I like Foursquare - it's fun. But I see problems. For one, I can't see how it'll break out of its niche crowd. One of Twitter's is that it's simple and universally accessible, on the web or on the go with any device. Most of the folks I know outside tech circles wouldn't bother with a game. This presents a chicken/egg problem as the less of my friends are on there, the less inclined I feel to keep using it.
I like the direction they're taking it with getting local businesses involved. There's value in a frequent flyer points system for restaurants, etc. But simply 'checking in' without express ties to transactions probably won't cut it. Further, trying to extract fees from small restaurants and businesses is an expensive feat.
Curious to hear more of your thoughts (especially critiques) on the Kiva model. I'm helping out with Wokai.org, which runs a similar online microfinance platform for China.
There are different schools of thought on this. The author advocates implementing some flexibility in a formation contract, including setting aside some equity for whoever emerges as the dominant contributor or some future reallocation. On the other hand, there's the view that any up-front contract should be iron clad and detailed so that the parties expectations are aligned, and any ambiguity just leaves open a possible dispute. I'd imagine a lawyer would subscribe to the latter view.
Thought this crowd would be interested since this comes up in the context of an equity split among founders almost always. Interested in hearing opinions.
Agree with most of what he says, but the author doesn't take into consideration price point. While I may not pay $1 per Time article when there are free alternatives floating around the net, I would definitely fork over a few cents for an article I know that is (or at least has a greater chance of being) well researched, written and edited. This is contingent on a good universal micro payment system, which may or may not arrive.
Wonder when the SEC will step in, as they did with Prosper in the P2P lending space. Looks like they're restricting access to only qualified buyers, but I'm wondering how rigorous those checks are. Is it just me ticking off a checkbox on a form?
Tangential question - can any of you recommend the best way of going about learning how to play the piano. Is the only way a tutor? I've picked up playing guitar for following tabs and YouTube videos, but don't seem to be having the same luck with piano.
Other than the obvious "child prodigy" angle, nothing particularly interesting about this article. I'm actually more curious about the long term careers of such prodigies, especially such extreme cases. I know of a couple in law - Kiwi Camara graduated from Harvard Law at 20(?) and now runs his own firm. Eugene Volokh graduated from UCLA undergrad at 15 and now is a law professor.
On the same note, I'm also interested in hearing thoughts about hacking education by reducing the number of years we spend in school. I'm a proponent of the belief that we inevitably fill up the amount of time we've allocated to a project, even if it doesn't end up resulting in an improved product (Can't remember, does this come from the 4-day work week?). I don't have the numbers, but I recall seeing the stats somewhere that American students have significantly more vacation time and therefore less school days than their counterparts in Europe and Asia.
You're right, I suppose I was just inferring his intent. But from the facts that have been released, it looks like he just posted screenshots of his successful "hack" on 4chan, and didn't try to do anything more nefarious like steal her identity. I could be wrong.
I think my reaction would have been the same had it been Obama, Biden, or any public figure. One big difference for me anyway, would have been if he had accessed a @whitehouse.gov address (whether Bush, Obama or other official). Being able to figure out her pet's name or whatever seems somewhat trivial to merit a jail sentence.
Kid did a dumb thing, but from what I know of the facts (no malicious intent) this seems like a waste of public resources to send this to trial and possibly keep this guy in jail. Proportionality seems a bit out of whack here, a stiff fine seems fair enough.
Great hearing directly from you Owen, too bad the interview style was kind of distracting. The interviewer seemed to want to tell the story more than letting you narrate and kept beating the dead horse on certain points :)
jerryji, sorry to hear about your plight. Yes, the immigration system is full of inane/arbitrary rules and decision-makers. However, we are on hacker news after all. By definition us hackers are folks who are able to make rules and systems work towards our own advantage (while careful not to actually break any such rules). For one I think putting $10k towards E2 paperwork might have been a bit of a mistake, and perhaps the US consulate in Singapore might not be the kindest one out there. As some folks have mentioned here on this thread - think outside the box! Some cities in Canada have a growing startup culture (Vancouver, for one), and there are multitudes of different immigration options if you're still set on coming to the US, even if it means relegating your startup to being a hobby/project and picking up full-time work. As Randy Pausch put in, brick walls (like immigration) are indeed designed to filter out folks who don't want things bad enough (or figure out ways around them). Hope everything works out for you, don't give up.
On a related note - anyone familiar with the Berkeley area care to share some tips about housing (places/buildings to avoid, where all the free-wifi coffee houses are, etc)? Please drop me an email at me [at] euwyn.com
If you can't explain an idea in a sentence or two it's general appeal is likely quite limited. The basic premise is sound, but why can't I just buy something from Ztail and then have an option to return it a year later directly to them for a fixed price (like Chegg for textbooks)? I don't want to deal with eBaying it myself. There are way too many intermediaries involved for me to feel comfortable as a consumer. Are they planning on making all the affiliate revenue first and then figuring out how to handle the refunds a year down the line?
I like the example in the TC article of the $900 stroller. Forget the guaranteed return, just buy a cheaper stroller!
Really depends on the type of startup your running. Is it just developing technology? Then that can be easily done nights, weekends (and overnights). But if your startup involves significant operational work, dealing with customers or meeting with clients/partners, then it's almost impossible to do unless you have that work 'outsourced' someway, whether to partners or to other firms, etc.
If all Wolfram will be spitting back is an answer, I'm wondering how the user will determine the answer's correctness. Will there be a "proof" of some sort, or a list of references for the underlying facts and assumptions. With information found via Google, at the very least you'll be able to assess the reliability of the author/source (random message board v. NYTimes article) - not saying this is perfect, but a good measure.
For the budget conscious - having to commit a set figure each month might not be an appealing option (they're already locked into rent, electric bills, etc). For the not-so-budget conscious, the discount might not be worth the effort to set up this system and lock yourself to one grocery store chain (people like variety - one week Safeway, the next Trader Joe's). The grocery-space does need improvement though - who knows maybe it could work?
Seriously :) You basically detailed one of the primary reasons why folks incorporate. Not quite following your analysis of how that is "putting the cart ahead of the house"...