skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
When I want to go to the theater near me (Metreon in SF, local mall's theater in NY), the price you cite is a little over half of what I would have to pay for a single ticket. Its usually closer to $11-$12. And thats without imax or 3d.
KISS seems to demand a length field on the receiving side of a protocol, though - you don't need to restrict, validate, (un)escape, or even look at the data you're transferring, so you can easily transfer anything. Testing length is far easier than escaping - do the bits after skipping match the spec for the next chunk of metadata? You can therefore create tests which only test the metadata (your actual spec), and completely ignore the data.

The only thing left is ensuring your tests fail when you specify the wrong length, which should be assured by your spec (either a master-length value or a protocol-terminating character like \0 (where you touch on the escaping problem again)). This is the exact same thing as ensuring start/end delimited tests pass/fail when you are adding/missing bits of your packet, or if the bits/bytes are misaligned, which you should be doing regardless.

Given this, using lengths means you can avoid creating or testing any (un)escaping code, and the bit-alignment tests are identical between the two - lengths are simpler and more easily testable. KISS favors lengths.

On the sending side, length is still easier than escaping, unless you're streaming data of unknown length. In that case, you're probably still breaking it up into packets that can be individually sent and validated with a known length, or you have to resort to escaping and delimiters (not that it's a bad option, just that it's the only remaining one AFAIK).
It's a placement agency so, yeah, don't fully trust those numbers.

Then again, you'd have to think that those numbers represent the sort of market that would use staffing agencies. So, if you want to come work for a financial titan, you can get more $$$ via direct negotiations / interviews. However, if you think you're coming here to work for an interactive media or B2B startup, then forget these numbers altogether. Those jobs pay everything from low market salaries to a cash/equity mix. We'll never get a clear picture of that market because, IRT insiders, it's in no one's best interest to talk about it.
I am a huge fan of Gandi. Yes, they are slightly more expensive than other services, but I find their user interface not just good, but really quite amazing.

One simple but obvious feature they have is the ability to create DNS presets and apply those for new domains, it's really useful. (other people probably offer this)

Gandi also has fantastic support; it is slightly sad that they do not have a telephone number, but I get the vibe that Gandi is a real technology company and they believe they can offer premium support with support email. I agree, but I'd still like a telephone number for burning issues.

My only real complaint is that they have an unbelievably stupid login system where you log in not with a username, nor with an email address, but with an entirely random username. Mine is: PC5669-GANDI. It's infuriating if you ever need to use Gandi on a different computer. Why they saw it suitable to put their company name at the end of every login is puzzling.

Honestly though, its a minor criticism, and I love their "no bullshit" policy: http://www.gandi.net/no-bullshit

In my experience it is true.
Your strawmen are not exactly impressive. The very phrase you quoted specifies that it's revolutionary as a mobile phone.

Do you know of any mobile phone "more important than air", "making the world spin" or "preventing wars" through its intrinsic properties?
> Do you have any citations for this? I'm curious to see how Google is unknowingly violating people's privacy to the point that it's borderline illegal in certain countries.

There's nothing unknowing or borderline about it.

Canada's privacy commissioner rules Google violated Canadians fundamental right to privacy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/oct/19/google-stre...

France fines Google over privacy violations: http://mashable.com/2011/03/21/france-fine-google-street-vie...

Korean police raid Google offices in Seoul over privacy violations: http://gawker.com/5798135/police-raid-google-for-privacy-vio...

FTC settles with Google over privacy violations: http://wjlta.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/ftc-settlement-over-go...
Like I said, they're dicks, but they weren't quite doing what people try to say they were.
In the suburbs of Columbus in Upper Arlington there is the Movie Tavern, which is a chain with a few other locations around the country. They take a very similar approach, with tables in front of each seat.
I doubt it's inevitable. The Movie Tavern is a chain with a similar concept. Food, beer, etc. served with the movie. They've got a location here in Denver that I rather like. Not sure exactly how long it's been around but I've been going there several years and they've managed to keep it pretty clean and nice. I like taking my kids to movies there. They get shakes, I get beer. We all have a good time.
You should have asked yourself that question before you registered at Godaddy. If you do not want your name to be associated with your domain, you are now locked in forever. To be honest, I don't even know if other registrars do it any different. (I only know that Nearlyfreespeech.net does not lock you in that way, but not about others like namecheap.)

Gandi.net does not offer full whois privacy by the way, so your name will always be revealed.
Stack Exchange comes to mind for me when I think .NET startup. I haven't worked with .NET much in the last 4-5 years, but there's obviously more out there. Maybe they don't spend time sharing.

If you ask me, customers don't care what you code in. Only that you solve a need they have.

Most languages are capable.

Most languages have capable frameworks.

Most have open source options.

If a Language+Framework saves you time in one way, it will probably take up some more time in some other place. You can find such examples in probably everything. Assuming reasonably equal developers in any language, choice of Language+Framework is generally preference and opinion.

Any capable developer can learn any Language+Framework. Some are quicker to pick up in the beginning. Some catch you long term if you don't learn them deep.

Very few startups are technically complex enough to benefit from a specific feature of just one platform, to justify that platform alone. Such technically complex enough startups typically use a number of technologies/languages together.

An interesting trend I've noticed is how so many culturally popular rapid development languages (Ruby, Python, Scala, etc.) are becoming a part of the polyglot world through the JVM (JRuby, Jython, etc.).

What would there be left to distract ourselves with from building a startup if Language+Framework was no longer something for us developers to keep ourselves busy with?
"Essentially, the cost differences have become moot"

No, not really. I specifically ruled out .NET because BizSpark expires after 3 years or >1 million USD in annual revenue (whichever comes first).

I just don't see a ton of advantage to running .NET/SQLServer/etc over something like Java/PostgreSQL/etc. I'm sure some .NET dev will disagree.

There's just so much flexibility in being able to spin up as many instances as I want without licensing restrictions. For example, a .NET deployment might require larger instances to decrease the per-machine licensing costs, whereas I can do whatever-the-hell-I-want with an open source stack.

BizSpark is free only if you expect to not be around in 3 years.
This is actually a really good interviewing technique. If you ask someone to talk about projects they have worked on and they don't talk your ear off then the person is probably not someone you would want to hire.

Having to force a person to answer questions on projects they've worked on before is a hint that something is wrong. Many times, when this happens, their final answer is something like "Well, actually, I didn't code that. I just reported on it".
As someone who has worked for a startup and now working on my own, recruiting good programmers isn't hard for me, it's quite simple actually, by surrounding yourself with smart people it makes it that much easier to bring on and make relationships with smart people.

The problem for me is the business/financial side of things. I have been looking for an equally passionate co-founder that can handle accounting and finance with ease, considering our MVP will have to divy up income between different accounts and what not.

I wish I could find that person.
Have they figured out which API they are using? You know, the old deprecated vs the new one, which last time I useed hadoop was missing features that required me to use the old API. Even though they had @deprecated all over the old API.
Do Hard Things
>reports from users of namecheap that their interface is just as bad as GoDaddy's.

Completely untrue. Namecheap's interface is barebones and is by no mean flashy, but that's what I like about it. It gets out of my way and lets me do what I need.

GoDaddy's interface is a labyrinth designed to make you want to slam your own hand in a car door just to make the hurt stop.
My 2 cents...

Among other, one of the main benefits of using Stripe is actually freeing users (developers) from the burden of having to get PCI complaint.

Once you have a "payment token", there is no need whatsoever to POST ALL the form data back to "your" server (along with the appended token attribute). At this point all you need is the payment token (and the last 4 digits of the cc for having a weak reference (though enough) to the cc currently being used). This would potential mislead a few users out there who have no idea about the security implications of such action.

To recap, a good Stripe example shall not include any assumptions about having server being PCI complaint. Also, in regards to this example (and the form example in the Stripe docs), there is no mention about the implications of POSTing the form data safely (and not in plain text as one would assumed from the code) e.g. using SSL. Though, this might be trivial to some of you, examples should make this point clear and leave no assumptions behind.
It's not really an array, it's a hash table. When you insert an item it doesn't simply put it in a previously allocated array, but places it at the end of a linked list in the correct bucket determined by the hash. In order to check if the key has already been used the list must be traversed each time, and so insertion becomes a linear operation.
I completely disagree. Internet ad supply far outstrips demand due to proliferation of UGC and other "non-premium" content. If you look at the prices of ads on any given ad exchange, particularly those with large amounts of long-tail inventory like Google AdX, CPMs are in the pennies versus ~$10-20 for television and newspapers. Additionally, just look at video ads. In an ad-supported, long-form online video (like Hulu), you see significantly fewer advertisements than the equivalent program on cable TV.

Finally, look at search ads. You think it's not worth seeing a couple of inconspicuous (yet often fully-relevant and targeted) text ads in return for Google's products? Same thing for Facebook...
I hope with "Mobile/Web Engineers" they don't actually mean native iOS / Android development, because it would be a shame to see them lower than everybody else.
An afternoon pairing is a much richer test than bringing pre-made work to the table, as it more accurately simulates the fit.
> also useful for someone who's researching a potential employer

Exactly. Thanks for sharing, will definitely find uses.
Both their general service terms and domain registration terms include ethic/morality clauses.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3405177
7.89 for movies? What? Where? I'm guessing this data is skewed by the low prices of rural and suburban centers that are underpopulated. Here in the urban world where most of the population lives, movies start at 11 or 12 dollars and then there's a 3D surcharge of a couple bucks. When my gf and go to the movies here in Chicago its about 30 dollars before any snacks. Toss in a few bucks parking too. Oh, want to order online? That's another two dollars per ticket.

At the end of the day, Hollywood is asking us to drop 30-40 bucks to see yet another disposable experience. On the value vs cost curve, Hollywood is losing.

Meanwhile, Netflix streams to all my computers and my Boxee. Vudu too. I think I can wait a few months until its on Vudu or On-Demand for a fraction of that price. Even then its still not a compelling experience. I'm in my 30s. Where are the Scorsece's, Allen's, Spielberg's, and Coppola's of my generation? I'm not sure, but they aren't getting work in mainstream Hollywood.
Costs me $13 in NYC, $15 if I order tickets online. Rarely worth it.
Facebook Grubumuz XBirlik herkese hayırlı olsun
"At first glance, PHP and Ruby on Rails used to have a decided advantage on initial startup costs because they could be run using FOSS tools. However, Microsoft has been running their Bizspark program for a few years, which eliminates most of the startup costs normally associated with employing a .NET framework. Essentially, the cost differences have become moot."

Umm.... it just delays the cost. That's like saying putting something on a credit card is the same as getting something for free because both "cost" $0. You will end up paying to keep using those tools later on, but the thought is that in 3 years you'll be making enough that it won't matter. And that's probably a reasonable assumption, but it's now yet one more thing that you have to keep track of.

And... true, the cost is somewhat cheaper, but not everyone can take advantage of Bizspark in the first place. So... apply and wait, justify yourself, and perhaps get a pretty good deal on some MS software, or... just go use what a lot of other people are already using for free. It's not hard to see why open source tools win in a lot of situations.
Greenspun had some great thoughts on this in 2009:
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2009/05/18/ruby-on-rails-...

Business Guy: Hands Microsoft a bunch of money, launches site on an ASP server with 64GB RAM. He is basically done with IT for the first few years of growth.

MIT Genius: Starts off trying to build a system that will scale, from the beginning. He creates about 6 months of IT work for himself. It works, eventually, but it was a lot harder than what the business guy had to do.
The difference in this case is that Android can be customized and tailored however a carrier or manufacturer wants, because the source code is in fact available. Windows never allowed for that.
There are no simple unlock tools for some of the S-ON phones launched before September 2011 (with HBOOT 2.0). HBOOT can be downgraded[1], but it's quite complicated.

[1] http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1318919
I think webhdfs and the option for datanode bypass on the local clients qualifies as major new features though. hftp was such a PITA and a lot of mappers are now going to go a LOT faster.
Taking your "average ticket prices" data from the National Association of Theatre Owners is a bit disingenuous. I imagine they're averaging over time (rather than per-theatre-attendee or something), which would tend to favor the cheaper, daytime prices. When people go to the movies it's usually after work and on the weekends when ticket prices are $10+. I've seen prices well above $10 everywhere from small town Iowa to downtown Chicago and Minneapolis and they've definitely been higher in the last 5 years.

Add to that the cost of "renting" 3D glasses (a new phenomenon) and the higher ticket price for the "IMAX Experience" (not necessarily new, but much more widespread lately) and your average ticket price is definitely higher than it was historically.
Our local cinema does this, they have 'premium seating' which are the two best rows in the cinema, you have to pay an extra £2 a ticket to sit in them..
I've been using gandi for a long time and they've always been good to me. I like their "no bullshit" philosophy and their respect for my rights as a domain owner.
@samgrover I am agree with you and indeed they need to work on this if they want to grow up more.
Most businesses won't/can't effectively use remote developers.
I must respectfully disagree.

I take your central argument to be: "3D printers won't ultimately change our manufacturing process."

I take your main points to be: 1. The materials are weak and thus unsuitable for most products and 2. The efficiencies of scale of traditional manufacturing trump 3D printers in runs above 1k units.

Today your first point is true, however I use 3D printed parts as structural components in my robots and they are sound. I suspect in general material strength will increase until it meets the demands of how people want to use it. I hope you wouldn't make the argument that it can't increase in strength. There will always be material properties that can't be replicated in a fabber, but I do not know how many products in my life need these advanced properties.

Your second point ignores the decentralized nature of 3D printing. In total, yes, it will always be less efficient. But imagine a world where an Apple product launch means access to a new fabber file. Everyone in the world with a fabber could download and print the new product ... at the same time. No centralized manufacturing and distribution network could match that.

Some additional hurdles you don't mention: Material cost. $6 a cubic inch (my costs today) are really quite high. Material diversity. I need multiple materials for many objects I'd like to print. Speed. It takes hours to print something of moderate size. If I can pop over to a store and get the same item manufactured in the traditional way, I probably will.

Finally, if by any chance, someone reading this comment hasn't read "The Diamond Age" by Stephenson, please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.
Thoughts on burnout
Most people running a tech business use an unmanaged VPS or dedicated server. Running your own DNS server is kind of a pain—so, when all registrar run their own DNS servers and most have pretty good UI for record management, why not use them?

For what it's worth, I use domainsite.com. They're a solid and cheap registrar, and though their UI isn't the prettiest, managing domains and DNS records is fantastic. I use them for everything.
I agree about the commercials. With TiVo, I don't ever watch commercials at home any more, why would I watch them when I've paid so much money for a movie ticket? Plus I've found that I have no tolerance for them anymore.
The first blog post was uneducated and old arguments. Of course you can make 1.7 oz burgers, but only the best can do that with .NET.

But this blog post is just rambling... Why isn't .NET used? Non-techies making technical decisions, or they're hipsters and want to join the PHP or Ruby pain train.

The fact is, .NET can allow you to develop faster than anything else, so these folks are casting about for excuses.

The alternative? Try CodeIgniter for PHP... that's a decent framework!
Better question. Can you remember the plot of the last 5 movies you went to see?
The minute someone says "that's impossible, there is absolutely no way that will happen", someone else begins to devise a way to make the "impossible" scenario/product/achievement possible. Incedentally, the typical HN reader falls into the latter category - so carry on space pirates!
When you only make a kind of movie, it's expected that's the only kind that will make you money.

Actually, it's the distribution channels that block other kinds of movies from catching audiences. They only want "safe" blockbusters. Eventually, that will be their demise.
> which implies this has been known since 2003 in Perl

Known and also fixed because since then Perl has been using a random hash function.

ref: http://perldoc.perl.org/perlsec.html#Algorithmic-Complexity-... (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3402187)
The problem is that big companies (Google, Oracle, Facebook, and others) are doing the same tricks: good engineers can work on very interesting projects, equity potential is great (10% of stock price increase will get you significant chunk of money), the best people in the field will be your co-workers, etc.

On the other hand, startups will not train on job (or allow you to explore new things), will not allow working remote, etc. Plus, as per suggestion, you need to ask candidates to do 'trial projects' (which probably tells candidate that you are hiring low-level CRUD programers), you will not be able to match salary, etc.

I guess the only way to recruit top-talent is present that your company is doing something important and novel - and for engineers that bar is quite high.
Getting hired isn't always the goal, and some people (people who didn't have the luxury of a CS degree and/or college) want a better place to seriously get started once they exhaust online tutorials and books.
Our production environment is running on Windows + IIS + .Net, but we are moving everything to Mono. It is working for us. We are working on a stack based on Debian + NGnix + Mono. We are already using PostgreSql and Mongodb as as a data storage; we use Git (@ Github) for our repositories, and TeamCity for CI.

I do agree, the OSS stack for .Net is not as nice as Microsoft's, but in my case I mostly do everything with Emacs anyways, so it doesn't bother me. MonoDevelop is not bad though.
>Purchasing/licensing software is always a hassle. Even aside from the monetary cost, you need to decide which to buy, go through the purchase process, and sometimes you also have some activation hassle.

This. Navigating MS licensing is an absolute headache inducing time vampire for smaller organizations.
Microsoft offers good deals to startups[1], so cost is less of a factor than you may think. However, most people start programming as a hobby before they start a company, so it wouldn't surprise me if the cost issue mainly factors in earlier in the chain (at the point where people learn e.g. MySQL instead of MSSQL because of pricing). Of course, Microsoft is doing its utmost to push their products to students and schools, because they are well aware of this issue. Hackers, on the other hand, like to experiment, so they will come across alternatives to MS products sooner or later.

There are plenty of successful startups on the Microsoft stack. Everybody knows about the Stack Overflow story, but there are a lot more examples under the radar. Especially little ventures started by business people (who sometimes seem to prefer the Microsoft stack) that do quite well financially, but may not be very innovative on a technical level. It is just as viable in terms of getting things done and that is the only thing that matters. Admittedly, it may be harder to find good hackers with .NET experience, but the same goes for Java these days and Facebook is even successful in hiring smart people that are willing to work with PHP. Java and .NET are obviously popular with uninspired "bread programmers" because they are the path of least resistance to a safe 9-to-5 job, but that doesn't mean that all Java or .NET work is boring (consider e.g. Java at Google or Twitter).

I wouldn't want to personally depend on the likes of Microsoft or Apple for my development stack because I wouldn't bet my company on anything that isn't free as in freedom, but from my point of view as a casual observer the .NET platform is a pretty impressive piece of technology. Just like some other initiatives by Microsoft, like MSSQL things that come out of Microsft Research (e.g. Simon Peyton-Jones is employed there).

1: http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/