skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Its a good rule but not always true. It depends on what price is being negotiated, e.g. salary, car price, etc. If someone throws out a number that is clearly too high (seller) or obviously too low (buyer) just to get the ball rolling there is no loss in negotiating strength from that, both parties know they are still far apart so nothing has changed. Also, vague numbers like "around $60K" are less committal, express common ground and more likely to be attempts to get the ball rolling. Another important rule is do not negotiate with your self. In other words, if you made an offer don't raise it until the other guy makes a counter offer. This is negotiation 101 but its very easy to get pressured to raise your offer without a counter offer. As for salary negotiations, I read an article once that a company's first solid offer (which is their low starting point) is somewhere around %20 below what the company is actually willing to pay you. So add 25% to the company's first offer and if that number is not near what you think you are worth you need to find someone else to work for or reevaluate the market value of your skills.
I disagree. I won't post the HN posting guidelines here again, but I think the entire situation is intellectually interesting from the perspective of incentives and how they encourage behavior in society.
A credible 409A valuation these days (i.e., one that will withstand auditor scrutiny) will still likely cost $7K to $10K. Companies can get them more cheaply but, unless done right, these can be potential landmines waiting to go off precisely at the times when the company is most succeeding and it needs to bring in outside auditors (e.g., at the time of acquisition). Be cautious about cutting corners here.
Money. I had no idea that states received more money from the Federal government if they collect more in child support, but it makes the entire situation make a lot more sense.
Yeah I saw that and was horrified. I have no idea why this would be the case though.

I just can't help but think they have other even worse motives than money.
I don't know how widespread the problem is, but I am immediately skeptical of an article that talks about this issue without also talking about the fact that many men have means and still try to get out of paying child support. I've met some of them. Any child support system has to find a balance between protecting both the mother and protecting the father, but this article makes it sound like only men need protecting. It also cites only a single example, no statistics, and closes on the image of an iron maiden. It's just hard for me to take it seriously.
Don't complicate your billing
The strategy of "what else can you offer me?" is a good one. Present the problem and let them answer the question. Be ready in your mind with what you are willing to accept but you might be surprised when their offer is a high multiple of what you were thinking. Just keep quiet and nod when that happens.
Thats a fair point and it depends. . but my guess is that on-load the server sends a timestamp (+ other various parameters) to the javascript and count is then initiated, or rather continued. . .
I think this one is pretty played out, sorry.
The average time spent per user is not the same as the time spent by the average user. The former is the mean time and is what is needed for
the calculation (in place of 55 minutes); the latter is the median time.

On the other hand, the mean is at least half of the median, so
at least 1/1000 of humanity's time is spent on Facebook (if the other assumptions are correct).
transcoding video as video chat and photoshopping as automatic photo color correction

The former can be done more efficiently in dedicated hardware, which is also bound to be cheap. I suspect that this could apply to the latter as well. Just take the most common operations, such as the ones supported by iPhoto on OS X and support those in hardware.

There may be no such thing as a computer that's too fast, but there's also computers which are too hot, too heavy, too bulky, or useless because they no longer have power.

I'd like a cheap thing with the form factor of the MacBook Air, which can also act as a virtual terminal to my Smart Phone. The amount of computing power on a current smart phone is way more than enough for a majority of work-related computing. Add in sync backup of the smart phone to the cloud, and I think that would be ideal. You'd have none of the disadvantage of cloud computing, plus all of the advantages. You'd also have all of the advantages of the phone/pocket computer form factor, but none of the disadvantages when you need a better input device.
can someone tell me the real domain name of http://to./ ?
They weren't even the first to plan to do it, the new Telehouse DC in London does the same:

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2009/04/15/teleh...
As it starts getting colder, I've thought about doing this in our office
Ask HN: Christmas gift ideas?
Anyone had any awesome ideas?

I already got some hand printed year calendars from crispinfinn.com (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/3931755944_2259ef928a_b.jpg). I'm also getting A Pattern Language for an architect interested dad (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199).
Moose is far more powerful than Python's model.

Python seems to think it knows what's best for the programmer.

Perl tends to think the programmer knows what's best for it.

AFAIK there are no packages for Python yet that implement roles, multi-methods, and the like... yet.

But Perl is already ahead of the curve in this arena.

(I'm one of the rare few apparently who can speak Python and Perl fluently. I actually like both languages for entirely different reasons.)
Flagged for "Learn how I went from $0 to $40,000" delayed popup over the article.

Would you eat caviar out of a trough?
Tools for Lifelong Learners
Thanks. I really don't plan on going to university! I've been quite successful sofar, and I'd like to continue what I'm doing on my way out of school.
37signals - Jason Fried Interview - Time Out Chicago
It could happen:

http://www.kontrastblog.com/2008/02/13/dew-life-recording-in...
New social gaming player, Good Game Productions launches
If you've been working there for months and they verbally offered you equity, that should be set up by now.

There are ways to grant equity without causing tax troubles for the recipient. If there weren't, how could the employees of any startup get equity?
geonode - geography for node.js
Just keep quiet and nod when that happens.

I would take a second of silence, mentally repeat to myself "We are all businessmen here. What I am about to do is morally and socially acceptable. I need feel no shame about it.", and ask for more $WHATEVER. What is the worst thing that happens? They say no, we suffer 2 seconds of awkwardness, and I get the offer they just made me. Or they say yes, and I probably just bought myself a month's salary (and 3~5% compounding on it for every year of employment) for 5 seconds of work.
Ask HN: Hacker christmas cards?
So it's getting close to christmas and I need to start sending cards to my clients to say thank you for their business. However, I don't want to send the typical christmas cards you find in the store because they are boring and forgettable.

Does anybody know where I can buy "hacker" christmas cards? Something with a technology twist or a perhaps a sense of humor? Valve sells great christmas cards (http://store.valvesoftware.com/productshowcase/img.productshowcase/TF2-HolidayCards/Zoom_TF2_HolidayCards1.jpg) based on their games and I am looking for something similar that can be sent to businesses.
Or, if you're interested in an NYC meetup, perhaps just post in this thread. FYI, the NYC 2600 meeting is tomorrow evening.
Wow, thanks! From the way the slices were bunched up I (wrongly) assumed they were basically getting thrown away. But I guess not!
I stopped (not) reading at "often for little or no monetary compensation". I'm still a student, I'm doing CS, I have good work experience, but unless they pay me good money (see Google & Microsoft) I won't accept any offer.
We should never underestimate the stupidity of Nobel Laureates in Wall Street http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTCM
The stats that you can get out of something like bit.ly are quite useful. Or at least ego-strokingly hypnotic.
Irregardless of whether or not you're happy with the current or future offer, I would be very concerned about the management.

Not being able to openly and honestly communicate the parameters of your deal, which is their responsibility if they're doing the hiring, is a very bad sign and doesn't bode well for the future of the company.

Especially when they realise they've given you an incorrect deal, or a deal they can't do, or whatever - the solution is not to quietly update the contract and push it across the table and hope you don't notice. The solution is of course to sit down and openly discuss the situation to make sure everyone you understand exactly what is going on, and why, then allow you to make your decision based on this new information.

If none of the founders are able to do this, or want to do this, this is a major red flag.
Because it was the dot-com boom, and what was better than one dot-com? TWO!

But yeah, they then proceeded to put everything under .com.com, so they had news.com.com, cnet.com.com etc. It was painfully stupid.
Now, a Reagan app for iPhone
As a matter of fact this is incorrect. There is a ton of research to suggest that whoever makes the first step and proposes and initial scenario, comes out with a better outcome. That is because the first number thrown out frames the discussion. Of course, it doesn't have to be a number, it could be a negotiation for something else, but the rule and research apply just as well.
The problem can be that when your hair starts to go grey people either expect you to be some sort of certified genius or completely out of touch (granddad).

Of course in the world of blue chip consulting this can be seen as good thing. The mature / older consultant talking to the mature / older client can work wonders for a business relationship.

Small startups unfortunately can either assume that the older you are the less 'up to date' you are and that your skills and experience somehow don't translate to the hip world of the startup.

Also smaller companies expect that they will have to pay older people more than a younger person, and the truth is younger people will work for less as they have less commitments.

I am 48 and joined a small company this year. It's a relaxed place and the fact that I an nearly 20 years older than my manager is not a problem.

So it can work out.

YMMV
If my tone is condescending, that's because it is. Don't you know how XKCD Explained works? ;)

I find it supremely unsurprising that Joel has decided to sell the user info he collects at the website he helped create. He is exactly that kind of person, who wouldn't see anything wrong with that. After all, it's his website and the privacy policy is clear, right? (sigh)

But honestly, I don't dislike Joel. I just am irritated by his disproportionate popularity. The man's writing is solid, but his technical and managerial insights are at best mediocre. This is in sharp contrast to someone like Paul Graham, who not only has the writing capabilities but also the background of technical and social achievement to back it up.
Also, algorithmic traders are, by far, the least scummy people on Wall Street. They're in it for the money, they work hard, and generally don't care in the least about power. The real assholes are the ones who are robbing people of their companies, and those people have very little to do with arbitrage.
What do you guys think of algorithms? Do they work well? Know of any good examples?
People have been doing this using the Linux kernel's root pivot functionality. While it might be a bit more copious as you've got to launch the instance, wait for it to come up, then attach the EBS, it's not that much more complicated.
The fact that it's not so new is a big advantage. It can take advantage of industrial infrastructure and the economies of scale developed for existing piston engines.
Anything from ThinkGeek!
http://www.thinkgeek.com/

With the obvious exception of "Star Trek Cologne and Perfume". What they hell were they thinking.
I wish they actually read the job requirements. It would save me from reading hundreds of applications that are a waste of my time.
Examining the slide, I pointed to the bottom right and said to our translator, “Tell him my initials are still on the bottom.” The interpreter’s face went white, and after a lot of “I can’t tell him that,” he did.

Perhaps a business genius in the U.S., but certainly not in Asia, specially Japan. He gains nothing from calling someone out on their plagiarism, in their office, during business negotiations. In fact, he has everything to lose. There are far more subtle ways to exert yourself, and jumping out and crying foul is not one of them.

Then he goes on to joke about Seppuku ..
Why not? Farmville is both useless and stupid, while Twitter is just useless. People favor stupid time pass.
I have the "cocktail party problem". When in a noisy or crowded environment, it's nearly impossible for me to figure out what the person in front of me is saying. Even if I concentrate on them, what I get instead is an unintelligible cacophony of sound, with bits of conversation coming in and out of focus all around me.

I've tried resorting to lip reading, but I'm not that good at it.

Now I usually just get quiet and flee.
There are free templates that look better than this.
I am in Toronto. What exactly are you looking for ?
Every major website should have their own URL shorter. People would be more willing and trusting to click a random link found on Twitter if it's from Gizmodo's short URL rather than bit.ly.

Then again, people shouldn't click random links.
so you want to make that google/microsoft money right out of college? Good luck.
URL regexes which were already broken from the beginning...
Wi.nr - url shortener that gives away free prizes
That can work, particularly if you have networking. The very top jobs involve substantial math--statistics, simulated annealing, optimization, and such.
They won't screw him over lightly while they are still starting up. Once they get larger, and the equity he should have gotten becomes worth something, it becomes considerably easier to replace him.

Further, I'm concerned that they are not being honest with him (1% equity, oops maybe not). That doesn't mean he can't do business with them, but he should heavily discount the value of future promises.
The FTC's Blogger Witch-Hunt Has Begun
There is some research by behavioral economists about price anchoring. Like most research in behavioral economics, it is very useful at predicting the behavior of college students in novel circumstances. Many of the rest of us will have considered our likely market value prior to arriving at the salary negotiation, perhaps via extensive research or receiving competing offers, and thus not be unduly influenced by the first number we hear.

("$20,000? Holy cow! That's more money than I've ever had in my whole life! I'll take it!" -- not what I said in response to what my professor thought I would consider a very tempting offer.)
Sure, but it doesn't change the "Oh, some random site, I have to click on it to see what it is" vs "oh, its google maps, and I can also see the street in the url, i'll save that for later" loss of information in shortened urls.

I dunno, you can use url shorteners if you want, but Im not convinced of their usefulness, thats all.
Google To Newspaper Industry: Don’t Shoot The Gift Horse That Feeds You
No workie on Chrome and IE.
The ticket seller might want a specific audience for demographic reasons, and or a sellout crowd for reputation reasons. Scalpers destroy this without giving a kickback to the ticket seller. They also increase the cost to the ticket buyers thus reducing market efficiency.
Regarding the detailed questions about APIs, I think that can sometimes indicate an interviewer that hasn't really given much thought to the type of skills that are needed to do the job. I've been guilty of this myself. Asking quiz type questions that really only test the candidates ability to memorize and don't reveal anything about how they think about problems.

As I've grown in my abilities and experience it's become obvious to me that how people solve problems and if they write maintainable code is much more important than if they know some minutia about the development platform. I've worked with people that could answer all the quiz type questions, but just didn't really have the mental ability to reason about and implement an elegant solution to a complex problem.
Funny. The primary things that come to my mind when I think of hotel lobbies are: drafts, uncomfortable laptop wrangling, competition for power outlets, and a vague wish that the maid service would just hurry up already so I could get back into my room.

To me, hotels are a form of hell. The more expensive the room is, the more expensive everything else is, and in particular the less likely that wifi is free. A moment that sticks out: I recall a 400 GBP (800+ USD equivalent at the time) laundry bill - bank paid, not out of pocket, but it was still an eyebrow-raiser.
I don't require applicants to have memorized frameworks, APIs, and other implementation-specific details in my interviews. I ask general programming/computer science questions that get to their level of knowledge. I also have them do a programming test before they come to the interview, and allow them to do it in the language they prefer. Age generally hasn't been an issue, but most applicants are younger.

I think this will become a bigger and bigger issue as the programming industry really starts to mature and you have a large number of developers that never wanted to move into management.
Huh?

Erlang Web is pure Erlang, it doesn't have a single line of PHP. [http://www.erlang-web.org/]
Spoken like a person without a Twitter account.
Here is a question that has to do with the environmental statistic of tons of CO2:

If we have "only" produced 20 billion tons of C02 and the total C02 in the atmosphere is 3.5 trillion wouldn't the half life of C02 (38 years) completely swallow our production of CO2, since it would be a 95 billion to 20 billion ratio? Or are there much larger sources of CO2 that I'm unaware of (for example the ocean, or volcanoes).
Public, covert racism?
I think he meant to say that Google and Microsoft give a decent (enough) pay to interns.
I'd say they were largely unuseful and inaccurate :/
No, even worse. They broke many of them... and people won't know which until they are bitten.
winr is written in python and built on the Tornado Framework which provides all sorts of goodies like OAuth authentication and a screaming fast asynchronous web server out of the box.

winr is hosted on Amazon Web Services: We make use of Elastic Compute Cloud and Relational Database Service in particular.

We’re using the Google Visualization API to draw pretty graphs for statistics, the excellent Chunk Font from The League of Moveable Type. We’re also using the beautiful Helveticons and Silk Icons in a few places.
The End of Days for View Source?
No pretzelling involved. I specifically was talking about the iPhone that was just about to released, as evident from the date on the post, and said that only Apple fanboys would buy it. That turned out to be largely true. You can't take my statement and apply it to future models or other Apple products and then marvel at their incorrectness. Well, you can (and did) but it's not fruitful.

There's a big difference between a $500-600 unit (with 2 yr contract) that has no 3g and no App Store and a $200 unit (with 2 yr contract) that has 3g and an App Store. They're the same device in name only.

One is priced for businesses, but without business features. The other is priced for consumers, and with much more consumer appeal to boot. One was a flop, the other a roaring success.

I don't think that only Apple fanboys buy the current iPhone and have never said that. And I'd guess between us, I have a much better understanding of why Apple is successful, as you probably vastly understimate marketing and cult appeal.
I can't think of a situation where scalpers are not contributing to efficiency.

If scalpers are able to buy out an event in a matter of seconds/minutes after tickets go on sale, they will manage to artificially inflate the price for tickets (since the only way to get tickets will then be to pay the scalpers' prices). In effect, they will have decided that the natural supply/demand situation is unsuitable to them and manipulated the market to create an artificial scarcity. While this is to their own advantage, it is not efficient with respect to the ticket market.
"How many lisp programmers do you have out there as compared to python or ruby programmers?"

This one is a tired argument. Any good programmer will grok Lisp (or Python, or Ruby). If your Python/Ruby programmers can't get Lisp from a couple days of training, then they are not good programmers.

And, BTW, I would risk betting they are writing FORTRAN code in Python and Ruby.
If you have a voracious reader in your life, consider a Kindle. I enjoy it more than anything I have ever bought.
Yes, but it's a step to put in place the technology and legal framework to casually snoop on the entire population. I don't feel this is about piracy in the long run, but about our governments fear that control of the internet - increasingly so important to the general populace - is running away from them. They have appeared equally desperate in trying to force the big players (Google, Facebook etc) to provide access to social information. The temptation is just too great.
>> "there is no such thing as a computer that's too fast."

Right, but my point was that these days it's more likely to be the HDD, or network that's the bottleneck most of the time.

My Macbook pro is absolutely never CPU bound. It could have half the CPU power and I wouldn't really particularly care. Half the CPU power but SSD would be a massive performance gain.
Personally, I wouldn't write an essay for $500. Maybe some students with open source projects would consider doing this.
Agreed on a better 409A post-funding. But for a pre-funding valuation number for employees 1-5, $7K is difficult, especially when the valuation of the company is likely to be south of $250K.
In the financial sector recruiters can typically make around $50k for placing a single senior dev, paying an annual 5k fee is nothing
Perhaps, but I'm just not sure I would be able to let that stand, myself. And I tend to be a pretty calm and rational person.

Anyway, I don't think he "screamed foul", he just pointed out a fact. If it's deeply embarrassing to the other party, that's because that embarrassment was richly deserved, in nearly any culture.
That's how they got the higher-ups in the organization, but lots of people were arrested for simply having it. That's what allowed a black market to form in the first place.
Tons of positions. Developers, DBAs, UX designers, design leads, sales, support, marketing managers, community leaders. Send me an email to p.engineer@gmail.com or zach@freshbooks.com. I'll send you all the details, answer your questions, and make sure the CV gets sent around the dev team. If we end up hiring you (or anyone else out there in TO looking for work) I'll split the referral bounty (0 to $5k, depending on the position) 50-50 :)
Link: http://www.sprixi.com/

It's a pretty sweet service; saves me from the Flickr and Photobucket "search engines".
Google had already found a viable business model when this article was written. They were profitable in 2001 and went on to make $99M in net income on $348M in revenue in 2002. This was not public knowledge at the time since Google was still a private company. That's something to keep in mind when people speculate about today's private startups.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/0001193125040...
Godin: Catching Up to the Social Media World