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Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

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Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#71

Post by dbarlett »

Angostura wrote: post #66
amykhar wrote: post #8

Just a little side note. I really wish people would give an overview of what their service is or does in press releases like this. Quite often, I see 'Facebook bought x' or 'Dropbox bought y' and I click to see what it is, and if I would want to use it. More often than not, there's no little blurb that lets me know what their product even does.

Could anyone tell me what it is? Even the test drive link on their home page offers no clues without signing up, and the blog isn't responding.

Sort of a hybrid of Google Docs and a wiki. Example from a recent hackathon: https://hackpad.com/Dataset-Wish-List-MeMfcb91BLL

Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#72

Post by 0x006A »

jdp23 wrote: post #61
0x006A wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What features are missing in Etherpad for you?

The ones Hackpad added :) And, raw Etherpad has a lot of usability problems as well. Plus it's challenging to integrate it with an outside authentication mechanism. I've looked at the code some and while on the one hand this could all be added, it's a clunky base. Node's come a long way since etherpad lite started.

Could not find any overview of what features hackpad adds exactly (besides requiring a login). Has anyone made an overview?

Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#73

Post by unhush »

jdp23 wrote: post #61
0x006A wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What features are missing in Etherpad for you?

The ones Hackpad added :) And, raw Etherpad has a lot of usability problems as well. Plus it's challenging to integrate it with an outside authentication mechanism. I've looked at the code some and while on the one hand this could all be added, it's a clunky base. Node's come a long way since etherpad lite started.

Hackpad is an Etherpad fork, so you might conclude that someone has already done the work of wrangling Etherpade code and making those patches. ;)

Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#74

Post by m3rc »

notastartup wrote: post #52
UVB-76 wrote: post #32

This is how it was always going to go. Dropbox's core business is unsustainable, and they can't compete long-term with rivals like Google and Apple. They're flailing in all directions at the moment; pushing for the enterprise/government market with the appointment of Condoleezza Rice, now burning a load of money acquiring businesses offering tangential services, in the hope they can diversify their business model. It…

This almost sounds like Facebook. Buying virtual reality was the final smoke signal of danger. Microsoft has a tough time competing with Google and Apple. It has decades of experience and loads of cash to burn and still be standing.

How exactly does a "final smoke signal of danger" work? What happens if there's another smoke signal?

Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#76

Post by sjg007 »

dchuk wrote: post #40
mimiflynn wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is remote work a viable option?

Sure, it just takes a certain type of employee. Needs to be someone who values autonomy and is working on things that don't need two guys on a keyword in front of a monitor trying to figure out.

It also requires the right kind of company/manager.

Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#77

Post by notastartup »

jdp23 wrote: post #61
0x006A wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What features are missing in Etherpad for you?

The ones Hackpad added :) And, raw Etherpad has a lot of usability problems as well. Plus it's challenging to integrate it with an outside authentication mechanism. I've looked at the code some and while on the one hand this could all be added, it's a clunky base. Node's come a long way since etherpad lite started.

I also don't see anything new or special about hackpad from Etherpad. Is it simply valuable because it has a user base? How is it that a startup built on open source product is more valuable just by having more users? I fail to see anything special about Hackpad.

Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#78

Post by nhangen »

UVB-76 wrote: post #32

This is how it was always going to go. Dropbox's core business is unsustainable, and they can't compete long-term with rivals like Google and Apple. They're flailing in all directions at the moment; pushing for the enterprise/government market with the appointment of Condoleezza Rice, now burning a load of money acquiring businesses offering tangential services, in the hope they can diversify their business model. It…

True in part, but we haven't seen people flocking to Google Drive in droves, despite the fact that their offering is now bigger and better than Dropbox's. There's something to be said for getting even the little things right.

Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#79

Post by kogir »

UVB-76 wrote: post #32

This is how it was always going to go. Dropbox's core business is unsustainable, and they can't compete long-term with rivals like Google and Apple. They're flailing in all directions at the moment; pushing for the enterprise/government market with the appointment of Condoleezza Rice, now burning a load of money acquiring businesses offering tangential services, in the hope they can diversify their business model. It…

Actually, they're buying good teams with products that compliment or extend their current offerings. Loom on the consumer side; Hackpad on the enterprise side.

I don't know their vision, but both of these make sense to me in many possible contexts other than "floundering."

Re: Dropbox acquires Hackpad (YC W12)

#80

Post by ChuckMcM »

yukichan wrote: post #67
ChuckMcM wrote: post #10

One of those 'no brainer' moves, glad to see it got done. Love the irony of a YC exit as an acquisition by a YC company :-) Congratulations, hackpad is an awesome product and the combination with Dropbox has excellent potential.

> Love the irony of a YC exit as an acquisition by a YC company :-) Honest question, why is that irony?

Fair question, perhaps recursion? I could imagine an unscrupulous person creating the 'mega-startup-accellerator' and having as its first round a startup they fund which is required to acquire half the startups of each subsequent round. Thus creating the worlds most successful startup accelerator where nearly half the companies are guaranteed to have an "exit".

In this case it is more like having the kids grow up and being successful than anything nefarious. And YC gets to put 'acquired Apr '14' in the box of outcomes.

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