Why Windows Just Can't Win - <AUTHOR> http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/10/why-windows-just-cant-win/ <comment><USER3> "Oh, and can you guess when Apple — now the world's biggest company — announces its first earnings post-iPhone 5? Oct. 24. "

Uh, yeah. An earnings report is going to steal the thunder of a product launch.

"It doesn't matter if Microsoft creates the greatest operating system in the world if it then allows others to junk it up. And, ultimately, it means that Microsoft isn't in control of its brand."

No one can succeed if they give up absolute control of their platforms to OEMs ... oh wait that's exactly what android does. And OEMs put (non- uninstallable!) crapware on android phones, and they still sell. Only Apple is pushing the complete control angle, and while it works for them, it's hardly the only model that could work.

I love android phones, and while I won't be getting a windows phone, I think this article's arguments are pretty weak and don't have enough substance to back up that link bait title.

<comment><USER4> I feel like consumers are clamoring for an Android phone that runs stock Jelly Bean. The Nexus 7 shipped with stock Android 4.1 and it has been very successful in the tablet market.

<comment><USER5> [https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexu...](https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexus_hspa)

<comment><USER6> "Sorry! Devices on Google Play is not available in your country yet. We're working to bring devices to more countries as quickly as possible. Please check back again soon."

<comment><USER5> Which country are you in?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> This article critiques the theatricality of MS's release process quite thoroughly and concludes that it is not the same as Apple's.

This is true, but nobody should give a crap.

What's important is that Windows 8, the surface, etc. are actually _good_.

Until Apple came along and turned computers into fashion accessories, brand image didn't matter so much. Now it clearly does. What the author ignores is that brand image is a product of many things, with press releases being only a small part for most companies (They are a somewhat larger part of Apple's brand). A long track record of high quality and innovative products coupled with clever advertising is what makes or breaks a brand like Apple's more than anything else.

Microsoft's brand is currently rather mediocre. Missteps over the last decade have really hurt it, but Windows 7 did go a long way to help it recover. Vista, as maligned as it was, was actually a really good OS saddled with some bad default settings (e.g. The overly obtrusive UAC). Windows 7 brought some minor innovations to the interface, greatly improved the default settings, and added a little bit of "cool" with details as subtle as just adding some unusually funky and artistic default backgrounds. Windows 7's default backgrounds made OSX look like the bland, boring corporate OS that Apple has long tried to brand Windows to be!

Movie studios often keep stinkers under strict wraps until opening weekend. If they advertise enough and prevent the film from being savaged by critics until the day of release they can still get a good opening weekend out of a poor film. Good films are frequently shown to critics or at film festivals well in advance of general release. This "festival route" builds word of mouth.

If MS had kept Windows 8 under wraps until a big press event this month and then hyped it as the most awesome thing ever, just like Apple does with their products, few people would likely believe them. By broadly distributing a release candidate for Windows 8 and showing the Surface publicly prior to release, MS took the "festival route" and built a big word-of-mouth effect. MS's brand isn't what Apple is, and they were smart enough to realize they have to do things differently, and did.

</comment><comment><USER8> So much hate for Microsoft. I'm at awe. Like one commenter on the article's page said, If Apple would do that kind of launch experiment, everybody would praise them for how revolutionay they are.

Microsoft has a real chance of claiming a big chunk of the market, not from Apple, but from the messy Android ecosystem, with a clear brand and a simple product lineup.

<comment><USER9> People said the same exactly thing w.r.t Android when Windows Phone 7 was released. I think history speaks for itself.

<comment><USER8> The WP7 was a flop indeed. They launched it almost without any backup. With the W8 product line however, they rebranded everything, creating an unitary brand image, much like Apple did a while ago. And that's why I did the Android statement. They provide to all the _predominantly_ tech savvy users of Android an unified experience that is not Cupertino flavored.

<comment><USER10> The tech savvy Android users? They would be the last people to switch to WP. That thing does not have a viable way to run unsigned applications. No proper multitasking, no proper notifications. What exactly about WP is supposed to attract tech savvy users?

<comment><USER11> Tech savvy user WP user here. I just bought a lumia 800 for very little cash over a galaxy s2. Why? It's actually less clunky than stock android or touchwiz. I haven't found a use for multitasking on the phone yet. Notifications are fine - I have no idea what you are talking about.

The lumia is actually to be as blunt as possible, fucking marvellous.

I doubt you've used one.

<comment><USER10> I have used a friend's Lumia 900 running WP 7.5 actually.

I hate the fact that apps are not retained in memory long enough. They always start over. Also, launching an app from the home screen launches a new instance instead of resuming the current instance.

Notifications are even more terrible. There's no way to access previous notifications. There's no central place where all notifications live. You can't access them from the lock screen.

Yes, all these are quirks I've found as a tech savvy user. Because of these reasons, I cant see myself ever using WP.

Besides, just the fact that you cant run unsigned applications (and there's no viable "jailbreak") is an instant turn-off for power users. So, to suggest that these people will leave Android is hilarious at best.

<comment><USER11> I haven't experienced the retention issue myself. My pattern of usage is to only open from the tiles. I tend to use the back button to navigate through previous contexts (hold it down and then slide left/right to pick a task/open application).

Regarding notifications; you know about tiles right? They have status on them i.e. unread count etc. A notification is pretty just a poke in the ribs to check the tiles rather than a queue of things to do.

Jail-break and run unsigned apps? Yes there is for nearly all devices - <USER2> xda-developers.com. I really don't care about this myself though. Mobile telephones have never been open platforms. Even Android is a fragmented minefield in this respect.

It's just different.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I sat in on a MS presentation the other day, and it was a disaster. The terminology is off the chart confusing, the presenter constantly dropping terms then backing off with "oh but we aren't supposed to call it that" and then "oh but if marketing isn't listening i'll just call it that" ... back and forth.

It took forever just to explain metro (not metro) and windows RT (not metro but metro) and windows pro (with metro but not metro, i mean RT or ARM, or modern UI). ARM but not intel, desktop but including ARM/RT/metro but not metro. Just build apps for windows phone (but not mobile), but metro no wait not metro on mobile (i mean phone).

Honestly really crazy stuff, round and round.

<comment><USER13> MS's propensity to attempt to create new buzzwords and terminology, though one of the least consequential functionally, is probably one of my biggest turn- offs with them. I'm a straight-shooter and prefer to be communicated with in the same way. It's like they're playing a psychological game, trying to get your mind to play something up better than it actually is....simply because it has a new and novel name.

Just call it what it is already, damnit. If you so happen to invent something new -- then by all means, call it what you want -- but please quit taking old ideas and applying the old web 2.0 naming convention everywhere.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> So Windows can't succeed because they've announced their products and aren't spacing the announcement and the codename used for the design language is actually a trademark owned by someone else?

I'm sure that people are buying the new BMW 5 series because they like the name of the design language (Flame Surfacing) and because it was launched in Hong Kong. The actual quality of the product doesn't matter.

</comment><comment><USER15> I completely agree with the following from the article:

"Even when Microsoft has a great product on its hands, even when its product, engineering and design teams manage to hit one out of the park, it won't matter once the business team comes in and ruins it for everyone."

The whole history of all screw ups from Microsoft just confirms that.

<comment><USER16> Yep. There was a great article a while back about how the Start button orb for Windows 7 and the Start button search box (one of the best features of modern Windows) were thought up and programmed very quickly, but took several months to be properly implemented and debugged because of management.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> My bet is that small, cheap and really good 7" tablets will all but kill MS in the consumer sphere next year. Fair or not (the Nexus 7 looks great), Apple's going to popularize the form factor, and it's going to change people's expectations. A lot more people can afford a $200 - 300 tablet as a Christmas present than a $500 one. Women will find them more purse-friendly and way more parents can afford them for their kids, which is going to tilt developers even further from Windows.

MS won't be able to change their software or their business model fast enough to compete with ubiquitous $200 computers.

</comment><comment><USER18> Wait, Windows 8 and Windows RT are different things?

<comment><USER19> Definitely.

Windows 8 runs as Windows 8 and as Windows 8 RT. However, there's also WinRT which is something else:

WinRT == Windows Runtime

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Runtime>

"Not to be confused with Windows RT"

Now

"Windows RT (formerly known as Windows on ARM) is an upcoming version of the Windows 8 operating system for ARM devices such as tablets. The RT acronym does not officially stand for anything.[1] It will officially only run software available through the Windows Store or included in Windows RT."

Homework: try to explain that in less words. :)

<comment><USER20> Windows 8 is a desktop/laptop/tablet OS aimed at home users

Windows 8 Pro is a desktop/laptop/tablet OS aimed at businesses/power users

Windows 8 Enterprise is a desktop/laptop/tablet OS aimed at large businesses (only available via volume license)

Windows RT is a tablet only OS aimed at the iPad/Android market (and can only be delivered via an OEM on a device) Like the iPad and Android it can only run apps available via the Microsoft App Store.

Surface RT is a tablet running Windows RT (so aimed at iPad/Android tablet owners).

Surface Pro (available early 2013) is a tablet running Windows 8 Pro and is more or less like an ultrabook with higher specs than the Surface RT. As it runs Windows 8 Pro it can run all apps that any other Windows 8 Pro computer can it is not limited to the App Store like the Surface RT is.

WinRT is the new Windows Run Time. Read more at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WinRT> as it explains it better than I can in one sentence.

<comment><USER19> Thanks. Only after reading your response I understood.

Microsoft developed the Windows version for ARM. But then some big shot in Microsoft decided:

"No, you can't mention ARM in any name, we absolutely don't want to mention ARM anywhere in our propaganda or any other material. Our customers should not be aware that this thing like ARM processors exist. Intel promised to make something like ARM in just a year or two. Or we're going to make something. Or whatever, we just don't want to mention ARM. Verboten."

Underling1: "Oooh, how are we going to refer to the darn thing now?"

Underling2: "I know let's reuse the name that these developers use for the thing they produce, this WinRT thing. We'll call it Windows RT"

All together: "Bravo!"

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> The German company 'Metro' is not exactly small.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_AG>

It has 66 billion Euro revenue and 250000 employees. It's the fifth largest retailer in the world.

Kind of unlikely that they give up their trademark name or sell it to Microsoft. It's not worth fighting for. Especially since Metro sells Microsoft products.

</comment><comment><USER22> As Lt. Commander Worf would say, "We shall see".

<comment><USER23> Oddly enough, this is probably the only reasonable response. Of course, you don't get clicks by saying, "let's wait and see." You have to go out, pants off, hopping on a table and shouting, "Windows 8 can't win!" So, that's what people will write.

With Windows 8, I think we'll probably see more mild annoyance as folks buy new PCs for their homes. After two weeks, they'll likely get used to it, then we'll never hear another word about Windows 8 failing. I just don't see the change being so enormous that users will really care long enough to affect anything.

It'll probably be like Vista: a lot of people dislike it without using it, some dislike it for a specific reason (like drivers), and most get along with it just fine and don't really have any problems. The UI changes are enough to probably increase the size of the group complaining, especially the group that hasn't used it, but I don't think it's enough to stop Windows 8 from succeeding in the long run.

<comment><USER24> Yeah, the big change will be that there won't be a big change: the Windows PC market will continue on its slow decline, with Apple eating a slowly increasing share of Microsoft's lunch and profits. Windows RT, and the Surface RT will do slightly, but only slightly better than all of Microsoft's previous tablets. (Why Gates killed the Courier project is still beyond me). Window Phone 8 will do slightly better than Windows Phone 7, but in a few years will be about as obscure.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> This article demonstrates the increasing gap between tech reporters and consumers. Announcements and marketing aren't the metrics for the quality of a product. Design, user experience and features will ultimately decide whether the latest line of Microsoft products succeeds.

But he does have a point with bloatware and control over the brand. I commonly associate the Windows brand with garbage software that comes pre-installed on every PC.

</comment><comment><USER25> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_system...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_systems)</comment>


Ask HN: Best PPC for my business? - <AUTHOR> https://www.frontpile.com <comment><USER2> From the FAQ: [https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html)

> _Are reposts ok?_

> _If a story has had significant attention in the last year or so, we kill > reposts as duplicates. If not, a small number of reposts is ok._

It's not very clear, but something between 5 and 10 repost are too much. Don't expect to get much response if you continue to post the same thing. Moreover, some people is starting to flag these stories ...

You must change your strategy. Write an _interesting_ post about some problem you solver for your service (not a _lame_ post, an _interesting_ one). Some ideas: How are you sorting the stories? Are you using something like HN or Reddit? How do you combat spam / sockpuppets / trolls / noise? Which tech stack are you using? How do you handle traffic spikes? Did you got your first DDS?

For example see the blog posts form bemmu in [https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=candyjapan.com](https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=candyjapan.com) Do you think some of them are interesting? Do you want to subscribe to his service?

<comment><AUTHOR> Right OK. I was waiting for someone to let me know on this. You made good points and I'm sorry posting the same thing number of times.</comment></comment>


New study invalidates conventional explanations for racial wealth gap in the US - <AUTHOR> https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-08/the-big-reason-whites-are-richer-than-blacks-in-america <comment><AUTHOR> Link to the study in question: [http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/Asset%...](http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/Asset%20Value%20of%20Whiteness.pdf)</comment>


Intel 64 and IA32 Architectures Performance Monitoring Events [pdf] - <AUTHOR> https://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/managed/8b/6e/335279_performance_monitoring_events_guide.pdf <comment><USER2> Perf counters are super useful. On linux the perf tool (and perf event api) make these usable: [https://perf.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Main_Page](https://perf.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Main_Page)

The counters vary per Intel CPU, though the most useful ones are universal (e.g. cycle counts). AMD has similar counters.

<comment><USER3> ocperf is wrapper around perf provided by someone at intel. At the first run, it downloads a list of counter specific the CPU detected, pretty cool; [https://github.com/andikleen/pmu-tools](https://github.com/andikleen/pmu- tools)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> If you're a low level hacker a reading knowledge of these events is useful but really we should be using VTune as our PME tool. Still, it's possible that a particular event may shed light on a particular piece of code and using an API like PCM.

[https://github.com/opcm/pcm](https://github.com/opcm/pcm)

<comment><USER5> vtune is first class but most people will be using perf on linux or pmcstat on freebsd so you do need to crossreference a doc like this occasionally when you want to probe a new counter to look for bottlenecks.

pcm is also quite nice to monitor what an entire system is doing in terms of memory bandwidth, NUMA link traffic, and other package level concerns but doesn't give any kernel or application level tracing like the other tools.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Open question to other commenters: are there hardware performance counters/features that you would like to see implemented but currently aren't?

<comment><USER7> As a RISC-V core implementer, I'm super interested in answers to this question. Some of the things I've pondered is ways to figure out 1) what branch am I constantly mispredicting and 2) what load is constantly cache- missing. Not sure the best way to expose that to the programmer, particularly in a way that's cheap for most cores.

<comment><USER2> 1) Modern LBR might solve this. LWN has a summary (though I've only skimmed this): [https://lwn.net/Articles/680996/](https://lwn.net/Articles/680996/)

2) Not sure for this, though I can think of some crappy hacks:

\--A) Timed LBR mentioned in that LWN article (somewhat indirect, but might get the job done)

\--B) use perf counter overflow interrupts (for cache misses) and set the perf counter initial value high (which should let you sample the cache miss locations). This can only tell you if a particular load is making up a large fraction of your overall cache misses (which is probably not super useful).

Edit: Forgot about PEBS, which is really what you want for 2).</comment></comment></comment>


Einstein and the Great Fed Robbery - <AUTHOR> http://www.nanex.net/aqck2/4436.html <comment><USER2> When you combine this article with others, like the fact that JP Morgan had zero days of trading losses over an entire quarter, you realize that the market is clearly rigged by the big guys: [http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-08/jp-morgan-has- zero-...](http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-08/jp-morgan-has-zero-trading- losses-first-quarter)

<comment><USER3> I've read a lot of articles like the OP and the zerohedge one. What rises out of noise is not so much 'good' or 'evil', 'correct' or 'incorrect', or even 'legal' or 'illegal' but an continual sense of anger that person A is getting away with cheating and I want to cheat too but can't because of condition Y. I suppose at some level its "fair" only if everyone can cheat.

I watched a very strange film, a comedy, called Kung Fu Mahjong [1] in which the central theme are ladies that play Mahjong. And what struck me, perhaps as a westerner, or perhaps it was intentional, was that _everyone in the movie cheats_ in some way or another, and _everyone knows it._ It reminded me of the kinds of things you would read about in the HFT blogs and forums. You could make a 'Kung Fu HFT' movie with the same theme.

The bottom line is that I have very little sympathy for these guys. As the 'early release' scandal broke and then was documented it felt like more crap to shovel out of the door and not like any sort of progress toward a more durable system.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Mahjong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Mahjong)

<comment><AUTHOR> Market microstructure is such a massively complicated topic that few insiders, much less the SEC, thoroughly understand it.

For instance, after NASDAQ went down for 3 hours on August 22, the SEC asked the NYSE and NASDAQ for a detailed timeline of events. Each exchange blamed the other. The SEC's response? It told the exchanges to cooperate and please fix the problem, declining to make any further public comment [1].

Trading at high speeds is like the wild west right now with little to no threat of law enforcement.

[1][http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/27/uk-nasdaq-halt- nyse...](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/27/uk-nasdaq-halt-nyse- idUKBRE97Q04M20130827)

<comment><USER4> _Market microstructure is such a massively complicated topic that few insiders, much less the SEC, thoroughly understand it._

It's actually not super complicated. A limit order book is a straightforward thing. If you can do FizzBuzz, you can probably whip up a toy implementation of a matching engine in an afternoon. People _think_ it's complicated because of all the FUD (c.f. the comments on this story), but the basic mechanics of how a modern exchange operates are remarkably simple.

<comment><AUTHOR> >People think it's complicated because of all the FUD (c.f. the comments on this story), but the basic mechanics of how a modern exchange operates are remarkably simple.

I'm referring to market microstructure in terms of the complex interactions amongst exchanges, the impact of Reg NMS, etc. Obviously the underlying algorithms can be boiled down to simple components.

For those interested in learning something about market microstructure, I highly recommend "Trading and Exchanges: Market Microstructure for Practitioners" as an introduction to the basics:

[http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Exchanges-Market- Microstructur...](http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Exchanges-Market- Microstructure-Practitioners/dp/0195144708)

<comment><USER5> > I'm referring to market microstructure in terms of the complex interactions > amongst exchanges, the impact of Reg NMS, etc.

I've heard that the financial interconnections are remarkably similar to ecologies. Would be interesting to get some more of that tooling for analyzing ecologies like fisheries available to financial regulators.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> This research is done by the same guys at nanex that broke a story earlier this year about another early release of prominent data, ultimately leading to Reuters acknowledging that it was responsible for the leak:

[http://www.cnbc.com/id/100792260](http://www.cnbc.com/id/100792260)

</comment><comment><USER6> Below a certain time accuracy, all trading is zero sum. The only reason to be able to trade in milliseconds is to beat someone else. No value is created.

Suppose instead that exchanges buffered all orders for, say, 1 hour. At the end of the hour they perform a stable matching algorithm to pair up bids and asks, and execute those trades simultaneously.

Are there any downsides to this? It seems like it would eliminate all of this zero sum behavior, and at the same time, increase liquidity, particularly for people who aren't on a fiber line one block from the exchange. You could additionally require all material information to be released at the top of the hour, to ensure a full hour of analysis before any trades are executed.

<comment><USER7> With thousands of hedge fund PhDs all trying their damndest to exploit the market, adding delay will change the game but not eliminate it.

Only by when the market is efficient (in the technical economic sense) is it non-exploitable by smart guys. Efficient markets require all players to be rational, so not in this world.

<comment><USER8> I think buyers and sellers both having perfect information is a prerequisite and a much larger barrier than rationality.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons)

<comment><USER9> Precisely. Information asymmetry is what allows the exchanges to be profitable. It is a continuous wealth transfer along the information gradient, with the most knowledgeable investors capturing most of the wealth from the least knowledgeable.

As long as this asymmetry exists, the vast majority of trades will constitute a zero sum wealth transfer.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Awesome analysis. Keep in mind that while it tells a very compelling story, that it isn't necessarily proof that there was a leak.

All it would take is for one major player to take a view on what was going to happen without hearing the fed data in an attempt to beat the market. Other algos then see that and act on it, playing the other players instead of the data, as algos are known to do frequently. All of this could happen in the time it takes for the actual data to get there.

There were tons of people who expected yesterday's announcement to turn out just as it did. I'm not saying that's what happened, just that it's a possibility to keep in mind before jumping to conclusions.

<comment><USER11> You're right to be skeptical but your alternative does not stand up to scrutiny. If a player indeed had a strong bite, milliseconds after the announcement would be the worst time to execute. This is a time where almost all the liquidity goes away as market participants stand pat. If you had such a view, you would build your position over time, and certainly not incur the huge cost of making large trades at the lowest point in liquidity.

<comment><USER10> Not if your goal is to make other traders (algos) think that you're acting on market data

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> When I first started reading the story I was afraid I wouldn't understand it. Nanex took great care in explaining the phenomenon here with very accessible language. The charts are still mostly indecipherable to me, but the story makes it clear. If the situation really is as straight-forward as they make it out to be, someone has some explaining to do.

</comment><comment><USER13> The question which occurs to me is who took the other side of this trade. You would think market actors would know enough to say, "If somebody suddenly wants to buy my stock right around 2pm and I haven't yet integrated the Fed info, it means my stock is more valuable and I should not sell."

</comment><comment><USER14> The Fed announcement may or may not have been known, but the fact that there would be an announcement at a given time was known. The market always jumps one way or another at the last moment before an announcement, because it's the last chance to place your bets in what is essentially gambling. There was no information propagation delay because there was no information. Sometimes the blind consensus guesses right, sometimes wrong.

If you actually had leaked information there's no reason you'd need to wait until the very last moment, that's when people who know nothing place their bets and their actions would be more likely to mess up your scam than cover up for it.

<comment><USER15> Indeed - it's worth noting that on the non-farm payroll figure (which is closely watched by markets) this month, most markets jumped in the wrong direction a split second early, before violently reversing.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> _" Therefore, when the information was officially released in Washington, New York should see it 2 milliseconds later, and Chicago should see it 7 milliseconds later."_

At which millisecond was the information "officially released"? Which of Bernanke's phonemes were decisive? Or do we know to the millisecond when the Fed's site was updated?

I suppose the coincidence between Chicago and New York is still a thing. Everyone receiving the leak agreed to fire at a particular time, and nobody jumped the gun?

<comment><USER17> for those who didn't spot it the parent commenter stated they had a short position in GLD before the edit

<comment><USER16> True. I try to make such disclosures whenever there's a chance it could influence what I'm writing. I decided this comment didn't need one. I put a tremendous amount of effort into writing accurately, concisely, and without commercial or other influence. Feel free to google me. I'm beefman here and on Wikipedia, Carl Lumma or clumma everywhere else.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Is the time-keeping precision at the multiple sites accurate enough that local drifts can be excluded as a factor in the differentials?

<comment><USER19> I'm no expert, but if both Chicago and New York are synching their clocks to NIST(Gaithersburg, MD) or the Naval Observatory (Washington DC), the a message from Washington sent at the same instant, should arrive at the same instant, as measured in local time.

A more 'science' way to make the claim that Nanex is making, would be to compare the same products on other Fed meeting dates.

<comment><USER20> Any time synchronization protocol I know of takes into account network latency and attempts to compensate. As measured by perfectly synchronized clocks against the same reference source (leaving aside for the moment that there is no such thing), the received timestamps of a message originating from one location and being received by two locations at different lengths of cable from another will reflect the difference in the time it took to get from one to the other.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> It would be nice to hear a little bit more about how the FOMC results get into the electronic news feed. If anything, it seems more fair to release the news simultaneously in NY and Chicago so that traders in NY couldn't pick-off market makers in Chicago and vice versa.

<comment><AUTHOR> Good question. I can't find any specific information about how the FOMC statement gets parsed into cyberspace, but as recently as 2011, a malfunctioning printer significantly delayed the FOMC statement release [1] since the press in the Treasury lockup room couldn't get access to physical copies to write articles about it in time for the a scheduled 2:15 ET press release.

A FAQ on the Richmond Fed's website [2] says that FOMC statements are released on the federalreserve.gov website [3] at 2:15 ET on the final day of each FOMC meeting. Unless there is an alternative statement provided elsewhere by the Fed, I assume that the FOMC statement is parsed by machines checking for differences in language use with the previous Fed statement -- doing a diff on successive FOMC statements is a common practice when reporting on a statement release [4].

[1][http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/09/21/copy-that- fed-...](http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/09/21/copy-that-fed- statement-delayed-by-printer-glitch/)

[2][http://www.richmondfed.org/faqs/fomc/](http://www.richmondfed.org/faqs/fomc/)

[3][http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.h...](http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm)

[4][http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-18/fomc-shocker-no- tap...](http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-18/fomc-shocker-no-taper)

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> The ironic thing to me is the NSA is clearly in a position to present evidence for this - unless 'insider' conversations are happening in an analog medium.

<comment><USER22> That would be very bad if they did. When you have hammer that huge, everything starts looking like a nail, but this kind of power is switched to easily from going after the "bad guys" to going after the guys that inconvenience people in power. We're watching it happen right now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> As far as I'm aware, the exact time of release of the FOMC statement can vary by a few seconds. Nanex seem to have assumed that the release comes from Washington, but I would guess that one of the agencies that receives the embargoed data has permission to distribute it at multiple locations simultaneously. That seems like the simplest explanation for Chicago and New York reacting at the same time.

</comment><comment><USER23> Ole Roemer, a Danish astronomer, proved suspicions of many such as Empedocles (490-435 B.C.) that light has a speed. 1676. C/o Speed of Light: Case History. [http://www.is.wayne.edu/MNISSANI/A&S/light.htm](http://www.is.wayne.edu/MNISSANI/A&S/light.htm) Ug easy sensationalism via namedropping.

Now, in another 50 years, I look forward to fingerprint analysis of a scale 1/1000th as fine: we caught you obeying the the speed of light, but you forgot to compensate for relativistic drift in X fashion. GUILTY!

</comment><comment><USER24> Well, how do we know the Fed's clock was canonical?

</comment><comment><USER25> These graphs are crazy.</comment>


Google came up with a formula for deciding who gets promoted - <AUTHOR> http://qz.com/299112/google-came-up-with-a-formula-for-deciding-who-gets-promoted-heres-what-happened/ <comment><USER2> "The engineers hated it. And it never was used to make promotion decisions at Google."</comment>


NSA: Sandworm Team, Russian govt hackers exploiting critical Exim flaw from 2019 - <AUTHOR> https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/nsa-russian-govt-hackers-exploiting-critical-exim-flaw-since-2019/ <comment><AUTHOR> Orignal title lacked context. It was:

NSA: Russian govt hackers exploiting critical Exim flaw since 2019</comment>


The quest to save today's gaming history from being lost - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/06/the-quest-to-save-todays-gaming-history-from-being-lost-forever/ <comment><USER2> Corporations claim that DRM is necessary for fighting piracy, for protecting the rights of content creators, or to keep computers safe from viruses, however there is no evidence that DRM has had any effect on any of those.

DRM is fundamentally flawed, because the user is both the recipient and the would-be interceptor that DRM protects against, so because of this it means the decryption key is at some point loaded in the memory of the user's device, which means that there's no "uncrackable" variant, but even admitting the possibility of an uncrackable DRM, you always have the analogue loophole. And because of the Internet, ordinary people can easily access the pirated copies made by other people.

The only thing that DRM proved effective for is vendor lock-in. Bought some games on Steam? Bought some books on Amazon? Bought some apps on iTunes Store? Those are "investments" hooking you in to these services for a long time.

And now DRM has infected W3C and web standards as well, because grandmas want to watch Netflix and as predicted, open-source can't join the party, because wouldn't you know, DRM is fundamentally flawed and is incompatible with open- source.

<comment><USER3> > you always have the analogue loophole

Give it time. Most everything these days supports HDCP. Screens are being integrated with cameras.

HDCP + computer vision scanning of the room to ensure that only the licensed number of people (and no cameras) are present isn't that far off.

<comment><USER2> I don't think it will work, also because of self-interest (tragedy of the commons :)), but I'm sure they'll try.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> > Scott came up with a theoretical case of a game featuring an enemy group > logo that looks similar to that of a real-life terrorist group. After an > outcry, the developer issues an automatic patch to replace the original logo > with something more benign. That would be a PR win in the present, but a > major loss from a future historian's perspective.

There's little need to posit a theoretical. Look to Wolfenstein 3D, which had several changes. The Red Cross objected to the use of a red cross for the health packs, so later releases used a red heart. Germany objected to the use of Nazi symbols, the dogs replaced with giant rats, etc.

I can see how a future historian might use these as data points for a research project.

<comment><USER5> You also have the case of Carmageddon, where the German release replaced all pedestrians with green blooded zombies...

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I'm already far more interested in reading about the _stories_ that came out of e.g. Eve Online, WoW, and the social connections people made, than ever playing those games myself.

If you ask me, it's a mistake to obsess over the digital representation of a... collaborative performance? Even if you recreated everything about an online game in 50 years, it wouldn't be the same game without the same people, the same social context.

When you're playing a bit-for-bit identical, perfectly emulated game from 30 years ago - have you ever thought "ummm, this sucks, how did I ever spend so much time on it?" What got lost - your youth, your obsession, your manual dexterity, the lack of other entertainment ... you can't bottle all of that along with the disc image.

Something always gets lost, even if you copy all the bits.

<comment><USER7> We should delegate "mmo historians" and give them a salary just to record significant or even ordinary social interactions or events! We already have some services such as 3d print of your avatar which is similar to an artist making a portrait.

How did we end up having historians in real life? How can we give similar incentive or motivation for mmos or other games?

Now that I thought of it, there's excellent coverage of what happens in e sports, e.g. "this team did this to beat that team", which also links back to the documentation of ancient wars.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Honestly, the ones doing the most to preserve today's games are probably cracking groups like RELOADED, CODEX and PROPHET.

<comment><USER9> and GOG.com that pushes no-DRM approach (which is way better than cracking groups for everyone)

<comment><USER8> Yeah. CD Project RED deserve massive props for publishing The Witcher 3 DRM- free too!

<comment><USER9> Both GOG and CDPR are a subsidiaries of CD Projekt. So, it's not all that surprising :) But they definitely deserve props for lots of things, not just being DRM-free.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Is it really that much a of problem that we won't be able to run specific software from sometime in the past?

Historically relevant software should leave behind enough cultural artifacts that its impact can still be understood regardless of the ability to re-run that software as it existed originally. (video evidence, writings about the medium etc...)

Imagine the case of emulators to see how this can easily become a recursive paradox.

Today we have emulators that allows us to run most software from the beginning of computation. Will it be relevant to be able to run those emulators 100 years from now in their current form?

<comment><USER11> Historians have always considered artefacts more valuable the closer they are to the original event. This is because the more steps removed you are, the more bias and mistakes can creep in, like a game of telephone.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_source)

<comment><USER10> Yes I understand the argument about primary sources =).

My point is about the feasibility side of it (or lack of it).

Why should we have the expectation that we are going to be able to archive everything just because now information is stored digitally? Seems a bit delusional assuming that it is possible at all to archive everything... well I agree that theoretically it is possible, but in practice as we are already seeing barriers pop up all the time. I would bet ancient people were faced with the same problems when dealing with written information.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> > As an example of why this kind of early version archiving might be > necessary, Scott came up with a theoretical case of a game featuring an > enemy group logo that looks similar to that of a real-life terrorist group. > After an outcry, the developer issues an automatic patch to replace the > original logo with something more benign.

This isn't theoretical - something similar actually happened with the different cartridge versions of Ocarina of Time on the N64. The original music for the fire temple sounded too much like an Islamic prayer and was changed[1].

[1] [http://strategywiki.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of...](http://strategywiki.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_Time/Versions)

<comment><USER13> More on that music here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U34MFcJdGCo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U34MFcJdGCo)

Spoilers: turns out it actually comes from a stock sound effects CD and was used in a handful of other games, too!

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> There are some good gaming history channels on youtube (ex: "The Gaming Historian"). They typically cover stuff from the Atari and NES era, and tend to use the original hardware to show off the games. I hadn't even thought about how such a show might work 20 years from now. I'm glad to see someone is thinking about how to best preserve the current era of games, because gaming history is actually pretty interesting and says a lot about our culture.

</comment><comment><USER15> Funny idea - what if all the moves and chat messages in World of Warcraft were recorded, and in the future would be replayed for spectators to watch? It would be an exact representation of peoples lives while they were playing WoW. Somewhat eerie.

<comment><USER16> Tangentially related, but this recent article is one of my favorites about WoW and nostalgia: [http://kotaku.com/the-people-who-still-play-world-of- warcraf...](http://kotaku.com/the-people-who-still-play-world-of-warcraft- like-it-s-2-1704465372)

<comment><USER5> Giving up the girl to kill the dragon, don't think i'll ever have that level of dedication to a game. But perhaps it was more the community thing than the game thing. I keep having the impression that what keeps many playing WoW is that it is pretty much a oversized chat room for them. That is where the people they know "hang" so that is where people need to get hold of them, and so it becomes self-reinforcing.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Save the throwaway game's history!

Because really, what else compares for wasting time than fucking video games?

<comment><USER18> Watching a tv show? Watching a movie? Pintrest? Reddit? HN? Facebook? Twitter?

<comment><USER19> Well, video games are unique in being able to suck an entire weekend away without you noticing.

<comment><USER20> If you've never spent a solid week on a couch reading a book, I highly recommend doing so at least once in your life.

<comment><USER21> A whole week? Even the biggest novels top out at around 1000 pages. The fattest single-volume mass-market paperback novels I have seen other people actually reading are King's _It_, Michener's _Hawaii_, Mitchell's _Gone With the Wind_, and Rand's _Atlas Shrugged_. Those _might_ last the whole week, _if_ you spent most of it napping.

That said, I recommend it be done on a sandy beach or on a hammock rather than the couch, and at least once per year, rather than once per lifetime.

<comment><USER20> For me, it was Stephen King's "The Stand" (1152 pages) when I was on summer break in high school. I fully admit it would be harder for me to schedule a stretch like that today.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: Zazu App – An OSS app launcher, similar to Alfred - <AUTHOR> http://zazuapp.org/ <comment><USER2> I love that this is cross platform.

When I tried to install the debian package through the Ubuntu Software Center I received this warning:

        The package is of bad quality
        The installation of a package which violates the quality standards isn't allowed. This could cause serious problems on your computer. Please contact the person or organisation who provided this package file and include the details beneath.
        Lintian check results for /home/<user>/Downloads/zazu-v0.2.1-linux-x64.deb:
        E: zazu: maintainer-address-missing Blaine Schmeisser

<comment><AUTHOR> I added the maintainer email address for the v0.2.2 deploy, can you confirm this is working for you now?

<comment><USER2> I was able to install without warning now. However, the alt+space command doesn't seem to work. That instead opens the context menu in the app that has focus. I can use Zazu by clicking the menu bar icon and choosing 'Toggle Zazu' though.

I'm running Ubuntu 14.04 in case that's helpful.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> So Zazu is based on Alfred which was based on Quicksilver[1]. As someone who never left Quicksilver in the first place, what are some of the improvements that either alternative brings to the table?

1\. [https://qsapp.com/](https://qsapp.com/)

<comment><AUTHOR> I haven't installed Quick Silver in many years, so my understanding may be dated, but at the time it didn't offer many intuitive actions, such as copying the calculator result to your clipboard.

Alfred doesn't treat plugins as first class citizens, only alfred can have the top level search space, all plugins have prefixes. Plugins in Zazu are first class citizens, there is no built in behavior so you have more flexibility with what you want.

Zazu is also cross platform, so switching between Mac and Ubuntu for instance wouldn't hurt your workflow. Alfred and QuickSilver are Mac specific.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> I'm the author of Zazu, I'm happy to answer any questions. Ask away!

<comment><USER4> I bought the original Alfred v1 Powerpack.

But, they recently made that unavailable for download and want me to buy v3... Which I don't need.

So I've been awaiting an alternative.

So thanks for this ! I'm excited to try it out.

<comment><USER5> You can still try to download v2 here, based on wildcard naming convention.

[https://cachefly.alfredapp.com/Alfred_2.8.7_442.dmg](https://cachefly.alfredapp.com/Alfred_2.8.7_442.dmg)

P.S.: not sure about license compatibility of v1 -> v2.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I've recently been enjoying using Hain, another spotlight-esque launcher like this one with more features:

\- A built-in package manager based on NPM

\- A visual settings editor - there's no need to edit configuration files

\- Very fast fuzzy matching of file and program names

\- Toast notifications and buttons

\- An HTML-based preview pane

Sadly it's Windows-only for now, but there are contributors working on porting it to Linux and macOS.

If you're running macOS I've had success with building the feature/macos branch.

[https://github.com/appetizermonster/hain](https://github.com/appetizermonster/hain)

<comment><AUTHOR> Hain is a great project, they launched a few months after I started working on Zazu!

For comparison:

\- Zazu has a github based package manager

\- A dotfile for configuration (for backup!)

\- Very fast fuzzy matching of file and program names

\- Cross platform notifications (toast on windows!)

\- An HTML-based preview pane

\- Cross platform!

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Seems really similar to Lacona ( [https://www.lacona.io/](https://www.lacona.io/) ), which also has add-ons and it's built on React.

Any idea if it's based on it?

<comment><AUTHOR> I haven't heard of lacona until you just mentioned it, but it does look nice. They also have plugins written in node, but offer a more "natural language" search, which Zazu doesn't. Zazu is also completely open source, but they have a paid version. Zazu is all cross platform, but Lacona only offers mac builds.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I'm a big power user of Alfred. I've created a lot of custom workflows in Alfred to automate things in macOS, such as setting up dev environments (window management) or using the Dash workflow integration. The power of Alfred is in its workflows and workflow creator. Alfred + Hammerspoon is particularly nice. (You can execute hotkeys in Alfred that trigger Hammerspoon init.lua bindings)

I can't tell if Zazu is just a replacement for simple app launching, or if it has the ability to do everything Alfred's workflows can do.

<comment><USER9> Is there any information on how you can run hammer spoon lua bindings from Alfred? I always wanted to call specific functions from hammer spoon from applescript or something but have no idea how you could do that.

<comment><USER8> In the workflow creator, under "Outputs" is "Dispatch Key Combo Output". Give it the same hotkeys as the binding uses in init.lua. [https://www.alfredapp.com/help/workflows/outputs/dispatch- ke...](https://www.alfredapp.com/help/workflows/outputs/dispatch-key-combo/)

Edit - If you're looking to do it through AppleScript, see: [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3690167/how-can-one- invok...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3690167/how-can-one-invoke-a- keyboard-shortcut-from-within-an-applescript)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I have installed the latest version 0.3.2 for Ubuntu 16.04 via the Software Center, and also via Gdebi (which reported that it was already installed, but reinstalled) and I am unable to find the installation anywhere. No config files in my home directory. A search in Nautilus only finds the .deb. What am I missing? I am running Budgie desktop, if that makes a difference.

</comment><comment><USER11> Note that on win10, you have to manually unblock the installer to allow it to run at all -- otherwise double-clicking just hangs explorer.exe.

</comment><comment><USER12> Can you talk about the impact of this app on battery life / performance? Slack has made me leery of everything electron.

<comment><AUTHOR> I've been running it on my Mac, along with other electron apps like Slack and VSCode, and I've not noticed a drain on my battery.

It's never come up in my "Apps using significant energy" in the battery dropdown.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Seems similar to [http://getzazu.tumblr.com/post/664279182/our- story](http://getzazu.tumblr.com/post/664279182/our-story) ?

</comment><comment><USER14> +1 for clipboard history easily searchable. I think in my workflow it's adding so much to my personal productivy. Maybe the best productivy hack in Alfred.

</comment><comment><USER15> This is really great! I'll have to try it out sometime.

I've been wanting a "replacement" for Alfred for years. Not because i dislike Alfred, i love it; But because it's a tool locking me to OSX.

These days i want me tools to be cross platform and a good core UX, even if that means i have to drop features. It's why i like CLI tools so much.

</comment><comment><USER16> Tested using Linux mint: calculator, google and other things didn't work, the only thing that was working was application launcher

<comment><AUTHOR> Uh oh! Can you file an issue on github with the log file stored in `~/.zazu/log`?

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> got it running on osx, first it didn't worked (nothing suggested), then i've restarted it and it seems to work.

pretty basic, but it more or less match my needs. the only thing that i miss is the file icons or app icons: it show you multiple match but the icons are all the same, dark, so you can't quickly disambiguate them

<comment><AUTHOR> In v0.2.2 it tells you when it's still loading the plugins. Feel free to try deleting your ~/.zazu folder and using this newer version!

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> I love this thing so far. I recently switched to using Mint instead of OSX because I refuse to pay $2300 for a 15" MBP. I was really missing the clipboard ability of Alfred, and this is REALLY helpful.

Would it be possible to auto paste the clipboard result when you select it?

<comment><AUTHOR> I would LOVE auto paste, but I've not found a good way to do this in Electron yet. ]:

If you know how, let me know :D

<comment><USER19> I've not used electron but can't you simply invoke Applescript or use a shell command? Checkout pbcopy + pbpaste utilities or use applescript:

        $ osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to keystroke "v" using command down'

I realize this isn't cross platform but there should be similar methods in other OS'es.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> Building it on Arch Linux failed because npm run release expects dpkg-deb to be available.

<comment><USER21> I can confirm the same on Fedora Linux. More specifically, the command exits on `fakeroot`.

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> Seems interesting. Installed on Ubuntu 16.04 and keeps asking to update to 0.2.2 and hotkeys don't seem to work. Also crashed during a file search.

<comment><AUTHOR> The v0.2.2 I pushed the tag for, but didn't update the website. Sorry about that.

Can you report the crash in the repo and attach the ~/.zazu/log file?

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Disregard. A reboot has it showing up now.</comment>


Show HN: MicroHero iPhone App – Beautiful mobile surveys for social good - <AUTHOR> https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id961173379?pt=234192&ct=show_hn_cta&mt=8

<comment><USER2> It's a good idea, and the app looks really nicely designed. One thing though... and i hate to say it... does your icon look a little like someone being sick?

<comment><AUTHOR> @danvesma thanks! We appreciate the kind words.

We definitely don't want people thinking about sickness in relation to our app. Great feedback. We will investigate further.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Cool app - intersection of tech, consumers, and charity.

Fantastic interface - sure it's a survey app, but it's a survey app where the interface stays out of the way of getting to the end of it.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks @jondb0!

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> We designed and built an app that allows users to take beautiful mobile surveys and earn real dollars for causes they support. We would love HN's feedback!</comment>


Spotify removes silent album that earned indie band $20,000 - <AUTHOR> http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/7/5690590/spotify-removes-silent-album-that-earned-indie-band-20000

<comment><USER2> Is encouraging people to listen to your music "while sleeping" on Spotify the equivalent to a blogger asking their audience to click on their AdSense ads?

In this case, it seems the "silence" is the issue and not the fact that the band asked it's fans to steam while sleeping (although I could be wrong). If so, I wonder what the threshold is ... what if the _song_ included minimal sound?

<comment><USER3> Renditions of John Cage's 4'33" [1] are on Spotify. It is definitely the encouragement of abuse by fans that Spotify had problems with.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3)</comment></comment>


Show HN: TopHN – a real time animated view for HN built in Vue.js and RethinkDB - <AUTHOR> https://tophn.info/ <comment><AUTHOR> As part of my "learning late in life" efforts, I knocked together this project to help me consume Hacker News in a way that suits me (and hopefully others) better.

I wrote a full blog post [0] about my efforts, including some background on the technologies I used. Feel free to check it out [1] and give me any feedback you have. I know there a plenty of other real time HN feeds out there, but hopefully this one keeps it simple while adding quirky features like a real time karma tracker and animated 'Top 30' bubbling...

[0] - [http://devan.blaze.com.au/blog/2017/3/3/tophn-a-fun-side- pro...](http://devan.blaze.com.au/blog/2017/3/3/tophn-a-fun-side-project- built-with-vuejs-and-rethinkdb) [1] - [https://tophn.info/](https://tophn.info/)</comment>


The White House vows to let programmers dress informally - <AUTHOR> http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/08/20/the-white-house-vows-to-let-programmers-dress-like-ones-do/ <comment><USER2> The acid test for me: Will they hire software engineers who don't have degrees?

I've worked with quite a few people who didn't bother to finish college, or never went to begin with. There doesn't seem to be a correlation between "great engineer" and "got a BS in CS" \-- let me re-state that; you can be a great engineer without the paper, or a lousy one with the degree.

So the question is: Is it a meritocracy, or is it a _meritocracy_?

[also: sandals? :-) ]

<comment><USER3> I know you re-stated it, but I disagree with the first statement. I believe there _is_ a correlation. The strength of the correlation can be debated, but in my experience, a degree is a positive signal when hiring someone to be part of a software engineering team.

Note that I didn't just say software engineer. In my book, technical skills are only part of the equation, but the ability to communicate well, operate well within a team, etc. are also very important and in my experience, going to school helps prepare people for this kind of work.

In the end, a degree or lack thereof only becomes a significant signal if there isn't enough real-world experience on the resume.

<comment> k-mcgrady >> going to school helps prepare people for this kind of work

Is there some specific teamwork that goes on in a CS degree? Can't teamwork skills be picked up in the previous 14 years of schooling?

<comment><USER4> kohanz is not saying that college is the only way someone can learn teamwork, or that college is a prerequisite to teamwork skills, but merely that college is positively correlated to such skills.

<comment><USER5> You get a degree on your own merits at passing exams its not a team thing.

<comment><USER6> Wasn't the case for me. We had several courses that were team efforts, and the typical method was to determine a shared team score, and then let individual scores deviate by a small margin (+- 2/20 at most) from that, based on the professor's appreciation of your individual contribution in the team.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> This is a clear power play and is playing by the same rules as those that are wearing suits. What dressing like that is saying is, no I don't have to wear the uniform of this culture because I am in a position of informal power.

The New Yorker did a piece on that same issue last year: [http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-power-of- the-...](http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-power-of-the-hoodie- wearing-c-e-o)

At the end of the day I am torn on this issue. The idea that competence counts makes sense and that is all that should be judged. However there is something to be said about shared cultural displays and how they fit into a larger team effort. The modern suit is a pretty benign display in the larger scheme of things. Especially if you look at the rumpled messes that check the "suit" block, roaming around government agencies.

All that said, I fucking despise having to wear a suit.

<comment><USER8> Yeah, I'm of two minds on it too. On the one hand, I'm all for letting people be comfortable at work. On the other hand, it's _the fucking White House_ we're talking about here, not a paper company in Scranton. If there is a single office in the world where the people at least make an _attempt_ to act like grown-ups, I'd want it to be that one, you know?

<comment><USER9> Jeans and t-shirt/hoodie are the official uniform/suit of programmers. You stand out if you wear anything else.

<comment><USER10> I feel like there's an expectation for me to dress up more than my husband or any other programmer I know, just to be taken a little more seriously. I don't know that many female programmers that wear tshirts except for promo purposes or at home/super duper casual settings either.

Not to mention most tshirts don't fit female bodies in an ideal way anyway...

<comment><USER11> That's why there are women's t-shirts that are much better tailored for women.

Personally I never understood the "dress down" culture in programming. I dress up (sports coats, shirts, nice jeans) because I like it.

<comment><USER12> _" I dress up (sports coats, shirts, nice jeans) because I like it."_

Likewise, though I trade out the jeans for slacks. I don't like jeans with a sport coat (on me - you can wear what you want).

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> This reminds me of the attitude of a former employer. It was a small tech company, the CEO/owner was an old school business type. Always well groomed, nice suits, the car, etc.

He often had visitors come in to the office to see him, and he'd give a short tour on the way to his office. He'd stop by the sales area and introduce whoever was around and then he'd bring the visitor to the entry of the open office style room that had 4 of us software developers and say something like "And this is the bigger room, with a couple programmers" in such a way that it was as if he was showing off exotic pets or automated machinery. As if we were literally sitting there punching in the correct sequence of buttons in order to program a VCR.

"Programmers" are low status, and now when we are at the White House it'll be easier to tell who we are.

<comment><USER14> I think in some ways programmers have brought this low status upon ourselves. If you want to be taken seriously in a business setting, like it or not how you dress affects your credibility. When a coder complains that the executives at the company are not taking their ideas seriously, maybe they should switch out of the t-shirt that says "talk nerdy to me" on the front. Dressing professionally isn't just about corporate conformity, it also signals that you take your job seriously.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> I find this obsession with avoiding suits to be so tiresome. It's as though programmers are small children who get treats (like dressing down) in exchange for not being treated like real professionals.

It's a suit. It's simple. It's not hard to wear. It's not uncomfortable. Being afraid of wearing suits makes programmers look petty, juvenile, and unprofessional.

Yes, it doesn't have direct practical value, but human behaviour and codes of conduct are full of things with minimal practical value that we still go along with. Culture is complex.

<comment><USER16> Agreed. I have worked in academia as well as the private sector (banking amongst others). PHD's really amuse me how they think they are getting some sort of freedom, by working long hours for crap wages, but not needing to wear a shirt and tie and not needing to be in by 9.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> In my opinion, techies make as much of a big deal of outfits as do the finance/business guys. They just do it by shouting about how much they are against dress codes.

</comment><comment><USER18> In my last gig we had to wear the whole tie getup even though we're crawling under desks or setting up servers. The funny thing is when they had investors and such come through the building they didn't let us downstairs - we had to stay hidden. What the heck was the tie for then.

I even got reprimanded by my manager's manager because my dress shoes did not match my dress pants.

</comment><comment><USER19> Why would you want to work for an employer whose board of directors, Congress, regularly uses employees as hostages when they threaten to shut the government down?

I'd wear a clown suit if the work was steady, interesting and well paid.

</comment><comment><USER20> I hate to have to dress up just because people won't take you seriously if you don't. To me this is just a very old preconception created by society long time ago (when perhaps it made sense) and people keep doing it apparently for no clear reason.

I love when I see CEO/CTO's dressing whatever they like (e.g. Mark Zuckerberg, Werner Vogels, etc.).

The only time I can accept this "dress up" thing with no contest is when you go to meet someone and you want to be respectful to this person, so you dress better to show respect/appreciation... like he did for the President. Now, the dress up for the sake of dressing up because this gives you status and then people will treat you better, I can't stand it.

<comment><USER16> The thing is, its all very well saying that people shouldn't judge based on what we wear, but like it or not some people do. Its just a bit dumb and teenager like to not accept that and put a shirt on if its going to give you better options in an interview or whatever.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> I'm the only one that noticed that the guy get's a Blackberry for the job?

That's interesting.

<comment><USER22> That's common in government work. It's usually for the purpose of emailing/texting at work and nothing else.

I know half a dozen people who have a separate work phone they turn off when they get home.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> Seems like he wore a comically wrinkly shirt, just for the video. Kind of ruins the sentiment. Some how.

</comment><comment><USER24> Why would they vow to do it, and not just do it? Ok, it's just the title, but still.

</comment><comment><USER25> The title is taken from the url (which is fine, and better than the doc title in this case), but it's ungrammatical. What's a minimal fix? I can't think of one.

Edit: Ok, we changed it from "The White House vows to let programmers dress like ones do".

<comment><USER26> The White House vows to let programmers dress down

<comment><USER25> If I know my Hacker News, that would spark an argument about the prejudice of saying dressing _down_. So maybe we'll use "informally", as more neutral. Thanks!</comment></comment></comment>


Ask PG: How is Arc coming along? - <AUTHOR> I noticed that 500 days ago you said that you'd be working on Arc again [1]. How's it going?<p>-----<p>[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7493993 <comment><USER2> Clickable: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7493993](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7493993)

</comment><comment><USER3> Perhaps it is already complete.

Inspiration:

A manager went to the Master Programmer and showed him the requirements document for a new application. The manager asked the Master: "How long will it take to design this system if I assign five programmers to it?"

"It will take one year," said the Master promptly.

"But we need this system immediately or even sooner! How long will it take if I assign ten programmers to it?"

The Master Programmer frowned. "In that case, it will take two years."

"And what if I assign a hundred programmers to it?"

The Master Programmer shrugged. "Then the design will never be completed," he said.

</comment><comment><USER4> He handed over the Hacker News leadership to a team of people a while ago[1], so that might be a reason for why he hasn't been working on it.

[1] [http://blog.ycombinator.com/meet-the-people-taking-over- hack...](http://blog.ycombinator.com/meet-the-people-taking-over-hacker-news)

<comment><USER5> PG's comment was made on the post you are referencing.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Without deadline there will never be need to compromise. You can keep thinking about it year after year and seek perfection that is The Hundred-Year Language.

[http://www.paulgraham.com/hundred.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/hundred.html)

<comment><USER7> Plans without deadlines are just dreams.

<comment><USER8>
      > Plans without *action* are just dreams.

There. I fixed that for you.

<comment><USER9> Not really. If the action drags forever, they remain just dreams (like some great unfinished novel a guy writes for 50 years and gets to 60.000 pages).

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Some context (say, for example, a brief description of Arc) might be helpful.

<comment><USER11> LISP dialect invented by Paul Graham. This site is written in Arc. Afaik that is the only mayor application so far.

[http://arclanguage.org/](http://arclanguage.org/)

[http://www.paulgraham.com/arc.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/arc.html)

<comment><USER12> > This site is written in Arc.

Is that why nobody can ever add any useful new features to it?

<comment><USER13> BURN

<comment><USER14> Meh, even if it was true, I consider that in itself a feature.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> Clojure won.

<comment><USER16> You're getting downvoted, but I think there might be some truth to this.

<comment><USER17> As likely one of the few people outside of pg to use arc in production, I agree Clojure won- It has about 80% of the features that arc pioneered, and many additional features that leave arc in the dust. (Most of the remaining "good ideas" in arc are syntactic sugar which are just too controversial to see mainstream adoption.)

<comment><USER18> What features did arc "pioneer"?

<comment><USER17> Shoot, it's been too long for me to sort out the various features now, but you can read about the cooler parts of arc here: [http://old.ycombinator.com/arc/tut.txt](http://old.ycombinator.com/arc/tut.txt) which won't look very exciting to any Clojure programmer nowadays.

Probably its most useful innovation, even if it sounds mundane now (and I'm not 100% sure it was first on this- feel free to correct me) is that it was the first Lisp to realize that sequences and key-value associations are both equally important and should both have first-class status in the core language (with proper literal and shortcut accessor support) ... so like clojure, arc is more of a MLISP (Map and LISt Processor)

However, the posted link doesn't have examples of the crazy syntactic sugar stuff pg did that I think was added in a later revision.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> PHP won.

<comment><USER20> lol.</comment></comment>


ISIS hacked CENTCOM - <AUTHOR> https://twitter.com/centcom <comment><USER2> ISIS or someone from China? The 4share uploader of the caught leaks reported to be from HongKong

</comment><comment><USER3> Looks legit. Someone got off 8 tweets that I saw before the account was closed.</comment>


Topological methods for unsupervised learning problems [video] - <AUTHOR> https://slideslive.com/38913519/topological-approaches-for-unsupervised-learning <comment><USER2> Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection

[https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.03426](https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.03426)

[https://github.com/lmcinnes/umap](https://github.com/lmcinnes/umap)

<comment><USER3> Context: the speaker in this talk (Leland McInnes) is one of the authors of the UMAP paper and corresponding code repo.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I've been interested in learning about topological data analysis, haven't dug in too deep yet, but it definitely looks like an interesting direction to zig in while the field at large zags with ever larger deep learning architectures.

UMAP has already demonstrated its efficacy as a tool in any data scientist's belt. Ayasdi and Gunnar Carlson's work is certainly interesting, but unsure how much business value it can actually unlock. Seems like there is also opportunity to draw inspiration from the applied category theory crew (Spivak, Fong etc) to use some CT tools to approach data science from a fresh perspective.

Some of the research coming out is interesting, but as a practitioner I'm more interested in seeing how TDA can add differentiated value in a business context. Interested to hear where people see the field moving next.

<comment><USER5> I've been playing with topological methods for data analysis recently and I think there are some fruitful things happening. Seems like there are some ideas emerging from theory to practice which might be useful (Betti curves, multiparameter persistence, etc) but they're not quite there yet.

Another idea that's been intriguing me lately is applied sheaf theory. Robinson, Ghrist, and Curry are the only people I see working on this but I don't know what I'm not seeing. The "big idea" is taking local data and seeing if it patches together to a global coherent whole or not. Sometimes it doesn't (old Russian example: arbitrage in currency exchange networks). Or sometimes it's about using interpolation to fill in missing data, if you know that it's something for which there is a global function (temperatures across ocean surfaces), or providing a probability distribution for the missing parts. Category theory has something to offer here as well.

Anyone know more about any of these things?

<comment><USER6> Look into OpenCog - there's some sheaf-theoretic NLP stuff going on there. There's a recent high-level overview by Linas Vepstas you can find on the ArXiv somewhere. There's a project called SheafSystem also, which is a sheaf- based database for scientific computing (I've never used it). I have some ideas I'm working on in this area also (not affiliated with these parties in any way, and the ideas are not ready to share yet, unfortunately.

What's your background, out of curiosity?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Five minutes reading [https://johnhw.github.io/umap_primes/index.md.html](https://johnhw.github.io/umap_primes/index.md.html)

Without using any category, topology of sheaf theory, this is what I believe is in this paper:

(1) the prior hypothesis is that data points in R^n are a sample from a uniform distribution in a Riemann space.

(2) Try to define a Riemann metric such that the number of sample points in any ball B is propotional to the volume of B.

(3) Since (2) doesn't define a global Riemann metric, they define a fuzzy membership relation. I suppose the role of the fuzzy tool is that local distance information is weighted according to the variance of the local distance estimations.

Disclaimer, I could be completely wrong.

</comment><comment><USER8> I do a lot of clustering professionally, yet TDA feels very academic. Does finding locally connected components have practical value with "noisy" data sets'? If what you're after is locally connected components, why can't you use density clustering? Also my general feeling: If you have such weird shapes in R^n, maybe you should try to develop a better distance metric (vs finding connected components)? Just saying.

</comment><comment><USER9> Great introductory talk. I have a physics and 3D graphics background, with just enough topology and sketchy CT to understand all the words, so now I have some idea about TDA. Thanks.</comment>


Slack plunges after posting first earnings report since going public - <AUTHOR> https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/slack-work-earnings-q2-2020.html <comment><USER2> > Earnings: Loss of 14 cents per share, excluding certain items, vs. 18 cents > per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

> Revenue: $145 million, vs. $140.7 million as expected by analysts, according > to Refinitiv.

So they beat estimates in both cases and the stock fell? Am i misreading this?

<comment><USER3> They issued a weak guidance for next quarter. Expected loss is $0.07, their guidance is $0.08-$0.09.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Can someone please enlighten me?

I am having trouble understanding the myriad communications/chat apps out there that don't seem to do much more than what we older folk used to do on USENET.

Then there's all the clones of more modern platforms. Things like Whatsup.

It just seems to me there are, as a friend of mine used to say, "too many useless duplicates". Meaning, most of it is a huge waste of time.

So, what am I missing about Slack specifically? What unique differentiation makes this worthy of anyone investing their nest egg on their stock?

I honestly want to know. BTW, I have used Slack. I think it's horrible. I don't see much improvement over, say, a phpBB site (which can be deployed privately inside of a network or on the internet).

<comment><USER5> Slack is great at managing "read/unread" state across my 4 devices even in messy mobile networking situations. Good threading tools allow conversations to remain sandboxed and not gum up entire channels. Do these improvements justify the valuation? Maybe not, especially given how many other comms apps have a similar feature set. But for the vast majority of realtime modern workplace communication use-cases, IRC or a bulletin board will not cut it

<comment><USER6> I've missed important messages at critical times due to their mobile app not providing me notification as configured (ios). Syncing across devices is handled nicely though.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I just don't understand investing in chat app companies. Throughout my life the popular chat app has totally changed every few years: ytalk, aim, icq, msn messenger, yahoo messenger, gtalk, bbm, skype, fb messenger, sms, group me, iMessage, whats app, slack, discord

What is the chance that people will still be using slack in a few years. Esp considering mattermost is free and discord people argue is better today.

It's great they tried to build a biz on office chat, but it seems overpriced considering it's just another chat app

</comment><comment><USER8> As someone who tracks system outages of Saas for my company, Slack has been really bad the last few months.

I'm consistently seeing problems on the back end that manifest to users of the service.

Critical functions like direct messages, search, mentions, app integration, app approvals are always popping up in their system status feed.

The only reason Slack caught on was businesses prior to that had AIM, Skype, or Hangouts at their disposal. AIM was agnostic across devices but depended on the user to set it up. Skype was either the personal version or the business version but you then were locked into using that to communicate. Hangouts requires Google services, which not a lot of businesses had.

Slack came out of nowhere and offered a myriad of services. It integrated with a lot and made it like AIM from 2008 when I used it at a company I worked for.

Slack seems to have something going on internally on the dev side because the consistent errors I see daily indicate they're fixing something. Either addressing long term problems or just day to day fires.

I've considered Mattermost self hosted for my org. Works just like Slack but I can manage updates and I own all the data we put into it.

Interested to hear what others are using.

<comment><USER9> > The only reason Slack caught on was businesses prior to that had AIM, Skype, > or Hangouts at their disposal.

At least in the case of AIM, that's not true, as aol switched to using slack from aim internally quite a bit before aim was decommissioned. Aim was absolute garbage for work communication and pretty much every team started using slack organically before the company bought an enterprise license.

Adding chat history and search was game changing.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Desktop only applications that allow you to chat in rooms/channels/teams but just as, if not more buggier/slower/featureless than irc/aol on a computer and modem i had over 10 years ago. Can someone explain to me why anyone would use this outside of work or was it simply not designed for personal use?

<comment><USER9> It's a mobile app.

<comment><USER6> On mobile it's essentially a chat application that you're forced to use for work, most likely on your personal cell phone. I'm willing to be convinced of the enormous valuation.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Haven't used slack for a while. Too spammy.

</comment><comment><USER11> One cannot continuously make millions cloning IRC? Whodathunkit?

<comment><USER12> Would you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to HN? You've done that a lot, and we ban accounts that do it repeatedly. I don't want to ban you, so if you'd please review [https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) and use HN more as intended from now on, we'd be grateful.</comment></comment>


3-D Plastic Art for the Masses: Ready to Print - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/arts/design/makerbot-is-a-new-3-d-printer.html?hp

<comment><USER2> _"Art is not traditionally an open-source practice," Mr. Watz, who is represented by the DAM gallery in Berlin, noted dryly at the open house._

Well, _some_ art is. Music scores. Pretty much all literature. "Open source" at least to the extent that people can (modulo local laws) make copies for friends, given performances and readings, etc.

But I get his point. There is much art tied to specific physical objects. It's an interesting fetishization. Also profitable. Duchamp declares this or that found object to be art, but while there may be any number of essentially identical objects none of them are granted that magical glow of "art".

Artificial scarcity <-> Art-official scarcity.</comment>


Show HN: Startya, launch your business idea with us - <AUTHOR>

Hey guys, I've always seen a lot of projects being launched here but this is the first one I'm posting. Hope to get lot of feedback on my project!
(TL;DR version: http://startya.co)
We are a group of designers/ developers/ entrepreneurs that have extensive experience building MVPs for startups. We already created dozens of web based MVPs and projects in hackathons.
As we can easily turn our ideas into a functional application, we have a lot of projects running with almost no users using it because we don't have enough time to dedicate to maintain and grow all of them.
Thats why we decided to stop using our ideas and started looking for hungry entrepreneurs that are searching for a way to turn their business ideas into reality!
We will take care of the development, design and infrastructure and him will take care of the day-by-day and sell the project!
We won't be your personal development team! After our "investment", building the first MVP, the entrepreneur will have a goal to beat (which we will define together). And if he proves us that his idea has potential, by beating the goal, he earns another credit with us and we will keep iterating his project. This cycle goes on and on while he keeps beating the goals we set together.
More info: http://startya.co
What do you guys thinks?? <comment><USER2> Nice idea, just a couple of problems I've spotted.

"we have a lot of projects running with almost no users using it because we don't have enough time to dedicate to maintain and grow all of them."

Shouldn't you first investigate why your own products never took off? Not every product needs good marketing, some just take off on their on and none of yours have. "Almost no users" is something I, as the entrepreneur, would be concerned about.

"Your business model is not based on ad..." Really? When FB and Google are worth over 200 billion combined for their ad businesses.

"If you don't work on the project or don't beat the goals. We will just leave the idea in the space and don't work on it anymore..." If you build the MVP and I don't bother following up with your goals and take the MVP and do my own thing. Who owns the IP? Will you sue if it becomes worth a couple hundred million? Yes you will, therefore you need contracts in place.

"You don´t loose money" Really?

"we keep 30% of the business" as the other guys have said, it's just too much equity and you don't define whether it is vested. You could build an MVP and work on it a couple of times, then get 30% equity and never do any work thereafter.

"We will begin it as a gentlemen's agreement." You're being naive about how the world works. There is a lot of money in tech, so clearly defined contracts are important, unless you want a screwup like Facebook with their equity.

Great idea, but again, you guys were premature about how things will work. It is time to iterate and improve on the bureaucratic parts of your operation.

Lastly, you may be undervaluing yourselves by building stuff for 'free' for other people.

</comment><comment><USER3> Asking for a flat rate of any amount I don't think is a good idea. Some apps / ideas just need some good direction and can be developed in a day if you marry the right programmer / marketer. Others might take weeks of sweat equity and much more time in the end.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, I think that setting a flat rate isn't the best way to go but it is so to facilitate the initial tests of the service. We don't wanna spend time calculating the value of an IDEA. If the entrepreneur doesn't see enought value on us to "invest" 30% of his idea on it, that's ok, he will find another way to turn his idea into reality =)

We know that there is a niche which we will fit perfectly, we don't wanna take over the world. After all we won't even have the time to invest in more than a couple projects at the same time.</comment></comment>


Dropbox…opening my docs? - <AUTHOR> http://www.wncinfosec.com/dropbox-opening-my-docs/?

<comment><USER2> The article is from September 2013 and it has been explained thousands of times that it's just Libreoffice converting the docs into html

</comment><comment><USER3> Previous discussion: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6374945](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6374945)

</comment><comment><USER4> There is a a follow up post that is linked in the link you posted which says the following:

As it turns out, Dropbox views/opens certain file types in order to convert them to a compatible format so they are easily accessible via web browser for its users. This makes sense and is common practice for many cloud storage services to provide the convenience of browser access while not needing any additional software to open these documents.

</comment><comment><USER5> Previous discussion: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6374945](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6374945)

</comment><comment><USER6> Condoleezza Rice is not wasting anytime, is she?</comment>


A 20-Year-Old Doom Record Was Finally Broken - <AUTHOR> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwngnOCWIZo <comment><AUTHOR> tl;dw: The old record was 9.91 seconds -- or 9 seconds, according to the way the game's timer rounds down. The new record is 8.97 seconds. DOOM, like many older games, calculated forward-speed and strafe-speed separately, allowing a player to strafe diagonal run faster than the maximum official forward-speed. The key innovation was "SR50" \-- a glitch that allows the player to strafe at full speed (50, instead of the normal 40) by pressing both strafe mode keys at the same time. The drawback is that it's impossible to turn while strafing like this. So basically, the speedrunner grinded enough to find the right combo of RNG in which he could strafe-run without colliding into enemies.</comment>