neat startups
Mood: okay
Posted on 2010-05-11 16:37:00
Tags: links
Words: 181

I like tech startups - probably comes from reading Hacker News a lot. If I were in a different place in life I'd probably want to work for one (or found one!), but I'm pretty happy where I am now, so instead I shall live vicariously through others.

- FlightCaster - predicts ahead of time whether flights will be delayed using machine learning and lots of data. I like this idea so much I wrote FlightPredictor (a WebOS client for Palm phones) that uses their data.

- SproutRobot - tell it where you are, and it will tell you what to plant when, and even send you the proper seeds. Just looking at the website makes me a little happier.

- Groupon - coupons with a twist. Each coupon is only offered for a day, and only if enough people buy it does the transaction take place (more about how it works). You can see the recent offers for Austin have included Precision Camera & Video, the Round Rock Express, Austin's Park and Pizza. I just signed up today and am hoping for more cool stuff in the future!

4 comments

Comment from onefishclappin:
2010-05-11T16:52:45+00:00
I know ppl who like & use Groupon. It looks interesting, but a little slow.

Comment from gregstoll:
2010-05-11T17:04:12+00:00
You mean the website is slow?

Comment from onefishclappin:
2010-05-11T18:28:20+00:00
The idea is slow - one new deal per day. You can't go and say "I want to look into housecleaning" and get a good deal on it. It supports impulse purchases. Just not my cup of tea :)

Comment from gregstoll:
2010-05-12T10:05:44+00:00
Ah, yeah, I get what you're saying. Especially since it doesn't look like it's even every single day (maybe not enough businesses in Austin are signed up yet?)

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