skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Better wireless data. I know this isn't really new, but I know it's a recent deployment in countries like Bangladesh. It gives you the opportunity to lay a communication foundation throughout an entire third-world country at a significantly reduced cost than laying down cable. I also remember reading that in some countries, copper wire would be dug up by surrounding people to sell. It's nearly free infrastructure.
He'd follow me around and heal me in WoW.
Found it slow on my personal IMAP account.

It blew me away at work. I'd shell out 10 bucks for what's out today, and 50 bucks if it would (relatively accurately) bring the very most important messages to the top of my inbox (messages from my boss, where my boss is cc'd, or from people I historically reply to ASAP). Maybe also auto-suggesting/creating rules to filter out e-mail that's not junk, but not super relevant. Maybe 100 bucks for that.
Breaking News: The Internet has exploded
"Enterprise software" is a social, not technical, (problem) phenomenon
For people that are HIV+, the CCR5 delta32 mutation indicates a slower progression to AIDS. It's not a reliable enough measure to adjust dosages of anti-retroviral drugs though eventually we expect CCR5 delta32 to be part of a suite of tests to determine optimal HIV drug dosage.

For HIV- individuals, the test can provide relative peace of mind. We still strongly advocate safe sex to everyone but certain populations of people are very interested in eliminating a lingering fear of HIV that persists even when safe sexual practices are followed.

One of the reasons we chose this mutation to test for is because CCR5 delta32 is a mutation that you want to have -- it's a positive mutation. Most genetic tests tell you things like you are destined to get Huntington's Disease and most people just aren't interested in learning bad things about their genetic makeup.

I'm confident in the economics of our business, send me an email and we can talk numbers. :)
Medical research is important, but not the only important thing. If you are going to be the next Google or Wikipedia, you would boost general knowledge enough to make a big difference in any particular field, medical research included.
Alexa is in a sad state of affairs. I particularly love the "change everything" algorithms they got going on there: compare the same 7-day period one day and the next, and it'll look completely different.
I don't know... there are tons of people in medical research that perhaps "do their bit", but don't do anything really important.

I think that as long as you are doing what you do well honestly and with integrity, and it's basically something that creates value... do that, and don't worry if there's something else that could be improving the world more - perhaps you wouldn't do as good a job as you do with what you truly love. Perhaps your cool startup will make some doctor's life easier, and give her more time to work on her research.

That said... I think there are some opportunity costs for hackers chasing the startup dream that need to be taken into account.

http://journal.dedasys.com/articles/2007/06/05/paul-graham-a...
But a feedback loop is exactly what is desired. The hard part is to amplify the signal while suppressing the noise. Up/Down voting also creates a feedback loop that I would argue provides a very noisy signal of quality at best and an irrelevant signal at worst. The thesis under consideration is whether comments can provide a better signal corresponding to the item commented on. If this is true, it is desirable that items commented on climb higher and generate more comments,

If you consider comments to be analogous to links, the quality of a news item (or comment) can be extracted as easily as pagerank determines the quality of a webpage. Controversy can not be distinguished from quality because they are orthoganol measures. Many controversial issues (to VC or not to VC) are of high interest to readers of this site and would be considered high quality while off topic political controversies would probably not be considered high quality for this site. In general, most interesting things are controversial.

The existence of noisy comment threads (jokes and snark) is a good point. I would think that some form of Bayesian spam filtering could penalize these comments. Off topic comments could be penalized similiarly if a Bayesian filter was trained using the text of the news item.

I disagree that disagreeing or disliking is disagreable. I would call it conversation.

I don't think a bigger algorithm is the answer. One with a good impedance match would suffice.
The problem is that governments should just get out of the way and let the private sector provide things like air transport. There is no excuse for a bunch of taxpayers subsidizing other, most likely wealthier taxpayers' airplane rides with inefficient, bloated companies like Alitalia.
Yeah, I read your site. I'll email you, but I'm posting this here to get input on this issue from others. Cheap marketing research. I really don't mean to bust chops.

I'm just not sure I agree with the 'feel good' angle of your diagnostic kit. There seems to be three options you can take with a genetic testing kit:

1."You are naturally resistant to X. Yay for you."

2."You are going to get or already have X disease. Sucks to be you. Please take your diseased carcass elsewhere to cry."

3. "You have an increased risk for X. Here are some things you can do about it."

I can see wanting to avoid option two, but I like option three better than option one. I guess I'm a pessimist. I'd much rather learn that I have an increased risk than a reduced risk (Well, I don't really want ANY bad news...but you know what I mean.) Knowing my wife was genetically predisposed to skin cancer, for example, would have allowed us to be more proactive in monitoring her skin and making appropriate decisions regarding food, stress, sunlight, etc. Instead, we were just lucky. Now we know, and we were also able to have the rest of her family get checked out. There is a known gene mutation for skin cancer and it would have been nice to know about it.
Well, look at parenscript for example. It's quite easy to translate Lisp into JS. Moreover, the first prototype of JS engine in Firefox was written in Lisp.
It has to be mentioned:

http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html

http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html

But you know, I just want to pipe up in defense of us pipsqueaks. I run a website that helps people find a home to buy that is at most, if it works great for them, maybe 5% or 10% better or cheaper (your pick) than what they could have gotten otherwise. And even then, only in the LA area. Is that really about the best thing I (along with my co-founder) could've been working on the last two years?

I'm going to say yes, and here's why. Three reasons. One, opportunity. I work with semi-realistic options -- it's not productive of me, a 90's college dropout, to pursue medical research at this point. But I have ten years of experience programming and I do at some point need to put food on my family, as the saying goes.

Two, passion, or you could say just motivation. This is a problem that I have faced, my parents faced, their parents faced. I know the technology can make it better and am fascinated with the possibilities. I believe passion is immensely important to making the most of one's talent.

Three, getting the ball rolling. As an innovator in a little bitty part of the gigantic web, one who can only implement a tiny fraction of the things I want to, I know I have a limited impact. But twenty years from now, for all I know, people around the world could be using stuff like what I'm pushing into the market. I have no idea what impact that will have.

So hey, if I make money, I would appreciate that, but I really think I'm doing what I want to do with what I've got regardless of that. But if you have the interest, let me hear more about your pitch for what I or someone like myself could be doing instead, because this is, after all, a subject of vital interest.
Hoo boy, I can hear it now. "Hey, according to this genetic test, it looks like your body naturally produces lots of LDLs, now let me tell you about Vytorin!"
Good for you, dude. That's awesome! It sounds like you ARE making a difference with your site. And there really is no need to feel defensive. Like I said, I was just trying to start a discussion...and maybe prompt a goal or gut check.

I'm not necessarily trying to push anyone to do something different or 'better' with their life. I mean...who the hell do I think I am? [Nobody.] I just asked the question because I think everyone sometimes forgets to evaluate their place in the world and what they can accomplish when they are really focused on one thing. It's like speeding on the highway and missing the scenery. And I also don't like to see wasted potential, especially when it is just because someone never really thought about what they were doing and why. And I was also just curious.

I'd read the procrastination article, but not the Hamming one. Thanks for the pointer.
Three days ago I received an email from Amazon alerting me that "one or more of your instances are running on hosts degraded due to hardware failure.", and giving me a week to migrate to another instance. I have a script that creates daily instance images as a back-up procedure, so the "migration" was just a matter of starting another instance using the most recent image and I was up and running.

I looked back on my logs and found out that the particular degraded instance was running since June without any problems or shutdowns. Not bad for a VPS...

I'm very aware that Amazon provides no guarantees, but I have to say that my confidence on EC2 increased after this incident.
We run a live video cluster on EC2 that scaled from 10 nodes to 100+ and back again several times. Amazon keeps things running smoothly even when we're pushing close to 2gbps of video to 14,000 simultaneous clients. So I would say it performs very well for jobs requiring lots of computation or bandwidth.

However... we have our web servers in a colo. Ping times to EC2 aren't fantastic, so we use a traditional CDN for static content and a colo for application servers in order to keep things snappy.
Semantic web. I'm suprised no one mentioned it.
OR: "Lay off the bratwursts, Lardass!"

Maybe they just need a "Don't be evil" motto? [chuckles]

Wow. It's after 4am here. Goodnight.
Good points. I agree with you.

[One of the reasons I put so many disclaimers in my post is that I was worried I would come off as a self-righteous prick who was saying what people are doing now is not good enough and everyone should go into medicine. Which is totally not the case.] You also make me feel better, because you made a looong post too. I don't feel as windy now.

Non-medicine ideas sound even better to me actually, because then I can maybe understand them ('circle of competence' and all that.) The guy that started the self-sustaining business selling mosquito nets made by local workers for malaria prevention had the type of idea I'm interested in.

Is my email address not showing up in my profile? It's dcphillips /AT/ runbox /DOT/ com.
Opportunity costs!
I wrote a reddit post on this http://reddit.com/info/gg2w/comments

... although most other commenters didn't agree.

Summary: up only voting measures personal interest. It tends to promote anything that has a constituency. Up and down voting measures community approval. It tends to promote group-think.
I'm also from ZA. I'll consider applying after I've finished my degree ;)
If the reason behind being an entrepreneur is make a difference then you might as well quit now. Making a difference is a byproduct of capitalism. If you really want to "make a difference" make your money the do as bill gates and warren buffet did, I'm also sick of VCs saying that they are looking for companies that want to make a difference. what a sack of shit, I'm in it for the same reason they are, and thats to make a bundle of money.
every web host and their mother has a tool like this, maybe not as pretty. you have to provide a service that no one else does or does well. You also have to have integration with as many other services as possible. ebay,paypal,amazon and crap like that. wish you good luck.
The difference being that the bank already has your information. The more parties that have your information the greater the chance of a leak.
What the New World Needs now
Spoiler: Knowing Mathematical induction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_induction) really helps.

It was not that hard at all.
Just learn Dvorak. It's not that difficult. Give yourself a month to adopt. (And yes, you do not unlearn to type on a querty keyboard - you just don't want to.)
Simple idea someone might want to found something on: provide a little highlighter extension for browsers/in a wraparound frame/as a bookmarklet. Track pages people highlight; title and describe them as the few most highlighted words.
Likewise if you agree with something--then posts can just be sorted by comment count. Of course, it could be said that the upvote button is just a collapsed and made-convenient form of replying "Me too!"

Wouldn't it be interesting, then, if instead of editing a metadatum, clicking the arrow made a duplicate of the post (or, rather, a Post object with the votee as its prototype), which then stacked under the original...

"'A stacked comment' posted by bob, joe, fred"
via a mutual friend at MIT who was also a yc founder. we lucked out in that it turned out to be a good fit.
I've been assuming that the startups that were granted would be public information.

If so, it'd look really bad for FB to screw them over.

It's like a reverse protection racket.
I think about the triviality of this stuff all of the time. I just want to get moneymaking out of the way so I can do something significant with my life (biochem and physics research), as I define 'significant'.
Haaai guys!

And I thought I was completely alone... How many of you are considering doing something in RSA? Are you guys in the States?
Actually, the buttons are quite consistent.

For ProApps (Logic, Final Cut, Shake, et. al.) the marketing sites are black and silver. The buttons reflect that clearly. Also, the buttons will use the arrow icon.

For iApps (iTunes, iLife, iMac, et. al.) the marketing sites are lighter in color typically now in blue or grey. The buttons, again, reflect that and the use a triangle icon.

That said, each product has its own design team (which is why the buttons vary slightly) but everyone reports to a creative director (Apple Support works differently) which then reports to a marketing director so that Apple style guide is observed and the design is consistent. The iApps sites have to have explicit Jobs approval before publishing.

The International web team dynamic is also interesting. Prior to publishing, they're flown in from all over the world, put into a meeting room on campus for an entire week prior to some big event. During that time all the sites have to be localized, translated, updated, and approved in tandem to the US launch.
I don't think there's much you can do short of fixing the SMTP protocol

Yes, that's what I thought.

I remember there was a vigilante effort, to attack the sites advertised in spam, but that too ran into difficulties and shut down.
The private sector is a better manager than government, but even here, where it's all private companies in a deregulated industry, it's not that much better: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2007/09/03/070903ta_...
I think Steve Jobs said it best:

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Now I just need some courage.
Our dev team is based in Cape Town, but our head office, including sales and marketing, is moving to Silicon Valley (San Francisco to be specific). Mark Shuttleworth was the exception to the rule - if you're not in Silicon Valley you're limiting the odds of success. Anyone else here in Cape Town at the moment?
Yeah, the alt text on that comic made my day...
An information market?
12-Year-Old's Company Raises 6.5 Million from 3 VC Firms
The About page says he incorporated it with his money, but his dad runs it.

Slashdot links to http://venturebeat.com/2007/05/19/elementeos-13-year-old-ceo... which is actually another company started by a middle school student. That is not the company that received this week's investment.
I meant this link instead of reapeating the ycomb.about ~ http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50394
Credibility is a large hurdle you will need to overcome. No one will want to talk to you unless you have some big names backing up your research, and patents showing that you control the IP. In the science world, so much data is produced that the signal to noise ratio is high, and recognized scientists are extremely valuable. In other words, you will need to collaborate with academia, and it's probably better now than later. I suggest pitching your idea to senior faculty in different universities, especially ones focused in doing HIV stem cell research. Or perhaps working at someone's lab and setting up a collaboration with them. From what I understand, grant committees look at the name first, and then project second.

Salaries alone are nothing in the sciences, but it is expensive to set up your own lab, and could take years before you have validated that your thing actually works. For developing diagnostics, I bet there is someone trying to make a drug or therapy from CCR5. Collaborate with them and make the diagnostic part.

I know that at Johns Hopkins, anything you develop as an undergrad is 100% owned by you. Check the IP rights of other schools by talking to their tech transfer offices, and maybe consider transferring to another school.

Get someone reputable behind you, and then you guys can actually start doing something.
Aw shit. 'Twas getting pretty misty here by the 'second head fake' moment.
I think this is more of a planned research breakthrough. I.e. the type that doesn't happen.
I finally figured out how to get my start-up on all the front pages at launch time.

I'll make my cat the CEO.

I can see it now:

- Friskies at the launch party

- a one hour special on Animal Planet

- "Software so easy you don't need a mouse (she ate it)"

But no press conferences. She only uses email.
I'm biased: functional MRI

We're just now scratching the surface as to how humans derive their intellect from 3.5 pounds of squishy grey stuff. Some questions we'll never have licked, but the future looks good.
The earliest ones should have gray backgrounds. No one used white backgrounds to view the web then.
I would love to see the implementation of an idea I had about implanting circuits in a non-mobile person so that their brain signals could "jump" over damaged connections and allow them to walk again. It could be used for other similar problems, but I focused on walking as the first goal.
My Italian father in law would gladly trade your resveratrol for 10000 bottles of red wine :-)
The article stems from 1960. Compare this citation with the causes of the Chernobyl disaster:

"The probabilistic nature of the "laws of nature" manifests itself in the case of machines also, and can be verified, at least in the case of nuclear reactors, if one runs them at very low power."
this just reaffirms that the little bubble world of YC, TechCrunch, and Web 2.Oh really don't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of life. This guy wouldn't trade some extra time with his family for all the startups and VC cash in the world.

Saving time is to me the most important point of doing a startup. You compress the tedious business of making a living into the smallest number of years, instead of letting it drag on through your whole life.

Startups often do dramatically novel things, because that is the way to create a lot of wealth fast. But that benefit is extra.
Well assuming there are 20 packets of ramen in a box, you just put three meals on his table for the next 109ish years. I think you, sir, should be in charge of the World Food Program...
Nasdaq to delist SCO
Why are you so sure the transistor and the AC generator were not expected to change the world? Inventors often envision sweeping changes as a result of their inventions.
Fears of dollar collapse as Saudis take fright
I have a simple answer to your question. Simple, but definitely not easy. And certainly not popular.

Shooter, you are Dorothy wearing Ruby Slippers. You already have the answer (but may not realize it.)

I clicked on your name and read all of you comments here. Looks like you've been involved in some pretty healthy debate (pun intended) about diet, lifestyle, etc.

The debate IS the answer.

We don't need more science, more medical research, and we certainly don't need you going to medical school.

WE DO NOT NEED MORE COMPLICATED SOLUTIONS TO SIMPLE PROBLEMS.

We already know the answers to the most important questions regarding health. You have even expressed some of those answers in this forum. The problem is that half the people don't believe these answers and the other half doesn't do anything with them.

The answer to your original question is communication, education, and changes to major institutions. Many people smarter than you and me have already tried and failed. The obstacles are many: opponents with vested financial interests, institutions built upon premises that destroy others' health, and downright personal laziness.

You are the second multi-millionaire that I have encountered in the last 2 weeks on this exact same issue. The other was a personal contact who made his fortune through the "health care machine" and helplessly watched his father die an anagonizing death from a lifestyle disease. Now he wants to start something related to the singularity.

I am 52 years old, in perfect health, eat cleanly and exercise every day of my life. It tears me up watching everyone else in my life suffer from declining health. But they never listen to me; they think I'm "lucky". You and I know better.

I am currently working on my 3rd start-up, using web-based technologies to solve many of the problems I haven't been able to solve before regarding helping small businesses harness technology for competitive advantage. And I, too, wonder, "Is this all there is?" Not sure, but for now, I'm giving it all I've got.

If you have any ideas about proceeding with something bigger and more beneficial for humankind, I'm all ears. And full of passion and energy on the subject. Contact me off-line.
:) heh! I don't have a cat. What shall i do now?!
I've thought of doing that; I assume when you mean "market" it implies trade. So one way is to invest in shares of a piece of information and get returns to fluctuate based on the demand for that piece of information. But that would die given enough users, so implemented something simpler, but similar.
Ja, UCT B.Bus.Sci first year! I agree re: Silicon Valley, everything from coding resources to VC is restricted here, and the fact that there seem to be only a few of us registered on news.YC is in itself indicative of the different environemnt here. Vinny Lingham and Eric Edelstein seem keen to start some sort of Angel Investing scheme, but I can't see anything ever really equating to the environment in California. As PG says "places that aren't startup hubs are toxic to startups. You can tell that from indirect evidence. You can tell how hard it must be to start a startup in Houston or Chicago or Miami from the microscopically small number, per capita, that succeed there." I'm going to apply to YC for Jan 2009, will hopefully have some cool stuff under the belt by then!