Ask HN: What does your ideal home office look like? - <AUTHOR> I've got the opportunity to design a home office from scratch and as it's where I spend 90% of my working week I'd like to make it a good one. What does your ideal home office look like? I'm talking tech, furnishings, art, books - even apps and services to help make the best environment possible. <comment><USER2> I have a separate work space in the backyard, an entirely separate building with a view of some flowers and plants, and a door that locks. Walking to work (about 12 feet from the house) and closing the door behind me does wonders for my focus and productivity.

Worth over-spending on a quality chair that fits and can adjust, too. I tried a dozen or more until I got the right one and it's been money very well spent. Don't skimp on the ergo!

I just recently got a rolling tool chest from Home Depot with a lot of somewhat shallow drawers. Perfect for stowing a laptop, laying out pens and pencils in neat order, and other miscellaneous cruft. The whole thing rolls (quite heavy though) and plugs in to the wall with a surge-protected outlet strip built in. Put the laptop on the top and it's a reasonable standing desk, too.

<comment><USER3> This is what I'm hoping to do. I want to get a container home outbuilding placed in my backyard, with some good big windows and a view of the woods behind my house. Probably gonna cost 40-50k though furnished and installed...

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> If you're setting up a desk, I would highly recommend something with adjustable height. It doesn't necessarily have to be sit/stand, but that's probably ideal. The standard desk height of 29ish inches is too high for 95% of the population [0]. Your shoulders should be relaxed and keyboard a few inches above your lap. You could mitigate this with a keyboard tray too, but I'm not a fan.

0: [https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/5-adjustments-you- need...](https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/5-adjustments-you-need-make- your-desk-right-now-ncna813726)

</comment><comment><USER5> I have a comfortable couch, a plastic lap desk, and a pillow below it. On top of it is a fairly old MacBook Air. I used to think I needed multiple monitors until I got the MacBook. Its three-finger-swipe to go from one virtual desktop to another is my favorite feature. I work laying down.

It is fairly dark. I have a Sonos speaker to play music whenever I need to. I get up to stretch and walk around a bit at least once an hour.

<comment><AUTHOR> That's your ideal working environment? Sounds dark and bad for your posture, but whatever works for you.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I'm slowly getting towards my ideal with my latest addition of a treadmill, motorized desk, and 4k monitors. I definitely could use more above-desk power though. I enjoy having oversized desks that are large enough to stretch my legs out under when I do sit, like 30-36"+. A great set up I had was when two 30" table tops met in a corner - there was about 45" of legroom there! Chairs and lighting are always important too, and I definitely put some emphasis on color. I used a warm, cozy brown in a cold climate, and a lighter blue in a gray and rainy climate. I do try to have a view and natural light, otherwise it gets a little bland, and I like having both overhead lights and task lighting.

In an ideal world I'd have more audio options than just headphones and Sonos. It'd be awesome to have in-wall high quality speakers, but headphones will suffice for now. If I could get a water supply and coffee/espresso maker in the room too, that'd be sweet, but it's probably good to move around and go to the kitchen every now and again.

App wise, RescueTime and WakaTime have been interesting products for getting and keeping focus. In the past I've engaged in "rituals" to get in the zone like certain playlists, beverages, an Esington hour glass for pomodoros. But other pomodoro apps have been reasonably effective too.

I like having a couple "things" around, e.g. art, tchotchkes, that are meaningful, but I lean towards (what I think of as) an art-gallery-meets-cozy- reading-space type of aesthetic - a few books, a couple choice pieces of art, etc.

I'd love to eventually have a separate work space - a little shed/nook in the backyard, that I could spec out with all the "wishes," but alas that dream will have to wait a bit longer...

</comment><comment><USER7> Most important for me has been a really good monitor. I've used two externals in the past, but lately I've been really digging my 34" Dell monitor in the 21:9 form factor ("ultrawide"). I think the extra width is really helpful for work, being able to put several windows side by side. It's also pretty cool to watch 21:9 movies, but that's a secondary consideration.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks - have a "normal" monitor on order but will swap it for a widescreen. Will definitely be trying _not_ to watch movies in the home office, as that could lead to bad habits...

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I have a home office that I love. I spend a fair bit of time in it, but not 90%.

Ikea Standing Desk (Skarsta, crank, 63"). Dual 34" monitors, a desktop I love, Kinesis Freestyle 2 keyboard, and a Kensington Expert Mouse. Pen holders, notebooks, filing cabinet like thing, and a standing mat. I also have a glass whiteboard (essential) against the wall, art in front of me that I appreciate.

I have bookcases full of books, technical, religious, and science fiction - different things to chill out with should I need it. I keep a guitar handy, on a stand, ready to go, with a stereo system, decent speakers, and a great turntable.

I have a papasan chair, and a roadbike on blocks, so that I can force myself to change my space, to explore an idea, or calm down.

<comment><USER9> _Kinesis Freestyle 2 keyboard_

Is this not the greatest keyboard ever?! I only wish I could magically hook it up to my tablets as well, but even tethered to my workstation it's the best thing since sliced bread.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> I sed to have an office-in-a-closet setup: an Ikea aneboda wardrobe (single) with a small modification: I lowered the upper plate at a desk height and it effectively became a closet-door gurded office: on the inside of the closet doors i had timetables, todolists and calendars, in the "table" I had my X220 and an external monitor (put on some books to rise it) and a mouse.

If I had to do it again, I'd use some sort of embedded computer like an intel nuc (or in general, something the size of a mac mini). After all such computers are way more than enough for sysadmin / development work.

</comment><comment><USER11> I would have a super comfortable office I am to spend any time in it.

* I would go for a Herman Miller Aeron chair, I have been using one since 2005

* I would want a high ceiling and good sound acoustics if I wanted to play music. Also good sound proofing in case there is a lot of external noise.

* I would want a set of shelves on one wall to store books

* I would want windows for natural light

* Ideally I would have a zone for heating and cooling or other devices to keep the temperature at a setting I like.

* I would want a really soft couch that is easy to nap on if I decided I needed to short rest.

</comment><comment><USER12> Absolutely must have a treadmill desk. Sitting down for eight hours at a stretch is tough on your prostate. Standing for eight hours at a stretch is tough on your feet. Walking for eight hours is invigorating and makes you feel good about yourself.

<comment><USER13> I personally tried it but could not think while walking, I had to constantly stop to concentrate on a task which made having a threadmill useless for me. But that's my personal experience, it might work for someone tho...

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Side question: is your employer paying for your home office re-design, or is this just a personal project? Did you discuss any of it with your employer, or just opt to do it yourself from the beginning?

(Both approaches are good, just curious!)

<comment><AUTHOR> I run my own business, so this question wouldn't be relevant as I can choose what I like (after I've spoken to my accountant about what I can and cannot expense).

<comment><USER14> thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> Ideal for me is a giant window facing a green space. My current fav is guest bedroom on 2nd floor of my house with great views of the park.

</comment><comment><USER16> sit/stand desk that goes both high enough to walk on a treadmill, and kneel on the floor. A soft standing/kneeling pad. With this combo I find I rarely use my chair. (not never, just rarely)

Bonus would be a treadmill that is easy to get out of the way when I don't want it (I've never seen this, but you asked about ideal).

<comment><AUTHOR> Never thought about a treadmill. Do you use one at the moment? If so, for how long at one time?

<comment><USER16> No, they are hard too get out of the way. When I used one, I found it nice at times, but I quickly found that it wasn't right 100% of the time, and it was in the way of attempts to use a chair. If it was convenient to switch between treadmill and other modes I'd probably be 20% treadmill, 20% kneeling, 50% standing, 10% sitting in a chair. Since I've never had all options easily available I'm only guessing.

I have used them in the past. You need a very slow speed. Even a normal slow walk is too fast - you are trying to think about something else while your feet move, if you want to exercise that is a different thing.</comment></comment></comment>


Asian Entrepreneur Billionaires Outnumber Counterparts in US - <AUTHOR> https://financialtribune.com/articles/world-economy/75127/asian-entrepreneur-billionaires-outnumber-counterparts-in-us <comment><USER2> Well the US has around 320 million people, Asia has over 3 billion, so...</comment>


Show HN: English.JS - GeoIP based spelling correction between EN-GB & EN-US - <AUTHOR> http://www.mcgirk.com/blog/2013/5/14/introducing-englishjs-switches-text-between-gb-en-and-us-en-based-on-your-location

<comment><USER3> Interesting concept. Being an English guy with an American wife I've discovered a large number of common words that are very different between the two languages (beyond the obvious like sneakers/trainers, jumper/sweater) - <USER2> would be great if the dictionary were expanded to support this.

EDIT: though it does occur that you won't want to switch words with several meanings without context, which could be tricky.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, I had already considered switching "trousers" with "pants" and "pants" with "underwear", in which case it's all in the ordering lest you find "trousers" being replaced with "underwear".

Context is a tricky one. It should be doable, but it was a bit beyond the scope of a 1st release. I'm also shamefacedly ignoring the existence of Canadian or Australian English for the time being.

I intend to make the script smarter and expand its vocabulary as I go along with my blog.</comment></comment>


How Dropbox Became The Startup Steve Jobs Wished To Own – with Drew Houston - <AUTHOR> http://mixergy.com/drew-houston-dropbox-interview/

<comment><USER2> I find it in poor taste to use Steve Jobs' name as a promotional tool. I see this done more and more and I don't think it's right.

They could have said "the startup that Apple wanted to buy", but that wouldn't have caught everyone's attention, right?

<comment><USER3> Steve Jobs is one of my heroes.

He famously called a lot things 'shit' and many people 'shitheads.'

And yet he saw something special in Dropbox. I wanted to find out how Drew did it.

<comment><USER4> Given their security record, Dropbox probably deserved (and still deserves, especially because of the unchangeable unique client ID issue) to be described in those terms.

<comment><USER5> I think your expectations aren't properly calibrated, Dropbox's track record is stellar relative to the rest of the industry.

<comment><USER6> I'm not sure they deserve to be called 'shitheads' either - I _do_ like the service - but I'm still disappointed in how poorly they've handled their security issues, particularly the one back in June.

I think I'd have a different opinion if they'd bothered to reply to any of my multiple emails to them at the time.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I love Mixergy but sometimes I do not agree with some of the assumptions the questions are laced with. When Andrew Warner asks: "Where did you get the confidence ... to get into the storage space?" the _assumption_ is that it required any confidence at all. It misdirects. Drew answered perfectly though: "I just wrote some code"

<comment><USER3> Could you help me understand when and how I do that? I don't want my questions to imply something that's not there.

I'll tell you why I asked him about confidence. It came after he told me that multiple experienced advisors told him that he was in the storage business and that a storage startup wouldn't work.

When I look at the email I get from my viewers, I see that many face similar situations and they worry about the viability of their startups. Rejections like that shatter their confidence. So I asked why it didn't have the same impact on Drew.

I thought his answer was a good explanation of how he dealt with the issue.

<comment><USER7> Hi Andrew. I hope I do not come across as a troll - I am a massive fan!

So let me rephrase. Confidence is the lifeblood of a startup founder. If they do not back themselves, who will? Sometimes over-confidence and even self- delusion can be very dangerous. I once tried to start a music label that gave away all the music for free and made money putting on live shows. I was deluding myself and drunk on my own confidence. The flip-side is what you describe: where people never recover from a knock to their confidence. This is much harder when the opportunity is _actually really great_. I think it is great to explore the confidence of entrepreneurs.

What my pedantic and pernickety side took issue with was the phrasing of the question and the context in which it was asked. Drew had just said he hacked together some code and you launched into a question about the confidence it must have required. I my mind was stuck on the notion that firing up a text- editor required confidence - a ridiculous notion I know but that is where my mind lept. I get the same awkward feeling when people begin any sentence with the word 'surely' because the presupposition is that _surely_ they are right.

At that stage of the interview I would have been curious to know when, why and how the storage side-project made the transition from personal use to active user-base. You covered that really, _really_ well later on. Which is why I love Mixergy.

<comment><USER3> I'm never hurt by feedback like that. I'm grateful for it.

Maybe I'm working the confidence question in too much. I'll watch out for that.

I want to get really good at doing useful interviews. I need feedback like yours.

<comment><USER8> You're doing it right!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I think Steve Jobs will be right again, Dropbox is a feature, a great feature to be sure, but still just a feature. iCloud works fine without it and eventually as Apple typically does, once more features are added, the need for Dropbox will lessen.

<comment><USER10> iCloud is OS X and iOS only. Dropbox is OS X, iOS, Windows, Linux, Android AND BlackBerry.

<comment><USER11> I'm still not sure how much of an advantage that is to the average user. To people on HN it's a huge plus, but to real world users...

Regardless DB should be able to carve out space where cross platform is important, but I can see their market size shrinking when Apple and Microsoft really start pushing their cloud storage solutions. Unless of course they get to a Facebook like level of critical mass.

<comment><USER12> Even you aren't cross platform personally (e.g. you don't have a Mac and a PC at work or an Android phone or ...) Dropbox lets you share files and folders with other Dropbox users. Unless you're confident that you'll never want to share with someone on a different platform (which only sounds realistic if you never want to share at all), that's important even if your personal environment is homogenous.

I'd guess that most Dropbox users share something (though I haven't seen statistics on that) so they are probably less threatened by vendor-specific solutions than you might think. I suspect Dropbox is more threatened by services like Amazon Cloud Drive (especially since Amazon is an infrastructure provider for them) than they are by anything Apple or Microsoft has planned.

<comment><USER13> I don't use dropbox for sharing at all, and suspect I am not alone. Generally use Google docs fir that. Dropbox just for replication to my devices.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> I certainly don't know the whole story but the acquisition rumors seem very un-Apple-like. The hardest things about DropBox are acquiring users and paying for servers, two things Apple would not need to worry about (I know the technology is difficult, too, but am assuming Apple could figure it out).

</comment><comment><USER15> I liked Andrew's point right at the end of the interview - Drew had no vital marketing imperative to come in and give an interview in that depth, he was just giving back to the community. Great to see.

<comment><USER16> I'm sure it has some plus in terms of hiring. Not that I'm implying he's doing it for that.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> Anybody have a link to the original video Drew posted here on HN? Was is the video on the DropBox homepage up until recently?

<comment><USER18> I believe this was the original discussion: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863> (2007-04-04) and the fixed video link is <https://www.dropbox.com/screencast>

Edit: and here's the digg link but I can't figure out how to get anything useful out of it. [http://digg.com/news/story/Google_Drive_killer_coming_from_M...](http://digg.com/news/story/Google_Drive_killer_coming_from_MIT_Startup) (2008-03-11)

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> "Startup Steve Jobs Wished To Own" - is that a compliment?

<comment><USER20> I would believe so

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> tl;dl anyone?</comment>


HN: How does one get feedback on comments? - <AUTHOR>

How does one get feedback on comments with low mod scores without bringing up downmoding?
Downmoding is by its nature ambiguous:
Is the comment unclear?
Is the comment in bad taste?
Is the comment factually wrong?
Is the comment really troll bait?
Is the comment insensitive?
Many comments, especially when they are short, may be misinterpreted.  This is hard to decipher when there are no replies to a comment.
Talking about downmods is boring. Helping posters to clarify their comments may turn out to be interesting.
One way to do this is to allow people to associate a label with a comment.  When a poster sees these labels, it will give that person the ability to post a clarification.
The assigner of a label would be anonymous. People could then vote on these labels so that they only stick if enough people don't disagree.
People shouldn't have to put on their karma helmet to get feedback.
What do you think? <comment><USER2> It's really not that important why your comment got up or downvoted. So don't get all worked up about it. Just smile, and go write a new comment on something else.

</comment><comment><USER3> I find myself constantly glancing at my karma score. I have to remind myself that it does not really matter.

I find my better comments begin with a short initial response, and then after a line break, I go into detail about my thought process if need be.

<comment><USER4> I find that it helps if you distance yourself from your account somewhat. When I posted under an account related to my name and my activities, I felt pressured to think and act a certain way and I monitored my karma a bit closely. Using a blank-name account stopped me from worrying so much.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I think this would be a neat project for a GreaseMonkey script-- those who want to see it can, those who don't, won't.

<comment><USER6> Not everyone uses firefox. However, it could be an option like "noprocrast".

<comment><USER7> Don't let browser market share keep you from doing something you think might be cool. "Not everyone uses firefox" is the inverse logic of "IE6 is still used, so we have to cater to the lowest common denominator". Let the capabilities of your tools be part of your inspiration! Some things are too cool not to do, and some things get done even if there is no capability to do them.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> > What do you think?

I think that some are too concerned with these things and/or think that they're "owed" something that they're not. (Many in the latter group know why their comment was downvoted and an interesting fraction of them are just looking for an opportunity to argue that the downvote was undeserved.)

Downvotes mean that someone didn't like your comment. Be grateful for that - in the real world, people silently put the asshole label next to your name. Sometimes it's you and sometimes it's them. Only one of those is under your control.

</comment><comment><USER9> I like it, but I'd want to think a lot more about the way it feels, how it works, and other, perhaps unintended, consequences.

I've mused about this recently: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=662052>

</comment><comment><USER10> This scheme would also force those moderating to think enough about their reasons to choose a tag. I am annoyed when I am down-modded for an unpopular argument that adds to the discussion that was seemingly selected for its editorial content rather than its lack of utility. Would someone down-mod me if they had to either (1) choose a false tag or (2) choose a correct tag like "Comment does not adhere to my political views on the matter"? Should up-mods be tagged as well?

</comment><comment><USER11> I like the idea.

It sounds similar to the labels used by Wikipedia which point out problems with articles (e.g. "This article needs additional citations for verification").

</comment><comment><USER12> This is the Slashdot way: each mod has a label (interesting, insightful, funny, overrated, underrated, troll etc.). A total score can be for example 5 Insightful, made up of 3 Insightful and 2 Interesting.

Slashdot's system is fairly complex, and pretty successful. But on HN the accent is on fewer members and overall quality, and less on a complex system. And it's working pretty well so far.

</comment><comment><USER13> why worry? I mean seriously chances are your comment will be upvoted. And if for some stupid reason it gets downvoted, you are only out 8 karma points at most.

Hardly something that'll ruin you or your overall karma score...and its not like Karma even does anything, it affects nothing, so even if you get downvoted, you shouldn't really care.

<comment><USER14> I came to the same conclusion. I downvote only if the comment is offensive. If it is wrong or I disagree (and I care) I add my own comment. Downvoting by itself adds nothing to the discussion. I think the current system works remarkably well and I dont feel the need for changes. I fear clutter more.

<comment><USER9> I agree that the current system is reasonably good, but how and why it works is cultural. That means that as HN gets more popular it will work less and less well.

I'm frequently mystified by why a comment gets down-mud, and wish desperately that there were a simple mechanism for people to tell me why. I have no complaint, I accept that someone feels the comment should be down-mud, but I'd like to learn _why_ they feel like that, and what it is they think I got wrong. Maybe I'll disagree, but at least I can learn from it.

<comment><USER15> "down-mud"?

<comment><USER9> Yes.

\+ Thunk is the past tense of think,

\+ lunk is the past tense of link (I lunk to that page)

\+ cluck is the past tense of click (I cluck that link)

... and "down-mud" is the past tense of "down-mod".

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> _What do you think?_

I think your idea has already been implemented by Slashdot and if you like seeing labels like "+5, Insightful" you could go participate there, instead.

</comment><comment><USER17> poeple could always you know, reply to the comment?

</comment><comment><USER15> I disagree with further complexity. Generally if people have a good counter to your argument, and if you seem to be someone worth arguing with, they'll pipe up with a dissenting view. And if you're really confused, a short reply saying "I'm genuinely curious as to why I'm being downmodded - anyone care to explain their decision?" will rarely attract spillover downmods. Unless the comment was _really_ egregious ..

If we're brainstorming how to improve HN's commenting system, here's an idea: a limit to upvotes. I propose 32. Beyond that, upvotes only raise position on the page. Thoughts?</comment>


The NSA Warns of TLS Inspection - <AUTHOR> https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2019/11/the_nsa_warns_o.html <comment><USER2> There are new methods for TLS inspection, it can be done without decryption using a combination of machine learning and metadata to spot known attacks/malware/C&C and abnormality with high accuracy. We do that at barac (www.barac.io). Would love to demo and discuss our unique approach

</comment><comment><USER3> I've always wondered why browser's don't let you know that you're using a certificate of dubious origin.

Certainly it would make employees more aware to not log into their personal stuff at work.

<comment><USER4> Not sure how one would achieve this. It certainly would require new infrastructure. As far as the browser is concerned, the certificate is issued by a root CA that the computer (or browser) trusts. You'd need a tool or a header or something that tells the browser what the original cert is. The browser could then check if this matches the actual cert and then warn.

<comment><USER5> It doesn't require new infrastructure most modern browsers support HTTP Public Key Pinning.

Since the browser vendor can pin their own keys in the distribution it gives you a sufficiently resilient proof against impersonation as all other keys can be validated through a connection that is known to be non susceptible to impersonation.</comment></comment></comment>


Exploit Mitigation Techniques in OpenBSD (2005) - <AUTHOR> https://www.openbsd.org/papers/ven05-deraadt/mgp00001.html <comment><USER2> Of tactical approaches, the OpenBSD team has clearly done the best job. I still advocate fixing root causes or high-confidence mechanisms wherever possible. They merit praise for what they pull off on the other side of the fence with UNIX apps I'd have little confidence in protecting outside of costly, isolation architectures and obfuscation schemes.

This is my favorite, though, as it's a high-assurance principle in action:

"When you free() an object >= pagesize, it gets unmapped using munmap(). Therefore, _access after free() becomes a detectable crash._ "

That's the fail-safe principle in action per Saltzer and Shroeder. Can't stop every, potential failure in some area? Just make it crash hard, noticeably, and hopefully with enough detail to spot & fix the problem. Another line of research in high-assurance CompSci is to, via hardware or software, taint the incoming data with optional profiles of system code that stops and details circumstances of any code injection. Always interesting stuff developing along these lines.

Far as Saltzer and Shroeder principles, I accidentally found this in Google that explains them with Star Wars scenarios. Pretty good.

[http://emergentchaos.com/the-security-principles-of- saltzer-...](http://emergentchaos.com/the-security-principles-of-saltzer-and- schroeder)

</comment><comment><USER3> Have these techniques been incorporated into Linux since then?

<comment><USER4> Theo gave an update at the 2013 ruBSD conference: [http://www.openbsd.org/papers/ru13-deraadt/](http://www.openbsd.org/papers/ru13-deraadt/)

<comment><USER5> The video from ruBSD [https://events.yandex.com/events/ruBSD/2013/talks/103/](https://events.yandex.com/events/ruBSD/2013/talks/103/)

plus a bonus interview</comment></comment></comment>


Phasing out certificates of free courseware completion - <AUTHOR> http://blog.udacity.com/2014/04/phasing-out-certificates-of-free16.html

<comment><USER2> I understand they don't want to issue certificates without verifying the identity of the person taking the course, but what's with the sudden jump from "requiring identity verification" to "requiring payment"?

<comment><USER3> I'm guessing there are expenses related to verifying someone's identity.</comment></comment>