techtivist

Honestly, this whole AI-labeling approach seems to be the opposite approach to take. Instead why not authenticate genuine "non-AI content". Work together with the hardware and software layer with an open approach, building on top of contend id. I appreciate the privacy implications here are complex, and Google is dubious on using any tracking/fingerprinting technology for its self-serving and privacy-invading motivations, but an open cross-industry foundation owning and operating it may be a first step?

Honestly, along with this recent news - Meta seems to be its most brazen phase since going public in 2012 https://www.adweek.com/media/whistleblower-alleges-meta-arti... (See the section Recovery from Apple’s privacy changes) Cambridge Analytica was perhaps more about incompetence than complicity. But the patterns now seem intentional, and reminiscent of its early days documented well in Steven Levy's book.

Surface Studio perhaps? ;)

I never thought I could move to a touch only phone because I do a lot of "proper" typing on my phone, which is why I stuck to my Blackberry until my first iPhone which was a 5 (yes that long). Which is to say, I don't think we will miss the tactile escape and function keys. And same goes for dedicated HDMI port and microsd card slot (seriously how often does one use the latter)

Remember when apple got rid of the floppy drive and then the disk drive? Do we still complain about those?

Headphone jack on iPhone is a different concern, since bluetooth headphones are still not as ubiquitous and having something else to charge a headache.

But none of these concerns (except for maybe the absence of Magsafe) is really a dealbreaker.

If this valuation is based on the "future potential" of GitHub, I would keep track of GitHub's data ownership policy. I wouldn't be surprised if all of a sudden GitHub decides it owns the commercial rights to all code hosted on GitHub, at least for the free plan ;)

There's a key mental difference between traveling for leisure and for business.

When you are holidaying, you are looking for those little experiences that make every trip unique, and living in someone's home definitely adds to that.

But when you are traveling for work, anything that's not work is distracting. So one seeks 'familiarity', and that's where the experience of just getting back to a hotel with no surprises waiting wins.

It's the same reason I chose Starbucks to work from whenever I am traveling. I know I'll get the same environment, same mediocre coffee and similar wifi. No surprises, so I can GSD.

You should reclassify this as Blockchain, and separate the application on currency (Bitcoin). The bigger fundraising events this year has been around the "Blockchain" technology while investors' appetite to startups focusing on Bitcoin as a currency has dwindled significantly.

I think we all agree with the same statement then :)

>> 2. It feels like nobody here actually read Adora Cheung's quotes about multiple lawsuits coinciding with investment timing. That is obviously the reason they shut the doors.

Everybody did. It seems like a convenient face-saving excuse. The company didn't grow fast enough. If the all the numbers were impressive enough, investors would've taken the risk, especially the ones that already had $40m in.

Winner will take all. Uber will be the Uber for X (for everything) and AirBnB (potentially) AirBnB for everything. Low margin markets are usually zero sum in the long-term.

I doubt they will do that for personal devices. I think they will have two tiers: personal and enterprise. Personal would essentially be bundled up with PCs for "free" to the end-users with money coming from the OEMs. They will then "upsell" the likes of Office for a subscription.

But I find the subscription concept interesting for enterprise customers who are already used to it. Bundle support services and extra add-ons tailored to enterprises in general or particular industry, could have a huge potential for them.

Just to add what have already been mentioned, Term Sheet by Dan Primack for all startup news, mainly around funding + other deals including PE. An aspiring VCs best friend https://fortune.com/newsletter/termsheet/

With such slim margins AWS and the larger cloud services industry of today will become what the airlines industry has become.

This reminded me of a great piece in the Atlantic a while ago looking at the cause: "Elite students with few marketable skills are perfect forms for financial firms to mold." http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/why-do-s...

I am curious to understand what it takes to move from SMBs to move upmarket. Any examples of companies that have made the successful transition without alienating its core SMB customers?

I am not sure if this is really "effective altruism". When I decided to leave a high paying job to start an education startup in order to pursue my passion to make a change through education, I got similar advice. I was told it would be more "effective" to keep my job and donate the money to education related charities instead. But I realized that as an software engineer, my skills could prove much more impactful, and directly so than the relatively meagre money I could donate. As they say money is cheap. I felt, and I still feel I could amplify my impact by using my skills rather than just throwing money at the problem.

Second, I wanted to be more aware and involved in the issues I wanted to contribute to, which I couldn't do unless I dove in. There are a lot of good organization out there that are making great impact, but there are equal number of "bad" ones that are perhaps having a negative impact or are not aligned to ones values. GiveWell and CharityNavigator can only go so far.

Ah! Hadn't heard about this. Professional programs usually don't offer need-based aid a lot, so this probably still doesn't go a long way. I was thinking more for undergrad programs, where need-based aid is much more common, and not too many students (none for internationals) qualify for gov grants, which might have similar provisions.

Only a handful do, the ones in top 10-20 academically and endowment wise. The university covered tuition, room and board, around $58k annually. I still worked 20 hours a week, to pay for other expenses, send back a little home and save a little.

I definitely hope to when I financially can. Just one year into post-grad startup life :)

But in the meantime I am trying in my own little way, by advising current students, interviewing applicants and also coaching students back home in similar position as I was by helping them with their applications and SATs

I am always conflicted about these. I was fortunate enough to get a full ride (all grants, no loans) to a top University, even as an international student. My parents couldn't afford to pay for my flight here, which the University did. In a way that has allowed me to take a riskier career trajectory by quitting a 6 figure starting salary at a top tech company after graduation within 3 months and starting a startup. So I am ever so grateful for policies like this.

But I wonder if universities should offer some sort of deferred payment (5 years after graduation for instance) to students instead (not a 3rd party loan). If you go to Stanford you are pretty much guaranteed a stable income when you graduate. Yes ,granted, a lot of alumni do donate without feeling the necessity to do so, but having such an option will help universities, perhaps more for those with smaller endowments "recover" some of the cost.

Universities could always make exceptions some time down the line on a case by case basis, depending on student's current income which will vary violently even for top universities, with some students deciding to work for a non-profit while others choosing a more lucrative job, just like income tax works.

Again, I am really not sure, just throwing it out there.

I hate to feed conspiracy theories, but with the focus on state sponsored cyber security threats, we completely forget that corporate sponsored threats are equally potent.

Every time there's an attack on intellectual property of Western companies, fingers are raised straight to state sponsored groups in China and Russia. It's bewildering to me that privately sponsored attacks are hardly considered seriously.

With the Sony attack we have been focusing on the movie, while the movie could've been just an excuse for an attack that was aimed to financially dismantle Sony, which it did.

I really dislike these type of comments. Yes we all like to hate on PayPal. It has questionable business practices and its products aren't necessarily cutting edge as compared to say Stripe. But let's just pause and recognize this http://www.datanyze.com/market-share/payments/paypal-vs-stri...

So there's nothing wrong in creating a business that serves a wildly large number of customers out there. PayPal dominates the market outsides of startups and the valley tech companies, and as such a huge market to build a product or company around.

I think more than just a product decision, this seems to be a more strategic decision. Inbox is great for consumers, for your personal email. But for power email users, there's very little, which is perhaps why they haven't even opened it up to Google Apps users.

There's an underlying trend, while consumer mobile apps have been embracing more and more unbundling, the good business mobile apps out there are actually bundling more and more. Inbox replaced Mailbox for my personal email.

But for work, once I moved to Acompli https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/acompli-email/id829384901?mt..., there was no turning back.

Acompli leaves a lot to be desired in terms of design, but I really don't care because it has seamless multi platform file integration and integrated scheduling features, stuff that I don't need for my personal email. But mailbox and now inbox is great for my personal email, because it focuses on stuff I really care about: quick replies, adding simple tasks and most importantly snoozing emails that I don't need to reply to rightaway.

Here's the biggest underlying problem. Contrary to what one would expect, Japanese firms are actually flush with money, but due to Abenomics, the weakness of Yen means they are investing more and more abroad, rather than putting the resources in improving its own infrastructure. We all know about Softbank's recent investments in India and South East Asia. And it's not just limited to Tech or even the private sector, even infra firms are investing in troves abroad, especially in South East Asia. In a way the Japanese growth rate doesn't take into account the rent its entities are receiving from abroad. So the short term picture might actually be rosier than the numbers of would suggest.

The bigger problem is actually long term weaknesses that this trend will expose.

Another huge problem is consumer lending. Most Japanese banks are actually pretty stringent when it comes to lending to their own people. So even if low interest rates might encourage consumer borrowing appetite, there's very little supply out there. I think the PM and the central bank needs to address these, even if loosening lending might be contrary to what Japan has done in the past.

I think she's alright, but would have definitely liked someone like Sarah Lacy doing the interview. I know people have different opinions about her, but I really like her interviewing style, seems much more personal.

The question is asked at around 10 minutes, and PG answer around 12 after Jessica's answer.

I was really touched that PG's greatest regret was something related to his family, and not YC or his larger professional career. As young founders we tend to forget (or are expected to anyways) where our real long term priorities should be, and I hope PG's own regret reminds us to think about it from time to time.

It's on a Saturday, so traffic shouldn't be a big deal. Prices in SF and South Bay (MV/Sunnyvale/Cupertino) tend to be similar. So it's really up to you. But SF does have a lot of options for budget hostels (outside of the hackerhomes that are available on AirBnB). If you have the cash, I would rather spend it on a nice place in South Bay then on Uber.

I'll be renting a car from SF. For folks wanting to carpool with me, sign up here with "techtivist". Others with a car, feel free to add yourself here as well. http://www.groupcarpool.com/t/97khv4 First come first serve. It should come to around $20 each (including gas and rental) per head, against $80-90 Uber ONE WAY! I'll be leaving from Richmond, but can pick up from anywhere within SF or a short diversion from 101.

Exactly, my country isn't on the visa waiver program. So B1(/B2) is my only option.