News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

fatimafouda

I'm a big fan of the show and since it's is coming to an end soon I thought I'd explore it a bit.

This time I wanted to find out whether certain animals were overrepresented.

I want to explore other things next, like maybe female representation. What do you guys think?

Re:Ask HN: What's the best app for group messaging? on Thursday May 12, 2016 @07:55PM (#11687667)
Slack.

Also, there's nothing wrong with WhatsApp..

I personally think that if you're good at something you should never do it for free, charity work notwithstanding of course. In your case, I don't really understand your reasoning/correlation between wanting to travel and offering your AWS skills free of charge. You can always find early stage startups that are looking for someone to setup their system on AWS, and willing to pay for it, in any of the cities that you've listed. They might want a one-time job (think freelance).

Why wouldn't you offer a paid service?

Hey, what exactly does your marketing software do?
Re:Ask HN: Which hackers do you look up to the most? on Thursday May 12, 2016 @06:04PM (#11687156)
Aaron Swartz, not just for his programming skills, but also for never giving up on his fight to make knowledge opensource (See the Guirella Open Access Manifesto)

Other programmers I look up to are:

Tim Berners-Lee

Linus Torvalds

John Carmack

Are you using BOW for sentiment analysis? Also, have you tried tinkering with Watson's sentiment analyzer?

I'm working on a project that analyzes sentiment from speech, and I've been meaning to start on text sentiment analysis, but I'm not sure where to start.

I'm currently working on an AI customer service Desktop/Web app solution. We're a team of two.

Initially, it was going to be only desktop, because we were targeting big enterprises who still rely solely on phone for customer service. So, pretty backward companies. A Desktop app would have been perfect and not too "revolutionary".

But, then, we decided to not limit ourselves to that market alone, and have since made the transition to include web and even mobile solutions.

My advice is to: Stop hesitating. Write code (MVP?). Run private and open betas. Collect feedback. Make predictions. Make decisions. Maybe your market will rejoice over your desktop app and maybe they won't. The point is, you won't find out until you actually test it. If it works then that's great. Now, you can focus on marketing and growth. But if the feedback that you get points that your customers would rather get web, then that's also great. Because, now, you've gained an important insight about your customers, and will have a choice of either to switch to web (if it's a true market need (also from customer feedback)) or to start something new.

TLDR: Based on our market research alone, you CAN definitely make a living off of a desktop application; it depends on your customers, that's why it's paramount that real customers test your app asap. Don't worry about the future too much. If your desktop app is successful and somewhere along the line, customers demand a web app instead, you can always scale and adapt.

Re:Ask HN: What's the most interesting algorithm? on Saturday May 07, 2016 @06:40PM (#11651671)
ElGamal encryption. I'm a Cryptography fanatic. But really, any algorithm involving modular arithmetic is pretty cool.
Re:Late applications for YC S16: any news? on Friday May 06, 2016 @03:07PM (#11646024)
I submitted mine on April 11th, and just received a rejection email. Better luck to you though!
Re:Ask HN: What non-profits went through YC? on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:26PM (#11576956)
New Story, which builds houses for homeless people. They had this huge project in Haiti. I believe they were S15, but I'm not sure.
Congrats on getting an interview. I hope you ace it, and get in.

I'm a late applicant myself, and is still awaiting a response.

Is there anything that you want to share about your startup, that the community can help with?

Re:Ask HN: What have you done to fight climate change? on Saturday April 23, 2016 @07:00PM (#11557783)
Unplugged the minibar in the bedroom.

Seriously, kitchen fridge is more than enough for any household.

Re:Ask HN: What have you done to fight climate change? on Saturday April 23, 2016 @06:58PM (#11557774)
Reminded me of George Carlin. Despite the glaringly flippant attitude, there is an argument to be made there.
Re:Ask HN: What is your favorite dystopian novel and why? on Saturday April 23, 2016 @06:51PM (#11557755)
SPOILER ALERT: "But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother." - 1984 Haunting last line. All struggle is futile; acceptance is inevitable. So yeah, pretty bleak, but favorite book nonetheless. I also love Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, which while not classically dystopian, still manages to elicit dystopian stoic despair against the backdrop of a seemingly normal world (our very own time and age). It automatically coaxs readers to draw parallels..maybe dystopia is not something imagined. Maybe it's more familiar than we think. Lastly, Robert A. Heinlein needs to be mentioned at least once in this thread; Farnham's Freehold and a Stranger in a Strange Land.
Re:Rejected from YC: 1 week on on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @07:06PM (#11531187)
Any chance you might share your YC app?
Re:Show HN: YC interview practice app on Sunday April 17, 2016 @04:26AM (#11513873)
Text-to-speech bot voice aside, this is brilliant!
It's pretty prevalent at universities in my country Egypt. Most students apply for an opportunity to travel, and not necessarily for the volunteer work. Personally, I think that the organization's goals aren't very clear. The girl at their booth told me their goal is "to spread world peace.."
First time applicant here as well. Submitted a late application on April 11th, and haven't heard back yet.
I, too, submitted a late application yesterday. The response you got was fast. I hope you're not discouraged though.