Telegram has now 100M Monthly Active Users - <AUTHOR> https://telegram.org/blog/100-million <comment><USER2> It's really cool that Telegram is growing, even if it seems nowhere close to WhatsApp or Facebook. I keep recommending Telegram to people I know, but familiarity and the network effect keep most people on WhatsApp/FB.

My ultimate goal has been to move to Signal, but Signal being quite slow in the development and the infrastructure fronts, it's not a viable option for mass adoption right now.

For all its cryptographic weaknesses, I find Telegram to be a better choice. Message delivery is super fast. It syncs messages across devices. It's available on popular smartphone and tablet OSes and also on the major desktop OSes. It's also available on the browser (need phone to activate it for use, whereas in the other cases one single activation will hold good almost forever). Telegram has been adding new features (some of them are probably catch ups with WhatsApp) at a good pace.

My wishlist for Telegram is two fold - a) make the crypto better (or try to work with Signal and adapt that) and b) introduce a monetization plan so I can support the app financially for all the worth it has provided and keeps providing.

<comment><USER3> _This._ Telegram got a lot of things right. They have clients that work well on all platforms. Features like the Bot API and Channels have a lot of potential. However, their home-grown crypto and dismissal of feedback from the crypto community makes it hard for me to recommend it to anyone.

<comment><USER4> The only thing that bothers me more than the homebrew crypto is their claims of security. False sense of security is worse than no security.

<comment><USER5> No one has cracked it, specially in the time they offered a $300.000 prize.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Sadly, Telegram is barely what they claim. They're very good at marketing it as an open and secure messenger, but it really is not.

Here is a brief summary: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10639688](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10639688)

I assume the HN folks are already aware of the crypto-wise downsides of Telegram.

<comment><USER7> I'm using it because it's really cross-platform, works reliably on Linux, Windows Phone, web (these three are the most problematic when it comes to messengers). Also, it's extremely lightweight and fast.

<comment><USER8> It's one of the few - if not the only - native, reliable and fast among all major platforms. It just works.

Sure, there's the whole security debacle behind, but all in all, as an instant messenger, it works wonderfully.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I use it, I like it. It is simple, not riddled with ads/useless functionalities whatever, I does 1 thing and does it well. How are they going to monetize it ? I'm not sure though.

<comment><USER10> > _monetize it_

The owner is a billionaire high-tech enterpreneur partial to the cypherpunk ideas. He is basically doing it out of spite, to piss off the establishment.

<comment><USER11> Paul was never billinaire. He got ~300M from selling vk.com. Spent ~100M in first year. Spending on telegram's servers only is ~1M/month and telegram is 48+ months old. So he already spent almost half of his money.

<comment><USER12> > Spending on telegram's servers only is ~1M/month

Isn't that too much? I mean, setting aside if that's the precise number for Telegram, isn't 1 million a month just for 100M users not impossible?

<comment><USER11> Yes, we are always wondering how it is possible. But you need to understand that telegram rolled not only their own crypto, but their own DB, PHP compiler and so on. Everything is written in C++.

To solve one of the earliest DDOS attacks telegram's team take their servers put it on the track and install them to other DC. This is insane.

<comment><USER13> > But you need to understand that telegram rolled not only their own crypto, > but their own DB, PHP compiler and so on. Everything is written in C++

All of these sound like once-off items, and don't support/explain why it would cost $1M+ a month

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> I'm using Actor these days, made by former Telegram developers.

Coming along very nice in my opinion :)

[https://actor.im](https://actor.im)

<comment><USER15> Would be nice to have a desktop client and pidgin integration, both of which Telegram has (although the latter is an unofficial plugin).

<comment><USER11> CEO of Actor Here!

Yes, we have desktop applications: [https://actorapp.ghost.io/desktop-apps- updated/](https://actorapp.ghost.io/desktop-apps-updated/)

Sorry, we are not advertising it on our landing page, we are a small team and not paying enough attention to marketing yet.

<comment><USER16> Just a heads-up, the 'OPEN SOURCE' button in the right-top of [https://actorapp.github.io/business/](https://actorapp.github.io/business/) returns a 404.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> I think Telegram does really well on both functionality and UX, but is really brought down by their closed-source policy. I'm not sure what the motivations behind that are.

<comment><USER18> The clients are all open source; the server isn't, but the last time I checked they plan to opensource it as soon as they make sure there aren't any major exploits someone could use against it. Which I know might sound silly, because the open source community could find and patch those, but in light of all the recent crypto-related security bugs lately, it makes you wonder if it is a wise decision after all.

<comment><USER17> I think that, when it comes to secure and private communications, you can't really make any sort of claim in that direction if you're not open source.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I wonder how much of these are from Iran? I know that they are insanely popular in Iran. If I wanna guess, I would say more than 10% if not 20%!

</comment><comment><USER20> I think this is great news. One thing that looks suspicious is 15 billion messages a day. It must count group messages as a multiple of all subscribers and maybe some other dirty tricks. Can't believe that an average user sends 150 messages a day.

<comment><USER21> Some people and sometimes I catch myself doing it send a sentence in multiple messages since the message doesn't cost anything compared to a sms where you would definitely try to fit as many characters as possible into a single message.

However I'm not sure how common this is and if it could be one of the reasons for the high amount of messages per user.

<comment><USER22> Yeah, sometimes it is used more in an "IRC" way than in a "SMS on steroids" way.

I think that the web and desktop clients just push this probability. Having a computer keyboard instead of a phone to write triggers a different "state of mind" in the user, I think. At least it's like that for me.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> I moved to Telegram because Whatsapp doesn't allow robots. I have a robot that sends me alerts from the database I manage (lag on the dataguard, tablespace with less than 100MB free, etc). It is really useful.

<comment><USER24> Do you have an example article or resource for such a use? I'd like to carry over notifications to the IM instead of cluttering my e-mail needlessly.

<comment><USER23> I used this Perl template of a bot: [https://www.snip2code.com/Snippet/655828/Basic-Telegram- bot-...](https://www.snip2code.com/Snippet/655828/Basic-Telegram-bot- implementation-using-)

And wrote down the steps I took to build a bot that sends pictures from an IP camera (in Portuguese): [http://alquerubim.blogspot.com.br/2016/02/solucao- caseira-pa...](http://alquerubim.blogspot.com.br/2016/02/solucao-caseira-para- seguranca-domestica.html)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> I love Telegram, one suggestion though, if security is one of their priorities than it would be good to have control over how one user is visible after joining the network. I think right now you are just visible immediately after joining to people who have you in the contacts by phone number.

</comment><comment><USER16> I like Telegram much better than the others because it's very fast, and having a native Windows app is awesome. Much better than the crappy Whatsapp web client which is not even an independent client.

The only problem is convincing people to migrate, and I have been highly unsuccessful in that :(

<comment><USER26> Same problem here. I bought an Ubuntu phone, but everyone is on Whatsapp. Got quite a few to convert, but I miss out on group messages started by others.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> I love Whatsapp, but group chat with family and friends replaced any need for real live interaction, and its sad. I'd love to remove it, but sometimes its really useful with the wife and parents.

</comment><comment><USER28> Is telegram truly secure?

<comment><USER29> Previous discussions that might be of interest:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10665541](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10665541)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9134262](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9134262)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10713190](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10713190)

</comment></comment><comment><USER30> I used Telegram for awhile, but then suddenly started having problems with the iPhone app. I can't remember what happened, message notifications didn't appear, or maybe the app crashed, or something like that. Essentially it became unusable, so I switched to Signal.

</comment><comment><USER31> I like Telegram because there's a native app for Ubuntu Phone.

<comment><USER32> and a linux/Ubuntu desktop app</comment></comment>


What are you looking for in an entry level programmer or intern? - <AUTHOR>

Inspired by this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1677218 - "Creating an internship program", I thought I'd ask for your advice on how to prepare for an internship or entry-level position for the types of companies represented here on HN. In my specific case:
I've been a computer enthusiast since 1987; on the internet since 1994; creating and hosting websites since 1997; with my own dedicated servers since 2004. I've been programming in PHP since 2004 (not full-time) and Python since spring 2009. I'm about to man up and learn Javascript after putting it off too long. I'm competent in HTML and CSS; I do alright in Photoshop.
I interned last year with the US Forest Service, writing a Python front end to a framework also written in Python; and worked on a couple of web applets in PHP (with JS that I did modify a little) that displayed smoke and weather data.
I'm working towards getting my Bachelor's in Computer Science, but it's slow going.
If you were looking for entry level or interns, what would you want to see from me? What skills are you looking for? What kind of project might I show you that would get me in the door so I could contribute (i.e. make myself useful) and learn (i.e. make myself more useful)?
While I'm here, I might as well add: For the record, I am looking for an entry level position or internship. Seattle would be a plus if there's a chance for a permanent position, but I'd move anywhere for the right job. Certainly anywhere for a good internship.
Thank you for your time and consideration. <comment><USER2> We're not looking, and we're in Australia :P

However, in my previous role we hired a lot of grads and entry level developers. I was, in part, responsible for interviewing and hiring these grads.

When you ask a grad to rate their skills out of 10, they almost always have unrealistic impressions of their skills. Just about every kid whose done a year of C call themselves "expert" or rates themselves 9/10 for skill. I want to laugh at them. Nothing wrong with enthusiasm, but if you claim you are an expert, I need more than your self-appraisal. Show me project you worked on, show me a product that you contributed to, show me somewhere you volunteered "just to get some experience".

For the most part"skills" are redundant in an entry level/grad position. Enthusiasm, a history of "having a go" and an ability to learn are the most important traits to me. The reality is that you learn most of what you need to know whilst on the job, so the ability to learn is critical. If you've learned half a dozen languages, there's a pretty good chance you'll learn more even if you don't know them now.

In short, nobody expects a grad to be expert, the worst thing you can do is pretend to be one! :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Aww, I always wanted to find out how to type upside-down. :-(

Joking aside, thank you very much for the feedback. You've given me some things to think about and directions in which to head.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Passion! Willing to learn!

You already have plenty of skills if you've been doing this since 1987 you shouldn't have any problem whatsoever to find your internship. If you're in or near Seattle how about Microsoft? I can see they're not exactly overrepresented in your skills at the moment but it wouldn't be too hard for you to pick that up given what you already know.

Also, If you're looking for an internship it would help if you flesh out your profile to the point where someone would be able to contact you ;)

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you very much for the reply and advice.

I actually did open a dialogue with a Microsoft recruiter - they want more than I have right now, but it's a possible direction, for sure.

Thank you especially for the profile advice - didn't realize my email didn't show, but I updated with a little more info.

On an unrelated note - notice you listed ww.com - I saw a reference on Reddit today: someone claimed to have seen a male in a bit less clothing than they desired. Nice coincidence to have you post here. :-)

<comment><USER3> > someone claimed to have seen a male in a bit less clothing than they > desired.

Yes, it sucks. This happens with some regularity, we do what we can to get people to label their content properly but there are some characters that seem to enjoy shocking people. We throw them out of course but by that time the damage is done.

Good luck with your hunt!</comment></comment></comment>


Transfinite epistemic logic puzzle challenge: Cheryl's birthday on steroids - <AUTHOR> http://jdh.hamkins.org/transfinite-epistemic-logic-puzzle-challenge/

<comment><USER2> tl;dr version

He constructs a weird order on the rational numbers, and they play the game on that ordering. He also has steps for limit ordinals.

For example:

Cheryl: I have given each of you an ordinal. I didn't give both of you the same ordinal. Do you know if you have the smallest one?

Bob: I can't prove I have the smallest. (I.e., I don't have 0.)

Albert: With that information, I can't prove I have the smallest. (I.e., I don't have 1.)

Bob: I don't have 2.

Cheryl: You can go on forever without figuring out who has smaller.

Bob: I don't have the smallest. (I.e., I don't have omega.)

Albert: I don't have the smallest. (I.e., I don't have omega+1).

Cheryl: You can do this 100 times and it wouldn't help.

Bob: I don't have the smallest. (I.e., I don't have 100 * omega.)

Albert: I know I have the smallest now! (I.e., I have 100 * omega+1)

The weird ordering he places on the rational numbers is equivalent to playing this way with ordinals.

<comment><AUTHOR> I think it is just the usual order on the rational numbers, but since he uses only some of the rationals, it does amount to using ordinals.

But, I think your solution is off by at least a factor of omega.

<comment><USER2> I see, he has limit ordinals in his embedded order with the sequence 1 - (1/2)^n, with 1 being the equivalent of omega.

You probably even could get an embedded omega squared with

1 - (1/2)^n - (1/3)^m with m>n

So 1/2 = omega

3/4 = 2 * omega

7/8 = 3 * omega

and 1 is omega * omega

He might have omega squared in his version, but I didn't read it that carefully.

Now play the version where the secret ordinal is an uncountable ordinal or a strongly inaccessible cardinal.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: How do I cut down on my cell phone bill? - <AUTHOR>

I have a family plan with AT&T: 2 smart phose with data plans and 2 regular phones and I am paying $260 a month.  Getting ready to quit my job :) and want to cut down on expenses.  I am ready to lose 1 data plan and possibly both..
I would love to cut this bill by half - any ideas?  suggestions?
PS: 1 phone for me, 1 for wife, 1 for mom and 1 for dad. <comment><USER2> "Hiya AT&T CSR. I'm considering canceling my two smart phones and two regular phones because I feel I'm paying too much for cell phone service. Yes, I can hold."

"Hello Retention Department. Two smart phones with data plans, two regular phones, total bill $260. What can you do for me?"

This will knock about a thousand bucks a year off your bill in about 5~10 minutes.

<comment><USER3> Bingo. This works for several services. I've personally had success with this (accidentally) with my cable provider back when cable was something people used. I called to cancel and enjoyed 3 months at a very reduced rate prior to cancelling. Not bad.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Drop the minutes and data plans to the minimum and drop your 2 regular phones. Then share your plan with other people if you can.

I am sharing a family plan with my inlaws at 550 minutes for the 3 of us. I also pay $15/month for data, so incrementally my 3rd cell phone adds $25/month + fees to the monthly costs. I keep cell data turned off most of the time except when I truly need to use it (typically Pandora or mapping while driving).

I typically use more than 550 minutes of phone time by myself each month as follows:

In office: Google Voice (free).

At home: My wife uses T-mobile@home service for $10/month. No longer available but you can use Google Voice comfortably at home with the right kind of phone router, such as this one: [http://www.amazon.com/OBi202-Phone-Adapter- Router-2-Phone/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/OBi202-Phone-Adapter- Router-2-Phone/dp/B007D930YO)

Lots of high quality cell phone use on a single day: T-mobile $2 for the day (with my old Blackberry, which gives me much higher voice quality)

Our total monthly costs including fees and taxes are about $45. For that price we have unlimited domestic calling at home and in my office, I have an iPhone 4s with limited minutes and data and my wife has Virgin Mobile cell phone that she only uses for emergencies. Would only be $35/month if we got the above- referenced phone router and dropped T-mobile@home.

</comment><comment><USER5> I suppose the additional two phones are for your kids? Does your wife need a smartphone?

Check out Net10. You can get an unlimited plan for $50 for a smartphone, 750 minutes for $25/mo. and 200 minutes for $15/mo. The 200 minute plan has carry over minutes. Your net total would be $105, and ~$115 by the time you include sales tax. Granted, you still have to buy the phones.

You could also look at Walmart's family plan. <http://www.walmart.com/cp/Family-Mobile/1076544> That would get you down to $150 for the whole family and it's powered by T-Mobile.

FYI, I'm not offering this simply as a suggestion. I did this back in 2009. I was looking to move away from Sprint (poor coverage where I moved to) to a regional carrier. They wanted $60 per live for activation. I was told they'd only charge for one but I ended up still getting billed for all three. They wouldn't honor the discount the sales person offered me saying the offer wasn't approved by a manager.

Fed up with the state of wireless companies at the time, I originally moved to Tracfone and later to Net10 when Net10 came out with monthly plans (both owned by the same company). Only this past August did I finally upgrade to Android. While my phone is no frills (800 MHz processor and 3.2 pixel camera), it keeps my calendar and contacts in sync, which makes life easier.

</comment><comment><USER6> When is your contract up? Check out Republic Wireless - www.republicwireless.com for a cheaper option.

It's $19 a month for unlimited data/talk/text. Runs over wi-fi when you're around wi-fi or cell towers when you're not. That will save you quite a bit per month.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> OP here:

I called AT&T to cancel and got $130 off my monthly bill and about $140 in refund. This should keep me going until October when I can cancel and move to T-mobile which has the BEST prices I found for 2 smart phone + 2 basic phones. Thanks everyone.

</comment><comment><USER7> We've very heavy voice users, so needed lots of minutes/month. We've had great luck with Boost Mobile... I particularly like their retention policy which is NOT to lock you up on a 2 yr contract, but rather, to reduce your bill after N months of on-time payments. (Started at 60/mo, and after about a year we're paying 45/mo for unlimited voice+data+text.) On the other hand their customer support sucks if you need any help beyond the self-help on their website. AFAIK they do NOT have any live support.

</comment><comment><USER8> An option might be heading to StraightTalk (www.straighttalk.com).

Plan Costs would break down as follows:

2 Smartphone @ $45/line = $90 2 dumbphones @$30/line = $60

Total = $150/month

These figures don't factor in ETFs. Your existing AT&T phones will work without unlocking.

StraightTalk is an MVNO that operates on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. You can pick which network.

</comment><comment><USER9> I use a combination of Google Voice (free) and H2O wireless ($10/month for 200 minutes). H2O uses AT&T towers, so your existing GSM phones should work fine. I give people my Voice number, which I set to forward calls but not SMS, so text messages don't use up my minutes, and when I'm in a wifi zone (pretty often) I can log in and check my text messages.

<comment><USER10> Text messages count as minutes?

<comment><USER9> Well, you load up your account with $10, and you can use them on text, data, minutes, etc. It's 5c per text.

<comment><USER10> Interesting. I'm thinking about picking up the $30 / mon from T-Mobile. Although sprint is free but absolutely no signal where I live.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Switch some or all of your phones to pre-paid tmobile.

Get google voice numbers, and use them for SMS and voice calls for personal business (like calling your bank).

I don't have 4 accounts like you, but I have saved hundreds of dollars this way.

<comment><USER10> So you're using some sort of SIP account to GV to avoid using minutes?

<comment><USER11> Yes.

Mostly my friends just text each other, not talk. Google voice provides SMS and voice mail, so it saves me a lot of monies.

Then I use my paid minutes to return calls if needed. For making calls where quality is not critical, I put on headphones and make SIP voice calls.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I switched my girlfriend and myself to StraightTalk plans. $49.xx (post tax)/mo for unlimited everything. Bought two sims and popped them into our iPhones.

</comment><comment><USER13> If the coverage works out for you, 4 $35/month VirginMobileUSA plans. Includes data, text, and 300 minutes per line. The 1200 minute version is $45.</comment>


Broken crawler behavior with my binary protofeed file - <AUTHOR> http://rachelbythebay.com/w/2013/04/14/protofeed/ <comment><USER2> Can one really blame the crawler for trying to parse URLs out of an, allegedly, text/plain document?

I'd argue the MIME type starting with "text/" for binary data was wrong. One could serve it up as application/binary or application/x-protobuf or something like that.

<comment><AUTHOR> My question is why would a crawler think that there are urls in a text/plain document? More to the point, why would it parse it for any formatted information?

<comment><USER2> Why not? URLs are pervasive these days, and loads of plain text files contain them. Maybe they are indexing plain text files, and while they are already there, why not apply some heuristics to try to find URLs inside of them.

Of course the result won't be perfect, but probably better than nothing.

<comment><AUTHOR> At this point, I would actually think nothing would be better. It seems like any attempt to part plain text for structured information or urls would just add noise to search results. I can seen using it as text for terms but not much else.

<comment><USER2> The crawler still hits the actual "URL" he found, so that provides sanity checking. It's just another way to discover (potential) new URLs.

<comment><AUTHOR> I see your point and the sanity check is good. My problem with the whole thing is that interpreting text is fraught with problems and I just don't see the value from a search perspective. Something served as plain/text either is a problem with the server or just a plain text file. Either way, it seems like a poor value thing to add to a search.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


A rocket-propelled jet wants to fly from Australia to Europe in 90 minutes - <AUTHOR> http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/a-futuristic-rocket-propelled-jet-promises-to-fly-passengers-from-australia-to-europe-in-90-minutes/story-fnjwucti-1227507854831

<comment><USER2> I want to live in a world where it is easier to get from San Franscisco to Croatia than to Santa Clara.</comment>


Ask HN: What did you accomplish in 2010? - <AUTHOR>

Now that the year is coming to an end, it's the perfect time to make a balance of what was and plans for what we hope will be.
What were your successes this year?
What did you learn?
What do you hope to achieve next year? <comment><USER2> Good to write this down.

* Broke up with gf after 5 yrs.

* Met new girl, together for a month.

* Turned 30.

* Went back to school (nursing) and finished year one successfully.

* Still with one foot in web development and liking it, too.

* Went to huge festival for the first time in 10 years.

* Spent more time with good friends.

* Did a 5000km motorcycle trip to Spain.

* Surfed for the first time.

* Picked up CrossFit again, set some PRs.

* Dropped flour, wheat and sugar consumption almost completely.

* Dropped my entrepeneurial ventures. I'm not the type for it.

* I learned to follow my intuitions and to not take everyones advice for truth.

* In 2011, I hope to successfully finish my internship at a psycho-geriatric clinic. I've never been further away from the computer than that.

Wish me luck :) I wish you all the same.

</comment><comment><USER3> _What were your successes this year?_

I ran a marathon. I was overweight and out of shape in January. At the encouragement of a coworker, I ran 5 days a week from March to November, and successfully completed the Philly Marathon in 4h10m10s.

That same week, I landed an awesome job, and hopefully left the Military- Industrial Complex for good.

 _What did you learn?_

A little work every day adds up to a hurricane. The value of getting nudged in the right direction, and by extension, the value of surrounding yourself with people who will nudge you in the right direction. And hitting the wall is about as painful as I remember appendicitis to be.

 _What do you hope to achieve next year?_

I want to run two marathons. I want to run one of them in under 3h45m. I want to create something that lots of people use. I want to make a name for myself.

</comment><comment><USER4> I've successfully...

* launched DNSimple (<https://dnsimple.com/>) and got my first 100 customers.

* moved to somewhere less expensive yet still quite comfortable and started reducing my personal debt.

I've learned...

* a ton about building and running a business on a bootstrap budget.

* that really working 8 hours of billable time is exhausting and that working as a salaried worker is way easier than working hourly.

Next year I hope to...

* make DNSimple take off and generate 10x the revenue it generates now so I can reduce the amount of time I need to spend on contract work.

* pay off all of my personal credit card debt.

* enjoy every day and make the most of life.

Good luck to everyone in 2011 and remember to do what makes you happy and enjoy your lives while you can.

<comment><USER5> DNSimple looks really, really cool. But what about high volume people?

<comment><USER6> It's easy - I'm one of his customers! (I use his DNSimple for a second startup I'm developing). They have a REST API and it makes bulk registering really easy.

He already had a pre-done Rail client, I made a Python one at:

<https://github.com/mikemaccana/dnsimple-python>

<comment><USER5> I mean high volume as in millions of people a day querying a single domain, not the other high volume heh.

<comment><USER4> Ping me and let's talk about it: email@example.com I'll be happy to answer questions about our current capacity and where we're heading.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I wrote a blog that got like a million hits. Made more than 50 hit iPhone apps (in the charts). Travelled to asia and africa. Started a masters degree and finished the first semester with the second best scores in the class (not done yet with the degree). Paid off my sisters debts. Became more courageous.

On the other hand, lost a lot of friends. Faced many of my limitations and discovered how lacking I was in many areas.

This year, I hope to focus on creating beautiful software. I'd also like to improve my general condition and health. And of course, I'll finish that degree.

<comment><USER8> By "lost a lot of friends" do you mean you fell out, they died, you just lost touch with them? If falling out, how?

I'm interested because one of my friends fell out with me this year sufficiently that he said "I don't want us to be friends any more". I was shocked and didn't know why. From what he told me it was the result of me making a few comments about his life in a flippant manner that I thought he was amused by, but actually he took it very very badly over the following few days and decided to not be friends any more. It's the only time I'd say I'd "lost" a friend.

If I worked in startups and business I think the chances of losing friends would explode though. It seems there's huge potential for making rational, business-motivated decisions that others perceive as immoral or backstabbing etc. Is that what happened to you?

<comment><USER9> I would wonder then if you were ever really friends. The people I call friends would tell me if I'm doing something that bothers them and then let me correct it (and vice versa).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Started the year with rudimentary iPhone development experience, sacrificed free time, time with friends (s/going out/HN contributing), my love of Salsa dancing, potential girlfriend(s), got lucky - met the right people, found the right projects, now doing considerable contract iOS work, all without leaving my day job - I no longer fear layoffs. I want to write a find-the-1-beat iPhone app for Salsa dancers :)

I learned that my strength is into diving into something with accountability and public commitment as my flotation devices.

In 2011, I hope to build one or two quality iPhone apps in niches dear to me. And to talk to more women. And to practice Stoicism. And to socialize again. Life is too short for just Xcode.

For aspiring iOS developers, it takes about 100-150 hours of concerted focus - after that Objective-C/Cocoa starts becoming the solution, not the problem.

</comment><comment><USER11> Fired my only steady client due to personal problems with their business model,

Hired 6 developers and started a much more serious consulting company (with new clients),

Launched inboxSEO and got over 100 paying customers (when the trials run out),

Formed an Argentine SRL to pay those devs (like a US LLC but much harder to start)

</comment><comment><USER12> _What were your successes this year?_

I stopped all traveling and moved into a house 4 blocks from my mother's nursing home. She has severe dementia and I visit her every night. She never remembers yesterday or plans for tomorrow, but knows me well, and we have a great time together. Jeopardy, the Simpsons, and Family Guy are now our common pursuits.

 _What did you learn?_

No matter how wonderful our memories or ambitious our plans, all we ever really have is today, so make the most of it.

 _What do you hope to achieve next year?_

Launching a start-up that will change the world, watching the Steelers win the Super Bowl, and playing Jeopardy with Mom every night.

<comment><USER13> Don't have an opinion on the Steelers but the other two are worthy goals. Good luck! (The way you are attending to your mom is admirable.)

<comment><USER14> I hate a "me too" comment as much as everyone else, but I'd like to second what vidar said. The way you described the situation with your mom touched me. I'm quite glad there's still people like you around.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> \- What were your successes this year?

I finally worked up the courage to leave the PhD program that had been making me miserable for the past two years (of the three I'd been pursuing the degree), and look for something better. I joined a supercomputing-services company which is doing some really exciting work, and has a very startup-ish feel. And I've built a fun, happy life with my awesome girlfriend, who supported all of the above.

\- What did you learn?

There is no reason to keep doing something that makes you feel horrible, and if the end result holds no appeal any more. There are a lot of exciting things to do out there, especially if you're willing to leave your comfort zone.

\- What do you hope to achieve next year?

Build some awesome things at work, and learn more about high-performance computing. Get back into fencing. And enjoy life.

</comment><comment><USER16> _What were your successes this year?_

Moved in with my girlfriend. Asked her to marry me, she said yes! Went through a lot of drama with my family to accept her. Patience paid off, wedding next year woohoo!

Started my first startup, launched the first product. Progress has been slow, but I'm keeping at it.

Wrote my first book. Coming out in January.

 _What did you learn?_

Patience can get you surprisingly far.

Working alone is hard and boring.

Startup porn is the single biggest time sink in my life and probably a lot of people's lives here. I need to get rid of it.

 _What do you hope to achieve next year?_

In 2011, I hope to:

Get profitable.

Get some great people to work with me on my startup.

Make a really good quality product that people love and use.

</comment><comment><USER17> Sadly not much to write home about.

2011 is my year.

</comment><comment><USER18> I think my main success is that I finally managed to halt my downward spiral of unhappiness. Sold the house and moved to a different city to start a company (it's bringing in a tiny amount but it's a start!), met a great girl, went for two snowboarding trips and finally learned how to do a 360. Learned a whole lot about running a business and everything that entails.

Next year, the most important thing for me is to continue learning how to be happy. Business wise I'd like to find a profitable niche for a software product and grow the revenues.

Good luck in 2011 to everyone!

</comment><comment><USER6> \- What were your successes this year?

Left a job which was nice, but not creating something. Launched <http://imeveryone.com>, got a couple of hundred thousand visitors in the first month, HN, TechCrunch, TechFluff coverage and a whole bunch of help from people who liked my idea.

\- What did you learn?

MongoDB, Javascript programming and lots about PR.

\- What do you hope to achieve next year?

Get more PR, specifically a major women's magazine. Fix my advertising system. Become revenue positive.

</comment><comment><USER9> Overall I don't feel I did enough this year. I had high hopes of getting a startup off the ground with a friend/co-founder. After a bunch of lies and general not good things we no longer speak. It really put a damper on the year.

Day Job:

Wrote a payroll system for my employer that does exactly what they need and saves them millions annually in software fees. This was actually a pretty fun project dealing with individual state/country laws and other legal issues that needed to be codified.

Learned a lot about Ruby while modifying ECHI converter open source code to work in my employers environment. Again, this saved a ton of money in licensing fees.

Personal Projects:

Learned obj-c and a lot about iPhone development. I made ~$500 from a small utility app. The rush of someone paying money directly for something that I created is addicting.

Other:

Deadlifted 510lbs at a bodyweight of 191 lbs.

Hiked 5 14ers.

This coming year I will get my startup off the ground even if I have to do it completely solo. I'd also like to hike another 5-6 14ers. Finally, I will hit my long term strength goal of 500/400/300 deadlift/squat/bench. I would have hit it last year, but twisted my ankle playing basketball and that kept me from making my squat :)

</comment><comment><USER19> This year:

* Joined a leadership program to get out of a dead end position

* Co-coordinated the local DEFCON group

* Completed the first semester of my Master's degree program

* Broke into the infosec field through my first "rotation" for my new job

What I learned:

* Learned that I can communicate ideas through writing quite a bit better than I thought, and my presentation skills aren't half bad either

* Everyone could achieve so much more if they stopped reading job descriptions and got to work. This year I did so many things I was unqualified for, and it rocked.

* People's academic demeanor is often directly linked to their work performance. Cheaters cheat, liars lie, and procrastinators procrastinate. You never know when you're being watched, and I strongly believe school is one place you can't afford to screw up.

Next year:

* Stay in infosec, but learn a lot more

* Build something. Anything.

* Complete a few more semesters, and do my time while learning more.

* Patch, patch, and patch. I forget to patch too often. For this I am ashamed.

* Have a child. Scary, but awesome and probable.

</comment><comment><USER20> Finished graduate school

Landed a kick ass job at a boutique investment house in the City of London

Landed 3 Trustee positions

Fixed up my house which is an ongoing project for me

Returned 21% from my investment portfolio and cashed out immediately. Looking forward to starting 2011 from £0

I learnt that I had to keep a very loose structure throughout the year to achieve all these things as accidents were more frequent than I expected. Meticulous planning helped but it could not account for mishaps.

This year I hope to focus on the following areas

1) Improving my communication skills through toastmasters, blogging, writing industry reports/journals and offering my services as a public speaker

2) Taking more risks by playing poker, being more aggressive with my investments and approaching more women

3) Keeping my health in order by eating well, playing football 2x a week and running 3x per week

4) Networking alot more and penetrating specific areas in the City and specific groups/individuals. Starting of 2011 with drinks with several CEOs and a government minister.

</comment><comment><USER5> Most of Playtomic, which looks like it's going to end the year with an awesome 10 billion events for December.

</comment><comment><USER21> Here are some of the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year that I achieved:

* I self-taught myself iOS programming and got my first app on the App Store.

* I made five figures from my app store sales for the year.

* Started a successful freelancing business on the side.

* This included doing my first contract iOS app.

* Did not come off of unemployment until I found a job I really wanted instead of taking any old job that came along.

* Got a full time job doing iOS hacking.

* Read a book a week.

* Downsized my stuff by getting rid of at least one thing a week, and keeping parity when getting new stuff. (One thing in, one thing out)

What I have planned for the next year is to buy a house, lose 50 pounds, and up my app store take to six figures.

</comment><comment><USER22> What were your successes this year?

For someone coming from tech background, is introvert and has never sold anything in life before, I took up the responsibility of handling sales and marketing for our start up, did cold calling and sales meetings and signed up our first two customers.

What did you learn?

Like everything, you need to persevere and stay patient to succeed in selling. However there is still a lot I need to learn to do sales better. I often find myself looking back at the sales meeting and cold calls that fail thinking i should have handled it a bit differently

What do you hope to achieve next year?

I hope to do better in sales and get our startup from customer 1 to customer 100 hopefully

</comment><comment><USER23> -Shattered my collar bone and had it screwed back together

-Turned 30

-Proposed to my girlfriend of 7 years

-Got a new job

-Wrote an app that was (briefly) #1 in the paid section of the Android Market

-Moved to New York

It's been a big year for me :-)

</comment><comment><USER24> I've founded my first startup (mobile+multiplayer) in Vienna, Austria, got the first iterations out of the door, it got acquired and a month ago I've moved to the US (with my dog). Best year so far :-) I learned a lot about networks, TCP, scaling, nosql, ec2.

<comment><USER25> If I may inquire, what did you startup produce?

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> Quite a low-key year for me, and perhaps of little interest to the wider HN community, but it's nice for me to take stock of these things.

Lows:

\- Was made redundant

\- messed up with a few incredible girls through apathy or equally stupid things

Highs\Successes:

\- immediately found better paying job

\- started playing football again

\- paid off overdraft and CC debts

\- resolved to move away from the UK

Next year:

\- turn 25 (this is an achievable goal)

\- act more\quicker\at all on any software ideas I have

\- save money and

\- decide where I want to go (Canada, Aus, NZ, elsewhere in the EU) then just pack up do it

</comment><comment><USER27> A big part of me got over my past failures and just moved on. For me this is big and has allowed me to successfully take on new clients and explore the larger world of a freelance web dev. I learned that it's not about the perceived failure or success in anyone's perspective but my own. We're human beings; very flawed (at best) creatures and our communication breakdowns happen, but it's not about those breakdowns. Rather, what we do with them afterward.

Oh yeah, and I climbed a mountain this year. Next year I'm going to climb two.

</comment><comment><USER28> I quit a job that I hate and was killing me.

One week before I was facing unemployment I got a new job working as employee #1 on a startup, using technology I've been wanting to use for ages, on an interesting problem, for more money, and working from home.

I start my new job next week.

I learned that if you hate your job, it really is possible to do something about it.

Next year is going to be mental - so much to learn and do - but I can't see any way it'll not be better - and leave me a better person - than this year.

</comment><comment><USER29> I saved up enough money to leave my job and build a niche software product. Fingers crossed, it will be launching early 2011.

It's terrifying, and I'm broke, but I have learned I am infinitely happier when I'm calling my own shots.

My hope for 2011 is to have a business which is profitable enough for me to carry on working for myself, and not look for another job.

Good luck everyone in 2011.

</comment><comment><USER30> 2010 wasn't that great of a year for me. To that end I hope to make 2011 much better, though I'm preparing for the worst. Can never be too careful.

<comment><USER26> This is what I love about this part of the year. Even if you've had a fairly crummy time of it in previous months (mine was so-so), you can't but help feeling optimistic at the opportunity to starting the new year afresh. Good luck in taking 2011 by the horns and getting what you want out of life!

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> Learned:

Learned node.js as as3. Made a flashgame and a webapp to paypal dev challange, then got a consulting job.

Successes:

All of these plus finally getting healthier again. (knock, knock)

Plans:

Move, find new friends, make some money from my new android phone, finish a novell, start a business and iterate as much of my ideas I can.

</comment><comment><USER32> * continued exponential growth in income * released an iPhone game * began my first start-up, learned how green we are in our first pitch to potential investors, fired a partner * got better at math * got really into machine learning

next year i'll launch the start-up!

</comment><comment><USER33> _What were your successes this year?_ Went from not exercising at all to walking 10 miles. Wrote a super cool data extraction service.

 _What did you learn?_ Life is short, do something you like.

 _What do you hope to achieve next year?_ The impossible.

</comment><comment><USER34> I learned a ton about startups, and wrapped up my involvement in the first one that was actually mine, rather than just being an employee.

I finally got over myself and released Hackety 1.0.

I've met tons of people, made a lot of new friends (through HN and non, in real life and outside of it), and improved myself a bunch.

I think next year will be better. I have three main goals:

* work for others at most two days out of every week, on average.

* Start taking better care of myself, via exercises and better eating.

* Write something every day.

* track my time every day, inspired by lionhearted

<comment><USER12> Oops, almost forgot...I met Steve Klabnik this year!

<comment><USER16> I want to meet Steve Klabnik just to say I met Steve Klabnik. That is one seriously cool surname.

<comment><USER34> If you're ever in Pittsburgh, send me an email.

And thanks; I really do need to learn more about Slovak culture someday...

<comment><USER16> Sure man! I live in London but one day I'd love to do the grand HN tour of America.

<comment><USER34> I'll keep that in mind if I'm there, too. World Travel is on the goal list, but I'm not sure how much of it in the coming year...</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Argentina Elects a Better President - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/23/world/americas/argentina-president-election-mauricio-macri.html <comment><AUTHOR> its been 9 years since ive moved here from NYC. ive seen a mighty country with a heart if gold filled with extraordinary people..loose all faith in their future due to systematic corruption and mismanagement - but today there is something sweeter in the air.. a new era of freedom. Vamos!</comment>


Japanese man tests positive for coronavirus again - <AUTHOR> https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200315_13/ <comment><USER2> A commenter on Reddit claimed that rebound effects are known among patients that have been treated with antiviral medications, and that that could also be a possible explanation: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fjuj24/5075_of...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fjuj24/5075_of_covid19_cases_are_completely_asymptomatic/fkpnet1/)

</comment><comment><USER3> The entire theory of the solution to coronavirus hinges on an assumption that it will eventually pass once a critical mass of people have been infected and developed immunity. The handful of stories like this trickling out might imply that the immunity assumption could be incorrect.

What would be the ramifications of this? Could corona just bounce around the population for the rest of time, putting everyone at a high percentage chance of dying or requiring hospitalization multiple times a year? Could it be the kind of thing that comes back as a novel form every year like the flu? Could we be seeing covid-20, covid-21, etc ad infinitum, with high mortality/low life expectancy just being a new reality of life?

EDIT: If this were the case, and immunity is very shortlived after the virus is gone, maybe it could be contained through giving everyone an extremely frequent regimen of vaccines until this particular strain is out of circulation?

<comment><USER4> I'm unaware of _any_ illness where some measure of immunity is not developed. I find it incredibly hard to believe that recovering from covid infection does not afford some level of immunity.

I do wonder if recovery due to anti-virals prevents or weakens immunity, however.

<comment><USER5> Right. If our immune system didn't get better at fighting something, you would remain infected forever or die from it. Reference HIV as an example of a virus our immune system could not fight.

If anyone is getting better (and 98%+ of people are) it's because the immune system can effectively fight it.

<comment><USER4> Wow, I didn't even think of it like that. That's a great way to reason about it that makes it immediately clear. Thanks!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It is unclear if he was symptomatic in the first positive test. I have read at least some of the tests are capable of giving false positives. Could this have been the case here?

<comment><USER7> It's more likely that the tests that cleared him were false negatives.

<comment><USER8> I understand that false negative PCR tests are almost impossible?

EDIT: for those down voting. What about this paper then?

[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32133832/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32133832/)

<comment><USER9> 30% chance of false negative which is why they do 2 days in a row, which bring it down to 9% chance of false negatives.

<comment><USER10> Sooo, if you release a thousand patients as cured based on these tests, you'll have 90 false negatives...

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Reinfection could not occur in SARS-CoV-2 infected rhesus macaques

"In this study, our results indicated that the primary SARS-CoV-2 infection could protect from subsequent exposures, which have the reference of prognosis of the disease and vital implications for vaccine design.Importantly, the unsuccessful rechallenge in NHP models suggested that the re-positivity from discharged patients could not be due to reinfection. It needs to consider more complicated issues to find out the causes."

[https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.990226v1....](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.990226v1.full.pdf)

That's a pretty good sign for an equal response in humans.

<comment><USER12> Looking briefly at the study (I only skimmed the beginning), it seems they attempted the reinfenction quite soon after the recovery from the initial infection.

This doesn't tell us anything about how long one may be immune for afterwards.

Does anyone have knowledge about the length of periods of immunity (or lack thereof) in various infectious diseases?

<comment><USER13> IIRC immunity for coronaviruses typicaly is 6months-two years. And I am not sure , but if you get reinfected after that, once you clear the second infection your immunity will last longer yet.

<comment><USER14> So Boris Johnson will just have to re-infect 50% of UK citizens every 6-24 months while perfectly protecting seniors to keep his idea of herd immunity.

<comment><USER15> And increase number of hospitals 8 times :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> dynamite-ready In the current social climate (i.e, false positives perhaps being somewhat less likely, especially in a contrived situation like a cruise ship full of at risk patients) if we assume that the subject truly was infected, cleared, then infected again in such a short time window, what would that mean for all current containment strategies?

<comment><USER16> It essentially means we need a vaccine to create immunity at scale, and will need to have fairly strict measures in place until that can happen.

<comment><USER17> I don't understand how a vaccine would work if prior exposure to the virus doesn't prevent re-infection :/ Honest question, no snark intended.

<comment><USER18> Well I think it wouldn't be an 'inactivated' or 'attenuated' vaccine, but we have other vaccine types designed to trick the body into developing the readiness for an immune response. I don't know if they could work for this type of disease.

Edit: I glanced at vaccines on Wikipedia, read the following on conjugate vaccines. Maybe we will develop a new technology to do something similar with viruses, training the immune system to recognize the virus by linking it to a toxin?

> _Conjugate—certain bacteria have polysaccharide outer coats that are poorly > immunogenic. By linking these outer coats to proteins (e.g., toxins), the > immune system can be led to recognize the polysaccharide as if it were a > protein antigen. This approach is used in the Haemophilus influenzae type B > vaccine.[41]_

<comment><USER17> Interesting, and thanks for replying. I realize I know very little about vaccines beyond the elementary-school-level basics (even though my brother is an immunologist... maybe I should ask _him_ ).

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> While reinfection is ominous and unwelcome, the fact that individual cases like this are newsworthy makes me hopeful that it is a rare phenomenon.

<comment><USER18> That's what I was thinking. Especially if there is a genetic factor involved, and we can determine that only a small percentage of the population have it, then we could still achieve a level of herd immunity.

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> False negatives are a huge issue here. The tests aren't that sensitive. If it was truly recurrent we'd see a lot more than one person since the disease is so contagious.

</comment><comment><USER21> What has caused the slow rate of transmission in Japan?

It seems that the number of cases in Europe and the US keeps climbing (despite limited/late containment actions), but Japan seems to have it under control, comparatively speaking.

<comment><USER22> Many companies implemented work-from-home policies very quickly, almost all public events (sports, standardized tests) were canceled, schools and sports gyms closed, and some companies that didn't go to remote work had employees stagger commute times so trains would be less crowded. This all started, iirc, while the number of cases was still in the tens (not counting the cruise ship).

It is also more accepted to wear face masks, as many people have pollen allergies so it's quite normal, and there is less direct physical contact between people overall.

I remember reading that the number of flu cases was about half that of a normal flu season because of the precautions everyone was taking, which points to a high percentage of people doing their part to help prevent the spread.

<comment><USER23> This is the big difference: people _doing their part_ to help instead of, say, panic-hoarding or obstreperously insisting on going on as if nothing were happening.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Here's what Ralph Baric, an epidemiologist from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, had this to say on episode 591 of _This Week in Virology_ [1] a few days ago:

Ralph Baric: _I saw some very interesting data from Stan Perlman the other day, who has been looking at serum neutralization titers of MERS patients from the Middle East kingdom of Saudi Arabia area and it 's quite intersting that people peak fairly quickly with high neutralization titers but then they wane over the next year to almost background levels or just slightly above background levels by the second year, and with MERS there have been several reports of people who have seroconverted. They were RT-PCR positive and their serum neutralizing titers and even ELISA titers went to almost zero within a few months._

Baric: _And it has not been studied and it should be studied, and this is the contemporary human Coronaviruses -- nobody knows how they maintain themselves in human populations. They don 't undergo rapid antigenic variation like influenza. There's not 115 common cold or corona virus type genotypes or whatever they're called, serotypes. Sorry Vincent, I just butchered the coronaviruses._

Vincent Racaniello: _That 's ok._ <laughter>

Baric: _So one hypothesis is that they cause a transient protective immune response that wanes quickly and then they can reinfect and cause mild upper- respiratory tract infections and that 's how they maintain themselves. So it is quite possible.. there's been a number now of reported cases in China of SARS2 infections where people were documented to be infected and recovered. They were RT-PCR negative. They went home and they became reinfected a month later or so._

Baric: _In this case the United States has sufficient cases that we can actually track the serologic responses of the individuals and their general immune.. both B- and T-cell responses after infection and we can get a handle on the long term immunity that may be elicited after infection._

On the other hand, from a letter read on an earlier _TWiV_ [2]:

 _I 'm an infectious disease doctor and would like to point out an important factor in diagnosing this infection (and all respiratory pathogens that use nucleic acid probes for specimen collection). This is of particular concern now that China has transitioned to a much more problematic clinical diagnosis based more on clinical symptoms than PCR testing._

 _While it may seem trivial how a health care worker jams a swab in to someone 's throat or nose, technique is important. If anterior naries (front of nose) swabs or side of mouth swabs are done, rather than the true posterior nasopharynx or oropharangeal swabs, the sensitivity drops dramatically._

 _We have shown this to be true repeatedly with diagnosis of influenza and respiratory pathogens, and I am disappointed that it has not been mentioned more in discussions about the PCR tests, missing the diagnosis in people who are positive and negative then positive again._

 _We often see people admitted from the ER with the perhaps carelessly collected flu test who miraculously are flu positive by the time they are admitted. Like so many cultures and diagnostics in infectious diseases, specimen collection and handling is critical._

 _I warn my patients about the unpleasantness of a nasopharangeal swab and jokingly tell them that if it doesn 't cause a wincy-face reaction we haven't collected specimens from where the viruses reside._

[1] - [http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-591/](http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-591/) about 15 minutes and 50 seconds in to the program

[2] - [http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-588/](http://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-588/) at about 1 hour and 38 minutes in

</comment><comment><USER25> Edit: Is this lousy testing? Or mutation? It'll be interesting to see how this develops.

</comment><comment><USER26> I chose to assume it was not a re-infection and it just came back in a rare case, which is very possible.

If not, we are dead and it's pointless planing around collapse of society.

It makes much more sense to assume we have a solid ( IE at least a year in most cases) herd immunity.

Planning around no herd immunity is like planning in depth around bankruptcy at round one funding.

</comment><comment><USER27> I was under the impression that one typically becomes immune to diseases like this, but apparently that's not the case? Does anyone have any reliable information here? Is this particular instance what we would typically expect, or can it be explained by test inaccuracy, something unusual about this person, etc.?

<comment><USER28> The Chinese say their are two distinct strains in circulation.

Tests are not perfect.

Plenty of explanations. Most of them quite uncomfortable.

<comment><USER29> Do you have a source for that? Because the does not really match my reading of the data on [https://nextstrain.org/ncov](https://nextstrain.org/ncov).

<comment><USER30> [https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX...](https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540747/all/Coronavirus_COVID_19__SARS_CoV_2_)

> Preliminary evidence suggests two strains of SARS-2-CoV circulating: one > associated with milder illness (~30%), the other with severe illness (70%).

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> What is the rate of false positives given a positive test result for these tests?

</comment><comment><USER32> Isn't it possible his negative was a false negative? Or even his initial positive was false while having other flu-like symptoms? Then his negative was accurate. And finally he became infected properly.

<comment><USER33> I've also read reports of similar cases that turned out to be just administrative errors. Mixed up identities or just misspellings.

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> I have read many reports of people improving during the middle of the disease when it suddenly takes a bad turn (respiratory failure/cardiac arrest). I wonder if that is at all related to this.

<comment><USER35> > I have read many reports of people improving during the middle of the > disease when it suddenly takes a bad turn (respiratory failure/cardiac > arrest)

Medecine is not an exact science. There is a lots of things that can suddenly go wrong in the background.

There is the possibility of secondary infection in hospital with opportunistic resistant microbes.

And there is also the possibility of foul game, that can't be discarded and would be difficult to prove. Is a low probability but real risk. Unfortunately angels of mercy appear sometimes, often enough to have their own category.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_mercy_(criminology)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_mercy_\(criminology\))

</comment></comment><comment><USER36> dr. Campbell[1] (the guy on YT explaining the situation every day) said that this seems to be because some people do not clear the virus effectively the first time ... and are picked up again on a later test, but that no proof has been shown that people can get reinfected and will probably be immune for at least a year.

[1] [https://www.youtube.com/user/Campbellteaching](https://www.youtube.com/user/Campbellteaching)

<comment><USER37> He started getting symptoms again, which is the most worrisome part. It is not just simple virus is still lingering around, but it caused an infection again 35+ days after he had it once.

I hope this is just a fluke

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> Is it feasible to create a vaccine against a virus if even infection with a live virus and catching the disease does not give you immunity?</comment>


Life On Earth Started On Mars, Say Scientists - <AUTHOR> http://uk.news.yahoo.com/life-earth-started-mars-scientists-004319956.html <comment><USER2> I and others said this 17 years ago:

[http://arachnoid.com/lutusp/mars.html](http://arachnoid.com/lutusp/mars.html)

There's more detail in the new paper, but it's not a new idea.</comment>


Tab Trick - <AUTHOR> http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2012/04/22/Tab-Lore <comment><USER2> Pro tip: CMD + ALT + [Left / Right arrow key] changes to the previous / next tab. Combine this with BetterTouchTool if you own a MacBook and you can switch between tabs with simple swipe.</comment>


Replace "master" and "slave" terms in Redis - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/antirez/redis/issues/3185 <comment><USER2> The person who started that discussion is an idiot.</comment>


Should I use a Twitter profile widget on my startup's landing page? - <AUTHOR>

My startup company, as many others', has an associated twitter account. I am debating whether the landing page should feature the last 3 tweets. I see some web sites doing this. Is this still in vogue? <comment><USER2> I'm debating the same thing...it's either that or just a follow link icon. If you don't tweet often I would def leave "last 3" off

</comment><comment><USER3> I don't think it matters much, truthfully. Your startup won't live or die based on this decision.</comment>


Indoor Navigation and Mapping: Comparing the BLE and UWB Approaches - <AUTHOR> https://leantegra.com/white-paper/indoor-navigation-and-mapping <comment><USER2> warning: this is a "sign up to get the paper" link</comment>


Ask HN: Actively looking for co-founders for my growing startup - <AUTHOR> Hi all, I'm actively looking for a co-founder to join my team, i borrowed $2000 from my mom and in my bedroom i have created a product with exponential growth but for problems with costs i can no longer pay for the servers this is the app : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=schan.main if you are interested or you know someone who you believe could be interested in being part of my team please send me a message here in the forum or to my email email@example.com thanks.... <comment><USER2> What's your monetization strategy? (Really nice pitch deck btw)

<comment><AUTHOR> i want to charge 1 dollar monthly but this can change on the future, now i have focus on how to scale the produc, my users want to use my product but i can no longer pay for the servers

<comment><USER2> Have you considered charging a dollar annually (like WhatsApp previously did) and seeing if current users will pay? If you're out of funds, and have no seed round lined up, why not attempt to monetize immediately?

Also, have you explored if Amazon has any accelerator programs you'd qualify for to get some AWS credits to tide you over (paging jeffbarr).

<comment><AUTHOR> if i can not get funds so i will monetize my app but i want to try first to get funds and to hire more people and to work together

<comment><USER3> How long can you survive without funds? If your app dies, all your growth will be wasted.

Edit - I checked out your app and saw that you had to disable some features. If I were in your shoes, I would pull a Whatsapp and monetize immediately. As it stands, you don't have any power and major power imbalances tend not to work out in the founder's favour.

<comment><AUTHOR> yes, i will think how to monetize do you have tips to have the same monetization like whatsapp on early days? is there a tool or software to monetize easily?

<comment><USER3> toomuchtodo gave you some excellent advice:

 _Have you considered charging a dollar annually (like WhatsApp previously did) and seeing if current users will pay? If you're out of funds, and have no seed round lined up, why not attempt to monetize immediately?

Also, have you explored if Amazon has any accelerator programs you'd qualify for to get some AWS credits to tide you over (paging jeffbarr)._

$1 per year might not completely solve your cash flow problems, but it will bring some money in and give you some powerful evidence to help with your fundraising.

<comment><AUTHOR> Amazon has accelerators programs I have one right now I was accepted to Startup school of YCombinator, but the credits are only 1000 that is enough only for 2 month I need at least one year to grow a lot and to get investment from a venture capital fund So, I will try to charge 1 or 2 dollar maybe by month , so I could pay the servers

<comment><USER3> It's your startup so do what you think is best, but at $1 - $2 a month, you'll lose a massive number of users. Then, I don't know if your app will be worth $1 - $2 a month (or a year).

How can you save money on hosting?

<comment><USER2> OP could move from AWS to bare metal, and trade some resiliency for runway.

<comment><USER3> That's a good idea. I bet that OP could save quite a bit running something on bare metal. And, if they are looking to extend their runway, maybe a specific ask like "Can anyone hook me up with $x months on $provider?" would have more luck than a generic 'looking for co-founders.'

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> FYI, the "Achievements" section has the spelling "everthing", this should be spelled "everything" (with a "y").

<comment><AUTHOR> thanks for the correction ;)

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> What is your tech stack? Did you build your messaging layer?

Is it written in React Native / Native?

You need to provide some details to generate interest.

<comment><AUTHOR> this is my pitch deck, here is the details [https://www.dropbox.com/s/19brptlys0sf3wa/pitch- deck.pptx?dl...](https://www.dropbox.com/s/19brptlys0sf3wa/pitch- deck.pptx?dl=0)

<comment><USER6> Typo:

> allowing to anyone to find trustworthy

should be allowing _for_ anyone to find..

Also, I understand why you indicate your alma mater as 'one of the best' because most people outside Colombia likely won't know it, but you should still list what institution it is, simply because the vague-ness is a little discomforting.

Overall I think a simple Reddit-style moderation with votes can certainly do a lot to improve an experience like this, but reputation systems are very difficult. There are many ways to game/manipulate systems like this, starting with basic sybil attacks, but also coercion (e.g. show me your privates or I downvote you), and other imaginative abuses. It might be worth discussing moderation strategies beyond the voting system.

Finally, $1 a year payments sound like a lot of user friction for little benefit, and also payment processors are likely going to take a large fraction of that. It's a difficult choice, but some kind of 'freemium' model seems attractive here: a few dollars for high-quality emotes, etc. People that really use and enjoy a service tend to be quite open to payments like this, and it's a proven model for games, Twitch.tv, etc.

<comment><AUTHOR> >Overall I think a simple Reddit-style moderation with votes can certainly do a lot to improve an experience like this, but reputation systems are very difficult. There are many ways to game/manipulate systems like this, starting with basic sybil attacks, but also coercion (e.g. show me your privates or I downvote you), and other imaginative abuses. It might be worth discussing moderation strategies beyond the voting system.

you are right but i have not explained the complete system, this system has some constraints to vote

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> How is this different from other chat apps?

<comment><AUTHOR> i invented a new system of moderation so automatically the system can filter the people with bad behaviour and it can delete them

<comment><USER8> There's a few ratings that says they were banned for no reason, so maybe you'll have to tweak that algorithm.

Also as someone who has been using these kinds of apps for nearly two decades, it's really hard to detect bad behavior. Poor ratings don't necessarily mean someone is bad - they could just be slow to respond. Dirty words may be acceptable to both sides.

I'd say the safest way to handle it is to ban accounts that exceed a certain ratio of blocks.

People block for really frivolous reasons. Sometimes someone is enjoying a conversation, but have to head out and do something else. They don't want to get downvoted for "ghosting" so they block the other person. I even had one friend who used to block everyone after a conversation because he didn't know what "block" meant, and thought it was a way of closing conversations.

<comment><AUTHOR> i was experimenting with my algorithm and now i have put some contraints to leave a vote, on the pitch i dont explain with details the method

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Interested, My email is in my profile.

</comment><comment><USER10> why requests take way to long? I was trying register form it's just stuck.

<comment><AUTHOR> But servers because I don't have Money for paying better servers

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> How are you getting users?

<comment><AUTHOR> playstore recommends my app and a lot of people in the world are looking for an app like mine

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> link doesn't work

<comment><AUTHOR> the link works well try again :)

[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=schan.main](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=schan.main)</comment></comment>


What Software Developers Should Know Coming out of School – Part 1 - <AUTHOR> http://www.pathf.com/blogs/2009/07/what-software-developers-should-know-coming-out-of-school/ <comment><USER2> Didn't even say what he thinks software developers should know coming out of school.</comment>


Why Athletes Are Geniuses - <AUTHOR> http://discovermagazine.com/2010/apr/16-the-brain-athletes-are-geniuses

<comment><USER2> "Del Percio argues, is that the brains of athletes are more efficient, so they produce the desired result with the help of fewer neurons. Del Percio's research suggests that the more efficient a brain, the better job it does in sports. ... but even the most genetically well-endowed prodigy clearly needs practice—-lots of it—-to develop the brain of an athlete. As soon as someone starts to practice a new sport, his brain begins to change, and the changes continue for years."

This is what physical education was supposed to be about. Unfortunately, it's turned into, at best, an incompetent teacher with a whistle shouting at kids, or, at worst, disappeared altogether. I think we, as a society, are missing out on something pretty big.

<comment><USER3> When was this golden age of phys ed? I'll admit that I don't have a ton of knowledge of the history of gym class, but if depictions of phys ed in movies or television are anything to go by, 'incompetent teacher with whistle' pretty much describes it in its entirety.

<comment><USER2> Sketerpot's pretty much right. I'm no actual PE historian (somehow I doubt such a thing exists), but I've heard several times that what the article describes is how it was supposed to work. It probably never did work that way, though.

I'm really reaching here, but I'm pretty sure that idea goes back to Plato, if not even earlier.

<comment><USER4> Not quite as far back as Plato, but I was reading Seneca the other day who whines that physical education in Imperial Rome ain't what it used to be:

 _Can we possibly look on this as a liberal accomplishment for the youth of Rome, whom our ancestors trained to stand up straight and throw a javelin, to toss the caber, and manage a horse, and handle weapons? They never used to teach their children anything that could be learned in a reclining posture._

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> _"Ruth the Superman

The tests revealed the fact that Ruth is 90 per cent efficient compared with a human average of 60 per cent.

That his eyes are about 12 per cent faster than those of the average human being.

That his ears function at least 10 per cent faster than those of the ordinary man. That his nerves are steadier than those of 499 out of 500 persons.

That in attention and quickness of perception he rated one and a half times above the human average.

That in intelligence, as demonstrated by the quickness and accuracy of understanding, he is approximately 10 per cent above normal."_

Popular Science, 1921

[http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2006-10/archive-why- ba...](http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2006-10/archive-why-babe-ruth- greatest-home-run-hitter)

</comment><comment><USER6> I think athletes also have an easier time pushing themselves to their limits. They are acclimated to exerting themselves to the point of physical pain/extreme fatigue. The psychological process that makes this acceptable to athletes may translate to other parts of their life, positively or negatively.

Just a theory, as I have no evidence besides my own experience.

<comment><USER7> Not just your theory. Read up on the marshmallow test--it turns out that people with higher levels of self-control do better academically than people with higher IQs.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> The math by the commentator sucks, but this goal is still a masterpiece: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnXA0PoEE6Y>

<comment><USER9> Are you sure he was targeting the goalpost? Maybe it was a failed cross that just gone lucky. Happened to me, too.

<comment><USER8> while it is possible it was a bad cross, he's definitely capable of ridiculous shots. Here's another one <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5XpXU8TBoo>

<comment><USER10> Roberto Carlos' strategy was to hammer his shots as hard as possible and cross his fingers as regards accuracy or a lucky deflection.

Another example, with one of the most hilarious pieces of commentary I've ever heard:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW2d-QrnFgA>

An (unscientific) study was conducted by one of the UK Sunday newspapers a few years back regarding footballers (soccer players) intellect. The conclusion was that the reason some players are so gifted on the pitch is that they are quite, ah, _dense_ off it. Reading some quotes from some famous players seemed to back that theory up.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> the most interesting part is at the very tip of the inverted pyramid: "The scientists also trained another group of people on the same game, but with a twist. They put a battery on top of the head of each subject, sending a small current through the surface of the brain toward a group of neurons in the primary motor cortex. The electric stimulation allowed people to learn the game better. By the end of five days of training, the battery-enhanced players could move the cursor faster and make fewer errors than the control group."

This is the second time this week I've seen something about neuroscience moving from correlation to causation. I can't remember where I saw the other one but it had to do with people making different moral judgments when certain brain regions were stimulated

<comment><USER12> I also found this to be the most interesting part of the article. I was surprised that the current had a positive, localized effect, even though it was being applied to the skin instead of the brain itself.

I think the article's speculation on doping athletes (and perhaps other learners) with electrical stimulation is quite valid... The article links to the research paper, which lists the exact device and method used, and it looks to be cheap, widely available, unregulated, non-invasive, and undetectable. I wonder if there are any long-term side effects?

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> I think they are geniuses when their brains can calculate complex mechanics on the fly. Think of a quarterback throwing the ball to a receiver when he is running from left to right while the receiver is running down field on a post route. And the defense is blocking his visibility. And the wind is blowing. And it's been raining, making the ball slightly heavier. And the ball is slippery, changing the coefficient of static friction for his grip.

That's an extreme case, but we kind of take it for granted when we simply call this coordination. Coordination is thought of as a physical skill, not necessarily a mental one. But it would be a pretty tough problem to fully model with a pencil and paper.

</comment><comment><USER14> Can we just assume that developing the brain in way that makes it better for golf or basketball has _any_ transferable value? Richard Feynman couldn't have been like Lebron James, and vice versa, but can you really argue that perhaps he would have been better off learning more sports rather than reading, thinking, and tinkering with electronics?

<comment><AUTHOR> Who's making that argument?

<comment><USER15> The article seems to be making it implicitly, by calling athletes "geniuses".

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Genius? Or just highly-skilled?

<comment><USER17> pray tell what exactly is the difference

<comment><USER16> Well, with sports it's a lot of repeating things to perfect them. This speeds up response time. With, say, something intellectual, it's stretching the mind -- so to speak -- to do entirely different things. Not slamming sports. Just questioning applying the term "genius" here. Agile, yes. Expert, yes. But genius?

<comment><USER18> Yes, genius. Learning to write a poem is a lot like learning to throw a ball. In both cases, mastering a skill requires practice - whether you call it "a lot of repeating things" or "stretching the mind." The fact that physical skills also require physical capabilities (muscle strength, flexibility etc) doesn't diminish the mental aspect of it.

<comment><USER19> "Learning to write a poem is a lot like learning to throw a ball. In both cases, mastering a skill requires practice"

I don't disagree, but I think due to our evolutionary history one requires significantly less practice than the other.

<comment><USER20> What leads you to this conclusion? I am not a natural athlete nor a gifted writer, but I don't find one to be significantly less challenging than the other.

<comment><USER19> I'm not an evolutionary biologist, but it seems to me we've been running around hunting for a lot longer than we've been sitting around writing (/ doing math / other mainly intellectual activity), and thus one is significantly more natural than the other given our history. The human body seems designed to throw spears / rocks / balls. The necessary mental faculties for writing a poem seem more complicated than those needed for doing sports. The proportion of good athletes to good writers.

I'd love to be corrected on this if the opposite is true, that becoming a good athlete is just as difficult as or more difficult than becoming a good writer. I'm just not seeing it.

<comment><USER20> Writing is just another form of communication. Be it grunting noises, speech, or song, it has been in development for a very, very long time.

I won't comment on the difficulty of becoming a good athlete to that of being a good writer because it really is like comparing apples to oranges. That being said, becoming a good athlete can be incredibly tough both physically, and mentally.

Take a relatively simple sport like running. You will find a huge variation in the efficiency of joggers, even though it is a "natural" motion for the body. This is not even taking into account training, or nutrition. In fact, there are actually people who study the science of running:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOgDCZ4GUo></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


My Hardest Bug Ever (2013) - <AUTHOR> http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DaveBaggett/20131031/203788/My_Hardest_Bug_Ever.php <comment><USER2> Reminds me of the slightly more recent (2015) "The Discovery of Apache ZooKeeper's Poison Packet":

[https://www.pagerduty.com/blog/the-discovery-of-apache- zooke...](https://www.pagerduty.com/blog/the-discovery-of-apache-zookeepers- poison-packet)

</comment><comment><USER3> This is a great article. I remember reading this a few years ago during my undergrad- my big takeaway from it was that sometimes you will encounter bugs which you can't solve alone. I always assumed any error I came across was my fault, but that's not good (it's also not good to just assume it's someone else's). Fixing problems in an organization is often a team effort that requires good communication and incentive for improvement- not just one genius coder that knows the whole source code.

</comment><comment><USER4> This is from 2013, and has been posted nearly a half dozen times now: [https://hn.algolia.com/?query=http:%2F%2Fwww.gamasutra.com%2...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=http:%2F%2Fwww.gamasutra.com%2Fblogs%2FDaveBaggett%2F20131031%2F203788%2FMy_Hardest_Bug_Ever.php&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

<comment><USER5> ...?

Nearly half a dozen? So five? In four years.

It's still interesting, and I don't suppose many people are searching for it so what's the issue with it being posted again?

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Anyone a bit more savvy on hardware able to shed a bit more light on this?

The following line tickles my fancy...

> _This is the only time in my entire programming life that I 've debugged a > problem caused by quantum mechanics._

<comment><USER7> I've got a PhD in physics and I have no idea what he's talking about here. Seems like the mainboard layout had issues at higher frequencies which is easily a 100% classical electromagnetism problem. Inductance, impedance and what have you. As another commenter alluded, its only 'quantum' in the sense that all semiconductor behavior is.

I think this is another case where 'quantum' is confused with 'apparently spooky.'

<comment><USER8> Neither is it entirely clear to me, but this could be a pun related to him saying:

> bits to get dropped... and the data lost... and the card corrupted.

So as to say that's the Schrodinger's bug that causes several issues at the same time.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: The easiest way to accept credit cards? - <AUTHOR>

Dear HN,
I've been working on a SaaS product which will require monthly billing. I am based in Europe - what would be the easiest way to start accepting recurring credit card payments?
Do you have a solution provider to recommend?
Thank you for all your help! <comment><USER2> There is shareit.com but I would not really recommend them. They basically do the work but there are some things that started me looking for alternatives. But if you're stuck with either shareit.com or nothing, at least you would have shareit.com.

</comment><comment><USER3> You may want to take a look at SaaSy.com, it's all-inclusive and works with developers in most every country.</comment>


Experiments in the Revival of Organisms (1940) [video] - <AUTHOR> http://www.archive.org/details/Experime1940

<comment><USER2> More about this video here: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiments_in_the_Revival_of_O...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiments_in_the_Revival_of_Organisms)

And for state of the art research on these matters: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspended_animation>

</comment><comment><USER3> I really hope this is real.

The main problem I see is with the brain cells dying after 10 minutes...can't really explain that one

</comment><comment><USER4> I think this video was made for Metallica clip:

<http://youtu.be/S28LDft7cO4>

</comment><comment><USER5> I don't know what to think, research seems legit, the doctor's work is widely recognized and widely used, but a lot of people think the video is fake.

<comment><AUTHOR> Looks pretty real to me...they didn't have cgi back in the 40's. However, if they could do that then why wouldn't they still be doing it now with better technology?

All a bit morbid for me.

<comment><USER6> Isn't similar technology used to great extent during difficult surgeries? Where the patient is basically dead and all the life functions such as breathing and blood circulation are performed by machines.

<comment><USER7> I'd think so, those were first steps. Scenes wer disturbing yet 'reassuring', as in buying time.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Signal's new pin feature worries cybersecurity experts - Snitch-Thursday https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkyzek/signal-new-pin-feature-worries-cybersecurity-experts <comment><AUTHOR> I see lots of panic about this, but what's exactly stored in the cloud? Could compromising the database/serving a subpoena reveal what contacts the user has? If so, what information would be revealed?</comment>


Ask HN: Is a 10Gb Docker image with the haveibeenpwned db on it a bad idea? - <AUTHOR> We have a site with sensitive data on it, and need to verify that when users create a new password that the password has not been previously exposed in a known breach. The way everyone seems to be doing this is by downloading and searching the 10gb haveibeenpwned database for sha1 matches of the candidate password.
We know that it's best practice to keep docker images small, however this seems like a tempting solution for an annoying problem: simply make a 10Gb Docker image that downloads the haveibeenpwned database (which is ~10Gb) as part of the image, and expose a searchable API. Sure it would be slow to deploy an image that large on Kubernetes, but it seems like it'd otherwise be easy to maintain.
How are you checking passwords against haveibeenpwned / similar for your users? <comment><USER2> This makes sense to me. We did something similar, just not in docker, but docker is just packaging/deployment.

</comment><comment><USER3> Hi there,

Is there a reason why you don't integrate with their API instead? Seems like they offer have what you need: [https://haveibeenpwned.com/API/v2](https://haveibeenpwned.com/API/v2)

<comment><AUTHOR> How much do you trust k-anonymity?</comment></comment>


Human Gut Microbiota from Autism Spectrum Disorder Promotes Symptoms in Mice [pdf] - <AUTHOR> https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(19)30502-1.pdf <comment><USER2> Good to see the gut-brain connection getting much needed attention, and some preliminary results. We could see some interesting natural therapies for mental health issues, and even mood regulation for anyone needing it.

Given the complexity of the microbiome and individual variance, it is not going to come easy or anytime soon.

</comment><comment><USER3> In my opinion, this is too preliminary to deserve attention

</comment><comment><USER4> Is the autism rate different to populations with non western diets and medicine?</comment>