skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Same impression here, you really need to work on the design.

This is what it looks like here: http://www.uploadpad.com/files/bilumi.png

Major problems:

* Clutter! No clue what you are offering, no clue where to start.

* What's up with the messed up (scaled?) button graphics? And how about making them look a bit less like cracked eggs and a bit more like buttons?

* What's up with the 3 (three) navigation strips? Get rid of at least two!

* Sorry, flashblock ate your introduction animation. No chance for me to understand what your site is about. How a about a static image?

Well, to put it bluntly: Hire a designer.
Water-powered Jetlev makes jetpacks fun for non-daredevils
I would buy it. Im a vegitarian and when I buy vegitarian I choose to do so because it might save another cows life. Its good for humanity and life on this planet.

I would buy the pizza box because it does exactly that. It helps humanity. If you think about it, the box prob only costs another 5 cents to make.
Looks like the average linux desktop - in 2001.
RFC HN: Distributed Avatars 
Hi Hacker News,

I've noticed that more and more sites are using gravatars for user pictures (github for example). I like the idea of a globally available image tied to an email, but I don't like the fact that you are tied to the gravatar system (single point of failure).

I'd like to propose an alternative, and would love your feedback.

Gravatar associates a url based on the md5 hash of an email - instead I'd like to propose that the domain within the email address, combined with the prefix be used to generate a url. ie bob@test.com could be associated with the avatar at test.com/avatars/bob.jpg

It seems that only a few big email providers would have to get on board with this for the majority of people to have such an avatar. And people such a myself who have concerns about owning their online profile can control their avatar by using an email connected to their own domain.

What are peoples thoughts on the matter?
New iPhone generation leaks [cartoon]
Steve Jobs is faced with some very disturbing news.
It's probably best to talk to a lawyer. There will be paperwork at some point, but at least consult with one now so that you know exactly what you'll need to do and when. It could also be complicated because of your different countries. Only a lawyer will know all of the important details.
http://xmonad.org/ has lots of information.

The use case is that the computer manages window positioning for you, instead of you doing it manually. This frees up your brain to do something less boring.
If the "distinguished professor" wished only to teach his version of political activism, he should sign up to teach a class in his version of political activism. That way, his customers (aka students) would be getting what they paid for rather than an irrelevant rant from a total fraud.

If its Physics, Physics should be taught. If its Math, Math should be taught. If its Politics, Politics should be taught. The purpose, function, and reason the academics are employed is to teach students the content of a defined field of study. An academic does not have the right to refuse to perform his job and still keep his job with all its benefits.
Commuting your life away?
Ask HN: What are the top 3 entrepreneurial resources you read
Other than hacker news, what are the top three entrepreneurial resources you would recommend to someone else? I'm looking for things that you think contain high-quality content.
You can deliver value without being paid for it. For example by raising a child.
I've been looking at this project for a couple of months now, mostly because it's the closest you can come to OS X and the Cocoa framework on your Linux PC.

A few details for those who'd like to know: GNUStep is a reimpementation of the OpenStep API, which was an effort by Apple and Sun to bring the insanely great NextStep API to your regular workstation (I think my facts may be a little wrong here ; feel free to correct me). Etoile is built using GNUStep, with the desktop model based around the OS X dekstop (check out my desktop and compare it to Etoile: http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture1rn3.png).

The best part about Etoile is not that you get to use a fast, lightweight, (sorta) modern desktop environment for your favorite open source OS, it's the fact that you get a great oject oriented API similar to Apple's Cocoa for writing applications with. I've been looking at Cocoa for the past month or so, and I can assure you it's a great framework to write desktop apps in. Sure, Objective-C can be a little weird at first, but once you get used to it you'll find it's a very well thought out language. And BTW, GNUStep even has replacements for Apple's XCode and Interface Builder. I don't quite remember what the XCode replacement was called, but the IB replacement is called Gorm (which is not a cool name).

Upvoted for awesomeness.
"Research Guide" and "Develop" links are broken.
Interplanetary Transport Network
It's not news, but the potential for using it is growing. By using fuzzy orbits and the edge of chaotic regions, it's becoming possible to do large scale movements in the Solar system with very little expenditure of fuel. As with the time/space computing trade-off, this is a time/fuel trade-off -- the movements take a lot longer to achieve.

See also:

http://discovermagazine.com/1994/sep/gravitysrim419/article_view
http://news.ycombinator.com/news

why not empower us lot to deliver you quality content?
It's not news, but the potential for using it is growing. By using fuzzy orbits and the edge of chaotic regions, it's becoming possible to do large scale movements in the Solar system with very little expenditure of fuel. As with the time/space computing trade-off, this is a time/fuel trade-off -- the movements take a lot longer to achieve.

See also:

http://discovermagazine.com/1994/sep/gravitysrim419/article_...
It's funny this comes at a time when business leaders are increasingly seen as dishonest and irresponsible profit-seekers. I'm thinking of the bankers seem to try reap profits from the bailout just like they did from the bubble.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thain#Obama_administration

There is also this other fashionable topic, psychopaths in management:

http://www.management-issues.com/2006/8/24/research/beware-t...

http://www.aim.com.au/DisplayStory.asp?ID=566

(But to be honest, having read the article, turning crack dealers into entrepreneurs sounds like a great idea.)
Interesting (and critical) article by Dr. Nikolai Bezroukov.

http://www.softpanorama.org/People/Stallman/failure_with_hur...
How Microsoft Defines Cloud Computing
The Economist... not for 'entrepreneur' kinds of things, but just in general.
because you shouldn't have to do all the work :).I'm really looking for some unique, non-mainstream (read: not Techcrunch), blogs/websites/communities that focus on entrepreneurship.
Who is the customer? You or the child or both?

Perhaps you are paid for the value you deliver. If not, why did you do it? However, it is a payment that cannot be transformed by exchanging it for other things you need or want. Its primary benefit resides within you and your child.

Money is not the only form of payment but it is an extremely important form. This is because of its use as a medium of exchange in a division of labor economy. The existence of both supports and sustains a far higher standard of living than could otherwise exist.

Stillman's philosophy is to reduce the production of intellectual values to the state of a barter economy. That kind of economy rises only slightly above subsistence. This is why I say "Free is as successful as poverty."
Nuclear submarines collide in Atlantic
LG's S-class smartphone interface is an innova--aw, heck, it's an iPhone clone
Bloggers Paradise: 5 Blogging Plugins You Must Use
I posted this because I think this is the best place to collect some opinions about the likelihood of the official story and speculation on what really happened.

Such a collision in 3d underwater space seem exceedingly unlikely, without additional constraints.
Poll: Are you an Entrepreneur?  Hacker?  Both?
Trying to get an idea of how this site's users categorize themselves.
Would you define yourself as an entrepreneur?
Would you define yourself as a hacker?
Do you run your own company as your main source of income?
Have you done so in the past?
With a successful exit?
On earlier-model processors, it could be as bad as 40 cycles. You really didn't want to touch multiplication (or division!) back then. I recall programmers went as far as calculating memory offsets for a 320x200 screen as (x + (y << 8) + (y << 6)) instead of (x + y * 320).

http://home.comcast.net/~fbui/intel_i.html#imul
From their website (http://ecoincorporated.com/ecoincorporated.com/US_Patent.htm...):

"The ‘Green Box’ patent was issued in May of 2006. In addition, environmentally conscious organization, Inc. currently has two (2) outstanding patent applications to cover any possible work around of this design."
Facebook’s New TOS Owns Your Stuff
Who needs grades anyway? Do employers need grades?

I think the purpose of grades is primarily for bureaucrats to compare schools.

Teachers are the ones being paid. Grade them, not the pupils. Children need to know which classes are worth attending.
Science gleans 60TB of behavior data from Everquest 2 logs
Is it Time for Apple to Switch From Dock Connector to USB?
A letter to Obama
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/

Stanford has a wonderful Entrepreneurial Archive with hundreds of podcasts, lectures, etc. all related to entrepreneurship. And its sponsored by Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

It's been my #1 resource.
When I was 15, I used to think the Pirate Bay guys were heroes. Not anymore.

Encouraging piracy and then acting like you're martyrs is not the best way to combat RIAA/MPAA. I really appreciate services like Jamendo, which might not be as effective as straight out theft TPB-style but are actual vehicles which "free" the information that, presumably, wants to be free.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I download torrents from TPB. I know it's wrong, but they don't air Lost, Scrubs, South Park or any of my favorite shows in India so I have no choice. If they'd air it on TV, I'd be more than happy to pay my DTH provider an extra amount to get those channels. Heck, I'd even purchase episodes from an online retailer if only it didn't have that nasty DRM. (BTW, does anyone know if the iTunes store works in India now?)
The Story of How Venture Capital Gets Disrupted
I don't think the intention is to scare lawmakers with a protest online - it's about calling attention to it so more people put the pressure on the lawmakers in the usual ways. In light of that, even though I'm not from nor have ever visited New Zealand, I blacked out my Twitter avatar today, too. It could happen here someday. (True for any value of "here", IMO.)
I set aside an hour a day (on average) to "do stuff" that is of direct relevance to a project I want to complete. If I'm learning a new language, I have a small project to perform a small but non-trivial task. Then I make sure I spend about an hour a day on that.

Same goes for my reading. I allow 30 minutes a day specifically for reading about new stuff. That's usually last thing at night, plus a 5 minute mental review as I have my shower in the morning.

It's the consistency that counts. Small amounts of time consistently invested grow over time.
Why do you assume that minimum wage laws are the only thing keeping wages up?
What's New in Google Earth 5.0?
I actually kinda understood what the product does by looking at the animation right in the middle of it (although that crow carrying 'data' around is kinda weird)...
Agree on the design part, though - really generic/cheap/spammy looking...
Why I deleted my Facebook data. Commentary on Internet data privacy rules.
I was giving YC of an example of how to approach pre-seed funding startups - if you don't have revenue or funding, and angels or incubators offer to deal with the paperwork in forming your company as a condition of receiving their money, then all that matters in the beginning is rapid iterations to test out both the idea and team chemistry. Anything else is a distraction.
I'd go with neither. I'd describe myself as a scientist -- certainly closer to hacker than to entrepreneur, but with rather more caution mixed in.
Apple After Jobs: What the iconic company can learn from Walt Disney and Sam Walton.
Don't fit in to any of the above choices.
I added a 'none of the above'.
I totally agree. But that's called a situation of monopoly. Shouldn't we be able to have inpact on laws that would protect us, and enforce more transparency and more openned up interfaces?
Giles Bowkett: Obie: NO
I want to understand the legal structure that allows this. The TOS I agreed to most certainly did not agree to the permanent control of this data. Why am I now bound to this new one?
Plus, distributed protocols are significantly harder to engineer. You have to design for the case where the remote provider of Function X isn't up, or doesn't scale, or will decide to hate you if you send it too much traffic. You have to formalize many APIs and fix them in stone, much earlier in the process than you otherwise would, because now you've got external services that will depend on those APIs and will break if you change them. This will tend to make big, open, distributed systems much less flexible and harder to evolve over time.

When you combine that with the fact that most customers just don't care -- not until after they've got a lot invested in your site, at which point you're probably already a big success -- it's not surprising that the sites which evolved into big winners did so by keeping themselves fairly insular. Why spend money and time developing features that aren't important?

I'm not holding out hope for distributed versions of things like Facebook. Not yet. It's not unimaginable that the user community will eventually embrace such things, after they've had a lot more training in the downside of walled gardens, but I think we're way too early in the Web 2.0 adoption cycle for that. Right now I'd settle for a baby step: An export API that lets you dump all your data out of a service in some sort of JSON or XML format. That would be unusable for 99% of people, but at least it would let them back up their data and hand it to some third party that might be able to read it for them.
Thank you for the informative link!
Designing a JavaScript client for a REST API
The name GNU suggests this.
Google Buying Twitter? Not a Bad Idea
if anyone can figure out how to do this without a 2nd computer, it would be even more useful.
Do you can point me out to some reference re "and so he gave up"? Thanks!
If you look at small enough chunks of the system you can find problems, but art, heath, education, lifespan, income, wealth, have all increased dramatically. More specifically:

Edit: Pick a social, religious, ethnic, and or age group you would rather be randomly dropped off in 1908 than 2008.

1) I strongly disagree.

2) Divorce rates have increased but the length of the average marriage stayed fairly constant. People divorce has basically replaced death which IMO is an improvement.

3a illegitimacy) This is part of a trade off where marriage is less important.

3b inner city crime rates) this has to do with concentrating relative poverty. Overall violent crime keeps falling and intercity poor of 2008 is far better off than poor of 1908.

4) I don't know what your talking about.

5) Is improving by every measurement. Have you looked at dropout rates from 1908?

6) That's debatable, I think taxes are far more useful now than they where in 1908 and most people are far more wealthy after taxes. When the value of the average person's after tax income is so much higher then it's hard to say taxes are a problem.

7) People on welfare today are far better off financially than the average worker from 1908. Directly comparing an unemployed person of 2008 with an unemployed person of 1908 seems to be missing the point.

8) Is this just a matter of taste or is there an actual problem?

9) Our military threats have changed, but considering we where about to go to WWI I think we are probably far more safe today.

10) Stronger now than it was in 1908.

PS: Then again I could just be a child of my age, I might prefer now to the world 100 years from now. But, when you look at people actually lived the past was far from pleasant.
The main magnet in MRI scanners produces a steady field. TMS machines use a rapidly changing magnetic field that induces significant electric currents in the brain, so they can potentially cause problems.
Microsoft announces Windows Mobile 6.5 features, new mobile services
By that logic, every team that wins championships also needs at least two superstars. The Heat had two, the Celtics had 3.

While I love Posey (Celtics fan here), it takes a foundation of superstar talent first to even have a chance.

Many people take for granted the 20-30 points, that the team scoring leader puts up every night, and start to look elsewhere for that magic winning element. Without the consistent play of the scorer (and the attention that draws from defense) guys like Posey would be exploited by a good team.
http://www.pavatar.com/ Is the closest thing I can think of to what you are describing, instead of being tied to your email, it is tied to your url.
This can be useful: http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/

However, I don't think you can set different resolutions/orientations for each monitor.
There's also a hardware solution in the Matrox DualHeadToGo and TripleHeadToGo devices (The latter requires dual-link DVI support, and so doesn't work on non-pro MacBooks, or at least the older ones) which apparently works fine with macs. Definitely more expensive though. I think there are even graphics cards for the ExpressCard slot these days, though that won't help on a non-pro MacBook or an iMac. Note: I've never used these things, and I have no affiliation with Matrox.
Does Apple Have A Blind Spot About Flash?
What is the difference between an operating system and a kernel? (HaHa) Well, if you can point me out to some ressource regarding my questions about RMS' decisions, that would be cool. Regarding the GNU name, as far as I am informed RMS wanted to point out that the GNU is a UNIX-like OS as opposed to a non-UNIX like VMS. He decided to go with a unix because it had proven itself to be portable (unlike ITS for example).
The ViDock will let you do it on a MacBook Pro:

http://www.villagetronic.com/vidock/index.html

Good review here:
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/02/05/tuaw-review-vidock-gfx-multi-...
I submitted a similar poll a while ago. Results here:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=198272
Hacking for awhile, went to business school and now on my second startup. So I fit into a few of those categories.
Wanna be entrepreneur, student
Online shopping with a purpose
You have the historical facts wrong re Stallman's motivation.
Someone has to take and defend the most extreme points of view. I don't agree with most of the viewpoints of (the real) rms, but I'm glad he is out there fighting the good fight.
Cosmetic Dentist in Columbia, Missouri | G. Michael Ogden D.D.S
G. Michael Ogden performs cosmetic dentistry in the Columbia, Missouri area.Our dental practice is designed for people who are serious about their oral health and the appearance of their smiles.
Social networking is next step for online ads
Where's the engineer category? :)
its actually more than that:

he has 2 on top, 2 for the left/right, and 2 for the middle. Pretty much the ENTIRE front page is nothing but a huge navigation menu.
Everyone in the media is, due to the 5 year anniversary and the tendency for everyone and their mother to do a 'geewiz isn't Facebook cool' type story.

Read #10 from the article, sums it up pretty nicely.
It's good advice for 3 people with an idea and an application to YC. It definitely makes it easier for YC to set you up; we're in the process of converting from an LLC, and it is a huge pain in the ass.

It is one of the poorer pieces of advice on this site for someone who actually wants to run a company, and I wish YC would clarify it. To actually run a business, you need a incorporate for tax reasons, so you can invoice and be invoiced, so you can make binding, valid equity grants, and so your vendors, partners, and customers can't sue you for your house.

It will take you 2-3 hours, spread over 2 weeks, to set yourself up with an LLC and an EIN. It's not one of the Great Distractions you face starting up.
Please improve the CONTRAST between different sections on the web page. Right now it looks like a confused blob of pics/text in light color.

It looks like a shabby academic site and not even remotely suggest that something can be brought there.
Where's designer?
Why XMPP Will Be Huge Very Soon
You should add "with an unsuccessful exit" to the poll as well.
Lincolnism Today: The Long Marriage of Centralized Power and Concentrated Wealth
> converting from an LLC, and it is a huge pain in the ass.

Yeah, how so?
The title here should be: "How to setup 2 monitors on a Macbook and 1 on a PC along with an example of how not to submit misleading titles on HN, please."
Same here:
(set-default-font "-apple-inconsolata-medium-r-normal--16-0-72-72-m-0-iso10646-1")

PS: Am I the only one who tries to use M-Space to set the mark in Safari text areas, over and over again?
Ask HN: Tips for coming up with a new web startup name
We are planning to launch a new startup in the next few months but are having difficulty finding an available domain name. What process do you go through when trying to come up with a name for your startup?
Student.
Wow. That's excellent. Did you see how bright it got just before it went behind the trees?

The sad thing is, the poster on YouTube is so interested in it being a UFO and part of the Obama-induced Space War, that she misses how awesome the event is without all that.

"Big bright thing burns up in the sky" is a really neat story. No UFOs needed.

Although a Space War would be a great story too, if you had that.
With an unsuccessful exit?
The TOS that you did sign almost certainly contained a clause that said something to the effect of "You further agree that we may make any change to these terms in the future, and you will continue to be bound by them."

If that bothers you, bad news: Damn near every contract you sign nowadays contains that clause.

The better terms of service will permit you to at least cancel the contract after a term change if you do not consent. My CC contract had that, and I bet it's because it's required by law. But I haven't seen that many other places.

Now, this might sound like a horrible clause. And it probably is. On the other hand, contracts have a real need to be mutable, and for something like the Facebook TOS, you're basically dealing with millions of parties to the contract that simply can't be meaningfully "informed" about the nature of the contract or the nature of the changes. So, it's not just a problem with evil, greedy companies, it's also a problem with the fact that people are essentially incapable of understanding the TOS (due to either time or a literal inability to comprehend) and our legal system simply requires some sort of TOS to exist. The problem is complex and does not admit a simple solution.
I've modded this up because I'd like to hear what other hnusers have to say about this topic. I've just been through this process and it was very, very painful.

In the end way came up with a company name via a lot of lateral thinking. I spent a long time writing down all the attributes of our service and then trying to find related concepts and words and finally narrow down a list of hundreds of possibilities to a few possibles.

We then used purewhois.com to check domain names and uspto.gov to check trademarks.

We also involved everyone in the company in the process taking suggestions from everyone.
Ok, but that doesn't mean you can't be a 'hacker'... it's not really a profession, more an approach.