first-line contact at Apple for getting help from Apple's engineers outside of WWDC.

To get an additional App Store contact that could field developers' questions about apps that have been rejected with little or no explanation would be nice.

The small group of evangelists Apple already has on the payroll is spread quite thinly between their Mac OS X, and now iPhone, responsibilities as it is.

I suspect developers are already talking their ears off about App Store issues, and I bet Fraser's wish could likely come true eventually. Whether it's in the form of a separate App Store evangelist, or a new iPhone-specific team of evangelists that can also help with shedding light on the App Store process, it'd be a huge improvement.
Out of interest where did you see that?

I thought this might be an oversight, so I did a quick Google search using variations of "Yammer", "India", "penis", and apart from your comment could not find anything in the first 5 pages of results for any permutation.
The root of all evil?
This person already produced a well-known iPhone app.
MIT Study: Human Memory Capacity Much Bigger Than Previously Thought
Carriers had nothing to do with this decision, just like they didn't kill "pull my finger" app.
just because someone could work around apple's restrictive rules, that doesn't mean that iphone apps are the best use of a developer's time.

it looked like a pretty good deal to me at first. possibly as big of a gold rush as the original dos days. given all the hassles and rules, i'm not nearly so enthusiastic as i once was.
You have a great go-get-'em attitude, but the issue isn't remotely similar to the question of whether or not to diet and exercise. It's more like, "Should I spend huge amounts of time and effort on diet and exercise in order to enter this bodybuilding competition, only to be disqualified at the last minute because I look too much like the competition judge's nephew?"
I would just win the bodybuilding competition. Pretty simple.
The saying goes, sunk costs are sunk unless you sunk them. But for founders, the way to split equity is to focus on what each will do not what has been done. The present value of the company is basically zero so it's hard to claim much credit there. Another good blog is prof. Noam Wasserman's at HBS: http://founderresearch.blogspot.com/
Their tune will change in a couple months when android comes out.
Have you read past the first paragraph though? His point is that Apple's arbirtary rejection of some applications undermines confidence and will lead to there being no serious investment undertaken by third party developer. If you don't control the outcome you might as well not start the work.
Assess potentially malicious PDF files.
I don't like this paper. It makes a facile argument ("DRM systems will leak"), and then supports it with inaccuracies. For instance, the notion that watermarking is unlikely to succeed owing to technical challenges with the "embedding layer" --- huh? This irritates me on general principles! Watermarks are covert channels, something most security disciplines try to eliminate, and generally concede to be unstoppable.

What I think really happened here? This paper came out roughly a year after Ed Felten busted the SDMI watermark, and simply took his results and generalized them. Of course, SDMI is a crappy watermark; Ed Felten broke it in a matter of weeks.
I agree that a script that could be run internally would be a much better idea but there are already twitter clone scripts available on the market.

I think it could be interesting to see some sort of quick asynchronous communication tool that was a part of a project management tool like FogBugz or Basecamp but was integrated with your account instead of being standalone.

What does everyone else think?
Cloud computing with Linux
Finally. I got an invitation at work for this the other day, I signed on, and was like, really? This won the Palme D'Arrington? It's sloppy, has SMS messages that sound like Yoda, and doesn't seem to interoperate with anything.

Does anyone else feel that TechCrunch's credibility has taken massive hits in 2008?
Android FTW?
I don't know a single person who's actions reflect a genuine respect for the stupid world of software licensing. Your comment contains the sort of conflict I'm talking about.

Why do you think it's acceptable not to? How is it that it is OK to do some things that displease the gods of protected content creation, yet still necessary to pay them certain forms of tribute? Why should people dance to the beat of a notion that is so obviously impractical? Should a couple of very specific business models be protected from natural progression of the digital revolution? Why should the onus be placed consumers to purchase things we clearly don't need to, and not on producers to create business models that actually make sense (e.g. steam, dongles, iphone store, support contracts, server-centric software)? What is it about your ethic that makes it something other than completely arbitrary?
The model of buying cheap ads and then having pages with nearly no content filled with many more higher paid ads?

When I ran a site that had adwords I hated directories like this they would fill up all the ads on my site and no one would click them nor would anyone be happy if they did. It was a constant battle of banning those domains from ads I would allow on my site.
It seems like you're making the argument that any company that turns a profit must by definition be creating value. But it's possible to turn a profit by all kinds of destructive means (fraud, externalized costs, etc.)

In particular in this case, the issue is not that the ads had 0 value themselves. Obviously, as you point out, his sites had some value. However, that value is clearly less than that of actually relevant search results (or so Google, the worlds foremost authority on search results, believes). Therefore the profit comes from externalizing the costs, rather than from value creation.
The Secret Information about files and content (Important) 
You can view information about the files you play On Windows Media Player.
The Secret files is available and it is used to manipulation many bug or error
But it is not difficult. And maybe You have understood before.

So, The secret information is only beginner not professional
Architecture of Blender
Ron Conway: More Reasons To Go All Angel
Waffles?
Wow - I hope Android fares better but I'm not holding my breath.
Not a bad deal - a lot of big companies are really starting to embrace startups and openness. Hopefully this isn't just a trend.
Does anyone have any experience actually using this site for a purpose? How was it?
Maybe someone reads this article and learn information that makes them more knowledgeable about computers.
I used to as well. Instead I'd stay in and play Starcraft. I wonder if that's what helped lead to my ideas (good and bad).
I still just don't get it. Maybe that's the point or maybe I'm dumb.
Have you read the article ? So what do you think of http://www.business.com ? A privileged Google partner wich does the same thing but is tolerated. What's the difference ? Why is this one okay but not sourcetool ? Isn't there something under the rug ? Why is the Google policy so arbitrary ? That's the point of the article.
This just makes me feel like I really need to work on becoming a more advanced user of emacs. I don't utilize the built in power of emacs nearly enough.
Apple to iPhone Developers: Don't Compete With Us
Android (as far as I can tell) faces different hurdles, mainly operator and consumer uptake. Oh, and getting the damn thing out the door.
I've got something similar. I'm in college, just started, and there's a prevalent feeling that spending hours in your room not being social is a bad thing. When I DO get in front of the computer, it's harder to push forward.

Progress is happening, though, so I'm optimistic.
The best Guerilla Marketing thing I do, is ensure my business card makes it into any book/magazine that I can get my hands on.

Whenever I'm down at the news agent, I ensure I slip my business card into any Magazine that a small business owner might be interested in (Time, BRW, MyBusiness) and I do the same at a bookstore I visit whenever I'm there.

I would do the same for libraries, but I figure that it would be a waste.

This has actually been the most cost effective (and profitable) thing I've done and have generated a good amount of business out of it as it literally gets my business card into the hands of people who might find use for my services.
Sure, but at lower prices, you know they'll choose the higher payoff with higher risk.

The experiment's results aren't even vaguely surprising. It's that it was so easy and rapid to conduct.
Most of these aren't really things that a startup can solve, since to be useful, you need to integrate with all the other crap out there, and once you do that, you find you're just as crappy as they are. But I'll chip in with my biggest pain point:

It's discontinuities in the development process. Y'know, those little features that seem like they should be easy to implement, but aren't.

The particular discontinuities differ between languages, but here are a few that really bug me:

Java, C, C++, and JavaScript: Converting a plain old field to a method that computes the property. This is why Java books tell you to always use accessors.

Any OO language: Adding a new method to an interface implemented by lots of classes

Java/C++: Adapting a 3rd-party class to an interface that it doesn't natively support.

Haskell: Converting a pure function to a monadic one

Haskell, Ocaml, & Erlang: Adding a new field to an ADT or tuple.

Any language without a refactoring browser: renaming a method, field, or variable.

All languages: converting prototype code written with ad-hoc data structures (tuples, lists, dicts) to production code with formal data structures (classes, ADTs)

All languages: changing the order of function arguments

All languages: internationalizing strings
As for me, I hope somebody builds a spectacular killer app for jailbroken iPhones so that part of the economy gets opened up. I love my iPhone and programming for it way too much.

Also, this dude seems to belong to the typical "elitist" Mac people group. "crapware written by hobbyist students" -- WTF! A student won the official Apple competition for best Mac / iPhone app or something like it.
I know of applications that have been rejected not because they sucked, but because they were similar to ones that already existed.

It's bad for long-term innovation, but maybe it's good for the platform by not confusing users. I personally feel it's legitimate for open platforms to arbitrarily restrict default visibility, but not for them to restrict distribution.
:) Serious comments for serious stories. Bad pop science deserves to be mocked.
Well, Apple has already gotten some of our money. We purchased some Macs solely to develop an iPhone application for one of our endeavors. Now, though-- given the lag with even getting approval (so we can get to the stage of installing a test app on test phones), we're rapidly losing excitement about investing in the project.

And then there's this kicker-- once our team spends time developing it, there's a chance it won't even be allowed. Great!

He doesn't really mention in his post the fun fact that you've got to pay a fee so Apple can review/reject your app. Definitely not feeling warm and fuzzy about the investment so far.
certainly, it has got nothing to do with "India". perhaps, "native indian"
How Much Money Does It Take To Be A TechCrunch50 Finalist?
You're wrong, it is Apple. And not only are you wrong, you are provably wrong.

Go ahead and write a pull-my-finger app for one of Apple's competitors (Blackberry or WinMo) and no one will stop you from releasing it on your target devices.
Might also work for getting dates. Though you probably should not use a business card.

A friend of mine has observed that using blank business cards generate a far higher callback rate for him than preprinted cards. (Of course he writes his number etc on the blank card as he hands them out.)
Tie it to milestones and accomplishments and make sure you have an opt-out clause if the thing falls apart with nothing to show for your work.You do NOT want to give permanent ownership of your labor in exchange for a loose promise to deliver the stars.

As a fellow developer, I imagine you have worked on this for ages, and will likely continue to work on it even without them. It is important you avoid getting yourself put in a position where you cannot do that, or end up delivering IP to someone else to monetize. If selling your product ends up being more difficult than they think, will these bail and still demand compensation if YOU pick up the ball they drop and run with it? How serious are they and what signs are they giving you that they deserve equity at this point.

If all they are doing is sales, you can set up a commission structure, and tie equity in your issues to the company's hitting successful sales milestones. If these guys want ownership to start, another approach is to license your existing codebase to the new venture. Be sure to get this license down in paper!
Ask HN: Looking for hard-working, ambitious co-founder
I'm looking for someone who:
- is ready to go "all in" in a new startup, preferably an enterprise software startup.
- want to grow a long-term business.
- has a strong business/technology sense.

At this point I'm curious about finding someone who's genuinely interested to build a durable business. I have a good idea of what I want to build and I'm ready to take on either the business side or the technical side; so that means I'm looking for either a spirited coder or business-savvy entrepreneur/product designer.

More about me:
I've been running a relatively successful (500k/yr revenue, 5 full-time employees) startup for the last 3 years.
I could bootstrap the business with 10-20k if needed.
I'm located in Canada but I'm willing to relocate if needed.

Contact me at dthefounder at gmail for more details.
Unexpected-hanging paradox
I wouldn't have thought so, after my post I did some (I'll admit not as extensive) searches for other potential variations using phrases like "slang", "indian", "yamma", "yama" and even did permutations in within quotes to see if it would yield anything.

The only thing that was even mildly related to India is "Yama" but he's a hindu deity of death, nothing to do with genitalia.

Yammer is an english slang word for "to speak incessantly about nothing" which pretty much sums up twitter.
Apple WILL change their tune, and the more users and developers complain and pressure them, the faster they will change their tune.

We know Apple's excuses ("we can't let you have open access, because someone might bad apps and we need to protect our users from themselves") are bullshit. Their competitors have had more open SDKs for years and none of Apple's doomsday scenarios have come to pass.

I'm personally hoping that when Adroid comes out with its own app store and open platform, it will finally convince people to stop excusing Apple's behaviour.
"We of course feel terrible to all of the 95% of the users that wanted to try Mono on Windows and the Mac and ended up using a two year old version of Mono."

That's humility.
Firstly, not all hackers are founding or interested in founding businesses.

Secondly, the difference between the democrats and republicans on the policy towards small business is really not all that different. There are small, honestly insignificant differences in taxes which might be effected. And capital gains isn't exactly on people's minds when they found a business. It's mostly float or sink.

But, thirdly, the republicans routinely have the least progressive attitude towards software patent reform, public domain status, copyright reform, and tend to enforce monopolies in, for example, media.

Four, Obama embraces technology, has a technology policy, and is altogether seen as progressing away from the old paper bureaucracies.

Fifth, a huge number of hackers are from immigrant populations, whose livelyhood is increasingly threatened by the demand for visas and protectionist immigration and freetrade policies.

Finally, for many hackers, questions of economic policy are almost completely irrelevant compared to the promise of a more pacifistic war policy, more widespread civil liberties, and a government that doesn't act as if American citizens, and American citizens alone, are god's chosen people.

Many hackers are outsiders, who would bare the brunt of an assault on civil freedoms. Most hackers are familiar with moral reasoning. Most hackers could only get their start by disobeying the system somewhat, and are routinely familiar with doing illegal acts that nonetheless cause no harm. Thus hackers find themselves in opposition to authoritarian structures, and the republicans have, in the public consciousness, been most likely to exercise their might in this manner.

(I've only just realized that HN's guidelines contain the admonishment 'no politics')
It's twenty nights, all in all.

Still not much.
I think the problem is that there are other tasks that require a high task approval rate, so by rejecting people's answers (so they don't get a payout) they are otherwise adversely affected. Perhaps there is a way to programmatically bonus people.

Also I don't think there's an easy way to force a choice between taking different tasks.
The point is to get access to the utility function (versus perception of expected value) across a relatively constant set of people. I'm not sure how they value their own time is relevant.
For 10$ you should be able to hire around a thousand mturkers in the name of science.
Not always. There was this one month he lost to a bet.
All languages: O/R mapping
Does it also support the BurnTheCPU feature?

Is there not a way to do something like this without burning the CPU?
Olympus WS 311M 512MB Digital Voice Recorder
Olympus WS 311M 512MB Digital Voice Recorder is the business traveler who wants to travel light. The WS-311M saves all file types to its memory in an instant - voice files, music, presentations or text documents.
I'm not sure I understand how the existence of conflict has anything to do with my statement. You said, "how badly things can get out of control", and my recollection of the robot novels (and I, Robot, in particular) pretty much universally includes a few humans getting out of control and robots helping other humans put things right again. I don't see how your comment (either of them, actually) makes sense in that context.
That presumes that every person in the organization signs up. Actual adoption is likely to be far lower.
Hah, right. I forgot... they are just straight premium. My mistake. ;-)
Rsync works too. But I'm not going to ask my Dad to install it.
Debugging a class with several levels of inheritance
You don't need approval for Symbian, Java or Windows Mobile applications. I doubt anyone would develop for Symbian if the only way to install applications was through a "Nokia store".

I'm not saying that what Apple does is bad, because a company can do whatever they want (so long as they're not a de facto monopoly). But it seems to be more of an Apple problem, and not a problem with the mobile industry.
My favorite part of this criticism was how the author implied that this would fail because corporations don't want their business data in the cloud (a viable concern), but then turned around and suggested that companies should make great software that people want, like 37 signals has done. Ironic.
Microsoft’s Real Problem: Facebook is the New Outlook, and- not Listening to Generation Y
> The model of buying cheap ads and then having pages with nearly no content filled with many more higher paid ads?

Why not? Google does something similar itself with its "link units" where you click through to a new page with a whole group of ads.

Advertising is not immoral (usually), illegal (usually), or some sort of thing to wipe out. Buying cheap and selling high is how the world works - whether you're selling labor, bricks, commodities, or, yes, advertising.

Would you be raising similar objections if, say, the Yellow Pages advertised with "Find all Builders in YourTown, FL", and it then went to a page with a (paid) list of all the builders in said town? If so, why? It'd be useful and a good demonstration of arbitrage.
why do you feel justified in using what they created without any compensation?

Because if I'm basing not purchasing it off of DRM, chances are I like everything else about it and still want the product. Gotta get it somehow!

Although I get your point, and concede that there probably isn't a significantly justifiable reason for pirating. Luckily, I've never really had to justify things to myself in terms of right/wrong so I don't suspect my strategy will change anytime soon.
I'm looking for a beautiful blonde attractive wife. She has to be ready to live with me in a deep relationship, starting immediately. I have a good idea of where I want the relationship to go, as I have some experience-- I previously had a successful marriage with 2 kids and a minivan.

Contact me if interested.

(Seriously, I think this reads too much like a stereotypical job ad, and less like a search for a cofounder. Cofounders need to have much better relationships than employees, and I'm hesitant to think that four paragraphs of generic superlatives is the right way to find partners for a business venture.)
I'm having a hard time believing sourcetool's argument that they were more than an arbitrage spam site.

It is a bunch of scraped content, with ads around it. I don't see any additional value provided by sourcetool and I definitely don't believe the search engine argument as search engines generally add value by at least ranking pages somehow, there doesn't appear to be any logical order to how the pages are ranked more than when they appeared in the sourcetool database.

Some pages are nothing more than a series of keywords with ads around it, here's a perfect example chosen at random, I landed on a page for a business called "Sundeal", nothing but keywords.

The "Brief Description" are the exact words for the title tag of Sundeal's homepage, all other content (that is not part of the standard sourcetool layout) is simply the keywords meta repeated twice.

Even looking at the copyright notice down the bottom of the page "Copyright © 2005-06" makes it hard to believe this is in any way, shape or form a professional Internet Business.

I'd almost be inclined to say this article was paid placement itself.

Mod me down for those who don't agree, but I hold nothing but contempt for this sourcetool site.