ActVen

They have paying customers. It matters.

Network Effects is a simple answer...but probably not complete.

I currently use nezumi to access heroku on the go. But, this looks like it might be worth a try.

Not such a bad idea for some: http://www.widernet.org/egranary/

Execution is important.

Atrix: Turn the phone over. Slide your finger vertically across the reader. Turn your phone back over and commence use of phone.

Apple: Place your finger on the most used button on the phone, any direction you would like.

Edit: Fair point that you don't have to turn the phone over. I think it is still quite a jump forward in usability to incorporate it up front, embedded into a button that people constantly use on the device, and usable in any position.

Take a look at http://www.gan.co and http://www.f6s.com

There are some interesting tools mentioned here. But, remember that conversion to a customer is much more important than popularity. Conversion isn't something that can be looked at too well from the outside.

Your best content is always going to be on topics that exist on the customer's pathway from the discovery of a need or problem to the selection of a solution. That type of content will almost always win out over what is popular.

Example: "Differences between Contractor and Employees" -> "Salary for X position" -> "Payroll Taxes" -> "Payroll Software" -> Conversion to Customer of a Payroll Software Company

You may have seen an extremely relevant speech on this topic :)

http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_m00t_poole_the_case_for...

Check out http://www.collabramusic.com They are building a very cool product that allows you to jam with other musicians. Not quite real time...but it is extremely close and allows you to create various "versions" of songs with different musicians/instruments recorded right into the browser.

No generic answer here is going to fully apply. You have had exposure to these people in the past. So, you should have a good idea of their value. If you think their involvement makes your company more valuable, then you should consider it. If you decide to move forward with it, put plenty of vesting/cliffs in their equity earning. Anyone confident in their contribution should be fine with that approach. Alternatively, you could find some financial investors to perform the same functions proposed by these people. The primary question to answer is: what is the real value people add to the company?

Update: Just wanted to mention that you don't need their help to get in an accelerator. The accelerator will also perform some of the very same functions they propose.

FYI: Your non-www domain isn't resolving to your site.

This is hands down the best company with which I have ever done business. Their technology is amazingly far ahead of others in the banking and insurance space. I was taking a photo of a check with my smartphone to deposit it years before it became mainstream.

It is a great example of how constraints build value. By constraints I mean, they have had to deal with military customers stationed in far flung places for years. This built their capability to conduct business virtually.

This type of research is interesting and valuable. However, I can't help but wonder how much has changed over the last 15 years. The fact that you and I are discussing this article on websites like HN seems to be a great example of technology overcoming some of the barriers of location. A motivated person can easily find ways to interact and form ties. Maybe the impact of geographic location is higher among those less motivated.

Why? Because there isn't a social network attached to it. I don't have to create another username/password and I can possibly avoid entering credit card details into another site if I decide to do business with them. Why not is a better question.

"The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is a conservative, non-profit research organization that advocates immigration reduction in the United States." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Immigration_Studies

Sources of research are always important. Like most things, it is not a simple issue that you can put on a bumper sticker.

I would think about how this pricing model might compare to that of bands that offer a name your own price donation for an album. Wikipedia is another possible example i.e. software/information for a donation. Those aren't direct examples...but they might provide some insight.

Their Ruby class was very good. It included great examples and careful instruction. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one compares.

If you are interested in working with/through Kaggle on a longer-term basis, finding some solution outside of a lawsuit would be something to think about. You are getting a chance to interact with them and maybe build contacts that could be useful down the road. If the offer was insulting and/or you don't want to work with them down the road, that is another matter. When you start bringing in lawyers on both sides it becomes an entirely different matter than what it "right". It becomes a costly legalese/terms/courtroom issue. Good luck either way.

Critical Point: Viability is judged by your customer.

Developers are comfortable with dealing with some quirks in software. They typically use some of the fastest computers and the most up to date browsers. They live in and build the world of software.

It is very difficult for a developer to understand the mindset of a non-technical customer and see their software from the customer's perspective and experience-base. It's not impossible to do this. But if you don't try hard enough your project will fail.

This incident provides a good lesson for anyone here on HN. Mentioning a future action, communication, or practice that could be perceived as negative in your TOS isn't enough. Sure, it is done all the time by many organizations. That doesn't mean it is the best way to do it. People just don't read the TOS in most cases. Companies shouldn't be surprised if they hear something about someone being upset or confused by something hidden in a TOS.

P.S. CoFoundersLab looks cool. Thanks for having the initiative to start it Shahab.

Great work! I agree that importing a current site/design would be a killer feature. But, forcing to host is a non-starter...and would probably cause more issues for your company as well.

Wise move. I did the same and ended up with the love of my life who shares the same values that I possess. Social pressures will continue to push people towards things that aren't good for them. The ability to cast these aside when they don't really mean anything will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Ask someone you know how comfortable they are writing/reading an article(blog entry). Then ask them how comfortable they are writing/reading a sentence(Tweet).

Twitter helped deal with the problem of many people being uncomfortable with expressing themselves in longer forms of the written word. It also works for those with short attention spans. Combined with a following mechanism, that has proven very effective.

There is a bit of neomania in this view. The keyboard has been with us for many years, which only strengthens that case that it will continue to be with us for many to come. Even touch screens use a tactile keyboard. If you take that further and think about the history of humans using their hands to express themselves, it goes back to all of written history (further if you include cave paintings, etc.). I'm sure non-tactile manipulation will be very important, but it doesn't have the history necessary to make solid predictions about its level of importance in the future.

"For the perishable, every additional day in its life translates into a shorter additional life expectancy. For the nonperishable, every additional day may imply a longer life expectancy. So the longer a technology lives, the longer it can be expected to live." -Taleb

You can actually download Skitch 1.XX here: http://update.skitch.com/skitch.html I have been using it since they completely messed up Skitch with the 2.XX update. It requires absolutely no connection to evernote and works great.

I never used the word malicious. I used the word "behavior". Behavior encapsulates incompetence, poor design, maliciousnesses, etc. I don't presume to know what was the behind the implementation...I just don't think it should be tolerated.

If this type of behavior continues to be tolerated by users, the entire industry will suffer the backlash at some point. A few companies using obfuscated or unclear defaults will make it more likely that the government will bring down heavy legislation on all companies.

What was your thought process behind placing the titles at the bottom of the images rather than the top when you scroll through listings? It was an interesting choice and I wondered if you have any specific reasons for it.

Great work on the app. It is not only useful...but a joy to use. The small design touches make all the difference.