skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Ask YC: Did Facebook F*** Microsoft?
this is a quote from TechCrunch regarding Facebook's social ad announcement, earlier today (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=76722)

"Big point: Microsoft won't be serving Social Ads. This will be controlled by Facebook. Zuckerberg clarifies: "Microsoft is the exclusive third-party provider of IAB standard ads. This is not going to go through Microsoft. We think it is a different kind of advertising.""

The only reason I could see why Microsoft would purchase so little of shares in Facebook for so much money (i.e. the 15b valuation, buying 1.6% for 240M$) was the advertising exclusivity they got in their contract. But now Facebook doesn't want to give them all the ads????

If the Social Ads will be as efficient and as successful as Facebook is hoping then how would there be room for any IAB standard ads? wouldn't all companies just want to do the social ad instead?

(I know Microsoft was also trying to get in and try to cut Google out, but the point was to get in and take advantage not to get in, get Google out and give all the power to Facebook)
Ask YC: So how many Development Technologies do you Know?
Recently I stuck my foot in it when I observed that I know 8 out of the 10 most popular programming languages. Dude, most everybody here can say that! was the response.

So is that true? How many technologies do you know? And to count, you need to have developed more than two systems that went into production and has real, live users.

If you know more than 2 or 3 of these technologies, speak out! You can help make me look like an idiot. (Not that I need help, most days!)
Analysis: Facebook is No Google Threat ... Yet
...or, it could suggest that a group of Ron Paul supporters have voted his comments into the dirt.

Is that a conspiracy? I don't know. Is it ideologically biased? I think so.
Another reason: Because you 'need' to advertise broccoli, not pizza.
You left out the sentence that starts with "I learned on my own startup..." Why?
Well, the fact that so many strawberries nowadays are large and water-filled (from being over-watered) to make them look super-sized rather than more flavour-packed smaller runtier berries may imply there are quite a few consumers who can't identify a good strawberry.
Not one for me personally but I think it might turn out to be very sucessful. All the best with it.
A frighteningly good idea.
Will Android be Google's transformer?
Changing the Face of Brand Advertising Online
Can you rephrase that?

I don't know if you are curious or trying to make some sort of strawman argument.

If you are curious, I am sorry I can't spill many details. But I have done a startup and several projects in the past, and am currently involved in a startup.

If you are implying I don't know anything because I haven't done it myself...well I guess I answered that.

I also have quite a few friends who have done startups to pull some anecdotal evidence from.
We launched a few months ago:
http://prezentit.com
People buy on the look, not the taste. And they generally don't want to pay anymore for a great tasting strawberry even if they knew how to find one. Most people wouldn't deny there is a difference in a crap strawberry and a great one though.
FaceBook's Hotmail problem (nice advertisement approach)
No. The topics reddit has focused on so far have generally been the topics hackers are interested in. That's why the Ron Paul stories stand out so much. I know a huge cross section of hackers of all different types, and Ron Paul doesn't figure anything near as large in their conversation as he does on reddit.

It would be easy to astroturf reddit. And I don't think even Ron Paul suppporters would deny that the campaign most likely to do it would be that of an outsider candidate whose supporters were renowned for their effective use of the Internet.

But you know, I am done talking about this. Whenever I even mention Ron Paul I end up wasting hours in arguments isomorphic to arguments with trolls. I'm not claiming Ron Paul supporters are trolls, just that trying to reason with fanatics tend to produce the same sort of threads as trying to reason with trolls.

The discussion on this thread is precisely why politics is off limits on news.yc. In this case it crept in through a point about the design of news aggregators. But politics is like floating point contagion. If you make a point that's even partly about politics, that's the part everyone will focus on,
and the discussion becomes a political one.
World of Warcraft, meet Visual Studio
HP launches the 'mother of all workstations'
Yes some supports of Ron Paul try to game Digg, Slashdot, Reddit and others. A quick look at ronpaulforums.com will confirm that.

However, if they were successful at doing what you describe wouldn't your prediction imply that most Ron Paul stories on Reddit would have a score greater than zero? A search for "Ron Paul" shows this to be false.

Is there some other objective measure that could be used?
Facebook Ads: The Devil's In The Details
Welcome To The Googleconomy
Lenovo Puts Power and Performance at Center Court with New ThinkStation Brand
right on. Its no problem.

Perhaps I was mistaken. I took your saying "I know" to mean "I have coded in each of these languages and could do something in each if I had to", instead of "I would be comfortable in a programming environment with any of these languages".

My bad.

btw I actually am trying out SICP right now, despite my C# leanings.
Anemach; a new way to create software
This guy is an ass. As with all platforms developers will have the last word. Developers will usually choose the most open and widely used platform ie google
OpenComal is a highly portable and free implementation of the Comal programming language
Cure for cancer. ETA 01/01/08
i don't get it. is it a porn site?
i know 4.
there's awesome! thanks for letting me trusted referrals are great! i can't wait until my friends pitch me things to buy on a daily basis! i so wish i can be like all of my conformist friends and i think consumerism is the best way to get there! hooray!
Learning how to stick with it.
I've heard it said time and time again that one key factor between those who succeed as entrepreneurs and those who fail is that those who fail give up too soon, but I've not seen very many suggestions given on how people can develop the "stick with it" trait - it just seems to be taken for granted that you either have it or you don't. Fortunately current reseach in psychology seems to suggest that this can actually be learned. Here are a couple guides for anyone interested:

Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman

The Resilience Factor by Karen Revich and Andrew Shatte

Mindset by Carolyn Dweck

I would even go so far as to suggest that this kind of material, and perhaps even some training, be incorporated into the Y-combinator program. Perhaps even a study could be conducted?
A quick Hunchentoot primer
Running Hunchentoot behind Apache
Commodore 64 Tutorial
Facebook: Thanks for the friends, here come the sales.

It's the death knell of Facebook. They took an addictive college app and made it into a spawn of the devil and Madison Avenue.

So tell me, how many times do you need to be pitched from the guy you met at the seminar last year to completely ditch Facebook and move on? I'm thinking "one" is the answer to that question.
M.C. Hammer's DanceJam Opens Its Doors To A Select Few
Nevermind, I can answer my own question (via the TechCrunch article):

"Now all this may sound fine playing fantasy sports for fantasy dollars, but doesn't bringing real money into play amount to internet gambling? No, says co-founder Matt Maroon, who points to the fantasy sports exemption in the "Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act". The act, which was a big blow to sites like PartyPoker, specifically exempts "participation in any fantasy or simulation sports game or educational game or contest". Fantasy sports is seen as a game of skill and played for a fixed cash prize. Although a quick perusal of the exemption leaves you feeling they're at least bending the rules."
Oh. Symbian - not Sybian (http://www.sybian.com/).
I think it was just a matter of you and cellis having a different definition of what it means to know a language. It seems to me that if you code in enough languages that you are running out of fingers to count them on, chances are you can pick up another language (especially a mainstream one) quite quickly.

If you really want to impress Hacker News readers, learn the ten least popular languages :P.
Giggling Robot Becomes One Of The Kids
> in the early days, did people think they were a moral force for good in the world

Yes. I thought it was ridiculous at first, but after a while I decided it was nice to be part of a group that had a moral compass -- and actually used it.
I don't think I'm looking to impress, but I'm a hotshot at heart just like every other hacker I know. My outward reason was to make sure I'm not getting run over on the information superhighway. If something like Visual Pig Latin would have come up on the list, there would have been trouble! I'm an old guy who's supposed to be able to teach this stuff -- I'd better know where the heck the market is at, that's all.

Who me? A guy who wants to rule space, time, and the all of the alternate universes? Looking to impress somebody? Say it ain't so! I just can't believe it.
that faux 3d chart near the end is pretty annoying. why do people add perspective and foreshortening to a graph of this kind?
A straw man is a proxy, a fake, a stand-in for the real thing. So to make a straw man argument, I have to distort something you've said so that it becomes easier to refute. Feel free to explain how I can do this when your post is reproduced verbatim above mine.

You meant argumentum ad hominem (advanced by a loaded question, even!). Technically, it's not relevant to startups' degree of ease whether you've been successful as a founder or not, but it is valid for me to ask you to cite your evidence.

You claim to be an expert on startups based on evidence you can't reveal. That's a circular appeal to authority (yourself) established by an appeal to a higher power (all your friends' top-secret successes).

I don't want to be (too much of) a pompous ass here, but I get jumpy when people try to convince me of things that are both improbable and highly desirable.
I love it. Just more evidence that Facebook really gets "people", while the only thing Google seems to understand is "data", to their detriment.

When Facebook announced their platform, they talked about social graphs, distribution, and virality. Google talked about "openness" and "platforms". They still just don't get it.
This is the difference between computer science (which is about implementation) and web science (which is about people).
Sony to release new PS2 model in Japan (and elsewhere)
gcheong... Thank you for the book list. The Resilience Factor looks especially interesting. Just ordered it from my local library.

Nice to know that it can be learned. Was getting a little frustrated with my (moonlighting) start-up effort.
The general idea behind Facebook is that the only way that you would care about anything (apps, ads, events, etc.) is if your friends tell you about it.

Technically, this doesn't make much sense since your friends don't necessarily share your interests.

But this isn't a technical achievement. It's a social achievement because it appears to be working.
Do you think it has legs? That is, do I really want this many commercial recommendations from people I barely know? At what point is the hassle more than the gain?

I was never a huge FB fan. I guess I just don't get it. Sure I _might_ be interested in whether Sue had the hives last Friday night or not, but hearing about the coolest sports drink from the chick I met two years ago in a bar? It just seems to fall apart after it gets stretched so thin, right?
It's a bold experiment in human nature. Let's see what happens.
Stealth mode is for hacks
Perhaps it's a question of "how much" it succeeds instead of whether it succeeds or not. A young demographic is highly cohesive and peer-pressure-sensitive, whereas an older group with far-flung contacts isn't going to be so keen on the getting pitched so much. It's going to be a learning experience to see how it plays out. Could be a massive home run, from the comments I'm seeing.
Just launched http://markmail.org/
Mailing list search for open-source communities is the first thing out of the gate.
Google adds hooks to GMail to facilitate GreaseMonkey scripts
I think it has a bit to do with whether you trust algorithms.

Would you trust a recommendation made by some obscure collaborative filtering algorithm or one made by a friend whom you know well?
No, the strawman you were presenting was that I had no idea about this topic because I had not experienced it myself. That is a fallacy, and it is untrue in this situation. I did not mean it was a loaded question, I wasn't sure whether you were being a jerk or not.

Clearly, you were trying to be a pompous ass, and are again with this second comment. I hardly claim to be an expert, I CLEARLY stated to have some anecdotal evidence. I was simply giving some comments based on my experiences, and whether you choose to believe me is your prerogative.

Lastly, how is it improbable that starting a startup is easy? Any software developer can write their own software in a short period of time, and try to start a business based on it.
Corbis Acquires Veer, Plans To Keep Brands Separate
If that's true, then it's a serious flaw in the methodology of the people who do the testing. They shouldn't allow the brewer to submit the samples. They should pick a few bottles of the same vintage from various retailers and mix them together.
How can you say Galileo didn't use tools? He invented the telescope fer God's sake. He timed the descent of falling objects by hiring musicians to keep a beat (no watches). When he couldn't time things, he built ramps and arches to compare things side by side. Much of his machinery was didactic because he often needed to demonstrate his ideas to the courtiers who supported him. We credit him with the invention of the experimental method today because described them in language reminiscent of geometric proofs.

I agree with you about the CV thing, though. We should talk sometime...
Thursday Coffee featuring Facebook and OpenSocial
These are fun, and worthwhile meetups.

I tend to find that talker show up at 8pm at bars. Those building stuff are willing to appear at 10am in a coffee house.
Yeah, Galileo is a particularly bad example. I believe he had a professional instrument maker working for him full-time. Newton would illustrate the point better.

Galileo didn't invent the telescope, though. What he did do first is use telescopes for astronomy.
I think the answer is "duh", but that's not likely to stop Apple. The patent situation is a Mutually Assured Destruction scenario. Nokia could likely sue Apple and get an injunction granted on the sale of iPhones. This would be devastating for Apple, but Apple could just as easily sue Nokia, and that would be equally devastating.

Neither company can afford the risk of getting an injunction granted on their products, and both companies know this.
Thumbs up for being in Spanish (I'm peruvian).
I don't get it. :(
Things you might list as 'interests' may not overlap particularly well but most people have the same basic needs of transportation, food, entertainment, etc.

I can't think of a better way to create a positive correlation with a brand than showing that your friends like it and/or own it. I wouldn't be surprised if recommendations from people you know less well were viewed more positively, familiarity breeding contempt and all that.
Analyst estimates Radiohead made $2.7 million (and they keep nearly all of it)
So here's my take: I don't want recommendations for crap I'm not looking to buy from anybody, friends included. In fact, if you want to stay my friend, be careful how much stuff you tell me I should be buying.

I'm probably a minority. I know I have a couple of friends that will email from time to time with stuff. Just today a friend emailed talking about a 45-disc James Bond DVD extravaganza. But one or two of those a week is about my limit. If I started getting even one a day from any source, I'd do a double-take.

But like I said, I'm not the demographic FB is pushing for. I've always heard kids were supposed to be very anti-commercial once they moved into their 20s. But heck, for all I know we should still be riding around in buggies and chariots. I've just gotten where as soon as I see somebody trying to pitch me, whether it's a google adword, TV commercial, YouTube ad or whatnot, I cringe. It's not a positive experience for me. Why would I want my friends as part of that? I dunno.
I'm peruvian too!
thats cool, you can contact me if you want (mail in profile)
It can be learned, but I don't think books are the way to learn it. From what I've seen, what makes people tougher is facing challenges.
I'll ask another question.
How many Languages do you speak?

I speak Spanish, English and Portuguese.
Kamikaze pilots are not the same as terrorists. Terrorists, as the name suggests, mean to inflict psychological damage -- terror -- to the population, including civilians. They do this by committing the most atrocious thing possible. Kamikazes, as far as I know, are soldiers who have decided to give their lives in combat.

Giving up your own life in combat is not the same as tossing a bomb into a crowded supermarket when not under any immediate danger.
This idea is definitely on the way out. It was the norm in the 90s. Much less so now. Most angel investors I know no longer expect a ppt.
I've played blackjack in vegas, and I am also working on my web app these days. The latter is relatively harder
My definition: the use of stealth to deliberately attack civilians in order to affect political change.

That way the firebombing of Dresden and use of the a-bomb doesn't qualify, as there was nothing stealthy about it. Likewise inadvertent civilian casualties, like the four thousand French civilians who were killed in D-day, are not counted. No doubt having a bomb kill your whole family during a large sea invasion is pretty terrifying, but it's a different concept for _society_ than somebody sneaking up to you in a market with a suicide vest on.

But choose your own. Definitions are very important when talking about terrorism. Some people think everything is terrorism. For those folks, it's really hard to discuss.

I really hope I didn't start a political discussion. Nothing to see here, please move along.
I've heard about the Resilience Factor recommended somewhere else as well. I'm on my way to Amazon as soon as I get paid!
Just watch a Nike commercial.
The price per ton of Chardonnay is relatively inexpensive, especially if you're getting your grapes from outside of Napa. Also, by California law only 75% of the grapes have to come from the named varietal on the bottle, so they could easily be blending in some Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc for consistency. Lastly, there is a lot of post-production stuff you can do to Chardonnay, most famously involving oak, but there is other stuff as well. So it seems possible that they can source from a wide variety of vinyards and still have a relatively consistent product, given the wide variety of options available under California law.
Only open to a select few? I guess we can't touch this!
You should see what master sommeliers have to go through to earn that title. There are more people out there than you could imagine who can look at a glass of wine and tell you what varietal (or roughly what blend) it is, what vintage it is from, what location the grapes were grown in, rough ABV, etc. It's seriously mind boggling how good some of those guys are.
Alright, you can't post something like this and then hope that adding "I don't want to be a pompous ass" will help. Nobody is trying to convince you of anything, he was simply stating his opinion on the subject.
The question you are asking has a very obvious answer, because people are willing to take their chances in hopes of becoming rich. Look at the number of people trying to become actors/actresses or hope to make it big as a professional basketball/football/baseball player or heck even become a drug dealer. It's simple economics.

The potential rewards are great and most folks over estimate their ability.
indeed. I have oft-wondered what is the difference between the highly respected Engineer and his lowly, unstructured counterpart, the developer. Facebook appears to be a developer company, while (stating the obvious) Google is an Engineer co. The two can coexist, but not peacefully.
Some perhaps would like to think that succeeding at a startup is somehow easier than become a professional basketball player. Sure you can play basketball in your spare time and all you need to do is buy a basketball and a pair of shorts, but all that means is that playing basketball isn't hard, becoming a successful is.

Heck, the article didn't claim that starting a startup is hard. It claimed that "startups" are hard. Which is meant to prepare folks for the fact that if you want to succeed it's going to be hard. And that's something a lot of folks don't get.
Carol Dweck discusses her mindset research in this podcast. Well worth a listen.
http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail1011.html
Ah, if only some band can do this from beginning without the help of any major record label in the process. As many others have said Radiohead's success needs to be attributed in part to major record labels for helping them become famous first.
I'd agree with that, and add that a crucial part of it is being part of a community and unwilling to let your friends down. It's really easy to flake when success just means that you make somebody else rich. It's much harder when you bought into the values of the community at the outset and everyone else is counting on you to pull through.

For college students, that probably means joining an open-source project. And get to the point where you have people-yell-at-you responsibility; there's a big difference between contributing patches as you feel like it and being responsible when some user's stuff breaks.

For people just entering the job market, spend the time to find a job you really believe in and want to make happen. This is something I would've done differently if I had to do it all over again. I chose my job knowing that I was there for learning: there were some areas where I knew I didn't really agree with my boss, but I felt that the best way to learn is to have one's preconceptions challenged. It worked for about a year, but then I still disagreed with my boss, and each point of disagreement became an excuse to quit instead of a potential learning experience. In retrospect, I think I would've learned more had I bought into the company's mission from the start and every stumbling block been an inherent difficulty of the problem rather than an artifact of how we were solving it.

For startup founders, get yourself a cofounder. I ain't quitting as long as my cofounder is still game, and maybe not even then...
From the page:

""C" named languages are something of a problem. Queries for "C" tend to return results for C# and C++ as well. One way of dealing with this would be to run queries like this: C -C# -C++, however, that unfairly penalizes pages that contain discussions of both C and C++."
Agreed, but the tactics of terrorist suicide bombers and kamikaze pilots are similar. Willfully sacrifice your life in order to achieve a goal. That goal might be to blow up a market in order to terrorize a town or to blow up an enemy ship.