Ask HN: Granting access to your digital life in case of your death - <AUTHOR> Please forgive me if this is an already answered question.
Lately I've been giving thought to how to implement some kind of system to ensure that should I die or become otherwise incapacitated my next of kin will be able to gain access to the variety of online accounts I use. I'm not necessarily concerned with ownership of said accounts, access will be enough. I don't necessarily use my legal name on all accounts and I am not an American, so I imagine relying on legal means to establish ownership would prove too problematic. Due to the significant number of different accounts that I use overall ( think in the realm of 10-20 ), there is a challenge posed to keep an updated table of username/password combinations in a secure manner.
Is this something other people on HN are thinking about? And if so, how are you approaching the issue?
I'm currently considering using a password manager with a centrally stored database to handle this, and providing a way to access this in my will. I imagine I have made oversights here. I would definitely appreciate any advice. Thank you. <comment><USER2> Gmail gives you the capability to automatically give access to a list of emails if you're inactive on your Gmail for x amount of time: [https://www.google.com/settings/account/inactive](https://www.google.com/settings/account/inactive)

You can just send the master password to your password manager in that email as well.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you for this suggestion, that sounds like something good to keep in mind! It makes sense that companies are beginning to think about this as well.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> It's not specific to passwords, but I'm trying to make [https://lifeboxhq.com](https://lifeboxhq.com) a place to store your digital legacy and send to family years down the road! This is an excellent feature request. I want to move to an open protocol to making these time capsules, but haven't given it enough thought yet, but feel free to check out the service.

I envision it being used for all sorts of files And timelines.

</comment><comment><USER4> I have toyed around with using a secret splitting scheme like Shamir's Secret Sharing to deliver a split-up master password to an encrypted file. Then my family members (or any others you trust) would be given the resulting passcodes. You can configure the split to be into N pieces, and require a certain minimum of pieces to reconstitute the secret, so several trusted parties would be required to coordinate in the event of your incapacitation. This is comforting as A, this cooperation is extremely likely in the event of my death, and B, the more people who have to coordinate would probably vastly reduce the chance of the splitting scheme being used against me.

The list of issues with it are relatively apparent (where to permanently store the password database; are the secret holders trustworthy?) but it'd be a fun rainy day project to create. I've toyed with the idea of laser engraving metal cards with the password shares to make it more 'permanent.'

<comment><AUTHOR> The metal cards idea sounds fantastic. Great post!

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Certain people have a printed copy of my keepass database password and know how to access it on onedrive (from one of my devices, no direct access) if they need to, so they can at least access bank accounts and health plan and all that.

They also know to log in to my PCs and null-write all the drives. ;)

</comment><comment><USER6> [https://medium.com/@Ngrave/safety-beyond-the-grave- through-c...](https://medium.com/@Ngrave/safety-beyond-the-grave-through- chainlink-and-ngrave-7bcfd2fcd37b)

</comment><comment><USER7> Any serious approach probably entails hiring an attorney. Everything else is pretty much just fooling around and hoping it works. Good luck.

<comment><USER8> Someone made a similar post in another thread on this subject.

I don't doubt the idea of needing a lawyer but I wish someone would respond with what role a lawyer plays and how the setup works. It doesn't help much to say 'hire a lawyer' when you're not even sure what you should be asking a lawyer to setup.

<comment><AUTHOR> Exactly. I'm not asking what the legal requirements here are. I'm trying to figure out the best technical means. As my post stated, I imagine using legal means to obtain access to my online accounts to be impractical. I'm a reasonably privacy conscious individual and for the most part I've endeavoured to make it difficult, if not impossible, to link these online identities with my real life identity while I'm alive, let alone after I'm dead.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I sincerely don't mean to sound flippant, but, if I'm dead, my digital legacy is none of my business anymore.</comment>


The Man Behind MakerBot on Finding the Stories That Build Your Brand - <AUTHOR> http://firstround.com/review/the-man-behind-makerbot-on-finding-the-stories-that-build-your-brand/

<comment><USER2> No story about early Makerbot is complete without mentioning their commitment to open source (which this puff piece deftly avoids). The open source story has been conveniently dropped.

Here's an excerpt from an Bre Pettis interview in 2011:

Does funding change the commitment to open source hardware? The funding doesn't change our commitment to being open source. Why would we change a winning strategy? Being open is the future of manufacturing, and we're just at the beginning of the age of sharing. In the future, people will remember businesses that refused to share with their customers and wonder how they could be so backwards.

[http://makezine.com/2011/10/06/makes-exclusive-interview- wit...](http://makezine.com/2011/10/06/makes-exclusive-interview-with-bre- pettis-of-makerbot-life-10m-in-funding-and-beyond/)

<comment><USER3> For those of you that don't know, he means their abandonment of open source that left the 3D printing community that supported them in the beginning in an uproar.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Makerbot is the poster child of ripping off an open source project (reprap), then claiming the IP for itself, without giving back. Bre Pettis is a sellout.

</comment><comment><USER5> I really, really enjoyed the documentation "Print the Legend" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3557464/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3557464/) which is available on netflix.

Don't expect to learn anything about 3d printing, but is a great story about startups.

</comment><comment><USER6> For people totally new to 3D printing world. From my experience with replicator series it is no different from typical RepRap clone, minus closed source everything. You still fight adhesion and delamination, but now you have no way to tweak process. 3D printing is not really ready for consumers yet IMHO.

<comment><USER7> More like a table saw than a toaster.

Although, that doesn't mean it isn't ready for consumers...the bar lowers by the month to be honest.

Just don't buy Takerbot. Closed source. Best bet is to research RepRap and get help sourcing/building your own.

My personal belief is that what you learn building it is more valuable than the actual end product. Not to mention some of the great people you meet along the way in the forums or in #reprap @freenode

It is a shame Bre lost touch with all of that...and the community that brought him up.</comment></comment>


The History of Soap - <AUTHOR> https://thewirecutter.com/blog/history-of-soap/ <comment><USER2> "In America, the soap industry got started because of bacon—and candles." That was an interesting random fact</comment>


Really Really Going Native - <AUTHOR> http://www.codeproject.com/Tips/476258/Really-Really-Going-Native

<comment><USER2> C++ is designed to be as fast as C even when you use the advanced features like templates, at the expense of compilation speed, so I think it must be equally suitable.</comment>


Cna yuo raed tihs? - <AUTHOR>

cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm.
tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
-- Anyone found any research papers or articles on this readability phenomenon? <comment><USER2> This is demonstrating a different concept, but it's also fun:

The Kingdom of Kay Oss

"Once upon a time in the land of Serenity, there ruled a king called Kay Oss. The king craved approval. More than anything else, he wanted to be liked by all of his people.

So onx day thx bxnxvolxnt dxspot dxcidxd that thx bxst way to bx likxd was to frxx his pxople from thx swxat and toil of work. Hx dxcrxxd that no onx in Sxrxnity would xvxr again bx hxld accountablx for thxir xndxavors.

Zll of thx workxrs rxstxd from thxvr dzvly lzbors. "Blxss thx Kvng," thxy xxclzvmxd! Thx fzrmxrs dvdn't hzrvxst thx crops. Thx Kvng's zrmy dvsbzndxd. Zll of thx mxrchznts vn thx kvngdom wxnt on zn xxtxmdxd vzcztvpm tp the Fzr Ezst. Thx shop ownxrs hung svgns on thxvr doors thzt szvd, "Gonx Fvshvng Vndxfvnvtxly."

Xvxn thx jxstxrs, whq prqvvdxd z wzlcqmx rxspvtx frqm thx fqrmzlvtvxs qf thz kvng's cqurt, stqppxd clqwnvng zrqund. Thx kvng's knvghts, whq wxrx vxry wvsx, dvd nqt wznt to zct zgzvnst thx kvng's wvshxs. Sq thxy put thxvr shvnvng zrmqr vn stqrzgx znd dvsmzntlxd thx rqundtzblx. "Zt lxzst thxrx wvll be nq mqrx bqrvng mxxtvngs," thxy svghxd wvth rxlvxf.

Wzs thx kvng whq wzntxd tq bx lvkxd by xvxryqnx a gqqd nzturxd rulxr? Qr wzs hx mxrxly fqqlhzrty? Only tvmx wquld txll.

Zs tvmx wxnt qn. Sxrxnvty chzngxd vts nzmx to Znxvxty. Thxrx wzs tqtzl dvsqrdxr and cqnfusvqn vn thx kvngdqm, znd vt lqqkxd lvkx thvs: Bcx dqufghj klzm nqxp qqt rqst vqxwxxz bqxc dqf ghzj ythmnot kwt vmptxdl kqlxmmnxp."

</comment><comment><USER3> Only 55 out of 100 people can read it because nearly half of the people are not good readers. Probably because they were taught that spelling doesn't matter because "the human mind doesn't work that way."

Too many people are not getting the point of the passage "The Kingdom of Kay Oss." It wasn't written to prove "the power of the human mind," it was written to prove the necessity of rules for written communication. There is no solution for the last sentence. It's chaos!

It is trying to make the point that if you don't have rules for communication then people will not be able to communicate.

As for people thinking that rules for spelling are not important: Send 1000 children to a school system that follows the philosphy that learning to spell isn't important as long as the first and last letter are correct. At the same time, send 1000 children to a school system that follows a more traditional philosophy of education. Which school do you think will have the more successful students in college and careers after 13 years?

Please, we need to get back to the basics!

<comment><USER4> <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=424877>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=426142>

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> <http://www.languagehat.com/archives/000840.php>

[http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ctfonts/WordRecognition....](http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ctfonts/WordRecognition.aspx)

</comment><comment><USER6> How about a link to the actual research?

<comment><USER7> It doesn't exist.

According to a number of users at Metafilter ( <http://www.metafilter.com/28301/Scrambled-Text> ), they've scoured the net and found nothing...</comment></comment>


React-konva – 2d canvas components for React - <AUTHOR> https://konvajs.org/docs/react/Intro.html <comment><USER2> I think the "How it looks?" example code given on the linked page is going to fail? The import statement should read:

`import { Stage, Layer, Rect, Circle } from 'react-konva';`

... ?</comment>


The Philosophies of Software Languages, from Plankalkül to C - <AUTHOR> https://www.welcometothejungle.co/en/articles/philosophies-software-languages <comment><AUTHOR> Also:

"The Philosophies of Software Languages, from Smalltalk to Perl": [https://www.welcometothejungle.co/en/articles/philosophies-p...](https://www.welcometothejungle.co/en/articles/philosophies- programming-languages)

<comment><USER2> And:

"... from Java to JavaScript": [https://www.welcometothejungle.co/en/articles/philosophies-s...](https://www.welcometothejungle.co/en/articles/philosophies- software-languages-javascript)

"... from Go to Elixir": [https://www.welcometothejungle.co/fr/articles/languages- soft...](https://www.welcometothejungle.co/fr/articles/languages-software-go- elixir)</comment></comment>


Why Is the Pentagon Interested in UFOs? - <AUTHOR> https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-pentagon-interested-in-ufos-116714 <comment><USER2> That's an easy one. We have to be able to identify all aircraft in our air space. This includes all potential military prototype aircraft that adversaries may be using to subvert our monitoring and security.</comment>


How often do you talk to your close friends? - <AUTHOR>

I'm transitioning to adulthood right now, and I've found that one of the hardest parts is that I don't talk to my close friends as often anymore (or I just don't have close friends). In high school and college, I usually talked with close friends a few times a week about various life issues. Now, I talk to them once every couple of months (and we might hang out a few times a year).
Is this normal? My friends and I don't have much in common anymore. While I'm not depressed, I miss having meaningful conversations with people.
How do adults deal with this? Apart from a significant other, do people usually have a few close friends that they can talk to about important things? I'm otherwise in a decent place mentally, but everyday interactions tend to be shallow and it gets lonely. Thanks for any perspective or advice. <comment><USER2> I struggled with this early on. When I was in high school, I went to a college program and realized all my friends sucked, I wanted to have friends who would actually talk about important things not alcohol or parties, so I left them and started looking for better friends.

As I got older, I looked for and found great friends outside of school, friends I made through tech meetups and my job (friends of friends as well). I now have about 10 close friends who I try to talk to at least once a week and schedule some sort of way to get together. I have a few friends with whom I go out to eat with at least once a month and others who I try to go to meet ups/events with.

If you are looking for friends in your area, I would suggest using [http://atthepool.com](http://atthepool.com) and [http://highlig.ht](http://highlig.ht). You can meet some cool people that way.

Once you find a couple awesome friends, schedule dinner or lunch with them on the first/last day of every month, that way you have something to look forward to and you know for sure that you will see your friends at least once a month.

Hope this helps!

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah, it's definitely gotten harder to meet people. What has your experience been with friends who have moved for jobs or other reasons?

I'm impressed that you talk to your close friends once a week. Are all these friends in the local area, or do you talk to them online? I think only seeing friends a couple of times a year in real life has led to us not talking much anymore.

<comment><USER2> My experience with friends who moved away really resulted in us attempting to communicate a lot online. For friends that I had very strong bonds with, we would try to stay in touch any way we could and attempt to visit each other. Friends who were just ok, eventually, we just slowly stopped talking as often. You just have to accept it and move on.

Yes, most of my friends are in my area. I communicate with them online/text and we try to set up things to do (even if it's just grabbing some lunch).

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah, I was pretty close friends with the people who moved away, but we've mostly stopped talking.

I think the hard part is that it takes time to develop close friendships, especially with a full time job.

<comment><USER3> For my group of friends, I was the person who moved away after college. The rest are still together, and some of them are still roommates.

I keep in touch occasionally. A few of my friends I try to call (no one ever seems to call me). Mostly we IM on Steam, or sometimes I hop on Ventrilo. They're usually gaming, and while I've tried to buy the same games so we could kind of hang out, they keep different schedules, and anything with a leveling component they get really far ahead because they play all the time.

When I head back for whatever reason we generally try to meet up, even if it's just grabbing food.

<comment><AUTHOR> Interesting. Some of my friends play games, but I don't anymore.

That actually seems to be a big disconnect. Among my friends who play games, it seems like all their close friends play games too.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> A very good friend of mine is into glass business, the other has a motorcycle business, one is a housewife, another worked as, well i am not sure what she does since she left the country, but I know she is into climbing and diving. I have other good friends doing something different from me and I have technical friends too. We all don't have much in common but WE ARE VERY GOOD FRIENDS!

Friendship is not based on having something in common or having meaningful conversation. It's much deeper than that. When my friends and I get together, we don't talked about our achievements or failures. We just talked about whatever there is to talked about. Most of it is nothing interesting. We just enjoy the company of each other with a couple of beers and pizza.

As we grow older out commitments change. We get married, start a business and so on. We have responsibilities. We don't get to hang out often but our friendship remains.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the reply. How often do you talk to these friends? (whether online or in real life)

I only talk to my close friends once every couple of months now, and that makes the friendships feel much less close. I don't know much about what's happening in their lives anymore (and vice versa).

<comment><USER4> Some of them once or twice a month. Some if there's an occasion like birthdays or christmas.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This is pretty "normal" I would guess. In my experience and the fact I have moved every three years since birth (gypsy grandmother) I have not had to many long term friendship/bonds. I do have a good friend that I use to build cars with but we went separate ways. He has a kid and is now a cop in a town in NC where I use to live in. People just grow up and find different interest. Everyone experiences life differently. I have been living in SF for 2 years and still have yet to find a close buddy/buddies. I am a little bit of an introvert for I assume moving around so much.

<comment><AUTHOR> Realistically, I do think that this is pretty normal.

That kind of depresses me though. I guess it seems odd how so many adults don't have close friendships. I'm not sure whether it's just a common part of adulthood, or whether it's because of cultural or other factors in the US.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> this is a relevant read - [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/fashion/the- challenge-of-m...](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/fashion/the-challenge-of- making-friends-as-an- adult.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1362981828-IFeaWGqBlRzRM6qmewLA6g)

it seems that the types of interactions you're referring to require repeated, unplanned interactions, and an environment that encourages people to let their guard down.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah, I remember reading this. From the comments here and the comments on the article, I guess it seems fairly representative of adult life.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> i have spent less time talking to my close friends. However, there this one friend who i talk most of the time when I'm at home - my wife ;)</comment>


Vizio reboots the PC: a quiet American success story - <AUTHOR> http://mobile.theverge.com/2012/6/15/3076519/vizio-reboot-pc-american-hdtv-success-do-it-again <comment><USER2> Here is my comment on their desktop computer: it has two pieces, one with most of the electronics plus a monitor, the other with an AC-to-DC converter plus a sub-woofer. I much prefer the more conventional division of duties in which one piece is a monitor, the other piece has a power supply and most of the electronics and the interface between the 2 pieces is some standard protocol like DVI-D, HDMI or DisplayPort.

I notice that their desktop computer uses a mobile CPU, which has advantages and disadvantages. One of the biggest advantages is portability, which is useful even in a "desktop" computer like the Mac mini. Specifically, the reduction in the demands on the cooling system allows the electronics and the case containing the electronics to be small and light. (A 2011 Mac mini or the recently-announced Chromebox for example weighs only 2.7 pounds including the AC adapter which in both cases is built-in.) But if you integrate the mobile CPU with a monitor, you lose the ability to unplug the box with the CPU from your monitor, carry it around and plug it into some other monitor or TV (which is something I do a lot with my Mac mini).

<comment><USER3> Worthy of note is the fact that the original Intel iMacs and Mac Minis shipped with Mobile processors (Intel Core/Core 2 TXXX rather than EXXX), for the reasons you mention.

<comment><USER2> Although some iMacs and maybe all iMacs now use desktop-class processors, all Mac minis still have mobile processors. (35 W TDP for the processors in the $599 and the $799 2011 models; 45 W TDP for the CPU in the 2011 Mac mini server.) Otherwise they couldn't be so small and light without overheating!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> The non-mobile link: [http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/15/3076519/vizio-reboot- pc-am...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/15/3076519/vizio-reboot-pc-american- hdtv-success-do-it-again)

</comment><comment><USER5> I am going to sound like a broken record, but they should have a linux version.

<comment><USER6> Because you genuinely believe it would be a good business decision, or because it would be cool?

Also which build, of which distro, with which desktop? The problem is there aren't really Linux fans, there are Ubuntu fans and Redhat fans and Mint fans and, etc. If Mint is your thing, with Ubuntu as acceptable, a Redhat desktop probably isn't going to be interesting to you, and so on.

Linux being a kernel, not an operating system, is a very real issue for a company like this. Each is a tiny little fragment of the Desktop Linux market, which is a tiny little fragment of the overall desktop market. Fragmentation of fragmentation.

<comment><USER5> It would probably be a good business decision. Their costs for offering a Linux version would be very low if they choose their hardware well. The cost would be just testing and sending an additional image to a manufacturer.

They would get instant recognition and instant free press. Marketing is one of the highest costs for companies like these. For example, I am willing to bet that the article we are discussing now cost Vizio good money (probably paid through a PR firm).

But if they offer the only premium laptop with Linux on it, they would get free coverage in all Linux media and most tech media.

So yes, there is a good business case for it. The big wild card about the business case is Microsoft. Microsoft, will probably make their lives really hard if they do offer Linux. This would probably be anti-competitive behavior with doubtful legality but would likely happen nevertheless. But other than potential Microsoft meddling, I think there is a good business case for it.

<comment><USER7> Did you even read the article?

"Vizio is one of the best-kept secrets in consumer technology. The tiny Southern California company consistently sells the most HDTVs in America, but it's a sure bet that you know virtually nothing about it. Hell, most people don't even know Vizio is an American company, even though all but three of its 417 employees work in the US. That's sort of what happens when you run virtually no advertising outside of sponsoring a few major events like the Rose Bowl, hold no press conferences outside of CES, and build the foundation of your empire by selling low-cost TVs at Walmart. Yet Vizio's customers keep coming back, and bringing others: a combination of low prices, increasing quality, and solid customer support is pretty hard to resist."

Vizio sells their products in walmart for good prices and relies on word of mouth. How many average walmart shoppers even know what linux is? It might get them some free press but it's probably not the press they need. Personally I'd love to be able to get the thing $100 cheaper without the windows license, but what about the time they have to spend testing and developing drivers/etc will that even out the cost? What about the extra support they'll have to provide for Joe Walmartshopper trying to install word on his brand new machine he just dropped $800 on? What kind of press will it generate when they tell him, that no he can't use outlook? As much as I'd love to see linux on these things it's not a good business decision. Company's like dell massive resources with a huge product like so they can have a linux offering, but for a company like this it just doesn't make sense.

<comment><USER5> Yes, I read the article. What is your point? Sponsoring the Rose Bowl is very expensive so they definitely have an advertising budget.

Also, these laptops, as opposed to the TVs, are not the low cost option. So they will have to have another strategy for selling them. For premium laptops that will definitely involve advertising.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I had heard of Vizio before but never held them in the same league as the Samsungs or LGs of the TV industry. I appreciate how they seem to be fighting against the flow to do things differently. Instead of cramming extra software and stickers onto their product Vizio chose to sterilize, and instead of supporting legacy connectors and optical disk drives Vizio chose to modernize.

<comment><USER9> It's almost as if they're adapting Apple minimalist aesthetics for Windows machines. Which is mind-boggling that no other PC manufacturer has tried the same in the last few years.

<comment><USER10> Their quasi-mantra of "focus" is also very reminiscent of Apple's way of thinking. I have 100% more respect for them than I did this morning, that's for sure.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> "I hate opening a PC and seeing stickers and flashing LEDs all over the place." === A-MEN!!!!

<comment><USER12> For anyone else who hates stickers as much as you and I do, I found the perfect tool for removing them: the plastic toothpick from a Swiss Army knife.

The toothpick has a very flat tip that will go right under the corner of a sticker and let you lift the corner - and then the rest of the sticker will pull away easily. At the same time, the toothpick is soft enough that it won't scratch whatever surface the sticker is on.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Those look really nice. Seems that they understand what the mainstream market want: something that look nice, work nice, are durable and don't cost too much.

Too bad that they are using a mobile gpu for their desktop computer, and that it "just" have a 1080p resolution instead of something bigger (1440p or 1600p would be perfect for me).

</comment><comment><USER14> Let's wait until their PC products are on the market before calling this a success story.

<comment><USER15> The full title is more accurate: "Vizio reboots the PC: a quiet American success story takes on sleeping giants"

It looks like the character count was reduced to fit HN's title limitations.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> More pictures & Info: [http://www.chipchick.com/2012/06/vizio-dives-laptop- all-in-o...](http://www.chipchick.com/2012/06/vizio-dives-laptop-all-in- one.html)

</comment><comment><USER17> I was excited to read this, just hope their next iteration of the 14-inch model has a more powerful cpu.

</comment><comment><USER18> All this hardware is strikingly similar to Apple's.

<comment><USER19> Just because it's clean and rounded courners. I think they've got the same mindset (keep it simple, no blinking lights, etc) and I appreciate that.

But no, they're not blatantly ripping off an apple keyboard ( _cough_ HP Envy _cough_ ) and tricking people into thinking it's a mac from far away.

<comment><USER9> I don't think Vizio is trying to copy Apple, but it's a bit disappointing that their machines also have a similar aluminum unibody style. There's no other way to express "striking but not cluttered"?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> Well sign me up- that laptop sounds like a fantastic idea.

</comment><comment><USER21> Wow, first PC laptop I'd actually buy.</comment>


Ask HN: Pro Bono for developers? - <AUTHOR>

Along with lawyers, developers have a similarly specialized and in-demand skill set. One whose price sadly puts it out of reach for many people and organizations who need digital services.
Does anyone here engage in side-work for a nonprofit or charity, at a free or discounted rate? Does your company promote or have any hand supporting these contributions?
I expect the number of formal programs is low, so another question.
Would you support a program at your company that encouraged doing technical work for approved organizations? Could you see yourself donating time in that way?
Or is open source the developer's Pro Bono? <comment><USER2> IMO, you do many organizations a disserve if you do custom programming for them. They won't know what they want, it'll take longer to build than you expect and they won't be able to maintain it.

Instead, provide consulting on how to use off-the-shelf software or existing commercial services to achieve their business goals. That way, when you part ways, they have a shot at actually being able to continue using whatever you introduced to the org.

If you want to scratch the developer itch, do open source. Filing tickets, improving documentation, or actually contributing patches.

</comment><comment><USER3> I'm at Trello. We have this:

[http://flatironschool.com/fogcreek/](http://flatironschool.com/fogcreek/)

Outside of that -- I personally do some pro-bono tech work for a non-profit that I am on the board of.

</comment><comment><USER4> Hey, I'm part of Hack4Impact[1], a club at Penn that works with and develops for nonprofits. Each semester we split into teams, and each team works on a project with a nonprofit. Some of our past projects are showcased on our site [2]. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the group.

[1] [https://www.facebook.com/Hack4Impact](https://www.facebook.com/Hack4Impact) [2] [http://hack4impact.org](http://hack4impact.org)

</comment><comment><USER5> [http://www.codeforamerica.org](http://www.codeforamerica.org)

</comment><comment><USER6> As a freelancer, I discount my rate 50% for 501(c)(3) organizations, and for open-source projects.

I've never offered pro-bono work, but I suppose I'd be open to the idea for the right cause.</comment>


One-Third of O2 Staff say They are More Productive Working From Home - <AUTHOR> http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2012/04/05/one-third-of-o2-staff-say-they-are-more-productive-working-from-home/?mod=WSJBlog <comment><USER2> I work for a big corporation and work from home roughly 4 days a week. I go into the office for that other day just so I have some human interaction (And to make sure the people who sign off on my invoices know I am still around!)

I generally work normal business hours and I am definitely much more productive at home than in the office. A lot of my work involves writing documentation or complex scripts, the types of things where you need to "get in the zone" and all of a sudden you realize 5 hours have passed and you've forgotten to eat. In the office it's hard to focus like that as everyone around you is talking about football scores, people are on conference calls with the speakerphone on etc.

I don't think it works for all types of roles, but for me it doesn't really matter where I am. I work on servers remotely, I dial into conference calls and communication between team mates happens over IM/Email.

I have worked for employers in the past where they had the attitude of "If you're not in the office, you're not working". I think that is a very poor attitude, especially when you are dealing with IT workers who are expected to be on call.

</comment><comment><USER3> Important note: this experiment lasted for one day. People are known to respond positively to change, regardless of what the change was.

<comment><USER4> I strongly think Paul Graham Disagrees with you:

<http://www.paulgraham.com/foundersatwork.html>

<http://www.paulgraham.com/boss.html>

The bulk of the programming work in this world was not performed by handsome people in suits or fine cloths at clean desks in fabric covered boxes with serious professional expressions on between the hours of 9 to 5 under the direction and supervision of a non technical manager (with regular staff meetings).

The best programming is on par with performing neurosurgery on humans, we don't put neurosurgeons in a cubicle from 9 to 5 and measure them by how many hours they sat in the surgery room chair. We don't force them to "look busy" in their cubicle after they did a tough operation for 3 hours. A good neurosurgeon has to be on top of his game when he is cutting people. Humans are not on top of their game when they are forced to "look busy" for 8 hours a day.

<comment><USER3> I didn't say anything to the contrary. I am merely pointing out confounding factors in such a short experiment, even though its results actually support my own opinions.

<comment><USER5> I also believe one day is too short to measure anything here. If everyone in your office disappeared for exactly one day, would anything _really_ be different when you got back the next morning? It happens all the time on company holidays.

Have those O2 employees work from home for a whole week and let's see where it goes.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Counterpoint; after some time experimenting, I work much better at work than I do at home.

Work, for me, is fairly relaxed; I can turn up whenever and leave at my convenience. Attitudes are relaxed and I have my own office.

At first working at home was great and I was very productive. But then the temptation of procrastination crept in. I slept later because "I don't have to travel anywhere", and that got to the point I would start work at 11 and finish by 3. There were few interruptions to break up my day so I got bored faster.

I enjoy working at work now; it is much more sociable.

Just my viewpoint :)

</comment><comment><USER7> People like working from home. They don't have to commute, they can sit a watch telly, they can go into the garden. Lovely.

Under those circumstances how many people are going to come back and say 'actually I was less productive, I don't think you should let me work from home again.'

<comment><USER8> People who are frustrated that they didn't get any work done and see it piling up, thereby increasing their stress?

People who like live interaction and felt very lonely?

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I've worked at home for the past 5 years and I find that it's a bit of a mixed bag: While I'm able to have epic work sessions at home lasting far longer than a typical work day (I usually work one or two all-nighters throughout the week), I'd have to say I work more consistently in an office setting.

With that said, offices come in so many shapes, sizes, and varieties. Some are absolutely hell, while others look like adult theme parks!

</comment><comment><USER10> I like working from home 1 or 2 days a week. I can take the dog for a walk over lunch, I don't have the commute (1 hour each way) and I have a much more comfortable working setup at home than in the company office. That I can't be interrupted is great, I'm not uncontactable as I'm on IRC but I choose when that happens rather than someone else deciding when.

More than that and I see diminishing returns, it's harder to bring structure to the working day and the communication thing is much too skewed in my favour.

</comment><comment><USER11> As I'm currently in the middle of research trying to get to the productivity of programmers, my first question (since the one-day caveat has already been pointed out) is they _say_ they're more productive, and they have incentive to. Were they _actually_ more productive? Are there productivity measures in place for each employee? (This was most of the HQ staff, so not all were programmers/knowledge workers.)

</comment><comment><USER12> I think the main reason people may be more productive working at home is less interruptions. It's too easy to ask something that was not really needed if your coworker is 5 meters away from you... And even when some interaction is needed if people are not physically in the same place they'll use the email that does not need to interrupt the receiver.

<comment><USER13> If you get some headphones (not even music needed, though it helps) it will make them think twice about trying to talk to you because the interruption is so much more noticable. It works quite well for me.

<comment><USER14> I sometimes get "Hey, you look busy!" as they come into my office.

A couple of days ago, a coworker came in to chit-chat and I kind of stayed focused on my computer screen (while showing some modicum of politeness by saying "uh-huh" every once in a while while she talked). Eventually she said "wow, you're really busy, aren't you? What're you working on?"

I'm working from home today.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I work 3/5 days from home, and I'm way more productive.

BUT, I also find that it's been very, very difficult to build the relationships required to do effective innovation or research and development. There's just not enough recurrent team communication to get ideas to stick or be elaborated.

However, another variables in my case is that ~85% of my team is telecommuting from around the US. And, to make it worse, our team started off telecommute. I have only ever worked in-person with the rest of the team 3 times, ever.

I suspect that the best mix would be all of us working from home most of the time, but with more opportunities for 'all-hands' co-working team sessions.

</comment><comment><USER16> My guess: It's because O2 hasn't bothered to provide an work environment conducive to work.

</comment><comment><USER17> > On the day, the 3,000 O2 employees saved 2,000 hours of commuting time, with > the majority of that saved time (52 percent) spent working.

That seems positive for O2, and I'm not sure it would last.

My hours are 09:00-18:00. Just because I have to leave the house at 08:00 to commute doesn't mean that's the time I should start work if I'm telecommuting.

</comment><comment><USER18> a side note - after such experiment, if any worker comes back and say he feels more productive at office than at home, write down his name and pay attention to his work: he is either a pretentious corporate ladder climber trying to impress his boss, or if he is a developer or engineer, with great work ethic.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> I can't think with 60 or 100 other people in the same room, so if you want the job done, give me my own office or give me my home office or give me head!

</comment><comment><USER19> > Employees also saved £9,000 on the day, primarily through the reduction in > commuting costs.

Yeah... most people have a season ticket, so that's not correct.

<comment><USER20> To the best of my knowledge, the O2 HQ in the UK is not in London, it's west of Heathrow airport in Slough.

Most people will either commute via car, or train. As someone who works from home ~3 days a week, and 20% at customer sites, a season ticket is a waste of money - even if you work from home 1 day a week, take out holidays, the season ticket is starting to save you a lot less.

I save £7/$11 a day on transport alone by not going into the office, not to mention the more valuable commute time savings. Food, I spend about the same or slightly less at home, as in the office we've got partially subsidised canteen.

Edit: I forgot to add, I'm putting about half that saving aside to improve my home office environment. The first savings went on a new printer/scanner, the next will soon be a nice high res. second display & maybe stereo bluetooth headphones.</comment></comment>


What has an understanding of quantum physics given us? - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=158113

<comment><USER2> Here's a line from the first post in the linked exchange: "What kind of everyday devices or other cool things do we have from what we've discovered in quantum physics?"

This was written by someone sitting at a computer, a device completely reliant on quantum theory for its operation.

Apart from computers and semiconductor technology in general, Quantum theory is by far our most successful scientific theory, with hundreds of practical applications:

[http://dsc.discovery.com/tv- shows/curiosity/topics/10-real-w...](http://dsc.discovery.com/tv- shows/curiosity/topics/10-real-world-applications-of-quantum-mechanics.htm)</comment>


T-Mobile mid-band 5G network is now cracking 1Gbps, Verizon and AT&T are screwed - <AUTHOR> https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/05/28/t-mobiles-mid-band-5g-network-is-now-cracking-1gbps-showing-verizon-and-att-are-seriously-screwed/ <comment><USER2> I'll probably stay with Verizon, for coverage. I'm a trucker, all over the country, and it was common for t mobile to have no coverage where i was at the moment.

With Verizon it's actually _rare_ to have no coverage, whether I'm in Wyoming or Brooklyn.

I assume "sprint + t mobile" will increase coverage mostly in cities.</comment>


What Jobs Do the Top 1% Have? - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/newsgraphics/2012/0115-one-percent-occupations/index.html?ref=business <comment><USER2> This was a particularly interesting article. You had to spend some time to look through it to find some good take-aways.

\- Physicians and dentists are not only a large number of the 1%, the proportion of dentists and physicians who become part of the 1% is extremely high - about 20% combined.

\- I was struck by the seemingly high number of secretaries on the list. Yes, I know the chart represents "1% households", but this made me smile, since I figured it means a lot of powerful men are marrying their secretaries.

\- For the ridiculous amounts of money that athletes seem to earn (and I don't have a problem with them earning that much), they are a very small share of the 1%, and the chances of a professional athlete becoming a 1%er is low too, only 2% of them.

\- And since this is a tech/programmer site, the relatively low numbers of computer science/software people in the 1% seems to indicate that our chosen profession "tops out" at a certain income level below that 1%.

<comment><USER3> _And since this is a tech/programmer site, the relatively low numbers of computer science/software people in the 1% seems to indicate that our chosen profession "tops out" at a certain income level below that 1%_

This is an interesting point to take away. If you are smart and want to get rich, going into engineering is not your best bet. Same for scientists.

No wonder there are shortages, eh?

<comment><USER4> Well, if there were actually shortages, then wages would increase until the "shortages" disappear.

This notion of "shortage" bugs me. There's two sides to a "shortage": supply and demand; but they meet at a point determined by price, where both are equal. There is always a "shortage": demand for engineers that isn't fulfilled by supply, because they can't afford to pay the engineers enough. But there is also always a "surplus": too many engineers to warrant high income levels in the 1%, etc.

A shortage would actually exist in a rigid market with inefficiencies, e.g. price fixing. To the degree that's not true, we don't have a shortage.

<comment><USER5> > _"Well, if there were actually shortages, then wages would increase until > the "shortages" disappear."_

This is a common thought I see a lot on HN, but it's completely bollocks.

The elasticity of salary is not infinitely scalable, and is heavily based on the costs and profitability of the business. Say we took away _all_ the taxi cab drivers in the world, demand would be immense and supply would be next to nil - in your fantasy world cab drivers would start making hojillions.

But of course, there is an upper bound to the value of a cab ride - cab fares would rise, but it won't not rise to astronomical levels simply because the cost will start exceeding the utility of the ride itself.

So yeah, in a shortage situation developer pay would rise - and rise they have, particularly in hotly-contested areas like the Bay, but this entitled attitude where "there's no shortage! I'm not making a million bucks a year yet!" is complete horseshit.

<comment><USER4> Cab rides have substitutes: your feet, mass transit, your own car (including the costs of parking), up to being carried around on a litter[1], which _would_ be a very expensive. This limits the "hojillions" available to single cab drivers.

If there was 10x the supply of programmers, we could have 10x the number of jobs for them to do: they could be coming around to your house and offering to automate various bits and pieces of your life, they could be hanging around at traffic lights helping people stopped in cars optimize their phone usage, etc.

The profitability of the business is in part a function of its costs. That the business exists at all is based on an assumption of a certain level of costs, where at different costs other options may be more viable.

What I'm getting at is that there is a circularity in your objection. You assume things about the current state of supply and demand based on the current market mix of businesses, but the current market mix of businesses is the way it is in part because of the current state of supply and demand.

Yes, there is certainly a lack of elasticity in salary. The market isn't perfect. People aren't fungible. But the market is efficient enough to value e.g. doctors and lawyers quite highly. It simply doesn't value software engineers in the same way. That's just the way it is; I'm not saying it's right or wrong, and nor am I moaning about my wages (actually, I deliberately choose lower wages in return for more interesting work and flexibility in where I live).

What I _am_ moaning about is people talking about an excess of supply or demand, like it's a plain fact.

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_%28vehicle%29>

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> This is a bit misleading. They incorrectly haphazardly swap "income" and "wealth":

The subtitle says "Explore the occupations and industries of the nation's wealthiest households." Yet the chart note is "The chart counts the number of individual workers living in households with an overall income in the top 1 percent nationwide."

This implies that a retired multimillionaire with a 300K passive income isn't in the wealthiest one percent, and a couple with a negative net worth (e.g. bought a $2 million dollar house that's now only worth a million; and no savings), with two $190K jobs is in the wealthiest one percent. Of course this is nonsense.

<comment><USER7> Plus, most of the entries are a mess of "spouse" jobs. e.g. They have 8k receptionists in the top 1% and 7k laborers. Dropping the lowest income household earners that weren't required in order to reach 1% would focus the data better.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Interestingly, this graph visualises the jobs of people in the wealthiest _households_. It does not mean that those jobs actually bring in the wealth.

I was surprised to see the relatively large box of elementary school teachers. Surely those jobs don't pay that well. It might be one of those cases where correlation is mistaken for causation: perhaps a lot of people who dream to be a teacher are able to realise it because they have a wealthy banker for a spouse or something.

<comment><USER9> Two married schoolteachers in a wealthy suburban school district near their peak earning years will gross nearly $200k for the household. (I'm related to multiple examples.)

The BLS collects copious stats on how much different occupations are paid. Reports of them being working poor are highly exaggerated.

<comment><USER10> Two working people earning $200k together isn't what I would describe as particularly wealthy. That would put them squarely in what most people consider slightly upper-middle class. Consider that two engineers right out of college should be able to make that much.

<comment><USER11> >"Two working people earning $200k together isn't what I would describe as particularly wealthy"

You probably should, since the median household income is something like $50k or so, a quarter of what they make.

<comment><USER12> In what proportion are those: A. two person households, and B. two fulltime worker households?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> For anyone interested, a similar list for the UK was published in the Guardian a couple of months ago. There are a few visualisations available, and the data's also there for download: [http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/nov/25/highest-paid- job...](http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/nov/25/highest-paid-jobs-uk-2011)

<comment><USER14> I tried looking for programmer, and this is what I found. I really hope this is just a poor job on the guardian's part!

22\. IT strategy/planning professional £43,667 -8.5%

10th pct: £24,000. 80th pct✝: £63,693.

Also known as: Analyst-programmers; computer programmers; software engineers; systems analysts; systems designers. What they do: Provide advice on the effective utilisation of IT in order to enhance business functions. Well I never: A recent poll suggested IT consultants have unusually adventurous personalities.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Paul Krugman with the breakdown for the top .1%: [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/but-the- top-0-1-...](http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/but-the- top-0-1-percent-isnt-diverse/)

</comment><comment><USER16> Interesting to note, the three largest boxes Physician, Lawyer and Teacher are all legally protected professions.

<comment><USER17> Yep. This is the big American secret the working class can't seem to discover.

The elite have busted the unions, but professional associations are stronger than ever. Doctors do it to avoid free trade, they are protectionist, and surprise! They get paid for it.

The primary purpose of professional associations is to protect the wealth of the members, and this is done by lobbying for protectionism.

<comment><USER18> Doctors are really the last strong professional association, though.

Lawyers have a cabal, but it's pretty weak. There's no cap on new lawyers or people attending law school. If you are dumb and/or have bad grades you can always attend a 4th tier law school. In contrast, there aren't 4th tier med schools. Someone who gets their MD at University of North Dakota is still going to be making $150K, worst case scenario. Lawyers on the other hand have lower average wages than one might think. <http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm#earnings> It's just that a handful of certain lawyers, like trial lawyers, can make infinite money so others assume all types of lawyers are rich.

<comment><USER19> > Lawyers have a cabal, but it's pretty weak... you can always attend a 4th > tier law school.

Getting a school accredited by the A.B.A. is expensive [1], and if the schools necessarily cost a lot of money to run then the students largely come out with big debts to pay off. The article says essentially that the U.S. is oversupplied with "expensive" lawyers and has a strong unmet demand for "reasonably priced" legal services.

Moreover, there are a lot of people talking about how law graduates in the US are underprepared for their work - there's a recognition that some traditional curricula don't provide enough practical know-how to function in the real- world without serious on-the-job training. Law is essentially a vocational degree, and there is evidence that the standards governing the accreditation of law schools (and so lawyers) aren't aligned with the needs of the country.

I'll grant that the gatekeepers of the medical profession may have a stronger hold on things, but there are decent arguments for liberalisation of the legal market.

1: [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/business/for-law- schools-a...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/business/for-law-schools-a- price-to-play-the-abas-way.html)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> "The picture is clear; entry into the top 0.5% and, particularly, the top 0.1% is usually the result of some association with the financial industry and its creations."

This article makes an important distinction between the top 1% and the top .1% that the NYT piece glosses over:

[http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/investment_manage...](http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/investment_manager.html)

<comment><USER21> Your article is a bit deceptive - "some association with the financial industry" can mean an entrepreneur who made their money by building equity in a startup rather than earning a salary:

 _One of our clients, net worth in the $60M range, built a small company and was acquired with stock from a multi-national. Stock is often called a "paper" asset. Another client, CEO of a medium-cap tech company, retired with a net worth in the $70M range. The bulk of any CEO's wealth comes from stock, not income, and incomes are also very high... Another client with a net worth in the $10M range is the ex-wife of a managing director of a major investment bank, while another was able to amass $12M after taxes by her early thirties from stock options as a high level programmer in a successful IT company._

So by their criteria, Larry and Sergei, Steve Jobs, etc, all made their money "as a result of some association with the financial industry".

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> Interesting. I just did two years to get M.Sc. and started working full-time in IT myself. It is strange.. I always figured I'd eventually be making good money, and I didn't think much more of it. Now soon 30, some of my friends are making a lot more than I do. Only lately do I realize that when my uncle said I should specialize in something other than pure IT 10 years ago (himself having worked in IBM the past.. 10-20 years?), he was right..

This is mostly considering the money-aspect of it. I'll always program, but I don't feel it HAS to be my full-time job, it could be my hobby. Maybe I could have done smart things in the financial service, for instance? Or the oil sector.. I guess the only way to richness in IT is startups or a do other things than program. But it is really hard to do programming full-time at work and then focus on my own thing in my "free-time".

Ah well. Another life.

</comment><comment><USER23> Who else was expecting to open up the diagram and find a bright red box in the top left with Finance written on it? How surprising it was to see that the 1% that everyone is complaining about are faceless managers, doctors and lawyers... Naturally, I'll need to see the .1% diagram, so that the hateful Financiers are in the position they deserve.

(I'm paraphrasing some of the other comments on this topic)

<comment><USER24> Exact same feeling here. Perhaps it should be 'Occupy Your Doctor's Office' rather than Wall Street.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> The visualization was confusing for me at first. It's important to realize that if <1% of a group is in the 1% there is a fair chance that they are not the ones bringing in the wealth. Instead they have married into wealth. The darkness of the squares is much more informative then the size of the squares.

In some ways I feel the graphic is misleading since I'm not horribly interested in what groups happen into the 1%, and much more interested in what groups create the 1%.

</comment><comment><USER26> They should do this for the top .1% and show that 90% of them are in finance.

<comment><USER27> I'm actually keen on this as well. The U.S. population is currently about 300 million people. So 1% is 3 million people, which is an awfully large number.

I've read in several places that it's the 0.1% who have the true wealth and stature to control the legislature for their own benefit. So who's in the 0.1%?

I'd definitely like to know.

<comment><USER28> Of course this is not the same, statistically, but one thing I have done in the past is to find the most ridiculously expensive property in an area, look up the tax records online, and then google the owners. It takes a bit of work, but the picture that emerges is quite interesting.

For example, I live in the Seattle area, and I know where the mega-wealthy enclaves are here. Who owns the biggest mansions? Microsoft executives, members of the Nordstrom family, members of the construction family who built the Space Needle, people connected with Daniel's Broiler, some guy who invented a new kind of eyeglasses, a congressman's ex-wife, a woman who grew and sold her IT consulting firm, a guy who built a successful condo listing website, doctors, the founder of an investment firm, a commercial real estate developer... In short, it was mainly key players in big local businesses, entrepreneurs, and a small handful of physicians.

I imagine if one did this for NYC, the picture would look predictably different.

EDIT: I forgot, the site virtualglobetrotting.com makes this easier. Hamptons example: [http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/lloyd-blankfeins- house/n...](http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/lloyd-blankfeins- house/nearby/?d=50)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER29> I'm not a UX guy, but I love this graph. Lots of data in an easy-to-explore format.

Having said that, I'm not sure if the colors were important enough to merit being included. Do I really care that some occupation gives people a better chance of being in the 1%? Probably not. I'd rather see how many total dollars we are talking about. For instance, do the 1% working securities law make a bunch more than the 1% who are construction managers? By how much?

I'll attempt a tl;dr, although you really should read the article. The 1% consists mostly of: managers, physicians, and lawyers, maybe with elementary and middle-school administrators thrown in as well.

I would caution to be careful of drawing too many conclusions, however. Every time we have these discussions it's the little details that always get you. It's very easy to feel like you are learning more than you actually are. Always be suspicious of aggregated data, especially when you are looking for insight. I blogged about this last month. ([http://www.whattofix.com/blog/archives/2011/12/management- by...](http://www.whattofix.com/blog/archives/2011/12/management-by-s.php))

Guys like lawyers and school principals fit into nice, little boxes. Entrepreneurs don't. I run into this every time I fill out a government form. For instance I know a guy locally who runs a couple of convenience stores, sells fuel on the side (by "on the side" I mean hundreds of thousands of gallons or more a month through home heating oil trucks, propane, etc.) , has a go-cart track, and is getting into e-commerce. What do you call him? A fuel speculator? Grocery manager? Entertainer? We talk about this all the time on HN, even though we don't know it. Take your average startup, say Stripe, are they a technology company? We would probably say so, but they also look a lot like a financial services company. How about the guy who's a lawyer and helps startups in a participatory manner for equity. Is he a VC? A lawyer manager? A partner? Yes, I know the IRS has legal definitions, but when looking at data like this the legal definitions don't really fit the discussion -- it just leaves us more questions than we started with.

The category of many of these business alone is problematic, much less trying to figure out job titles. Real innovation happens between the cracks. It doesn't fit into nice little boxes. The economy works because people are free to pick and choose little bits of all kinds of things to refashion them into something new that never existed before, so the parts that aren't being tracked here are the most important. Once you start looking at aggregates, averages, and deviations, you can make numbers say about anything you want.

<comment><USER30> Actually, I really looked the colors, it adds another dimension to the data: "given that you have X job, what is the chance that you would become filthy rich". I was actually frustrated with the graph until I noticed the meaning of the colors (viewing on a cell phone didn't help)

<comment><USER31> Yes, the colors indicate the correlation between the profession and the income. A darker color means that the profession is more likely to actually contribute to the income, while a lighter color means that those 1-percenters probably married into wealth or inherited passive income. In a graph showcasing the professions of the wealthy, the color is actually more significant than the relative sizes of the boxes.

<comment><USER30> Actually it's even more helpful than that: the lightest color indicates a less than one percent chance of entering the one percent, which means that that job does "worse than chance at achieving "one percent status".

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER32> Assuming this is only looking at 'income' and not capital gains / dividends, this is highly misleading because many wealthy live off the former, though it's a bit difficult to find numbers. Also if everyone is listing their occupations, it's only natural that many choose generic ones rather than "I live off inherited family money dividends" or equivalent

</comment><comment><USER33> Teachers can make lots of money, via tutoring. I know teachers, besides their regular jobs, who have been charging $80 to $100 a hour for tutoring, for 10 to 20 hours a week. Also their regular jobs only take 9 months so they got time for other jobs. They can easily pull in 150K to 180K a year.

</comment><comment><USER30> The data in this graph is flawed.

I only see one major box categorized as "engineer", and it says that 1/4 of all engineers are architecture or surveying. Try 1/20, perhaps. 1/4 is _way_ too large. The only engineering majors that large are EECS and Mechanical, I bet.

</comment><comment><USER34> I think the problem with drawing the line at the 99% vs 1% is that it let's the bottom 90% of the 1% side with the top 10% of the 1%. (Refering to this previously mentioned link: [http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/investment_manage...](http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/investment_manager.html))

"We are the 99.9%" isn't as catchy but strategically it would make sense.

</comment><comment><USER35> Whats the deal with managers ranking above CEO s.

<comment><USER36> The visualization is a bit confusing, but it makes sense that the manager box is larger than the CEO box since as others have pointed out there are more managers than CEOs, however notice that the CEO box is noticeably darker than the manager box, indicating that CEOs are more likely to be in the 1% than managers.

It's not a terrific visualization. It's a bit difficult to compare box sizes and colors.

</comment></comment><comment><USER37> Cashiers... :|

<comment><USER38> On what planet could a cashier make that much money? I need to research this!

</comment></comment><comment><USER39> so basically, about 1% of everyone is in the 1%.. surprise

</comment><comment><USER40> The 1% don't have "Jobs" even the high paid banker with a 2 million bonus isn't realy one of the 1%

<comment><USER41> Well, according to the other NYT article on the front page the annual household income required to be in the top 1% is $383,000. Many people in the top 1% probably don't consider themselves to be all that wealthy...

[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one-...](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one- percent-map.html)

<comment><USER42> Annual household income => $383K is a bit surprising? Or do I just have a wrong picture of rich people. I thought it would be much more.

<comment><USER43> I thought this as well, but you may be comparing against a Forbes richest people list. The majority of the people I talk to (even devs) think $100,000 is a very large sum of money. Also, just by having a decent salary in the US/Canada, income-wise you're easily the top 1% of the world: <http://www.globalrichlist.com/>

<comment><USER34> Just to clarify, that URL is about annual income whereas the list of Forbes billionaires is about net worth.

       annual income != net worth (aka wealth)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER44> Hmm... I'm thinking top 1% people do not have a job anymore, other people are working for them.

Or at least this is what I would do if I would be in top 1% :)</comment>


Uber finds signs linking Lyft exec to hack of its driver database - <AUTHOR> http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uber-finds-signs-linking-lyft-exec-to-hack-of-its-driver-database-2015-10-09 <comment><AUTHOR> This accusation could be very damaging to the single biggest advantage Lyft seems to have over Uber -- its good-guy reputation.</comment>


RailsBricks 2 released: create Rails 4 apps. Faster. - <AUTHOR> http://www.railsbricks.net/news

<comment><USER2> Happy to see this is speeding up fast and becoming more and more solid! Great work!

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks! I'm getting tons of feedback so it keeps me motivated :-)

<comment><USER2> Yea so you'll be happy to know I just tried and created a sample rails 4.0.2 app on Windows 7 with RailsBricks and it all went perfectly smooth!

<comment><AUTHOR> Very good news! I can then say it has been tested on Win 7!</comment></comment></comment></comment>


They'll take my copper phoneline away when they pry it from my cold dead fingers - <AUTHOR> Just got a phone message from my ISP. They want to "upgrade" me to fiber/voip. Hell no. I can stream movies with what I've got. My landline works without adding another wall wart, and without depending on AC power to my house. I don't need to buy a backup battery. I can use my own bought-and-paid-for ADSL2+ modem, without paying another $10 a month to rent their box. I don't need another hole drilled in my wall. I don't need to wait for the installer to show up. I've already got my house wired up the way I want. I've got my home network configured the way I want, with my own firewall box, hubs, etc. Why should I take a day out of my life to change things, if I'm not interested in the higher speed of fiber?<p>Other old fogies who want to chime in, feel free. For you kids who want to know what a "landline" is, go look it up. <comment><USER2> Much as I'd like to agree with you, the higher speed of fiber is gradually becoming a necessity, particularly for people with families that consume streaming content.

</comment><comment><USER3> I feel for you, man. Best of luck! But you may be on the wrong side of history :)</comment>


The Illinois Commerce Commission websites do not use OpenSSL - <AUTHOR> http://www.icc.illinois.gov/

<comment><USER2> Server: Microsofg-IIS/7.0 Set-Cookie: ASP.NET_SessionId=... X-Powered-By: ASP.NET

Thus, it is SChannel.

And the title is wrong--the site says "Did not use OpenSSL".

<comment><AUTHOR> Indeed. They could clarify rather easily. Not using OpenSSL doesn't imply that they are secure, nor does it explain what they are using for the non-technical attorneys on the site...

<comment><USER3> >Not using OpenSSL doesn't imply that they are secure

Uhh, it does mean that they are secure from the HeartBleed bug. I think you're confused, OpenSSL is a piece of software, SSL is a protocol with multiple implementations. So it's possible to use SSL without using OpenSSL, hence the title of this post is completely wrong.

<comment><AUTHOR> I understand your point regarding HeartBleed, the title and SSL. However, does that make it acceptable to not use some form of SSL on the non-authentication portion of the site? And are you saying they do?

<comment><USER2> That is a different question. The title as you edited it is _Illinois Gov 't: Don't Worry, We Never Used SSL To Begin With_

which is very different (and wrong), from _Illinois Gov 't: Don't Worry, We Never Used OpenSSL To Begin With_.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> People seem to be missing that they have a private account part, protected by ssl, probably for services aimed at business owners. That's the reason for this notice.

And the author of this thread's title is wrong, the fact that they don't use OpenSSL does not mean they do not use SSL at all (as proved).

<comment><AUTHOR> As pointed out below, even if you are not authenticating or transmitting data through sign in, you would still like to know if you are talking to the .gov site. Also, while they use SSL for authentication, they don't clarify via banner.

Moreover, the login is for attorneys representing businesses, so there is potentially even more at stake. Yes, they would like to know they are actually talking to the .gov site.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> There are other implementations besides OpenSSL.

<comment><AUTHOR> They could clarify. Besides, it doesn't look like there is any form of SSL being used. Correct me if I'm wrong.

<comment><USER6> consider yourself corrected.

[https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awww.icc.illinois.gov+...](https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awww.icc.illinois.gov+inurl%3Ahttps)

<comment><AUTHOR> That's just for signing in. Perhaps SSL isn't really necessary unless signing in, but I would still think it could facilitate malicious script injections.

<comment><USER4> Realize that people who sign in on the "commerce comission" website are probably business owners who don't want their sign in information (or other stuff this web site might have from them in their account) to be leaked

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> So what? Depending on whether they're simply hosting public information and there's no need for authentication, why would they need SSL?

<comment><USER8> Even if I'm not submitting authentication credentials or other sensitive informtation, if I'm looking up something at a .gov I'd like to be sure I'm actually talking to the real website.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> I stand corrected. My lessor points on only the authentication portion of the site don't justify the title, that I would correct if I could. Thanks, let's let this go the way of the Boskop...

</comment><comment><USER9> Looking around the site, it appears that they do use SSL for parts that require authentication. They may simply be using a different implementation of SSL.

</comment><comment><USER10> Is that a joke?</comment>


Quarantine work is not remote work - <AUTHOR> https://www.hanselman.com/blog/QuarantineWorkIsNotRemoteWork.aspx <comment><USER2> I am also a remote worker for the last 6-7 years or so.

There is a few things I would like to point out to people that are now working from home for the first time and think it is the best thing ever. (Though many may not have the possibility to do)

a) Stop working on your laptop that work sent you. Get a damn monitor and get your back straight

b) Stop working from your dinning room table or what not. Get a desk/comfortable chair

c) Take breaks from the screen. Walk to the kitchen, make coffee and talk with the dam wooden spoon if you have noone else.

Most of the problems with not doing this don't show up in the first few weeks of home working, but will be with your for much longer than that after a while.

(if you can exercise, even better, but I won't recommend you to go to the gym at a time like this)

<comment><USER3> This is well and good, but our apartment which is great to live in is not large enough for two work spaces. Nor can we afford to lose the space for as many monitors. And it's not like we can suddenly move in the middle of pandemic quarantine to a new place with more room. When we weren't working at home we did not plan for our living arrangement to also be our working arrangement.

Your advice is great, but only if you can arrange your home around being one or more offices in addition.

<comment><USER4> I find it hard to believe you live in an apartment that is too small to accomodate two work spaces. I can believe you live in an existing space that you could not have two workspaces added to it, but that's not the same thing. It may take sacrificing the normal living room/TV/kitchen/common area, but these aren't normal times we're living through.

Whether you _want_ to, is a different matter.

<comment><USER3> > _It may take sacrificing the normal living room /TV/kitchen/common area_

Because the best way to avoid losing your mind is to completely eliminate the only relaxation space in your home, yes?

<comment><USER5> Folding tables always work.

<comment><USER6> Monitors and furniture all cost money though, but I agree, this thing would be sweet: [https://media.manufactum.de/is/image/Manufactum/750s_shop/se...](https://media.manufactum.de/is/image/Manufactum/750s_shop/sekretaer- flatmate--28299_01.jpg)

If you got the funds: 1 high res monitor and the laptop folded or under the table or anything is also already better.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> This new 'quarantine work' is just an awkward retrofit - those positions (and their managers) were never designed to work remotely in the first place.

I spent 4 years remote in a position designed for it, and it was still a challenge even on the best days. You have to communicate twice as much as everyone who is on site.

It's hard to learn all the remote working lessons at the same time as everyone else in your family is also learning them. Crash course in boundaries.

</comment><comment><USER8> I've worked remotely most of my career, and this reflects my feelings as well. This time is not representative of my years of remote work at all, and anyone who is feeling stress and burnout in this time (I certainly am) should know that you're not alone, you're not failing in any way, you're having a normal reaction to a very unusual and stressful situation.

</comment><comment><USER9> Quarantine work + 5 Year old without childcare = Extremely Difficult

<comment><USER10> I've worked remotely 90% of the time for the last 7 years and this ain't it.

My partner and I are now homeschooling both of our children while attempting to work full time remote. The results are mixed, with the kids mostly getting the short end of the stick so our lively hoods can remain intact.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> In addition to the points in the article, it's also worth considering that the amount and kind of work you're doing at the moment also likely isn't normal for remote working.

That's because if your company is client based, many of said clients have likely stopped paying for work at the moment, and many organisations are struggling to find anything for their employees to do at all. They're also likely going to use this time to focus on internal projects and maintenance too, since that's the kind of work that's available right now.

So if you do remote work after the pandemic/lockdown ends, you'll likely have a lot more on your plate than you do at the moment. For better or worse.

</comment><comment><USER12> Working remotely is normally great, but working during this epidemic feels much harder, less enjoyable, and less productive - probably due in part to the steady barrage of warnings, restrictions and alarming news, all of which seem to contribute to worry and stress. Not to mention the increased isolation. Just taking care of basic necessities seems to be a lot harder and more time- consuming.

But I can't complain much, since being able to work at all (not to mention staying housed and fed) is a pretty good thing! I've also caught up on sleep to some extent, which I highly recommend.

</comment><comment><USER13> I'm also feeling burnout, I suspect because I'm actually working more hours now, sometimes out of sheer boredom.</comment>


Wells Fargo faces $1B fine from loan abuses - <AUTHOR> https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-results/wells-fargo-faces-1-billion-fine-from-loan-abuses-idUSKBN1HK1NI <comment><AUTHOR> The executives who were the architects of this debacle (Carrie Tolstedt, John Stumpf) still retired tens or hundreds of millions ahead, even after clawbacks.

Stort-termism is still where it's at.</comment>


Ask HN: How to Work at a Bad Job? - <AUTHOR> How can I keep going for 3 months (a reasonable amount of time to look for an internal transfer), while I continue the job hunting process? I've been burned and burnt out by a job that I never really loved, for a company I really do love, and made peace with the fact that I have to find something new. The reasons for my dislike are entirely political, and my job is not at risk. What strategies do others use to keep the lights on, so to speak, when faced with a job that you actively dislike? <comment><USER2> > The reasons for my dislike are entirely political...

There's a difference between Political (untrustworthy) and Political Savvy (the art of getting things done).

Use this time as a laboratory to observe and experiment.

Robert Green might be useful > [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39330937-the-laws-of- hum...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39330937-the-laws-of-human-nature)

</comment><comment><USER3> I suggest you use it work as you like without fear and experiment trying to fight conservative powers at your job to make it more exciting and to gain respect

If you don't like it, make it an excuse to risk

</comment><comment><USER4> Spend a week, or two living on poverty wages. You'll be very motivated to work just about any job.</comment>


How A Startup Can Change The Election - <AUTHOR> http://techli.com/startup-election

<comment><USER2> I wonder how the accountability issues that Kickstarter ([http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/accountability-on- kickstarte...](http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/accountability-on-kickstarter)) is dealing with recently affect a start-up like Givver. Any thoughts?

</comment><comment><USER3> This was an informative story. Its great to learn how the tech community can make a difference on issues of real relevance.

</comment><comment><USER4> Imagine the power that this could have. Move On could use this to change several elections in a Day.

</comment><comment><USER5> Could this fundamentally change the power base?

<comment><USER2> It could help I guess...

<comment><USER6> I think it will, as it gives more power to individuals</comment></comment></comment>


How to Make the Perfect Hipster Logo - <AUTHOR> http://www.wired.com/design/2013/07/how-to-make-a-perfect-hipster-logo-in-6-easy-steps/

<comment><USER2> A lot of the comments are missing the point. This isn't about "hipster hate," per se. It's about how this style of logo design, and the common tropes it contains, are overused.

This is a quick, tongue-in-cheek piece about a design trend. It's not a condescending critique of a certain population.

<comment><USER3> I found it funny.

We could perhaps make a list of websites that fall into this "trap".

Here's one. Ridiculously expensive axes. And red woolly hats. [http://www.bestmadeco.com/](http://www.bestmadeco.com/)

<comment><USER4> It's been done

[http://yourlogoisnothardcore.tumblr.com/archive](http://yourlogoisnothardcore.tumblr.com/archive)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This is pretty spot on.

Logos are hard. Even when large corporations spend time and cash for their perfect logo it can backfire. [http://astuteo.com/desktop/articles/tropicana- redesign](http://astuteo.com/desktop/articles/tropicana-redesign)

In regards to the meta commentary on hipsters, no one is providing design tips to help handmade/artisanal products. If one is to deem them bad or overly attached to a trend, what is the solution. What would be the correct process to create a un-trendy/hipster focused yet modern logo?

My lady and I run a dog treat business in Chicago. We have focused on creating small batches of treats for dogs not because its cool or trendy. Instead we found out that in order to remove preservatives and artificial ingredients, we had to make our products in small batches to meet demand (not over-make product). At the same time, we want to locally source as much of each treat as possible. That means going to farmers markets, and meeting local butchers. This all adds up to a be a point of differentiation in the market for us (specifically in the dog treat world). So we use words like artisinal, curated, hand made...etc. But, we want them to be differentiators and not fall into a trend or fad. We believe in making treats/food for dogs that are healthy and nutritious. You would be surprised what is in most of the food people feed their pups.

</comment><comment><USER6> I think I find hipster-bashing more annoying than hipsters. So there's a group of people you don't like - what's the big deal? Why spend so much time shaming them? Are we 5 years old?

<comment><USER7> It's really weird. Any sort of subculture is kinda hipster now. I am into punk rock and cycling. I am not afraid to say that I am probably a hipster. In fact, I am sure of it.

Hipster-bashing kinda reminds me of being made fun of by jocks in high school because I had spiked blue hair and torn jeans, except now the jokes come from geeks (who were made fun of by the jocks, too).

Maybe I just don't get it.

<comment><USER6> It's incredible how okay it is to make fun of them too. Bullying is bad, unless you're bullying a hipster.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> They forgot an important keyword: 'curated'

</comment><comment><USER9> Six steps on hipster logo design delivered in infographic form...perfect.

<comment><USER10> "Could this PERFECT Infographic of 6 HIPSTER Logo-design Steps Change YOUR Life... FOREVER?"

<comment><USER11> Graphic designers are enraged at the thought of this one simple tip.

<comment><USER12> discovered by a single mom

<comment><USER13> who works from home only 3 hours a week

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> It's funny AND condescending! Let us together make fun of people who all do the same thing because we're way more unique than them. Hipsters. Feh.

It's good for a self-deprecating chuckle but the comments on the article... hipster-hate needs to subside.

<comment><USER13> >>hipster-hate needs to subside.

Why? If someone is doing things for the sole purpose of being different and expressing their individuality and unique snowflake-ness, they deserve to be mocked.

<comment><USER15> Really? Why?

Edit: Or were you being sarcastic? I'm used to Internet People saying silly things, but "failure to conform must be punished" is such a bizarre opinion to see on Hacker News of all places that I'm not sure.

<comment><USER13> It's not failure to conform. It's refusal to conform solely for the sake of being perceived as unique or different. Being a hipster is a way of saying, "I'm cooler than everyone." That's why it deserves to be mocked.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Had this been "how to generate a me-too vintage logo", without even getting into "hipster", it would have done a better job of making the creator's point. Unfortunately, it also would not get nearly as many clicks.

We call headlines like this clickbait - but when more people respond to clickbait than to 'normal' headlines, what are you left with?

<comment><USER16> I also find the response to the above article contrasted to the response to this one[1] very interesting. They both do the same thing but with a different target audience. From which one might conclude it's okay to be condescending and insulting to a target group, as long as it's a target group that one does not identify with (directly or indirectly).

[1] [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6645925](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6645925)

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> If you ever wondered where the "X" originaly comes from (afaik). [http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/iconic- logos](http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/iconic-logos)

</comment><comment><USER18> Sure, an artisanal, handcrafted and authentic product is alright. But I just don't see the point if it isn't bespoke.

</comment><comment><USER15> The only consistent definition of "hipster" is "someone who is very concerned with not appearing to be a hipster."</comment>


Atlas Shrugged Updated for the Current Financial Crisis - <AUTHOR> http://mcsweeneys.net/2008/11/20tucker.html <comment><USER2> More accurately, there would be a shmarmy Wesley Mouch advocating Fannie and Freddie, and the need to repeal the Glass Stiegel act.

The most productive people in the world have never cared about finance or banking.

The only similarity between anything YC related and the credit crisis is that some business models are purely designed to catch a bubble. If you do that you are just speculating with code rather than financial instruments.

True entrepreneurship adds value and builds businesses that you can self-fund and that people will pay for, without trying to lure in a million visitors and a few investors with some sort of undisclosed, roulette-wheel business model.

<comment><USER3> By failing to recognize that this is the funniest parody in the entire history of literature, you unwittingly condemn yourself as irrational and anti-life.

<comment><USER4> The funniest parody in all of literature is Ulysses, and it's so funny nobody gets it.

McSweeney's is misinterpreting Rand. Rand isn't about making money. She's about creating good products and making money because people like what you've got. Kind of like how 37Signals does today: they're the "Atlas heroes." They do what they want, they don't compromise, and they're reporting doing well despite the crash because they're making something that people want.

McSweeney writers aren't bad, but they're immature. They take low shots and they're willing to be lame for laughs. In a way, kind of like Dave Eggers, who's quite good but who could be a lot better if he stopped the annoying little games. I like reading them on occasion, but this was one of their weaker moments.

<comment><USER5> How is Ulysses a parody?

<comment><USER4> Well, it's not entirely a parody. But there are absolutely parodic incidents. It takes the name Ulysses to allude to a grand epic, and then focuses on three people living a day in their lives. And it's not a parody in the sense that Joyce is making a bigger point, which is that the human mind is so complex and beautiful that the mere fact of living a day is an epic unto itself.

However, Joyce still absolutely has a comedic mindset. The opening, when Buck Mulligan descends and shaves, is written as if it were a religious ritual. There's the excellent newspaper scene, where headlines announce the goings-on of the characters. There's a chapter where every few paragraphs Joyce takes on the style of a new writer, moving from extremely obtuse ancient writing up to Irish slang. There's the penultimate chapter, which takes a scientific approach to two characters having sex. Stephen's chapter is a parody of the overthinking genius. Really, every chapter is as silly as it's straight. It's one of the things that makes Ulysses so fascinating.

Technically, I'd call Finnegans Wake an even greater parody, but that's not fair, because it parodies itself.

<comment><USER5> If you'd said "Ulysses is funny" I wouldn't have questioned that. :) It's certainly not a parody of the Odyssey, despite the partially ironic title and the echoes in the episode structure.

<comment><USER4> I think those echoes are what make me call it a parody. It's a serious parody - I think that it mirrors it to prove a serious statement - but at the same time, it's saga-length and absolutely epic, yet it focuses on the mind rather than on great actions and deeds. Perhaps it's not a direct parody - it does much more than parody - but I think that parody's still in there.

The part near the very end - the Sinbad the Sailor monologue - still cracks me up. What excellent writing.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Laughing at the write-up almost made reading that steaming pile of a book worth it.

"Why leave such an achievement to rot here? It's the greatest thing I've ever laid eyes on, made by a monumental genius, the sort of mind that's only born once in a century ... Dagny, why are you fondling your breasts?"

</comment><comment><USER7> This reminds me of the lack of AS fanfiction on the web right now. Someone really needs to rewrite this book once the it goes to the public domain, because there is potential, but so much is lost on her personality quirks and non-native English writing. (Note that the ARI essay contests have NEVER delved into the romantic situations in this book because they really are so contradictory and add nothing).

tldr: I lold

</comment><comment><USER8> Eh, it wasn't that funny, mostly because it utterly misses the point. The Spudworks one was OK.</comment>


How to Post Open Jobs - <AUTHOR> I just joined. I am a tech recruiter.   Am I allowed to post open roles to this group? Greg Inguagiato <comment><USER2> [https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html)

</comment><comment><USER3> I thought the trick was to write up an awesome "Ask HN" or "Show HN" which is genuinely interesting and which... oh, is that a sentence advertising the company is hiring? :-)</comment>


What happened to virtual reality? - <AUTHOR> http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-to-virtual-reality-2017-1 <comment><USER2> vr should have stayed dead with virtualboy, I'm just amazed how far they took it this time..</comment>


Music Icon Prince Dead at 57 - <AUTHOR> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/prince-dead-dies_us_57190013e4b0c9244a7b2a5b <comment><USER2> As tragic as his death may be, HN just isn't the venue for mainstream celebrity gossip or news.

Oh, and downvoters, is this really what you want HN to become?

<comment><USER3> I've recently finally jumped in with both feet and registered a HN account because I got sick and tired of what passed for 'news' on other so called 'tech' sites.

I want be part of above-average-IQ community that is interested in the same things I am. If wanted celeb news or gossip, I'd go to the E! online site.

Yes it's sad that Prince is dead, and I'll be playing When Doves Cry later on, but this is not the place for this news.

<comment><USER4> Both this comment and the parent comment appear in some form when a celebrity related articles appears. Neither one takes into account the fact that Hacker News is a site for new of interest to hackers. That means occasionally, there will be articles that aren't focused on either technology or startups.

Prince was an extremely talented musician, and many people of all walks enjoyed his music. For many people, his music was a part of their development. I'd say news of his death is of interest.

<comment><USER2> I'm sure 30 minute healthy recipes are also of interest to hackers, after all, what time-starved hacker doesn't want to eat good food? Just because it might be of interest to hackers doesn't mean it's appropriate for HN.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Thanks for the music, Prince.

RIP

<comment><USER6> He also had a damn good sense of humor (album cover); [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_Can_Wait](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_Can_Wait)

<comment><USER7> And composed/wrote many songs for others. I think recognizing talented icons when they pass isn't unfit for here.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'll be listening to Purple Rain and 1999 in a few to remember his music.

</comment><comment><USER8> R.I.P. Ƭ̵̬̊

</comment><comment><USER9> How is this HN relative?</comment>


Too Lazy to Skim? Five Useful Tools to Summarize Articles Online - <AUTHOR> https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/online-summarizers-overview-yuri-kitin?_mSplash=1 <comment><USER2> after all the talk this past week or so about the press, and the need to invest effort in critical thinking and analyzing bias, this saddens me. Too lazy to skim!?</comment>


Show HN: Just open sourced that crypto.cat alternative I made today - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/dustball/secretchat.site <comment><USER2> can you explain me very simply what did you achieve and what is that crypto.cat is for basicly (not an expert in crypto but I wanna learn) ?</comment>


So, Amphibians Glow. Humans Just Couldn't See It–Until Now - <AUTHOR> https://www.wired.com/story/amphibians-glow/#intcid=recommendations_wired-right-rail-popular_9c0e8c11-3808-43db-9784-ffb7cddceef0_popular4-1 <comment><USER2> Funnily enough autofluorescence of amphibians is a fairly significant issue in the research space. When designing any sort of marker you can't use specific proteins because the background signal from the animal will render it functionally invisible.</comment>


HelenOS: portable microkernel-based multiserver operating system - <AUTHOR> http://www.helenos.org/ <comment><USER2> What could be an appropriate use case for this OS at its current state?</comment>


What disturbed me about the Facebook meeting - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@glennbeck/what-disturbed-me-about-the-facebook-meeting-3bbe0b96b87f#.gkeoczfvd <comment><USER2> I hope that the soul searching continues. The hypocrisy of conservatives making progressive style demands (quota systems, etc) is touched on, but they'd really be better off in further extend that logic to the other obvious inconsistencies in their platform. A simple example would the the whole gay marriage thing, which is at odds with the conservative position of reduced state interference and individual freedom.</comment>


Pytrace - a fast python tracer - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/alonho/pytrace

<comment><USER2> > traces aid debugging, profiling and obviate logging.

As a heavy Common Lisp user, coming from an environment where this sort of functionality has been standard for decades, I can easily say that it certainly does not "obviate logging," and it's entirely inappropriate for profiling. I hope the code's better than the ad copy.

<comment><USER3> "As a heavy <insert functional language here> user, coming from an environment where this sort of functionality has been standard for decades, I can easily say that <refute any claims>. I hope <insert mockery here>."

On another note... it looks great, if it performs well it can be hacked for a REPL environment / code editor plugin.

<comment><USER2> > <insert functional language here>

Common Lisp is not a functional programming language.

> <refute any claims>

So we should ignore decades of experience and even simple rationality in favor of wild, unsubstantiated claims by a wheel-reinventing author?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> What about python 3 support?

<comment><AUTHOR> Will be added within a week or so

<comment><AUTHOR> Took less time than I thought. version 0.2 comes with python 3 support

<comment><USER4> awesome!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Wish one of these existed for every language, it looks incredibly useful.

</comment><comment><USER6> how do i copy the traces into a gist? i can't figure out how to turn off the built in pager widget which is just getting in my way</comment>


Show HN: The Ansibles - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/pjan/the-ansibles Since the number of (extensive) Ansible examples are still sparse, I decided to clean up the ones I have been writing and release them, for reuse and educational purposes. I know I would've benefited greatly from them when I started out, and hope they will help others now. I have a couple more of them, but they need some additional clean-up before I will add them to the repo.
Inspired by the "NSA-proof your e-mail in 2 hours" article, I created a similarly complete setup for a personal (mail/web/...)server on a VPS as al3x did a couple of weeks ago using the scripts I had, and wrote an idiot-proof tutorial on how to set it up (https://github.com/pjan/the-ansibles/blob/master/docs/cloudbox.md). Manual steps are minimal, and "It just works" - start to finish should take you less than an hour.
If you haven't tried Ansible before, there's no more excuse not to now.
Enjoy. <comment><AUTHOR> ^ Since the number of (extensive) Ansible examples are still sparse, I decided to clean up the ones I have been writing and release them, for reuse and educational purposes. I know I would've benefited greatly from them when I started out, and hope they will help others now. I have a couple more of them, but they need some additional clean-up before I will add them to the repo.

Inspired by the "NSA-proof your e-mail in 2 hours" article, I created a similarly complete setup for a personal (mail/web/...)server on a VPS as al3x did a couple of weeks ago using the scripts I had, and wrote an idiot-proof tutorial on how to set it up ([https://github.com/pjan/the- ansibles/blob/master/docs/cloudb...](https://github.com/pjan/the- ansibles/blob/master/docs/cloudbox.md)). Manual steps are minimal, and "It just works" \- start to finish should take you less than an hour.

If you haven't tried Ansible before, there's no more excuse not to now.

Enjoy.</comment>


Mt Gox reported Bug causing a nosedive in bitcoin price - <AUTHOR> http://www.coindesk.com/price/

<comment><AUTHOR> Trading at same levels as the news of China ban [http://i.imgur.com/imve1Sc.jpg?1](http://i.imgur.com/imve1Sc.jpg?1)</comment>