Shellshock BASH Vulnerability Tester - <AUTHOR> https://shellshocker.net/ <comment><USER2> The second test there

      env X='() { (a)=>\' sh -c "echo date"; cat echo

calls _sh_ rather than _bash_ , which is likely not linked to bash on Debian-y systems.

Furthermore, keep in mind [http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy- paste](http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste) and use C-x C-e.

<comment><USER3> Pales in comparison to

        curl https://shellshocker.net/fixbash | sh

<comment><USER4> Are you vulnerable to giving attackers shell access on your computers? Pipe this into your shell and find out!

<comment><USER5> OK so I'm _not_ the only person deeply troubled by their generous offer to remotely test my servers for vulnerability. Thank god they included the safe 'at-home' test kit

<comment><USER6> Not only that, but it's going to ask for your sudo password too. No reason to be leary of that ;-)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> When building bash (at least for some variants of Fedora), don't you need to specify the prefix as / so that it copies to /bin?

Otherwise, I think it's just installed to $ac_default_prefix/bin, which is usually /usr/local/bin, leaving your old vulnerable one still in /bin/bash

./configure --prefix=/

<comment><USER8> Updated! Thanks for that.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Now taking pull requests @ [https://github.com/wreiske/shellshocker](https://github.com/wreiske/shellshocker)

</comment><comment><USER9> This post claims that it is still not fixed and there is a 3rd case:

[http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2014/q3/741](http://seclists.org/oss- sec/2014/q3/741)

[http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2014/q3/711](http://seclists.org/oss- sec/2014/q3/711)

Was that before the second patch was sent out last night?

Or can we expect a third patch this weekend?

<comment><USER10> The posts you linked are just referring to the actual "feature", not another exploit. This feature is being able to define functions from enviroment variables, and requires the attacker to be able to control both the enviroment variable name & value. If an attack can do this, they can also set LD_PRELOAD and a whole host of other nasty enviroment variables.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> This patch script doesn't seem to fix CVE-2014-7169 (the second exploit) on some distributions. I have confirmed that the vulnerability still works after patching with Debian etch and lenny installations.

I have issued an updated patcher script that fixes the patch: [https://github.com/tpfister/public/blob/master/patch_shellsh...](https://github.com/tpfister/public/blob/master/patch_shellshock_and_aftershock.sh)

The relevant changes are:

# aftershock patch CVE-2014-7169

wget -nv [http://tomas.pfister.fi/aftershock_4.3.txt](http://tomas.pfister.fi/aftershock_4.3.txt)

patch -p0 < aftershock_4.3.txt

After patching the second vulnerability no longer works:

tp@tp:~/src/bash-4.3$ env X='() { (a)=>\' ./bash -c "echo date"; cat echo ./bash: X: line 1: syntax error near unexpected token `=' ./bash: X: line 1: `' ./bash: error importing function definition for `X' date cat: echo: No such file or directory tp@tp:~/src/bash-4.3$

<comment><USER8> This is an older, more vulnerable version of BASH. Our script provides 4.3 with fixes, not 3.2

<comment><USER11> The script has been updated to bash 4.3.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I wouldn't trust this tool, at least not yet.

I tried a knowned patched server and it gave me an unknown result.

Next I tried a known vulnerable server I don't have the authority to patch, and it said it timed out because my server didn't respond within 3 seconds.

Then it told me I had to wait 15 minutes to test that domain again.

0/2 when starting with known results, I wouldn't rely on this for anything you don't already know the status of.

<comment><USER13> Can you submit an issue request to [https://github.com/wreiske/shellshocker/issues](https://github.com/wreiske/shellshocker/issues) and please provide the domain name used in the test. Thanks!

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> I suspect is no need for the "env" command in these examples.

That is to say, rather than

        env X='() { (a)=>\' bash -c "echo date"; cat echo

just

        X='() { (a)=>\' bash -c "echo date"; cat echo

That is to say, the shell already has the "env" functionality built in:

        VAR1=value1 VAR2=value2 ... VARN=valuen command arg ...

</comment><comment><USER15> So if you don't run CGI nor run a system command within your code, are you fairly safe?

If you do have some gem that runs a system cmd, wouldn't it still require url input to get passed down to that command?

I'm not advocating NOT upgrading your systems, but still fuzzy on the attack vector if this test requires I upload a cgi script

<comment><USER16> No, DHCP has been proven vulnerable on some systems. So, a system can be exploited by this bug just by connecting to a LAN (e.g. wifi network).

Any protocol or service that runs via BASH is vulnerable. CGI is currently the largest and easiest attack vector to test for.

<comment><USER17> So assuming it's an online EC2 server LAMP stack with an empty cgi folder and a lone html page with hello world. Is that vulnerable to this exploit?

<comment><USER18> Yes.

<comment><USER19> remotely? how?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> So, to test, they want their CGI put where it will execute in the webroot. And, if you didn't have cgis that were vulnerable before, now anyone can root your machine.

So, if your bash is ok, you're ok. But if your bash is bad, now it's a race to patch properly before someone else gets it.

</comment><comment><USER21> > If the above command outputs the current date (it may also show errors), you > are still vulnerable.

Well, it does, and no amount of apt-get update / install bash is fixing it.

Is there a fix for this new issue?

Do we know when it's going to be available in the big distros?

<comment><USER21> Also, does Apple intend to release a fix for OS X?

<comment><USER22> Yes: [http://www.imore.com/apple-working-quickly-protect-os-x- agai...](http://www.imore.com/apple-working-quickly-protect-os-x-against- shellshock-exploit)

They're working on getting a patch out. I'm disappointed with how Apple downplays the risk in their public statement. Some of the vectors for vulnerability are pretty insidious (e.g. the DHCP client vuln). Worth noting, it appears that OS X DHCP is not vulnerable to shellshock[1].

[1] [http://complexitydaemon.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/bash-os- x-d...](http://complexitydaemon.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/bash-os-x-dhcp-and- you/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I'm taking all of your comments into consideration. I've made two updates already:

Removed "This could mean that the server is not at all vulnerable" from the warning messages. Fixed the second exploit to be bash, not sh.

<comment><USER23> Your site currently (2pm EST) lists two exploits, but omits a third variant which "Mitchell" posted in your site's comments 8 hours ago. I've tested two fully updated Ubuntu servers. Both are not vulnerable to the two exploits you posted, but both are vulnerable to the exploit listed in Mitchell's comment. I suggest you post Mitchell's variant prominently as well.

The two exploits you've posted:

      1. env x='() { :;}; echo vulnerable' bash -c "echo this is a test"

      2. env X='() { (a)=>\' bash -c "echo date"; cat echo

The third variant Mitchell posted in his comment:

      3. env -i X=' () { }; echo hello' bash -c 'date'

The systems I've tried these on both have been updated with "sudo apt-get update"; "sudo apt-get dist-upgrade".

The systems are:

      A.  Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS, running Bash version 4.2.25(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)

      B.  Ubuntu 10.04.4 LTS, running version 4.1.5(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)

<comment><USER24> My updated 14.04 (bash version 4.3.11(1)-release) doesn't appear to be vulnerable to this third exploit.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> > Possibly vulnerable. This could mean that the server is not at all > vulnerable, or we just couldn't detect it as being vulnerable.

They should just leave the last part "We couldn't detect it as being vulnerable."

</comment><comment><USER26> not sure what this means "hmm... (HTTP/1.1 200 OK): Possibly vulnerable. We couldn't detect it as being vulnerable. We are working on an update to this scanner that will allow for a deeper scan."

<comment><USER8> That means that the server could of been vulnerable, but it didn't return that it was.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> There have been a lot of articles about ShellShock, but this site is the most straightforward I've found for developers (not familiar with Bash, security, etc.) to test & fix Bash.

</comment><comment><USER27> Particularly useful is the patch from source. I've already used it for an Ubuntu 11.04 server (past end of life for apt support), and am about to start on some RHEL servers

</comment><comment><USER28> When the system you're testing replies with a '400 Bad request' (as mine do ;) ), you're probably in "safe" territory, no?

<comment><USER8> I would say so yes. Have you tried the exploit cgi listed on the website to test?

<comment><USER28> I'll have to set something up that actually uses cgi-bin.

However, my load-balancer would still kill the request, I suspect.

(EDIT: Sorry.. my point being; your site should probably class 400's as 'safe'?)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Just a caution that newegg has a registered trademark on "shell shocker" \- not sure if that is a problem or not.

<comment><USER15> Given Newegg's fights on patent trolls and that shellshocker.net is about helping people secure themselves vs selling electronics... I would think they are safe from litigation

/ianal

edit: Maybe Mattel will however :) [http://trademarks.justia.com/857/91/shell- shocker-85791354.h...](http://trademarks.justia.com/857/91/shell- shocker-85791354.html)

<comment><USER17> It's still a trademark and if they want to keep it they have to show they're willing to protect it, else they could lose it.

<comment><USER29> Not a lawyer, but as I understand it, trademarks often cover only specific market categories. That is, someone can in some cases use a trademark in a market category that the original trademark owner does not operate (e.g. Company1 using BrandA sells only consumer electronics, some Company2 can actually later use BrandA to sell baby diapers). As long as BrandA isn't sufficiently famous and there is no risk of confusion or brand dilution, then Company2 isn't necessarily going to get in trouble.

Of course, determining where the line gets drawn probably isn't always a matter of checking off items in some checklist (gray areas, etc.). Nevertheless, in the case of Newegg's Shell Shocker deals, it doesn't seem to me like it overlaps with this site's intent (vulnerability testing). Only overlap I see is that it's something that's operated over the Internet. Would be far-fetched to say that this site is capitalizing on Newegg's brand goodwill to... get people to test for server/machine vulnerabilities.

Also... "It is not necessary for a trademark owner to take enforcement action against all infringement if it can be shown that the owner perceived the infringement to be minor and inconsequential. This is designed to prevent owners from continually being tied up in litigation for fear of cancellation."[1] So just because Newegg has a trademark doesn't mean it immediately and invariably has an obligation to enforce it at the threat of losing it.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark#Maintaining_rights](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark#Maintaining_rights)

<comment><USER30> > Not a lawyer, but as I understand it, trademarks often cover only specific > market categories. That is, someone can in some cases use a trademark in a > market category that the original trademark owner does not operate (e.g. > Company1 using BrandA sells only consumer electronics, some Company2 can > actually later use BrandA to sell baby diapers). As long as BrandA isn't > sufficiently famous and there is no risk of confusion or brand dilution, > then Company2 isn't necessarily going to get in trouble.

This is true, and when a trademark holder attempts a legal action, they have to show a possibility for public confusion and loss of business to the "infringer". This is why Apple Music (the Beatles) and Apple Computer were free to coexist for decades -- no prospect for public confusion.

By contrast, there's a now-famous case in which someone whose name was McDonald, and who operated a restaurant named "McDonald's", was obliged to rename his establishment after the other, much bigger McDonald's brought legal action on the ground of public confusion. The fact that the man's name was McDonald wasn't sufficient grounds to justify the name.

I had a legal tangle which this protected-word issue. I once had a Web page that provided sunrise and sunset times. I foolishly called it "Sun computer". The other Sun Computer quickly threatened legal action for my use of the protected word "sun". No, boys and girls, I'm not making this up:

[http://www.arachnoid.com/lutusp/sunrise/#The__Sun_Computer__...](http://www.arachnoid.com/lutusp/sunrise/#The__Sun_Computer__Story)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> env x='() { :;}; echo vulnerable' bash -c "echo this is a test"</comment>


XCode ratings is plummeting everyday. 2.5 stars now - <AUTHOR> https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/xcode/id497799835?mt=12

<comment><USER2> As a Mac (since 10.4 Tiger) and iPhone User I'm under the impression that the overall quality of Apples Software has declined in the last one or two years.</comment>


Show HN: Another approach to building my portfolio on GitHub - <AUTHOR> http://alessiosantocs.github.io/ <comment><USER2> For UX maybe you should change these things, they were kinda off putting to me. [http://i.imgur.com/kYVMXnG.png](http://i.imgur.com/kYVMXnG.png)</comment>


Ask HN: How was Google maps made? - <AUTHOR> I know this is broad - but I cant find much information on how Google Maps or any GIS is made. Does anyone have any links/direction that explains this better?<p>Edit/Clarification: I am asking from a technology/programming standpoint <comment><USER2> Go to an OpenStreetMap like [https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/36.16567/-115.15036](https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/36.16567/-115.15036) and click the 'layer' icon on the right-hand side. This lead to [https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/36.16567/-115.15036&la...](https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/36.16567/-115.15036&layers=D)

You will see all kind of objects (points, ways, polygons). Click on each will reveal a list of key-value pairs, e.g. the name of a street or if it's one- way. What key and value are use depends on the provider. I think Google Maps started with NavTec licensed database.

The data is put into a database (OpenStreetMap: postgresql). Renderer servers do SQL queries for a location and create PNG images ([https://mapnik.org/](https://mapnik.org/)). Similar (more complex) with vector output which is usually rendered in the client, e.g. in the browser ([https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js](https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl- js))

Later Google decided to skip NavTec and created their own database. They already had the StreeView cars which took photos of the whole USA. In a clean- room environment (no outside internet access) hundreds of employees traced the GPS tracks and photos from StreetView. Months-long and at huge cost. Even if it cost them a billion USD, it was cheaper long-term than paying the licence fees. Then repeat for more countries.

The book "Never Lost Again" ([https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CHPY6B9/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CHPY6B9/)) covers the early days from a project, not engineering, point of view.

If you want to play with the technology [https://switch2osm.org/](https://switch2osm.org/) has good guides.

<comment><USER2> To get a small glimpse into Apple Maps work, there is a public github repo coordinating work [https://github.com/osmlab/appledata/issues/148](https://github.com/osmlab/appledata/issues/148)

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> For one of our classes, we implemented a Google Maps clone, complete with turn by turn navigation as well (although no AI voice, just text). You can do the same if you wish [0]. Note that this project took us a semester, it might take you the same amount of time.

The main insight is that 2D data can be represented by quad-trees, like binary trees but with 4 branches rather than two. This enables you to break up a square are into 4 parts, one for each branch, and further subdivide them. In each branch, you can store some information, such as a location or city. If there are two in a leaf, you break them down until there is only one piece of information in each leaf. This is just one type of quad-tree, there are others. Some subdivide each square evenly, some don't.

Curiously, you can do the same sort of thing with oct-trees, with 8 leaves. In general it seems that for whatever number of dimensions N, you need a 2^N ary tree to represent its internal data. A binary tree works for a 1D line, everything to the left of the line and right of the line (this is how binary search works); quad-trees for northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest; oct- trees for those four, plus front and back; and so on.

[0] [http://www.cs.umd.edu/users/meesh/420/ProjectBook/](http://www.cs.umd.edu/users/meesh/420/ProjectBook/)

</comment><comment><USER4> Are you asking about the product or the technologies? Both have changed a lot in 14 years: [https://www.versionmuseum.com/history-of/google-maps- website](https://www.versionmuseum.com/history-of/google-maps-website)

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes I shouldve clarified - I am asking about the technology used on the "core" google maps

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I recall that in Google's early days they held a competition where they published a corpus of thousands of crawled webpages and invited developers to do something novel with the data.

The winner used pattern matching to identify addresses, then geocoded them using the US Census Bureau's TIGER database. Thus it was possible to associate fairly accurate locations to a page, which enabled local searches and a number of other products.

Someone please correct me or fill in details I've forgotten.

</comment><comment><USER6> [https://wired.com/2014/12/google-maps-ground- truth](https://wired.com/2014/12/google-maps-ground-truth)

[https://justinobeirne.com](https://justinobeirne.com)</comment>


Facebook employees opened a privately shared Google Sheet - <AUTHOR> https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/79x7u3/facebook_employees_just_opened_a_privately_shared/ <comment><USER2> This is a non-story. If you've ever sent a link via Google Chat you would have witnessed the same behavior-before the link is delivered it will often be loaded by a google crawler who will check it for malicious content. I'm sure Facebook does the same thing.

<comment><USER3> Wanted to chime in and share Skype does the same. Spin up a web server and paste a link into chat.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'm not sure why this ended up on the HN frontpage. This seems like a fairly unremarkable event.

Obviously anything posted through Facebook could potentially be seen by some Facebook employee/bot at some level, right? This is expected - otherwise the likes of Signal/WhatsApp/Telegram/Matrix wouldn't be a thing.

<comment><USER5> It's only unremarkable in the sense that we know in the abstract that FB can look at our stuff. This makes it concrete. That's very important as it breaks the mental model users have of Facebook, that messanger is in some sense private. Events like these can drive the point home that that is not correct.</comment></comment>


Free content sentiment checker - <AUTHOR> http://digitalcontenthacks.com/sentiment-checker/

<comment><USER2> Nice, really simple to use. One thing i would say is that it could probably do with some styling to make it look better.

</comment><comment><USER3> Really basic. Agree with eli1987 that it needs to look better.

</comment><comment><USER4> Not bad for free could be better though.</comment>


FastMail supports Roundcube Next development - <AUTHOR> http://blog.fastmail.com/2015/06/05/fastmail-supports-roundcube-next-development/

<comment><USER2> This seems nice, but I can't help but wish fastmail would spend a lot more effort on their own webmail client. It's pretty subpar compared to gmail.

Just to be clear, it's the best non-gmail client I can find.

<comment><USER3> I'd like to find a great web based alternative to Gmail. I tried FastMail a long time ago. Why do you think, specifically, that FastMail is subpar compared to Gmail?

<comment><USER2> I do think it's as good as it gets outside gmail. That said, it's just flaky / half assed.

For example:

it pretends to be a gmail style email client where the unit of manipulation is a conversation, not a message. But the underlying message orientation peeks through in certain cases.

In other ways, like settings, it feels very half assed: routing rules have to be very simple and sometimes don't work. The UI for setting up routing rules is shit; you have to add them, then scroll to the top of a very long page and click "apply all changes" for the rules to take (yes, I missed that while porting rules from my old webmail and had to redo 40+ rules). The rules don't work as you would expect: eg messages from "firstname.lastname@example.com" do not match "sender ends with" "b.com". Rules can only filter on one thing at a time -- no compound rules on eg sender and subject. When you create a rule, it doesn't offer to apply to existing messages in the inbox.

When you mark something as not spam, it is delivered to your inbox and skips rules.

It sometimes loses the send button while composing messages.

No option to "filter emails like this"; instead, you have to copy and paste eg the address you want to filter into a screen 3 clicks away.

By default, it doesn't load images in html email. There is a link that tries to load the images in the email you're viewing; it works perhaps 2/3 of the time.

The rich editor is crap. For just one of a long list: paste tsv data in there; it strips all the tabs. Awesome. So a\tb\tc pastes as abc.

Etc. There's just a lot of annoyances that make me assume the devs don't use their own product or they'd fix it out of sheer annoyance.

That said, I pay for it over gmail for privacy.

Oh, and one more complaint: they charge you for sms -- 0.12 each! -- if you setup 2fa to txt a code to your phone, even on $40/year accounts. That's just chintzy. Better yet, because they're run by cheap dicks, purchased sms credits expire after a year!!! When I saw that it felt like purchasing a prepaid cellphone at a gas station level cheap. They're seriously pricing at 1600 hundred times the pricing twilio has on their web page for joe-random-user, not someone sending a million of these or whatever a day.

<comment><USER4> > The rules don't work as you would expect: eg messages from "email@example.com" do not > match "sender ends with" "b.com".

The documentation implies that 'begins with' and 'ends with' only work for subject, message text, or mailing list ID - letting you set 'sender begins with' is probably a UI bug: [https://www.fastmail.com/help/receive/rules.html](https://www.fastmail.com/help/receive/rules.html)

> Rules can only filter on one thing at a time -- no compound rules on eg > sender and subject.

You can write Sieve rules, and hence implement compound rules using the 'anyof' and 'allof' commands: [https://www.fastmail.com/help/technical/sieve.html](https://www.fastmail.com/help/technical/sieve.html)

It would be nice if you didn't have to do this, though.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: Planrly - Easily Share Social Plans With Group Of Friends - <AUTHOR> http://www.planrly.com

<comment><USER2> Interesting idea, looks good but.. when I tried to plan something, it wouldn't let me submit. The site also seems a bit bloated. Tonnes of assets coming down. Is there really any need to override the default checkboxes, too? It created a tiny bit of lag and felt a bit unresponsive.

Finally, I see you've created an app - are there any close-up screenshots? I expected a lightbox to appear when I clicked on the iPhone. Also you can't click on the app download button which makes me wonder whether this is just a mock-up?

Nice idea and pretty nice site too. Could do with some little tweaks though.

<comment><AUTHOR> Hey Kaolinite 5,

Thank you for looking at my project. I have added the iPhone app download link and the screen shot gallery. There was a little bug in Javascript, preventing the Plan creation for new visitors. I have fixed that as well so plan creation should be good to go now. I used the custom checkboxes just for the visual appeal, however if they are causing a delay and are being unresponsive I will change then to native checkboxes in my next deployment.

Once again thank you for appreciating my little effort. Please let me know if you would like any new features to be added</comment></comment>


Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can't You Listen to the Radio? - <AUTHOR> http://www.wired.com/2016/07/phones-fm-chips-radio-smartphone/ <comment><USER2> I just bought an internet radio for my stereo (yes, I'm that old, I have a stereo). I was surprised to discover it also had a wire in the box that turned out to be an FM antenna. I thought with internet radio, who needs an FM tuner? (all the local stations have streaming URLs)

Turns out I actually like it. It's handy when the internet fails, or when you're nearing data caps, or just want to run it all day without interfering with download speeds, or you don't want the NSA to know you like disco music (Edit: oh.. crap!).

I suppose long term FM is dead, but meanwhile it has its uses.

<comment><USER3> It's funny, I really like listening to a number of local stations for the variety of music I get introduced to; but somehow, the fact that there is a real person curating it makes me enjoy it. Listening to spotify, it doesn't do it for me. Something about having someone come on, make a little human conversation, that's part of the experience for me. Algorithms don't cut it.

<comment><USER4> It's strange to me to read a positive comment about terrestrial radio broadcast amid so many complaints about ad blocking on the web. I stopped listening to radio many years ago and now I have an irrational resentment when I hear car stereos blasting pointless, noisy ads at traffic stops. I always wonder what allows people to mentally tune them out rather than decreasing the volume until music resumes.

This is in no way pointed at you; just something that struck me while browsing comments.

<comment><USER5> It really depends what country you're in. In the UK, by far the most-listened- to FM stations are from the BBC, which are of course ad-free.

Radio 1 (for younger people) and Radio 6 (for less-young people) are great places to listen to new music. And you can stream them over the web, for free, even if you're not British:

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio)

<comment> jon-wood When the BBC have such a wide range of music stations I can never comprehend why commercial radio is still a thing, and still so popular here. I'm probably not the target market though, since I also get irritated at the way all radio stations have about 15 minutes of music per hour, and the rest is filler from some smug DJ pretending to be your friend, and people calling in because they've got no one better to talk to about their deathly dull morning.

<comment><USER6> I can't speak for the UK market, but in the US, public radio is biased left. I'm biased right, so it annoys me, but I love the stuff that isn't political, like Click'n'Clack (did that come back or is it being rebroadcast?).

Commercial Radio has a non-government business benefactor, and so they cover what is of interest to them. Public Radio has government as it's benefactor, and so they cover their interests. Now it's not necessarily blatant, but whoever pays your bills, you have a self interest in seeing them in a positive light. If you are unable to do so, I'm sure you would move on to someone who you can see in a positive light. Bit of selection bias going on there, which is another slant maker.

I am fine with NPR, for example, having a bias to the left, but I wish they would stop pretending they didn't. Recognizing self bias is incredibly difficult, so it's not surprising when people don't see their own. This difficulty is as old as the bible (cf Matthew 7:3), and probably as old as thinking (I haven't read Plato or Aristotle but I would be surprised if they didn't talk about it.)

I have the same problem with Fox news, and really all the major news networks pretending to be unbiased, stating opinions as fact. I cut the cord a long time ago.

The more certain you are that you understand something, the less likely you are to examine it in depth. Do yourself a favor today, pick one of your beliefs, and take some time to examine why you believe it. Seek out some opposing positions, see if there is something to learn from them.

Do your best to find something other than "common sense" as the basis for believing what you believe.

<comment><USER7> There are no new episodes of Car Talk being recorded since the brothers both retired and one of them is dead.

<comment><USER6> That's sad. Now that you brought it up I think I remember hearing about one of the brothers dying. They were so much fun to listen to, really made me smile.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Australian here, also find it bizarre that this is a problem in the US.

Biggest problem I have in my Android phone requires the head-phones to be plugged in to listen to FM...as it acts as the aerial.

<comment><USER9> I do not think the issue is with the US, but with iphones. Every Android phone I have owned has always had an FM radio app.

<comment><USER10> My Nexus 6P has no radio app, and when I just downloaded one (NextRadio) it said my phone didn't have the required software.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I find it hubris on the point of the device makers. Like, "what? you don't have unlimited streaming everywhere?" As a commuter in the NYC area, streaming is in fact not available consistently everywhere on the ride in... but my fm radio on my ipod never stutters. (Of course, some static here and there...)

And as more information sources move to the terribly named "HD" channels of radio, I worry that my current ipod will start to have even less content available.

When I think of all the features I never use on my expensive phone, having one I want to use already built in but disabled is somewhat frustrating.

</comment><comment><USER12> Apple isn't activating it because it "might undermine Beats One"? Oh give me a break. You can stream just about any FM station you want with apps like TuneIn Radio.

<comment><USER13> If Apple didn't want you to have an FM radio, they wouldn't put it on the phone. It's the _carriers_ that oppose it.

<comment><USER14> I think iMessage proved that Apple could give a damn what the carriers want.

<comment><USER15> This may be a failing of mine or a regional thing, but what does this comment mean? I read it literally as saying that Apple has done what carriers want and has made iMessage to suit carriers. I suspect that this is the opposite of what is intended though, as iMessage disempowers carriers imho. How does culturestate's comment work?

<comment><USER16> "Could give a damn" and "couldn't give a damn" can be used as synonyms in American slang. Or it might just be the South.

<comment><USER15> Thanks, now this says something that squares with what I would expect it to mean. Strange how dropping that very key word leaves the same meaning. Still, English has many strange quirks.

<comment><USER6> It's super annoying but it has to do with misunderstandings and mispronunciations finding their way into common language. Another terrible one is "I could care less" vs "I couldn't care less." Both mean the same thing in the common language, but if I hear someone say the "could" version, they lose a lot of respect in my eyes.

Languages evolve, and mostly it irritates me. I hate that the English Dictionaries used to be an authoritative source, and are now just a reflection of common usage.

Yet at the same time I recognize the need for languages to evolve as life does not stand still.

<comment><USER17> Are you also irritated by all the changes that happened before you were born, or is it just the new ones that bug you?

Dictionaries as an authoritative source really just means that they reflect older common usage. It just makes them slow, not somehow better.

<comment><USER6> So the "Urban Dictionary" should really be called the "Fast Dictionary."

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> More interesting would be getting the weather radio signal (not on the FM broadcast band, it's AM around 160MHz), and having the phone change which SAME code it's sensitive to as you move around.

I know you are supposed to get an SMS or something whenever there is a severe weather event, but after a million amber alerts and a flood warning a few states away, that's the first thing I turn off when I get a new phone. I've never seen it work, either.

<comment><USER19> Is this just an american thing? I haven't heard of it over here

<comment><USER20> [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOAA_Weather_Radio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOAA_Weather_Radio)

I remember one of my parents' old cars (mid-90s) having a WX channel on the radio. More recently i've only ever seen it available over VHF radio while boating.

Also, most airports will have weather broadcasts, but I think this is only accessible with an aviation-band VHF radio:

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

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Wow, news to me.

News that people in the USA can't, that is!

I won't say it's a particularly common thing to do, but here in the UK you certainly can listen to FM radio on your phone, provided you plugin earphones to be uses as an antenna.

<comment><USER22> I'm in the UK and I have an iPhone. How do I do this?

<comment><USER21> iPhone may or may not have one, or may be locked just as it is in the US. I've never owned one.

On Android though a majority have a built-in FM radio app, and more available to download on the Play store.

You could have a look in the app store (make sure it's not lying about being FM and using your data) but if not maybe it's only possible if you jailbreak, or not at all.

<comment> vertex-four As a fellow Brit, I've never seen a smartphone that does FM - though my feature phone does.

<comment><USER21> See [https://play.google.com/store/search?q=fm%20radio&c=apps](https://play.google.com/store/search?q=fm%20radio&c=apps)

<comment> vertex-four All of those apps are not actually FM radio apps - Android does not have a standard API for accessing FM radio. The apps you linked are actually just misleadingly named Internet radio players that only play from stations that also broadcast over FM.

Any phone which has FM radio will only be able to access it through an app distributed with the phone. Apparently Sony-Ericsson have some phones which have such a thing? Samsung might've done in the past, but not with their current flagships.

<comment><USER23> There are a few "true" FM radios hidden in there, but each works only on select devices, and most of them require root access.

Just a fun trivia fact ;)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> > [On the iPhone 6] the wireless chip is a Murata 339S0228 which houses the > normal flavors of 802.11 wifi, Bluetooth, and has an FM transceiver.

...

> What we're missing is an appropriate antenna and an amplifier chip dedicated > to driving that antenna. Unlike the murata chip that doesn't take up any > extra space, those things /would/ take up extra space in the phone. While > I'm of the opinion that Apple could have fitted them in if they wanted to, > it doesn't change the fact that there's no hardware based solution for FM > radio on the iPhone.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/jailbreak/comments/32vp1l/question_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/jailbreak/comments/32vp1l/question_is_there_a_way_for_a_jailbreak_tweak_to/cqfk0be)

<comment><USER25> Apple is obsessive about using every square mm inside of an iPhone case. I can definitely see them saying "that chip would take up room we don't have for a feature few people ask for", and drop it from the design.

The next version of the iPhone probably won't even have the headphone jack so there won't even be the possibility of using the headphone jack antenna trick. Not unless they engineer it into the lightning connector (ha!).

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> There's possibly one reason why carriers (and probably vendors) haven't much interest in FM radios which the article and (if I don't overlooked) no comment mention: digital dividend.

At least here in Germany carriers awaiting the moment when FM broadcast is finally declared dead and their frequencies become free for sale. The VHF band between 87.5 to 108.0 MHz is of big interest especially for rural areas.

<comment><USER27> Great point, and I would imagine that spectrum / bands will be the next big "war" like patents have been recently for large entities. Lightsquared really tested the waters - and failed due to simple engineering and existing neighbors overlap (aka "No, you can't build a dirt bike track in the middle of a suburban neighborhood and next door to an Elementary school"). Getting access and legal approval will be quite a subject for lots of different modernized and modernizing countries to consider!

<comment><USER26> I wasn't aware of Lightsquared. But it seems like they were a "new player". If you look at the winning bids of the "Digitale Dividene (= digital dividend) I" and "Digitale Dividende II" in Germany it's easy to see that you have to be a big player to have real chances (or being even allowed to bid) in those frequency auctions.

"Digitale Dividende I": six 5 Mhz wide bands (always in "pairs") each between 570.849 and 627.317 million €. Winners: O2, Telekom, Vodafone. (source: [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitale_Dividende#Frequenzver...](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitale_Dividende#Frequenzversteigerung_2010))

"Digitale Dividende II": thirty-one 5 Mhz wide bands (some of them "paired") each between 39.011 and 255.967 million €. Winners: Telekom, Vodafone, Telefónica (formerly O2). (source: [http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/cln_1432/DE/Sachgebiete/Tele...](http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/cln_1432/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekommunikation/Unternehmen_Institutionen/Frequenzen/Projekt2016_Frequenzauktion/projekt2016-node.html))

Further I know of some radio stations (especially community radios) which refuse to accept special offers from broadcast carriers for digital radio (DAB+ and DVB-T(2)) broadcasting because of the fear that this could be used as another argument against them having an own analog FM frequency.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> That is quite strange ... Here in India, most people own an android. And Radio App is pre-installed in almost all those phones. You just have to plug-in your earphones to start using it. I expected that behavior to be universal.

<comment><USER29> 'in India' is the key here. Market segmentation at its worst.

<comment><USER28> Sorry but I don't really get it ... what harm would enabling radio on a phone would do?

<comment><USER30> It's all over the article: it lessens the demand for streaming media over Internet, which of course means income for the telcos.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> I've recently returned from the British Grand Prix and resented the fact that my smartphone doesn't have a radio feature.

Had to invest £10 in a cheap plastic thing they sold at the circuit, while it did the job, I thought smartphones were supposed to be an end to having to carry around single function devices, in favour of the all-in-one solution.

<comment><USER32> How about that Verstappen, eh?

What was the general feeling in the crowd while they puttered along behind the Safety Car for so long?

I want to attend one of the races in Europe next season and I've whittled my options down to Silverstone and Spa. How highly would you recommend the British GP?

Also, which smartphone do you have?

<comment><USER31> Yeah Verstappen was great, safety car start was disappointing but once the race started it was a good atmosphere, especially towards the end when Hamilton was driving his win home.

This was my first GP, so couldn't say really but I found everything at Silverstone great.

Spa would be a great race to go to as well, but I don't know what they are like for facilities.

I have a Nexus 5 from 2014, it does the job, just a shame about the radio really.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> Doing a quick search has surfaced an item on this issue from a year ago. That article had this:

        But Jot Carpenter, vice president of government
        affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association, resists
        the move to turn on the FM chip.

        At a NAB convention in Las Vegas this week,
        Carpenter said there would have to be demand
        by smartphone consumers for mobile carriers to
        consider switching on the FM chip.

        "What Americans really want is the ability to
        stream, download and customize music playlists
        to meet their personal preferences," Carpenter
        said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal,
        "and that's not what the traditional FM radio
        offers."

There were 100 comments on this submission:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9395944](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9395944)

And a further 6 comments on this one:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9396631](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9396631)

It would be interesting to compare this thread with those threads from 450 days ago to see if anything has changed in the HN community mind.

<comment><USER25> I'd like to tell him to stop telling me what I want.

And also maybe to recognize that cell data is expensive and overages can be punitive.

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> In my country one has to pay to the regime for using/owning "radio/tv receiver". That's why I am happy to have more devices without unblocked analog FM. It means for me more choice without having to pay for the brainwashing/propaganda.

<comment><USER35> if you're referring to Germany, you're obliged to pay anyways - whether you own a device or not (it's per household/company since a while). It doesn't matter how many devices you own though. And you're not paying "the regime", you're paying an independent institution. It's not a tax by design though it may feel like one. The government never gets to touch the money.

Now, there's a ton of things that are wrong with our nominally independent radio/tv stations, but if I look around and see how things go in other states on this little planet (hello fox news), I don't have any idea that works better in principle. I'll take the german system over any alternative so far offered (though the BBC is a close contender)

<comment><USER36> Here's the problem with this tax (or however it's called): you're basically paying for some third party actions that you have no control over. Someone emits some electromagnetic radiation that you may or may not care about, but for some odd reason you have to pay for that. That feels... wrong.

Can't remember any other tax-like charges where one has to pay for something artificial that they could be completely unrelated to, yet don't have any control over.

<comment><USER37> If you remove the abstractions down to "someone emits some electromagnetic radiation" then yeah it makes no sense. Just like saying "someone out there is mixing hydrocarbons with rocks and dumping it on the ground that you may or may not care about".

Most people would rather discuss it in terms of "funding an independent source of media" and "building road infrastructure to move goods and services".

<comment><USER36> I'm not sure comparing radio with roads is correct.

For roads, maybe somewhere it's the same, but there are also funding ways that work differently. If you use the road (have a vehicle) you (probably, depends on where you are) pay the tax, either directly or included with the fuel price. If you don't drive a vehicle but use the roads indirectly (because the services you use, use that roads) you pay indirectly - trough your funding of those services and their respective use of vehicles. E.g. you buy stuff in a grocery store, the store pays to a transportation company, the transportation company pays taxes for their trucks - everyone's paying for what they actually use. So, it still feels fundamentally different from the broadcast taxes to me.

<comment><USER38> Public schools or libraries are probably a better analogy.

In the US, various forms of taxation at the federal, state and local level go in to providing funds for public schools. Everyone pays for schools even if they have no children. The only significant exception is that in some places, parents can receive vouchers to pay for private schools. Either way, the goal is that everyone receives a basic education to make a better society.

Everywhere in the US I've had a library card, it was similar. Libraries are funded by general taxes and their basic services are provided without charge to users who live in their tax area (county, most places).

Whether publicly-funded radio stations are a valuable public good in this way is reasonable to debate, but that's the model.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER39> _> Manufacturers can activate the chip, but the decision to do so typically rests with carriers._

Um... carriers in US have any authority over hardware functions of people's devices? Why? What the hell?

<comment><USER40> Because of contracts. Every single phone on the market can turn itself into a wireless hotspot, but in US carriers have an ability to disable that option completely for users who haven't paid for a "tethering" package. It's crazy if you ask me.

<comment><USER39> I mean I knew American telcos were scum, but this is utterly ridiculous. What if you buy a device from abroad?

<comment><USER40> Doesn't matter. If you have an iphone then US carrier can send a command to it that completely disables tethering, I believe the option actually disappears from the menu. With android phones it's not as clear cut, some phones will respect that command some will not, obviously you can always make it work by rooting your phone, but most people don't do that.

<comment><USER39> I see. Is that a command sent via SMS? I know T-Mobile sent one (and when I didn't open it, a second) of those, but I've never opened them. But this is a Lumia, not an iPhone...

<comment><USER41> No, it's part of the cellular settings that your phone must download first and be configured by the network.

APN for an example: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_Point_Name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_Point_Name)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER42> It's not free to design or sell, even if the audio parts used "have the capability". If Apple thought they'd sell more phones, they'd do it.

Back when I was fighting the good fight against Apple, MP3 player vendors kept adding FM (and eventually HD Radio) in the hope that it was what Apple users were missing... The radio industry liked that strategy too.

P.S. Headphone antennas are kind of shit.

<comment><USER43> >It's not free to design or sell, even if the audio parts used "have the capability". //

The chances are that the system was designed to enable it and the choice to disable was made commercially. It seems most likely to be like hardware with more memory or faster clock speeds where the manufacturer just cripples it to make the cheaper model.

</comment></comment><comment><USER44> I always found this a weird omission from smartphones. I remember happily listening to FM radio on my ancient Nokia 8210, and probably the 3210 before that, and wondering why I couldn't do this on my iPhone.

<comment><USER45> Well, you can on most Android phones - in fact, I'm listening to N-Joy via FM right this very second on my Moto G (2014) while writing this comment.

It's just that iPhones seem to lack another substantial feature.

(Also, FM is infinitely cheaper than streaming - it's free, and works even in areas where no 3G coverage is available. Which makes it a lot more useful in countries with bad internet infrastructure, like the US or Germany)

</comment></comment><comment><USER46> To answer the question in the headline: Because it is better to have no function, than a crappy function.

It's another useless app, another menu item to browse through and for the company, another source of complaints and support cases.

<comment><USER24> Firstly, why is the choice between no function or a crappy function? Why would every FM radio app necessarily be crappy?

Secondly, why would it be useless when millions of people still listen to FM radio? In the UK for example, according to RAJAR (the UK radio body) 56% of radio listeners use FM compared to DAB or internet, which is around 26 million people.

Thirdly, why does the hardware have an FM receiver at all if I can't use it?

If it allowed me to listen to BBC Radio 4 news on my train journey, which I can't do using data because of a bad signal for most of the journey, then it would be very useful for me.

<comment><USER47> > Thirdly, why does the hardware have an FM receiver at all if I can't use it?

It doesn't. One of the support chips happens to have an FM transceiver along with the ones the phone uses, but it would also need an antenna and an amplifier to be able to receive FM radio. And a bigger battery and a bigger case (or less battery life). And more software. And more product QA and support.

<comment><USER24> I just looked into the chip, and can see now that you're right. I agree that Apple probably hasn't enabled it because the amplifier and antenna are unfeasible.

<comment><USER48> Odd that they won't work in a £700 phone when they work perfectly well in a £10 phone.....

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER49> > So when a disaster knocks out power and takes down cell service—along with > those government emergency alerts—you're going to need a radio to know > what's going on.

Remember that Paul Graham essay about how most articles that aren't about politics or war are pitched to the journalist by someone with a stake in the matter? This is almost word for word what they say in the NextRadio app's radio commercials.

<comment><USER50> > Remember that Paul Graham essay about how most articles that aren't about > politics or war are pitched to the journalist by someone with a stake in the > matter?

Most articles about politics and war are spurred by politicians' and/or governments' press releases, leaks, etc., and so are _also_ pitched to journalists, often _en masse_ , by someone with a stake in the matter.

<comment><USER49> There's a difference between putting out information for general dissemination and actually contacting a journalist directly.

Not that the latter doesn't happen in politics. But government press releases are pretty likely to be newsworthy just because of what they are.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER51> Tablets sold in US also do not have voice capabilities. 8" table is an excellent phone for daily use.

In some European countries you have to pay license for radio receiver. For phone with FN radio you would pay $25/year, that is lot of money with national average salary $8000.

<comment><USER32> Wait, having to pay for a license to listen to radio? Where?

<comment><USER52> Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, ... Even more countries have similar rules for TV. Generally to support public stations.

<comment><USER37> In Sweden you only pay for TV ownership, not FM radio

<comment><USER48> Same in the UK....

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER53> Most of my Motorola devices on Verizon here in the US have had an FM Radio app, or supported them if you install your own. My Windows Phone, also on Verizon, also supports it. Yet this article suggests Verizon users get "tough luck". Huh.

</comment><comment><USER54> Is there a way to get radio on your iPhone? Could you "jailbreak" it? I'm in the UK (EE is the carrier) and missed the Wimbledon final due to being on a train, it would have been great to have radio...

</comment><comment><USER55> Maybe a really stupid question, but how does this work out:

> Manufacturers can activate the chip, but the decision to do so typically > rests with carriers. If you're Verizon customer, tough luck.

If Verizon is the carrier, they just provide your SIM-card, right? You don't _need_ to buy your phone along with your mobile plan. I bought my Samsung Android S4 from an online shop, my carrier had nothing to do with that. I just insert my (their) SIM for calls and texts and data.

So who decided not to enable the radio, here?

<comment><USER56> It can be more complicated with US carriers. Verizon and Sprint (the 1st and 4th biggest carriers) traditionally have used CDMA technologies without SIM cards. This is changing with LTE, but their non-LTE technologies do not use SIM cards. Furthermore, these carriers will generally refuse to activate a phone from another carrier or retailer to be used on their network. So, while you can just put a Verizon SIM in a tablet for LTE data, you can't do the same with a phone. (I'm not sure how this will work with VoLTE.)

</comment></comment><comment><USER57> I miss having the FM Radio app in CyanogenMod on my Droid Incredible. It was hard to get good reception with the headphone antenna, but it was still fun to play with and use.

</comment><comment><USER58> ROI [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzAdXyPYKQo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzAdXyPYKQo)

</comment><comment><USER59> AFAIK this is something that needs to be activated at the software (or rather, firmware) level, and is yet another argument for Free Software.

</comment><comment><USER60> FM radio, save NPR and the one or two classical stations, is 99% ad-ridden garbage. Just like cable and network television.

<comment><USER61> Not everywhere in the world.

<comment><USER60> Fair point, my comment was too US-Centric. I love the BBC...I had an app for streaming it, but it was buggy and suffered from frequent buffering.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER62> It's very simple. Apple doesn't want you to listen to the radio, they want you to buy music on iTunes.

</comment><comment><USER63> Besides the debate, I've ditched smartphones (for productivity and ecological reasons) in favor of a Nokia featurephone and I'm surprised by how much I'm listening to the radio on it. Not knowing what you're going to hear is a pleasant experience in these days.

</comment><comment><USER64> To anyone who's been able to get this to work: can the radios be tuned to arbitrary frequencies, or are they restricted to entertainment? A cheap, unlocked Android phone would make for a nice police scanner. Trunking could likely be handled via an app.

<comment><USER65> You can buy radio cards that can scan police (and, well, all) frequencies for much less than an android phone.

[https://sites.google.com/site/policescannerhowto/](https://sites.google.com/site/policescannerhowto/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER66> I don't get it, why do manufacturers bother adding an FM chip if they never activate it?

<comment><USER67> Each European country has a national broadcaster and collects radio/TV license fee (some are less strict about it than the others). I wouldn't be surprised if national broadcasters or fee collectors were pushing for presence of this chip in mobiles so no one can use the excuse "I don't have radio/TV so why should I pay the license?".

<comment><USER37> Many of them already achieve the same result by saying "you can receive our online streams so pay up", I don't think underfunded public broadcasters in Europe are busy bribing chipset manufacturers to add features their customers don't want

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER68> In Brazil many low-lower-end Android phones (from LG, for example, but I'm sure from other non-Apple brands too) have FM and even TV receivers.

The same phones support multiple SIM cards because cash-strapped folks on prepaid cards are aggressive optimisers.

</comment><comment><USER69> In India we have free streaming apps from the network provider like Airtel which allows downloads or offline playing of millions of songs without paying ,people really don't miss FM radio that much as it used to.

<comment><USER70> and killing net neutrality in the process. What will the likes of gaana/saavn do now ? eventually they will lose there revenues, shut down and guess what's next ? Paying Airtel music subscription.

</comment></comment><comment><USER71> This annoys me so much, here in Australia DAB (digital radio) is nerfed so much that the broadcast quality is significantly lower than FM so it's not even worth buying a nice, fancy DAB unit for your home HiFi.

<comment><USER72> 48 kilobit stereo AAC+ per station, 10+ stations on a single frequency.

</comment></comment><comment><USER73> Is it possible to avoid articles from Wired? Sick of not being able to view articles without the ad-hustle Wired pulls on viewers -- must try reading on lynx to see if this solves the problem.

</comment><comment><USER74> It would be cool if it can be used like rtl-sdr, right on the phone.

</comment><comment><USER75> I didn't know this wasn't something all phones had. I love random FM radio when I'm on a walk. The moment I hit an ad in just seek and listen to something new.

</comment><comment> alok-g Older discussion: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9395944](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9395944)

</comment><comment><USER76> If the rumors are true and Apple removes the 3.5mm headphone jack, it is likely we still won't have FM in the next iteration of the iPhone.

</comment><comment><USER77> "Every smartphone has a FM tuner built in"

Well, from what I've read my nexus 5x does NOT have an FM tuner on board.

</comment><comment><USER78> What's going on with Wired? This page has an autoplay video ad _below_ the article text and an anti-AdBlock full-screen subscription nagger that pops up a few seconds after page load.

<comment><USER79> I'm running NoScript, and I saw no anti-AdBlock or video. It's becoming increasingly clear to me that NoScript is the only reasonable way to browse the web today. Random websites can't be entrusted to run javascript in a way that's not hostile to my interests.

<comment><USER80> You do realize that if everybody followed your example, they will at one point block NoScript too?

Also, half of HN would be out of a job :)

<comment><USER43> Setting aside the why and wherefore; how would they block NoScript?

<comment><USER81> Imagine a world where all content is loaded over XHRs and the DOM serves only to load Javascript.

This is becoming an increasingly prevalent pattern. I really miss the document-oriented web of the late 90's / early 00's.

<comment><USER82> Honest question: Why?

I don't understand why people inherently dislike Javascript (aside from, y'know, creepy ad networks).

<comment><USER83> Because, besides the creepy ad networks and stuff, it's most often used in a mix of _shitty engineering_ and user-hostile practices.

Let's consider a web document like this article here. Its stated goal is to _be read_ by the visitor and thus deliver him value. So presumably, an article that's easier to read is better than one harder to read. An article that, ceteris paribus, consumes less resources on user end is better than one that consumes more.

Now we have a perfect technology to deliver that article. Plain old HTML. With a little bit of CSS on top. When what you want to send is text communicating a message, you need exactly _zero_ JavaScript to do that successfully[0]. You barely even need much CSS - the default browser styles, raw as they are, are better than most web designers produce, _if you care about providing value to the user_.

Now if you don't, here starts JavaScript. Look at just what JS on Wired does and find me _one line of code_ that actually serves _the user_. The JS there tracks you, shows you ads, shows you nagging popups[1], adds social media buttons that are somewhat useful if you want to exchange being tracked everywhere for convenience of not having to CTRL+TAB to that Facebook tab. In general, JS here is a waste of electricity (often in users' phone batteries).

You can run a similar analysis of other websites[2] and rarely if ever you'll find one when JavaScript does anything other than fuck users over more or less subtly. The technology is fine, but everyone[3] is using it for user-hostile purposes, and/or because of bad engineering. Think of all the scroll hijacking, JS rendering article text dynamically on a blog page, etc. Personally I dislike it from the very same reason I dislike crappy code.

\--

[0] - Sure, JS can be used to qualitatively _enhance_ the reading experience, to make it more pleasant and efficient. I accept that in principle, but I'll cede the point only when I see anyone other than Bret Victor actually doing it.

[1] - Wired, I appreciate that you wanted to say "thank you" to me for turning off uMatrix for a second, but could you _please_ do not do that _with a popup_?

[2] - Web _apps_ are a different topic; I don't think anybody is saying you should turn off JavaScript for GMail or Google Docs. But most of the sites on the web are not, and _should not behave like_ web apps.

[3] - Except Bret Victor.

<comment><USER84> I once was smart enough to burst into a rant about exactly this in an interview question.

I didn't get the job.

Next I was joking with a friend that all the layers of abstraction added to the web are probably part of some big conspiracy by web developers to create artificial demand and job security. You run a heavy CMS but the bells and whistles confuse rather than help the user, and they'd rather pay for an hour of hour time than figure things out themselves. Your spa makes a simple series of documents feel like an app, with all the added complexity, but in the end the user couldn't care less about the full page transitions or parallax scrolling.

I have one simple rule: if it's about information retrieval, it's supposed to be a simple bloody document. If it's supposed to act like an app, it should look like an app. The latter is the propper use case for JS, but people are applying the latter to the former. This is not user centric design.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER85> Well mine does.

</comment><comment><USER86> FYOU Wired Don´t nag me with this Adblock shit. I simply block you!

If i wanna pay for a article i goto Blendle, there i have a choice.</comment>


Magento – Re-Installation and Account Hijacking Vulnerabilities - <AUTHOR> http://netanelrub.in/2016/07/01/magento-re-installation-account-hijacking-vulnerabilities/ <comment><USER2> I believe this vulnerability is already patched on 2.1.0

<comment><USER3> Author states that it is < 2.0.6.</comment></comment>


How La La Land Pulled Off That Stunning Highway Dance Sequence - <AUTHOR> http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/04/la-la-land-another-day-of-sun-song-video <comment><USER2> Sometimes I ponder the complexities of the world of code compared to the less technical but more human complexities involved in pulling off something like this. 47 takes x 30+ dancers.. and no rollback! :)</comment>


Introduction to Git with Scott Chacon of GitHub  - <AUTHOR> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDR433b0HJY

<comment><USER2> Scott Chacon has also written the best book on Git, which is published by APress Publishing:

<http://www.apress.com/9781430218333>

Buy it in ebook format from apress.com and download the pdf.</comment>


Embrace Extend and Extinguish - <AUTHOR> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish <comment><AUTHOR> Is Microsoft's Windows subsystem for Linux an attempt to Extinguish Linux ?</comment>


Ask HN: Shutting Down a Website in a Contract Dispute - <AUTHOR> Hi,

  Obviously IANAL and YANAL... but I would like to hear what people might think. The facts are:
 a. I was hired as a contractor to build a website for a non-profit sort of thing, fixed fee, and no discussion of copyright issues. So I have always viewed I owned the copyright and never was going to transfer it anyway - my idea was to open source it eventually.
b. I eventually joined the organization as a volunteer Director of IT, but the Managing Director and I have an email trail where we discuss compensation for continued development of large projects. So I was still acting as a contractor for parts of my work. Again, no licensing or copyright questions.
c. Another board director, who had been subjecting everyone to workplace bullying, triggered one of volunteers to resign. He also abused the MD so much he resigned. The idea that if everyone resigned, this person might see some sense.
That wasn't the case. The problem director ended up writing a glowing email thanking all of us and BTW, mentioning that now the website etc was bring ing enough revenue, he could now be paid a salary. We were trying to transition the org to a official non-profit.  So his game plan was clear.
d. I shut down the website and have claimed ownership of my code.  He has been threatening to sue for months, saying I was only a volunteer and yadda yadda...
e. Yes, shutting down the website is drastic, but I was never going to get the outstanding invoices paid and my view is
he is trying to steal my code. The contract I was under was "revoked" in some sense - it fell apart so to speak.
f. The code could be reused by him on his other websites and / or possibly commercialised.
Lots of other details, but ... has anyone ever had to deal with such a situation?  thanks <comment><USER2> I have dealt with my fair share of strange and demanding clients as a consultant. I still have 2 on-going saga's I am dealing with after a year of my last company being sold.

Copyright can be more tricky then you think. IANAL of course, but unless stated otherwise my understanding is you as the creator own the copyright to the works, until you transfer it in written form to the client. This is unless you have a contract that states different. Also, this get's interesting because it can also change potentially how the IRS sees the work product and who should pay taxes on your fees etc. Work for hire vs Employee issues etc.

For the future, never leave something unstated, always clearly state it in plain english and in writing. Leave no chance of gray area or undefined ownership or payment terms. Ambiguity leads to nothing but trouble.

For the current situation, it is possible that they have a case against you for tortuous interference (or something else) if by taking down the site you affected client's which pay for the service or have a service level expectation to the company. Essentially, that is saying if you interfered with the relationship of their clients whom have a service agreement with them then you could possibly be held liable for damages and/or real losses.

Again, IANAL and you should get one to help answer some questions cause I think you are on shaky ground here. In the end, never ever shut down or remove software unless you have spoken with an attorney first, as you can be seen as damaging a business. It may sound shitty, but your real course of action would have been to sue them for a lack of payment and maybe seek an injunction against their using any software which they haven't paid for, but by removing things, you may have made yourself liable for damages and given them a case against you. Get an attorney to talk to you, won't cost much to get some feedback. Likely if they haven't sued yet, they feel they are on shaky ground for some reason, so you can still probably sort this out and protect yourself.

<comment><AUTHOR> thanks. I left a bunch of details out - he claims I was just a volunteer, there was no contract, etc.... the problem with the lack of payment and injunction route would be a) he already is dodging a £30k bill for a legal case he lost and b) he'd never pay a measly £1k and so an injunction etc would cost more for me, realistically... he is using the legal system to extort me, IMO

for code that isn't worth much - why he wants it, I can't understand b/c the old site had a bad UI. Their new site is totally mobile friendly and looks much better. so this is just being vindictive or he wants the code for re-use

yeah, tortuous interference is what I'm worried about. but the site was never popular, maybe 20 new members a month at avg £5...

<comment><USER2> This is one of those times that it is important to let go of the who is right and walk away knowing you did right and don't worry about who is right. You gain nothing but headaches and pain by trying to prove you are right in this scenario, and to your own point the money isn't large and he is already ignoring the courts for other factors. So frankly, give him his code and walk away with a clean conscious.

I am not saying I am any better or immune from the same behavior or thoughts, but sometimes it helps to have someone with no dog in the fight to just say seriously, walk away. Which means you can say, hey I did right and regardless of the situation and stupidity, I can sleep well every night.

The £1k isn't worth your sanity or health stressing out over the what if's, drop it, give him the code and walk. Does that mean you feed his stupidity and ego? Maybe, and maybe he even feels vindicated, whatever, moron's exist everywhere and in every culture. But in the end, you can sleep and move forward with a clean focus. Do whatever you want, no contract means you can write whatever you want to compete etc, but don't put yourself in a risky position over what is in the end a small amount of money, especially when it could cost you so much more.

Good luck!

<comment><AUTHOR> thanks for the support, several friends have said the same thing. The solicitor said all this is just posturing and only until papers for a claim are filed with the court does anything begin to matter. The way he attempts to ratchet up the anxiety and/or guilt tripping while providing an explicit "out" \- i.e. hand over everything without any further consequences - is very apparent now. A valid claim, written by a solicitor, would calmly lay out facts with supporting evidence, establishing a dialogue like you're supposed to to avoid litigation and begin negotiations -- i.e. not act like a spoiled 2 year old...

The money I am owed is irrelevant - it's more a matter of the constant bullying and attempts to extort me. If he files a claim based on what he has said are "the facts", I have the proof needed to show he has knowingly lied to the court. That alone ought to scupper any case. I guess it is the humiliation if I ignore this latest deadline that I am sort of concerned about - will his ego handle it?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Since it was never incorporated as an NPO and you say you never discussed copyright:

[http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/hiring-independent- co...](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/hiring-independent-contractors- faq-29072-8.html)

 _Who owns intellectual property created by independent contractors?

When you hire an IC to create a work of authorship such as a computer program, written work, artwork, musical work, photographs, or multimedia work, you need to be concerned about copyright ownership.

The copyright laws contain a major trap for unwary hiring companies. The hiring company will not own the copyright to the IC's work unless it obtains a written assignment of copyright ownership. An assignment is simply a transfer of copyright ownership. You should obtain an assignment before the IC starts work. This assignment should be included in the IC agreement.

There are exceptions to this rule. Certain specially commissioned works by ICs are considered to be works for hire, to which the hiring company owns the copyright. However, this rule is not automatic -- you still have to enter into a written agreement explicitly stating that the work is for hire._

</comment><comment><USER4> It has not happened to me but I have seen it happen to many others. It will happen to you sooner or later if you are the "front man" for any kind of contract web development work.</comment>


WUWT press-release on study of upward adjustment of NOAA temperature data - <AUTHOR> http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/29/press-release-2/#more-68286 <comment><USER2> I deplore the increase of this kind of hopelessly biased political-advocacy posting on HN. Why not also some articles on Intelligent Design and the perfidies of the Darwinists? How about some articles about abortion?

<comment><USER3> It matters in terms of statistics and machine learning. If, and that's _if_ , these guys are correct then the data collection, pre-processing and normalization can have a large effect on the end result when you are trying to predict a trend or train a classifier. This is essential to good science and possibly more interesting to some of us than, say, a new node.js framework or a standing desk.

The argument they make for classifying the temperature sensors into different grades seems solid. There is a clear methodology extending from Leroy on how to class the sites into five different classes depending the surrounding terrain which we know affects the readings. They have used ground and aerial photography in giving the stations these classes using this methodology. So this isn't just a rehash of general Urban Heat Island arguments of the past it's a new, seemingly methodologically robust, chapter in that debate which must be answered by the other side. As it stands the best two classes of site have very good coverage over mainland USA and it's reasonable to compare them to the worst three classes of site. It turns out there is quite a large discrepancy between them[1]. This is science, not politics.

But, yes, the science has political implications. On that political side this is an issue worth addressing if we are going to put trillions of public money into dealing with the problem posed by climate change, according to the models which are operating on this very data. Redirecting those trillions has the potential to put the economic growth of billions of people living in extreme poverty on hold, no small matter. In light of that arguments like "if I, Prof. A., open-source my code and data Prof. B. will get a publication I want to write out before me" seem rather trivial. If your research says the public should spend trillions, you can expect to show your working and to be scrutinized heavily in public. On the face of it these results are huge, and I for one want to see them discussed and reviewed.

I don't think we should just accept arguments from authority - and even then, only a majority of the authorities, as there are dissenting professors from institutions like MIT and Cambridge - given the gravity of the consequences. Data processing, science, institutional incumbents versus disruptive outsiders, trillions of dollars: I think it is hitting a lot of HN notes actually.

[1][http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/watts_et_...](http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/watts_et_al_2012-figure20-conus- compliant-nonc-noaa.png?w=640&h=487) And the normalization question is also at issue here beyond the different classes.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Strange headline for this press release.

From my cursory skim, it would seem as though a more suitable headline would be 'applying latest UN/WMO standards to US temperature reduces previously announced temperature growth by half'.

There's definitely a battle of the temperature-set data papers going on with this and the BEST results being announced at about the same time. It will be interesting to see which one stands up to long term scrutiny.

</comment><comment><USER5> Flagged for inaccuracy. Anthony Watts has little scientific training and no credibility. This is basically a political press release.

edit for spelling</comment>


Ask HN: Idea feedback on personal analytics - <AUTHOR> The idea is to build an app to vent your thoughts. In today's world, everyone is in a constant fight with the monkey mind inside of us. We live life on an autopilot mode, struggling with our thoughts, and marred our intelligence.
I think the solution would be a cognitive platform that you can talk to daily by telling it whatever emotion that builds up, and the platform would ask questions based on your inputs.
The platform would provide you with detailed personal analytics on a day to day basis and would help you to understand your emotional state and map it to events that happened.
This solution is not a Therapist app but useful as a self-discovery tool.
What is your view on such a service? <comment><USER2> It's natural -- in human terms -- to have feelings you want to share, and to be initially attracted to a service that facilitates that.

But there are existing "venting" solutions like Blind and more constructive (yet still anon) solutions for engagement surveys (TinyPulse, CultureAmp, etc)...

Further, there are tons of apps for daily journaling/sentiment capture...

So my "view" is...why yet another solution? what is unique in the approach? what problem is this actually helping me solve?

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for your insights. I think the idea is more of a marriage between thoughts and Google analytics. To understand how the thoughts pattern impacts different areas of one's life.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Any recommendations for mind-mapping (or really, just graph-drawing-and- rearranging) software? I'd be interested in that as a tool for organizing and reevaluating thoughts and sorting out patterns, whether it's regarding self- analysis or some other puzzle that could use untangling and exploratory visualization.

<comment><AUTHOR> FreeMind is a free tool that serves this purpose.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'm actually already building a service like this. It's only for myself and for my friend but the idea is to ask chains of questions daily.

With enough time passing you can start making statistical analysis of your own data for insights about your life.

<comment><AUTHOR> That's great. Share it when you are ready.

<comment><USER4> Actually it only supports having a handful of users now and the database is not encrypted. I don't think I'll ever publish it because it's certainly not a product comprehensive enough for a public release.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I would worry people are not that deep, and if they are they have a diary :). I am rather negative on people's ability to pull deep, but if you can help them do that it is huge, and a hard issue.</comment>


Need a technical co-founder? Start by creating a prototype. - <AUTHOR> http://sacstarts.com/2012/03/02/need-technical-co-founder-start-creating-prototype <comment><USER2> This is my new default response for "finding a technical co-founder is hard."</comment>


Puppet Tutorial: Take your first step to Puppet - <AUTHOR> http://www.edureka.co/blog/what-is-puppet/ <comment><USER2> Very Very helpful!</comment>


How would you export users' data in a note taking service?  Which format would you use? - <AUTHOR>

<comment><AUTHOR> I would like to add an export feature to Study Stickies:

<http://studystickies.com>

It's unlikely that many people would use this service much if there's a chance they could lose their data. So an export feature is critical.

I was thinking of HTML since the stickies can have HTML tags in them. However, I recently added a math mode that uses TeX syntax. So stickies can be a mixture of HTML and TeX.

Any suggestions on a good export format?

<comment><USER2> RSS.

<comment><AUTHOR> Users may specify some of their stickies to be private, so how would that work with RSS?

Also, it would be desirable to have an export format that the user can easily edit and perhaps even import into some other app/service.

<comment><USER2> Give them a private key they can append to the RSS url request? They can use that private url to pull out stickies that are for their eyes only.

Example: www.studystickies.com/rss/privatekey

As far as having an export format, if you target specific apps/services then you'd have a better idea of what format to use, since it would be a format those apps/services would support.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Chalkdust, a mathematics magazine published by students at UCL - <AUTHOR> http://chalkdustmagazine.com/

<comment><USER2> It's useful to explain acronyms not likely known by the wider audience, such as UCL (University College London). It took me a bit to figure that out.

<comment><USER3> Same here. University of California, Lompoc? Livermore?

<comment><USER4> University of Central Lancashire (not).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> UCL maths students do a lot of good (outreach?) work. Also check out [https://www.facebook.com/uclmaths](https://www.facebook.com/uclmaths) for undergrad-level maths talks.</comment>


Announcing Sightglass Bingo for iPhone To San Francisco (Open Source) - <AUTHOR> http://morethancurious.com/announcing-sightglass-bingo-to-san-francisco

<comment><USER2> here's a parse beta code: 'sightglass' (no quotes). Great app, Kasper and Caleb!

</comment><comment><USER3> Yes, but how do you monetize it?

<comment><USER4> Bingroupons</comment></comment>


Why Can't a Woman Be More Like a Man? - <AUTHOR> http://quillette.com/2018/05/24/cant-woman-like-man/ <comment><USER2> The question is obviously racist.

<comment><USER3> Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News?</comment></comment>


FEX.net: 1TB storage for $1/month - <AUTHOR> https://fex.net/ <comment><USER2> Sounds too good to be true. Who are these people and why should we trust them with our data?

Page title is in cyrillic script. fex.net's IP address is in a Ukraine block, with one contact e-mail in .ua and one in .bg. Contact address at the bottom is apparently in Malta, but they do have a US 1-855 number for their callcenter.

Their TOS says that the service is subject to the laws of Malta.

Registration process begins by entering a phone number. What?

<comment><USER3> Yeah I used a Google Voice text number to avoid that. I shared your concerns. The $1/mo is misleading. Looks like $2 to me on their Plus page. I might give it a go with some strong encryption, like if Arq supports it. I'm a bit hesitant though.</comment></comment>


UK Electrical socket safety covers are "absurd and dangerous" say engineers - <AUTHOR> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5039454/Electrical-socket-safety-covers-are-absurd-and-dangerous-say-engineers.html

<comment><USER2> Having travelled the world, I had long thought that the british plug design was one of the safest if not the safest design in the world.

There is no other plug that I'm aware of that locks the live and neutral the way the british plug does, and it requires some physical effort in order to hack it.

Having kids myself I can see the use of plug protection caps in other countries where the holes are completely exposed (I live in one such country) but to have a cap, that effectively renders the built-in protection useless has to be wrong. If anything it should enhance rather than override the mechanism, which could easily be achieved with good design.</comment>


24 Hours later, Edward Snowden/NSA story hardly covered on NYT homepage - <AUTHOR>

And yet the BBC has it as their cover story. Is this really happening? <comment><USER2> Links about this story on the NY Times homepage, 1 hour from the posting of your comment:

1: U.S. Preparing Charges Against Leaker of Data

2: A Real Debate on Surveillance

3: Brooks: The Solitary Leaker

4: Bits: Big Data Intelligence Sleuthing, 1960s Style (Leads with the current news)

5: Reaction to the N.S.A. Leak

6: Is the N.S.A. Threat Real?

7: Debate on Secret Data Looks Unlikely, Partly Due to Secrecy

8: Editorial: A Real Debate on Surveillance

9: Hong Kong Seen as Likely to Extradite Leaker if U.S. Asks

10: DEALBOOK: Tech Companies Tread Lightly in Statements on U.S. Spying

11: BITS: Big Data Intelligence Sleuthing, 1960s Style

12: Op-Ed Columnist: Your Smartphone Is Watching You</comment>


Does It Matter Where You Go to College? - <AUTHOR> http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/does-it-matter-where-you-go-to-college/257227/ <comment><USER2> You know your value system sucks when the question "does it matter where you go to college?" is automatically assumed to be about salary.

<comment><USER3> You sound like you either have one, or have transcended the need for one.

Try not doing either of those things.

I too used to sing along in happy harmony with the "it doesn't really matter, follow your bliss". Now I'm 33 and my high school circles are filled with people who have wrecked their financial lives on the shoals of that advice. Now I know I was singing with the sirens.

It was already screwed up 15 years ago, as my high school circles can attest to. It's more screwed up now, but now people are seeing how messed up it is. Money matters, _especially when accruing lots of debt_. It isn't the only thing that matters, but it most assuredly matters.

Don't keep singing with the sirens.

<comment><USER2> Maximizing income and minimizing debt are not the same thing.

<comment><USER3> Ha! People should be so lucky as to be worried about "maximizing income". We're in an era in which people need to be careful just to _balance_ their income with their college debt.

Stop moralizing and think. Millions of people are hurting out there. It's time to put away the gibberish about how it's somehow uncouth to think about money as you think about college. We now _know_ that line of thought is profoundly damaging. If you don't agree... how much more evidence would you need?

<comment><USER2> You're missing my point. Making a decision to go to X school because it will make you more money is fundamentally a different decision than going to Y school because it's cheaper.

You may have to get the higher debt to get the higher paying job, but going to the lower debt school is probably good enough to make a decent income.

<comment><USER4> Those aren't fundamentally different decisions. In both cases, you are determining your rate of return on your educational investment and making a decision to prefer high debt/high earnings, and lower debt/lower earnings.

If you don't think the school itself matters enough to justify the increased cost, you'll prefer lower-cost universities. If you think it does, you'll prefer the school that can net you the most income.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I like answering these questions by solving simpler ones.

      Does it matter where you are born?

> Afghanistan vs. United States.

Put you in Afghanistan and you're dead. Put you in the US and you have a shot at middle class. Both are not your fault - and neither are deserved (I hate that word).

      Does it matter who you are born to?

> Rich parents vs. Poor parents.

One can pay for all you need, and support you in every way to best game the system (which is completely rational and understandable behaviour). The other gets screwed by the self same game. Both generally through no fault of their own - no one deserves anything.

      Does it matter when you are born?

> 1900s vs. 2000s.

One situation gives you cholera. The other gives you an iPhone, good health, decent lifespan and an education. Neither was deserved - both greatly effect future outcomes.

Of course it matters where you went to college. It matters more than you think it does, and even more than you now think it does. The world is not a meritocracy - never has been - never will be. Fun fact - meritocracy was coined in a satire since it was so ridiculously false. Unfortunately, people like believing things that are false - it is one of our strengths as humans (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis>). Karma is bullshit masquerading as depth and is merely a result of faulty (but useful) logic generated by induction machines that we call the brain.

Why do we use QWERTY keyboards? Because some random guy made a couple thousand typewriters that didn't stick mechanically 70 years ago. What does that have to do with modern computers? Absolutely nothing.

The world is chaotic, and exhibits extreme path dependence in path outcomes, which of themselves, are extremely uncertain.

What would've happened if the comet that killed the dinosaurs missed? What about not having a snowball earth to generate all the oxygen you breath right at this moment? The importance of people by the people is greatly overrated.

Everyone is replaceable (even if you are 1 in a million - and nowadays even 1 in a billion), but situations aren't.

Situations are king, path dependence and chaos rule your life and there is a lot of poor reasoning out there. That doesn't mean you have no effect on future outcomes - it just means you have a lot less control than you think you do.

</comment><comment><USER6> The bigger question is: Does It Matter _If_ You Go to College?

<comment><USER7> Depends. Please go to college if you intend to become a doctor! I hear people frown on "doctors" that are self taught.

<comment><USER8> Dr. Mike Ruddy from last week would appear to disagree strongly with you:

[http://www.theonion.com/articles/im-not-one-of-those- fancy-c...](http://www.theonion.com/articles/im-not-one-of-those-fancy- collegeeducated-doctors,11237/)

;)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> College doesn't fucking matter in any way, shape, or form in the context of reality and actually doing good, productive things. Nor do people who base hires / who they like on where those people went to college.

<comment><USER10> I know many, MANY people -- myself included -- who were impacted positively by college. I found my passions and improved myself tremendously.

I'm not saying college is some panacea, but you're an idiot if you think it "doesn't fucking matter in any way, shape, or form".

<comment><USER9> How does the fact that it positively impacts some people mean that it matters or is important?

This article is talking about money, employment, status, etc., in the context of education and college. I'm saying that going to college does not in any way mean that someone is more qualified, smarter, capable, productive, etc. than someone who didn't go to college.

I'm saying that if you went to college and discovered, for example, a passion for graphic design, the idea that you'd inherently be better than a self- taught graphic designer is 100% ridiculous. And that if an employer chose you over that person solely because you had some extra letters after your name and could tolerate 4 more years of schooling, that employer is dangerously stupid.

<comment><USER10> What you said is "college doesn't fucking matter in any way, shape, or form in the context of reality and actually doing good, productive things".

Which is completely incorrect. I understand if you think that a self-taught graphic designer is on par with a college-grad graphic designer, but that's not what you argued in the above quote.

<comment><USER9> It's exactly what I'm arguing above; college doesn't matter.

By saying it "doesn't matter", I'm saying that the ability of a person to produce something good or provide a good service to others does not require a causative relationship with that person's level of organized education (college, grad school, high school, two-year degrees, etc.).

You've said twice that I'm incorrect, without explaining why you think so.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Traffic halted as hackers replace roadside video adverts with porn  - <AUTHOR> http://www.geek.com/articles/news/traffic-halted-as-hackers-replace-roadside-video-adverts-with-porn-20100115/

<comment><USER2> It should be noted that traffic in Moscow is in the semi-permanent jam anyway, so it's unlikely that this video contributed.

Photo of the billboard screen (NSFW): <http://damian.livejournal.com/596391.html>

</comment><comment><USER3> I'm still at work. Someone mind flagging this as SFW or not?

<comment><USER4> SFW.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I wonder what the vector was? Are these things internet enabled, or is it just a matter of sticking a flash drive into one of them?

<comment><USER6> While it may not be clear what the vector for this particular incident was, here's a defcon presentation about some of the general issues: [http://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc- archives/dc-16-archive.h...](http://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc- archives/dc-16-archive.html#Tottenkoph)

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> _Pennu.ru do not know who or how the display was accessed and aren't ruling out a competing advertising company being involved in this eye-opening event._

That is a ridiculous statement. They aren't ruling out a competing advertising company, but that doesn't mean they have any proof at all.

<comment><USER4> Plus an incident like this is likely to grow advertiser sour to the whole medium, and not just the displays of a certain advertiser.

That was a douchey and bone-headed statement on their part.

<comment><USER8> Who said it was their statement? Seems to me like a canned question.</comment></comment></comment>


Animated Chart - 3 Axes, 4 Series, 20 lines of JS - <AUTHOR> http://dimplejs.org/advanced_examples_viewer.html?id=advanced_price_range_lollipop

<comment><USER2> All those d3 examples seem pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to do a project with it in the future :D</comment>


Steve Wozniak wants to become Australian - <AUTHOR> http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/apples-wozniak-wants-to-become-australian-20120925-26iwb.html

<comment><USER2> Being an Aussie, welcome mate! I'm surprised USA doesn't have a national broadband agenda...is there a reason for this?</comment>