dreamux

> An interesting viewpoint, but I think the differentiation here lies in the degree of "artistic" creation. Put 10 photographers in a room with Miles Davis and you'll get 10 pretty distinct photographs of the man. Have 10 people create a pixelated version of a photograph, and you'll have 10 pretty similar results.

Bad analogy, you're assuming that each of the 10 people is recreating a single image and getting 10 similar pixilated results -- this is akin to the 10 photographers being in the room with Miles and being told to stand in the same spot and shoot at the same angle at the same time... you'd end up with 10 similar but not identical results then too.

Instead; pair your 10 photographers with 10 pixilators, and you end up with 20 pieces of art.

I dig your service, keep up the good work!

"Most of the reactors in Japan were designed by US companies who did not care for the effects of earthquakes,"

As an Engineer I call bullshit on this.

I'm not the biggest fan of facebook, but this guy is completely unqualified to comment on the intricacies of long-term growth and sustainability in social media... just look at his profile: http://blogs.forbes.com/people/timworstall/

He has nothing to do with the technology industry.

Also, he doesn't back up his rhetoric with data... this is an opinion piece and a flaky one at that.

Not surprising, Reddit was in the perfect position at the perfect time to suck up all of Digg's traffic when they briefly faltered.

On top of that they've curated not just a large community (and even more impressive -- self-sustaining sub-communities) but a culture that is just as sticky as the content. They are properly entrenched now.

_lots_ of potential for race conditions.

Full-screen terminal is [sadly] the only feature I really want in this update.

Back in 2000 online purchasing and e-commerce were still in their infancy. It was difficult to predict back then whether traditional models of commerce applied to these businesses, and to what degree consumers would adopt online buying.

We know much more now about online business, growth (long and short-term), scaling, value of users (and their cost of acquisition), logistics, all sorts of relevant business benchmarks/analytics, etc. Enough at least that many are concerned about Groupon in a more justifiable context than Amazon circa 2000.

One; minus the time spent either dividing even numbers by two or multiplying odd numbers by three and adding one, over the total time working.

You could also lose $81,000 in cash by setting it on fire.

Care should be taken with any large currency transaction, digital or otherwise. Though the delicacy of data (from a consumer storage standpoint) is definitely a hit against the concept.

With the government in the hole to the tune of 14T and counting, I think its time for everybody to pay more taxes.

Its definitely an ad. I've seen too much internet to believe the wording of that app pitch is genuine.

Also, I don't even think its possible to drive with a macbook on your knee like that.

Like he said there is some low-hanging fruit in OSX malware so attacks will become more commonplace, but it will be a long time (probably never) before the apple market is more lucrative than Windows for attackers. Still, Apple needs to start taking security more seriously.

Now I'm off to back-up my macbook, thanks for the reminder!

I unfortunately know very little about their business model (advertising? pay-to-play? gifts/items?), but would be very curious to see how it all breaks down. Specifically, where their special-ness lies, and how high the barriers to competition really are.

I want to criticize the high valuation, but in fairness I don't know enough about the company or industry.

I wonder how much equity of that 3B YC owns. Even at 5% (150M), that's a pretty solid return for 5M invested -- even if still mostly illiquid.

Snake oil, its the future; and I can get you 100Ks worth easy.

Seriously though, this is a dumb question. There is no such thing as guaranteed returns, and anything with a 20% return probably has inherent risks that you don't appreciate, or is completely illiquid. If you want to invest money responsibly and you don't know how, then speak to a financial advisor -- that's what they're there for.

My anecdotal experience says:

Large companies want to see theory (hacking together something that 98% works in a short period of time is less important than something that is maintainable and comprehensive), and they are willing to teach you the rest (they expect a few weeks of ramp-up time).

Small companies want to see ideas and how you can deliver (having a history of small-company product launches or open-source work is a plus). The ideas part is pretty important, esp in startups with less than 5 people -- everyone needs to be an innovator not simply an implementor. Also, show that you can hit the ground running, what would you do if they asked you to start the same day you interviewed -- have a plan to bring value quickly.

[edit-0: Good luck!]

30 is a common age to start a family these days, you don't stop programming but your priorities certainly change.

Microsoft already has a VoIP stack for enterprise through their "Microsoft Unified Communications", and its already integrated into many of their products, esp office (though my knowledge/understanding of this product line is limited).

I think the value behind the Skype acquisition is as a consumer-facing VoIP solution; think of integration with windows phone, windows messenger, and xbox. Its great for consumers because its a brand that grandmothers are familiar and comfortable with.

Would you consider doing this as a teleconference on a regular basis (ex. once a quarter)? It would be valuable access to a much wider audience.

If you're looking for a book on the subject, try: http://www.amazon.com/You-Negotiate-Anything-Herb-Cohen/dp/0...

You Can Negotiate Anything is a classic, and very inexpensive investment considering the upside.

I can't give you any advice that you won't find in this book.

Good luck.

release early, release often?

I usually vote no on such ideas from the standpoint that if they don't like the trial, the won't want to be contacted either. However, if you want to reduce the pain for customers to reach out to you or purchase a license -- make it easy to do from the trial software (a prominent upgrade/purchase/contact button with as few click-throughs as possible)

People aren't always rational, especially with money.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool

When you find another partner, give them a stake in the project (equity; incorporate if you haven't already - its not expensive), having skin in a project makes it more difficult to arbitrarily walk away.

I look forward to contributing to the American economy if this passes.

English is almost certainly not this official's native language. Miscommunication of technical matters/terms is common in these situations.

With 600+ Million users, its safe to say you're a minority on this one. Sorry.

Actually, I'm not sure if they cross-reference credit card numbers with itunes accounts or if its done through the credit card company; but I think this should be a service that credit card companies offer merchants... perhaps to help justify their massive merchant fees.

The Apple stores (in Canada, at least) have the ability to email receipts to the email address associated with your credit card instead of printing one. By the time I walk out the door my phone buzzes with a copy of my receipt coming into my inbox. I absolutely love this - it also helps that I don't have to save my receipts for warranties since I can instead just run a search for them.

I hope more stores catch onto this model.