skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
No it's not, however I used to have your line of thinking when I was outsourcing programming to India. The way I look at it, your local economy is just an extension of your family. Also, the people around you share many resources and depend on each other for everyday life. I don't think it's a solution that can be followed 100%, but when someone buys something on Amazon for the same price as the local shop, they aren't doing themselves or the local economy any favors.

This ties into national pride as well, and for me it all starts with the family. Family>Friends>Town>Region>State>Country. Why do we care at all about America if 100 Chinese are equivalent to 100 Americans? Caring for the people around you is still very important because we still rely on physical realities of being in the same geographic location.
The timing of this article is ironic for me, since I just had a big argument with a friend about why I like Facebook less and less...

Nope. Not ironic.

Although... Mark Zuckerberg could have been eavesdropping with his ear to the wall, been shocked by what he heard, and just changed the company strategy to do whatever it took to make you happy again. Then it might be ironic!

Which is just an excuse to bring up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1TVSTkAXg.
It's a nice looking reader, but the article says it's a year away so it's way to early to speculate whether it's a Kindle killer. Right now, it's basically vaporware.

Even if it were available right now I don't see how it could be a Kindle killer. As far as I can tell it doesn't have an answer for the Kindle's biggest selling point- Amazon integration and Whispernet. This isn't to be underestimated. The Kindle is basically the iPod/iTunes monster of ebook readers and won't be displaced easily.

Sure, the Plastic Logic supports a bunch of formats and it's slick looking, but so are the Sony devices. And the Sony readers are available now. This thing isn't bringing anything to the table that isn't offered by either the Kindle or Sony so unless they absolutely kill the competition on price they're going to have a very difficult uphill battle.
What really happened at Ma.gnolia and lessons learned
"You can think of webOS applications as native applications, but built from the same standard HTML, CSS and JavaScript that you’d use to develop web applications."

"As shown in Figure 1-1, the original Palm OS has a typical native application model ... Ajax applications have some significant advantages over embedded applications."

"Architecturally, Palm webOS is an embedded Linux operating system that hosts a custom User Interface (UI) System Manager built on standard browser technology. The System Manager ... render[s] application HTML/CSS/JavaScript code."

"A webOS application is similar to a web application based on standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but the application lifecycle is different."

"Applications are run within the UI System Manager, an application runtime built on standard browser technology, to render the display, assist with events, and handle JavaScript."

"The webOS APIs are delivered as a JavaScript framework."

"Although not formally part of the framework, the Prototype JavaScript framework is bundled with Mojo to assist with registering for events and DOM handling among many other great features."

"Outside of the built-in applications, webOS applications are deployed over the web."

"In addition, all applications will have an index.html file."

"Launching a webOS application starts with loading the index.html file and any referenced stylesheets and javascript files, as would be done with any web application or web page."

"Palm webOS supports the standard DOM Level 2 event model."

"Supporting webOS's user interface are UI Widgets and a set of standard styles for use with the widgets... you can also override the styles either collectively or individually with custom CSS."

"A widget is declared within your HTML as an empty div with an x-mojo-element attribute."

"Even limiting yourself to just webOS's System UI, application model and UI widgets, developers would have some unique opportunities for building web applications." Hear that? Up to this point, we've just been building web applications. But, "the Services functions complete the webOS platform, fulfilling its mission to bridge the web and native app worlds."

What are these magic functions that make webOS apps more than simple web apps? "You can access hardware features on webOS devices (such as location services, the phone, and the camera)." Oh. They're not web apps because they have GPS and can make phone calls. Great. Oh, and "there are functions to access data in some core applications", so I guess you can import addresses or something.

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking.
I don't get it - it says on the website that it doesn't cost more so why WOULDN'T somebody buy it? Same cost and the convenience of plates and storage. Sounds like a good idea to me.
Stuff that was Cool: Lite Brite
The short version: the file system got corrupted. The backup was just a file-sync over a firewire network to another machine. Meaning the bad data was backed up and presumably overwriting the older, good data. They had a RAID but the problem was a software filesystem so the errors just got stored.

He seems to understand how terrible of a design decision he made in regards to the back-up system, and he appears physically affected when having to admit, publicly, the details of the infrastructure (or lack thereof) that caused this.
Well, what's the difference between entrepreneur and freelancer?
I personally don't believe there's anything wrong with working every waking minute if it's your only job at that time. If you don't have kids, and don't have a spouse or partner and at that period of time you're content with it then I say go for it.

However, I wouldn't idolize someone who does do that. The true hero is someone who can work for 10 hours a week and get done what the man doing 100 hours a week does.

Sadly an addendum to this, as a writer my output is directly correlative to the time put in. However there's a limit to how much I'll actually get done. Sometimes ignoring my writing seems to get more done. I've sat down and written for 6 hours in a row and only been snapped out because I was dying from hunger and I'd drank like 4 sodas and hadn't gone piss. I got more work done in those 6 hours than I normally do in 30 hours.
Tell HN: Domain Pigeon now 100% free + Updates every 20 mins
A little over two weeks ago I launched Domain Pigeon (http://www.domainpigeon.com) on HackerNews and just wanted to update you all on some major changes to the site:

First and most importantly, the site is now 100% free. The original business model focused on charging people for a membership, which let them access 3x as many domains as non-members. This was moderately successful, but after some analysis I've decided to focus solely on affiliate revenue. It's not clear that it'll immediately be more profitable, but, it does make it a better service for people looking for domain names...which will hopefully make it more profitable :)

Secondly, one of the major complaints about the site was that there was no clear schedule indicating when new domains would be released. With the latest iteration, that has been resolved: Twenty domains are now automatically to the homepage every 20 minutes throughout the day (60 domains/hr or 1440/day). This'll likely change based on how my poor Dreamhost server does...

Thank you all for your initial feedback. I hope you enjoy the site.

Matt
The Person I Knew On Flight 3407
The main things you have to do are incorporate the company, appoint a board (presumably you two), issue stock, and each sign agreements with the company saying that your work becomes the company's IP.

You should probably vest some or all of the founders' stock (the usual time is 4 years) as a way of deciding in advance what happens if you split. It is a huge distraction to negotiate that later.

Don't incorporate as an LLC unless you don't plan to either take investment or sell the company.

You should postpone incorporating only if (a) you're still not 100% sure you want to start the company, (b) you're not sure yet what the stock allocation should be, or (c) you want to get funding soon from YC or some other investor who would prefer to start with a clean slate.

Use a lawyer. And if this is a startup, get one who works with startups, because the issues with startups are different from ordinary businesses.
Very clean and intuitive Jonathan!

From the design perspective I would:

1) change to text color of the header (black on dark gray is not easy to read)
2) You have two search inputs - kick one and move the events section up.
3) To see event details you just have to click the row/div and not a link which is good - show it by highlighting on mouseover.
4) You have some gems for your target audience hidden in your footer - display them more prominently.
In an age when anyone can do a startup, the word "startup" here on YC has somehow been distorted to mean "small software business that was started in the last two years on a shoe string budget."

I think the VC should instead concentrate on businesses where their investment can make a real difference: Business plans that require a factory, or expensive custom hardware, thousands of servers, gigantic customer education, etc.

I know it's heresy on YC, but real VC's shouldn't be involved in companies where only $20k is required to start the business. Founders are taking the VC for a ride when they convince them to fund extravagant startups that should be started without big investment.

VC investors, if they still have cash, need to think bigger. They're not needed for software startups.

The amount of funding required to start a business is one of the best barriers to entry, and the VC should exploit that.
How many CEOs do you know that would even consider doing something similar? I'm going with very, very few. The vast are too calculating. ("What if someone takes a picture of me doing this? How will it affect how other people see me? Am I showing this person that they are more important than I am?")

I suspect that Branson does so well because he has a tremendously healthy ego. (Remember the final shot in MTV's Cribs with Branson?)
I don't believe in building the umpteenth desktop environment unless you can add something new to the pool. There are OSX style themes for all major window managers and many of them look way better than what I see in those screenshots.

I could turn your question around: Why did they start their own instead of just supporting, say, XFCE?
If you're Facebook? You're a closed-off site that doesn't like interacting with other companies, and you're also incredibly popular. There's no way you can do anything without the Internet getting mad at you.

I think they figure it's not worth bugging users about it.
This is according to one of the comments found on iReddit iPhone app story. They've got a solid infrastructure in place since they also built iReddit.

Idea worth abandoning.
Home theater set up
One of the most important things about a great home theater package is the surround sound setup that will be used.
Price? Internet connectivity?
I don't know if either one fits me. I don't like hacking so much as I like making stuff work. But I don't tinker. If something works well enough, I don't try to take it apart.

Similarly, I love money very much, but I'm not obsessed with it. I'm more into making things. So I guess designer, if anything?
Is this what happens when you have no business model?
I see no reason to worry more than before.

Has anyone read MS Windows EULA?

EDIT:

* Facebook has millions of users, its TOS allows it to do anything with your data. If you don't accept the TOS you can't use the service.

* MS Windows has millions of users, its EULA allows it to do anything with your data. If you don't accept the EULA you can't use the OS.
I work at a brand name venture capital firm which is actively investing.

In this market, where 'flat is the new up', I'd regard having founders cash out at early institutional rounds as unusual. There is comparatively little money being invested at the moment, and its a "buyers' market" which is to say that entrepeneurs have less negotiating power at present than they did when things were frothy.
A one-liner to add insult to injury:

sed 's/rsync/rdiff-backup/g' <bin/my-backup.sh >bin/my-real-backup.sh
An Introduction to GCC (online book)
Overview of Single vs. Multi Server Architecture
Review: Iconfactory xScope
I have a macbook pro (the latest iteration) and on my Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP which I connect through D-DVI I experience graininess.... anyone else have a similar problem?
Real VCs shouldn't invest in Google?

VCs should choose their investments by the expected return, not the amount of money they require.
Discussion starting over at earlier submission:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=483320
Thanks! I'm a bit partial to this site :)

New features:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=483333
After watching the vid I have to take that back. Apparently there was a SQL database involved...

But rdiff is highly recommended nonetheless.
Then they need to make it explicit that they are retaining the right to store and access your data.

It would be an interesting bit of performance art for someone to delete their facebook account and then file a DMCA takedown notice if they could show that their profile pic was still available within facebook.
This is a great article and I considered doing this last summer when we were trying to get the mobile app company going. I can particularly relate with 'creative' freelancers who feel the effects of social isolation.

Here's another approach and something I did during my college years: take a job working part-time with your apartment. Not only will you get paid but usually a substantial rent deduction too. Around Austin TX there are a ton of "collegiate" complexes who love working with students, I lived for free for two years (saved $14k). And, you end up meeting people in your area.
SuperFly: Separating class heirarchy from class definition.
GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheaper drugs in poorer countries, will share research
The man never fails to amuse.

And I absolutely agree, I love seeing hand-written copy.
I completed my BS degree several years ago. I carried a full-time school load and worked full-time. I got 90% of my school work done on the weekends. During the week I was too tired from work to do much more than the absolute minimum required of me for school. Not having a wife and kids helped too--no distractions at home.

Different people have different ways of coping. I am a morning person, so it's not difficult for me to get an extra hour in the day by getting up an hour early, but some people can't function like that. If you live in an "active" house, you may find it easier to set your alarm for an hour or two after everyone else is asleep, and get up and get some studying in (if your biological clock will let you). I find that four hours sleep is all I require for the short-term, so I could get up and get a little more work done and then get back to sleep. I sometimes do that when I have insomnia anyway--why toss and turn for an hour or two if I can get up and read for a while?

First thing to do is a little self-analysis? Are you the kind of person who can get a little bit of work done in various bits and pieces of available time, or do you need a sizeable chunk of time to set aside? Are you better in morning, afternoon, evening, or late night? Do you need as distraction-free a place as possible, or can you put up with household noise while studying? I bought a nature sounds CD set a while back, and putting one of those on while wearing headphones helps me to concentrate. Another thought would be a white noise generator (or pink, brown, etc. type of noise) to help block out distracting noises.

I've found that especially when learning something technical (programming language, data networking, etc.) the more different ways that I can approach the subject, the better. Reading is a passive activity and only activates certain parts of the brain. Writing is an active activity and activates different parts of the brain. I'll read a little bit of material, then re-write it in my own words to "burn" it into as many different neural pathways as possible. I also create mind-maps, limericks, stories, etc. to create as much mental diversity as possible for remembering the material. It helps.
accumulation of knowledge is different from a the possibility of a fundamental difference in the way reality works and the way our evolved brain works. see "wave/particle duality" for the simplest example of something that might be totally obvious to another type of intelligence.
Do you seriously mean to suggest that Google got to profitability on 20k?
There are several companies out there that handle the sale of premium domains. I would recommend BuyDomains.com as they are fair and will work with you to get the best price.
One TOS to rule them all : "We can change this TOS anytime and your agreement to this TOS implies agreement to any changes made to it"

No need to have anything more in it.
Porting D to the Mac
How would you make Tweeter Getter (a legal pyramid scheme) more effective?
It's shame that Virgin Atlantic customer service really isn't that great. Emirates, Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines beats them hands-down.
Why Chemical Warfare Is Ancient History
Thanks grouchyOldGuy.

You bring up a few good points. I have noticed that since I had to break away from a task for a few weeks at a stretch (like my Haskell learning) coming back to it means spending a few more days revising what I had learned! I like your suggestion of writing things down to leverage other parts of your brain. I do some mind-mapping, but probably not enough.

About me, I live by myself, so if I don't want to be disturbed, I put the phone off, and I am in complete solitude. I do have a full time job, which does take up a (fixed) number of hours everyday.

Thanks for the advice.
Yuck. I had heard previously about how difficult it is to completely remove yourself from FB, but this getting unreasonable.

Also I have an issue with the article:

> Someone can still take your photo, slap it on Facebook, and now neither you nor the author of the photo can stop Facebook from using the photo in whichever way they please.

I doubt that that's the case. If someone takes something to which I have a copyright and then places it on Facebook without my approval, I would think I have legal recourse. Isn't this what a DMCA takedown notice is for? Unless I'm misreading that quote.
If you have any kind of staging/testing server I'd highly recommend using your production backups to populate that on a regular basis. That way you test your new code releases with real data, and you know that your backups work.
One could add rankings so you can see who has benefited the most from this scheme recently and overall.

Seeing success might encourage others to promote their Tweeter Getter link more.

But at the same time, one would not want to encourage spamming via DMs/email.

Perhaps Twitter can incorporate something like this as default behavior so that new users get followers more quickly.

BTW, if Twitter's OAuth would allow private data (e.g., DMs) to be hidden, then you would not worry about such a service stealing your password (which you can change) or your private data (which is a more serious problem).
Segment your time into tactical learning (in your case Java), strategic learning (for you, Haskell), and brain-recovery time (cheap fiction, meditation, whatever)

Trying to learn different languages at the same time, unless you are a Jedi, is going to be tough. But you could probably find some good functional programming with Java type books that would dovetail nicely into your Java work.

I actually split into three pieces, tactical, strategic, and Out-there learning. I find good ideas come from weird places, so my Out-there time includes philosophy, religion, history, and social sciences.

My Out-there stuff is done during morning workouts. Tactical stuff is done during work or in the evenings. Strategic and fun stuff during weekly airline flights.

You are what you read (and watch), so the most critical thing you can do in your life is actively manage what you consume, even if it means learning how to enjoy and digest what others would consider boring stuff.
This is a link to the translation posted in a forum. The original, in Chinese, is at http://blog.run2me.com/runliu/archive/2006/03/15/14311.aspx.
I've had pretty good experiences with Virgin America. They don't really do anything wrong. The only thing is that there isn't much included, because it's cheap...if you want food it's going to be something like an $8 cheese plate (that should be $2), and there are only a few free movies which are all crap. The one time I flew Jet Blue from SFO->JFK, there was a Virgin America flight leaving from the adjacent gate, also to JFK, and they announced over the loudspeaker that they were testing in-flight Wifi that flight. I was kicking myself...of course, next time I made that trip it was on VA and they weren't testing the Wifi.
I should try that. I tend to be single-minded, so if I have to review a book thats all I do, and hence loose traction on anything else that I have on the plate (this usually does not include non-tech reads/learning, but I have found that when learning a new language/technology/framework I need more focus). But I think keeping a small achievable task everyday should keep me from losing ground when learning something new.

Thanks everyone.
If you want a completely silly web 2.0-ish name you could try my name generator thing i did a while ago: http://lajo.org/names/
Very cool ... I'm going to do something similar for the photography industry this week.

One thing I would really like to see: a link/menu on the home page that lets me choose my state. Then show all the events in said state ... seeing all events around the world is cool, but the ones I could drive to are especially important. Also, I'd like to have a nice URL for that (like editconf.com/states/OR)

Also, it would be nice to have an RSS feed of all events.

This is very minor, but I would change the style of the ADD EVENT button. Red is so scary! :)
Do you feel that people in IL or TX are still that racist? Or are you old enough that when your parents were saying that it was a long time ago? I haven't lived in either part of the country but I'd be surprised if it's really still like that.
Excellent comment.

Curious, why would you consider HN only a "half-distraction"?
They got to profitability on angel money. They were already profitable when they raised money from VCs. I don't know exactly how much angel money it took. Probably a couple hundred thousand. Costs have decreased so much since then that it's reasonable to think one could do the equivalent for $20k today, if one had to. But whether it would take $20k or $100k, the point is that the amount needed would be way below the typical series A deal size of $1-3 million. An order of magnitude less. Which means this is a company where VC-scale investment isn't required to win.
A way I tried is with Google's translation API: I wrote a script which translates a word (which has some meaning for your project) to different languages and then shows all translations in a list. Then I remove all translation which do not sound good or are incorrect. In the end I have a bunch of exotic words and I give them a try by suffixing them with ".com" and looking if the URLs are not existing.
These games are worth a try
Ah, ok - right on.
Looks like both links are to the original.
One of the top posts I've read on HN. Love the emphasis on production over absorption.

You can have a lot of stuff "presented" passively, but the acting on it is what makes it part of your personality.
50-60 hours a week is dedicated, yet manageable for a normal person. 100-110 is all consuming.