skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I like the flood idea. While we still have limits, a simple filter that roughly gauges potential interest in the file would help make this possible to implement today.

Add an app to your iphone that discovers other iphones. It'll probably be bluetooth. Then add a mechanism to transfer files automatically between the iPhones, probably wifi. In addition, to get past the 4 or 8 GB limit, backup unplayed or unlikely-to-be-played songs to a private music repository whenever a wifi internet connection is available.

This system can be built with today's hardware, and is essentially under the radar of music companies -- more so than bittorrent.

But this really emphasizes the need for recommendation systems -- the only thing the labels are actually good at. Have you ever tried to find something you might like on bittorrent? Almost impossible. P2P apps of yore were better. You could see someones playlists. You could discover new things when grouped near things you know you like.

But that has nothing to do with quality. Especially in niche genres (and everything is going the way of the niche), quality matters. There are many failures for each success in a style.

Any ideas on a quality detection system? :-P
thank you =D
We'd only use scores of submitted links, not comments.

BTW, I don't get the most votes: http://ycombinator.com/newsnews.html#6aug07 (Paul is Paul Buchheit.)
In my experience, those who manage to last long in debating societies typically have some interest in the topics they debate.
There are a lot of little "gotchas" to remember with this. For instance, each participant must have a vested stake in the outcome that is to be predicted.
It's a competitor of Alexa. Their data is gathered the same way as Alexa's - via browser toolbar. Supposedly it's a bit more reliable than Alexa, which isn't saying much.
Ferry supporters and Earthquake Planners see a new day on the bay
mBlox was good in getting us feedback and suggesting fixes during the process. You spend most of the time waiting for the carriers to respond to applications and testing.
The point is that it would have been a supercomputer in 1997.
Canonical's new Ubuntu, with snazzy 3D graphics for the desktop, paves way for server push
Mint, online money manager, raises $4.7M
As long as karma expired, that'd work. You'd get a continuously-changing list of group "owners" who, by their participation and group recognition, control the content ratings of the board.

It would also be good to make some allowance for the new guy, who gets 5 votes but yet his article didn't make it to the front page. Some kind of indication that it's a weighted system. Perhaps computing the weight at the time of votes, and only showing the weighted total.
Some things to do (and not do) if you aren't invited to interview with YC
Having been here long enough to witness one funding cycle I'd like to offer some preemptive advice to those of you who aren't invited to interview in a few weeks.

For the record, I did apply last round and was not invited. I did not apply for this funding cycle.

1). Don't take it personally.

YC was kind enough to send a very nice email explaining that their decision wasn't personal. The email explained how their process is fraught with error. They were even nice enough to say there was a good chance they passed over promising groups of hackers. It's not personal and sometimes an application doesn't do justice to your abilities.

2). YC is not for everyone

Sure, YC would make the whole startup process a lot easier and a lot more exciting, but you can still be very successful without YC. There are lots of successful companies out there that probably haven't even heard of YC. The honest truth is: being successful is completely in your control.

3). Don't write scathing blog posts

After the decisions were made, a few people wrote scathing blog posts, designed to rip YC a new one. It doesn't work, it won't make you feel better and it just makes you look like an emotional train wreck. Don't air your dirty laundry. If you feel wronged or emotionally charged, refer to #1, then #2, then #4.

4). Shorten the cycle

Eventually, the rejection will wear off and you'll get back to work. Some people might obsess for a few days, others a few weeks. Eventually though, you will get back to work on your ideas. If that's true, then why not shorten the cycle? Give yourself an hour to feel like crap (if that helps) then get back to work.

I know many of you will see this advice as obvious, but when the email notifications go out it won't be. That's why I'm posting it now.
Care to share the pricing of mBlox (privately if necessary). I'm currently paying Clickatell about 0.06 per message.

John.
As New York's tech scene expands, Valleywag hires an Alleywag
from what i hear your own shortcode doesnt matter as people generally dont remember them anyway they just read them online/ on paper and text them
Meet the Remote-Control Self
PPT Presentations Are Not Executive Summaries
At their first point of contact with a VC, many entrepreneurs send their PowerPoint presentations instead of an executive summary. This is a bad approach; PowerPoint presentations rarely function well as executive summaries...
Realism in Cartography
Cheaper, Faster Smartphones Coming Soon Thanks to Broadcom
Broadcom on Monday released its "3G Phone on a Chip," which the company says will enable device manufacturers to produce smaller, more powerful 3G devices for significantly less money than in the past.
Here's a bit of advice: be a startup junkie and not just a YC applicant.

Startup junkies sill always follow startups: participating, sharing ideas, forming teams and making things happen. Being a startup junkie isn't something that is limited to any one funding cycle or organization. If you're a real junkie, YC is just a place to hang out while you're working on your own plans, which may have nothing to do with YC in the end. YC is just a tool which may or may not be available to you. If nothing else, you can monitor the board and listen while all kinds of cool stuff happens -- there's gold in being part of those conversations.

Or as the old saying goes, "I've been kicked out of better places than this one"
It's a very intelligently-designed framework built on top of a very expressive (even fun) language.

But some web apps are too trivial to justify the overhead, and some may be too vast to want to run in a somewhat pokey interpreted language.

But for something of the size and complexity in the range of Basecamp or (one of my favorites) Snacksby, you'd be stupid not to use it (or a similarly-capable framework).

Another seriously cool framework is Seaside, but so far I haven't gotten my hands dirty with coding, just played around with the seriously amazing dabble DB. It's not very "web like", but it can do stuff that makes my head hurt when thinking of programming it even on top of Rails.
...and that too!
Is it just me or does the idea of providing all my bank and credit card login details make anyone else a little nervous?
Just like many of us have succeeded regardless of which college we went to (or were rejected by), we can also succeed regardless of whether we're accepted by YC. Sure YC will help tremendously in some cases, but ultimately there is no single path to success. Reacting positively to whatever is thrown at you, under any circumstances will inevitably lead to success.
When To Dump Those Interrupt Adverts
Mac OS X Leopard--October 26!
In Portal, Violating Physics Proves Weirdly Satisfying
I didn't mean to imply that we can predict perfectly. No one could, since luck is a factor. But we can narrow the field.
Will Apple Open the iPhone?
I haven't research the conversion process carefully, but from what I know it converts the code into class files, which can be reverse engineered into java files. Tedious and it wouldn't produce very readable code, though, so not really a solution.

Anyways, your second statement shows you missed my point. If there are translators as I described then any average java programmer can take over the functional programmers job without having to know functional programming.
Don't they worry that their mean, superficial tone will be out of place in New York?
All the numbers in the presentation he links to (http://www.peachseedz.com/peachseedz/2007/10/stuck-in-the-ca...) are wrong by about 2x.

Also, there's somewhat of an omission in the "pre-seed" column. Anyone notice? The original presenter is either completely out of touch with startup funding, or paying us the compliment of counting us as "friends" of startups.
"Analysts expect that instead of equipping anyone who wants to build iPhone software, Apple will handpick the companies and individual programmers to be given the software-development kit..."

Great. This is worse than a closed platform. Apple will just keep out startups that threaten them and let in those who are aligned with their interests. If history is any indication, this type of move from Apple would not surprise me.
In which direction do you think they're off? Are the numbers too big or too small in your opinion?

As for YC, yeah I don't think you are in the original chart. As you've said before that's kind of a new category. Seed I guess, but so early and so much smaller than what people usually think of as seed. What's interesting though is that some of the people involved in these posts are considering a YC-ish type thing in the Atlanta area.
It's important to remember that Ruby and Rails are not the same thing.

Ruby has a lot of very nice features, but a slow-ish runtime (JRuby & IronRuby might be a different matter). As for a Ruby bubble (as opposed to a Rails bubble), I doubt it as there is now quite a community (and a loyal following of prag devs) around the language itself.

Rails is one of many interesting frameworks getting around these days (another worth a look is Python based Django). As the framework matures the hype bubble will burst, but Rails has some way to go before obscurity.
In many ways, we're already here, because there's virtually unlimited choice in what you can obtain [not just store].

It can be paralyzing.

For the hackers out there focused on recommendation engines and algorithms, PG's essay "How Art Can Be Good" is required!

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

A good question may be: How do the ideas outlined in that essay square with your music recommendation service?

[[[fwiw]]]
Could be that the data is from an Atlanta group. I imagine they're not as heavily-weighted towards web startups. Out in the boonies startups are more of the consulting/product variety.
"Information Theory, Inference and Learning Algorithms" (free download)
Rethinking the business PC
'Second Earth' found, 20 light years away
How Zimbra Went From Web 2.0 Poster Child to $350M Yahoo! Acquisition, in 2 Years!
All these login details are provided for Quicken as well, but I guess the difference is that since Quicken is installed on your computer, it feels more secure. Whether that is actually the case is another story...
> "We wouldn't be surprised if there is life on this planet," said Stephane Udry, an astronomer on the project at the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland.

I sincerely hope we find definite proof within my lifetime.
This is the most exciting article for the tech community I've seen in a long time. Way more exciting than facebook platform, etc.

Look at these quotes:

"Nike executives say that much of the company's future advertising spending will take the form of services for consumers, like workout advice, online communities and local sports competitions."

"How can we provide a service that the consumer goes, 'Wow, you really made this easier for me'?"

"People are coming into it on average three times a week. So we're not having to go to them."

"Nike spent just 33 percent of its $678 million United States advertising budget on ads with television networks and other traditional media companies. That's down from 55 percent 10 years ago, according to the trade publication Advertising Age."

"We're in the business of connecting with consumers."

I'm disappointed that there's not more discussion here
They're too big. Angels are willing to invest $50k, and VCs will now invest as little as $1m. There is a bit of a gap, but it is around $300-800k.
I have not tried Mint yet but has anyone compared it with Bank of America's online services? They're not bad, just a little sluggish...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Twitter having scaling issues earlier this summer? I think Twitter's developers placed the blame squarely on Rails.
> but you can still be very successful without YC

Sure, but let's face it, to be "under YC" makes you much more able to hit success, all the other things being the same.

This is not exactly fair, but it's how things work.
Mint's $4.7 Million A-Round
Leopard's Best Web 2.0 Feature: Web Clip
And even then, some angels invest in that range. Peter Thiel, for example.
I read this and liked it a lot, but I was frankly stumped when I asked myself the question "okay -- how do you take this somewhere else? Make it an engine?"

I'd love to hear suggestions. I mean, custom web/product development is a great thing. You write some code with a business that you co-license the product with. So? Where am I writing a web app that I can apply to many different businesses? Where is this different than in-house promotional coding?

Like I said, I love the story. Just wish I could make something useful out of it.
Windows Home Server in depth: the Ars Technica review
Pirates take over anti-piracy website
So does being Bill Gates' cousin, winning the SuperBowl, saving a kid from a burning building, having good parents, etc.

Some of this stuff is random, some of this stuff you can make happen, and some is a combination. YC is a combination. They're doing their best to figure out who to pick and you're doing your best to make your company work. Golden rule of being self-employed: NEVER focus on one opportunity or plan. Always have several things going. And be flexible about it.

What's PG say their success rate is? Something like 50%? Sure -- it'd be great to be in a graduating class, but getting into YC is NOT like passing a test. You don't control it and even for the people who do control it, it's a crap shoot. It's more like bumping into some folks in the hall and chatting a bit and giving them your business card. Maybe they'll call. Maybe not. Don't get your hopes on it. How much can you really convey to somebody by bumping into them and chatting in the hall?
Leopard release: October 26th!
The possibility excites me. I wonder what the sociological consequences will be if we can conclude that we are not alone in the galaxy.
Will Apple Open the iPhone? Yes. In January.
Are you letting people know as you review the applications, or will everyone find out on the 18th (or another day)?
Pitching to Angel Groups: How to work the pitch process
The kind of people YC attempts to identify are the kind of people who will make it work with or without YC. If they're wrong about you, they'll regret it.
We've been through this :P

Twitter had scaling problems because they had such a massive onslaught on their systems. Any language/framework would've buckled a little under that stress. I'm not saying RoR is perfect (its not...) and it has its bottlenecks, but to solely blame the language isn't fair.

Scribd runs on RoR and they've yet to bitch about scaling. Twitter seems to running well now.

Just use whatever feels right in your hands. I use RoR with Django/Python a close second. If you ever run into Twitter-like scaling problems, then good for you. Worry about that when it happens.
Another thing I'd ask people not to do is write to us asking for the details of why they weren't invited. We explain in the YC FAQ that we won't, but every cycle people deluge us with emails anyway.

It's not because we're being secretive that we don't answer these emails. The reason is that there generally are no details to give. Usually when we don't invite a group for interviews, it's not because there was some glaring flaw in the application, but simply because nothing in it jumped out at us.
Ubuntu 7.10 will launch this Thursday
Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth says the latest desktop version of the popular Ubuntu Linux is ready to roll.
Do you install it on Thursday an risk not immediately getting the YC email saying if you've gotten an interview, or hold off just to be safe...tough choice!
Excitement versus Confidence
This article is a bit confused; it looks like it was written a few years ago, and then partially edited.

From reading it through, it sounds like you can now build this "supercomputer" for about $1,300.
There were so many times when I started a project with certain intent and the final product was very different from what I had planned. Sometimes the product was simply me - the person who I became through the process was now able to take on many new things.
Asus Eee PC Official Specs and Prices Are Out
Mobile 2.0 Launch Pad
even if that's true how's it worse than a closed platform?
Well here's to my fourth attempt.
Very cool!

I thought the technology wasn't ready for all of the claims the article makes. An atmosphere? Rocky world? If they're able to do this now, imagine what it'll be like with the James Webb scope NASA is putting up in a few years.

And if we ever do discover intelligent ET in our lifetime, perhaps a good way to get to know each civilization is to hook up our internets. Or then again, maybe that's an awful idea.
Should You Sell Your Startup Now?
If you have a tiny Web startup, this seems like a great time to be a seller. Last week Google bought Jaiku and CBS announced that it is buying Dotspotter, a 10 month old gossip blog. Expect more soon. But the flip-or-build question is harder to answer than it looks.
Stolen credit card numbers sell for up to $100 each
At least in a closed platform, only Apple can reap the benefits. The playing field between 3rd party mobile software startups is level when no one else can get in.

In a selectively open platform, companies that are "picked" to develop for the iPhone have a distinct competitive advantage over those who do not. How can you compete if your most feared competitor is allowed to build software for the iPhone and you are not? It is potentially a very unfair situation.
Question: How to add mail server to the whitelists for hotmail, gmail, etc?
for sending out invite, reminder emails, etc so they don't end up the in the junk/spam folder. i remember there was a thread on this here, but i can't find it anymore..help!
Communicating Your Message to Your Team
Precisely why I hope it happens in my lifetime. I want to be part of something truly historic. Besides, I have to know!
Huh? If the reverse-engineered java isn't readable, what are the average java programmers going to do with it?
This reminds me of the application process to Yale. To get int you've got to be really good -- top of your class, top of the district. But, that's not enough - lots of people of that caliber apply. You've got to have something about your application that makes you stand out, that makes you special. You will simply stick in the recruiter's mind. And in this case, stickiness is good.

It's the same thing when you're creating a startup -- you got to stand out.
Agree. But it is too tight market, don't you think? Labels generally generate profit from popular and recent artists.
Have to admit, I beat this game a couple days ago and it was really fun (despite being short). The ending is absolutely hilarious.

The portals throw you for a loop at first, because you can actually see the world you'll exit into in the portal you're about to enter. CRAZY!!!
Forward 40: Where is LOGO?
List of 300+ New Features inside Mac OS X Leopard
New Ways to Think About Selling
Amazon EC2 Gets More Muscle (more CPU, RAM, and disk storage now available)
It's not your fault. He does not know what he is talking about. Gflops are just port of what makes a super computer a super computer. Like most computing systems Latency, Bandwidth, RAM, etc are all part of the equation.

EX: A nVidia 8800 Ultra performs around 576 GFLOPS on 128 Processing elements it costs ~$615 today which is ~1/50 th his cost per GFlop numbers.

But it would not on the top 25 list for June 2000 even though it has more processing power than the 537.6GFlop Nagoya University system. It's lacking in other resources which would limit it's ability to run the standard supercomputing benchmarks.
Does anyone know if quantum entanglement has been proven enough to allow for at least a glimpse of being able to make data transmission occur at "faster than the speed of light"?

I mean, if a quantum object represents a bit, and gets flipped here; and its counterpart is on... Mars; the counterpart should get flipped instantly, no?
"How much can you really convey to somebody by bumping into them and chatting in the hall?"

You can listen to what the other person has to say.
11.Speed

I'm surprised he doesn't mention this. I get magnitudes of speed (10000%) improvement over other languages after porting them to C.
When I was rejected in November 2006, I sent a sarcastic (but not rude) email complaining about not being given a reason. However, I doubt anyone was offended. Anyway, I won't be doing that again.
Theoretically it will work, but the problem is getting the counterpart there. If you want instantaneous communication to something 20 light years away, you've got to travel 20 light years to get it there first.
"Un-sexy is good business" and other rules from Scott Rafer
Ask VentureHacks: Is the VC Industry Doomed?
Ask YC: How do non-developers with a startup plan to find a developer to help put it on the web?
Here's the situation: I have two good friends with an awesome real estate-based startup idea. The problem is that I'm the only developer they know and can't go in on it with them for other reasons not important here.

I've been helping them try to find their third
partner, and it has been a real learning experience in how hard it is to find a stranger willing to take the plunge and try out a startup.

We've tried our Facebook contacts, I've floated the idea around my office, we've even put paid job listings up on job boards -- a few months later and no real success.

Can startups only be formed among existing acquaintances? How do you go about the founder-search? Do you think that you have to just go full-ahead with the plan without a developer, and trust that you'll find one before you it's too late?
Gotcha, thanks. I'm right in this range right now and I'm speaking to both Boston- and southeastern-based investors. We'll see if we run into the gap.
Two notes of interest from the 300 new features list:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html

"Ruby on Rails: Work in a developer's dreamland. Leopard is the perfect platform for Ruby on Rails development, with Rails, Mongrel, and Capistrano built in."

Yeah, ok. But then there's this:

"Cocoa Bridges: Use Ruby and Python as first-class languages for building Cocoa applications, thanks to Objective-C bridges as well as full Xcode and Interface Builder support."

Now that is pretty friggin cool, and there might be a significant competitive edge there for the Ruby lovers/Objective-C haters.

I worked a bit with RubyCocoa (the open source project that is the basis for Apple's implementation) two summers ago, and it didn't quite seem ready for prime time then. But with Apple throwing its weight behind it, I'm suddenly pretty exited about writing Cocoa applications.

Edit: spelling.
Zoho's Ajax Spreadsheet Is A Cruel Joke
Isn't it odd how important this is to people? I don't mean this in a bad way - it's important to me as well, far out of proportion to how it would impact my life. I would be extremely pleased if we found overwhelming evidence of life on another planet, even if it's just single cell life 20 light years away.
A relevant quote that stuck to my mind from the movie "contact":

"Young Ellie: Dad, do you think there's people on other planets?

Ted Arroway: I don't know, Sparks. But I guess I'd say if it is just us... seems like an awful waste of space."
AnnCoulter.com hacked?