2 points by plusbryan 6 days ago | link | parent | on: TipJoy Launches (YC winter 08) Awesome idea guys. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, I can't get it to work with my site (mobmov.org). Also, it screws up my layout with that inline iframe you inject, which limits my options as to where to put it. Can't wait for the next iteration though, keep up the good work!
3 points by tipjoy 5 days ago | link It could be because we originally weren't allowing people to tip themselves, which was causing a slew of problems since (of course) people wanted to try out the button on their site. That was just a big UI oversight on my part; sorry. We've pushed a change out there now, so if you try to tip yourself the button says 'thanks' but instead of 'give more' it says 'you own this!' to the left. Hopefully this will solve your problem. Please email us if it doesn't. Regarding the layout, we'll work on improvements to that and will announce an update on our blog once it's ready.
1 point by ivankirigin 5 days ago | link mobmov.org is awesome! So many times since we've been building this, I've thought, "I'd tip that". Yet another. Sorry for the button troubles.
1 point by plusbryan 18 days ago | link | parent | on: Are Aliens Among Us? was I the only one severely disappointed that this wasn't actually about aliens?
1 point by BrandonM 18 days ago | link Actually, I was fully expecting the same thing, after which I would have immediately hit Back and then come into the comments thread to see all of the "Hacker News is not Reddit" comments.
1 point by scw 18 days ago | link Don't want to start a 'my database is...' rant, but have you given Postgres a whirl with said data? It tends to be fairly robust for very large datasets, and its performance tends to be excellent under these conditions. Migration from MySQL is straightforward; I use both DBs in separate environments.
I think Emeryville would be a grand spot to raise a family, but it's definitely the most "LA-like" part of the bay area. Meaning it's a car town, not like SF or Berkeley.
That said, you should still consider the Watergate apartment complex in Emeryville. It's quiet, safe, right on the water next to the bike paths, has pools and spas, and a free shuttle to BART. Pretty affordable too (about $1800 for a 2br or $1000 for 1). It's also right next to the bay bridge for easy car access to the city and 10 walking minutes from trader joes.
1 point by ardit33 23 days ago | link haha.... nice try. My friend just rented a studio for 1250 there, and one bedrooms are 1450, and two bedrooms are 2100+. THere is a new rental building next to it (bre avenue 64) very nice, but even more expensive. And this is frickin emeryville. Rents have definitely gone thru the roof.
2 points by gscott 24 days ago | link Microsoft will do what is best for Microsoft. They always have done what is best for them and they continue to do so. Microsoft takes the best add-ons and features from competitors and adds them to there own software. That is not a bad thing, Apple does it too. It just means that as they do, you have to figure a way to improve upon there new offering.
3 points by dreadpirateryan 24 days ago | link Agreed. However, Outlook is released so infrequently (~3-4 years) that by the time they could replicate and release the same features that Xobni is offering now, we'll be way ahead of them.
1 point by gscott 23 days ago | link Microsoft is different because they play both sides. Just as long as no one is lulled into a false sense of security, that was the meaning of my post.
2 points by plusbryan 31 days ago | link | parent | on: Ask Hackers: Are you planning to do your startup i... pg: do you think that using a fairly obscure language lowered your valuation in yahoo's eyes because they knew they'd have to rewrite it, or raised it because they knew the hackers they were buying were top-notch?
4 points by pg 31 days ago | link I don't think it made that much difference either way. They liked us simply because we were the leader in our market.
2 points by plusbryan 43 days ago | link | parent | on: Get a free Macworld Expo 2008 pass. Code: 08-G-PC1... I'm not certain I'll actually attend the expo this year, but since we're only a couple blocks away, I nabbed a pass. I remember ten years ago when I would have killed for a free pass to the expo! (pass found on istockphoto forum)
1 point by plusbryan 47 days ago | link | parent | on: Man, weather.com really sucks. I bet I could make ... You're right that weather.com really sucks, but it's much better at finding locations. On forecaster, zip codes seem to work, but trying to type in Monterey, CA results in Monterey, Louisiana. Monterey CA results in Monterey Indiana. If you have multiple results, how about giving me a list?
1 point by plusbryan 66 days ago | link | parent | on: PriceAdvance Beta Launch Love the concept. I currently use retailmenot's firefox plugin for finding coupons for the site I'm already on; I probably am more likely to use something like that because 1) I almost always order from 3 or 4 main sites (amazon, newegg, thinkgeek, and grudgingly dell.com), and 2) price comparison shopping never seems to be as accurate or rewarding as that $10 off coupon you never knew about
2 points by plusbryan 77 days ago | link | parent | on: Amazon Startup Challenge Videos (including Justin.... I love the Justin.tv guys, but they have some stiff competition. ooyala.com is without a doubt a groundbreaking, utterly game-changing idea. If they can actually do what they say they can in the video, this could change online video and TV forever. perhaps even justin.tv!
3 points by plusbryan 76 days ago | link The bit about making elements in video clickable. I don't know if this is automatic detection or a manual process, but either way, ad targeting within video would be pretty phenomenal.
1 point by rontr 76 days ago | link I have the same impression. Plus, I think poor usability will kill it. I can't imagine my mom (the mom test is always important) clicking on objects in a video to see "relevant" offers. And the frustration level will be very high once a user clicks a few times and doesn't get what she wants or expects. Some people would click on an actor to see his bio and others would be interested in his shirt. Others will click on the wrong thing because the scene will have changed at that instant.
It seems like cool technology, but a bad product. I wouldn't invest. Go Justin.tv :)
Aside: the other startups in the challenge -- the ones the didn't get a lot of votes (apparently the voting has turned into a popularity contest) look both interesting and promising. Their founders may not be in their 20's, but I would invest in them over Ooyala and Justin.tv -- especially Commerce360.
