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In that case, how would you go about negotiating the purchase of a domain -- in other words, how do you not show interest to keep the domain owner from raising the price? I'm not the OP, but am just curious what a better method would be.

This is a very good point. Forrst's community is geared towards other entrepreneurs and hackers, so the fact that Kyle was his own best user actually helped perpetuate the site's growth, while this wouldn't have worked as well with other less hacker-minded sites. It all depends on what kinds of people you want to attract and what kind of community you want to build.

If anyone here is enrolled in Udacity's CS101 class, this actually seems like a good extension/application for what the class is currently teaching, ie using Python's find method to search for URLs and using indices to return a string that follows "I don't mean to be".

There are probably much better ways to collect this data, but I thought this was a relevant and interesting connection.

I suggest Zed Shaw's Learn Python the Hard Way (http://learnpythonthehardway.org/) which is free online and focuses on having you type the code and getting it to work. This is what I used to learn basic Python and it sounds like it fits your learning approach as well.

And he wasn't grammatically correct!

"The guy who helped bring you Crate, a dead simple file-sharing service, are now testing something called Gumroad, a way to ask folks to pay for downloads."

This is more of a combination of the two, which I feel is most certainly the best pathway to success. People tend to give too little credit to luck (especially if they've worked hard as well), but here's the way I see it: you can have a lot of people who put in the same amount of work and are equally as talented, but the luckier ones are the ones who meet more success.

However, if you had to pick only one, your saying would seem to hint that luck outweighs effort and that's a sentiment that has been pretty common through the years (former Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez - "I'd rather be lucky than good.") I'm interested in seeing which of the two would be more desired if a single choice between the two was presented.

We only have 12 students. I'd estimate that of those 12, about 6 do well in the course. Of the remaining 6, only 1 or 2 are actually struggling with the course.

My school is a small (~130 per grade), but renowned international school in Shanghai, China. Your first two guesses are very much spot-on, but I'd have to disagree with the third. Those of us that are ahead help out with the one's who are struggling and in the end, I'd like to think that it all works out well.

With that in mind, however, your numbers are indeed more impressive. Because our class size is so small, we're constantly involved in face-to-face interaction with our instructor and with our peers. I doubt our pace would translate into the same success in your school. Is your course designed for the AP exam?

Interesting schedule. My school's AP Comp Sci A class (also teaches Java) is designed for people who are completely new to programming, but we are introduced to loops fairly early. After first being introduced to the different variable types, mathematical expressions, and how to read user input, the students jump directly into boolean, if, switch, and then the for/while/do-while loops.

I use Evernote as well. I have one journal that is only devoted to my ideas and expanding on them. When I'm on the go, I sync on my phone using the Evernote iPhone app.

You've already put in enough time to make the site and if you really think that it can take off with more users, then keep creating content. If it's something you truly believe in and don't want to just let die out, then this should be motivation enough.

A few weeks ago, someone on here wrote that if you are pursuing a business with no competition, you are either a genius or a fool.

"The more they can get you to read articles the more it benefits them."

While it is an interesting idea, it seems more likely that the badges will just encourage people to click on random links in order to game the system and level up, rather than actually spending time and reading. Google needs to find a way to encourage depth and not breadth.

I appreciate his sentiment and especially his motivation, but I'm not entirely sure everyone who is setting out to build an app must make the strict distinction between changing the world and not changing it. This borders on being an either/or fallacy - who's to say that you can't just build something for personal enjoyment and THEN watch it grow bigger and change the world?

First time I've seen this; pretty useful bookmarklet.

javascript:alert(document.lastModified) tells me this page was last updated on 10/07/2010 at 18:49:36 though, so I guess this is old.

I've stuck with QuickSilver throughout, just because it's what I am used to and most comfortable using. Compared to the other apps that I have tried (Alfred, Spotlight), QuickSilver seems to get the most done with the least amount of effort -- it's simple to learn, harder to master, yet still extremely intuitive.

Multitask 2: http://www.kongregate.com/games/IcyLime/multitask-2

Second version just came out, now has 6 games instead of 4 to multitask!

I can't wait to see what the crew (now with Bankoff) will be able to do. Engadget is not and will not be the same without its core editorial staff and it is a shame that AOL ruined such a great property.

The article seems to suggest that the new site would exist as part of SB Nation, but I highly doubt that. Like the article suggests, there isn't much relation between the two sides besides a relatively similar demographic. Otherwise, that was a decent read.

I digress -- this news wasn't especially shocking but it's very nice to know that they aren't done with tech blogging yet. I'm very excited to see what the new site will bring to the table.

I've been wanting to try my hand at developing webapps as well and, like you, will be learning jQuery. What resources did you find most helpful while learning the language? I know the jQuery website itself has some tutorials, but if you have any personal suggestions, I'd be very much obliged.

Very cool - I just tried it on my iPhone and it worked flawlessly. About how long did this project take?

Should have included at least one other level design.. definitely made me laugh though.

Also: clicking on the App Store/Android link opens the game in full screen in case anyone is interested.

I really wonder what they'll do with the podcast. With all three gone now, it'll be extremely hard to continue on with the show - either they find replacements, which will change the atmosphere of show altogether, or they just discontinue it.

Focus on a project that you love: one that you truly support and one that you truly believe in. If you're 100% devoted to a cause, it will be much easier to continue pushing on even when it is no longer "fun". Remind yourself why you started, what you have achieved along the way, and what you still hope to achieve. Then just work towards achieving your goals - no matter how big or how small. Once again, if you're completely devoted, you'll take pride in your gains and this should keep you motivated.

Sure, it certainly helps to pay attention to trends and write on what people care about, but when your entire operation is centered around writing articles with the sole intention of attracting page views, you know there's something wrong. While I agree that you can take pride in your work even under someone else's direction, AOL's plan seems to involve mindless "slave-driven" writing - something I'm sure Paul is sick of and that I would be sick of as well.

I run a music blog (reviews, news, MP3s, etc.) - http://lostinthesound.com