skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
"his point is that scaling up on the web is a solved problem, which is mostly true"

Maybe, but that isn't what "Technology, however, isn’t the driver any more for startups" means. "Technology" is a lot more than "scaling on the web", even in software based startups.

"Steve Blank would say there's Market Risk (will your customers want it?) but minimal Invention Risk (can you deliver it?). "

Steve Blank is also careful to qualify that statement with "for some types of startups" (unlike the author of this article, hence my "too broad a brush" judgment). Assuming every software startup, even when the web is used as an interface, is a "web 2.0" startup with minimal Invention risk is intellectual laziness.

"The scarce talent is business model engineering and product marketing"

This doesn't have any supporting arguments/evidence/data. sounds like something a non programmer MBA type person, for whom of course programming is easy and programmers are commodity hires (like say receptionists) would say. I'd like to hear a supporting argument for why great programmers, who are what startups are usually desperate to hire, are not "scarce talent", but marketing folks are. Sure, for some startups, that is no doubt true, but as a generalization it seems too broad, which was my point.

So yes I've read Steve's book too and like it a lot :-), but I don't think this dichotomy of risks supports the original article much.
The big reason banks can say that about a house is that there is a house, which is a commodity (or at least, they were until recently), so if the deal does not work out the bank can sell the house.

Without collateral of some sort this will not work. And if you have collateral you could simply either sell that or mortgage that (and plenty of founders do).
Did you take a leaf out of Ted Nelsons book for that or did you come up with it independently ?
Except this is China. In general, the elderly do not have money. There is also a strong cultural ingrained into youth that it is their responsibility to support their parents and grandparents when they start earning money.
we hope to lower both the capital rqmt from $1M to perhaps $250K, and the job creation rqmts from 10 jobs to perhaps 2-3.

currently, a modified form of the EB-5 in economically targeted areas requires only $500K, and an equivalently smaller # of jobs.

the goal would be to structure the EB-5 modification around the typical seed-round startup investment size & team.
> It's a zero sum game.

That's embarrassingly false.
With cloud computing rising to prominence as the underpinning of many modern web applications the amount of technology already 'assumed' in any new application design.

This trend seems to align with John's key point.
just support iranian startup entrepreneurs, and kill 2 tweets with 140 stones.
(If the doctor that keeps you healthier makes you more money, will that not drive doctors to less risky specializations? I'd imagine that a brain surgeon for example sees many more people who are likely to die than say a dermatologist.)
Much of derivatives trading is indeed a zero-sum game. Let us not get into financial discussions, because it has been done before. Joe Smith has saved money for many years, and company X wants to expand their business. Joe Smith invests in company X by buying stocks, company X now has the money to buy some more machines and hire some more people, make more money, and Mr. Smith gets the dividend each year. And they live happily ever after...

Thing is, D.E. Shaw was not in the long-term investment business... and I doubt he's that ignorant about Finance. I mean, his hedge fund is quite prestigious...
Which book are you referring to?

I wasn't the one who came up with the idea for this feature. The initial version of IMVU had this feature, so it's at least 5 years old.
Given the trend and lack of care about suffering in this country, in a decade all we'll be able to afford is health care "vending machines".

Instead of talking to people, you'll stick your arm in one machine socket and spit into another and it will take your blood and analyze your fluids for the flu, a dozen diseases and genetic defects. Then it will print out a prescription with a credit for the store it's located in.

You'll be force-fed advertising while the process happens and then they will sell the results to various other corporations which will then market you cures. They'll be able to do this because they will flash an EULA on the screen waving all your rights, which you have to agree to so you can get help.

Then the medical vending machine corporations will have a massive lobby for their rights in Congress which cannot be defeated because they will get the loons on their side to defend their massive profits as "American Values".
See http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Xichekolas
Yeah, I misread the context of the quote. I thought he was talking about wealth.
Me too :)
http://www.hilite.me/api
I can't speak directly for John - I'll let him do that when he gets up in the morning and reads this thread....

.... but if I were to interpret that sentence and edit it to better clarify meaning (which in retrospect, I probably should have done since I'm the site's editor), I would put the qualifier "most" in that sentence, so it would read:

"Technology, however, isn’t the driver any more for [most] startups."

We see that to be quite true when you look at the base building blocks of many web startups. They're largely the same underneath the UI, same development environments, same infrastructure, and many even run on common CMSs, and it's the positioning (i.e., the marketing) of the startup that's the key differentiator.

That marketing influences the community that floods the site, how they perceive the site, and thus how they use the site (which affects the iterative direction of the site).
All of these use Markov Chains:
A weather simulator, that guesses tomorrow's weather by looking at today's state and retrieving the probability of case x tomorrow. Run it a few times, see what the weather patterns look like.

A chat between two bots, that use nlp and maybe an algorithm to check if they make sense. See if they always finish with the same results. Then, apply this to the human mind and reflect.

Great resources:
http://blog.electric-cloud.com/2009/09/15/using-markov-chain...
(might want to implement the bots from this)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Examples_of_Markov_chains (where the weather idea came from)
http://uswaretech.com/blog/2009/06/pseudo-random-text-markov...
(simple markov chains in python)

bonus: make the bots have a chat room

P.S.
This might not easily tie in with GarlicSim, but I thought these are very interesting topics.
Starting An Online Business
MIT OCW: How and Why Machines Work (Spring 2002)
http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Parsec
Ted Nelson had a project called Xanadu, that amongst many other things kept track of partial contributions to derivative creations.

If you came up with this independently you may want to look into to the Xanadu project for more inspiration along these lines, it is definitely very interesting reading.
I think the disturbing bit might be that the average HN reader is mid 30s male with a bachelor degree, no children and little or no income.
Subdomains (siteexample.blogspot.com) and subdirectories (blogspot.com/example) are currently not supported.

These figures would be for ycombinator as a whole, and not just HN then.
Check out SICP. http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html

not directly a book on how to program scheme, but on how to program using scheme as a useful tool. That said, if you work through the whole book, you'll be well on your way to scheme wizardry.
Can you give any proof about the 06 numbers? It seems doubtful.
It's a Haskell library: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/parsec

Here's a tutorial that uses it to parse a simplified Scheme:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Write_Yourself_a_Scheme_in_48_H...
But even if it didn't, would it really matter?
Ask HN: Where have all the coders gone?
I have been spending months trying to track down the coder of my dreams - the one Seth Godin is always talking about.

You know what I mean - results oriented, and gives a personal touch to every line. Especially someone who's starting out and really loves tearing it up. Perhaps I'm just looking in the wrong places?

If you think you know someone like this, would you ask them to drop the rest of us non coders a line.

As for me, an email to nbrendanpickering@gmail.com will work just fine.
"Technology, however, isn’t the driver any more for [most] startups."

Well that is marginally better, but it still assumes a certain kind of startup as evinced by the statement "that marketing influences the community that floods the site,".

You don't need a "flood" of a site by a "community" to have a successful startup. You need customers . Whether customers are pulled in my deliberate "marketing" or technological superiority providing differential capability depends on the exact offering.

If you confine the technology behind a startup to things like using open source CMS es as "building blocks", then of course technology and programming are commodities, and the "scarce talent" is indeed marketing, not programming.

I could continue, but my original point was that it was an over broad generalization, which is addressed if you are talking about the kinds of startups using off the shelf building blocks as their "technology" and have no real technological differentiator, and therefore don't need excellent programmers (who are very hard to find- just ask anyone running a "non cms" startup.)

Under those circumstances, (in other words, with a narrower focus than implied in the original sentence ) the original claim is completely valid. Under those assumptions, technology is not the driver and "scarce talent" is indeed marketing. I concede the argument.
Most technological innovation today is due to better available resources (CPU, RAM, bandwidth, etc.) rather than say, a better algorithm. The question then becomes: not can you make it, but can you sell it?/will people use it? That's a much different game.
Guy Gavriel Kay's The Summer Tree is an awesome fantasy novel (review):
What make you think that I think this way?
Linux kernel is just an example of relatively big program, where performance of the compiler is an important issue.

Another example of performance-sensitive application of compilers is background Java compiler in Eclipse - even for rather small programs it has to be fast. Ruby is 10-100 (actually more than that) times slower than C/Java, So if you optimizer (wriiten in C/Java/Haskell) needs 0.5 second to optimize code, same code will need (by very optimistic measure) 30 sec. Python not much better. Scheme a bit better (especially Stalin compiler), Lisp almost good.
It's worth noting that all the pro-retail-clinic claims in this article come from a study done by the RAND Corporation. This is not an entity known for single-minded pursuit of truth. It is closely (though informally) tied to the republican party.
I assume the "you are dropped" part is involuntary. The hill-climbing part just makes sense, so you can get high enough to see where the heck you are.
Probably frontend can be taken from GNU Octave? Claims to be similar to Matlab...
I used to love to read these essays on how to be a good and productive grad student... until I came to grad school. Same with phdcomics.
"The question then becomes: not can you make it, but can you sell it?"

This is again, over simplification. (as a matter of fact the exact same oversimplification made by the author of the original article.)

The relative difficulty of "Making it" vs "selling it" depends on what "it" is.

Without a qualifier narrowing down the "it" (e.g another social networking site with no real capability difference from what exists today. In such a case, marketing is much more important than technology) what you say is wrong.
Human-powered ham radio message passing network
WattVision sounds like it would be useful as a backend for one part of my YC W10 proposal. I hope to get the opportunity to work with them in the future.
I run an outsourcing company with a staff of 20 in Cebu, Philippines. The team consists of web designers, programmers, content writers, and data entry clerks. Originally I hired them for my web design business, but now we mainly provide white label design/programming and data entry services for other companies.

Though jobs best suited for outsourcing are things like HTML/CSS coding, debugging, testing, data mining, data scraping, and data entry, some of the more interesting jobs we've handled for other companies include:

whiteboard diagrams to PowerPoint presentations
pseudocode to PHP translation
faxed design sketch to Fireworks mockup

EDIT: Note that I did not include the name of my company in this comment or my profile lest I be labeled a spammer.
Neat!

Reminds me of a different implementation of a similar idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjFewyQPJ48#t=1m42s
A free marketplace is absolutely crucial to fixing healthcare. The consumers (patients) have to be at the center of the entire system. When you give the consumers the money, they will make informed decisions. This will lead to physicians providing better service for lower costs. That is why this model works so well. Nice video.
Yes, personality flaws are a problem. Some people are selfish with the keyboard, some always want their ideas to be implemented, some don't coach well, some don't have good personal hygiene, etc. However that said, I still feel pair programming is the best way to do it. Productivity is a lot higher when pairing.
The Danish Post has installed such a system for general packages here. If they cannot deliver, they stick it in such a machine (open 24/7) and you can pick it up. But you can also put a special delivery address on your package so it will end up there right away (and you'll get a text message when it's there).

You can also supposedly send packages from them.
isn't this almost 10 years old?
Report on the Twelfth ICFP Programming Contest [video]
I found the original article insightful, but this journalist's rebuttals also bring up interesting points.

- "Does content affect price?" It seems the journalist and PG define "price" differently -- is it the price to the consumer or to the publisher? Either way affects profit, so both seem valid to me.

Hence, I feel the journalist has a valid point. Laura Bush will command higher royalties. So, the price to the publisher is increased (via higher royalties/advances), because Laura Bush provides desirable content. The journalist also states that while the price to the consumer is not higher, the publishers' business model is to sell more copies at a lower profit margin per copy, which seems perfectly valid.

- "Better journalism is slightly cheaper." In some cases, yes. In others, no. Arguing over Time vs. The Economist seems to not answer the broader question.
Beautiful Sarees Collection, Designer Sarees, Bridal Sarees Photos
Saree is considered as the National Outfit of Indian Women. Sarees are worn by 90% of Indian women and it is the most gorgeous clothing outfit for any woman. There are so many varieties of sarees in the World but Hear are some beautiful pictures of designer sarees, bridal sarees, traditional sarees, wedding sarees & beautiful sarees for Women. Today, Saree is a tradition of India and its also symbol of indian culture and get latest collection of exquisite sarees, hiffon sarees, embroidery sarees, georgette sarees, silk sarees.
Have you actually used Stalin? Compiling anything with it is shockingly slow. It does, of course, produce very fast programs—but it can take minutes to generate them, even in simple cases.
Wow...immediately downvoted for a pertinent response. Sometimes I just don't get the HN community.
In addition to this, SAS institute is an absolutely great place to work. All the employees there that I've talked to love it, are super dedicated and have no desire to work anywhere else.
He's missing the top 2 historically: civil disorder, and excessively powerful central governments.
i don't see a problem with using your purchasing power. but abuse can lead to larger problems, walmart is now seeing some brands not wanting to enter their stores because of potential problems it can cause.
We have developed the means to destroy the planet, yet we have no way of escaping should that ever actually happen.

I'm not at all sure that we have the means to make the Earth less habitable than the Moon or Mars. The Moon is pretty darned uninhabitable. Mars likewise.

Assuming the absolute worst of the nuclear winter hypotheses to be true, we could perhaps destroy most of the higher life on Earth. But even after a nuclear winter the Earth would still have substantial amounts of water and oxygen, and almost certainly a functioning biosphere of some sort. [1] Which is more than can be said for the Moon or even Mars.

Meanwhile, we most certainly don't have the technology to reach an extrasolar Earth-like planet, and spending tens of billions of dollars to have humans dork around in near-solar orbit won't change that fact one bit. If you really do dream of settling other planets, you need to spend far fewer dollars on far more radical experiments. Or you need to read Charles Stross:

http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2007/06/the_high...

Possibly both.

--

[1] Bacteria are hard to kill. Many of them thrive on the lightless ocean floor at extremely high temperatures. And unicellular creatures built our oxygen atmosphere, so the loss of it probably won't bother them too much.
http://www.htdp.org/ is the link
Speaking broadly, there are two systems for receiving services in Egypt: The government system and the do-it-yourself system. Instead of following the channels of bureaucracy, most people rely on an informal system of personal contacts and bribes to get a building permit, pass an inspection, get a driver’s license — or make a living.

While I realize the thought might not be popular in the corridors of power in Egypt or, for that matter, the NYT newsroom, a refinement on the "informal system of personal contacts and bribes" is a "market". Try them sometime -- they work fabulously!

Signed,

World That Does Not Wade Through Trash On Commute To Work
Well, some international customers have Amazon Prime. A friend of mine in Japan claims she orders everything from Amazon with low-cost same-day delivery ($8 extra in the US). She called it "Amazon Prime", but I have not looked myself.

Anyway, I am with you on ordering everything from Amazon. I live in the US and have Prime, and it's just amazing. Going to the store is just not necessary when you can have something show up at your house the next day for $4 extra. (I still buy most food in real stores. But that's about it.)
Nearly perfect site, except for one thing. I can't
tell if it's free. If it's free, it should say so,
ideally on the signup button.
i <3 cmu
" I can't tell if it's free."

It seems to be (for now) but the info is buried in the FAQ

"What does it cost?

HootSuite is currently free. We are currently investigating pricing plans and exciting new features for paid accounts.
"
Given that Walmart.com runs on the Amazon software, Amazon literally is the Wal-Mart of the web.
Yeah, I think there's a narrower focus than what might have been originally implied. I'll let John come in tomorrow and clarify, but most of what John and I deal with are either Web startups or tech sector directly related to web (cloud, hardware, consulting, analysis firms, social media and design firms, iPhone design firms, Facebook development houses, ad agencies that monetize one or more of the aforementioned company types).

This is our world, and though the Silicon Valley startup world encompasses more than these types of companies, this is what was likely in his mind when he wrote it (and the context by which I interpreted the post).
"Reality: All of the "analysis", opinion, reviews, and other content is also fairly easily replaced with free alternatives available online."

That's not "reality", that's just your opinion.

I have a subscription to the New York Times, and I can tell you that I read more -- and more diversely -- when I get it in printed format. So, yes, there's a "free" alternative to getting it delivered to my doorstep, but I find enough value in having the paper version that I'm willing pay for it.

And in any case, the author's point was to dispute the notion that a copy of the New York Times is worthless after a day, not to suggest that you couldn't obtain the content online.
My fave: "Pedobear!"
I had this problem and solved it with

1. Sufficient good quality protein in my diet.
2. Avoiding excessive stress (too much exercise and not enough sleep in my case). Switched to enough sleep so I am awake when the alarm goes off and enough exercise that it makes me feel good not tired.
3. Take a good quality multi-vitamin and get some sunshine.
4. Balanced diet - fresh fruit and vegetables.

My days off work sick went from 10/year to <1.
> Hence, I feel the journalist has a valid point. Laura Bush will command higher royalties. So, the price to the publisher is increased (via higher royalties/advances), because Laura Bush provides desirable content.

Is it really true that different authors can have wildly different royalty rates? I thought the range only spanned a few percentage points.

Advances don't really count, since they are paid out of future royalties.
Excellent. Wish I had more time to respond to this but point well made.

With enough supplies I believe Mars is habitable.
There just wouldnt be a return mission.

I agree with you about the money. We cant afford it right now.

Too bad... I'd much rather be tooling around in space than fighting a war in Iraq...
"Hahaha, it wasn’t."
A New Language Could Improve Home Computer Security
I definitely agree . . . it's a fairly standard "agile" practice to make sure that product managers/"customers" work closely with developers, but it's often not done that way. The bottleneck at my company has historically been around seating; we have an open office plan with clusters of 4-6 desks, but even then you have to make tradeoffs around who sits near who, and we've historically put developers next to developers and product managers next to other product managers so that they could all talk and coordinate with each other. That tends to mean the product managers are just far enough away from the developers that they don't talk much.

For our most recent development cycle (which started about 10 months ago), we finally bit the bullet and split the product team into cross-functional sub-teams we call "pods" consisting of (roughly) 5 developers, 3 QA, and 1 product manager. Having the product manager sit literally next to the developers, instead of 15 or 20 feet away, has made a huge difference in the interaction there and our ability to quickly iterate on features. Instead of just making assumptions when the product requirements are unclear or don't seem to make sense, we have much more of an ongoing dialog all day about how things should work, meaning we waste a lot less time building the wrong thing.
Display your Terms and Conditions
I think we're agreeing. As I do for all blogs, I just assumed the courtesy implicit prelude: "This is my opinion shaped by my experiences and most likely only applies to the system I'm currently interacting with."

I mostly agree with his sweeping generalization if applied to, say, the subset of startups that get coverage on Techcrunch.
Ahh yes, I'm familiar (though not familiar enough) with project Xanadu. The concept of keeping track of derivations is fairly common; far less common is the idea of derivation for the express purpose of indicating participation in the value chain and thus participation in the compensation.