I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web) • Hacker News Board

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#61

Post by thaumaturgy » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 3:51 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #51

barrkel wrote: post #37

I wouldn't be so positive about open-source everywhere. I'd recommend keeping some amount of the server-side closed source. The risk I see is that competitors can simply use your code and run the cheapest hardware they can find, while you have to run the cheapest hardware you can find and maintain and improve the software. Unless you have a different edge on the hardware side, you have no sustainable competitive adva…

[deleted]

> Linode could offer this stack as an in browser way to access lish.

Linode already has an in-browser interface to Lish, and I don't think Lish would work over VNC anyway, since it seems to operate on a lower level.

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#62

Post by lkozma » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 3:55 PM UTC

flyosity wrote: post #40

FWIW I think saying "doing a startup" sounds pretty childish. Why not say that you're starting a company? "Doing a startup" sounds like you're just messing around with a concept, testing the waters. "Starting a company" makes you look more serious, like you know what you're doing. Just my opinion.

"just messing around with a concept, testing the waters"

this might be exactly the best way to start something like this.

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#63

Post by mahmud » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 3:58 PM UTC

flyosity wrote: post #40

FWIW I think saying "doing a startup" sounds pretty childish. Why not say that you're starting a company? "Doing a startup" sounds like you're just messing around with a concept, testing the waters. "Starting a company" makes you look more serious, like you know what you're doing. Just my opinion.

I, personally, appreciate the lack of pretension.

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#64

Post by vijaydev » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 4:15 PM UTC

Nice idea! Congrats for the venture!

A small feedback about the site. The email signup UI is the coolest I have seen. However, I would like the string "you@example.com" to be retained when I click in the text box and then click outside. Currently, it disappears when out of focus after clicking inside the text box once.

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#65

Post by kaens » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 4:34 PM UTC

This is just insanely impressive.

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#66

Post by andreyf » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 4:43 PM UTC

vijaydev wrote: post #64

Nice idea! Congrats for the venture! A small feedback about the site. The email signup UI is the coolest I have seen. However, I would like the string "you@example.com" to be retained when I click in the text box and then click outside. Currently, it disappears when out of focus after clicking inside the text box once.

That's called placeholder test: http://diveintohtml5.org/forms.html

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#67

Post by japherwocky » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 5:09 PM UTC

I worked for a "startup" in LA that did something like this. They had big funding, and big names, but were kind of incompetently run.

I'll just say this: the government / military was verrry interested in the honeypot angle.

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#68

Post by samwillis » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 5:22 PM UTC

I think the most interesting aspect of this is that you have implemented a VNC client in JavaScript and HTML. That realy is your core technology and probably has the most value. I could see that being realy useful for implementing things like 3d CAD in the browser, the interface and controls could be plain HTML/CSS and use your vnc technology to show the 3d graphics being drawn on the server.

Could you offer some insight into how your JavaScript vnc works?

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#69

Post by aaronbrethorst » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 5:39 PM UTC

pkrumins wrote: post #26

aquark wrote: post #25

This looks great! Any comments on how feasible Windows VMs will be to offer from a licensing perspective? Best of luck with this.

We haven't really looked yet into licensing stuff. We'll do that quite later when we get ready to start offering the service. For now we're just building the stuff up and not thinking too much about anything else.

I would recommend worrying about Windows licensing now. I worked for a company doing something quite similar for two years and I remember that Windows licensing is a bit of a sticky spot.

Re: I am doing a startup (putting virtual machines on the web)

#70

Post by runT1ME » Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 5:44 PM UTC

bretthoerner wrote: post #57

theBobMcCormick wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Open Source could be an advantage for them if they change their license to the AGPLv3. With an AGPLv3 license, any competitors would be required to make their modifications available for download. But as the copyright holder, the OP would not have to release any source he didn't want to, giving him the flexibility to run private, closed source extensions/enhancements if he chooses.

Keeping in mind that he can't make use of any competitors' (or even friendly open source contributors') patches because they will be licensed under the AGPLv3 and not under his copyright. I guess they could sign the copyright over to him, but I don't see another way around that. (IANAL)

Don't a lot of Open Source companies make you sign copyright over? Or is that not the case. How did MySql handle this since they were dual licensed?