skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Ah, but they did say they can do it faster. If they can survive long enough to catch up and pass Google or Yahoo in terms of sheer numbers of pages indexed, they may have something.

I think if they can index significantly faster, then it's highly likely they'll be bought up by Google or the competition for their indexing tech before anything in mentioned in that first paragraph happens.
Do we need NASA?
This is not a problem contained to the digital world. Anyone care to ask a follower of Charles Darwin which organism are perfect and have no use for further upgrading?
26 + BS Computer Engineering
Syria responded, "Don't tase me, bro".

...

So long karma.
That's a travesty of justice to be honest. Even assuming she's in the wrong, nobody in their right mind would value a 24 recordings at 220K. They sell them for 99c on iTunes, how they were magnified into those numbers is beyond me.
The Price Is Right, but Maybe It's Not, and How Do You Know?
this reminds me of java web frameworks and one of the reasons why I left it... well hadoop brought me back =)
Great Line:

The scarce resource in the venture capital business is great entrepreneurs with cutting edge ideas willing to work 100 hour weeks turning the ideas into businesses. The scarce resource is not capital
Level 3 Throws A Wrench In The CDN Business - Undercuts Limelight and Akamai
18 + in first year of college
As an interesting aside, in one of the classes I'm taking this semester our midterm is to create a plan to change the status quo of copyright. The assignment was intentionally left very vague, so this could mean anything from educating the public to lobbying congress. Our prof. even gave the ok on distributing CDs with P2P clients and fake music files, the idea being to get students to set up honeypots for the RIAA (to reduce their credibility in court). Anyway we have three weeks to plan this using the class wiki. I suspect our final exam will involve executing the plan or some portion thereof, depending on what we come up with.

I think it's a pretty cool assignment anyway, especially as a cooperative midterm.
28 + no high school, cofounder of nonprofit with ~$X00K/year donations
20 + 3rd year in college (majoring in Business Economics & Marketing)
That's what OpenID is for.
26 + BA Biology (neurobio/psychology focus)
29 + BS in CS
Nice to see you here.

22 / kicked out of college / wish I was yudkowsky
Startling, arresting and direct as always. Thank you.

The one thing I find interesting is the overall theme that seems to pervade many of these essays--mainly that all trends are moving to increase the importance of hackers. While this is true for now, I think the more the web evolves and the easier it becomes for non-hackers or even technologists to build apps and start companies then the advantage potentially moves strongly to those that understand consumers and markets. Which may well be hackers, but also may not depending on the app--as has been pointed out in the past by Josh Kopelman the Tech Crunch 50,000 of 2006 (or even 550,000 of 2007) is not the mass market.

Thanks again--nothing I read provokes more intense thought than your essays.
This essay argues against local YC clones, which I think is at odds with another point he's made. As he says in "Why to not not etc", the most powerful reason people get regular jobs is because they're conventional. Local YC clones can make startups vastly more conventional by supporting hackers who aren't ready to take the leap and move.

Furthermore, I'd like to point out that even if local YC clones perform worse than YC, there may still be a market for them. State governments pay much more than YC (monetary) costs to encourage YC effects. Local VCs demand more startups, and people to tell them which startups to invest in. And as I argued above, many YC-caliber hackers would be interested in a local YC knockoff, but not YC itself.
Dan Ingalls reimplements Squeak (Smalltalk) in Javascript and SVG
We Change Our Minds Less Often Than We Think
Get an apartment with your cofounders and set up a "home office", making sure that your office qualifies for the home office tax deduction.
Study finds that negativity is contagious
I am 4 years old going to kindergarten with my laptop.
I think the whole point is to set an example and to deter others from sharing music. I wonder exactly how they expect her to pay $220k out of pocket.
Web apps are probably the most common because the barrier to entry is very low, but the field really seems to be more "software" rather than "only web apps". Xobni is desktop software, Loopt is mobile software, Justin.tv is (as I understand it) a mix of hardware and web streaming.

Interestingly, those also seem to be some of the higher profile projects.
Interestingly in today's SD,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071004134103.ht...

Getting participants to think about shopping influenced their travel plans.

There is a phase in the "thinking process" that can be swayed without any conscious perception of such a process (priming, for the most obvious example). Of course, by the time an impulse reaches higher-level processing, it seems reasonable that the subconscious has already fixated on what it needed to fixate on. In a priming experiment, one would "decide" to choose one picture over another; even with any observed hesitation, the results are predictable. It doesn't imply that a "mind changing" process ever occured though, because the result was deliberately and externally suggested without the participant knowing at all. When the colleagues were asked to assign probabilities, this is already very late into conscious processing.

So the keyword here is "think." Whether that is attributable to high-level reasoning or some limbic impulse changes a lot; consequently I find this post so much less informative.
21 + Finishing my last year as an undergrad
Uploads, not downloads, for what it's worth. RIAA has been focusing on uploaders for some legal reason.
Faster? Interesting! I hadn't heard that before. Personally I'm rooting for them, I would love to see some innovation in the search market. Unfortunately I just don't see the consumer benefiting directly much from any of this. I hope they prove me wrong.
I often wonder what could be achieved by privateers with just a fraction of NASA's annual funding. Just look at the incredible pace that X-Prize teams develop on comparatively minuscule budgets!

If you think about it, the situation mirrors that of startups. A small team of "hackers" can now build aeronautical technology better, faster, and cheaper than the big behemoth NASA can. And the reasons are also similar, in that it now costs less to build spacecraft than it used to.

Incidentally, some of these space "startups" are run by hackers. Like Armadillo Aerospace, which was co-founded by id Software's John Carmack. I guess hacking on aeronautics is in the same spirit as hacking on software.

I would really like to see what this article proposes: Focus on giving money to space "startups" and let NASA focus on the things that a slower moving, big company can do well, like research.
28 + CHSPE

My high school counselor recommended I graduate early to attend college, but being 16 and feeling unchallenged by school I opted to apply myself to the real world and started my own business instead.
On a somewhat unrelated topic, why is health care so pricey in US? Do doctors willingly quota spots in medical schools?
It's a conspiracy between the insane government and psychopathic corporations.
22 + BA (Politics) I may just be the only person on the forum who has done this.
So much to think about. One niggling question I have is related to the definition of "start ups". I've heard and read varying opinions. Is a start up a new business with an idea to execute on the web or is a start up a company that executes an idea on the the web or is it both or neither? Depending on the definition of start up, there will be vastly different business models, challenges and economic opportunities.
23 + in grad school
The major difference between a business and a startup is that a startup is intended to scale extremely quickly.
We could have funded ten missions to Mars with the money that the corporations stole from the US people and laundered through Iraq.

So no, we don't need NASA, but it represents a perfectly reasonable way to spend enormous amounts of money.
62 + 1 year college - wow! there's a lot young uns here
It gets a lot harder to engineer an orbital craft and I don't see a hacker-type startup building an orbital manned spacecraft anytime soon.
"... Would you recommend getting a residential apartment and working from home, or getting an office and sleeping on the couch/cot at night? ..."

You mean you get a choice? Apartment every time. Why?

Unless you can get a good office, your apartment is going to be more comfortable, close to the essentials fridge, terminal, bed (not needed if you fall asleep at the terminal) and kitchen. A determinant factor is also access to a internet connection.

Your time is only 3months. By then you will have created something and require a new office. Then again if you do get an office make sure it is just a bit better than home so you (and others) stay there. Read Joels article which comments on Phill Greenspuns, "Managing Software Engineers" ~ http://www.joelonsoftware.com/news/fog0000000170.html
27 (this young still for a few more days!) + MS in Computer Engineering (Wonder if that term really works for example in the US? Anyway that's what the university here calls it in English.)
like a lot of other unsexy industries (garbage, funerals, cigarettes, ...), there's probably a ton of money to be made once these dino programmers retire - since not many ppl our generation know what's going on in ancient mainframes nor do most of us want to learn it
This is the wrong way to do things because it's still focused on the person. Criticise the work. The product. What's on the paper, the screen, whatever. If you're being kind (or unkind), you're still focused on the person -- quit it! Focus on the work!

If someone digs a hole in the wrong freakin' place, you don't say "gee, I really appreciate your work digging that hole as deep as you did but it seems something wasn't made clear enough to you, which is that the hole is intended be located over there, where, as you can see, it would work much better." Argh! Just say "Oh no, the hole is supposed to be over there!"

I know this seems like a tone-deaf socially ignorant approach, but here's the thing. You're on the same team as the person whose work (not them) you're criticizing. If it might seem like you're not, make that clear first. Criticism must be a cooperative thing. Purely antagonistic criticism is evil.

And make clear what your taste is. There's a huge difference between "I hate it" and "it's horrible," between subjective and objective. A front page with a out-of-place word-art logo? That's an "I hate it" -- I just think it's ugly. A user registration page with two screenfuls of fields to fill out? That's an "it's horrible" -- it just doesn't work.

But maybe I'm wrong. A side project for me is studying creative leadership, and this is some of the stuff I've picked up. So if you have a different view, please blast away; I'd like to hear it.
I love the image of the big straight pipe. However, it's worth noting that no market operates at perfect efficiency, and even in the big straight pipe there will be leaks. What's most interesting to me about this image of the future is where the arbitrage opportunities will be around the edges of the future pipe. Because they will certainly be there. You have to wonder what the aggressively ambitious entrepreneurial types will be doing once "tomorrow's startup" becomes equivalent to "today's college education and job."
Not the first time IIF has had to be sneaky.

One example is in the War of Attrition (post 6-Day War in '67) ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Air_Force#War_of_Attri... while the other was in '81, Operation Opera where the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor was destroyed using similiar techniques ~ http://op-for.com/2006/07/the_genesis_of_a_deep_penetrat.htm... and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Opera#The_attack
22 + Getting MS-CS
That's not a comment about how successful or cool Google may be, it's a comment about their management and corporate culture.

It's like saying "And being Wal-Mart, they're figuring out how to squeeze the last nickel out of their suppliers." It's just how they're interested in doing things.
26, certificate in Business Management (tertiary level, but completed while at high school).
i must have failed english four or five times before i dropped out. doesn't help that i could have taught the teachers

24 i think (lost count) + almost electronics engineering BS + 100k debt. just dandy ^_^

i'm looking to return for physics/math soon, but i'm wondering if my time would be better served atm in another endeavor
Facebook widgets: mini-bubbles in a bubble?
Integrating multiple apps & services
This code is JavaScript, not Python
JavaScript 1.8 is very pythonic. look inside
32 + BS CS + MBA
As a big aviation and space junkie, this has been buggin' me for some time.

I remember the astronauts on the moon (I was but a wee lad at the time) saying that in a few years, the new Space Shuttle would be hauling up cargo every week or so into earth orbit. Our new space pickup truck would mean space access for all.

It was all BS. In fact, there is a long list of BS that we've heard about NASA. The problem is that, just like big IT, NASA is big space. It works under the idea that one big honking agency can do everything for everybody. And when you really look at it, NASA is all about politics and not performance, as it is with most programs run by politicians.

NASA needs to do one thing: reduce cost to orbit by developing/sponsoring new high-risk technologies. If they can whack cost to orbit by a factor of a hundred, the market will take care of the rest. We won't have these political debates about whether to fix the Hubble ST because it will cost something like $100K to go up there and do it. Reducing cost to orbit just will change everything -- that is, if we can get them to do it.

This is kind of like IT was in the days before Apple. To do anything, you had to have a lot of money and staff. I'm looking forward to the day when space is much more like YC and the current startup world -- anybody with a small amount of money can get into the game and play with the big boys. We should encourage that progression. We need to for our survival, imo.
Adobe Reader? I don't know no Adobe Reader sir!
Is it a proprietary software you have on your laptop?
What about the fact that when an industry matures it tends to become an oligopoly. It almost happens with any industry in history (e.g. automotive). With maturity often comes standardization which in turn compliments big bureaucratic organizations.Will this also apply to the Web? What about the chances of startups in the automotive industry? They used to be good round 1900...
Some thoughts on costs: While it is cheap to get some system up and running in a world of lots of different apps and competitors that go after a limited number of users it will be vital to get attention in order to succeed. In the end this probably means spending loads of marketing money which is anything but not cheap.
I'm frustrated with ferret, sphinx and so on..so I needed something functional..and this one works great! Well done Michele..thanks!
I don't think jkush was talking about personal use.

Jkush: "Right, I don't think Microsoft is open (pun intended) to just anyone modifying their baseline code. "

Clearly Microsoft wouldn't mind at all if someone modified the code for their personal use, as it wouldn't affect MS - the user would have an obviously unofficial version of whatever.

It seems the parent poster is implying that 'just anyone' could modify the actual mainline source code of an Open Source app.
This is consistent with past statements from Microsoft about Open Source, usually along the line of "anyone can add code, you don't know where it comes from". Both are incorrect.
You beat me to it!

I am having a great time using the site and I suspect other people will too. I'm getting close to my 50MB limit already. It's a blast to use!
21 + 1 year left for BS in Computational Media (new major here - half CS, half design, culture, media, etc) at Georgia Tech
I am looking at this too. I remember, back at school, my most fun programming assignment was making a complier for a simple interpreted language. The compiler was done with this language whose file extensions ended up with .py .

After graduation, and working for years in companies that used Java, I still had good memories of that very powerful language, and I dreamed one day would be able to program with it again..

Well, I still have to code in java for living, so, my next home assignment is writing a python interpreter in java, (J2ME to be more exact).
I'll take a stab at this. I recently read one of Milton Friedman's books, and I liked it a lot. His pursuit of freedom is admirable, and something that I can understand. He even suggests that freedom is more important than using government power to attempt to stop racism, for instance by letting people choose not to hire black people (as an example).

That got me to thinking though. While I'm attracted to the sentiment of freedom above all else, what I think is missing in his equation is that communities tend to be sort of self-reinforcing. It would be very difficult, if it were accepted by others to not hire black people, to be the first one to do so. Now, laws against that kind of discrimination don't change the way people feel, nor make their racist sentiments go away overnight. However, they do drive those thoughts underground, and break the cycle of "we've always done it that way" by making it no longer acceptable. And with time, that improves the climate and makes it easier for attitudes to change.

At least that's one thought that came to mind. I really admire Friedman's purity of thought, but think that perhaps it's a bit naive. It would certainly be an interesting subject to discuss in person with a person of that libertarian mindset.
The "less competition for talent" argument doesn't seem to matter in practice, probably because the first 10 people you hire always (or always should) come through personal connections.
The percentage is based on a very rough estimate of the startup's prospects. If the founders seem like superstars and have been working on it for a while, we might ask less than 6%. Whereas if the company seems riskier we might ask for more.

We should go back and see if the predictions implicit in the offers correlate at all with how the startups have done.
How is the damage cost determined ?
That basic sentiment makes this one of my favorite essays by pg.
39 + BA Mathematics and Computation + DPhil in Computer Security
I'd always recommend an apartment for a small startup with little money. Even if you don't live in it, I'd recommend getting an apartment as an office. Apartments are cheaper and nicer to work in. The only advantages of offices are that the can hold more people (not an issue for a young startup) and that they seem more professional. But having a good product is more important than seeming professional, and you're more likely to get one if you work in a good place.
27 + BS in CS
40 + BS in CS. Hopefully a MS in CS next year
19 + 2 Years PhD. I'm weird that way.
From what I remember, college debt payments are not usually more than other expenses like food and rent. I'd bet they're rarely more than 30% of the expenditure of someone considering a startup, and thus shouldn't be a deciding factor.
BT aims to make UK a Wi-Fi kibbutz
20 + 1st year in industrial design engineering
Online Ad Revenues Soar to Nearly $10 Billion in First Half of '07
23 + BSc (Eng) Computer Science (Computer Systems).

today I just started an MSc in Computation
23 + Getting a BS in CS in '08 (hopefully?)
24 + 0.
Facebook in 6 months time (Please note this is not safe for work) and isn't strictly startup news.
I recommend some Yoga lessons. Or maybe just a new job?
That is probably inaccurate. A startup is a fledging business.

If you are instead saying that a big company is not designed to scale as fast as a small company/startup then that is perhaps inaccurate too, especially if you were to determine scaling as a function of headcount and/or revenue.
It's expensive largely because of the prices of malpractice insurance doctors have to carry, greedy insurance companies, and a lot of red tape.

I'm not sure what you're asking with the second question, can you rephrase it?

I'm sure some studies are out there, but how much more expensive is medical care in America compared to Europe and Japan? Sure, we pay out of pocket here, whereas it's rolled in to taxes over there, but what's the price difference?
I believe that more high-schoolers than before will evaluate an alternate option to college. It is these folks who will add strength to the startup numbers. The people who decide to get into college and pickup big debts have already made a decision of not wanting to do startups. Additionally,this debt seems insurmountable in the current scenario, but as things change loan financiers will factor in such changes and perhaps even build in options for doing a startup or allow for repayment to start much later than it currently does.

While Paul focuses on web based startups, I think this phenomenon will apply to more areas as technology enables individuals to create their own niche. This is already true for some sports and certain types of businesses.

Like you correctly mentioned, the debt problem is more pronounced for Americans and some other nationalities, most developing nations do not have this problem and their entrepreneurs will start startups especially in developed and lucrative markets such as the US. This inturn will force the US mechanism to adapt. This effect of globalization has already had effects in many other industries.
27 + Master's in EE
40 + autodidact
28 + BA Computer Science, BA Music Theory, currently taking grad courses (csci) but no plans for a degree yet.
30 + MSc in CS

Strong interest in cognitive science, but decided not to do a formal PhD.

Somebody pls compile stats in a couple of days :)
The storm worm
25 with BS (Computer Science). I started a graduate program a while ago, did a year, dropped it and got a job. Now I wanna go back full time and get a PhD.
52 - B.S. in Abacus Science, MBA
11 and 3/4 years old.

PhD + bronze swimming certificate.
I understood it all except for one thing.

Is Facebook the internet?
"having that bug there is actually a chance for you to show how responsive you can be to user bug"

and how sloppy you were up until now
I have always believed that there is an inverse correlation between the amount of precise attention devoted in design/development and the amount of time spent in any debugger. Nothing here changes that thinking.
Facebook friend request = jail time
41, Bachelor's degree in Computer Science
22 + BSEE
Excellent! (although I prefer the title "Caveman").

New technology is great, but don't think that it replaces fundamentals and common sense. I was just testing a new web app and was able to put the same credit card number in for 2 different customers. The response I got was, "So?"

You still have to think, people! I think that was his main point.
Books to Get Rich By
My number one concern about maintaining an existing system, "ancient" or otherwise, is how well thought out and executed it is. Some of the best software I've ever seen was 25 years old. If you want to see some of the worst, just look at the javascript of almost any webpage. You really want to maintain that? "Generations" and "ancientness" have got nothing to do with it. Quality does.
Google & Microsoft Battle for the Web Office Software Market
26 + BS Electrical Engineering
Right. In fact, hackers sucking at anything other that hacking is a little bit... irrelevant.

Am I the only one who's getting a little tired of hearing about all the unimportant things that I suck at?
Fade to white.
More concrete evidence of the importance of first impressions.