skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I believe the incarnation came from something along the lines of "I wanted to learn ASP, so I made a dating site". Not sure where that plots on the graph of passion and determination.
The problem is that philosophy is thought to provide us with the truth. When in fact the truth of philosophy is that it shows us there is no truth. It helps us break down the illusions not create them.
Doesn't the objection of the b2b market to a one-man (or woman) band implicitly register a practical problem with such a set-up - namely that if the operator falls ill, the service will come to a halt. This is also a pretty big pitfall for more consumer-facing startups, as it's a major reason not to return.
"Many people would sooner die than think. In fact they do."

Bertrand Russell.
Yet this failure to agree on semantics is in part because of the difficulty in providing solid, incontrovertible justifications for these meanings. Consider the new branches of mathematics that were [created|discovered] when Euclid's definition of a straight line were questioned.

That mathematics corresponds so well to the world we perceive is amazing. Why should this be the case? How can we be sure that mathematics and science holds for all cases which we do not observe or that they will continue to do so? Can rigorous justifications be given for these questions that do not rely on circular arguments and blind faith?
Tech Luminaries - "a Charlie Rose-style interview show for the tech industry"
It shouldn't be made easier for startups - it should be made harder
I've recently been having a discussion with a successful serial entrepreneur who says that government (and other) initiatives to make it easier for startups are misguided. He says it should be made harder, because that way those who are destined to fail will do so earlier, whereas those who are likely to succeed will have less competition for what help does exist.

This seems to me similar to the idea that computer languages for education should not be made easier, because if someone can't cope with the complexity then they're better kept out of programming anyway.

I'm not (yet) going to state my position. I'd first like to hear what other hackers say.
Does this count as news? It's an interesting curiousity, yes, but it's old.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon

Perhaps YC needs an "olds" section, as well as a "news" section. Still, it was nice to be reminded again of this eccentricity.
Wish I'd ordered one of these - I just got my parents a Kodak wireless frame (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016NOTOI) and setting it up to pull grandbaby pictures from Flickr was painful. Aside from the predictably terrible software design, it's not a touch screen - it has this weird touch strip on the bottom and right of the screen.

For my parents baby pics/videos plus easy access to NPR podcasts in the kitchen would be very attractive. One button videoconferencing would be very cool too.
Good luck with the manufacturing.
We can't guarantee anything about the world. Empirically, science seems to work, and that is all we can ever get from it. Math is true regardless of its utility in science, and we use it in science because it is convenient to do so.

There are no solid, incontrovertible definitions. Only solid incontrovertible proofs (even there, we don't generally actually know whether or not a proof is incontrovertible, because proofs are rarely verified on that level...but, within mathematics, it is at least POSSIBLE to either verify a proof on that level, or provide a verifiable flaw). Definitions are a matter of convenience.

That the semantics of mathematics sometimes change does not imply that any of its terminology are ever inherently complex in the sense that those who don't understand it, "Don't get it." Indeed, since semantics in mathematics are only ever a shorthand, every mathematical construct could conceivably be expanded into the language of logic, and every mathematician (modulo human error) would agree that the expansion was valid. This underlying agreement on meaning is precisely what is missing from fields like much of literary criticism and philosophy.
We had considered the same issue, but decided to give it a try anyway.
How about an alarm clock? There's more people who use alarm clocks than have twitter accounts. Add your existing weather app, so I can see what to wear in the morning.

Also a simple Facebook feed? Using the Python API you can do this in a few minutes, give me a buzz if you want me to paste example code.
I work at a hospital in your neck of the woods.

Kaiser does a pretty good job with basic stuff, and their rates are pretty reasonable from what people tell me. A lot of other companies in the area use Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They can probably get you decent rates on an HMO plan for your business.

Another way to go about is is to find out what doctors groups in the area people really like. Then ask the offices in that group what insurance companies they are associated with. Insurance is one thing, but having to go to a crappy doctors group because that's who your HMO allows you to go and see really stinks.
Apart the visited link way there are also other means of achieving the same result even working server side. Check out this paper http://wozad.com/docs/sp3.pdf ,it's covering also the privacy issues.
Got any research links for this? I haven't seen any that would point to BCAA's as a solution for tiredness - I am interested.
i think he/she meant javascript not CSS.
It really depends on what easier means. It should certainly be made easier to negotiate the inevitable government red tape, the form-filling and box-ticking that is usually actually completely unnecessary to anyone but the bureaucrats. That's just friction in the economy. I'm not actually sure what grants can be made for startups, but the government almost certainly should not be involved at all, since its agenda is almost never "create wealth" (as a long-term tax strategy) but "create jobs" (as a short-term election strategy).
I have a large project I am working on, and will be spending my entire summer on. However, over Christmas break I have a very small website which is basically a product specific blog. Hopefully I will make a little amazon affiliate money.
Need a Ride? Check Your iPhone
EXCERPT: “You put the iPhone on the dashboard, and it records the entire trip and sends the route to our network,” he said. The system stores the route, adding it to its menu of paths and pick-up points and offering them automaticallyto interested riders.

Drivers must have an iPhone in order to use the service, but if passengers don’t, they will be able to look for a ride on the Avego Web site or call or send a text message, Mr. O’Sullivan said. Drivers and riders can identify one another by photographs displayed on their iPhones, as well as by PINs that verify identities and authorize the transaction.

Avego will charge 30 cents a mile, he said, with 85 percent going to the driver to recover some of the commuting costs and 15 percent to the company. All payments will be handled by automated online accounting.
If you could meet one person...
Oops, I meant "arrow" not "array", and didn't notice in time to edit.

Can you tell I'm a programmer, not an archer? (actually, I have practiced archery in the past)
Yes, I'd recommend Roundup. It has a good, easy, clean design.
I wonder how effective this is. Does the Streisand effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect) not apply in China?

Do people there just not care that their internet is heavily censored. Surely they're aware?
Boat Insurance
How to find the Best Expedia Coupons
No, I consistently am not moved by status-posturing awareness spending. Truth isn't a marketing expense, and I don't appreciate having my opinions manipulated by advertising regardless if the advertisement's goal is ethical, logical, or true.
Wouldn't that end up being the same price as a photo frame with builtin wifi? I guess it would be good for people who already have a regular frame they want to make wireless.
I want my government to make things harder for startups that cause honest threats to safety or security, but in all other cases I want it to mind it's own business and let everyone else mind theirs.
Santa Clara University professor mirrors famous torture study
> How about an alarm clock?

Yup, with sleep.fm integration.
I'm thinking the same thing. if something bad happens on the Chinese books, they might take 6 months to air it.

They have a lot riding on constant growth. going down to 1-2% for a couple of years is politically not an option. That might be a dangerous situation.
I was concerned about this too when I set up OurDoings to accept photos by email. I don't let users pick their own address to send to; I generate a random one for them.

And yes, emailing to a frame is cool, but I'm biased because I'm doing it.
The Perfect Server - OpenSUSE 11.1
Linux to Xbox Media Share | TechJaws
There are now more slaves in the world than at any point in history
Thanks for your critical thoughts. That's holds for you as well as gambling8nt, straiberman and kragen.

I'll try to answer some of your objections.

(1) You're right that "sample of 1" is an expression found in experimental science. But how do we know that a small sample is no sufficient reason to accept a hypothese if not by using logic?

Also: Read PG's essay once more and tell me: What reasons did he present to support his hypotheses, other than merely: "I didn't understand philosophy, therefore all current philosophy is useless"? He's basically making an appeal to authority, namely his own authority. Hardly a good reason.

2) PG asserts that early philosophy was inspired by maths. But was it, really? How does PG know? In fact, both fields probably inspired each other. This is one of the examples that makes some philosophy useful -- examples that PG simply ignored.

3) Just because you agree with PG (or had a similar experience) doesn't make any of you right. However, I agree that philosophy has had a quality problem every now and then. But that doesn't render all philosophy (or its method) useless.

Also: I'm wasn't trying to say: "I think he's wrong". I say: "Where are his arguments to believe his assertions that he can find a quick way?" Even the more practical sciences have had some really strange ideas when looking at them in hindsight. If usefulness is such a good guide, why did they run into these errors?

4) Indeed, all kind of thinking produces more thinking. Homo sapiens is about 40.000 years old. Then, what did they do the first 37.000 years if mere thinking is sufficient to find the meaningful and true statements?

Finally, attacking the presentation is often the same thing as dismissing the argument. For what are his arguments? PG can point to some bad philosophy, granted. Everybody can do this for all kind of fields. I can point at some really bad software. Is therefore all software engineering useless?

PG wants us to believe his assertions that the philosophical method is inherently flawed. But he presents no arguments other than his own experience, some selected examples and that's about it.

If you want to know what's useful about philosophy, look no further than Socrates: His way to ask people critical questions about the meaning of words, the reasons why they do have the believes they have, and his way to find the differences between good and bad reasons (namely by debate) still is what philosophy is all about. We need the bad thinking to find out why it's bad. Philosophy proceeds by discussing and recording these issues.

You might call it as well critical thinking.

Our small discussion here hopefully shows why this is useful. Trying to dismiss arguments makes you a better thinker.
Not for my startup, but I've managed affiliate programs for clients, and am an affiliate of several products myself.
Very cool, the ability to post weather via Twitter is something I'd like to add to my social weather startup: www.OtherWeather.com
High-performance XML parsing in Python with lxml
The Auto industry is sustainable if you include the Japanese automakers who still happen to do a vast majority of their manufacturing here in the US.
For a feed of all the #1 HN stories, use http://feeds.feedburner.com/HNWatrcoolr

For more top stories from hacker feeds, use http://hacker.watrcoolr.us/ (feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HackerWatrCoolr)
I'm gonna work on my Jekyll-in-python project I started a few weeks ago: http://github.com/mapleoin/pyblee/tree/master . And while I'm at it, I'll also be improving my blogging.
Have a look at pdftk, in an Ubuntu repository near you. It can do many things with PDF files.
A Generation With More Than Hand-Eye Coordination
>3: Nothing has been created (IOW, entropy has not decreased, and matter and energy are still conserved)-- we're merely better at transforming matter and energy than we used to be.

Entropy on Earth has been decreasing for billions of years. The 2nd law of thermodynamics only applies to a closed system.
Great review, this seems like it's worthy of anyone's reading eyes regardless of generation.
refactoring the 9 year old PHP code i've been recently assigned to maintain at work
Consumers Are Choosing Simpler Electronic Gadgets
Eat turkey. Drink eggnog. Spend time with the family. Stay away from the computer and work.
At more U.S. employers, the doctor is in
Besides, language shapes debate. Why call it what others call their more inferior products? Seems like a good opportunity for a new name/product category.

Feed frame? Stream frame? App frame?
Nothing spectacular but I'm going to try my first go at using PyGTK as I finish up a very simple command-line ftp uploader. The api is almost done, then I'll just wrap the GUI around it. I've only worked on it for a few hours but have learned a lot about Python in terms of file/directory scanning, ftp, and threading.

Apart from that, I'm just taking the time to get a simple portfolio/resume site up. Working full time during the year makes it hard to get time for these things.
"Mr. Tapscott is not uncritical of Net Geners."

Words like those make me wary...reminding me of Orwellian Newspeak for some reason.
Teaching relies on two things, primarily, beyond domain knowledge: making connections, and empathy. A great teacher understands not just the topic, but how it relates to other topics. Furthermore, a great teacher also has the ability to probe the person being taught to discover which connections are missing. Finally, of course, the connections have to be communicated, but communication skills are the least important. (If you don't have domain knowledge, if you can't make connections, and you can't get inside the head of the "student," you can't teach. If you can do all of those things, but you struggle with communication, you can eventually get your point across if you are determined).

It's the ability to make connections that we mostly associate with "understanding."

I'm suspicious of "true experts" who can't explain themselves. I think what a lot of people witness are people with deep domain knowledge ("experts") who just don't bother to make the connections. In my view, making the connections is a large part of being an expert.
http://www.redmine.org is Ruby on Rails -based project management app. You can configure it to run your code development projects (it basically an improvement on http://trac.edgewall.org, features wiki/tickets/milestones/integration with git/svn... etc ) and set up a separate customer support section.

They have email gateway and a very flexible user rights management features. You could set up customers to email you issues which will automatically become tickets in your development project (which is accessible only for developers). You can also set up a wiki available only for customers.

Since you are (hopefully) already running issue tracker/version control environment for developers, you can thus avoid creating a redundant extra layer of 'support ticket' database and 'customer knowledge base' altogether.
if you liked the Fountain Head you can read The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins ( insight into evolution ) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene
Instead of refuting the flawed chinese room, the authors of those papers could have done something more productive instead. Like really working towards a real AI algorithm.
Finishing my second app; boosting the marketing to improve conversion rates on my site (which are abysmal....)
Hmm, to avoid this being a back-and-forth between us, I attempted to find a reference for my point (which I was taught from multiple professors in college, and backed up by personal experience)... and I couldn't find any.

I could find reference to "the myth that children learn languages easier than adults". I'm shocked that my child psychology and cognitive psychology professors (who both taught a section on language development) would get that wrong, but it's entirely possible.
I'm have a CS degree and am currently building an API heavy application, and yet when I looked at GNIP I could not understand as well as your previous paragraph. Lol, you should e-mail your explanation of their company to them.
I would like to meet the person who have a failed startup on his account and trying the next time... many people don't even have the courage to start the first time.

"Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know."
Recommend Kayako - http://www.kayako.com

Very robust and full of features.
You mean, an incredibly innovative user/device interface isn't the reason for people buying the Wii? It was price and simplicity, not taking the interaction aspect of video gaming and turning it on it's head with a completely new experience that attracted people to the Wii?

I'm shocked.

Newsflash: video gamers are pretty keen people (you said so yourself right here[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21shelf.html]), and it feels like a slap in the face to talk about how quick witted the generation raised on the internet and face paced video games are, only to turn around and say "they prefer something simple versus something capable of more power". For the record, gamers cherish a power, they cherish a machine that pulls them into a world so realistic they may as well be looking out the window.

The same principle goes for the Flip. It's innovation that drives us crazy. Trust me, I know. I'm part of the generation you're talking about.
"Someday that party picture is going to bite them when they seek a senior corporate job or public office."

Things change. At that time all their peers will also have "party pics" on net, most of society will believe it's normal. In a generation their seniors will have grown up with public private lives and if you don't have "party pics" you'll be weird, out of touch, and too secretive to be trusted in a senior position.

"or they think the idea of owning music is over."

Things change. When this generation becomes the legislature the laws will match reality. Well at least get closer.

"they prize freedom" -> http://www.bugmenot.com/ only bitches require login.
"Holy Fucking Shit I Was Just In A Plane Crash"
Yes, I think that's pretty much what I said, although I think I phrased it badly.

I meant to say that most consultants bullshit, rather than lie. Thanks for the correction.
Just graduated from college 2 weeks ago, working full-time on my iPhone gaming startup now. This last week has been the best in my life, I love startups!
Go to your nearby Walmart or Best Buy and ask a customer there if feed frame, stream frame, or app frame means anything to them. You need something more basic that the average person would quickly grok. [EDIT: But it's not like I have any better ideas.]
Retweetradar - Finding trends in the mountains of information 'retweet'ed on Twitter.
If you enjoy history you may want to read Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels (historical fiction). I loved it.
As an emacs user, two problems with these key combos that are constantly burning me:

When I hit ^A in a text field of my webmail app (Fastmail) it reloads the page I'm typing in, losing all the text I've entered so far. You have no idea how hard it is for an emacs user to stop doing this. So be very careful on web pages.

I keep using kill-and-yank subconsciously because I'm trained in it. But the kill ring (is it even a ring?) gets preserved... idiosyncratically in Mac OS X, particularly when you move from app to app, and of course it is completely separate from the clipboard where copies and pastes go. I quite commonly kill something and then can't get it to yank, or kill something and then try to paste it and fail.
I'm confused - why is this submission not appearing in the "Hacker News" section? It's in the "News" section ...
Local-Motors: Open-source automobile design and manufacturing
Numbers of Americans Below Poverty Level Increasing
Well, given that this thing appears to be a netbook from a hardware standpoint, it's hard to complain if it costs about as much as a netbook!

Before you conclude that the only thing preventing people from owning netbooks instead of appliances is the price, be sure to spend several hours pondering the lessons of Slashdot's infamous initial review of the iPod: "No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."

http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/1816257...

I think this frame is pretty exciting, even if the Chumby is more cuddly.
You might be interested in a UK site
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/
On my machine (latest stable firefox shipped with Ubuntu, 2 year old MBP) it 'only' loads the CPU by about 5%, which isn't great but considering that:

- The machine is still fully usable, and you buy a fast CPU in case you need to run demanding code.

- JS VMs are still improving.

- Complex JS getting more and more cross platform.

- 3D library hooks from JS are likley in the future.

All of the advanced JS effects really are quite promising for growth into seriously rich web apps in the future.
I've been an affiliate, and am getting ready to launch our own in-house affiliate program (using iDevAffiliate) to promote our own products and services.

Feel free to drop me a line if you want to chat in more detail.
If you join http://nase.org (National Association of Self-Employed) you can get a pretty good rate on health insurance through them.
Yes I use affiliate marketing at my day time job. Nearly 40% of our sales come from affiliates. I am also readying to setup the same for my startup. I am planning to offer 50% of our sales because we don't have any operating costs, but in most cases the payout is around 30%. Note that to make your AM successful you will need to constantaly come up with new offers, incentives, banner ads etc... and communicate with your top earners. Make them happy.
meet yourself. Most people don't know themselves deep enough to figure out their own plusses and minuses and act on them. Every person has the potential to achieve success, but it begins from self realization.
a bad idea is still a bad idea, and a good idea is still a good idea. if you end up competing for government help, the ideas that will likely survive will likely win out anyway.
Now I'm more confused. Why did that get down-modded rather than answered? I've checked the FAQ to try to see why "Hacker News" doesn't seem to contain this submission, I've asked a sensible question, and it gets down-modded.

What have I done wrong?