Well, with ads on the blog one better be milking it for every drop there is.

I've stopped taking any HN-linked blog seriously if they have ads on them, because it's hard to decide if they are serious with their opinion/stance or just baiting to get impressions.

Very true. The main points are:

- Some businesses fail to ask for a "fair" price (to be profitable)

- Some markets are doomed and have not enough paying clients (in Sparrows case: the market for e-mail clients)

Businesses either just fail or, if they are lucky, get bought (if the product is good, that is).

ditto