Hacker News Reader

I wrote my own clustering algorithm in php and I use http://www.simplepie.org/ to parse the feeds. I will eventually open source it if there is enough interest. But the code needs cleaning up before I do that.

ramion Ask HN: Awesome talks/video available online?

http://sciencehack.com/

ramion Ask YC: Those using PHP, what do you use for talking to your database (MySQL)?

same here

ramion At 38, am I too old for a startup?

Yes.

ramion Powerset?

http://www.lexxe.com/

ramion How old are you and what is your education level?

26 - B.ENG, MBA

ramion Is it OK to copy terms of service/privacy policy from another site?

If you decide to copy, double check your punctuation. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060806....

ramion 37signals Losing Lustre? Why I Miss The Adoring Fans (simpler is better?!)

According to their book, they don't listen to feedback!

"That's why you start with no. Every new feature request that comes to us -- or from us -- meets a no. We listen but don't act. The initial response is "not now." If a request for a feature keeps coming back, that's when we know it's time to take a deeper look. Then, and only then, do we start considering the feature for real."

ramion What language is the majority of startups using today?

CakePHP + Scriptaculous. CakePHP was easy to learn, however the documentation is not complete, you'll have to read the code for advanced features.

ramion Are you a Canadian YC News reader?

Halifax

ramion Moonlighting? Please Tell Me About It

it sucks, it burns you out, but if you can do it, then startups is for you :)

ramion The five worst things to say to a potential investor

1. We have no competition

2. Our financial projections are (and/or valuation is) conservative

3. We know more about (software / search / media) than (Microsoft / Google / Fox )

4. This will be our last round of funding

5. If we only get 1% of the market, then we will all be rich

ramion What are your thoughts on integrating your app into Facebook?

Yesterday Facebook accepted my application ScienceHack into the applications directory. So far, its been a huge success, I am getting great exposure to my target audience and every time someone adds my application, many more come through the friends feed feature. If you have a start up dont hesitate to integrate it into Facebook.

What are your thoughts?

ramion What else should I add to Study Stickies? Is it good enough for more significant promotion (e.g., on StumbleUpon)?

amichail; you need to redesign the user interface. start by using font size 12 across the whole site, then add margin between all the blocks. and consider something else beside yellow. Check out websites like technorati and wordpress.com

ramion Web2.0 Graphic and CSS Generators (What do you use?)

nope, sorry!

ramion Help test the alpha release of ScienceHack.com

New updates with more ajaxy goodness

ramion Basecamp and Backpack from 37signals use PHP

They use PHP for include files written in PHP.

ramion How to host the startup server?

http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=11687

ramion What are the best blogs/sites to generate big buzz?

Steve Rubel from micropersuasion.com will disagree with you :) Few marketing keywords: meme and word of mouth

ramion What are the best blogs/sites to generate big buzz?

Buzz = free marketing :)

ramion What are the best blogs/sites to generate big buzz?

So far I have: TechCrunch GegaOm ReadWriteWeb WebWorkerDaily LifeHacker

ramion Help test the alpha release of ScienceHack.com

Thanks Kyro.

ramion Help test the alpha release of ScienceHack.com

Yes, soon. The current logo was creatively designed in Paint :P

ramion Help test the alpha release of ScienceHack.com

ScienceHack is a search engine for science videos. I`d love to hear your thoughts on the user interface and functionality. Thanks, Rami

ramion Are you thinking of submitting your company to TechCrunch20 conference? Think again!

arrington's response:

http://www.techcrunch20.com/blog/2007/05/18/answers-to-a-few-frequently-asked-questions/#comment-45

ramion Free tool offers 'easy' coding

VB was my first programming language (I was 15 at the time) it is a good way to produce results fast and learn about conditional statements, loops and functions. Later, I switched to C and C++.

ramion YC reject ourdoings.com navigation overhaul -- big improvement?

I got the following error:

Error Argument to 'cdr' has wrong type

Additional debugging info: (more...)

Tue May 15 23:44:32 CDT 2007

Argument to 'cdr' has wrong type at gnu.expr.GenericProc.applyN(GenericProc.java:72) at gnu.mapping.ProcedureN.apply1(ProcedureN.java:29) at atInteractiveLevel$frame.lambda1info(Unknown Source) at atInteractiveLevel$frame.apply1(Unknown Source) at gnu.expr.ModuleMethod.apply1(ModuleMethod.java:85) at atEvalLevel.lambda1(/usr/local/jetty-6.1.3/webapps/bigsite/WEB-INF/tpl/whatnext.html:1) at atEvalLevel.apply1(/usr/local/jetty-6.1.3/webapps/bigsite/WEB-INF/tpl/whatnext.html) at gnu.expr.ModuleMethod.apply1(ModuleMethod.java:85) at gnu.brl.progfun$frame1.lambda3(progfun.scm:276) at gnu.brl.progfun$frame1.apply1(progfun.scm) at gnu.expr.ModuleMethod.apply1(ModuleMethod.java:85) at kawa.standard.callcc.apply(callcc.java:19) at kawa.standard.callcc.apply1(callcc.java:44) at gnu.brl.progfun$frame0.lambda2(progfun.scm:272) at gnu.brl.progfun$frame0.apply1(progfun.scm) at gnu.expr.ModuleMethod.apply1(ModuleMethod.java:85) at kawa.standard.call_with_output_string.apply1(call_with_output_string.java:10) at gnu.brl.progfun.brlResult(progfun.scm:269)

brl servlet 2.2.2pre

ramion Truemors Goes Public

Guy Kawasaki left a comment on my blog saying "We considered accounts, but wanted totally friction-free sign ups."

What do you think, will you do the same (at least in the early stages of your startup) to attract customers?

Comment link: http://raminasser.com/2007/05/13/truemors-goes-public/#comment-748