A thing to note is that patents have a life of 20 years or lesser, so in some cases patents would have become void. Probably it is less likely to apply to internet technologies since lot of the internet development took place in the last 20 years.
I reckon the name is more towards lifehacker than to hackernews, like the former is not about computer hacking but life in general.
I like slinkset, it fills a void between the techies (who can use reddit os) and the non-techies.
Enjoying it.
Since I am the moderator of this page (no affiliation to Paul Graham), please let me know your comments and suggestions.
dropsend.com - surviving in a particularly crowded market of sending big files over the web and charging for it when there are free services available. Though, they are backed by a HUGE marketing power of Carsonified.