Referly CEO On Zombie Startups - Business Insider

No entrepreneur ever wants to admit failure.

But there is a worse fate: running a startup that's become a zombie.

Referly cofounder and CEO Danielle Morrill writes on her blog?that she?decided to change the course of her company after realizing it had become an undead startup.?

Referly was designed to help anyone earn money for driving product purchases. People would get paid to write articles and include product links in the content.?But Referly's most important metric, revenue, wasn't growing at a promising rate, Morrill says.?It effectively started to fall into the zombie trap.

She compares the idea of a zombie startup to the movie "The Sixth Sense."?

"Kind of like in the 6th Sense when Bruce Willis doesn?t realize he is dead and tries to have a nice dinner with his wife, there are startups out there who are still ?operating? but might as well not be," Morrill writes.

It's only been six months since Referly debuted at Y Combinator's spring 2012 demo day, but Morrill is willing to admit that it died.?

"It's not the kind of dead where the website goes dark and everyone gets jobs elsewhere," Morrill writes. "But the idea that we started with turned out to be the wrong one, so we killed it and yesterday I acknowledged publicly to ourselves and everyone else that we have to change our course."?

After going through this experience herself, Morrill left some tips for entrepreneurs to help them determine if their startup is turning into a zombie.

Here are few hints, in Morrill's words:

• You don't want to get out of bed in the morning.
• You haven't hit 10% week-over-week growth on any meaningful metric (revenue, active users, etc).
• You're working on the same idea after 12+ months and still haven't launched.
• You've hired consultants to figure out revenue, culture, or product in a company of less than 10 people.
• You've launched a consumer service and have less than 2% week-over-week growth in signups

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/referly-ceo-on-zombie-startups-2013-3

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Grillo's party to tell Italy president it can lead government

ROME (Reuters) - Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement said on Sunday it wanted to lead Italy's next government following last month's inconclusive election and reiterated that it would not agree to an alliance with any other party.

The movement's newly elected parliamentary leaders told reporters it would make this position clear to President Giorgio Napolitano when he begins consultations later this month on the formation of a government.

"Our proposal will be a 5-Star government," the movement's Senate leader Vito Crimi said after a meeting of its lawmakers in a Rome hotel.

It is unlikely that the other parties would accept a government led by the 5-Star Movement. This is partly because of policy differences and partly because although it was the most voted single party at the election, 5-Star has fewer seats in parliament than the center-left and center-right coalitions.

5-Star's policies include a minimum income for the unemployed, free Internet access for all, electoral reform, the abolition of state financing for parties and newspapers and the scrapping of work on a high-speed train line in northern Italy.

It campaigned on a radical platform to clean up politics and save the environment.

Grillo's party has been under intense pressure to form an alliance with the center-left Democratic Party (PD) after the election produced a hung parliament, but it has insisted it will not guarantee its backing to any coalition.

The PD says it shares some of 5-Star's positions but its policies are generally less radical and there are significant differences, particularly regarding Europe. Grillo has called for an on-line referendum on Italy's membership of the euro zone.

Grillo said on Sunday he would withdraw from politics if his movement ever gave a vote of confidence to a government led by the center-right or center-left.

The center-left bloc led by the PD won a lower house majority but failed to do so in the Senate, while 5-Star unexpectedly emerged as Italy's largest party in its first national election.

Parliament convenes on Friday and shortly afterwards Napolitano will begin consultations with party chiefs to try to find backing for a coalition.

Crimi and lower house leader Roberta Lombardi said 5-Star would tell Napolitano it can form a government on the basis of a 20-point program which it is still drawing up, but it would not initially propose any candidate for prime minister.

"If the president accepts our 20 points then at that point we will be ready to propose a name for prime minister," Crimi said.

Lombardi said 5-Star would be happy to work with any other party that accepts the 20 points, but will not give a vote of confidence to a coalition led by any other party.

"It's the program that creates the alliances not the other way round," said Lombardi.

(Editing by Stephen Powell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/grillos-party-tell-italy-president-lead-government-212917064.html

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1

Sony's decision to develop the Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 ($2,799.99 direct) is a bold one. It's a seriously expensive camera that appeals to well-heeled enthusiasts, but is likely to be a constant companion for those who embrace its design. The RX1 packs a 24-megapixel full-frame image sensor and a 35mm f/2 Zeiss Sonnar lens. It can slide into a larger pocket?think jacket or cargo pants?and delivers images that would spur envy in many an SLR. It's not a perfect camera, and it's not for everyone, but despite its price, it's the best prime-lens compact we've tested, and earns and Editors' Choice award for that distinction.

Design and Features
The RX1 is one of two cameras in Sony's current R series. The other, the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is a smaller compact with a 1-inch sensor and a fast, zooming lens. It impressed us enough to earn our Editors' Choice for compact cameras, but it's simply not in the same class as the RX1 in terms of image quality. The RX1 sets itself apart from other cameras in its class with its image sensor. Sony was actually the first company to put an APS-C sensor in a digital camera that didn't have a removable lens. The Cyber-shot DSC-R1 debuted in 2005 and is still the only camera of this type with a zoom lens. When you measure its surface area, the full-frame image sensor is twice as big as an APS-C sensor; as a rule of thumb, a bigger image sensor translates into higher-quality photos.

Despite having a rather compact body, the 17-ounce RX1 has a big lens that adds to its depth. It measures 2.6 by 4.5 by 2.75 inches (HWD). Compare this with the Leica X2, which measures 2.7 by 4.9 by 2 inches. The Leica is noticeably slimmer while still offering the same field of view, but it uses a smaller APS-C image sensor and a slower f/2.8 lens. The camera has a leatherette covering that doubles as a grip, but it's a bit too shallow for my tastes, given the bulky lens design. Sony doesn't offer an accessory handgrip for the front of the camera?although it does sell a thumb grip ($249.99) that slides into the hot shoe in order to give you a better handle from the rear.

The lens is a Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 2/35. Because there's no crop factor, the 35mm lens delivers the same field of view as it would if the camera used film rather than a digital sensor. There's no optical zoom capability, but if you opt to shoot in JPG you can activate Clear Image Zoom, a digital zoom system that works by upscaling a cropped portion of the sensor, to capture a field of view of 50mm or 70mm. Fujifilm's X100s features a design that delivers the same field of view and f/2 aperture as the RX1, but like other cameras in this class it uses an APS-C sensor. The X100s has a built-in hybrid viewfinder?you can toggle between a fixed optical view or an electronic live view feed?something that is lacking in the RX1. Sony does sell accessory viewfinders. The OLED Electronic Viewfinder is priced at a hefty $450, and the Optical Viewfinder is even more expensive at $600.

The lens has a physical aperture ring that ranges from f/2 to f/22 in third-stop increments. Unlike an SLR lens, which is always wide open when mounted, the RX1 changes its aperture as soon as you adjust the ring. This gives you a real-time preview of your depth of your image, including depth of field, as you compose shots. The display does get dim if you stop the lens down in a dark environment, but you'll likely be shooting with a wider aperture or on a tripod in those situations.

At its standard setting focus ranges from 0.3 meter to infinity, but you can twist the macro ring, located behind the manual focus ring, to change the range from 0.2 meter to 0.35 meter. It's an innovative design that allows you to focus closer than you would normally be able to with a camera like this one. The Fujifilm X100s tackles the problem in a similar manner?it can focus from 0.5 meter to infinity in its standard mode, but has a macro setting that adjusts the range from 0.1 meter to 2 meters. The Sigma DP1 Merrill has a wider 28mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens, but its design allows it to focus from 0.2 meter to infinity at all times. Having the ability to get in a little bit closer than usual with the RX1 is a boon, but the adjustment can be a bit tricky to make as it is a very narrow ring, and there were a couple occasions where I accidentally move it away from one of its settings when squeezing the camera into or taking it out of my gear bag. Thankfully, there is a "Macro" overlay that shows up on the rear display and in the EVF to let you know that close focus mode is engaged.

The RX1 doesn't have quite the control layout of a D-SLR, but it offers enough customization to keep demanding shooters happy. Up top there's the mode dial, a dedicated control dial for Exposure Compensation?three stops in either direction in third-stop increments?and a the C button, which can be customized to perform almost any camera function via the menu system. The On/Off switch sits at the base of the shutter release, which features a threaded design so that it can accept a mechanical release cable or a screw-in soft release button.

On the front of the camera, below and to the right of the lens, is a toggle switch to change between Autofocus, Direct Manual Focus, and Manual Focus. The first and last are self-explanatory in function; Direct Manual Focus allows you to fine tune the focus of a shot after autofocus has locked on. You simply press the shutter halfway down to engage autofocus, and you can turn the focus ring on the lens in order adjust focus manually. It's a nice option for shooters who want the convenience of autofocus, but don't want to have to flip a switch in order to benefit from the control that manual focus provides.

The rear panel houses a control dial?it adjust shutter speed in Shutter Priority and Manual shooting modes. There's also an Auto Exposure Lock button (it can be reprogrammed to perform another function), and a programmable four-way controller that doubles as an additional control dial. You can program three of the four direction presses; the top always changes the amount of information displayed on rear LCD. The wheel action is used to change the selected settings in the overlay menu that opens when you press the Function button; the up, down, left, and right directions are used to navigate through the options contained within.

That menu gives you quick access to common shooting settings?Drive Mode, Flash Mode, Autofocus Area, ISO, Metering Mode, Flash Compensation, White Balance, and others. Most of these can be assigned to one of the camera's programmable buttons. If you configure the RX1 to match your shooting style, you'll seldom have to dive into a menu.

The rear display is 3 inches and features a stunning 1,229k-dot resolution. It's sharper than the 921k-dot displays found on other high-end compacts, which is helpful for confirming critical focus. There's no focus peaking aid for manual focus like there is with Sony interchangeable lens cameras like the Alpha NEX-7, but you can magnify a portion of the frame to check critical focus when in manual focus or Direct Manual Focus mode.

The flash deploys via a physical catch, located on the rear above the LCD. It's on a hinge, but you can't tilt it back like you can with the flash on the NEX-7 and some other Sony cameras. If you want to add a bounce flash, you'll have to invest in an external one that slides into the camera's hot shoe. If you already own a Sony D-SLR or NEX model you can use same strobes, but you'll have to add the Multi-Interface Shoe Adapter ($24.99) if your strobes use the older Minolta hot shoe design.

If you find the prices of the EVF, OVF, and thumb grip shocking, you're not alone. Many have knocked the RX1 for the price of its accessories, and for not including some very basic ones in the box. Sony opted not to include a battery charger; instead, you have to charge the battery in-camera using an included AC adapter. A dedicated charger adds $50 to the cost, and a spare battery is priced at $50 as well. If you opt to buy both, and you should, they are bundled together for a more reasonable $70. But at the end of the day, a $2,800 camera should ship with a dedicated charger. If you run out of juice at the end of a day shooting, you want to be able to swap in a spare battery while the drained one charges so you can keep taking pictures. The lens hood, which serves to reduce the possibility of flare and to protect the lens from damage, is another accessory you'll have to buy separately; it's priced at $180. Similar vented hoods can be found on eBay for less than $10; there's little chance that they'll offer the same build quality as the Sony version, but they'll get the job done.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/eL6uW_-1HCs/0,2817,2416311,00.asp

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Snowstorm Threatening East Coast Seen from Space

The latest in a series of late-season snowstorms is barreling toward the East Coast, dumping nearly a foot of snow on some locales as it passes.

The National Weather Service predicts 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 centimeters) of snow could fall in the Mid-Atlantic states tonight (March 5), with up to 18 inches (45 cm) in West Virginia. Tomorrow (March 6), traffic snarls are expected along Interstate 95 as the system collides with warm air over the East Coast, pummeling northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, N.Y.'s Long Island and southern Connecticut with heavy, wet snow.

The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang blog, which dubbed the storm "Snowquester," said thundersnow was possible in the D.C. area. Thundersnow, or a snow thunderstorm, rumbles when air from the ground rushes upward to high levels of the atmosphere, paired with temperatures at or below freezing.

NASA's Suomi NPP satellite snapped a picture of the storm from space today as the wintry weather blasted across the plains. Clouds obscure the Midwest in the image, where parts of North Dakota and Minnesota were blanketed with 10 inches (25 cm) of snow, the NWS reported.

By tomorrow night and early Thursday morning, the gale will move offshore and high winds could whip up storm surges, the NWS predicts. Mid-Atlantic coastal communities have received flood watches and gale warnings in advance of the storm. Wind gusts of 45 to 50 knots (83 to 92 kph) were expected in the waters off New York, the NWS said.

Email Becky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow us?@OAPlanet, Facebook?or Google+. Original article on LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snowstorm-threatening-east-coast-seen-space-223251324.html

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The Age of Anxiety, 1963

FLIGHT TESTING: A more useful aerostat (at least in theory), 1863 Image: SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, VOL. VIII, NO. 13; MARCH 28, 1863

March 1963

Anxious Times

?Ours is said to be the age of anxiety. But what exactly is anxiety and how can it be measured? Sigmund Freud wrote much about anxiety but was content to fall back largely on introspection and semantics for its definition. He pointed to the solid distinction in his native language between Furcht (fear) and Angst (anxiety), and most psychologists have followed him in considering anxiety to be quite different from fear. Theorists from one U.S. school of learning would have us consider anxiety as being the main drive to action. Almost in polar opposition to this view of anxiety as the effective mover is the clinical view expressed by Frank M. Berger (who discovered the chemical that led to the tranquilizer meprobamate) that anxiety is a disorganizer of effective action. Related to this disorganization concept is the psychoanalytic view that anxiety is the central problem in neurosis. In looser thinking this often degenerates into the notion that anxiety and neurosis are synonymous, with the result that people with a high anxiety level are treated as neurotics. ?Raymond B. Cattell?

March 1913

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes

?Lowering of resistance by extremely low temperatures in recently reported experiments of a Dutch investigator have gone far to confirm the theory that the electrical resistance of all conductors would be reduced to zero by cooling the conductors to the absolute zero of temperature. By boiling liquid helium in a partial vacuum a temperature of only three degrees above the absolute zero was attained. At this temperature the resistance of mercury was found to be only one ten millionth as great as at zero Centigrade.?

Police and Thieves

?It is reported that a Washington city policeman profiting by his experience in connection with stolen automobiles, has invented a lock for automobiles for application in the ignition circuit in such manner as to form a part of such circuit. The improved device is said to comprise a rotary electrical switch with which is combined a mechanical locking device. The insertion of any key other than the proper one will not permit the operation of the lock.?

March 1863

Steerable Balloon

?The only practical benefits yet derived from balloons have been those from experiments which the Government has instituted in military operations for observing the position of the enemy. Mr. Thomas L. Shaw, of Nebraska Territory, has been engaged in making experiments with serial machines, and thinks he has discovered a method by which he can control the direction of the balloon and move wheresoever he listeth [wants]. Our engraving represents his device. There is a fan or propeller at the stern of the balloon, which is to be worked by the aeronaut.?

For a slide show on inventors and warfare in 1863, see www.ScientificAmerican.com/mar2013/weapons

Egyptian Astronomy

?The purpose for which the colossal pyramids of Egypt were erected has always been a subject of dispute among archaeologists. Were they tombs of kings, or observatories, or sun-dials? Were they erected as barriers against the sands of the desert, or were they mere granaries? Mahmoud Bey, astronomer to the Viceroy of Egypt, now explains the matter in a novel manner. In his opinion, founded on personal observation, the pyramids were devoted to a divinity having Sirius, the Dog-star, for its emblem. Among the ancient Egyptians the stars were the souls of innumerable divinities emanating from Ammon Ra, the Supreme Being. Sirius represented the dog-of-the-heavens, Sothis, who judged the dead, so that it was perfectly rational to devote the pyramids, considered as tombs, to the star Sirius.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=d4573f9045fc89d5134ec305c1d2ce5f

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Higher Education Losing its Value? Or Too Many Scientists? | Can ...

?

First, the big picture. Here is the entire market for Ph.D.'s, including those graduating from humanities, science, education, and other programs. The blue line tracks students who have a job waiting for them after graduation. The green line tracks those signed up for a post-doctorate study program. The red line stands for the jobless (though a sliver of them are heading to another academic program).

The pattern reaching back to 2001 is clear -- fewer jobs, more unemployment, and more post-doc work -- especially in the sciences. A post doc essentially translates into toiling as a low-paid lab hand (emphasis on low-paid). Once it was just a one or two year rite of passage where budding scientists honed their research skills. Now it can stretch on for half a decade .

?

?

As the article makes clear, the charts aren't perfect and there are a lot of assumptions that went into the chart. Nevertheless, if we assume it paints a picture somewhat close to reality, it illustrates a potentially new trend.

The described situation?PhDs not getting jobs?is kind of sad for those pursuing higher education. Once upon a time, only some soft areas like humanities and arts graduates had difficulties finding jobs but now it looks like science and engineering is facing the same problem.
?

It's not clear to me if employers are starting to discount higher education (possibly due to too many degree-holders, who are?not as skilled as several decades ago)... or if it is due to a skills mismatch (America graduating too many scientists). Leave your thoughts.

Tags: education

Source: http://can-turtles-fly.blogspot.com/2013/02/higher-education-losing-its-value-or.html

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Bernanke will likely be pressed on Fed bond buying

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Chairman Ben Bernanke will be pressed to clarify the Federal Reserve's approach to the still-sluggish U.S. economy when he testifies to Congress this week.

Bernanke will give his semiannual report to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

Lawmakers will likely question the chairman about the future of the Fed's bond buying program, his view of the economy and his concerns about the budget impasse between Congress and the Obama administration.

Here are some issues Bernanke will likely face and his possible responses:

Q: The Federal Reserve announced in December that it planned to buy Treasurys and mortgage bonds at a rate of $85 billion a month. It's said it plans to keep buying bonds until the job market improves "substantially." But the minutes of the Fed's January meeting showed that several officials worried that the bond purchases could eventually escalate inflation, unsettle investors or cause the Fed to absorb losses once it begins selling its investments. There's clearly division within the Fed's policy committee. Can you explain the Fed's thinking?

A: Bernanke said at a global finance meeting this month that the U.S. economy was recovering. But he added that with unemployment at 7.9 percent, "we are still far from healthy, vibrant conditions." That was seen as a sign that he's still comfortable with the pace of the bond purchases. Still, Bernanke might address the worries of some Fed policymakers. If he signals agreement with them, it could suggest that the Fed may scale back its purchases from $85 billion a month sometime this year. Many analysts think he won't dismiss the concerns but will seek to minimize them. For example, he may say there's no evidence inflation is getting out of hand. He's also likely to repeat that in determining the size of future bond purchases, the Fed will balance the benefits of further purchases against the risks. The bond purchases are intended to keep long-term interest rates low and encourage borrowing and spending.

Q: How long will the Fed keep its key short-term rate at a record low? Its target for the federal funds rate, which helps determine many consumer and business loan rates, has been near zero since December 2008.

A: At its December meeting, the Fed for the first time linked future rate increases to unemployment. It said it planned to keep the funds rate near zero until unemployment falls below 6.5 percent, as long as inflation expectations remain below 2.5 percent. Based on most forecasts, that would mean the Fed wouldn't start raising short-term rates until late 2015. Bernanke will likely explain the reasoning behind dropping a calendar date target and instead linking future rate increases to the economy's health. He has said that such a link gives the Fed more flexibility: It doesn't have to keep changing the target date for any future rate increase.

Q: What is the Fed's view of the U.S. job market and economy?

A: Bernanke will likely point to improvements while also stressing that unemployment at 7.9 percent remains too high. He might note that two areas of the economy that are faring best ? housing and auto sales ? have been boosted by the Fed's low-rate policies. At its January meeting, the Fed said the economy "paused" late last year because of temporary factors and reaffirmed its commitment to try to stimulate growth by keeping borrowing costs low. Bernanke will likely stick to that view.

Q: What's the likely effect of the uncertainty caused by the failure of Congress and the Obama administration to reach a long-term budget deal?

A: Bernanke warned in December that the Fed wouldn't be able to offset damage from the fiscal cliff ? the combination of tax increases and spending cuts that would have hit on Jan. 1. Congress and the administration did reach a deal that prevented income tax rates from rising except on the highest-income taxpayers. But it only put off the budget cuts until Friday, when $85 billion in across-the-board cuts will kick in. A separate agreement lifted the government's borrowing limit until mid-May. In January, Bernanke noted that an impasse over the debt ceiling in 2011 had caused a first-ever downgrade of long-term U.S. debt. He said Congress must "avoid a situation where our government doesn't pay its bills." Bernanke will likely repeat warnings about the harm to the economy from prolonged budgetary uncertainty. But he will probably also caution against deep spending cuts or steep tax increases while the economy remains fragile.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bernanke-likely-pressed-fed-bond-buying-115638293--finance.html

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