Newton inventor claims 'Shark Tank' is all a lie - <AUTHOR> http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/09/16/newton-inventor-wearable-umbrella-says-shark-tank-all-lie/YtQVKJpsjAeqYiKdJn0ZrK/story.html?event=event25 <comment><USER5> Mark Cuban said in a Howard Stern interview that about half of the deals made on the show fall apart during due diligence. So it's not particularly surprising that he never got his $200k. The only "fraud" I see here was perpetrated on viewers, if indeed they later aired a show (that this inventor voluntarily participated in) with an entirely fictional narrative about making a deal with Sharper Image.

Shark Tank probably has an innocent explanation, and the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But my BS detector went through the roof when he suggested that as a settlement for his lawsuit, he would accept being allowed to go back on a show that he claims is a fraud. This makes him sound like nothing more than a desperate, failed business owner that is attempting extort his way back onto the show for the free advertising it offers.

<comment><USER6> I worked on Shark Tank. It is a lie (but not unlike almost every other TV show) with just enough truth to keep "suspension of disbelief" aloft. It was designed that way from the beginning. Almost all TV shows are designed this way. The "lie" is called entertainment. The subject of "high stakes" investing is ready-made for TV, but no investor can adequately research a business in the 15 minutes it takes to shoot each pitch.

<comment><USER5> Is Mark Cuban's claim that he funds approximately half of the deals he makes on the show in the ballpark? I also remember him saying something about the each pitch actually taking up to an hour, that is then cut down for TV. But you're saying it takes 15 minutes to _shoot_ each. Which is it?

<comment><USER7> The edited pitches they show on TV are way too long to only have 15 mins of raw footage. Surely the actual pitches are much longer than that.

<comment><USER6> The pitches can be shot between 15-60 minutes each. These are ballpark figures, keep in mind, and I am sure that some pitches have taken longer. The point is, there's not enough time to make an informed decision.

Production wants to shoot them as quickly as possible, as they are renting very expensive studio space and paying the talent for every shoot day.

Shark Tank is very efficient as far as TV shows go. Some shows, like Big Brother, shoot 100 minutes for every 1 minute aired. Shark Tank is probably closer to 3-5 minutes shot for every 1 minute aired. It's more like a scripted show in that regard. Certainly, all the pitches are memorized and practiced well in advance.

Someone asked my credentials. I worked on Shark Tank for one season as an editor. I have add'l credits on The Voice and Sarah Palin's Alaska for Mark Burnett Productions. I also worked for 10 other production companies on about 25-30 shows for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and SHOWTIME. Some of them I don't remember. Some of them I would like to forget, for example, Famous in 12: [http://www.tmz.com/category/famous- in-12/](http://www.tmz.com/category/famous-in-12/)

<comment><USER8> When I was on Shark Tank our pitch took a little over an hour. Granted we had a complicated audio requirements that took a while to set up, but the pitch lasted a long time.

The beginning 1-minute pitch is memorized, but everything after that when sharks are asking questions is totally free-for-all.

I was surprised and impressed by the professionalism and the speed of the production team. They had it down to almost an assembly-line.

<comment><USER5> What product did you pitch? Scripted or not, it must have been a cool experience. Did you get funded?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I'd love to hear the shark's side of this but I am not surprised to hear someone say that the show doesn't accurately portray the deals. Having participated in televised 'reality shows' (Robotica, Battlebots) it is clearly entertainment value rather than the putative subject matter that the producers are interested in. Mostly its little stuff, like the gift basket from Robotica was said would include "New Balance Running shoes" but instead had some fairly poorly made off brand shoes (the box said "Quolity Shoes" (yes with an 'o' instead of an 'a' in Quality). My wife and I agreed that it felt like the producers were trying to produce a show "experience" with props for the "contestants."

But from the article there must be more since the guy sued and then settled for $20K? What did the contract say? And the licensing stuff is pretty crazy in TV (so many people want to be "on TV" it really is amazing).

<comment><USER10> I've always been of the opinion that all reality shows are produced with actors, or aspiring actors. None of the people are everyday, average folks. This view was reinforced after watching a few seconds of this Battlebots show which you speak of. Either that, or the producers hunt down and look for TV- suitable people from the average crowd. All those people who "want to be on TV" are in that category.

<comment><USER11> So Shark Tank people are definitely real. The sisters who made Coffee-Meets- Bagel were on the show and a friend met them at some startup event in Silicon Valley before their app took off. Also a friend of mine has been on the show as well.

That said, your hypothesis for "TV-Suitable" people isn't far off. A classmate from college went to audition for some reality TV show and basically said the producers look for certain traits such as how dramatic a person is, etc. My friend who's been on Shark Tank is definitely a charming and likeable guy (he's also a genuinely very nice guy).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I worked for one of the Sharks specifically in dealing with their Shark Tank investments. It is not a lie. The verbal agreements on the show are just that. This founder is saying things out of spite because his deal fell through in due diligence, which in my experience is 100% on the founder almost all of the time. Founders will hide things like law suits, giant piles of debt, etc thinking that the Shark teams won't find it. Or sometimes the product has serious flaws that the founder wasn't transparent about on air.

I stopped working for the shark before "Beyond the Tank" came out so I can't speak to the sharper image thing.

<comment><USER13> this is basically how all business works. nothing is real until the money is in the bank. and until it is, there's a million things to go wrong. it can still go wrong after, too, it's just less likely.

<comment><USER14> "Nothing is real until the money is in the bank."

This is pretty much how life works too!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> "Sharper Image is the last company in the whole country I would have allowed him to even speak with," Kaufman said. "We all know their reputation. They went bankrupt. Their name makes you think of a niche item that costs a lot of money, and that's not what Nubrella is."

A 60 dollar sunshade strapped to a hat isn't niche?

<comment><USER16> It's 2016. If scifi taught me anything about 2016, it was that it involved outrageous plastic headgear.

<comment> rm_-rf_slash Any period of history can involve outrageous headgear. Even things we consider classy can change in a heartbeat. Fedoras used to be cool. Now they're weird and neckbeard-y.

<comment><USER17> > Fedoras used to be cool. Now they're weird and neckbeard-y.

Fedoras are still cool... if worn with a nice suit by a well-groomed person.

Fedoras worn with undershirts and untailored clothes were never cool in the first place.

<comment><USER18> I wear an Outback Trading Co. oilskin River Guide hat [0].

I don't care if it looks cool, because it keeps my glasses dry in the rain, and the sun out of my face the rest of the time. If I want to be fashionable, I can wear something else, but mostly I just want to be comfortable.

[0] [http://www.outbacktrading.com/river-guide-1497-brn- md](http://www.outbacktrading.com/river-guide-1497-brn-md)

<comment><USER19> Try a Tilley. I _looooove_ my Tilley.

I have this one: [http://www.tilley.com/us_en/men/hats/ltm6-airflor.html](http://www.tilley.com/us_en/men/hats/ltm6-airflor.html)

Owner's manual is worth a read, if you're unfamiliar: [http://www.tilley.com/media/pdf/Tilley-Owners-Manual- EN.pdf](http://www.tilley.com/media/pdf/Tilley-Owners-Manual-EN.pdf)

<comment><USER18> That looks fit for a different purpose. One of the reasons I wear a full- brimmed hat is to replace both sunglasses and umbrella, and the mesh portion of the Tilley that you linked allows rain to pass through the crown. The Wanderer [0] is likely closest to what I would wear.

It's a bit more expensive than what I already have, but it looks like they have a lifetime replacement guarantee and a 2-year insurance policy against loss. All other things being equal, I'd rather pay less up front and take greater care with what I bought.

[0] [http://www.tilley.com/us_en/men/hats/warm-weather/tilley- wan...](http://www.tilley.com/us_en/men/hats/warm-weather/tilley- wanderer.html)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> Fyi: The man is from Newton MA, USA.

He is not the Apple Newton's inventor.

<comment><USER21> Also, here's a video of the invention itself: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0nV2S5pO2I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0nV2S5pO2I)

I like things that help battle the elements, but this isn't my cup of tea. It appears that he's also kickstarted the thing about three years ago (only to ~$10,000 in funding) and people are complaining about not receiving the item: [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/36197580/finally-the- wo...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/36197580/finally-the-worlds-first- hands-free-umbrella-has-a/comments)

My current system of dealing with rain in the Pacific Northwest is combining a well made rain jacket with a wool baseball cap (Ebbets Fields makes some) - <USER4> solves the problem of wearing glasses in the rain pretty well. There's probably some really niche uses for the nubrella, but there's other solutions already (camera rain covers, waterproof phones/phone cases/etc).

<comment><USER22> I actually think this device would do little good for weather.

* Rain can come at you from many more angles than just straight down

* Wind will rip apart anything remotely a sail, like the top of his device

* How do I put it on as I exit a car?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> So the guy sues them, settles for $20k, sues them again for a different reason, and has the audacity to say he wants to appear on another episode and think there's even a chance of that happening?

<comment><USER24> I was with it until he demanded more air time. That's such a weird demand out of this.

<comment><USER25> I think it made sense in just a settlement- 'you want to keep rerunning that episode over a decade after it was recorded and aired, let me at least show "now."' I can see how such a product with such limited circulation could be completely overwhelmed by Shark Tank reruns/promos in marketing even though it's wildly out of date.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> Worked for a company that was on Shark Tank and Beyond the Tank. Its a TV show - its there to entertain viewers and sell ad time not generate funding for businesses. When they filmed BTT, there were narratives that they wanted to push, certain things they wanted to be said, etc. Bottom line, the money my employer got from ST/BTT was dwarfed in comparison to the marketing/PR benefits of just being on the show and working with the Sharks' teams - <USER3> associated with the show opens a lot of doors.

I remember seeing an article from the founder of a company that was on ST estimating that the PR/Exposure was probably worth in the ballpark of $3m. I'd agree with that; a random re-run years after the initial episode would still bring in a huge amount of traffic - at no cost to us. I'd estimate we got 3-5 re-runs every quarter.

I'll throw it out there too that there was a huge delay between filming BTT and when the episode aired.

</comment><comment><USER27> Everybody who watches this show knows the Sharks can pull out of the deal later on. I enjoy the show, even though I realize a lot of it has to be staged. However, I don't like how they force the people to make a decision within minutes, but the Sharks can research the product some later and pull out if they want to.

<comment><USER28> The thing is that either side can pull out of the deal after the show. I've heard that some of these pitches and discussions can go on for an hour or more and television edits it down to 15 minutes.

<comment><USER29> Herjavick said (in his Reddit AMA iirc) that most pitches are about two hours long.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> I remember seeing somewhere (can't remember if it was online, or on the show) where the Sharks talked about how a lot more goes into the deal then the little snippet of them talking that is shown on TV. Obviously that makes sense, as the info from the little snippet is often superficial. The exposure for the company presenting their items is probably one of the best parts. I would think if you are set to capitalize on that then you have a good shot of doing decently, even if the Sharks don't back you (although this guy even has problems with that).

Sounds like this guy just struggled with his business and it basically ran into the ground.

<comment><USER31> > I remember seeing somewhere

I saw an interview with Mark Cuban that was completely unrelated to the subject, but touched Shark Tank briefly and he explained how it worked.

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> "(sharper image)...Their name makes you think of a niche item that costs a lot of money, and that's not what Nubrella is."

Funny, when I saw the Nubrella, Sharper Image is the first thing that came to mind.

</comment><comment><USER33> In Germany's equivalent 26 of the 35 announced deals during the show didn't work out. Usually due-diligence but I can imagine in some cases that wasn't even started. I counted 114 presentations (19 episodes, 6 presentations average). So 26 actual investments is a 20% ratio.

</comment><comment><USER34> I am not speaking about this case in particular, because I have no idea what happened, but in general things like this must happen all the time even if the show is "authentic."

I think a lot of diligence and deal details have to be worked out. They ask who else own shares but they don't even go through a cap table.

I know the sharks have been disappointed when entrepreneurs turned out not to be "serious" and just show up for exposure.

This person may have been scammed, but it is also possible that one red flag ended the diligence. ("Wait? how much debt?!")

The thing that remains a mystery is this follow up episode. But that makes no sense on both sides. How do you get pressured to do a follow up episode if you never saw an investment?

</comment><comment><USER35> > Nubrella is currently out of cash, Kaufman said, and potential new investors > won't bite, assuming the "sharks" and Sharper Image backed out of those > deals because of some hidden defect in its product or business plan.

Be careful who you deal with, and force them to act sooner rather than later. When dealing with the Sharks I don't know if you really can force them to act and cut a check, they can just say they will and run re-runs, potentially screwing your future investment opportunities.

</comment><comment><USER36> I learned that many of the entrepreneurs on the show aren't even true applicants. A friend of mine works for a small company that's experienced rapid growth and a lot of publicity - there is a team at Shark Tank's production co that are aggressively trying to get them on the show.

The sad reality is that it's not even about applying and catching a break anymore... I'm not surprised.. it's TV.

That said, I think this guy's story sounds fishy.

</comment><comment><USER37> Man with bankrupt company files lawsuit, more at 11.

He's not claiming anything that the producers won't readily admit, so this should be fairly straightforward. He seems to have some merit to his claim that re-runs should show the original air date, other than that everything he claims is laughable.

<comment><USER38> Really? They admit that they say they're investing $200k and then don't invest $200k?

<comment><USER37> There's a very clear disclaimer at the start of each episode that all deals are tentative and subject to due diligence and other factors.

<comment><USER38> Okay but they filmed a follow up pretending he received funding

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER39> Ha... I live in Waltham right on the edge of Newton and I think I saw the guy and I assumed it was just a new fangled baby Bjorn. At the time I just assumed the baby wasn't attached.

If I lived somewhere else it probably would have made a bigger impression on me but I honestly see weird devices all the time in the Boston area (particularly fairly bizarre recumbent bikes and skating devices particularly as you approach Cambridge).

</comment><comment><USER40> Not incredibly surprising but this guy seems pretty shady, and I'm sure we're not getting the whole story.

Everything on television is at least a little bit fake. If I'm being completely honest I enjoy ST just to see the pitches and check out interesting new products. I couldn't care less what happens after the show. I bet a lot of viewers are like me.

</comment><comment><USER41> What is it with inventors and umbrellas? I can't think of a bigger non- problem. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-Yx9GGqW5U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-Yx9GGqW5U)

</comment><comment><USER42> Hasn't the already been "invented"?

I remember seeing something in a magazine a decade or so back about a Japanese person who did something very similar.

</comment><comment><USER43> Reality TV is not. Every reality show is a distortion to further the show's brand or to generate drama.

</comment><comment><USER44> A small fry is unhappy things didn't work out after he went for a swim in the _shark tank_, eh?

</comment><comment><USER45> Oh no, who would of thought a primetime cable TV program isn't real?

</comment><comment><USER6> TV is a lie? Is that really news?

</comment><comment><USER46> I'd like you to give more of your credentials.

I've been in contact with several of the of the entrepreneurs featured there, one of whom is a YC-backed entrepreneur (MTailor), and also for what it's worth I have another contact (via email) that I don't want to name.

I haven't been on the show or anything like that. Why would you say that it is a "lie"?

A lot of deals fall through. What specifically would you consider a "lie"?

Examples of a lie would be if there were never any money that ever changed hands, etc.

Other than that, it seems to be genuine

>but no investor can adequately research a business in the 15 minutes it takes to shoot each pitch.

You claim to have worked on shark tank but somewhere I heard that the pitches are much longer (up to an hour+) and get edited down, whereas you claim that it is 15 minutes, about the running time. So who's right?

For this reason I would like you to name what crosses the lie threshold for you, and give just a bit more of your credentials.

For the rest of us reading this I will state that the biggest "lie" isn't a lie at all: getting exposure on shark tank is a huuuuuuge amount of value for any company. But this is not something that any entrepreneur mentions (or it gets cut). I've never heard anyone say "Do you realize that when this airs, based on my talks with other founders we will get about five hundred thousand hits to our web site? So far we have a 7% closing rate on every single visitor who has ever come to our site." or anything like that... it's the elephant in the room that nobody really mentions, except a few times the sharks refer to it obliquely as 'gold-diggers' etc. but it's not mentioned in a positive light, for example when negotiating about valuations. I haven't seen anything else that seems to be a lie to me! (And this includes personal contact as mentioned at the top.)

<comment><USER47> I think his definition of "lie" is very broad in the sense of presenting something to be different than it actually is. For example:

\- The show makes it seem like the pitch lasts 15 minutes when it generally lasts much longer in reality (I've talked to a friend who has been on the show that has verified this).

\- The show makes it seem much more dramatic than it actually is by overlapping dialogue, rearranging and timing reaction shots, and using music (to the extend of fabricating a conversation)

\- The show makes it seem like an exact deal is made in 15 minutes when there is much more involved before and after the show

<comment><USER6> Yes. More or less I agree with what you have said. The main point is that the complaint against the TV show is ridiculous as the show is created for the purpose of entertainment, not veracity.

It's interesting that some people think of TV as somehow "true." Maybe it is emotionally true, but it is not reality. Reality is having to commute 90 minutes to work on a TV show that portrays reality falsely as many of my colleagues do.

<comment><USER46> Thank you. Look, this is not a place for video editors (in specific), i.e. you're literally on a startup forum. I don't know if you have any experience with startups other than via Shark Tank, but after reviewing after you've written I've come to the conclusion that your calling the show a lie is completely unwarranted, and informed more by your prior experience e.g. "We edited it so that he never came back down and that she was calling her daughter's name... as if they were up there naked or something... That is where the "lie" is most evident." \-- but you did not give any examples of anything nearly that bad as regards the deals.

You may not know this, but in normal negotiations with startups, there are many, many meetings involved over a very long period of time. So many deals fall through that there had to be a Handshake protocol invented just to keep VC's to their word - [https://www.ycombinator.com/handshake/](https://www.ycombinator.com/handshake/)

"Silicon valley runs on handshake deals." Yeah, due dilligence gets done afterward, not on the spot! Of _course_ all pitches are rehearsed very, very heavily. I mean these are actual businesses that were built for a decade at times, you know?

I think you go _way_ too far writing "with just enough truth to keep 'suspension of disbelief' aloft." These are real businesses that continue whether or not anyone ever films them again. They're actual deals. A lie would be if these businesses (and their sales numbers, etc) were fabricated out of thin air and did not actually exist. Example: Silicon Valley, the show, like Pied Piper. If Pied Piper were presented as reality, and its numbers shown as reality, without _even so much as existing_ \- that would be a lie.

The most telling is that you call Mark Cuban, who is by no means a celebrity first and investor second, a "talent". He's not some actor playing a role on Shark Tank.

So I simply am not on board with your original comment that I replied to - <USER4> goes too far.

You should have simply said that the interactions were heavily edited, and represent deals that continue after the part that is aired.

A lie would be if an actor were playing the character invented for the "talents" you mentioned, but these people did not exist in real life, were not really business people at all, let alone actual investors investing in startups with real deals, or if the businesses were fabricated.

So after reviewing what you've written I would suggest that you tone it down a bit. I had skype conversations with the businesses shown. My conversations had a startup on the other side - I wasn't talking with some character, like Homer Simpson. They also matched what I saw on screen (more or less, of course, heavily edited.)

These are businesses first, and short shark tank segments only incidentally. They're not lies or fabrications.

<comment><USER48> >"Look, this is not a place for video editors.."

This guy... and his 'skype conversations' with entrepreneurs lol

<comment><USER49> Please stop posting unsubstantive comments to HN.

<comment><USER48> Ironic

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER50> Sign in / sign up required. Boo :(

<comment><USER51> I had a popup with a gray "Close" in the top right corner. I didn't read it so not sure if this is what stopped you.

<comment><USER52> A rather non-obvious close, so parent comment is correct.

The popup does not have an obvious bold "close" or "X" in the right hand corner or the bottom right, it has a very light grey close in the upper left, and also does not respond to clicking outside the modal dialog.

Thats enough to consider that a dark pattern.

<comment><USER53> I also tried to hide the popup before I saw the close button. It's very hard to find. But I'm sure that's intentional?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER54> I'll never participate in Shark Tank.. one of two investors I'd even consider taking an investment from on that show, doesn't even appear in the majority of the episodes. That would be Chris Sacca.. I think he's brilliant.</comment>


Apple Rejecting Apps For Not Showing Ads - <AUTHOR> http://blog.tapstream.com/post/75322632058/developing-apple-rejecting-apps-for-not-showing-ads <comment><USER3> No, Apple is rejecting apps for pulling the advertising unique identifier and not using it for ads, but instead to spy.

Stop it.

<comment><USER4> Allowing the use of the IDFA by publishers and not by advertisers renders it useless, since it can no longer be used for attribution. I don't think conversion tracking - measuring the performance of ads you bought to promote your app - counts as spying.

<comment><USER5> Yes, it does. And it allows for shady "install this app to continue"-campaigns to artificially boost downloads of apps so they appear in top sellers - <USER2> if nobody is actually using them.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Original text from Apple with tips to fix using strings and otool at: [https://github.com/mixpanel/mixpanel- iphone/issues/109](https://github.com/mixpanel/mixpanel-iphone/issues/109)

Note that this affects quite a few major platforms:

* parse.com seems to have added it when they added social.framework for Facebook features

* TestFlight uses it for obvious reasons: [https://testflightapp.com/sdk/ios/doc/2.0.0/](https://testflightapp.com/sdk/ios/doc/2.0.0/) \-- they add it even if you forget to.

* Mixpanel affected (with workaround above)

Not affected:

* AFAIK, Google doesn't use it unless you added it as a custom metric with your own custom code (or a third-party integration library)

* Flurry split off their advertising library from their analytics one, in part likely because of this requirement from Apple. If you implement just the analytics, it does not require AdSupport.framework.

</comment><comment><USER7> This might be a shot at Stripe/Braintree/Paypal. All those companies want to use the IDFA as a part of their scheme to uniquely identify devices/users for their one touch payment solution, and Apple has been rumored to be getting into the mobile payments arena.

</comment><comment><USER8> Even if Apple has some nefarious motive for doing this, if it really does have a beneficial effect on privacy, I find it hard to fault them for it. Can we save the pitchforks and torches for when they do something actually bad? (that is a serious question, there are arguments both ways)

</comment><comment><USER9> I'm not sure my understanding of this is correct. It seems to be crying about the problems this will cause. Ostensibly, it's saying that there's a problem with the identifier for ads being requested in apps that don't have ads (i.e. being used as a surrogate identifier).

But, more nefariously (again, if my understanding is correct) it's saying that many ad networks rely on this info being passed to advertisers (despite the policy being that it shouldn't), and how problematic it's going to be if Apple enforces this policy.

If this is the case, my sympathy is close to zero. Not because "advertising = bad", but because this was a known no-no. Don't cry foul when you can't do what you were told you couldn't.

<comment><USER10> I think what they're saying is that for something as simple as analytics (just an example), apps need some sort of unique identifier for the user, but that the only unique identifier iOS provides is the advertising ID of the user. Of course the correct answer is to stop doing any sort of analytics, or anything else that requires a unique identifier. But the point I think the author is making is that that is a bad solution.

Of course this all ignores the possibility of creating user accounts or generating a unique identifier whenever the use installs the app, so maybe there is something more to it that I'm not understanding. Because I tend to agree with you, that developers shouldn't be doing something with user data that is prohibited.

<comment><USER11> > Of course this all ignores the possibility of creating user accounts or > generating a unique identifier whenever the use installs the app

Which is _exactly_ what Apple recommended when they stopped letting apps get a hold of the UDID.

I can't think of a really good legit reason for wanting a cross-app unique ID.

<comment><USER4> > I can't think of a really good legit reason for wanting a cross-app unique > ID.

The use case that's affected the most by this change is that of advertisers who want to track the performance of ads they buy from publishers, which I think is a legitimate need. The fact that the IDFA uniquely identifies an iOS device (unless the user resets it) is a side effect of Apple's implementation of it; all app advertisers really want is the same kind of first-party conversion tracking for their apps that's standard everywhere else on the web.

<comment><USER12> Agreed - app advertisers are playing a performance marketing game with their install ads. This change is going to make user acquisition more tedious in several ways: \- some networks will become straight CPC, which will be a pain in the ass to arbitrage to a CPI - there will be a lot of campaign monitoring required \- other methods of install attribution simply aren't as reliable. This will affect the eCPMs of in-app advertising that consisted of app-install demand.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> I got rejected, but I _do_ show ads. My guess is Apple is targeting particular SDKs/libraries, and so that even apps that are showing ads are getting flagged. Not sure what the resolution is going to be - still waiting on an Apple response.

I've got a whole bunch of libs included, several of which use AdSupport. Arg.

<comment><USER13> After emailing in, my app got approved, but no information as to why the rejected me in the first place...

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Hang on, you think Apple are worried about the privacy of end users? I call shenanigans! There are likely many reasons they're doing this, that is firmly at the bottom of the list three rooms over entitled "things Apple don't care about".

<comment><AUTHOR> Well, if you see what happened with UDID and how much kerfuffle there was to get from there to IDFA it's pretty obvious Apple wants to protect the user.

For a contrast to Android you just need to read this article: [http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140130170002-11...](http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140130170002-11651253-mobile- first-is-old-news-think-platform-first)

<comment><USER15> > Well, if you see what happened with UDID and how much kerfuffle there was to > get from there to IDFA it's pretty obvious Apple wants to protect the user.

From my perspective it seems that Apple wants to have access to this data for iAds, but doesn't want any competition. It's been their normal behaviour recently, trying to eliminate any possibility of anyone competing with them in their markets. From wide device bans to price fixing conspiracies.

<comment><USER12> Apple wants to create a monopoly for advertising across the entire Apple product ecosystem. If they're the only company with install attribution across apps and devices, they can serve (re)targeted advertising to you on the Apple TV, your iPad, your iPhone, and Safari, all through the cross-platform iAD.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Vesper grabs $15M to build a durable low-power mic that listens forever - <AUTHOR> https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/09/vesper-grabs-15m-to-build-a-durable-low-power-mic-that-listens-forever/?ncid=rss <comment><USER2> Technology improvements are good, but all these sensors in devices scare me, especially in network-connected stuff. Let's say someone exploits and modifies the firmware to trigger on the word "confidential" and then upload the recordings to some server of the attackers choice. Or hides a modified device in someones office/home/etc.

Of course, that's not at all specific to IoT or voice-triggered microphones. Laptops and phones have large batteries and are regularly recharged so they could be exploited as well.</comment>


Things I Won't Work With: Chlorine Azide - <AUTHOR> http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2011/02/25/things_i_wont_work_with_chlorine_azide.php <comment><USER2> The whole "things I won't work with" category is a good read: [http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/things_i_wont_work_with...](http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/things_i_wont_work_with/)

along with the related category, "how not to do it": <http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/how_not_to_do_it/>

</comment><comment><USER3> _It remains, with its chemical relatives, off in a part of chemical science that's safe from human exploitation._

Although _Sodium Azide_ is used in systems which save thousands of lives every year - car airbags.

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

<comment><USER4> Older ones, yes. Newer ones use nitroguanidine and other less-toxic stuff according to the article you linked to.

That said, we owe a lot to the brave chemists who manage to figure out how to deal with all these scary chemicals. Even if some of them are probably insane:

[http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_won...](http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_wont_work_with_dioxygen_difluoride.php)

I love how the chemical can be written as FOOF, which is strangely reminiscent of the bogus F00F C7C8 instruction that could crash old Pentiums.

<comment><USER5> > I love how the chemical can be written as FOOF, which is strangely > reminiscent of the bogus F00F C7C8 instruction that could crash old > Pentiums.

Or the sound a small explosion might make, which is the first thing most people would think of. ;-)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> A drawing of the molecule (ClN3): <http://chemeo.com/cid/31-110-4> just looking at it, you think, ouch! Insane high level of bounds tension coupled with a Cl detonator.

<comment><USER7> Well, bond tension by itself is not the indicator of explosiveness, isn't it? The N2 molecule has 3 bonds connecting 2 atoms and it is one of the most stable known molecules.

<comment><USER8> A triple-bond is not inherently unstable. In chlorine azide, though, you've got a strongly electronegative halide (chlorine) bound via tenuous single-bond to a partial triple-bond in the nitrogen compound. One of those nitrogens has a partial charge at all times.

Bottom line: that chlorine wants to dissociate, badly. When it does, it's going to take the azide with it. It's like a chemical hair-trigger, waiting to be pulled by the nearest partial charge.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Say it yourself a few times: "I love software"

</comment><comment><USER10> Previous submissions:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1148425> (with discussion)

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1560128>

<comment><USER11> Those aren't previous submissions of _this entry_ , but of (in one case) an earlier "Thing I won't work with" and (in the other) the series as a whole, which didn't then include this one.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I love this series of blog posts, especially since I have studied a bit of organic chemistry and loved that lab work (a _very_ one-sided love affair).

As an old "fan" of rocket fuels in general and peroxides in particular, I still giggle a bit nervously at the chemical formula FOOF...

Edit: [http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_won...](http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_wont_work_with_dioxygen_difluoride.php) "If the paper weren't laid out in complete grammatical sentences and published in JACS, you'd swear it was the work of a violent lunatic."

<comment> bjelkeman-again Read the comments in the linked article. You'll enjoy it.

<comment><USER12> I did, when I read it originally a year ago, or so. They are often as good as the blog post.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Sometimes I forget that there's entire armies of geeks that do crazy complex things other than compyooterz.</comment>


Ask HN: 11 days off for Christmas vacation – What would you learn? - <AUTHOR> My day job strait up closes from the 24th to the 1st - including the weekends, we're off for 11 days! (fully paid no less - awesome perk!)
Other then family get-togethers, what would you learn with your time off?
I bought some Swift courses from stackskills.com last week but I need it more as a refresher - I'm pretty decent with Objective-C as it stands and the Xcode tools so I got it just to get up to speed on the new language.
I'm very proficient with AngularJS 1.x, html, css, javascript, jquery, php, wordpress, server administration / linux, pen testing, etc...
Maybe React? Scala? (if it's there)
Docker? <comment><USER2> Me personally, I'd unplug from everything and only allow myself like 30 minutes each day to check for any critical emails (like oh shit type emails, ignore the normal ones). Then I'd spend my time talking to real people and find things where people are frustrated where I might be able to make an impact. Basically, spend the time learning from them and spending time understanding problems they have (not Dr Phil style of course, but everyday crap). People hacking (for learning) in a sense.

But assuming you don't need/like that then here are another few ideas:

1\. Learn the basics of how to architect a small distributed system that is fault tolerant, resilient and reliable. You can't learn it all in 11 days, but man you can make a big dent and it is to me one of the most fun and challenging problems to solve. And there is still so much to learn. You can build and test little systems in AWS for nearly nothing using t2 instances.

2\. Do as iqonik suggested, find a simple need some group of people have and solve it with an MVP and start marketing and playing with it. If it goes nowhere but you solved an interesting problem for even a small group of people you will still feel good and have had some fun.

3\. Write an Android app. From the looks of it you haven't done that but it seems basically up your overall skill set and something you could have fun with. Even if you "hate" Android learning how it works and the good/bad sides might help you in other places.

<comment><USER3> > 1\. Learn the basics of how to architect a small distributed system that is > fault tolerant, resilient and reliable. You can't learn it all in 11 days, > but man you can make a big dent and it is to me one of the most fun and > challenging problems to solve.

There was a great tutorial for something like this that google published last month using kubernetes and docker that involves setting up several minecraft servers in a cluster. Would be a great into to docker/kubernetes

[http://googlecloudplatform.blogspot.com/2015/11/containerizi...](http://googlecloudplatform.blogspot.com/2015/11/containerizing- in-the-real-world-of-Minecraft.html)

<comment><USER4> I've been wanting to setup a small distributed system like this as a project for a long time, but struggle to find something that would be _useful_ to build (even to a small degree).

Personally, I don't play Minecraft (and, thusly, couldn't really appreciate what I just did by setting up a super duper Minecraft server system).

Could anyone think of some more general purpose distributed systems projects that would be a little more generally useful?

<comment><USER3> I dont play minecraft all that much either, but you could probably replace mincraft with some other networked service, maybe a database simple web server?

Database roulette sounds less than useless but still would be a good way to learn

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I often feel that the American programmer would profit more from learning, say, Latin than from learning yet another programming language. \-- Edsger Dijkstra [https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD06xx/E...](https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD06xx/EWD611.html)

<comment><USER6> As someone that knows both latin and classical greek, I can't say that it helped that much. The interesting stories are all translated and very little time is spent on vocabulary as opposed to edge cases in verb conjugation.

If I had to do it over I would have learned mandarin.

<comment><USER7> This sounds like a very practical lesson that more programmers should understand.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Recurrent Neural Networks. They're so cool. Used in everything from creating chat bots to describing pictures to machine translation. Bengio and Goodfellow have a preprint book available [https://goodfeli.github.io/dlbook/](https://goodfeli.github.io/dlbook/)

<comment><USER3> do you have any good intro tutorials?

A chatbot that could receive pictures and describe them back would be pretty cool!

<comment><USER8> Check out [http://avisingh599.github.io/deeplearning/visual- qa/](http://avisingh599.github.io/deeplearning/visual-qa/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I would learn to connect more closely with my family and friends. Do some maintenance on your relationships. You may find down the line that the longer you wait to invest the kind of time you have right now, the less effect it might have.

</comment><comment><USER10> I would suggest you do something much more comprehensive and do this: [https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to- learn](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn)

I've never taken any course that was more useful and a lot of other people feel the same way.

</comment><comment><USER11> If you are already pretty proficient in coding, I would take a break from it and instead learn something different.

      - Sport (Snowboarding/Skiing/Swimming, Climbing etc lessons)

      - Reading books (History, Biographies, etc)

      - Visit a new town (doesn't have to be too far) and hangout with complete strangers and learn their stories.

Or purely on the STEM side you could refresh yourself on probability, statistics, linear algebra and get a deeper grasp on machine learning/data science.

<comment><USER12> +1 for snowboarding

I like to go distraction-free and put my phone in a locker. For a few hours it's nothing but you and the mountain. And energy drinks.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Learn to take a break.

<comment><USER14> Or at the very least learn something new that is not directly related to work.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Buy a fiddle. Learn to play it.

Seriously. You just got off work, and you want to go back into learning more tech? You do know about the breadth of human experience right? Unplug, read a good book, watch movies, learn to cook Indian food, go skiing...

How vulgar is a life that must be productive at all times.

<comment><AUTHOR> Oddly - I find remodeling / manual labor to be very relaxing - the last 12x12 bedroom in our house is begging to be gutted and remodeled.

It's amazingly relaxing and quite the workout throwing a hammer into a plaster and lath wall and just doing demolition for 8 hours.

Painting a room, too, is relaxing - which is on my list of stuff from the wife to get done.

<comment><USER16> True, just play the radio in the background, go at it, and unwind. Really is a great relaxing effort.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> I plan to play around with D3.js library. I love to play with drones. I want to produce beautiful visual charts to display many drones stats while it is flying.

</comment><comment><USER18> ML, Haskell, Idris, or Prolog.

Because these languages will challenge your problem solving abilities and should improve your overall skill in writing code in any language.

If market feasibility is really your thing, then Clojure or Scala for similar reasons.

It look some deep investigation in Haskell for me to get fairly dangerous with Scala. (There are weird type system gotchas in Scala that can seem insurmountable at first which Haskell does a better job of encapsulating.)

<comment><USER19> What sort of application might be good to build for learning ML?

<comment><USER18> There is a text book _Discrete Mathematics and Functional Programming_ (VanDrunen) [1] which can be bought off Amazon for $60 new. (I bought a used copy when they were cheap, for <$30.) Its a great place to start.

There is an older version of the manuscript available if you scour Google.

Then there are also the videos that accompany the text book, which can be accessed by anyone. [2]

Because learning a language like ML is for the express purpose of thinking differently its likely beneficial to learn the language in a domain you might be unfamiliar with - possibly somewhat academically, instead of building an application from scratch. ("Oh I know how to solve this problem... I'll write an if-then-else statement with a bunch of branches!" vs. "Pattern matching in a case statement? List deconstruction and matching? This looks interesting.")

1\. [http://www.amazon.com/Discrete-Mathematics-Functional- Progra...](http://www.amazon.com/Discrete-Mathematics-Functional-Programming- VanDrunen/dp/1590282604/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450932337&sr=8-1&keywords=vandrunen+discrete+math) 2\. [http://cs.wheaton.edu/~tvandrun/dmfp/](http://cs.wheaton.edu/~tvandrun/dmfp/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> React sounds good, I've been wanting to watch [https://egghead.io/series/getting-started-with- redux](https://egghead.io/series/getting-started-with-redux)

<comment><USER21> The one thing I would advise when learning React is to learn React and then learn some variation of flux. It really helped everything set in for me.

<comment><USER22> Definitely agree on this. I jumped straight into trying react, react-router and the fb version of flux at first but ended up jumbling all the concepts together.

You can get so, so far with just react alone it's ridiculous

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> My wife and I just bought a banjo, I plan to take some time this week and next to learn it. Then I'm going to hang out with fellow mandolin players this Sunday or next. I suggest you do the same, or something similar. You'll be more rounded as an individual than if you learned the-next-hot-shiny. Plenty of time for work stuff after the holiday break.

</comment><comment><USER24> Build an MVP in 2-3 days, release and market. You'll learn a lot about business :)

<comment><AUTHOR> i have been kicking around an idea for the last 2 months; it's been on hold due to time constraints (day job / my own side project thats been going on for 4 years now / freelance)

got it to the point where i bought a domain, setup the server and laid out the layout / initial feature set.

I could definitely build it in 2-3 days if i sat down and focused.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> Learn about yourself and the answer will come. Learn to meditate. Learn to run. Learn wine tasting. Learn to sew. Volunteer. Go to the zoo. Hang out with friends and family.

Learn who you are, what you enjoy, and where you want to go with your career. Technology stacks change more often than I buy new shoes. Is that a reflection on the technology or the shoes?

I see Mobile development, web dev, FP, and devops technologies in your list. What excites you?

Instead of specific languages, what about learning new concepts? Learning about functional programming will change how you program in other languages. Studying algorithms will change how you think about efficiency. Reading books like "The Pragmatic Programmer" or the classic "Mythical Man Month" will give you a bit of a higher-level understanding of what it is we do.

</comment><comment><USER26> Idris ([http://www.idris-lang.org/](http://www.idris-lang.org/)).

Edwin Brady is working on a book that you can access via the Manning Publications MEAP program ([https://www.manning.com/books/type-driven- development-with-i...](https://www.manning.com/books/type-driven-development- with-idris)).

</comment><comment><USER27> A couple of friends of mine and I have agreed to go through the first few lectures of this still super-relevant and foundational machine learning class:

[http://openclassroom.stanford.edu/MainFolder/CoursePage.php?...](http://openclassroom.stanford.edu/MainFolder/CoursePage.php?course=MachineLearning)

Why not join us with Swift implementations of some of the discussed algorithms? Simultaneously, you could also experiment with some of the cool, puristic functional programming libraries recently coming up for Swift. Check out awesome-swift:

[https://github.com/matteocrippa/awesome- swift](https://github.com/matteocrippa/awesome-swift)

In any case server side application of machine-learning has its drawbacks in terms of privacy, reality of losing internet connectivity, etc.

Hit me up on twitter or github if you are interested.

Have fun and happy holidays (don't forget to relax) :)

</comment><comment><USER28> Given your skillset, I'd pick React over Scala or Docker. If you're into PHP/Wordpress, you could also look at Drupal 8, which was just released. Given your CSS/JSS/Angular skills, you could also look at Meteor for apps.

All that said, from a blank slate perspective, I'd suggest learning Phoenix ([http://www.phoenixframework.org](http://www.phoenixframework.org)), and in turn Elixir. Phoenix is great framework for building moderns apps, in that it's open source, database & frontend agnostic, leveraging the battle-tested Erlang VM, highly scaleable (WhatApp built w/Erlang), and real-time (via Channels). Good overview video here: [https://vimeo.com/131633172](https://vimeo.com/131633172)

</comment><comment><USER29> Learning docker was a great way for me to spend my three extra vacation days... then I discovered ottoproject.io.

<comment><USER3> would you mind elaborating what your use case for docker was and how otto may have replaced it?

<comment><USER30> We have been using docker for running challenges for a CTF platform [0]. Check out this blog post [1] for details on how docker fits in.

[0]: [https://backdoor.sdslabs.co](https://backdoor.sdslabs.co)

[1]: [https://ashishchaudhary.in/dockerizing-a- ctf](https://ashishchaudhary.in/dockerizing-a-ctf)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> Hang Gliding or Paragliding. It's important to keep yourself busy with hobbies that are not related to tech at all. Enough hours you spend sitting behind a computer doing your job and coming back home to sit some more to code on your own stuff.

Go out and get some fresh air.

</comment><comment><USER32> Build an API in Swift :p Then learn some good React/React-Native to display something simple in a iOS/android native app powered by the swift API.

Also, building an MVP in under a week and seeing how far some simple online marketing can take it is always fun.

</comment><comment><USER33> I'm working on Elixir this break. Whatever calls your name.

</comment><comment><USER34> [https://scotch.io/tutorials/building-a-slack-clone-in- meteor...](https://scotch.io/tutorials/building-a-slack-clone-in-meteor-js- getting-started) Building a Slack Clone in Meteor.js: Getting Started ... ya know... for fun. and binge watching falling skies

</comment><comment><USER35> I'm trying to get into 3D modeling. I wrote a novel one year for NaNoWriMo, and I've recently started wanting to convert it from text into an animated short.

So, Blender, and other things. Trying to relax as well...but I can't do nothing.

</comment><comment><USER36> I'm in a similar boat as you and my list this year is is Docker, gitlab-ci documentation and getting started on a personal project I want to do.

Mostly docker and gitlab-ci is on the list because I want to use them in development.

</comment><comment><USER37> If I were in your shoes I'd keep the momentum going with swift. Otherwise React seems like a nice complement to your skills.

I think for myself this holidays I'll be tearing into Elixir and React for a new project.

</comment><comment><USER38> What do you want to make? Make that. Don't learn another language just for the sake of learning one.

For example, o you only know Objective C and want to make a web app? Then learn a web programming stack.

</comment><comment><USER39> I'll try to teach my self English, to pass exam. So many holes to path from school years.

Maybe any body know good resources? Like "English for Hackers" or something similar?

</comment><comment><USER40> I read emberjs's guide last night and play some toy example.

I think ember-cli is great and have good first impression overall, would like to build a more serious project in these days.

</comment><comment><USER41> I'll enjoy learning Scala and dig some new machine learning resource on the Web. I can advice you the Prf. Andrew Ng's Machine Learning course on Cloudera.

<comment><USER41> I mean Coursera of course!

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> I plan to hunt for business problems this break. That for me is harder than learning a new language or technology stack.

</comment><comment><USER43> Clojure, ClojureScript, and Om + Emacs/Vim

</comment><comment><USER44> I'm in a similar situation and I'm planning on dominating in Stockfighter during that time :-)

</comment><comment><USER45> Swift and Go would be the two things I learned. Or I'd work on a side project for residual income.

</comment><comment><USER46> How about Ancient Greek? No kidding - that's what I'm working on this break.

<comment><USER47> I read Koine/Classical/Homeric Greek reasonably well. Message me (e-mail in profile) if you have any questions.

<comment><USER46> Thanks for the offer! I'll bear it in mind.

I found a book at the university library that aims to teach Koiné as if it were a living language - i.e. instead of translating Euclid et al. from the get-go, one starts with simple life-like conversations; also listening and speaking are included in the curriculum. I'm working my way through that at the moment.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER48> How to play on ocarina.

<comment><USER49> Oh my wife learned to play it a couple of years ago. I like it but her daughter really super hates to hear it. ha ha

</comment></comment><comment><USER50> React, React Native, ClojureScript

HaskellBook.com

</comment><comment><USER51> want to do something with AI</comment>


Sawhorse Revolution – A carpentry program for high school youth - <AUTHOR> http://sawhorserevolution.org <comment><USER2> When I was college age, I did habitat for humanity, and was pretty useless. Just a couple adults did 90% of the work. If anything I was slowing them down by asking for direction. It's like open-source projects where most of the contributions by student lookie-loos are worthless. Shout out to this effort nonetheless. Building physical structures (as opposed to software) truly engenders a sense of accomplishment.</comment>


Setup web2py, apache, ssl, mod_wsgi, postgresql on Ubuntu in a few seconds - <AUTHOR> http://www.web2pyslices.com/main/slices/take_slice/29 <comment><AUTHOR> It would be awesome to be able to do this with Django. Is anybody using quick- installs like this to quickly deploy new servers?</comment>


An equation for creating awesome  - <AUTHOR> http://isaac.su/2012/03/awesome-equation/

<comment><USER2> This is just cost-benefit analysis.

<comment><USER3> "Just" cost-benefit analysis is relevant nearly every other business decision there exists to make - and I reckon there's always room for more savvy with the approach, especially if we could perceive it working in the most ordinary of situations. So, it's nice place to start, Zak.</comment></comment>


French scientists sound the alarm about aluminum in vaccines - <AUTHOR> https://healthcareinamerica.us/french-scientists-sound-the-alarm-about-aluminum-in-vaccines-crickets-from-media-and-health-d3fc0fe23079 <comment><USER2> I suppose that the title uses "French scientists" because it sounds exotic.

However this is well known, the adjuvant is nowaday the most active part of a vaccine. It is by carefully crafting the adjuvant that a company could make its products sligtly better than those of their competition.

I cite [0]:

'The inflammatory or danger-signal model of adjuvant action implies that increased vaccine reactogenicity is the inevitable price for improved immunogenicity. Hence, adjuvant reactogenicity may be avoidable only if it is possible to separate inflammation from adjuvant action. The biggest remaining challenge in the adjuvant field is to decipher the potential relationship between adjuvants and rare vaccine adverse reactions such as narcolepsy, macrophagic myofasciitis or Alzheimer's disease. While existing adjuvants based on aluminum salts have a strong safety record, there is an ongoing need for new adjuvants and for more intensive research into adjuvants and their effects.'

[0] [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4615573/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4615573/)

</comment><comment><USER3> Full text of the research article: [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300483X16...](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300483X16303043?via%3Dihub)

IANAMD, IANAB, so I have to use the [https://xkcd.com/793/](https://xkcd.com/793/) approach. [Disclaimer: I don't believe in this result.]

They have 10 mice in each group and 10 in the control group. It looks small, but the differences are big so I guess the problem is not here.

In 4 out of the 9 test the 200ug mice get worse results. In the last test the 800ug mice get worse results but it is not very clear and I think it's not conclusive.

My problem with this study is that the differences are too big. It's a weird objection, but when the result is small it's easy to imagine why it wasn't discovered before. Also, it's weird than the group with the smaller dose get the problems.

For example in the "total distance" in the "open field" test they get 1300+-200cm for the 200ug group, and all the other group get something like 2300+-300cm. It's almost the double!

Since it's a big difference in the test, this should be easy to reproduce and confirm the result. If two or more independent laboratory confirm the study it's more difficult to believe they had some unlooked problem.

And it would be good to add more intermediate groups like 50ug, 100ug, 150ug, 200ug, 250ug, 300ug, ... to get a smooth curve with a minimal distance somewhere near 200ug. Assuming there is no Ballmer peak, the curve will be smooth and the result will be easy to reproduce.

My unsupported guess is that they had a problem in the 200ug cage but they didn't realize. Is it possible an infection? Can they put next time all the mice in a single cage and mark them to know which one get each dose?

My other unsupported guess is that they botched a dilution in the 200ug group and they overdosed this mice with aluminum. They get almost 100 times more aluminum in the brain of the 200ug group than in all the other groups including the control. 100 times is too much and I suspect it was an error in the injections. Are the symptoms compatible with an aluminum overdose?</comment>


Data Diversity and Cutting-Edge Insight for Sales and Marketing - <AUTHOR> Data-driven decisions have the power to impact every business area within the typical organization, but none of these functions carry the potential for game-changing insight like customerfacing sales and marketing.
Traditional customer data housed in a CRM system or marketing automation platform typically form the core of analyses these days, but more companies today explore the potential of merging and marrying this traditional data with unstructured, semi-structured, or multi-structured data.
From documents and emails to social media feeds and rich media, companies have the opportunity to exploit data to develop a deeper understanding  of their customers than ever before.
The challenge for many of these organizations, however, is that the variety of data needed for these innovative analyses is often locked away within other functional areas.
Aberdeen Group's research demonstrates that the sales and marketing functions face an elevated challenge around this silo effect. <comment><AUTHOR> You can download their white paper here: [http://tinyurl.com/zg4j3ml](http://tinyurl.com/zg4j3ml)</comment>


Laggy phones and misleading benchmarks - <AUTHOR> http://taras.glek.net/post/Laggy-phones-and-misleading-benchmarks/ <comment><USER2> Hi! I saw your post on Reddit, and had some reactions—I'm curious to see what you think.

So you obviously have domain expertise and credibility in IO optimization and your article is one of the better researched articles to discuss the topic of Android UI "jank". I feel like there's more to the story than your thesis and is ultimately not the whole conclusion.

Primarily—aside from citing some academic articles on SQLite IO impact on Android performance, what I think is missing is a real-world connection from the theory that IO is related to UI jank. And I think most particularly, you cite the iPhone 7 and Pixel as having subpar random 4K write performance, even though there is broad anecdotal consensus that those two flagship phones have some of the smoothest, jank-free UI of the industry. I'm not suggesting that this consensus is 100% correct, but it does provide a baseline for a gutcheck and skeptical inquiry (side note: I really wish there was a way to objectively test jank... no one's seemed to be able to get Google's WALT device working...)

And interestingly, you note some midrange phones that appear to have better measured IO performance... but what I think what is missing is evidence (even anecdotal) to suggest that the measured higher IO performance of the Motorola G4 or ZTE ZMax Pro actually translates to smoother performance, compared to flagships with more poorly performing NAND. In fact, the AnandTech review the author cites to for Motorola G4 4K write speed has this to say about performance: "The Moto G4's performance hasn't impressed me in any respect. ... The performance issues aren't just limited to benchmarks. Motorola's previous phones provided a smooth experience despite their limited specifications, and the Moto G4 and G4 Plus are significantly jankier throughout the UI, with even the simplest of ListViews stuttering at times."

If the Motorola G4 in fact does have weak UI performance and jank while having " 7x better than the flagships" random 4k write performance, then I'm not sure the known evidence supports your ultimate thesis yet. It seems more investigation is warranted. Thoughts?

<comment><AUTHOR> I agree, proof would be nice. I don't know Android well enough to connect UI pauses to IO. Suggestions are welcome

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Ah man that is horrible. My Samsung S4 mini is only nearly 3 years old and gets laggier and laggier.

The only reason right now to buy a new phone is that lag.

Would be nice if i wouldn't need to buy a new phone every 3 years because of broken NAND and/or better io performance.

<comment><AUTHOR> I suspect if you buy G4 and better Motorola phones with good random write perf and reserve 10-20% of space, they should last a long time.

This could be verified via benchmarks.

Point of my blog is that if people focus on the right benchmarks they can select phones that will last longer before the lag.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> > I found a great paper on how SQLite accounts for 90% of Android IO

So with only marginally better memory and cache management in SQLite we could get old tired phones to fly?

<comment><AUTHOR> Injured old phones would be less laggy with slightly different SQLite setup. I think one could further optimize android/sqlite interaction to make it more efficient too.</comment></comment>


Free Ti-89 Titanium Calculator to a good home - <AUTHOR>

I've been cleaning through some of my stuff/junk today, similar to that old PG essay about having too much stuff. Now I sit at my desk typing this with a mint condition Ti-89 Titanium calculator by my side. I've finished all the math courses for my degree so I haven't touched it in years.
I was going to sell it but I'd rather not go through the hassle of posting to CL and having to meetup with someone.
Tell me why this calculator would come in handy for you and I'll gladly send it to you, complete with manual. If you're overseas, I might ask for a bit of paypal $ to help with shipping. <comment><USER2> I'm in Pre-Calc H in high school, an my father has been out of work fo a few months, so money is tight. So while everybody has fancy 84s and 89s, I'm stuck with a school issue, really old and slow TI-83. Also, I want to get a computer science/ business degree when I go I college in 2.5 years; both math intensive degrees. Oh and my dream school is MIT haha. So yup I'd love an 89 - besides, I've been reading pstam.com for two years now ;)

<comment><USER3> Interesting; Many of my calculus classes -- university especially, but also high school -- didn't (don't) allow using a calculator at all on the tests. My university specifically mandates one model of calculator for all students. This model can't do symbolic manipulation/graphing and is not programmable at all. My high school had any sort of graphing calculator banned on tests.

I'm surprised that high schools are allowing students to use this sort of calculator (or for that matter, setting tests where it makes a difference what calculator you have.)

<comment><USER4> In my high school, a TI-83 was the only graphic calculator allowed on tests, though it was never an issue because very few people had TI-89s.

The AP calculus test is split into a calculator section and a no calculator section, and it definitely helps to have a TI-89.

In college calculus we were only allowed to use a scientific calculator.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I'm in Pre-Cal AP at my high school, money's tight and I would love to accept your calculator. The ones they provide at school for free don't have good graphing utilities :/.

Anyway, thanks for the consideration, it's nice enough to see someone offer such thing for free. :D

Edit: Money's tight at my house, but indraneel24 sounds like he needs it more. Please exclude me from this for his benefit. Thanks!

<comment><USER2> Thanks man, that really means a lot to me. Its selfless things like this that make me really happy to be alive sometimes :]

<comment><USER5> No problem! I hope things work out for the best in your road to going to MIT and getting a degree. :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> For those people who do not receive the calculator and are on a tight budget, you might want to try MathRider (<a href="<http://mathrider.org>">[http://mathrider.org](http://mathrider.org);)

</comment><comment><USER7> I don't need it, but I think you should send it to me all the same, just to send a message to all the kids that they really don't need a calculator to do any mathematical stuff. When I worked through my university, I could not afford a calculator, and I dreamed about owning an 89, because all my friends had one. Well, I didn't get one.

And as a result, I can do pretty complex math in my head, and I know how to triple check my calculations to make sure that they not only are correct, but also make sense.

I never owned any calculator, and I came out just fine. The young ones should learn the lesson. And I should finally get the calculator now that I don't need it anymore.

Because that's how life is.

</comment><comment><USER8> Seeing this type of thread here warms my heart. It's really great to see this type of stuff.

</comment><comment><USER9> I'm a out of state Georgia Tech student double majoring in CS and Math and don't have any calculator at this point.

<comment><USER10> You should get a bonus for being conveniently close to Paul.

<comment><USER9> I believe we're both from Texas too. Oh I guess I should mention I'm paying my way through college myself too.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I'm majoring in Math and Computer Science at the University of Toronto. The only reason why I can go here is because I busted my ass off to get a scholarship. And a new TI-89 would really help. :)

</comment><comment><USER12> As a financially challenged high school senior I would need one for my three math classes (Calc, Adv Functs, and Data Mgmt.) and physics in the same semester. Suffice it to say, it will help immensely. With university admissions coming up soon I will definitely use it for my future CS degree, so I can guarantee it a good and productive home.

Thanks.

</comment><comment><USER13> I'm a calculus student, both my mother and father have been laid - off from work and currently I'm under loans, which god knows how am i going to pay off, i would really appreciate if you can help a needy student like me. Thanks for your consideration.

</comment><comment><USER14> pstam! i'm starting my second year at UCLA, studying chem engineering. i have a couple more linear algebra courses and an upper div diffy eqn class to go. i currently have to go to the computer labs and pray there are computers with the right software available. with the TI I could get my work done in my appt and not have to pull allnighters in the computer lab.

I remember last summer going through your back to school lists before I left, and the only essential item I couldn't afford was the calculator. Take care man.

</comment><comment><USER15> I'm in 10th Grade now and I'm taking geometry. I don't have a graphing calculator and we are having to do difficult equations and my calculator cant handle it. in 9th grade they used to provide one but my school is low on them so i couldn't get one this year. My dad lost his job so there no money to buy one. I was wondering if anyone had one they could donate

</comment><comment><USER16> Thanks for your offer. One comment: I never needed a calculator for any university math classes. But in physics it was very handy.

</comment><comment><USER17> I'd be happy to take it off your hands. I've got a few more math classes to go, and the higher-level CS stuff. I don't know how much that requires an 89, but symbolic integration/differentiation never hurt anyone. AFAIK it would be useful for crypto stuff, which I've been thinking about getting into. (Andrew Guyton, 5th year CS @ GT)

</comment><comment><USER18> As a funny sidenote -- I still hang onto my TI-89 as it's something that I can cary off with me to a location that's not my desk when I'm holed up with a pile of scientific papers and a spiral notebook. It doesn't have nearly the same distraction factor as a laptop. (The TI-85, on the other hand, could probably go. ;-) )

</comment><comment><USER19> I am collecting calculators. I own HP-28S, HP-48G, TI-74 and TI-92. In the past I owned an Atari ST and I still remember some M68000 assembly. With me your calculator will never be forgotten - I use all of them periodically and keep fresh batteries in them.

</comment><comment><USER4> My little brother is taking Precalc at a community college and a TI-89 and it's magical symbolic manipulation would probably help him get a B instead of a C.

If anyone has an extra used one for the right price I'd probably buy it for him.

</comment><comment><USER20> Today I was trying to smash open a walnut and had nothing hard to do it with. I would appreciate it if you would send me your calculator, as I think it might easily be able to accomplish this.

<comment><USER8> Aww, come on, what was the point of that? ;)

<comment><USER20> Just thought it would be nice to have something other than "I'm a working- class high school student."

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> I learned to program on a TI-55... Upgraded then to a 59. Lots of fun.

Good times.</comment>


132-page internal memo shows how Samsung set out to copy the iPhone - <AUTHOR> http://www.bgr.com/2012/08/08/apple-samsung-patent-lawsuit-internal-report-copy-iphone

<comment><USER2> What's annoying is this isn't the real issue. Of course Samsung felt threatened by the iPhone, and set out to copy the aspects of it they liked. That's how capitalism works.

The real issue is what degree of protection should our legal system provide original innovators against those who want to copy their innovations.

I think the guiding principle should be the least legal protection that would still leave enough incentive for the original innovation to be created. In the case of software, where there is little fixed investment cost and a competitive advantage to being "first to market", I have a hard time seeing the need for any legal protection.

For example, could anyone seriously argue that Apple wouldn't, say, implement a "slide to unlock" mechanism on the iPhone if they couldn't patent that behavior?

We really need an act of congress to rectify this situation.

<comment><USER3> I wouldn't argue that lack of legal protection for "slide to unlock" would stop them including it. But I would suggest that had they had absolutely no legal protection then there is a significant chance that the entire R&D project that became the iPhone wouldn't have happened. Why invest that much time and money, playing with prototypes and ideas that might never come to market, invest billions in production lines, software development and be the first in taking a bold leap into uncharted waters if you have no recourse when someone simply rips you off at the end of the day?

<comment><USER4> Walk into a Walmart and you can find tons of knockoff products like "Honey Nut Oatie Os". The breakfast cereal industry doesn't appear to have collapsed, though. In fact, you can buy a generic brand version of almost _anything_.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> How is this about copying? This is a company taking a long hard look at how their product stacks up against the competition. It's called capitalism and competition. If you're not taking a hard look at how you compare to competitors then you're going to die. Notice development steps on each page point on how to improve their offering.

<comment><USER6> To me, what's damning is how similar EVERY SINGLE SCREEN looks to the iPhone. They also pretty much never point out that differences in their design are better than the iPhone. They only talk about how they need to make it _more_ like the iPhone.

<comment><USER7> But that's because this is an internal memo about improvements, not "how well does Samsung stack up against Apple"?

<comment><USER6> I don't think that the slides are proof that Samsung is GOING to copy Apple, it's proof that they did.

<comment><USER7> They aren't. It's proof Samsung saw Apple as a competitor and tried to fix obvious flaws when comparing interfaces.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> For me the most depressing part is that you have what I consider to be a pretty reasonable gap analysis with recommendations that has now become damning evidence showing bad behavior. This is unfortunate. I'd like all companies to profile their own products against others and own up to where they fall short and have plans to get better. If a company says, "Our phone gets only four hours on a charge but their's gets six, we should step it up", that's OK. But if they say, "The date display on the Calendar icon should match the current date on the phone", that's "slavishly copying".

Side note: where did Apple get inspiration for their should a reel-to-reel recorder image in the new podcast app? Slide 121? Answer: I don't know but it shouldn't matter.

<comment><USER9> >But if they say, "The date display on the Calendar icon should match the current date on the phone", that's "slavishly copying".

I don't think that's the case, if it's just showing the date on the icon.

On the other hand, if the instruction is to "Show the date display on the Calendar icon _exactly like Apple's icon_ ," that's a different story.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Wait, is this the same memo as <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4349519> ? If so, jesus, what a link bait title.

<comment><USER11> It is a link bait title even if it isn't the same memo, the document in this article (linked several times on the front page already today) shows that Samsung was looking at the marked leader and trying to figure out what they did right that Samsung wasn't doing.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Setting aside any legal aspects of this, I found the document really interesting as a User Experience tutorial.

</comment><comment><USER13> It's a shame that every single screen simply talks about how they can make their products more like the iPhone.

It would have been nice to see them trying to make their products better than the iPhone, but, alas, they are only trying to play "catch-up", not "exceed".

<comment><USER14> I might argue that when you're that far behind, it isn't unreasonable to make the quarterly goal to "catch-up" and then finally to "exceed". These are not mutually exclusive goals, they are just situation relative.

<comment><USER13> I agree.

And we've seen time and time again, that just as everyone else "catches-up" to an Apple device, Apple go and release the next one that jumps them ahead again _, because they have that 1-2 year head start.

_ Yeah, I know it has not always been the case, but I think it's pretty safe to say it was the case with the iPod for it's entire life, and it does happen with the iPhone/iPad/MBA/MBPr

<comment><USER15> I think it's Apple playing catch-up with Android for the past couple of years. The MPB is a big jump ahead for Apple with that screen though.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Some of these make it seem like the firm just wants an iphone clone.

For example, #52: No menu for going back to the previous screen when watching a video. Isn't this a trait of the android OS? Hard button to go back, and it's universally like this for all apps. Adding a back button just for video would break the continuity.

#56: Star to 'add to fav' should be replaced with a plus because users don't recognize what a star does. I'm pretty confident that people will understand what a star does in this context...

</comment><comment><USER17> Pretty damning, I'm confident that all the mobile manufacturers do this against each other, why wouldn't they? It just sucks to be Samsung right now.

</comment><comment><USER18> Copyright laws in America are broken.

That said, this kind of corporate innovation is pretty broken, too. The way I interpret this document is not "how can we make a great product?" but rather: "How can we emulate a great product?"

Almost ironic, now that the iPhone app store is almost entirely comprised of mine craft rip offs.

</comment><comment><USER19> Meanwhile, we basically nationalize Samsung's patents that are fundamental to mobile phone infrastucture...

<comment><USER20> Can't the same be said of many Moto tech and patents?

<comment><USER19> Maybe. I only know what I read on HN. My point is that the patent holder who invented the infrastructure should be enriched by their patent. but we have a gov't setting limits on how much they can charge to license their patent, somehow the design elements of the device are going to turn out to be worth more than the tech that enable the device to work.

I'm saying (poorly) that I think that reason should dictate that if apple pays X per device for the tech that enable the device then samsung should pay Y < X if found to be infringing on round corners and colorful icons.

I don't value the design that much more highly than the enabling tech. I was pretty satisfied with my old compact nokia phone - I had a midi of run to the hills as my ringtone. Life was good.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Everything is a remix:

<http://www.everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/>

</comment><comment><USER22> Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.</comment>


How to set up stress-free SSL on an OS X development machine - <AUTHOR> https://gist.github.com/jed/6147872

<comment><USER2> Only gripe is being told to match Dev with production ... And then develop on Mac OS.

Virtual machines are a much cleaner and nicer way to do this. Setting up a wildcard SSL is similarly as simple, an you get the bonus of learning how to do it on a "real" (normal, more standard) server.

Example setting up wildcard subdomain SSL cert (self-signed): [https://serversforhackers.com/ssl-certs/](https://serversforhackers.com/ssl- certs/)

<comment><USER3> Having gotten more accustomed to the VM approach over the past year since I wrote this post, I agree.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for leaving your Gist up there describing the process, Jed. I do some work in VMs, but still found it very useful.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I use ngrok ([https://ngrok.com/](https://ngrok.com/)), which tunnels a local port and makes it available over ssl on an ngrok.com subdomain.

Makes it easy to develop from any machine, and even allows me to check it out from other machines. Including things like browserling.

On top of that, it can record and replay requests for you as you debug.

</comment><comment><USER5> I use multicast DNS so that my server in a development VM can automatically publish a hostname to the host for testing.

[http://bens.me.uk/2013/multicast-dns-and-development- virtual...](http://bens.me.uk/2013/multicast-dns-and-development-virtual- machines)

This is especially useful as my application is multi-tenant, where you can potentially use lots of different hostnames.

I'm wary of trusting a development certificate on my development machines. One slight misconfiguration, and you've got a CA with a well-known private key which can be used to generate certificates for any name. Which would be very useful for MITMing a rather important machine.

I accept the inconvenience of having to click through the warnings, with conscious awareness of what I'm doing to avoid training myself to ignore them. I'm not entirely sure which is the bigger risk.

</comment><comment><USER6> Keychain Access makes creating a certificate authority very easy - you might as well just use that...

Besides, I don't understand why you would choose not to trust the certificate, then click it and choose to trust it...

<comment><USER7> For the non-OS X crowd, XCA is a really simple GUI for managing your own CA. Just about everything I have that can use an SSL certificate has one that all of my machines trust.

[http://xca.sourceforge.net/](http://xca.sourceforge.net/)

<comment><USER8> Also, xca works just fine on OS X too.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> /etc/resolver is pretty cool. I wish it were better-documented / better-known. (I guess `man 5 resolver` documents it.)

I also wish glibc had something similar.

</comment><comment><USER10> Instead of dnsmasq you can also use [https://github.com/robbiev/devdns](https://github.com/robbiev/devdns)

</comment><comment><USER11> Pow is a nice project for handling DNS resolution and forwarding a specific name to a service running on a non-standard port.

I've put Apache with a wildcard cert (& local CA) in front of it to handle SSL termination.

It's very similar to the technique from the article, but I've found the ability to serve requests on the default port to be convenient.

</comment><comment><USER12> If you're using Django, check out the runserver_plus command from django- extensions: [http://django- extensions.readthedocs.org/en/latest/runserver...](http://django- extensions.readthedocs.org/en/latest/runserver_plus.html#ssl)

</comment><comment><USER13> I wrote [https://www.npmjs.com/package/crisp](https://www.npmjs.com/package/crisp) a while back, which simplifies a lot of this, it generates a self-signed cert and starts a web server in one move

</comment><comment><USER14> I usually just use [https://github.com/jugyo/tunnels](https://github.com/jugyo/tunnels).

</comment><comment><USER15> fyi - I know it's a pain but before I got comfortable with unbound/dnsmasq I wrote a thing to edit your /etc/hosts file, which makes it not quite as painful to deal with.

[https://github.com/kevinburke/hostsfile](https://github.com/kevinburke/hostsfile)

</comment><comment><USER16> I didn't see self-signed certs as an alternative. Isn't that a common and reasonable approach?

<comment><USER17> This describes setting up a self-signed cert

<comment><USER16> Oops! I read the 3 alternatives and didn't see self-signed certs, which seemed sorta obvious to me. Then skimmed a bit further and saw all sorts of other things and not really any specific mention of self-signed certs. My bad.</comment></comment></comment>


How to Know If Your Startup Idea is the Next Big Thing - <AUTHOR> http://viniciusvacanti.com/2011/04/25/how-to-know-if-your-startup-idea-is-the-next-big-thing/

<comment><USER2> Initial idea: search engine

Eventually: Google

\--

Initial idea: computer

Eventually: Apple</comment>


Ask HN: Testing your startup ideas? Create landing page for each one? - <AUTHOR>

If you have a whole bunch of startup ideas, is it a good idea to test the market by creating a landing page for each? From there you could see what has the most traction and then go and develop just that idea.<p>Any loopholes in the logic or other feedback is much appreciated. <comment><USER2> Time comes into play, if you have the time then yes, if not then one at a time is ideal, your first idea may be a hit then you don't have to waste time creating landing pages for the rest.

<comment><AUTHOR> For a landing page, I'm think just a basic mockup of one page of the UI. With Launchrock, those pages are even less developed.

So is time even a constraint?</comment></comment>


Coding Horror: Revisiting "Keyboard vs. The Mouse, pt 1" - <AUTHOR> https://blog.codinghorror.com/revisiting-keyboard-vs-the-mouse-pt-1/ <comment><USER2> _However, as Tog himself notes, when the keyboard shortcut is already memorized and well understood, it's a clear productivity win._

Tog never says that as far as I can tell.

<comment><USER3> Yeah. Jeff's article makes it sounds as though Tog later refutes the original quote. But all he does is mention that Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V are exceptions _because you can use them while using the mouse_.

IMO, the post that Jeff linked to in the comments (<http://tinyurl.com/2odgua>) provides a better criticism of Tog's keyboard vs. mouse claim.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> The "answer" to "Keyboard vs. The Mouse" is the same as almost every other "vs." question: it depends on how the software was designed and written.</comment>


What if Google bought Detroit? - <AUTHOR> http://www.seriouswonder.com/what-if-google-bought-detroit

<comment><AUTHOR> What an interesting thought experiment. Building a (corporate) model city for the 21st or 22nd century, pour all the great ideas they have into a remade city as a showcase for what's possible.

OTOH there's probably a lot of residents who wouldn't want to live in a city owned whole by one single corporation.

Would I?

</comment><comment><USER2> And they can keep the streets safe with Robocop.

But seriously, why would Google do this, when they can work with a small municipality without crushing debts that will sell out simply for the jobs that Google would bring?

</comment><comment><USER3> This is a great article. Unfortunately, I don't see it ever working out. It would be one huge workspace though...</comment>


HipChat API and Plivo Integration for Sales Line Bot - <AUTHOR> http://plivo.com/blog/hipchat-api-plivo-integration-bot/

<comment><USER2> This integration posts a whole bunch of stuff to HipChat. The code can be cloned from [https://bitbucket.org/tsudot/wrench/](https://bitbucket.org/tsudot/wrench/) happy to help with any questions.

</comment><comment><USER3> Seems like a great way for startups to share learnings with team members about what works (or doesn't) on sales calls. Looking forward to trying it out!

</comment><comment><USER4> Looks interesting! Waiting for the weekend to try this! :)

</comment><comment><USER5> This is awesome. How long did it take?

<comment><USER2> Took about an hour to design the phone tree on paper. Another hour to write the flask app and deploy on heroku. All in all it turned out pretty well.

Suggestions and feedback are welcome.</comment></comment>