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massappealon The New Aaron Swartz Documentary Looks Powerful. Here's the Trailer

ad revenue back to Slate as opposed to Youtube?

Yes, but you're not the average internet user. Most people who use the internet use it to consume, not to produce.

asking why someone doesn't drink doesn't imply condescension

massappealon Ask HN: How can a non-technical co-founder add value?

sales, investor relations, project and product management, marketing, PR, content creation, recruiting and hiring, CRM. There's plenty to do.

massappealon F.C.C., in ‘Net Neutrality’ Turnaround, Plans to Allow Fast Lane

And arguably Detroit did cease to exist. The auto industry that was based there is much more dispersed. The same thing would happen to Silicon Valley. Capital will be focused in markets where new companies can reach consumers fairly, leaving the US bereft of an innovative digital economy.

massappealon Comcast response to Netflix

its funny to me that two companies that hate each other so much have to do business together

massappealon Ask HN: Reverse Accelerator

exactly! theres a ton of good ideas and good work sitting on harddrives because the original company didn't succeed, and I'm sure a lot of it has value that could be recycled or reintroduced

massappealon Putin calls the Internet a "CIA project"

dudes ex-KGB, so it kind of makes sense that that's how he sees the world

massappealon Ask HN: Reverse Accelerator

Well we could focus on ones that had those issues, but you're right, there isn't much more value-add than a traditional company build, and I suppose I'm not very well informed about those funds

massappealon The Story Of Larry Page's Comeback

or Einstein

massappealon F.C.C., in ‘Net Neutrality’ Turnaround, Plans to Allow Fast Lane

if these rules are actually implemented, Silicon Valley will cease to be Silicon Valley.

massappealon Ask HN: Crowd sourced lobbying for public interest start ups?

i mean, there are a lot of public interest advocacy groups that accept donations online, but i don't think they fall under the category of start up, and i think most of their funding comes in larger donations from individuals and orgs they have relationships with.

massappealon Facebook launching alternative currency

title needs to be changed, e-money services ≠ alternative currency

massappealon Ask HN: What is more valuable, Y Combinator or an internship?

Ok, first of all, Congrats on getting an interview! Second of all, there are a lot of variables you should consider for this decision. If you've done any market research, you may be able to tell whether this is the optimal time to enter the market aggressively, or if you could bootstrap it for a couple more years and make a more aggressive move once you're out of school. The reason for this being, there are still a lot of valuable lessons to be gained at school.

That said, if you feel that now is the most appropriate time for your product to launch (there is demand, the market is educated in the sector) and delaying that launch could/would open up room for a competitor or competitors to saturate the market, then try not to be afraid to stand by your belief that this is right for you, difficult though that can be.

IF all the stars have aligned, you are confident in your product and your team and you get accepted to YC, I'd say go for it. The experience is incomparable, and an education can always be completed later and/or elsewhere. Building your own company is extremely education, and having Paul and Sam and the whole YC as mentors is indescribably invaluable.

Good luck man!

massappealon Ask HN: What is more valuable, Y Combinator or an internship?

YC isn't a place you go to learn how to start a company though. You have to apply to get in, and most successful applicants have started companies before and many of them have gone through YC in the past. Unless you're willing to drop out of school and redirect your entire life to your company, you're better off spending your summers interning, soaking up all the free knowledge you can, and then once graduated going off and do your own thing if you still want to. Most successful start-ups though are successful because the founders are passionate about the product they are building, rather than about building the company itself. The company is usually a by-product or side-effect of building the product, rather than the other way around.

massappealon Ask HN: What is more valuable, Y Combinator or an internship?

which would be more valuable an experience to have on a resume

kinda sounds like it is

massappealon Ask HN: What is more valuable, Y Combinator or an internship?

Trying really hard no to be a dick here. I'm not exactly sure you understand the nature of YC or start-ups in general, but objectively, you'll learn more by building, or trying to build, your own company, than you will by interning for one.

massappealon Ask HN: is there another payment options for international users besides Paypal?

id use bitcoin. buy a certain amount of coin, a full coin, or several coins. send it to your friend's or family member's public key, and then have them convert it into whatever currency they like. the only fee you'll pay is conversion from bitcoin to whatever, but it's usually less than the fees slapped in international transfers

massappealon Ask HN: Quit our jobs, applied to YC, booked flights to SF. Who should we meet?

Ya, I emailed Sam last month, out of the blue, and he was cool.

massappealon Princeton Study Finds the US Is an Oligarchy, not a Democracy

Agreed.

And Off-Topic stories are still published here. HN is a news aggregater that is tech-focused, but isn't exclusively tech.

massappealon Princeton Study Finds the US Is an Oligarchy, not a Democracy

Ya, it is an oligarchy, but it's a semi-meritocratic oligarchy. This is evidenced by the fact that people like Elizabeth Warren and Ted Cruz have risen to the top of the political order, despite not coming from historically powerful American families. Nonetheless, we still have some serious work to do.

massappealon Ask HN: Travel opportunities for software developers?

Developer Evangelist can sometimes require travel

massappealon Netflix streaming speeds on Comcast jump 65 percent after controversial deal

My concern isn't that they bypassed the middle man; in theory that could be a good thing in the long run. I'm more concerned about Comcast becoming the arbiter of who gets access to their network, and how much that access will cost. By classifying the Internet as a utility, Comcast has to standardize access (again, in theory).

massappealon Ask HN: would you be interested in a simple fashion guide for men?

the problem with that is fashion is subjective, so someone could go that guide with a completely different idea of what fashion is and find the guide completely contrary to what they originally thought. A Q&A site allows you to get a second opinion on things without having to treat it as gospel

massappealon Netflix streaming speeds on Comcast jump 65 percent after controversial deal

That is beyond messed up. We really need to get the internet classified as a utility.

massappealon Ask HN: would you be interested in a simple fashion guide for men?

http://www.magnificentbastard.com

massappealon Ethereum, Bitcoin’s most ambitious successor

I dont think the subjugation of bitcoin to the past-tense is exclusively due to Mt Gox; the recent IRS ruling in the US of bitcoin as property also downgraded bitcoin's status significantly, at least in the US

massappealon Here's my interview with the anti-tech group that is harassing Kevin Rose

Between Brendan Eich and Kevin Rose, SF is really showing how intolerant it can be :/. Although I am just as distrusting of Google as this group claims to be, harassing individual Google employees is downright disgraceful. I can't imagine what makes them think these actions are going to help them accomplish (what I can only imagine is) their goal of more economic equality in the Bay. Trying to extort $3b from Google in exchange for not harassing Google employees is hilariously stupid, but it also does nothing to bring us closer to an actionable solution.

Cities and communities evolve naturally over time. If you go to New York today, you'll be hard-pressed to find an 'authentic' New York accent, for example. But very rarely, if ever, has a community evolved so dramatically at such a high rate as the SF Bay Area is now. In order to prevent further tension as we as a community move forward (without giving in to the crazy anarchists), the tech community needs to invest in better public transportation solutions available to everyone in the Bay, not just tech employees. We need to adjust the minimum wage in certain counties to facilitate economic growth (again) as a community, rather than focusing it exclusively on tech workers. And lastly, rent controls need to be implemented to ensure our communities maintain the diversity that have made them so awesome in the past few decades.

just my two cents.

massappealon Ask HN: Quit our jobs, applied to YC, booked flights to SF. Who should we meet?

I'd shoot Sam or Paul or someone at YC an email explaining that you had to buy your ticket to the Bay in advance, so you're coming whether or not you get into YC, and ask if they can put you in touch with some other 'good to know' people in the bay while your here. I'm sure they'd be happy to help.

massappealon Ask HN: How can I invest in tech startups with as little as $50k?

you should look into joining an Angellist Syndicate