cluda01

Does anyone know how much an operation like github cost to get off the ground before it was able to support itself (excluding founders time)?

If this is the intended meaning then I disagree. The problem is that the kind of code most of us write isn't pure implementations of algorithms backed by formal proofs. In that case the code is the documentation because it is an expression of a mathematical description of something.

The code most of us write is a hodgepodge of business logic, frontend code, and a bunch of glue to make it all work together. In the case of business logic context is highly important. Just looking at the code doesn't convey the whole story or the "why" this code does what it does. In this specific case comments are the difference between saying "we don't know why this works," and "according to BUG-#### we need to send the counterparty this field as a logon credential otherwise their system behavior is undefined."

HP also has their own implementation I believe

A caveat here as well is you also need to make sure your various clocks in the data center are synched. This is one of those common but overlooked scenarios which lead to hilarious discussions about latency when really there was just a clock synch problem. Additionally the fallacies of distributed computing come into play here (namely, transport cost is 0) so you need to take extra care when looking at measurements across different systems and machines. Even machines in the same data center. The pipe that you are communicating across could be oversubscribed for example.

Logically it would seem that the company would provide counsel because at the time of the alleged incident you were conducting business for the company. This is all laymen speculation of course. Any lawyers around?

I agree. Anything that gets people interested in programming is good for the industry. Typically I try to steer people who are interested in trying out programming to scripting languages first. The benefit here is the learners get an expedient path to gratification. It's important that people experience the gratification that comes from building something before the ugly truth about how horribly complex these systems are sets in.

Caring about your job isn't solely the domain of engineers.

Wouldn't the terms of service qualify? It explicitly gives Facebook permission to use your data.

Wouldn't you be able to sue the business partner for that sort of behavior?

I believe a more formal definition of realtime is: When missing a deadline constitutes a system failure. Given this definition realtime systems are not bucketed in such a way that they invite a false dichotomy. For instance on one end of the spectrum you would have hard realtime systems (e.g. a pacemakers) where missing a deadline means death of the patient or serious financial loss. On the other end of the spectrum you would have soft realtime systems (e.g. facebook) where missing a deadline of say displaying a web page in under a second would constitute a system failure (revenue/engagement decrease), but still be valuable (people will put up with slow page loads, look at reddit).

This sounds like a maintenance programmers worst nightmare. Although I'm coming from a Java background so naturally I have accrued an unhealthy amount of bias.

Anybody from the more dynamic languages have any war stories about debugging/maintaining this sort of thing?

Why don't more companies do this? It seems like a good way to outsource your penetration testing at bargain basement prices.

edit: Well, I would say in concert with your own internal penetration test, not replace

Did the 9GAG team join YC before or after developing this site?

Pardon my ignorance, but how did you come up with this $7 figure? Was there some technical calculation you made or more of a gut instinct?

Not too clear about what your last sentence means. Could you please clarify?

Didn't Paul breakout the outcomes of Y Combinator companies a while back (e.g. acquired, sold, in business, etc)? It would be interesting to see if anything has dramatically changed.

Could somebody please enlighten me as to how one would go about utilizing 100% of the bevy of high caliber design talent that Facebook has amassed? Facebook products don't change very often, I'm rather curious as what it is they plan to do there.

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." -Mark Twain

Considering that finance types frown upon founders having monopoly control of their companies, why would LP's agree to this sort of structure?

Depending on who hosts your content, these sites are fairly cheap to make and maintain. I have a few friends who make these sorts of websites and use imgur and other free services to host content. They cost on the order of tens of dollars a month. As for profits just look at their visitor stats and compare it to adwords.

Probably mostly game apps where the item being sold is purely virtual. It seems to me like the extra cost of validating receipts for that use case wouldn't be worth it.

What's the significance of this? Upon cursory glance it seems like a community site for android developers. Am I missing something?

Well Greece's case is a strong social safety net coupled with rampant tax evasion. A better and to pick in my opinion would be Germany. They have a high tax rate and are an export machine as I understand.

Paid speaking engagements are also quite common rewards for prescribing certain drugs or writing "do not substitute" on prescriptions. My father is a doctor at Stanford, it's quite the racket these days he says.

I don't understand why this stuff isn't front page news of mainstream (cnn, fox news, etc.) newspapers. You'd figure with all the lingering resentment this would be a huge field day. Currently relegated to business news journals.

I would very much appreciate it if you elaborate on why managing your own MySQL database is the best option. I'm currently moving from back end proprietary systems development to web development and would like to hear your considerations.

The companies that regularly get covered on hackernews, techcrunch, etc. are not the sum total of technology companies in the valley or in the world. I work at one of those companies that doesn't get covered by tech crunch and it's phenomenal. The vast majority of my coworkers have some sort of prior experience at big name firms. One colleague just paid for his sons college education and mortgage from his time at Splunk. We do exist.

None of my non-programmer/startup friends know who or what a github is so I think that given the WSJ's audience, it's a fair statement.

Using HTTP in general as an internal transport protocol has always struck me as odd. But I come from a financial services perspective where latency is the key driver.

The approach to problem solving you acquire from any rigorous scientific endeavor will benefit you for the rest of your life. These benefits will probably still apply regardless of whether or not you go on to be a practitioner.

I suspect we can find more than a few data points here.