Virtual Reality: Real Products for Cyberspace
Pebble App Challenge Finalists Announced
Kamcord is now natively supported in Unreal Engine 3 for iOS and Android. Developers using Unreal Engine can offer Kamcord’s free platform to record, replay, and share in-game experiences. Monster 500, a kart-style racing game already on iTunes AppStore and Google Play, is a great example of Kamcord integration with Unreal Engine 3. I wrote about Kamcord in November as a startup that helps independent game developers promote their apps. Continue reading
Kamcord Gameplay Sharing Now In Unreal Engine For iOS / Android
Y Combinator Revises Policy Of Personal Investments By Partners In Startups
Y Combinator partners may no longer participate in the first $500k a company raises, unless it’s 3 weeks past Demo Day, according to a recent announcement. The reasoning provided is “other investors could treat investment by YC partners as an accurate sign of how promising [YC partners] thought a startup was.” The side-effect was it became “harder for the startups that partners didn’t invest in to raise money.” Maintaining good business ethics is also a possible reason for this revised policy. This change keeps fundraising fair for everybody. Continue reading
Startups Can’t Survive On $20,000
Gentrification in the Bay Area is a popular topic lately. San Francisco rents are up more than 3 times the national average, reports SFGate. The cost of living has simply gotten too expensive except for those with well-paying jobs at established companies. That’s a serious long-term problem for everybody because the high cost of living destroys startups. Startups, at least in concept, create innovation and new jobs. No startups means no innovation and no new jobs. I recent wrote New YC Investments Still Get Same Low Offers Since 2005. In this post, I’d like to briefly explain why seed money startups may be unsustainable. Continue reading
Female Founders Conference On March 1
All three finalists were women on season 1 of King of the Nerds. So that’s scientific proof right there female nerds exists. Anyway, Y Combinator is holding a Female Founders Conference on March 1. Application deadline to attend is February 3. This event is an indirect result of Paul Graham saying he was recently accused of believing things he doesn’t believe about women as programmers and startup founders. Continue reading
Help Immunity Project HIV/AIDS Vaccine Raise $482K By February 22
Immunity Project is a non-profit organization on track to begin testing an HIV vaccine by year’s end. The organization has been working on this project since 2010 using a unique approach. Immunity Project is currently having a tax-deductible fundraiser for $482K, with over $188K already raised, towards its final experiment required before Phase I clinical trials. Continue reading
Zidisha Is International Microlending, Immunity Project Is An HIV Vaccine; Two Nonprofits Currently Doing Y Combinator
Funding non-profit organizations was a new initiative announced by Y Combinator in September. Assistance to these organizations from YC includes a charitable contribution and the same techniques used to help startups. Two non-profits have recently announced their participation in YC W14: Zidisha and Immunity Project. Both of these organizations address global problems they’ve been working on for several years. Continue reading
Imagine If Aaron Swartz Had Lived
Aaron Swartz’ death a year ago was absolutely a tragedy. The grand jury indictment conceded Aaron had legitimate access to JSTOR through Harvard’s Center for Ethics. Even though the alleged hacking occurred at MIT, how could he “steal” documents that were free? If Aaron had no prior criminal record, why did a plea bargain require prison time? Questions like these are now moot. Aaron Swartz is gone. Gone, but not forgotten. Continue reading
It Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) [Explicit] [Click Lyrics for Annotations via Rap Genius]
[Verse 1]
Just waking up in the morning, gotta thank God
I don’t know but today seems kinda odd
No barking from the dog, no smog
And momma cooked a breakfast with no hog
Easel.io In-Browser Web Design Tool Acquired By GitHub
Easel.io has been acquired by GitHub, announced today on Easel’s company blog. From YC S12, Easel is an in-browser web design tool. The company’s service will continue post-acquisition, providing support and additional benefits to paid subscribers. Continue reading
Rap Genius Is Annotations For Song Lyrics, Poetry, & More
Rap Genius is a community for user-contributed annotations of everything. Song lyrics and creative writing are the site’s primary use: rap/r&b/soul, rock/pop/indie, and poetry/literature. There’s also annotations for news content, fashion, and recipes. Rap Genius could be a lot of fun. Continue reading