JohnsonB

So what was the terrible B2C idea?

That's not the only reason why Omega 3 is prescribed.

>4) Most "software" patents (which can't even be cleanly categorized as such) are not crappy, at least with respect to all other patents. There are studies presenting this view [2, 3], but it's also based on my experience having read hundreds of patents. Almost none are revolutionary, but just as few are really as bad as the media portrays. The PTO has gotten pretty good at finding prior art (interestingly around the same time Google came around), and the really broad patents are dying out.

That's only a person assessment, not a fact, as you are making out it is. The consensus in the tech industry among almost everyone (from software developers to tech legends) is that the patent system is broken and continues to routinely pass invalid and valueless patents.

>The "crappy software patents" view is common mostly because tech media routinely publishes uninformed (or disinformed? [4]) rhetoric, mostly because they garner some easy rageviews, and audiences accept it without critical thought.

No, it's because it's actually the truth and the software community is not nearly as susceptible to junk journalism as you make out.

>I am not a patent lawyer or an agent, but I believe in the patent system, as I have actually worked for the mythical small-guy firm that was ripped off by the big guys and almost died, but eventually prevailed with patents.

For every example of a situation as you described, there are 10 of a patent troll shutting down another small-guy firm or making them work for slave wages.

The supplements he listed (D3, Omega 3, Iodine) actually all have huge amounts of empirical data from a diversity of sources over a long period of time associating them with positive outcomes and improved health. These are not considered "miracle cures", in fact they have gained widespread acceptance amongst medical professionals including GPs as standard best practice to recommend to patients, even if they have no specific medical ailment. It would be unwise to not take these 3 supplements, period.

Why is it hard to see the value in making a product that competes in an existing profitable and developed market space, but does so better/cheaper/more conveniently? Isn't that a significant portion of the startups in YC? E.G. Hipmunk - simply a more user friendly flight search and hotel booking? Mariusz shouldn't have to spell it out for YC in this case.

If the issue is as Mariusz describes, he shouldn't be blaming himself, but rather YC instead for not seeing the obvious market potential in fairer pricing. Either YC missed something obvious or the reason YC turned Mariusz down was for a different reason than stated.

>Addressing fellow scientists, he dismissed the singularity as “a bunch of hot air,” and went on further to declare that “the brain is not computable and no engineering can reproduce it.”

wat.

A workaround? As opposed to simply switching registrars with something decent?

The pricing model is also something from another era. It's an incredibly unattractive option for small teams just starting out, especially when compared to all the reasonably priced high quality options out there (github etc.)

Could you expand on what specific qualities a high quality engineer would have to have that would you make you turn them down? Is it something obvious like they are rude/disrespectful, or something more intuitive and that you can't narrow down like just your overall feel of if you would like to be friends with them?

You don't even need formal qualifications for those, just the actual skill, and then it's up to people to asses if you have them.

Unfortunately we can't make the modern technology-driven world simpler for people like Carmen Ortiz. The advice at the end by the author is that we (the tech community) should demystify ourselves. But, there's nothing to demystify, the complexity is there and the only way to understand it is to actually put the time in and learn it. It's not too much to ask that those prosecuting computer crimes are deeply educated in the technical details.

Because the metric is excellence. Realistically, you can't expect a 14 year old to produce something of the quality from someone with a decade more experience, all else being equal. But if they can produce something that is uncommonly ahead of your time, then you have a case for showing it off based on that fact, and it benefits the community to reward skill as early as possible and give people the opportunities that "fame" affords.

This really is the key question. When installing an app, a user should just be able to breeze through the install wizard and not waste time on every screen reading to see if it may slip an unwanted install in.

And realistically, what could the owners of the motel have done to curb illicit activity in their rooms? I mean specifically, what could they have done, that would have actually curbed abuse? What it boils down to, is that they can take all the security measures they want, but if someone can rent a room and do/sell drugs, prostitute, and leave no evidence behind, it's outside the purview of the owners, and realistically can't be stopped. This is a function of the neighborhood, not the motel owners.