In defence of the wolf - <AUTHOR> https://theconversation.com/in-defence-of-the-wolf-this-big-bad-animal-is-more-prey-than-predator-118946 <comment><USER2> Book recommendation: Never Cry Wolf, by Farley Mowat. It takes a pretty close look at wolves (among other things) in the Canadian far north in a highly readable book. Hilariously funny at times, Mowat comes to largely the same conclusion as the article: that wolves have more to fear from us than us from them. He nonetheless, like the author of TFA, finds it hard to overcome the primal fear we seem to have of wolves.

<comment><USER3> It's semi-fictional and partially plagiarized, though.

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

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I frankly don't understand why we would want to reintroduce a predator like this. From the article it seems the only benefit they bring is to control deer populations at the expense of farmers and causing discomfort to the general population. Instead of having wolves why not simply have humans hunt the excess deer? If you can test the game for undesirable pathogens it could even be a good business opportunity. Ultimately humans are always in control of the environment even if we choose to do nothing. Our technology and resources are too great to claim we have "unmanaged wilderness".

<comment><USER5> > _Instead of having wolves why not simply have humans hunt the excess deer?_

A possible argument would work like this:

1\. Why not automate it by having drones hunt excess deer?

2\. Why build drones when there are perfectly good natural ones, such as wolves?

<comment><USER4> 1\. I doubt we have the technology to automate deer hunting yet; however, it would be very useful to have drones hunt the deer and have humans pickup the spoils. I did say it would be great if we could buy hunted deer as long as it's tested for the nasty pathogens wildlife tends to have.

2.Having humans hunt the deer is preferable because they obey laws, don't scare people, wont eat the farmer's animals and, again, we also get to keep the meat.

<comment><USER6> Hunting is decreasing in popularity, possibly due to awareness of CWD.

And I don't think there are people clamoring for venison. If you have friends or family that enjoy hunting, you can get quite a bit of venison for free. The best cuts are tasty, if your processor is good the summer sausage or hot sticks will be good, but I ate ground venison sloppy joes and chili not that many times before I personally never want it again.

> Having humans hunt the deer is preferable because they obey laws, don't > scare people,

Hunters are scary. Not that Hunters as people are scary, but I would avoid wilderness where I know there to be hunters active, even if I am wearing blaze orange. Accidents happen. Probably more often to the hunters themselves than to strangers, but they do happen.

<comment><USER7> > Hunters are scary.

How do you feel about wolves?

<comment><USER6> A few people saw a wolf a handful of few times in an area I regularly walked through one summer, and I started carrying a bat if I was alone, but mainly trying to walk with dogs or another person. Both can be scary, even though both are less likely to harm you then a car.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> For anyone interested, there is an ongoing debate to re-introduce Wolves to the Scottish Highlands. We have a major issue with deer overpopulation (which comes with Lyme disease and damaged trees).

So gameskeepers are receptive to the idea although sheep farmers are concerned.

[https://www.conservationjobs.co.uk/articles/wolf- reintroduct...](https://www.conservationjobs.co.uk/articles/wolf- reintroduction-in-scotland/)

[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/08/wolves-s...](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/08/wolves- scotland-reintroduction-lister-alladale)

</comment><comment><USER9> In my neighborhood people are freaking out and demanding the city "do something" just because coyotes have killed a few pet cats. It's ridiculous.

<comment> Harvey-Specter I've never understood why cats are allowed to roam the world unsupervised to kill birds and poop in my tomato garden.

<comment><USER10> Because, along with birds, cats kill a lot of rodents. Rodents both carry disease and eat stored human food. Thus humans have, historically, been better off with cats around, and may in fact still be better off.

<comment><USER11> Empirical evidence shows that they're unbelievably terrible at killing rodents (...in at least one specific case): [https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/rats-and- cats](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/rats-and-cats)

<comment><USER12> Cats catch _mice_. For rats you want a terrier.

<comment><USER13> Or a hungry cat that is used to catching prey. Our cat (on a small farm) used to bring in small rabbits to eat.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> I live in Netherland, were, as the article notes, wolves seem to be returning among some controversy. On the one hand it looks like a sign that nature is recovering in central and western Europe. Netherland in particular is known for only having highly managed nature, and the only piece of wild, unmanaged nature is on a piece of land that didn't even exist a couple of decades ago.

So wolves returning feels to me like a sign that we're doing something right, giving more space for wild animals.

But it's undeniable that it also comes with some challenges. Wolves might be welcome in the Oostvaardersplassen, but I don't know how they should ever get there. Instead, they're in areas where farmers and shepherds graze their sheep.

<comment> Harvey-Specter Reading about the Oostvaardersplassen is interesting, it seems to have a lot of major problems, mostly related to being too small. I'm not sure that introducing wolves is a good idea, don't they typically need more space to roam?

<comment><USER14> They probably do. On the one hand, there are a lot of herd animals that we're supposed to leave alone but could probably do with some predation, and we've got predators in need of prey. But I don't think we can get them together; too isolated, too far away.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> _Using the image of the wolf as a bloodthirsty, uncontrollable killer..._

 _In South Carolina, state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch (R-Georgetown) is foregoing science for a call to arms. Goldfinch, who declined to comment for this story, told WMBF News in Myrtle Beach that killing coyotes should be South Carolina's top priority._

 _"The state's perspective is every coyote needs to be a dead coyote. Trap them, shoot them . . . however you want to get rid of them," Goldfinch said. ". . . This is now about going to war with the coyotes._

When predator control comes up I always find myself wondering- _sorry, which one was supposed to be the bloodthirsty killer?_

(I realize the Goldfinch quotes reference coyotes, but it's all the same story)

</comment><comment><USER16> Making 1kg of wolf requires way more than 1kg of prey. A rule of thumb I've heard is a step in food chain has only about 10% efficiency.

If wolves were more prey than predator populations would decline very quickly.

<comment><USER17> They're only "more prey than predator" because humans have fought back against them.

A wolf wouldn't think twice about killing a human.

<comment><USER18> [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_America)

"There have been only two verified documented deaths from wild healthy wolves in North America"

now as the list demonstrates "verified...wild healthy" leaves a hell of a lot of wiggle room but even then lists are not long.

<comment><USER19> Historically wolf culling has been more about protecting livestock and pets than people. It's also helpful for hunters to make sure they're not competing for deer.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> > _it's putting nature back to the way it was before humans altered its > course._

This sentiment is appealing, but there's little backing it. Humans have always shaped nature, and regardless of people, ecosystems are dynamic (1). We should be asking ourselves what sort of world we want to live in, and what we want our impact to look like. We should not harken back to a pre-human influenced time that never really existed. (Most restoration plans don't plan on restoring ecosystems to a fully pre-human state, but rather to some time where humans were present, but not as numerous).

We should instead say things like "this ecosystem was better 300 years ago, and we should try and return to something closer to that". That's wholly different from the narrative of natural being everything but human. It does, however, force us to qualitatively analyze what we're doing. Instead of saying "we changed it, now we have to restore it", it forces us to think about what the costs and benefits of restoration are.

1\. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_ecology#Human- media...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_ecology#Human- mediated_disturbance)

<comment><USER21> >> Humans have always shaped nature

Tell that to Antarctica, or to Everest, or to the vast oceans. Until the last century mankind's presence was slight. We lived in the nice places that we convenient for us. Now we live everywhere, or at least our trash does. The idea that humans are part of the natural world, that we need not curtail our behavior because we were put here too, is quasi-religious dogma promoted by climate deniers. Humans _are_ different. We have abilities vastly beyond any other species. That comes with responsibilities, responsibilities that cannot be sidestepped by declaring us just another mammal looking for food.

<comment><USER22> It's true, more or less depending on region. In Europe we have shaped the landscape for millenia, and the ecosystems have developed accordingly.

Without humans, almost everything would be covered by forests and swamps, not the wide range of biomes we now find, with open fields, grasslands, and patches of forests. Many local insects, birds and plants need these. Our responsibility here is not to stop, but to keep everything in good condition (not like now where there is far too little slack in the system and no space left for this wildlife).

<comment><USER23> Humans do this to a different degree than other animals but other animals also shape the environment; beavers can redirect rivers, some bird purposefully spread wildfires and so on.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Interesting choice of gif. One bison in stampede mauls the baby one giving wolves free meal?

Also, "guard llamas".

<comment><USER15> I hear guard llamas trample coyotes, flat as a pancake. They are used to protect alpaca.

Makes me wonder if they are really just furry camels.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> We do have to fear grizzly bears and mountain lions. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty nervous if I'm all alone in the forest and I hear a wolf. :) I'd like us not to kill them, though, unless in self defense.

<comment><USER26> Not really. I've spent many hours, days, weeks at a time in the wilderness in the Canadian Rockies and West Coast, with some of the densest population of all 3 of these predators, and it's pretty damn easy to avoid them. No need for guns down here either (maybe in the Arctic, Polar bears are actually aggressive).

<comment><USER27> Can you elaborate please? How do you avoid a grizzly?

<comment><USER26> The easiest and most obvious way is to travel in groups and be noisy. Bears are opportunistic more than they're predatory, meaning they're risk averse and avoid confrontation. Next is to avoid their feeding areas - so don't stick around next to carrion, pass through their favourite meadows carefully but quickly, and don't hang around their berry bushes or obvious dens. Obviously stay away from cubs.

If you do encounter them, back away slowly (don't turn your back), they'll pretty much always also go the other way. I've encountered plenty in the backcountry, usually at fairly long distances and they always move on.

Also note that this applies mainly to BC, Alberta, and south of US. They do get slightly more aggressive up north due to having less easy food sources. Also, black bears are a different story, as are polar bears.

<comment><USER28> It's kind of hilarious that when you think of a fictional woodsman, their ability to move through the forests silently is a major, salient feature.

But for most of us for most of our uses of the woods, we're better off learning to be kind of noisy kind of constantly.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Incredible World Cup iPhone app - <AUTHOR>

http://www.totalfootball2010.com<p>For anyone that liked the Adidas Match Tracker, this app quite similar and works live for the World Cup. <comment><USER2> For the Android users and soccer fans, you might try <http://www.worldcuptimetable.com> or from the market, look for soccer world cup 2010 - wm2010</comment>


Adobe AIR launches on Linux - <AUTHOR> http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10042475-16.html

<comment><USER2> Wow, now I don't even have to open my browser to run down my battery faster with 100% CPU load.

Adobe has some severe quality problems with its Flash player already, pushing out more badly written software is hardly going to help. Or am I really the only one who cares?

EDIT: Just as I posted this, I noticed that a rogue Flash process was once again pegging one of my CPUs. Fail. I wonder if there's a way to restrict off- screen Flash processes to use a maximum of 2-5% CPU time? Also, more browsers need to take a no-nonsense approach to crashed plugins.

</comment><comment><USER3> While this might make it easier for some to adopt a GNU/Linux, adding more closed platforms to a free OS is a step in the wrong direction.

</comment><comment><USER4> "Sorry, your platform is not supported."

Really?</comment>


Movie Industry Admits It Overstated Piracy on Campus - <AUTHOR> http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/movie-industry-admits-it-overstated-piracy-on-campus/index.html?hp <comment><USER2> Quote from MPAA

"Although college students make up 3 percent of the population, they are responsible for a disproportionate amount of stolen movie products in this country."

That couldn't be because _(gasp!)_ they are young, have exceptionally fast net connections and tiny disposable incomes... could it?

In other news, most wheelchair owners can't walk on their own.</comment>


From labs to dev's toolkit-AI goes mainstream at Synaptech [Berlin,Sep 2017] - <AUTHOR> hey guys. offering a short glimpse on a cool AI event taking place this autumn in Berlin.
====
Synaptech (http://synaptech.ai) is the hotbed for AI enthusiasts, developers and business owners. It focuses on the practical aspects of building a company in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
Synaptech gathers a line-up of visionaries, technical experts and innovators from the field of Artificial Intelligence. Until now Luming Wang, Head of Machine Learning at Uber, Jean-Francois Gagne, CEO at ElementAI and Friederike Schuur, Director of Data Science at Fast Forward Labs have confirmed their presence.
In parallel with the conference, an international startup competition for those who are focused on AI and connected technologies will take place.
==== <comment><USER2> You probably meant to put this is show HN</comment>


Reading Literature on Screen: A Price for Convenience? - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/14/arts/reading-literature-on-screen-a-price-for-convenience.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

<comment><USER2> Perhaps constantly seeing and feeling the read and unread pages of the book reinforces the sense of when things happened in the story.

<comment><USER3> I strongly suspect you're right. I know that before I could 'grep' digital text, when I remembered something I read in a book, I'd have a rough idea of its page-depth and position on page (in addition to general context) which aided in a visual-scan to re-locate.

Perhaps an e-book interface with stronger indicators of progress could cure the discrepancy. (One idea: shift the entire page slightly inside imbalanced margins based on how deep in the book you are.) Or perhaps people who have only ever read e-books wouldn't be as dependent on pending-pages-physicality.

Or maybe future Kindles could actually become flatter as you progress through the story, via some sort of deflation mechanism.

<comment><USER4> There's nothing more annoying than remembering only that a certain quote you'd like to reference was on the bottom of a left-hand page of a book you finished last week!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Why didn't they mention ebook beats on "objects"

</comment><comment><USER6> For some reason, they chose a Kindle DX which is not book-like at all, and would have substantially larger pages. Why wouldn't they have just used normal Kindles?

<comment><USER7> People who read a lot like high word densities. I find the small size of the standard Kindle annoying. The DX is fairly close to the size of a hardback textbook.

I'm sad that it's still so expensive, though, especially since it has that dirty gray look compared to the newer e-ink readers.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Based on my experience, I read e-books faster than paper books, which can make timelines a bit fuzzy when remembering.</comment>


Scientists Discover The Oldest, Largest Body Of Water In Space - <AUTHOR> http://www.fastcompany.com/1769468/scientists-discover-oldest-largest-body-water-existence-space <comment><USER2> This article (like the discovery it reports) is from July 2011. The NASA press release can be found here: [http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/universe2011072...](http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/universe20110722.html) and it contains all the actual information in the article.

(And: what a terrible article! On two occasions it simply says _the exact same thing_ twice in succession in almost the same words. And it says this: "NASA's water discovery should be a reminder that if we have the sophistication to discover galaxies full of water 12 billion light years away, we should be able to save people just an ocean away from drought-induced starvation." ... which makes as much sense as saying that if we have the sophistication to discover enormous black holes at the centres of galaxies, we ought to be able to make our own black holes in the laboratory, or that if we have the sophistication to accelerate protons to 0.999999991c in the LHC, we ought to be able to make cars go at at least 0.9c.)

</comment><comment><USER3> This would make an awesome premise for a sci-fi book. A plot along the lines of "Humanity must stop This Bad Thing but to do so they need Lots of Water but they have used up all the water so they have to Pull Together in Time of Crisis in order to retrieve all the water while contending with the fact that the water is around a black hole." Maybe throw in some serendipitously discovered alien technology that makes it all possible.

I think that it would make for a truly epic space opera if written by the right author.

<comment><USER4> Ice Pirates? [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087451/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087451/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Can we predict based on what we see the current status of the "cloud of water". Shouldn't it collapse into stars ?

Or does the blackhole consume the entire cloud of water !

So many questions.

Imagine if life existed within it. They must be wondering if life outside a "cloud of water" is even possible ? A planet ?

<comment><USER6> I recall (from the last time this was posted) that its like a few molecules of H2O per cubic meter. So more like a 'cloud of water vapor' or even 'a cloud of water plasma'.

It was made by the expanding shock wave from a supernova, through a gas cloud of mostly hydrogen. Lots got fused to oxygen, and then they combined. The tremendous amount of water is because its a vast expanding volume of space.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I'm not sure I would apply superlatives when talking about a possibly infinite domain.

Then again, it's not that I could claim this is the most pretentious headline produced by an intelligent human either.

</comment><comment><USER8> Meh... some alien civilization probably used it all on irrigation by now.

<comment><AUTHOR> Hydroponics using atmospheric humidity maybe?

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> ...but does the black hole have rights to that water? Answer: NO!

</comment><comment><USER6> ...four years ago. This has been discussed here before?

</comment><comment><USER10> so would it be safe to assume every planet/moon should have some amount of water? In one form or another. Should it be less of a surprise?

</comment><comment><USER11> I bet Nestle has already bought it.

</comment><comment><USER12> Maybe we could bring some to California.

</comment><comment><USER13> It's amazing how many words he spends saying "this large body of water is really quite large." I mean:

> _The official NASA news release describes the amount of water as "140 > trillion times all the water in the world's oceans," which isn't > particularly helpful, except if you think about it like this._

> _That one cloud of newly discovered space water vapor could supply 140 > trillion planets that are just as wet as Earth is._

Oh, so _that 's_ what that means! Gosh!

<comment><USER14> Replacing "140 trillion times the total water on Earth" with "enough to supply an entire planet's worth of water for every person on earth, 20,000 times over." wasn't a particularly good idea.

<comment><USER15> I like 140 trillion earths figure, that's pretty unimaginable. 20,000 not so much.</comment></comment></comment>


National HPV vaccination program would provide big benefits - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/04/national-hpv-vaccination-program-would-provide-big-benefits/ <comment><AUTHOR> In other vaccine-related news, the progress on genital herpes vaccines is promising: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11538925](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11538925).</comment>


How to Learn Advanced Mathematics Without Heading to University – Part 2 - <AUTHOR> https://www.quantstart.com/articles/How-to-Learn-Advanced-Mathematics-Without-Heading-to-University-Part-2 <comment><USER2> >For the autodidact it is a time to begin choosing modules that make sense for their own career trajectory.

I think the end of his part 2 courses is a good point to pick a set of courses that will get you to your desired end state. I would also say that completing these courses would establish sufficient mathematical literacy for many purposes.

I would love to see similar guides for other subjects. Personally, I would be interested in guides for chemistry and mechanical engineering.

<comment><AUTHOR> When researching for the article I was actually rather surprised that I couldn't find many MOOCs on aeronautical, civil, electrical, chemical or mechanical engineering.

While it's pretty straightforward to find open courses/content on Linear Algebra and Calculus, there's very little on, say, Compressible Flow/Gas Dynamics or Turbomachinery, for instance.

If anybody knows of any courses on topics related to the above engineering disciplines, I'd love to take a look.

I also agree that at the end of part 2, one would have sufficient "mathematical maturity" to handle most commercial environments.</comment></comment>


Show HN: Startup Threads Monthly - Subscription Swag Service - <AUTHOR> https://www.startupthreadsmonthly.com/

<comment><USER2> so I'm supposed to pay money to promote some random startup?

in order to get a shirt, that they give away for free at their booths all over the place?

\+ $20/mo to get a shirt is way overpriced...at that price, I might as well get a shirt from threadless that I like instead of "randomstartup.com!" one.

The business model should be flipped. Startups should pay you...to distribute shirts for free. And allow them to make it local....i.e. 300 shirts to people in los angeles.

Cost wise just charge them the same $20 per shirt. $10K for a one time marketing cost is nothing really. And getting 500 people to wear shirts would be worth it.

<comment><USER3> Making it locally targeted is a brilliant idea.

In regards to cost, I told Frank I'd be willing to pay up to $30/mo for a shirt. Personally, I'd rock a Twilio shirt over anything I see on threadless.com.

<comment><USER4> You'd change your mind after wearing a Twilio shirt. They're paper thin and the giant circle logo that wraps around the side of your abdomen is stiff and scratchy. I have a lot of startup shirts from the old Startup Schwag, Twilio's is the only one I can't wear.

<comment><USER5> That's the super old design. Email me your size and address and I'll send you the new nice one with the tasteful design. You'll love it, I promise. firstname.lastname@example.com

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> YC startups start companies that sell to other YC startups that sell services to other startups that sell t-shirts to people who are doing startups... When we gonna reach the actual companies that provide the thick value?

<comment><AUTHOR> Well my main project is a music app, but in order to bootstrap that I put this together. I'm not YC (although Alexis Ohanian and Adam Goldstein have been helpful getting setup).

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> It sounds just like the now defunct Valleyschwag from 2006, [http://techcrunch.com/2006/05/04/get-web-20-schwag-from- vall...](http://techcrunch.com/2006/05/04/get-web-20-schwag-from- valleyschwag/)

<comment><AUTHOR> Yep, it is similar, but we print most of the merchandise ourselves. Valleyschwag shut down and Startup Schwag ended up being the next in line, and I hope Startup Threads picks up where they left off when Startup Schwag shut down in 2010.

<comment><USER8> What happened to valleyschwag/startup schwag? Why did they shut down?

<comment><USER9> ValleySchwag went on to start GetSatisfaction. StartupSchwag (which I ran) shut down b/c after 31 months, it was time for other projects. Really excited to see this coming back and I've already signed up!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Great product Frank. It took me less than 10 seconds to decide to sign up. Group the $14.95 and the $5.00 shipping in to a flat $20/mo quote. There's no need for the breakdown.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Hey HN! I put together Startup Threads Monthly to be a service that sends out startup merchandise (t-shirts, stickers, trinkets, discounts, etc) every month to consumers. It has been done in the past, and with some advice and guidance from Roddy (who ran Startup Schwag for a few years) I decided to bring it back.

Would love to get your feedback on the project.

<comment><USER10> Can you opt out of months if you don't want the particular schwag and not get charged $15?

<comment><AUTHOR> Hmm, I hadn't thought of this but you are the second person to mention this. Its something I'll definitely consider but havent added this functionality yet.

<comment><USER11> I wouldn't commit to a subscription like this (especially not knowing what I'm going to get), but I would be tempted to get individual packages, especially for companies I like. Why not instead operate more like Woot!, and feature a single package every week (or month or day)? I'd add that to my RSS reader.

<comment><AUTHOR> Will be rolling out a page for just getting one offs asap

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I have been looking for a service like this. Some questions I have: 1\. Is there a way to view what the t-shirt will look like? 2\. The monthly package we receive, are all the goodies from one company? Or will the sticker and surprise be from a different company? 3\. Will you be able to opt out of certain months?

<comment><AUTHOR> Good questions:

1) Right now we don't have the design for the month posted. Will do that soon, though. First month will be this Hipmunk design: <http://i.imgur.com/bIL5v.jpg>

2) The shirt and sticker will be from the same company. The rest will be from others

3\. Not yet, but this has been the #1 request so far

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> I signed up for this last week and I'm excited to start receiving some great swag next month. Living in Victoria, BC it's not so easy to get your hands on some shirts from the companies you use, follow, and hear about so this is a great new service. Thanks Frank!

<comment><AUTHOR> Nice! Hope you like the first shipment

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> I love the idea of a startup raising money by selling their own shirts.

</comment><comment><USER15> Startups will probably subsidize all your inventory if you get some traction, and make it easy for them. You're an advertising platform, the AdSense of high-value torsos.

<comment><AUTHOR> Agreed! AdSense of high-value torsos could be the new tagline

<comment><USER15> Take a cue from the car wraps business: If you could quantify the value of a torso (that person rides the train every day, or walks 2 miles in SOMA, or works at Google, or is the 4sq mayor of 20 hip joints), then the owner of that torso can get your monthly shirt for free... and the startups will pay for that. In fact, any brand would pay for that, so you may want to expand the positioning to take any company's schwag.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> The guys who run GetSatisfaction used to run ValleySwag (an identical service). It's cool to see ideas coming around again and finding (hopefully) new feasibility.

</comment><comment><USER17> It could be totally cool if you considered a "vintage" section, where you sell genuine one-off threads (think JavaSoft, DEC, Windows 3.11, ...)

<comment><AUTHOR> That would be cool if we could find those

<comment><USER18> your customers are telling you what they want. don't find em, make em!

these vintage NJ devils t-shirts are brand new

[http://www.fansedge.com/New-Jersey-Devils-Green-47-Brand- Vin...](http://www.fansedge.com/New-Jersey-Devils-Green-47-Brand-Vintage- Primary-Logo-Scrum-Tee-_901089562_PD.html?froogle=46-32929)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Looks cool. I'd love to see a price range on the home page as well, just so I know if this is something I can afford. Maybe even a/b test different price points on a splash page (unbounce) and see what sticks.

whens the first box shipping?!

now i don't have to buy clothes anymore

<comment><AUTHOR> I will definitely add the price to the home page.

First box ships at the end of February (its in the FAQ but it needs to be mentioned elsewhere)

My wardrobe is mostly startup t-shirts now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> Do the companies pay you for this distribution? They should. It's advertising for them, after all

<comment><AUTHOR> Yep, we think its a good targeted way to do merchandise, getting it into the hands of the most passionate startup fans. The best part so far is that we are connecting to people around the world, especially in places where there isnt as strong of a startup community.

<comment><USER21> Just curious, are you concerned with distributing to non-startup fans?

<comment><AUTHOR> Was not thinking of this currently. Do you think people outside of the startup world would be interested? I'm trying to make the designs interesting enough to appeal to others.

<comment><USER21> Totally. I just wouldn't make anything so centered around the idea of a startup. As long as people have reason to gravitate toward the design, people will want it. This goes beyond aesthetics, though. It's probably a difficult balance to achieve, but it's definitely doable.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Just a thought, I found the chat box popping up on every page to be quite annoying.

<comment><AUTHOR> Will change the settings on this as it shouldn't pop up every time. Have gotten lots of good feedback from the widget, though.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> I could see this being very popular. Whenever I wear startup swag (especially Twilio or Foursquare) I have people ask me where they can get it. When I say I got it at a user group or conference they seem disappointed.

<comment><AUTHOR> Nice! We will have Twilio and hope to get Foursquare as well. Both do an excellent job of coming up with high quality gear.

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> I think this is a great idea. I have a bunch of civilian friends ask me to "steal" a shirt for them when I'm at a hackathon or a meeting. Now i can just point them here. Thanks Frank!

</comment><comment><USER25> i think it may be wiser to get the startups themselves to subscribe to a swag subscription service (not consumers or fans). then each month the startups receive different types of products at their office. they could then order more of the ones they like. the subscription service introduces them to cool swag that they can give out (or sell?) to consumers & fans of their service. different approach, but i think it may make more sense.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, we have heard this from a few people (was on the GiftRocket list of startup ideas) and are considering it in the future.

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> Mystery box, who can resist! cant wait for my first :)

Backordering could be a great addition if it goes well. All the best with this idea!

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks! Considering backorders as well.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> This is a great concept. Visibility is key for any startup's success and thoughtful, on-the-ground swag is a huge part of this!

</comment><comment><USER28> Great idea. I've been waiting fOr a sErvice like this.

</comment><comment><USER29> really cool.

will there be more t-shirt styles/hoodies?

<comment><AUTHOR> Not going to do hoodies yet since they are expensive, unless a startup wants to subsidize it and send them.</comment></comment>


Ford's Evasive Steering Assist - <AUTHOR> https://www.ford.com/global/resources/ford/CoPilot360/HowTo/FMFT2713000H_Evasive_Steering_Assist.mp4 <comment><USER2> In the example at 00:24 I would be interested to know how the system reacts if a car comes from the other direction. Does it brake knowing it will collide ?

<comment><USER3> It evades the collision by going in the ditch.</comment></comment>


Body Cameras on Police Can Reduce Use of Force Citizen Complaints - <AUTHOR> http://online.wsj.com/articles/body-cameras-on-police-can-reduce-use-of-force-citizen-complaints-1408134549 <comment><USER2> Arguably a dupe of [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8182002](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8182002).

</comment><comment><USER3> I absolutely support this and hope it spreads. It reduces bad behavior from all parties and removes the he-said she-said afterwards.

BUT I really hope that there is an expiration date on those tapes. If someone doesn't insist on that provision when these laws get written, all that street footage will be the government's to peruse at will forever, that's almost as scary as mass collection and storage of our emails.

</comment><comment><USER4> Do officers decide when to turn on/off these cameras? Are the recordings stored on the device itself? I don't see how cameras would help much if both questions are true.

<comment><USER5> I used to work with Taser, and last I heard, data was getting uploaded wirelessly to cloud storage while the device charged. Not sure about when cameras have to be on/off.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Full text:

More police departments are outfitting policemen with wearable cameras that tape what officers see as they do their job, providing a record in the aftermath of incidents like the one in Ferguson, Mo., where a policeman shot and killed an unarmed black teen.

The cameras have shown promise in reducing incidents involving use of force as well as citizen complaints, according to new studies. Worn on officers' lapels, glasses or hats, the cameras can document a more definitive version of police work.

"If you look at what's happening in Ferguson—basically you have two entirely different versions of events," said Michael White, a professor of criminology at Arizona State University. "If that officer was wearing a body-worn camera we could just go to the tape."

Dr. White, who has studied the use of the cameras, said "there's tremendous potential to head off these types of incidents from blowing up afterwards."

In a press conference earlier this week, Thomas Jackson, chief of the Ferguson police department, said the department had only recently been budgeted $5,000 to buy a limited number of dashboard cameras and body cameras for officers. Mr. Jackson said the department had not yet put them into use at the time of the shooting but plans on incorporating them into vehicles and on officers soon.

In the Southern California city of Rialto, the number of citizen complaints against police dropped from 24 to 3 in the first year that the patrol officers began wearing cameras in 2012. Use-of-force incidents plummeted from 61 to 25 during the same period.

Tony Farrar, Rialto's chief of police said, "When you talk about putting a camera on somebody, human nature is going to dictate that you're going mind your p's and q's and you're going to be on the best behavior."

"At the same, I think it's had an impact on citizens—if they know you're wearing a camera they too will be on their best behavior," he said.

A 2013 study found that a quarter of 254 U.S. police departments surveyed used body cameras, according to the Police Executive Research Forum. More than 1,200 law enforcement agencies have purchased wearable cameras from Taser International Inc., TASR +9.44% with about 80% of the company's camera sales occurring in the last 12 months, according to Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle.

Big city police departments have begun to use or test body cameras, including New Orleans, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

There also has been some resistance in some quarters.

The police union in Las Vegas initially opposed using body cameras, worrying that the footage could be used in fishing expeditions against officers in cases where there were no complaints, said Chris Collins, the union's executive director. The proposal to use cameras had come after rash of police shootings three years ago. Now, some Las Vegas police have begun wearing them after the union and the department hammered out guidelines, including when supervisors are allowed to review footage, Mr. Collins said.

Police body cameras also have sparked some privacy concerns for citizens, but civil liberties groups back their use with some restrictions.

The American Civil Liberties Union said last year that the cameras have the "potential to be a win-win, helping protect the public against police misconduct, and at the same time helping protect police against false accusations of abuse."

The cameras themselves are only part of the expense—The cameras themselves are only part of the expense—Taser's cameras range from $399 to $599. Data-storage and management costs can be significant, according to a recent report by Dr. White, the Arizona State University professor. "The logistical and resource issues are especially challenging for those smaller police departments," he said.

The police department in Mesa, Ariz., did a side-by-side study of 50 officers wearing cameras and 50 without. The results after eight months: officers with cameras were subject of 8 citizen complaints while those without had 23.

With citizens regularly capturing incidents with police on their cell phones, Mesa Police Department spokesman Steve Berry said the department wanted to have their own video "to tell the whole story or certainly both sides of the story."

</comment><comment><USER7> Robert Peel would have loved this technology - he says as much in his Principles of Policing, that he wishes it was possible.

</comment><comment><USER8> Wall Street Journal has such a progressive business model

<comment><USER9> Paste the url into google search and open the first link in the results page.

<comment><USER7> Works with nytimes.com as well

You may have to remove stuff after the ? after the .html though.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Paywall. :/

<comment><USER11> To get round the paywall, do a Google search for "More Officers Wearing Body Cameras" and then click on the link to the article in the search results.

<comment><USER10> Ugh, newspapers. Thanks.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Paywalls on Websites Can Reduce Incidences of Me Reading Them.</comment>


Paris Attackers Coordinated via Unencrypted SMS - <AUTHOR> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151118/08474732854/after-endless-demonization-encryption-police-find-paris-attackers-coordinated-via-unencrypted-sms.shtml?threaded=true <comment><AUTHOR> Best comment on page so far:

QUICK, HURRY We need to quickly ban this SMS technology to prevent the next attack.

<comment><USER2> A full ban would be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. All we really need is an escrowed backdoor to plaintext SMS. That was the only thing keeping the intelligence services from reading the chatter.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> And they used guns and bombs to kill people which are sold by arms manufactures for high profit.</comment>


Illiterate Programming - <AUTHOR> http://dosync.posterous.com/illiterate-programming

<comment><USER2> re: "Literate Programming" is admission of defeat.

This seems like a misunderstanding of Knuth's purpose in developing Literate Programming. Sure, trivial boilerplate code for a dictionary class should be largely self-documenting. But that's not really what Knuth works on. Think of things like TeX's layout algorithm, or huge combinatorial problems, where knowing exactly what each line of code does gives little insight into the big picture.</comment>


Facebook Co-founder Chris Hughes relaunches The New Republic - <AUTHOR> http://www.newrepublic.com/

<comment><USER2> Overall interestingly done, although the small 'the' overlaid on the main 'New Republic' title irks me to no end. It really, really does not fit with the rest of its surroundings and looks added at the last minute.</comment>


Is It Propaganda or Not? - <AUTHOR> http://www.propornot.com <comment><USER2> As usual, The Intercept aggressively hypes and attacks while making valid points. [https://theintercept.com/2016/11/26/washington-post- disgrace...](https://theintercept.com/2016/11/26/washington-post- disgracefully-promotes-a-mccarthyite-blacklist-from-a-new-hidden-and-very- shady-group/)

Intercept article can be distilled into three points:

1\. People behind propornot.com hide their own identity.

2\. Organizations on its website mentioned as "allied" are not actually allied. This is clear misinformation.

3\. They label organizations with very wide and amateurish brush. (IMHO: some sites in the list ofthen use weak non-centrist opinionated and ideological arguments. That does not make them propaganda or fake news)</comment>


A little car you can drive in France without a licence - <AUTHOR> https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35210572 <comment><USER2> That is not "France" (typically or only), it is an EU wide thing with only a few little differences between countries, they are "quadricycles" that can be either L6E or L7E, depending on weight and max speed/power:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadricycle_(EU_vehicle_classi...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadricycle_\(EU_vehicle_classification\))

The article above has only a few country specific entries, though.

In France only people born before 1988 can actually drive a L6E vehicle "without license", people born later need some form of certificate (not an actual "full" driving license, still there is a throey and practice requirement) see (Axiam is one of the "big" producers of these vehicles):

[https://www.aixam.com/en/legislation](https://www.aixam.com/en/legislation)

A good visualization of the EU classification for these vehicles is on page 10 of this .pdf:

[http://eu-live.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EU-LIVE_D_4.3_L...](http://eu- live.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EU-LIVE_D_4.3_L6e_Vehicle_Concept.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER3> Reminds me of the old Robin Reliant; I believe the 3-wheelers were exempt from licensing in the UK, or counted as "motorcycles". Some manufacturers have attempted to do the same with electric vehicles such as the Renault Twizy.

(The French insistence on maintaining rural life exactly unchanged is charming - most of the time)

<comment><USER4> Is it easier to get motorcycle license than a car license over there? In the States you must have your normal car/truck driver's license before you can get a motorcycle license. Or at least, this is the case in the three states I know well.

<comment><USER3> Varies by country, but per the article France will let you drive one of the "VSP"s without any pre-requisites, and even if you've _lost_ your car license due to drink driving.

[https://www.justlanded.com/english/France/Articles/Travel- Le...](https://www.justlanded.com/english/France/Articles/Travel- Leisure/Motorcycles-in-France) : "From the age of 14, children can ride a moped with an engine capacity below 50cc capable of a maximum speed of 45kph" (!)

The UK used to let you drive a moped on a provisional license, but nowadays it requires compulsory training. Effectively they are two separate licenses you can learn either before the other.

<comment><USER5> I think you need the AM license but strangely only for people born after 1987. Still a joke compared to a regular B license. And a court order can if specified forbid you to drive these too.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_driving_licence#Categ...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_driving_licence#Categories_valid_in_all_EEA_member_states)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I have no idea what the law about this is in Netherland. We do have these kind of little cars for people with disabilities, but sometimes I wonder if they are the only people using these. No idea what kind of license or other requirements there are, though.

Kids can ride scooters from age 14 here, and I do believe (some of?) these mini cars fall under similar rules. On the other hand, police are pretty strict on scooters and proper registration as far as I know.

</comment><comment><USER7> Not sure if it's like this in all states but in Georgia people with a questionable drivers license status have been buying scooters. If the scooter's engine is under a certain CC and can only go like 30/35mph you won't get pulled over. People with DUIs, crazy driving records, and whatever other issues are driving them. In most situations it impedes traffic and causes some dangerous situations on main roads.

<comment> non-entity I've lived in GA, SC, and now FL and they seem to be pretty common there. They do seem to carry a negative stereotype, however.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I'm sat on the Eurostar as I type this coming back from a long weekend in Paris. I've been before, but this time spent a bit more time on the roads.

1\. I completely believe that the French think that somebody should be able to drive without any training

2\. This is not a compliment, and something really needs to be done to manage drivers and traffic better in France.

<comment><USER9> You technically need a BSR, which you usually do in middle school, so it's not "without training".

Getting a driving license in France is actually hard, requires 20h of lessons, and has a 50% failure rate. If you compare that to a driving test in the US which is super easy and impossible to fail.

<comment><USER10> _Getting a driving license in France is actually hard, requires 20h of lessons, and has a 50% failure rate. If you compare that to a driving test in the US which is super easy and impossible to fail._

This varies by state, and by age, because Federalism.

E.g. in Oregon teenagers need 100 hours of supervised driving (e.g. with a parent) behind the wheel, or 50 hours supervised driving plus an approved drivers education course. That course has 30 hours of classroom instruction and 5 hours of driving instruction with a professional.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: What tools do you use to search for Meetups? - <AUTHOR> I find the search capabilities on Meetup and Eventbrite to be woefully inadequate. Is anyone aware of or developing good third party options for searching either or both sites for events? <comment><USER2> If you are looking for tech events you can use [https://techevents.co/](https://techevents.co/) aggregator. Right now it collects events from Meetup, Eventbrite, Lanyrd, Facebook, and shows in one place by providing easy search and ordering by attendees count to be able to see popular events.

Full disclosure: I'm the creator of TechEvents.co

<comment><USER3> :( still hardly anything near me

<comment><USER2> In which city are you?

<comment><USER3> Columbia, SC. It has to be about the smallest capital city I've ever seen. Most of the events here I already attend or are intended for middle / highschool students.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> I am not actively working on or associated with any efforts to build a search app for Meetups but would be happy to pay to use a good one. Contact info in profile if you are looking for beta users / early adopters.</comment>


The web looks like shit - <AUTHOR> https://theoutline.com/post/1165/the-web-looks-like-shit <comment><USER2> The site is a good example of what the article is complaining about.

<comment><USER3> May be intentionally?

<comment><USER4> The rest of the site is all the same, so I doubt it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Calling out other websites as shit invites critique of their own, in my opinion.

As far as I can tell, the article is more about UX than UI. "The web acts like shit" would be a more proper title. The high contrast purple of the site is ironic I suppose, looking at their other articles. Can someone explain to me what the info icon is supposed to do in their social share area? [0] Why do most things lack a proper :hover state, instead relying entirely on cursor:pointer? Why is the share menu hidden behind a "return" icon?

 _> Share buttons and prompts to "read more" treat readers like idiots who don't know how to do basic tasks_

Pot meet kettle [1]. And no, it isn't just for this article to make an ironic point (like the purple background).

 _> Text that's invaded by ads_

Pot meet kettle [2].

Well let's give another article a chance.

 _> NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THE INTERNET IS A SWAMP AND THE TROLLS HAVE WON_

 _> ongratulations, Twitter eggs, GamerGate supporters, and YouTube commenters — you win, the internet is all yours._

The contrast of their menu sucks on white backgrounds[3]. Tried to copy the first sentence, it's broken of course due to their unique first letter. Speaking of shitty web....way to go, you guys and gals managed to fuck up copy/paste.

On another note - I'm out. Lumping #GG with trolls? I'm sure I can expect quality investigative journalism from this site /s.

[0] [http://i.imgur.com/JJiVnqb.png](http://i.imgur.com/JJiVnqb.png)

[1] [http://i.imgur.com/E3ZNEgI.png](http://i.imgur.com/E3ZNEgI.png)

[2] [http://i.imgur.com/nT21CFR.png](http://i.imgur.com/nT21CFR.png)

[3] [http://i.imgur.com/NxAZMO7.png](http://i.imgur.com/NxAZMO7.png)

<comment><USER6> Whether or not GG has much merit to it separate from this, I am fairly strongly under the impression that there are a substantial number of people such that the main interaction they have had with GG/"GG" is from people searching through a topic and sending aggressive(?) messages to people who expressed disapproval of the group, in a way that isn't particularly helpful.

So, even if GG has substantial merits to it, it seems reasonable that someone with such experiences would continue to have a negative viewpoint of the group, even if the people sending the messages ' arent GG proper '/'aren't true GGers' by whatever standard you want to use for what a GGer is.

I think that even if GG is/were "overall" good, it doesn't seem unreasonable that a person would think it bad. If the article was about GG in particular, then investigating it in particular would be important, but as just an example in a sentence, I don't think having a negative opinion towards GG is enough to discredit whatever journalism?

<comment><USER5> _> I don't think having a negative opinion towards GG is enough to discredit whatever journalism?_

My issue with using #GG as an example is that the MSM narrative of #GG is precisely that - and parroting it is lazy and cliché to me. I suppose I've become jaded from the time I spent around #GG.

But really, I could have picked any of their other articles. Most of them are rehashes of already-popular topics or pointless drivel like "We found out what camera Kendrick Lamar used to make a tiny planet".

The coolest article I actually read was "I asked Tony Hawk if he would teach me how to ollie and he said yes." and not because of the content, but because they actually bothered asking Tony Hawk to teach one of them _and_ he said yes. That is actually kinda cool that they'd fund that for an article. It's different, although the article itself was pretty lackluster and had a bunch of annoying 3-5 second gifs littered throughout.

E: Oh god this post has gone through nearly 20 minutes of constant edits. To anyone who was reading one of the 500,000 variations of this post or formulating a response - I apologize. I'm done now.</comment></comment></comment>


A picture/text infinite-scroll library,It can easy help you make banner you want - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/MQZHot/ZCycleView <comment></comment>


Ask YC: To booth or not to booth ? - <AUTHOR>

Hi guys,
We're working on the product for my new startup in the ecommerce space. No it's not another ecommerce site builder :) Our product should be ready in the next 5-6 weeks.
Our question is: should we advertise by having a booth at the Internet Retailer or shop.org conferences? Has anyone done this at these conferences and was it useful?
If not these ones specifically, what have your experiences been with booths at trade conferences or shows in your area of expertise?
Cash is tight as a startup and these don't come cheap so would love to get your thoughts.
Thanks in advance. <comment><USER2> Don't do it. I've been considering the same thing for my startup (MailFinch) for a while now -- it's so tempting, but it's not worth it.

These days, here's what I do to "sponsor" events like these:

1\. Give away a door prize. In my case, I give the conference organizer the ability to give away three of my "Freelance" packages for a year -- those are worth $300/each.

2\. I tell the conference organizer that I only have budget for stuff that is _guaranteed_ to bring me customers. I tell the organizer that I'll give them an affiliate commission on anyone that signs up through the special link I provide for the conference. (This is a relatively new tactic for me and, so far, only seems to work with the larger conferences...)

</comment><comment><USER3> I think Eric Sink describes some strategies for setting up a booth for trade shows in the Business of Software. So it must have worked for him, but I think that was after he had a profitable business. I'm not sure how important that would be for a new startup. You've gotta get the word out somehow though.</comment>


From SaaS idea validation in 1 day to 150+ Beta signups - <AUTHOR> https://rocketchart.co/en/saas-founders-story <comment><USER2> This appears to be long-form ad copy. It's characterized by extremely short paragraphs (often one sentence), one after another, and a winding story the reader must wade through to get to the payoff promised in the headline.

I can't stand this format and associate it with scams. But many prominent marketers consider it the key to their success. The authors of the OP appear to fall into the latter category.

After 1/3 of the way into the article, I don't know:

\- what RocketChart is or what it does

\- how the authors got 150 beta signups

I have, however, gained numerous insights into the emotional state of the author, friends, and family, and have been blasted with memes from here to Timbuktu.

If the article isn't long form ad copy, then it could use a thorough edit. Start with the actionable part and give me a high-level view of it in the first paragraph.

However, I strongly suspect otherwise.

<comment><USER3> The author themselves said this was their first time writing long form. I chalk most of your complaints up to this and the fact that english is his second language.

<comment><USER4> I give some allowance for ESL, but I refuse to believe he made it all the way through school without having to write "long form," aka a book report or something.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This is a prime example why people don't trust people in finance, and more recently, in tech.

Imagine signing up for a service like this and the first interaction with it is a lie. How can you trust some of your company's most important financial data with a "partner" like this?

Disclosure: I run a financial modeling software company.

<comment><USER6> I work for a small startup and have never felt right about _" fake it till you make it"_, sometimes it just goes too far.

\- Lie about user count

\- Lie about product features

\- Lie about your products existence?

Enough with the lies...

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> "We have a SaaS that is running well (staff scheduling) since a couple of years" … "I hadn't a SaaS "running well", nor a real product ^^"

"Just before turning off the light, I sent a message to my brother. I asked him to like my post to get a bit of visibility."

Ultimately, I don't think these things make a lick of difference. But it seems so common for "growth hackers" to do kinda sleazy crap like this. Why's this type of behavior so common?

<comment><USER8> Because the world rewards this type of scammy behavior. It's no different than legit blockchain projects being overlooked for vaporware projects selling pie in the sky ideas that they know they can't live up to. (I used this example because I work in the industry and it kills me to constantly see this behavior being rewarded)

<comment><USER9> I agree. Some call this marketing. De Beers telling everyone that diamonds are a girls best friend.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Definitely I am way too old (and grumpy) for this kind of stuff, so I will refrain from commenting on the ethics of the procedures reported, but I would be curious on how the "plan" is to get to the $10k of Monthly Recurring Revenue.

I mean is that 1 customer billed 10,000 bucks per month, 10,000 customers billed 12 bucks per year or (more likely) something in the middle?

<comment><USER11> I think they are just being honest, this has been followed by many many companies before them. Nothing wrong with advertising and getting the clients then building product from that point. Its all free anyway, its not like they are taking people's money upfront.

<comment><USER10> >Its all free anyway, its not like they are taking people's money upfront.

More than "free" right now it is either "null" or "negative".

If the non-product (in Beta stage) is given to the beta-testers for free, it is actually "null", Beta testers get (for free) an incomplete/unusable/unuseful product. (we are talking of a "serious" product that in perspective is to be used to manage "serious" matters, i.e. company money)

If the non-product (in Beta stage) is given to the beta-testers (for free) AND it is (or even if it was at the time the testing began) in early Beta (as this seems the status from the narrative) it is actually "negative", beta-testers are spending or have already spent their time/knowledge/experience on actually making the product (not materially, but providing ideas, asking for needed features, reporting bugs and errors, suggesting enhancements or changes, etc.).

So not only the testers have spent time (if not money) on it, they actually made a bet on the whole stuff, not even knowing if the product would have been ever delivered, let alone the actual future (monthly) cost for it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Making a one page site to 'validate your idea' by getting 'sign ups' is more a measure of how willing people are to hand over their email address than any proof that your startup could work. How many of those people will turn in to actual real money sales is the only metric that counts.

If you can get 150 people to preorder and pay an actual fee based on an idea and a mockup then I'll be impressed. And it is possible...

</comment><comment><USER13> A lot of negative comments here, so I'll offer my 2c.

I agree that their initial post was deceptive, and inexcusably so. But the spammy tactic I think is outweighed by their total devotion to understanding their customers. Maintaining over 300 simultaneous conversations, just to get an insight into their users is a herculean, and praiseworthy, effort.

The takeaways and tips are useful too, if you're thinking about starting a bootstrapped company. They're not pitched as "do this and you'll succeed", they're pitched as "here's what we did, you do you", which I appreciate. I'll borrow some and ignore others when I start my own venture.

EDIT: curious why I'm being downvoted

<comment><AUTHOR> Maybe, you were downvoted because you didn't criticize our article as all those genius guys are doing? ^^

Anyway, glad to see some useful comments that finally identify the bright side of this :)

Thanks for your 2c

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> At first I thought it was sort of a minor thing to lie about having a company that has been in operation for years but I think it's actually pretty significant here. He's pitching a product that doesn't exist yet by saying that it's worth everyone's time and money because his company has already been using it with success. That's just not true and not really fair to do to your would be first customers.

</comment><comment><USER15> I must be missing something. The product looks a like a cloud accounting software.

Why does this not new concept need validation?

<comment><USER16> 1\. It is their own take on accounting software. You make it sound like it's silly to need validation because the category exists. But every business ever needs validation. 2\. They are new to the market (and seems like they are new to business in general) and need to learn about it

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> "hey guys, we're a successful company with a real product" \- theranos

</comment><comment><USER18> I wonder if having a name so similar to RocketChat will be problematic for you. Currently, Google even suggests correcting searches for RocketChart to RocketChat.

</comment><comment><USER19> Seemingly well funded UK cashflow management tool fluidly [1] also validates the concept I suppose, although I'd guess that they (Fludily) are solving for what the user _needs_ and not what they _want_ (cashflow predictions vs cashflow charts)

[1] [https://fluidly.com/](https://fluidly.com/)

</comment><comment><USER20> If your customer is president of each country, you can only have around 200 signups.

<comment><USER21> Also, the sky is blue. Bam! Qed!

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> Someday a savvy generation of consumers are going to catch on to these scammy "validation" schemes and it will only get harder and harder to actually get people's attention as they grow to ignore anything that doesn't demonstrate something more than a screenshot or video or a slick website.

</comment><comment><USER23> I am surprised people are disclosing their financials to third party that easily. plaintext accounting isn't very hard to use, yet it is much more powerful and safer.

<comment><USER24> There's a bit in the article where they directly ask for a CSV dump of transactions, only to get denied. What I thought was somewhat odd/ironic/funny/etc was that the thought of "hey give us your financials in a csv" was untenable, but effectively doing the same through a banking API was OK.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> This might work for B2C products, but B2B is too niche. I have very specific people I need to get in touch with.

<comment><USER26> I'm not sure what you mean, the product showcased is B2B. Most (all?) of their clients are other startups.

<comment><USER27> Are those startups listed on their page actually using them? Is this something you were able to independently verify?

I find it extremely hard to believe anything coming from people who have lied to their customers from day one.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> Nice way to validate the concept there. Good stuff.

</comment><comment><USER29> Wow this is a good article! Ill try this if I ever can come up with an idea (hopefully lol).</comment>


Ubisoft's E3 host hits back at "GAF dicks, Gamespot trolls, every illiterate ... - <AUTHOR> http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-06-13-ubisofts-e3-host-hits-back-at-gaf-dicks-gamespot-trolls-every-illiterate-racist-douchebag-on-youtube

<comment><USER2> And good for her. Exclusionary elitists in my preferred hobby grate on me like few other things. You can never tell why they distrust her, so you're left wondering: Celebrity? Sex? Race? A combination of any of those? Something else completely?

I get enjoying something that you feel is "your community", but to feel that way about a multi-billion dollar industry or even million dollar IPs? Yeah. That's just buying into marketing a bit too much, which is indeed a childish thing.

As a gamer, I like the idea of the rest of the world getting into gaming. I WISH more people would. That this person is an attractive woman that does a good job on one of the best shows on TV (Archer, seriously, it's great) is just a plus.</comment>


Ask HN: Which cloud provider to use in 2018? Azure, AWS, GCE, something else? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER3> At LogRocket ([https://logrocket.com](https://logrocket.com)) we've been on GCP for ~2 years and have been extremely satisfied. Some reasons in particular:

\- "Infinitely scalable" services like Bigtable and Cloud Pub/Sub have helped us scale extremely quickly to support large clients.

\- The durability of Cloud Pub/Sub was particularly important early on as it served as a fail safe when our consumers would go down

\- Aggressive discounts for committed use. For our particular workload we've calculated AWS could be as much as 10% more expensive

\- Dashboard developer experience and UX is more approachable than AWS

<comment><USER4> After I graduated in December, I was hired as a consultant for the company I was interning with on and off the past couple years. I was tasked with automating and migrating as much of our workflow as possible onto a hosted solution.

After trying out AWS and GCP, we settled on GCP for a few reasons in addition to what benthehenten outlined.

\- Development experience is great, docs are on point.

\- BigQuery is fantastic. It let me seamlessly hand off an interface to a full time employee that had experience with SQL without the overhead of them having to learn a whole lot more.

\- Custom VM's provide us with the flexibility to get exactly what we need to run our workloads, no more, no less.

\- TPU's though not generally available at the time, were something we knew we'd want to take advantage of in the future. Because we're a TensorFlow shop, it just made sense.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> What do you want out of the cloud provider? Do you want the value-add services (e.g., AWS Lambda, S3, etc)? Or do you just want Linux machines, virtual or otherwise, that you can run your own stuff on?

It seems to me that you should start with your requirements, then figure out which provider best meets your needs.

<comment><USER6> False. Black bear.

<comment><USER7> What does that mean? And can you elaborate? (I agree with Mister_Snuggles but would like to hear reasoned counter arguments)

<comment><USER8> He's trying to be funny by quoting The Office

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsGnFExpup8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsGnFExpup8)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I would suggest using some portable tools to keep your options open. It's getting increasingly easy to go for he candy and get locked in.

I think the pricing model of gcp makes a lot of sense. I'm also under the impression that gcp has faster networking and storage, but haven't quantified this.

AWS has the most offerings, and it seems like their momentum will be difficult to catch from a development standpoint. Of the big 3, AWS is likely the one with the least internal use, which isn't a bad thing - they build features for costumers more than releasing features they build for themselves.

Azure is in a different market but provides a very good Platform for the Microsoft ecosystem and it's impressively coordinated.

We use all 3, as well as on premise and private cloud. Each is better for different things. Zerotier is your friend for multi-cloud liberty.

<comment><USER10> I was under the impression they were moving to platform independence.

Deploying a Python Website to Azure with Docker

[http://www.jamessturtevant.com/posts/Deploying-Python- Websit...](http://www.jamessturtevant.com/posts/Deploying-Python-Website-To- Azure-Web-with-Docker/)

"Azure Web Apps for Linux using python"

<comment><USER9> Docker and kube are a godsend for portability.

Hashicorp's terraform is also deserving of some contribution to this space.

Softether is the last necessity in my cloud-agnostic toolkit.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Entirely depends on your use case most likely. While thus far I've mostly only used these services for side projects & academic research, I will say that I found Google Cloud to be the easiest to use by far for a casual / new user. The quality of the tooling, UIs, libraries, and documentation is just exceptional. I've found getting most things up and running there is a breeze and downright enjoyable, which sharply contrasts to my experiences using other services.

</comment><comment><USER12> Don't use AWS, or at least don't put all your eggs into the AWS basket.

AWS has gotten to the service and infrastructure footprint it has today by death marching mediocre talent to ship untested and brittle things. This is true all the way down into the physical infrastructure, which often breaks and causes regional havoc. Great examples from the last 6 months include the 40 minute outage in US-WEST-2 in September, or the several hour event in US- EAST-1 during the East Coast wind storms. Bubble gum and baling wire.

They're trying to stabilize things, but leadership and sales are often committing to large spend customers and financing new features with technical debt (when current technical debt is not being serviced). Those at the top are not really concerned with running a solid or innovative platform as much as just pure growth and revenue.

<comment><USER13> > _Great examples from the last 6 months include the 40 minute outage in US- > WEST-2 in September, or the several hour event in US-EAST-1 during the East > Coast wind storms. Bubble gum and baling wire._

Were other non-Amazon companies impacted directly by the storms? I have no idea where Microsoft and Google cloud server farms live, but it's a bit of a stretch to say that a major weather event causing downtime is due to "bubble gum and bailing wire". You could be right - I don't know anything about their setup - but "throwaway985325" isn't exactly a trustworthy source.

<comment><USER12> I work on an internal service, and my weekly metrics reflect the health of a lot of services. It's more often than not that those metrics look like a printout from a seismograph sitting on an active fault.

I don't know if other cloud providers were impacted, but I'm willing to bet they were not impacted intermittently for 6 hours.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> What are your requirements? Honestly they all do the essentials pretty well. AWS has the largest tooling ecosystem, but that's because it had 1st mover advantage.

Your requirements and architecture are going to guide this decision pretty heavily. Do you run on VM's or use Kubernetes? If you use Kubernetes how well abstracted from the infrastructure cloud are you? Well abstracted... any of them will suffice (AWS doesn't have a hosted Kubernetes option yet though... coming this year supposedly).

</comment><comment><USER15> In my opinion as long as the basic functionality that you need is offered it doesn't really matter that much which one you chose.

I'd look more for non-functional requirements: What do the skills in your team look like, do you have a relationship with one of the cloud providers, can you get the quotas/limits you need in the regions you need, what cost are they, what are other people using in the same field (makes it easier to find help), can you get free credits somewhere, how worried are you about vendor lock- in[1] etc.

None of the big ones will go away anytime soon.

[1] [https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/21/17146308/microsoft- wunder...](https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/21/17146308/microsoft-wunderlist- to-do-app-acquisition-complicated)

</comment><comment><USER16> It might be worth mentioning that Digital Ocean has added features recently that now put it more on the level GCE, AWS, Azure. It is still pretty basic but has added firewalls and object storage and it is pretty good prices. It would of course depend on your needs though.

</comment><comment><USER17> We use AWS and are pretty happy with them.

The other truth is that once you're on a platform, as long as you're pretty happy, you're not really going to switch. It's just not the most important thing for your business usually. GCE sure looks like it has some neat stuff, but I'd have to be crazy to derail the other important tech work we have for an infrastructure change like that.

</comment><comment><USER18> So I think it all really depends on what you're looking to build. From a feature perspective, AWS is much more mature than GCE or Azure but all of those feature come at a price.

As an example, the AWS Lambda ecosystem is much more mature than Google Cloud Functions with a wider language support, Lambda on Edge, API Gateway, etc...

With that being said, my go-to cloud is Google. They support all of the "big" features I need and is priced more fairly - especially for growing businesses. What I really like is how their reservation system works, instead of reserving entire instances, you can reserve cores/ram for a period of 1-3 years. Many business workloads its impossible to project compute needs 1-3 years out, with Google you don't have to because you can apply the cores/ram you reserve in any configuration you want (including GKE which is really nice).

</comment><comment><USER19> My money is on GCE.

<comment><USER20> One annoying (but perhaps understandable) thing of GCE is that in the EU you need to have a VAT number to use any of it, even if only for free tiers.

<comment><USER21> We (finally) changed that: [https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/resources/vat- overview...](https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/resources/vat- overview#individual_accounts_in_eu)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> At my old company we moved from AWS to GCP mid-2017 - and I honestly can't remember a single major bad thing about it, just two minor ones[0][1].

It was cheaper, the VMs performed better, the GUI was better (we heavily used Terraform, but as we just started on GCP, we still used the cloud console quite heavily, to doublecheck, etc)

But! there's surely a bit of bias involved, as we did this as greenfield migration project where we did everything the correct[tm] way with instance groups for scaling etc, whereas the old AWS setup was organically grown. Neither setups had auto-scaling, but on GCP it was really low-friction to scale manually.

[0]: pro: live migrations work / contra: there's NTP clock skew when migrating, this alerted us a few times when we noticed

[1]: terraform and some other tooling didn't yet support 100% of stuff, so we had to file a few bugs/PRs (iirc)

</comment><comment><USER23> We use Google Cloud and I'm really pleased with it. The team often adds useful new features and are pretty accessible through support. Perhaps most importantly right now, they're working hard to put in place to help people manage GDPR compliance issues, which is saving us a lot of time.

</comment><comment><USER24> If you are a nonprofit, AWS is amazingly generous. My FIRST Robotics team was given a $500 grant to develop a scouting system. We mostly use EC2 but the breath of services is shocking, most services can be run absolutely free with S3/CloudFront with free SSL and edge computing with Lambda--meanwhile, CloudFront is trying to charge $1/mo for "edge workers" that only run in one language. Although a VPS company like Linode or DigitalOcean have lower prices than EC2, they don't have the machine types, CLI, SDK languages, and integrated CDN. If your concerned about data transfer pricing, fire up a $5/mo Lightsail VM as a load balancer/reverse proxy--free 1TB data out.

<comment><USER25> Microsoft Azure gives $5,000/yr credits to non-profits. [https://www.microsoft.com/en- us/nonprofits/azure](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonprofits/azure) Also a non-combinable $5/mo for Office 365 E5

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> For small projects I like to start with something flat-fee like Linode or DigitalOcean - having to worry about variable costs is a distraction.

I just registered a wildcard SSL certificate using the DO plugin from LetsEncrypt and it worked like a charm.

</comment><comment><USER27> Some criteria: Bread of services, innovations, ecosystem: AWS Microsoft technology focus,ease of use: Azure Fast global networking, Kubernetes, Tensorflow: GCE Cheap servers: challengers Niche: ARM servers - Scaleway, ...

<comment><USER28> Language clarification: GCE refers to Google Compute Engine and GCP is the Google Cloud Platform.

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> DigitalOcean. A little more bare bones than the cloud providers, but really easy to use and great (community) documentation. They also have a great set of predefined images which can be deployed in seconds.

<comment><USER30> Last time I used their predefined images (a year ago), I found many were severely outdated. Are they any better now?

If you want predefined images, I've found using Docker Hub to be a better starting point even if you don't use Docker.

Aside from that they're a great host.

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> Depends on your needs. Some larger organizations will have multiple providers for business continuity, multi region is not enough. The smaller organization might decided on a cloud , solely based on pricing. AWS is the giant, followed by Azure and GCE is 3rd. Depending on your orchestration tools, why choose one :) as long as you don't lock yourself into a specific service, you should be able to switch across cloud compute. If you're not using AWS, get the free trial, kick the tires.

</comment><comment><USER32> Whichever provider gives you the most credits. Seriously, all the clouds are cheap, and provide basically the same service. I would say AWS is more configurable than the rest, but GCE is probably easier to use.

In terms of stability AWS is probably the winner. GCE has had a multi-region failure within the last ~2 years, AWS hasn't seen a multi-region failure in the last decade.

</comment><comment><USER33> Anything, as long as it has managed Kubernetes. It lets your applications be (somewhat) cloud-independent. Of course if you use value added services (AWS APi Gateway, GCP PubSub etc.) this is less useful, but if you're just running containers on Linux this is truly the future.

</comment><comment><USER34> You'll need to define a clear set of criteria. All of the aforementioned providers have similarities, and differences. Requirements, costs, SLA, support, availability, APIs, redundancy... it's an infinite list that you'll have to narrow down yourself.

</comment><comment><USER35> If you don't need the more enterprise-y cloud features of something like AWS, then I highly recommend DigitalOcean. Responsive support, excellent API, excellent design, good feature set without getting bloated like AWS.

For backups, I use Backblaze B2 and love it too.

</comment><comment><USER36> I wouldn't advocate them as a replacement for something like AWS or GCE - <USER2> that said, I'm really enjoying Vultr. I've found my experience with them comparable to DigitalOcean.

</comment><comment><USER37> I've just finished a migration from Heroku to AWS, managed by Convox. I would highly recommend it: [https://convox.com](https://convox.com)

</comment><comment><USER38> I'll never use GCE again. Too many services get pulled on a whim.

<comment><USER39> Disclosure: I work on GCP

To understand, what services got pulled? we have a very long deprecation policy and I can't think of anything that has been removed in the last couple of years.

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> I would refer Scaleway if you can set up your applications yourself. Using it for a year now and seen them only get better. Price and readymade images are what I like the most about them.

<comment><USER41> Scaleway is really cheap, especially if you don't care much about CPU speed. But reliability is the problem. Every few weeks one of my machines becomes unreachable, requiring manual hard restart from the control panel.

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> Probably depends on what stage the company is at. You could have tons of credits from being in an accelerator, or you could be so large you need to spread risk out over multiple clouds.

<comment><USER43> Could you elaborate on what you would recommend for what stage?

<comment><USER44> If you have loads of credit for a cloud? _That_ cloud. If you need to spread out risk? All of them.

<comment><USER45> If you have loads of credit for a cloud, you can usually get the others to match. Definitely use those credits to try and align with the solution your team has experience with/prefers.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER46> Depends what services are you after to. If you are into "serverless" \- than from my experience most robust/integrated environment is being provided by AWS...

</comment><comment><USER47> None, because the CLOUD act tells us that you'll be exposing everything that happens on your provider's platform to prying eyes.

Just like Facebook? No, slightly worse.

</comment><comment><USER48> guys please read my experience with GCP here: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16658339](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16658339)

GCP is not an option for me. Please anyone who has used aws elastic beanstalk share your experience.

</comment><comment><USER49> [https://zeit.co](https://zeit.co)

</comment><comment><USER50> Cheap vps with aws cloudfront in front of it.

</comment><comment><USER51> Anyone using Cloudways ? Any comments ?

</comment><comment><USER52> AWS Elastic Beanstalk

</comment><comment><USER53> You will not hear much about azure because of the clear anti-ms bias here but give it a try if you want end-to-end automation for everything including spinning machines and dB instances (and my experience is it is at par with was in terms of stability, although this was a comparison for a brief time and hard to quantify)</comment>


'Upset' Linus Torvalds gets sweary and gets results - <AUTHOR> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/12/19/upset_linus_torvalds_gets_sweary_and_gets_results/ <comment><USER2> I'm not defending him, but looking for an opportunity to learn. can anyone recommend a way to improve communication to be nicer?

i.e. It appears this branch does not even compile, please check this before submitting in the future?

and also identifying the root cause, "this type of error can be avoided in the future by allocated more time to testing before submitting.?

thoughts? I guess its much easier to respond how Linus did out of frustration...

<comment><USER3> It is also possible that he communicates that way by choice, to establish and maintain a baseline expectation for future behavior.

<comment><USER4> Yes, and that baseline expectation is "I am abusive and hurtful and you all have to deal with it because I run this place. Good luck."

I wouldn't work for someone with that expectation.

<comment><USER5> How is this abusive and hurtful? They chose to abuse trust and got hurt by their own arrogance. It was lazy, arrogant, and unbefitting of their positions. They deserved far worse.

<comment><USER3> They deserved far worse? Like what?

They made a mistake, they got flamed and they won't make that mistake again. Others are also less likely to make this mistake, which is very likely why he does it that way.

<comment><USER5> They actually didn't get flamed. There was no personal attack, even though he was well in the right to do so.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Of all the things that are noteworthy in this email thread, Linus calling the branch a piece-of-shit seems the least of them.

[http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1612.2/00545.html](http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1612.2/00545.html)

</comment><comment><USER7> Torvalds is an abusive leader and I don't understand why people keep workin on Linux under him. Are kernel devs paid? Is it worth being abused in front of the entire world because your boss has the emotional maturity of a child?

<comment><AUTHOR> Who would work on Linux if Torvalds was ousted as the leader of the Kernel Team? It would be one more project that would have died out in a sea of dead open source projects.

<comment><USER8> One of his top-level maintainers. Probably Greg Koah-Hartman.

You aren't seriously suggesting that the future of Linux (one of the largest open-source projects backed by multi-billion companies) depends on one single guy?

<comment><USER9> And watch the kernel crapify over night as GKH lets his Freedesktop friends, like say Kay Sievers, run rampant...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> > On the internet nobody can hear you being subtle.

[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds)

</comment><comment><USER4> I've posted many, many times here on how abusive and gross Linus's conduct is. It continues to flabbergast me just how many people leap to his defense. He doesn't need defending. The people he insults do.

</comment><comment><USER10> Step 1.) Fork Linux

Step 2.) echo "no big meanies plz :(" > CoC.md

Step 3.) git add .;git commit -m "i'm helping"; git push

You have solved the problem.

<comment><USER11> You say that as if that doesn't happen already - there's quite a bit of code that's maintained collaboratively between the various Linux distros because upstream is too interested in being a meanie to merge needed and working code. Secure boot support comes to mind, but there's a lot of other stuff.</comment></comment>


LG G Watch spare charging cradle on Google Play - <AUTHOR> https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=lg_g_watch_charger

<comment><AUTHOR> Better wait for knockoffs ;)</comment>


Building a More Assured Hardware Security Module [pdf] - <AUTHOR> https://ripe69.ripe.net/presentations/136-141106.ripe-cryptech.pdf

<comment><USER2> Regarding HSMs, a great read is the Cambridge team that broke the Luna CA3 Chrysalis HSM. A great reversing tale. "Unwrapping the Chrysalis": [http://www.war-room.co.uk/~dc352/UCAM-CL-TR-592.pdf](http://www.war- room.co.uk/~dc352/UCAM-CL-TR-592.pdf)

Search around for more- I remember them having a few different write-ups.

<comment><USER3> Great tip, thanks!

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> The wiki[1] says that

" _Recent revelations have called into question the integrity of some of the implementations of basic cryptographic functions and devices used to secure communications on the Internet. There are serious questions about algorithms and about implementations of those algorithms in software and particularly hardware._ "

I'm curious about that, does anybody here know about these _recent revelations_? I understand the feeling, but I don't remember seeing any news about the security of HSM recently, or ever actually.

[1]: [http://wiki.cryptech.is](http://wiki.cryptech.is) \-- see JoachimS' comment

</comment><comment><USER5> Man powerpoint presentations after the fact are all but useless for conveying the original point.

</comment><comment><USER6> Might not want to use pink comic sans on a slide deck if you want be taken seriously...

<comment><USER7> I'm not sure if it's the NetBSD crowd or some general crypto-focused community, but there's a theme going on about presenting and publishing on security in comic sans. The goal is to see what you are more focused on: the slickness of the presentation or the correctness of the code.

[https://mobile.twitter.com/Nambitious/status/595230807138111...](https://mobile.twitter.com/Nambitious/status/595230807138111489)

<comment><USER8> many OpenBSD developers use comic sans intentionally in their presentations.

<comment><USER7> That's it. I said NetBSD, but meant OpenBSD.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Where is the call to action (where do you engage to get involved?)

<comment><USER3> The front page is here: [https://cryptech.is](https://cryptech.is) More tech info etc are here: [http://wiki.cryptech.is](http://wiki.cryptech.is)

We use mail lists. The second link Provides links to archives, sign up info. There you also find web access to all repos.

And if there are questions esp related to the digital HW side of Cryptech just ask and I'll try to answer.

<comment><USER10> BTW, your wiki's certificate is untrusted, because it was issued for "bikeshed.cryptech.is".

<comment><USER3> Yes, that is correct and by design.

It boils down to (the lack of) trust in the CAs and the HSMs they use. Basically.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


The Skully Smart Motorcycle Helmet Sharpens Your Senses On The Road - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/11/skully/

<comment><USER2> The Skully AR-1 helmet started quite literally as a fever dream by founder and CEO Dr. Marcus Weller, who had been in multiple motorcycle accidents before. He dreamt of a helmet that could give him HUD directions and GPS, and even let him get a clearer view of what's behind him. He woke up in the middle of the night and spent an hour looking for this helmet, certain that it must exist in the world.</comment>


Coronavirus has mutated into more aggressive disease, say scientists - <AUTHOR> https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2020/03/04/coronavirus-has-mutated-aggressive-disease-say-scientists/ <comment><USER2> this title is inflamatory, how ever the content is very close to describing the situation that has to be dealt with.

the elements of this piece have been described and discussed previously here [HN] and elsewhere

this is a good integration of facts into common terms.

the original author discussed on the telegraph has published here:

[https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article- pdf/doi/10.1093...](https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article- pdf/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwaa036/32757241/nwaa036.pdf) [PDF]</comment>


Show HN: HN Offline – HN client for reading comments - <AUTHOR> https://hn.byroni.us/ <comment><AUTHOR> Two years later my "weekend" project is complete. A client for HN optimized for reading comments on mobile with a spotty connection.

Source: [https://github.com/byronwall/hn- client](https://github.com/byronwall/hn-client)

This Show HN in the app (how meta): [https://hn.byroni.us/story/24371278](https://hn.byroni.us/story/24371278)

Features:

Optimized for lurking. No ability to login, comment, or do anything other than read comments and follow links.

Three main views for accessing stories: front page, day, and week. Each view provides 50 stories. Infinite scroll is intentionally avoided.

When loading a list of stories, _all_ comments are loaded for _all_ stories. Experience says loading all 3 pages will require around 15MB of local storage.

App locally stores HN pages that have been visited to grey them out on the main page.

No logging, analytics or other tracking on the server.

Optimized for mobile including `code` blocks which normally look awful.

Any links to other HN articles are automatically loaded in the app.

While reading comment threads, a pleasant UX is provided to collapse threads and store collapse state.</comment>


Free beautiful UI elements for developers - <AUTHOR> http://creativemarket.com/free-goods

<comment><USER2> This was intended for people who already had an account and the title of this submission doesn't reflect that. I believe that makes the process of asking for a login even more acceptable.

Text from the email they sent out today:

 _Free Goods, exclusive for our early-access members. Creative Market is coming soon! Until then, here's a collection of great content we're offering free for a limited time, as a special thank you for your early support._

<comment><USER3> Worth noting though is that there is a link to this page on their home page, implying that this isn't supposed to be restricted to those with an account. (I guess just visiting their page is considered supporting them?)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I can't find a license for this free content anywhere? There is some stuff about the service itself in the Terms of Use Agreement:

"Creative Market Service. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, you are hereby granted a non-exclusive, limited, non-transferable, freely revocable license to use the Service for your personal, noncommercial use only and as permitted by the features of the Service."

It is unclear if this pertains to the service itself, or to the content I download. Perhaps it is more clear in normal cases when you pay for the content?

<comment><USER5> I've not gone through every one that's up but I've downloaded the ones I'm interested in and they fall under two categories. License file/Link to license file saying fine for personal & commercial, or no license file. No license file makes things somewhat more complicated.

Just as a note to the creators of the service (and it is gorgeous and thank you very much for the extra resources! Bookmarked and I shall return), it might be a pain but you should specify that each pack contains an actual factual copy of the license file. Web links come and go, but the .txt remains strong.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> <http://www.premiumpixels.com/> does this as well.

<comment><USER7> Plus One All the Way! Where is the Donate button?

<comment><USER8> You can buy one of Orman's premium WP themes.

His quality is outstanding, and he was setting records for ThemeForest sales, so you'll be in plentiful company.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Heey this looks interesting.

Wow, that looks good, I will download that

"Create an account to download these Free Goods." popup appears.

Oh goddamn it, "Free" eh, oh well, I will go back to browsing the other stuff so I will just close...this..popup...where is the close button!? All the preview boxes have the little X, why not this?

I am not impresssed.

<comment><USER10> Hit Esc. That works for most dialogs created from jQuery ;)

<comment><USER11> But my left hand is on my chin, and my right hand is on the mouse, and the Esc key is alllll the way over there.

<comment><USER12> I found my RSI got exponentially worse when I lean on my elbows.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Why is the "Sign In" button right ... at ...... the .......... bottom ............. of ................ the ................... page?

<comment><USER14> Hmm... maybe some kind of "creative" :)

<comment><USER15> Hah, remember Jocob Nielson's usability rule: "people spent 99% of time on other websites."

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I'm never that enthusiastic about these kinds of ui element designs. Maybe it works in flash but the user experience when translated to html/css/js is really hard to get right. Just look how much effort bootstrap is taking.

The icons etc. are great though.

</comment><comment><USER17> There are some freebies over at <http://impressto.com/mains> as well.

<comment><USER18> Thanks for The great resource!

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> I've coded many UI elements over at <http://www.webinterfacelab.com/snippets>

No registration required and licensed under MIT.

<comment><USER20> Cool stuff, thanks!

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> 365psd.com - Daily free psd (some of them amazing & inspiring)

<comment><USER22> Thanks, this is a pretty cool resource. I haven't come across this before...

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> These designs look great, however I thought there was an actual CSS/HTML attached with it. Unfortunately it seems like it's only a simple PSD file.

<comment><USER24> They could have at least separated the layers into png-files. Now you need Photoshop to even use them at all.

Neither GIMP, Paint.NET nor Irfanview can open the files properly. :(

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> So happy to see Creative Market open up! Huge respect for the guys behind it, and it's been fun watching them make it happen.

</comment><comment><USER26> Some good UI elements here as well: <http://menucool.com/>

I like the slideshow: <http://menucool.com/javascript-image-slider>

</comment><comment><USER27> Interesting detail... the goods are randomized on page load. Nice.

</comment><comment><USER28> Anyone care to leech them all and make a torrent? My corporate firewall won't allow it, or I'd be doing it now. :(

<comment><USER29> Wouldn't that be kind of a dick move?

<comment><USER28> I'm not seeing how. This stuff is free, and a torrent would make it easier for users and reduce server load for the site.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> I've been following the design of this on dribbble for a while now, glad to see it's finally getting there!

</comment><comment><USER31> Why isn't there a download all button?

</comment><comment><USER32> Do we really need it after bootstrap was released?

<comment><USER33> no, after the release of twitter bootstrap the possibility of making different design elements on the internet has ended. we need no more other pixels ever.

<comment><USER34> lol</comment></comment></comment>