Reading this old story again it's interesting to recontextualize it into 2011. Would this have still happened they same way today, when tools are cheap (or free!) and online distribution gives everyone a large enough audience? (Obviously the PPC being a prototype and not available commercially throws a wrench in my hypothesis but bear with me)
This story is, in one sense, the antidote to the "Don't Call Yourself a Programmer" article. These guys were programmers. They programmed because they liked to program, not to add business value.
And a Google Tech Talk about the same: <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7497796873809571567" rel="nofollow">http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7497796873809571567</a>
A quick search on HN revealed this very page has been posted 5 times before.<p>All the recent discussion about improving the "quality" of the HN front page seems more relevant with so many repeat-posts popping up quite often.