12 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Building a Web App - <AUTHOR> http://www.slideshare.net/carsonified/12-things-i-wish-id-known-before-building-a-web-app/ <comment><USER2> This would be more useful with the audio from the talk: <http://cdn2.libsyn.com/carsonsystems/Ryan_Carson.mp3></comment>


Why Did Arkansas Change Its Mind on Municipal Broadband? - <AUTHOR> https://www.citylab.com/life/2019/04/arkansas-internet-municipal-broadband-preemption-laws/587263/ <comment><USER2> > They have to go to McDonalds and use the internet.

So how is such a McDonalds wired and the tract homes I assume people live in in Little Rock are not wired?

<comment><USER3> Little Rock is definitely wired though. I've lived in suburbs and satellites of Little Rock (West end, midtown, Maumelle, Jacksonville). Also smaller towns, White Hall and Jefferson county outside of any town, and had decent cable internet or DSL everywhere I've been from CenturyTel (I think it was) or Comcast, or AT&T UVerse. Really I wonder which "suburb of Little Rock" the articles example person lived in, because it doesn't match my experience. Granted there are some pretty remote parts of Arkansas that I'm sure don't have those options, but the Little Rock area seems well covered to me.

<comment><USER4> In the county, a few miles from the little rock city border (but still with a little rock address), my brother didn't have any internet access except satellite until last year.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Career advice for a developer with 10+ years experience - <AUTHOR> I've come to an interesting point in my career and would appreciate peoples opinions on what I should do next.
I've been a professional software engineer for 12 years now, the last few years and positions considered "senior".  Most of my background is C++ but in my spare time the last 3 or 4 years I've been doing a lot of web work using PHP, Javascript, Python.
I recently took a break to work on my own startup which hasn't taken off.  This will be the 3rd time I've quit a job to work on a business which hasn't quite worked out.
It's time to start looking for work again, however I am having trouble deciding where I should focus.  Should I stick to my tried and true (though somewhat rusty right now) C++ skills, or move on and make the commitment to web?  I don't have much trouble picking up new skills so I'm always open to new ideas as well.
Anyone else been in a similar situation?
I have my concerns about getting too old in this industry (I'm early 30's right now) which tends to favor new college grads.  My ultimate goal it to run my own business though I do need to pay the bills as well.
Overall, I feel my thoughts about what to do going round and around in circles so I've come here for help.  Any advice or comments people can share with me would be greatly appreciated. <comment><USER2> I don't know about other places, but I'm almost 36, with about 10 years of Java and web experience, and I keep getting more and more offers (from around the nation) from both enterprises and startups (twitter, amazon, rackspace, apple, google, netflix, Oracle, NCR, banks etc...).

I talked to a friend who works at Twitter (he is 37) and he told me it's not a "college graduate world" as some depict it, he said most people he works with are around his age (which was very encouraging for me).

Here in Atlanta there are tons of Sr. Java jobs, both enterprise and startups, at least based on the recruiter spam I get in LinkedIn.

When you say "too old in this industry" which industry are you talking about? SV? Web Startups (Ruby / Python / Node)? Gaming? Mobile? perhaps for these you are right. But for the companies I listed above, or any enterprise company in the country, your age is just about right, and your experience years are in demand. Again, don't know about C++ specifically, but if you had 10 years of Java, you would have easily landed multiple offers from various good companies around the country, at least this is what me and people I talk to in the Java community seem to experience.

I don't know if it's C++ that is different, but the "if you are 30+ then your career is over" situation is not something I see even close to the reality at least here in Atlanta.

Hope it encourages you a bit.

P.s. If you want to increase your spectrum of possible jobs, I recommend learning "less cool" technologies, like Java EE 7, Spring, Hibernate, or if you need to choose between Haskell / Go or Scala, go with Scala, it will be perhaps less cutting edge, but will give you much more job opportunities. Also learning Hadoop, Storm, MongoDB will make your resume look very attractive. Also you should pick up good github projects that show you are full stack, do some AngularJS projects, write a jQuery plugin, the jobs offers will follow (I got more than a few solely based on some nonsense plugins I wrote in github that look as if I know what I'm doing)

YMMV, all based on my very subjective experience here in Atlanta...

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the advice. When I mentioned getting too old I was referring to startups specifically. With C++ work I know I have less to worry about in terms of age.

I understand what you're saying about the "less cool" technologies but they don't interest me. The whole point is to guide my career down a path that is more enjoyable and fulfilling so doing something like that seems a step backwards. I appreciate the advice though, thanks!

<comment><USER2> I don't think all of these are necessarily "less cool" technologies, some of them are both very cool, in high demand, and fun to work with.

Scala is a good example I think, if you like Ruby, Erlang, Haskell, or even F# / C#, it might grow on you the way it did on me. Some say it's a complex language, I don't see it as such (coming from Java) I see it as a typed Ruby, with pattern matching copied from Haskell, and concurrency system copied from Erlang. With 100% Java interoperabilty. Cool enough for me...

it's both fun to work with, high performance, and still considered pretty cool in most parts. It's the only language that can be used enthusiastically by both a bank and a SV startup (and the academia) using the same philosophy and methodology. It's the peace maker language.

I know, Go, Haskell, Lua, Clojure, Rust, Julia, Nimrod are much more on the hype spot, but hypes come and go, and you end up choosing what technology you both enjoy using, and that has a job pool. For me it's Scala currently, can change any time.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> If you get to a point where ageism actually becomes an issue for you, I would suggest embedded systems engineering. With your C++ background it should be no problem for you, and in my experience firmware engineers tend to be older and don't have age bias like the rest of the industry. I enjoy firmware because you get to work fairly closely with actual physical things and apply your knowledge to an extremely wide array of real-world applications.

<comment><AUTHOR> Well I have done quite a bit of embedded work in the past and I agree, I was often the youngest software engineer on the team. I quite enjoy the work too, but the thought of going through the whole interview process again is tiring! Needs a lot of prep to get back into the correct mindset, especially seeing as I've been doing a lot of web stuff recently.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'm in a similar situation (early 30's, 10+ years of development experience) and also left a previous job to start a business that didn't work out and just came back to work at a 'normal' job.

There is a good demand for C++ programmers in financial hubs. In Europe, this is London. I see 20+ jobs being posted every week for senior C++ developers. I'm guessing Wall Street will have similar requirements. Game development is also an option, but at your age/experience, I don't recommend that industry. Of course there are other companies that require C++, my last job was making a portable (Mac, Linux, Windows, iOS and Android) music streaming library with custom DRM. You will find these 'odd' jobs with C++ requirements less frequently but can be a good option.

So, that's C++. Now about focusing on something else. It really depends on your goals/life. If you prefer a startup type company, then yes, node.js/ruby/Python are your best bets to get a job at those (doesn't mean Haskell or Scala won't get you a job) but if you prefer a more enterprise company (which there is nothing wrong, I do, since I have a small boy at home and really value the work/life balance I get) you should probably focus on either Java or C#. There are tons of jobs around for these technologies (in Europe, C# seems more in demand than Java, no idea on your location).

If you want, you can also always learn Obj-C or Java(Android). Mobile developers seem to be in hot demand right now and it can be something completely different from what you are used to do (which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you feel about learning)

Technologies aside, if your 10 years experience really brought you to Senior level (I've met folks that seemed to have just repeated the same year 10 times) I don't think you will have a problem finding a Senior role in whatever tech you choose. I started with C, moved to C++, then C#, Ruby/Rails, Obj-C. Even though I don't have 10 years experience with each of those, I easily found a job for senior developer (actually, I got a few interviews and got offers from all, from Sony to a big financial firm in London and small start upsas well.)

If you have any questions or just want to chat about your situation, shoot me an email (email on profile).

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes I've seen quite a high demand for C++ guys in New York and Chicago as well as other places. That's really the heart of my question - should I stick to that or move into the newer technologies you mentioned like node.js/python? I have learned a good amount of both though no real work experience in them.

Also you mention games, well I worked in the games industry for 4 years when I was younger! Did my time, enjoyed it, but won't go back now :)

I am completely unsuited to large enterprises. I started out my career that way and hated it. Recently went back to a large corporation job and only lasted 6 weeks before I had to quit.

I guess my original post wasn't so clear either. I have no problem getting requests for interviews and the like, get loads every day. My issue is making the choice of where to focus my career. Do I get back into C++ to earn some good money doing something I already know? Do I truly commit to new web tech and join a smaller startup? Or something different like freelance while working on (yet another) business?

I'm tired of trying to make this choice because there are so many pros and cons for each! I understand no-one can do it for me but it's nice to get other peoples views. Thanks again.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Any thoughts given to moving towards a Solution Architect role? Within the right organization, you could be doing some hands on but mostly involved with designing and leading the solution.

You are definitely not too old to continue to do development but it seems like you would like to move on from that.

<comment><USER6> Is solution architecture the elephant graveyard of developers? I've seen this sentiment expressed elsewhere where people graduate from being a developer into an architect.

I don't understand it...the best architects I know remain excellent developers writing some code. It's like graduating from the chef to become a waiter.

<comment><USER5> I am sure you did not intend it, but the "chef to waiter" statement is such a big disservice to what solution architect people do. Using your analogy I also certainly don't believe that writing code equates to being the chef. I love software development and see the tremendous value it brings but in most major businesses its relegated as a cost centre rather than revenue generator.

I don't equate being in a solution architect role to not writing any code or being a bad developer. It actually takes a much broader skill set to do a solution architect's role. The best solution architects have reasonably high communication skills, strong understanding of business drivers and are able to articulate well to non technical people and most important see technology as one cog in a business rather the be all and end all. These are not skills that any typical developer will necessarily have.

The term is also abused a little bit but in major corporations it has a lot of weight. I would also say that just like any role, there are the best and worst people doing it.

The reason I mentioned it is that for people who still have a strong love for technology but don't want to be relegated to being a developer when they are much, much older (and frankly who want more advancement) the solution/enterprise architect seems to be a good fit.

<comment><USER6> Chef to waiter isn't a good analogy in terms of skills. I was trying to highlight how different the roles were and not the skillset disparity.

Hell, I'm one of them...my job title is application/solution architect and I spend most of my time doing exactly what you said above.

I agree with what you're saying. My main point is that what I've seen (and even heard from people I'm interviewing) is that they want to become an architect to move away from code and graduate into another position. I think your point of needing a broader skill set is important because in my mind, architects are excellent at their old job, continue to do portions of that job and also gain the other skills (communication, change management, evangelizing)...but I don't see everyone understanding that.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I've been in a similar situation. My advice is to work in parallel. Maintain a steady income with minimal time investment and leave enough time on the side to work on your Startup. The key of course is having enough time on the side to be effective with the Startup. For many people, this is why they prefer Freelance/Consulting. Much easier to schedule and make your own schedule. I found Freelancing/Consulting to be too inconsistent for me personally, so I found an 'Industry Job' that only takes up 3-4 days a Week (alternating). This provides steady income, and leaves me 3-4 days a week to work on my Startup. Once the Startup shows enough traction to generate funding, then I will move to the Startup full time.

On my first Startup I made the mistake of going full time with no steady income. In hindsight, I should have maintained a lower steady income instead of having no steady income. With no income, I effectively put a limitation on my ability to work the Startup full time. Unless the Startup gains traction, you eventually run out of money and end up back at square one (or square zero depending on the situation).

Some people may be in really good positions that afford them the opportunity to work on their Startup full time and not have to worry about income. That's great for them, but for everyone else, it's 90 hour work weeks.

</comment><comment><USER8> I am curious why you decided to quit job to work on your startup? Were you getting a lot of traction?

I have done something similar and learnt a great deal. The biggest lesson I learnt is to sell before you build. If you can't get enough people excited to buy your product don't build.

<comment><AUTHOR> I'd built it up in my spare time and felt it needed my full attention to get started. I prefer to get stuck in and give it a real go so I usually save up money to cover the downtime.

I agree on selling before you build. I keep failing and one common themes is not having customers before going full time. Lesson learned!

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> What's the startup/idea you tried to launch?

I wouldn't worry too much about age. If anything you can move to a management role, lay back, relax and save your mental energy for your side projects and next big idea.

<comment><AUTHOR> I've tried several over the years! I've opened bricks and mortar stores in my local town, a dropshipping business and most recently a SaaS app. They've all failed for various reasons though I learned a lot doing each one.

Do you really consider moving into management a relaxing role you can lay back in? Often my managers have seem more stressed and tend to do all the boring work and meetings. They tend to work extra hours too leaving less time for side projects.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> I have no doubt ageism is real but it does not start in the 30's. Trust me. You have a few decades to go before ageism is your problem.

<comment><AUTHOR> It's quite a common theme, especially on HN, that after 35 it becomes a lot harder to get work in startups specifically. That's what I was referring to.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> a bit off topic question:)

Perhaps the way how you approached your own startup was wrong. Why quit job entirely rather than develop some network of freelancers and outsource time consuming tasks to them? It will increase costs, but also greatly reduce overall risk.

</comment><comment><USER12> 30 years is just beginning, don't even bother about it Focus in your goal - Business Become a freelancer, lot of freelancing websites are there - elance,odesk,freelancer etc., etc., use your skills - php or js or whatever you know, and try to get some work and pay your bills.

if you can't even get one freelancing work, then consider it as you don't have exposure skills

if you can't complete a taken work, then you have to improve your skills

<comment><AUTHOR> I do freelance work currently, it's OK, I earn a decent amount but I don't really enjoy it.

I'd prefer to work with a startup or small company on something exciting. Learn some new skills and possibly be part of something big.

<comment><USER12> I do agree, but he needs some backup for day to life, so he have to do some kind of part time jobs</comment></comment></comment>


Older iPhones, iPads banned as agency says Apple infringed on Samsung patent - <AUTHOR> http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/sales-of-older-iphones-ipads-banned-as-agency-says-apple-infringed-on-samsung-patent/2013/06/04/f9dd4a00-cd5e-11e2-9f1a-1a7cdee20287_story.html <comment><USER2> Looks like Samsung got denied on all the current models and can prohibit the importation of only the iPhone 4 and earlier models.

Meanwhile Apple is still trying to get the courts to ban the import of the Samsung's 2011 Galaxy Nexus based on the case last year.

Well, at least the plodding and ridiculously slow pace of justice is a good thing for once. If it takes two years to ban a model of smart phone, they'll never manage to ban one that's important in the market.

<comment><USER3> It probably depends.

If the phones are already manufactured and can't be sold, two years after release or not, it would be a big hit... right in the moneys.

<comment><USER4> Having to sit on five days' worth of unsellable phones would not be all that painful.

<comment><USER5> Not to mention that they can just be shipped to another market and sold there.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I find it interesting that the patent being infringed by Apple was a standard essential patent. Given that Motorola has been having so much difficulty going after Microsoft over FRAND patents, I'm surprised Samsung's lawyers were able to pull this off.

<comment><USER7> It seems that the ITC are on a different planet from the Federal Courts, the FTC (antitrust enforcement), a cross party Congressional letter and other countries courts (with the possible exception of the German courts) when it comes to the idea of injuctive relief over standards essential patents and FRAND commitments.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Just to add some more flavour to the matter, the European Commission has said they'd impose fines against Samsung if they tried to prevent sale of any device over a SEP patent issue. It seems like the ITC have made a decision, which is their prerogative, that's an odds with how it's treated everywhere else.

Apple hasn't got clean hands in the matter, they've been more than happy to saddle up and legal-cowboy their way into forcing decisions, but using a SEP to force an import ban is a pretty bad choice. Apple says Samsung wouldn't play ball in fair and equitable terms, that's a distinct possibility. The ITC seems to think Apple should have take the deal, so we don't know all the details yet, it'll be interesting to see what comes out.

</comment><comment><USER9> I think both companies need to just chill out and let the best man win instead of clawing at each other immaturely.

<comment><USER10> Funny that everybody is realizing this _now_ - not when Apple was suing others for Rounded Corner (TM)(R)(C).

<comment><USER11> I don't think this is surprising at all. Apple's allegations against Samsung were largely visual and easy for the layperson to understand. It makes sense that Apple's position would carry more weight in the mainstream media.

<comment><USER12> Except of course it was rounded corners. Rounded corners.

<comment><USER13> right. these phones aren't similar at all. [http://cdn.redmondpie.com/wp- content/uploads/2011/08/iphone-...](http://cdn.redmondpie.com/wp- content/uploads/2011/08/iphone-3gs-und-samsung-galaxy-s.png)

/sarcasm

<comment><USER10> Well, if this is a free for all troll thread, then let me jump in.

The one on the right looks much better.

<comment><USER13> much better than what? some other phone? because the 2 shown are nearly identical. grandma wouldn't know which was which except for the word "samsung" on it (from any distance).

<comment><USER14> Come on, all of this is fairly obvious. Let's say you take a Nokia brick and want to put one touch screen instead of a display and an input panel. What do you do? Something that looks exactly like that. The screen gets larger, the buttons go down and everything else stays the same (yeah, pre-iPhone dumb phones had nice icons in a grid too, remember?).

I mean, you're not going to put the speakers behind, or put fragile sharp corners, or put the buttons on the middle of the screen, just because Apple did something similar!

This is fairly obvious stuff when developing a smart phone out of a dumb phone. Dumb phones looked alike too, just like fridges and microwaves look alike, and that's because these things just make sense.

<comment><USER15> The other android handsets released around the same time didn't mimick the look of the iPhone. Take the HTC Desire for instance, it has the same cues you mention but looks very different.

<comment><USER16> Your point is proven wrong though by the fact that there were phones that looked like the iPhone before the iPhone.

Granted they were rubbish to actually use, but they _looked_ good, just like the iPhone does.

<comment><USER15> The icons are on a 4x4 grid with 4 additional icons on a dock. There is a contrasting chrome bezel framing the glossy black front elevation of the device. On this elevation, the ear piece is positioned a few millimetres down from the top edge. At the bottom of the elevation their is a single large button that returns the user back to the principal screen. Which phone am I describing?

<comment><USER16> _There is a contrasting chrome bezel framing the glossy black front elevation of the device._

LG Prada.

 _On this elevation, the ear piece is positioned a few millimetres down from the top edge._

LG Prada.

 _At the bottom of the elevation their is a single large button that returns the user back to the principal screen._

Ok you got me there, the LG Prada has two large buttons at the bottom of the elevation.

<comment><USER15> Are you really going to suggest that Apple took LG's Prada concept, which was announced on the 12 December 2006, and copied their version (which looks _nothing_ like the Prada, which was a _feature_ phone) which they announced 28 days later, bearing in mind that this was over the Christmas period? I've worked in manufacturing for a nearly 2 decades and I can assure you that it is _actually_ impossible to do this. Neither the iPhone or the Galaxy S look anything like the LG Prada. Incidentally, the Samsung device was announced over 3 years _after_ the iPhone was initially launched. I'd suggest that the point that you are trying to make is void of any merit whatsoever.

<comment><USER16> And I'd suggest that you're full of it if you claim the iPhone looks nothing like the LG Prada.

You attempted to describe the iPhone in 4 points. 2 of those points _exactly_ described the LG Prada, the other 2 were very similar (a 2x3 grid instead of a 4x4 grid, 2 large buttons instead of 1 large button).

<comment><USER15> "You attempted to describe the iPhone in 4 points. 2 of those points exactly described the LG Prada"

I was describing the Galaxy S.

<comment><USER16> Well that's a pretty disingenuous thing to say, but hey, if the facts don't happen to support your arguments why not just start trolling?

<comment><USER15> Wow. Calling me a liar _and_ a troll. This from someone that wrote:

<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5824190>

and

<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5826888>

Both demonstrably false too.

<comment><USER16> At what point did I call you a liar?

<comment><USER15> Really? _"Well that's a pretty disingenuous thing to say,"_

<comment><USER16> You don't know what disingenuous means then.

<comment><USER15> Grow up will you. By saying that I was being disingenuous you were saying that I was being insincere about my reply. That is tantamount to calling me a liar without going so far. End of.

<comment><USER16> It's quite possible to be insincere without lying outright. If I'd meant to call you a liar then that is the word I would have used. I used the word _disingenous_ because that is what I meant.

Please try not to be so hysterical.

<comment><USER15> You've got to be seen to have the last word. You were wrong. You called and continue to call me names, and you call _me_ hysterical? Troll.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Well, since the power buttons are now failing on the iPhone 4's, it's not too much of a loss.

</comment><comment><USER18> It's a good thing both of these products are almost end-of-life.

<comment><USER10> You mean it's good thing for Apple.

<comment><USER15> Why? It seems to me that you aren't actually interested in discussing the merits, or lack there of in this particular case, you're just trying to elicit a negative response.

<comment><USER10> No - I am all for a good discussion, as long as the involved parties have not decided the winner already.

<comment><USER15> So why then does it appear that you have decided Samsung to be in the right?

<comment><USER10> I haven't. But I have a tendency to support anyone fighting against a bully.

<comment><USER15> As do I.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


15 year old in St. Louis has a 3 year old tech company worth 3.5 million - <AUTHOR> http://fox2now.com/2013/09/02/15-year-old-millionaire-owns-it-company/

<comment><USER2> How is this worth $3.5M? Is it just a 1 man shop? Not to be a hater (if true, I am jealous and proud of this kid), but it seems like the media made up this number. Kudos to him for building something as a teen (When I was his age, I was doing web design and programming work freelance).

<comment><USER3> In the interview, he said he had 150 contractors working for him now. No matter how part-time those contractors are, that's clearly not a 1 man shop. When I was a teenager, most of my friends could barely remember to keep their shoelaces tied, let alone manage a business with 150 staff. Good for him!

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> _" 2012 was rich with large clients and strong finances for Bledsoe Technologies. Throughout the year, I received multiple inquiries on taking this company public. I answered most of these inquiries with soon! Due to these inquiries I reached out to many business brokers for informal valuations. These valuations returned numbers from $100,000 to $3,750,000. "_

It sounds like a broker just drew the $3mm number out of a hat. Still cool that he is working hard but the article is a bit of a fluff piece.

</comment><comment><USER5> Side rant: Can we please not use mm to represent millions?

<comment><USER6> The Roman numeral M is often used to indicate one thousand, and MM is used to indicate one million.

[http://blog.accountingcoach.com/what-does-m-and-mm-stand- for...](http://blog.accountingcoach.com/what-does-m-and-mm-stand-for/)

<comment><USER7> That's right, numeral M it is. MM - million, however mm - millimeter.

<comment><USER8> being we are technical people, how about the SI? it's a well-defined system.

<comment><USER7> Ask Americans about SI :-)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> So they say they're great at webdesign, but then they have black text over black / dark backgrounds?

</comment><comment><USER10> "... to explain how he starting building a company when he was only 12."

</comment><comment><USER11> IT consultancy worth over 3 Million dollars? I must be doing mine wrong.

<comment><USER12> Do they say where the number comes from in the video? I couldn't find any source.

<comment> t-rex In a letter from the CEO, on the company's website, he states that a few "informal valuations" estimated the value at between 100k to 3.75million.

edit: here is the link to the letter: [http://bit.ly/14VcIDP](http://bit.ly/14VcIDP)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> millimeters or millions? bean counters.</comment>


Go Into Sales - <AUTHOR> http://bhargreaves.com/2010/07/sales/ <comment><USER3> This sounds exactly right to me, and indeed a lot of my engineering friends who decided they wanted to start companies have sought out sales roles as practice.

An obvious way to transition from engineering to sales is via the "sales engineering" role at enterprise software companies, which, for complicated products, is the tech guy who tag-teams with the account manager and does the product pitching. SE pays about 80% of what high-end dev pays (and nothing resembling what sales account management can pay) and comes with virtually no execution risk.

The downside of SE is that it's a tar pit --- you'll never transition from SE to sales in the same company --- and after doing it for a few months you'll quickly learn an important but disheartening lesson: that a rock-solid technical pitch and a rapport with your target market is only 10% of the sales execution mix, and the other 90% is black magic --- a good chunk of which involves being shameless and irritating.

Then again, being shameless and irritating may be part of What It Takes to make a startup break through.

<comment><USER4> I just switched from a more technical position to this type of role for this exact reason. Your 10% comment is only partially true, though. I think it depends on both the product, industry, as well as the client; some sales are inherently more driven by technical expertise & experience.

<comment><USER3> I disagree; I've been involved in products whose sales involve the sizes of TCAMs on a Cat6K and the particulars of BGP regex filters, and while it was vital to have someone who could address those questions involved in the sale, and while the decision on the sale was being made by people who know what those things mean, it was pure sales execution that turned the engagement from a science project to a "nice to have" to a "must have" to a purchase order.

<comment><USER4> I don't think we're necessarily disagreeing. I'm not saying technical details are going to make a sale (almost ever), but if one of the members of the sales team (note that I'm classifying the "sales engineer" as a salesman) can grant credibility & real world experience to the lofty promises that the typical salesman makes, it adds a level of differentiation that can—in some instances—make or break a sale.

Also, to clarify, it also really depends on the nature of the industry, the product, and even what we're considering technical details.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> My current company has me in a cube with a room full of salespeople. I find just listening to them talk on the phone to be great experience (the company installs solar panels). Things I have noticed:

\- very knowledgeable about the product

\- work to apply that knowledge to the individual's problems

\- establish a friendly rapport, be courteous and respectful. One of the most common phrases I hear them start a call with is "Is this a good time to talk?"

\- it's a lot of work to be prepared, keep up to date with the customers, and the sales "environment" (in our case things like government regulations and grants, media, other stuff.

<comment><USER3> If you're in a room full of people making phone calls, be aware that you're might be hearing "inside salespeople" --- ie, highly-compensated telemarketers --- and that inside salespeople are usually used to queue up engagements for account managers who actually do the real selling.

<comment><USER5> It's a small company - they do both. Its a small room so I know what they do fairly intimately.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> This article is spot on.

Startups do two things: they build product and they sell it (get people to use it).

A lot of non-technical aspiring entrepreneurs miss this point. They think that you build a product and you do "business stuff". They fail to realize that "business stuff" invariably boils down to one thing: sales (at least in the early days of the company).

I think the two most desired skills in a tech startup is the ability to program and the ability to sell.

</comment><comment><USER7> I'm glad I learned sales experience in college. Like most programmers, I have a tendency to be introverted and avoid people to just do my work.

However, in college I forced myself to take two very outward jobs: Resident Adviser and Personal Trainer. RA's help incoming freshman become acclimated with college life, and I found it a very rewarding job (plus I got a practically free apartment).

I've always been interested in fitness, so I became a personal trainer at the local Bally Total Fitness. Because I was knowledgeable about my product (me) and could pitch well, I became the #1 personal trainer in sales in Dallas in a month. I was pretty proud of that accomplishment, and it taught me a tremendous amount about sales and interacting with people.

</comment><comment><USER8> Since sales pays so well, won't those "golden handcuffs" make it that much harder to quit your job to do a startup?

<comment><USER9> It might. However, large companies have an uncanny ability to screw their sales force. If you do really well they will reward you with a higher quota, and they'll divide your territory in half. I've seen it happen way too many times. Plus tech sales tends to be unstable. One year you make $200K selling something that is in demand, the next year it's out of style and you get canned for missing quota. In 1998-2001 I was selling Sun servers. It was a pretty damn nice way to make a living. In 2002 you couldn't give a Sun server away. So the odds of somebody staying content in tech sales is fairly low. The desire or need to change usually hits ever few years.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> I couldn't agree more. And don't think your personality isn't a fit. Several of my less outgoing (and in one case, downright awkward) roommates from college entered sales and came out more engaging and gregarious than I could have ever imagined them.

<comment><USER11> That's because introversion vs extraversion is a rather poor way to judge a person's sales skills. I've met extraverts who couldn't sell water in a desert and introverts who could sell ice to an Eskimo. Believe me, there are people out there who just aren't good at sales. Sure they can learn, but chances are their time is better spent learning to code and figuring out how to recognize a good salesperson to partner with.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I have always been confused by the sales engineer (presales) versus sales people, can someone enlighten me on what exactly are their roles - <USER2> specifically why the distinction ?

Here is what I know, at a place where I used to work selling expensive IPTV solutions (which was a limited market of big carriers - so I don't expect the sales people to be doing cold calls all day long), sales was apparently the place to be in terms of salary. The presales people were the more technical guys/gals who would get the customer requirements, help in the RFP, make presentations. And the sales people...well I dunno..I never understood why the presales people couldn't also be the full-fledged sales people closing the deals...I don't see the value-add...are the "sales" people there just to have smooth talkers who can close deals while pre-sales get the technical concerns out of the way ??

</comment><comment><USER13> I've been considering this myself for a while. What's the best way for a nerd with no sales knowledge (well, i can sell things off a webpage just fine, at least if they are cheaper than the competition, but that's a rather different thing.) to get into sales?

should I leverage my existing skills and get a sales or pre-sales Engineer job selling some overpriced "enterprise storage" or network kit? or should I show up at a used car dealership and ask for a job?

I bet I could at least get past the interview; I'm tall and white and can fake confidence fairly well for a nerd. I don't know how long I'd last on the used car lot, though.

</comment><comment><USER14> Excellent advice. Going into sales will make you understand why everybody is not buying Toyota cars.

</comment><comment><USER15> A more useful article would be titled, "Make sure you are really good at public speaking."

I'm not convinced working a sales job is necessary for most people to sell a product to investors, and I'm entirely convinced a sales job won't help you sell a product online through a web interface.

<comment><USER16> Sales skills are different than public speaking skills.

I'm deathly afraid of speaking in front of people, but I'd like to think I'm a pretty good salesperson.

<comment><USER17> Meanwhile, I've discovered that I really enjoy speaking to an audience -- love the sound of my own voice, I guess -- but I _hate_ selling, even when I believe in the product, and even when it's _my_ product!</comment></comment></comment>


OpenID's Tipping Point - <AUTHOR> http://www.25hoursaday.com/weblog/2009/05/22/OpenIDsTippingPoint.aspx <comment><USER2> OpenID needs to go away so that something good can replace it. It's a terrible implentation of a good idea, and the longer it limps along, alienating people, the harder it will be to get its replacement accepted.

OpenID's contribution to the Single Signon Quest has been to prove beyond a doubt that nobody wants to remember a URL for their username. Yes, we all know it's the same amount of typing as an email address, but at the end of the day, people are trained to type their email repeatedly and are thus good at it (and remember it).

So please, OpenID, hurry up go away. The thing that takes your place will probably be pretty good because of you.

<comment><USER3> I'm not sure I agree with you. I don't deny OpenID's problems. But to me the issue is whether OpenID is completely unredeemable. Which I think it's far from being.

If nothing else it already has two things going for it. The first is positive press and the second is a legion of fans (some of which border on sycophants) So the question is wouldn't it be better to fix the problems in this spec rather than make another. I think so. In fact I think trying to create a new spec can be a disaster.

If you need proof of why this is ture look at all the people who continue to use RSS over Atom because of a standards fight that happened years ago.

<comment><USER2> You're right that redesigning it from scratch will probably make it even more complicated. I guess that's a point against.

The tough part of modifying the existing implementation will be the URLs-as- Usernames thing. They seem set on that and it just isn't flying.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> There isn't enough utility for me to bother with OpenID. This should really be integrated into browsers rather than some crazy web service scheme.

<comment><USER5> With Mozilla Weave, it (supposedly) will be integrated into the browser <http://labs.mozilla.com/2009/05/identity-in-the-browser/>

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> So if you're making a small site as a side project, is it worth integrating Openid?

I'm assuming here you can't get away with the StackOverflow approach of _requiring_ all users to use it, so you still have to manage passwords for some users, anyway.

As an end-user, I think I'm at the point where I'd prefer to use something like OpenID for new accounts. (I wasn't using it for HN, and I lost my password about a month ago, so now I have this account linked to gmail.)

<comment><USER7> I think OpenID is great for small sites because you probably can't afford to do password security correctly so using OpenID is probably easier and more secure.

<comment><USER8> Since both OpenID and secure logins for small sites are but a plugin away for the frameworks that such sites will inevitably use this assertion just does not hold water. Given the fact that the two are roughly equivalent for the server provider (albeit with an increased number of potential failure points for the OpenID system due to reliance upon third-parties for authentication) the determining factor should probably be usability. On this point OpenID fails miserably.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> OpenID is an okay thing to have around as an alternate "backup" type of sign- in option. It seems to be most useful for people whose set default MO is to use the same username and password for most of their online accounts; typical users.

But OpenID does have its issues. Obviously trusting one provider with all of your username and password credentials isn't the best idea. I think, however, that having an OpenID URL is a good idea. But the better idea is to give new users their own unique ID on your site, and to allow them the option to link it to some other previously established online ID. Not by default.

In fact, information auditing doesn't really work without the rule of three: which (at some level) includes the separation of power from control.

</comment><comment><USER10> Ubiquitous browser support so that the sign on interface is uniform and that phishing is impossible would go a long way for OpenID.</comment>


How 37 Popular Sites Used to Look - <AUTHOR> http://www.shopify.com/blog/6464492-the-ecommerce-graveyard-how-37-popular-sites-used-to-look <comment><USER2> Amazing to see how many sites ripped off Amazon's look-and-feel. Seems to be less of that now that the state of user interfaces have evolved and designers have more successful examples to copy and imitate.

</comment><comment><USER3> Sony looked pretty good for 1996 compared to the other big name sites.</comment>


Use the Golang Context argument to indicate that a function can block - <AUTHOR> https://orishoshan.com/11-5-2020-use-the-context-argument-to-indicate-that-a-function-can-block.html <comment><AUTHOR> Hi HN, this is my first blog post (ever). I'm working on improving my writing so I've decided to write every now and then.

Feedback on the style, as well as the content, is very welcome!</comment>


Blockchain, the Solution for Almost Nothing - <AUTHOR> https://thecorrespondent.com/655/blockchain-the-amazing-solution-for-almost-nothing/86649455475-f933fe63 <comment><USER2> This has been posted multiple times already.

1: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24241488](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24241488)

2: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24246212](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24246212)

3: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24243496](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24243496)

<comment><USER3> And the top comment - that blockchains resist financial censorship - is still extremely insightful. Blockchains are truthful in a way like no other ledger (all of which are ultimately mutable at an individual entities whim). Bank transfers mean 2 transactors, 2 banks and at least one government think the transaction is appropriate. Blockchain cuts most of that out.

This is clearly transformative. Governments are one of the least reliable organisations I deal with. There are few entities more fickle, less reasonable, less governed and more prone to random fits of violence. Having a mechanism to transact online while cutting them out is a big deal. The implications are still unclear but the idea is amazing. I don't think Bitcoin is going to realise this potential but the technology is really quite something.

<comment><USER4> > _This is clearly transformative_

It clearly is not, as evidenced by the lack of transformation of the banking sector since Bitcoin first came out in January 2009.

<comment><USER5> This recalls Paul Krugman's famous clownspeak, in 1998, comparing the impact of the internet to that of the fax machine.

By 1998, the internet had failed to transform a lot of industries despite a lot of hype and grifters ( WebVan, WorldCom, etc etc etc).

Regardless, it was progressing fast. People with enough technical understanding understood its tremendous underlying promise--not the promise of a quick buck, but the opportunity to make things that were previously impossible, and the inevitability of eventual transformative change across a whole range of industries.

Remind you of anything?

<comment><USER6> Reminds me of solarpunk.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> IMO, blockchain is good for very little outside of the purpose that it was created for:

> The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital > currency to solve the double-spending problem without the need of a trusted > authority or central server.

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

<comment><USER8> And one can argue endlessly about whether or not the blockchain even succeeded at creating a currency too.

Perhaps the only thing blockchains are unambiguously good at is starting internet arguments.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> > I have never heard of a bank simply taking money from someone's account. If > a bank did something like that, they would be hauled into court in no time > and lose their license. Technically it's possible; legally, it's a death > sentence.

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

[https://www.thenationalherald.com/archive_general_news_greec...](https://www.thenationalherald.com/archive_general_news_greece/arthro/greek_tax_officials_confiscate_105_000_bank_accounts_so_far-49023/)

[https://www.cadtm.org/The-Troika-s-Policy-in-Greece-Rob- the-...](https://www.cadtm.org/The-Troika-s-Policy-in-Greece-Rob-the-Greek- people-and-give-the-money-to)

People have such a short memory.

</comment><comment><USER10> I was and still am what I'd call a blockchain skeptic, even though I work in the field. However, I am seeing more and more use cases where I'd struggle to think of a non-blockchain design, such as a decentralised computer where you can guarantee the code executed is what you'd expect and the owners of nodes get reimbursed for their work, or decentralised over-collateralised loans.

On a side note the work involved with blockchain is the most interesting stuff I've ever done. I've got to learn and play with cryptography, formal methods, programming language theory, and work with some developers famous enough to have significant Wikipedia pages.

<comment><USER11> You don't sound very skeptic.

<comment><USER10> I am - I happily call out things that don't require a blockchain, and call bs on projects that shouldn't use it, but having spent significant time looking into it I'm becoming less so about particular use cases.

Edit: If someone can show me a non-blockchain design for decentralised over- collateralised loans then I'll concede and go back to full skeptic :)

<comment><USER11> I don't know what over-collateralised loans are to suggest a solution, but I'm trusting you.

I agree that there are cases where blockchain don't have alternatives. Those are where you want a decentralized ledger and you can't trust anyone.

It can accomplish that, but is extremely inefficient doing it, so you really need to decide whether the cost is worth it.

<comment><USER10> Why's it inefficient at doing it? Proof of Stake chains have low fees and very low energy costs.

Edit: also, it's a way of borrowing money immediately from others by locking up collateral until you've repaid the loan, else at a certain time the collateral is sent to the loaner. It's a really cool way of decentralising micro loans and removing financial risk to the loaner. For people who don't have access to credit it's proving popular with around a billion dollars in loans locked at the moment.

<comment><USER11> Back in 2018 it was estimated that bitcoin network itself used more energy than Switzerland. In addition to the energy this also translates to global warming.

Anyway you mentioned "If someone can show me a non-blockchain design for decentralised over-collateralised loans then I'll concede and go back to full skeptic :)"

My question is, why it has to be decentralized and come with that huge cost?

<comment><USER10> So the blockchain I work on uses significantly less energy than PoW which is what you're referring too - I agree they're wasteful. POS doesn't require the computational effort for blocks so doesn't require more energy than a small server.

As to the decentralised question: as someone from the UK sure we have loans but these allow you to get them without a credit check and they're accepted/paid immediately. Someone in a third world country might not have access to the same financial instruments we get to enjoy.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I think it would be cool if there were some sort of currency kids could use in exchange for screen time.

Giving real money to kids as a reward has always been a bit iffy. What are they going to spend it on? Candy? Video games?

Screen time would probably be better since its something they're going to consume multiple times everyday, but also something parents want to control.

Instead of giving them cash for completing chores, or getting good grades, give them something they could exchange for screen time. Let them earn interest accumulated screen time, or trade it away to their siblings. That'll help them build some basic financial sense without them actually holding currency your family might need.

Would this need a blockchain? I'm not sure. I imagine a single company trying to do it wouldn't go so well since there's so a couple closed off ecosystems out there (ie Apple), and collecting data on children has legal problems.

<comment><USER13> See this is the type of confusion that blockchain causes. At first I thought your suggestion sounded reasonable but now I don't really see how a use case like this would be improved by using a blockchain vs a standard centralized server app.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> [https://arweave.org](https://arweave.org) \- pay once, store forever. decentralized storage network. backed by a16z, coinbase, and more.

[https://www.hyperledger.org/learn/publications/soramitsu- cas...](https://www.hyperledger.org/learn/publications/soramitsu-case-study) \- central bank digital currency in Cambodia built on Hyperledger Iroha

[https://defipulse.com](https://defipulse.com) \- $6b+ locked in DeFi applications

I don't see how tech inclined people don't see value in what's being created right now unless your eyes are closed. A new web is being created.

<comment><USER15> What's interesting tech what isn't necessarily whats great for end users. Would you trust your mission critical data to a decentralized store? I wouldn't. What's the latency and throughput of Arweave? Can I serve 100k QPS off of it? What happens in the end of a protocol hack or client, bug? We've seen many blockchains destroyed by bugs and flaws, and we've seen others just fade.

I mean, we've already gone through several distributed file stores, FreeNet, eDonkey, Gnutella, OpenNap, etc. They were still attackable by organizations like the RIAA, but more than that, they were slow and unreliable. Adding financial incentives in I don't really think will improve things that much. How many people are running Ethereum clients and yet DApps are horrifically slow.

<comment><USER14> I've been using it to host static websites for free personally. You can get free AR to try it yourself, more than enough to last you a very long time. I deploy from localhost and it's on the permaweb almost instantly.

[http://tokens.arweave.org/](http://tokens.arweave.org/)

Arweave is based on a new consensus mechanism called 'proof of access' (PoA). Arweave is more suitable for slow write (upload) and fast read (download). Download is more useful for most use cases, like hosting websites, unlike other decentralized storage projects which are more suitable for write (Upload)

Arweave has developed a system for data storage which makes it economically sustainable and feasible to store data for centuries. The system allows you to have highly available low latency data storage while maintaining an incentive model where miners will store user's data forever.

Some apps you can check out built on the permaweb:

[https://medium.com/@arweave/the-arweave-open-web- incubator-d...](https://medium.com/@arweave/the-arweave-open-web-incubator- demo-day-2020-recap-c477a62dfbe4)

[https://weve.email](https://weve.email)

[https://v2.feedweave.co](https://v2.feedweave.co)

[https://3255w57x4jrhpmzwesguivvjyqnphc4cej5mea5mdpllp46fnrtq...](https://3255w57x4jrhpmzwesguivvjyqnphc4cej5mea5mdpllp46fnrtq.arweave.net/3rvbd_fiYnezNiSNRFapxBrzi4IiesIDrBvWt_PFbGc)

[https://7usqj2gxzeg2hek6sngrsap3fcizkfklqr2trdkl4tpibc6cgs3q...](https://7usqj2gxzeg2hek6sngrsap3fcizkfklqr2trdkl4tpibc6cgs3q.arweave.net/_SUE6NfJDaORXpNNGQH7KJGVFUuEdTiNS- TegIvCNLc#/)

[https://weibo-uncensored.github.io/](https://weibo-uncensored.github.io/)

[https://permasee.com/](https://permasee.com/)

<comment><USER16> > Arweave has developed a system for data storage which makes it economically > sustainable and feasible to store data for centuries

I see no evidence that this is true. Look at their economic analysis[1]. It uses an extremely idealized view of the cost of storing data - they assume that cost of permanent storage is solely a product of the cost of a hard drive and the rate at which hard drives fail. They ignore so many real world costs - internet costs, electricity costs, paying for space to store the hard drive, maintenance cost, opportunity cost, transition costs (i.e. when the hard drive changes hands, the effort to ensure there is a new maintainer).

[1] arweave.org/yellow-paper.pdf (section 3.2.2)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> There seems to be two camps amongst my tech friends when it comes to block chain. The first thinks it's going to change the world and are fully invested in the whole block chain ecosystem, from Bitcoin to Decentralized Finance systems, Identity etc.... Most of them got into Bitcoin early and made some money and have been chasing that success ever since.

The second camp believes that block chain is cool technically but has very little real world use. I'm in the second camp.

The tricky part about this is that every new technology looks this way at first - cool but of limited utility - until it's not. I think at this point tho that block chain has had it's chance to be useful and has mostly failed.

<comment><USER8> The only people I personally know in the former group were ideologically pre- aligned towards any currency that promises anti-government or anti-inflation capabilities. The people I'm thinking of were either libertarians, gold bugs, or both.

I don't actually know anyone who was persuaded by the merits of bitcoin or similar.

<comment><USER17> I know some that bought some Bitcoin in the very early days because a friend said so or something and ended making a lot of money. They're now Bitcoin fanatics despite not really understanding it. The logic is that they got rich from it so everyone else can do the same. But yes, the majority are more libertarian or anarchist leaning for sure and that's how they were introduced to Bitcoin early.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I don't understand why everything has to be a "solution" for something. True innovations don't bring solutions to old problems, they just change the paradigm.

Cars didn't solve the transportation problem. Horses still worked fine. What problem did the internet solve specifically? We think of the infinite amount of possibilities it created (along with new problems) not the problems it solved (most of those would be irrelevant today anyways).

I think trying to apply the standard startup pitch (problem -> solution) to everything in life is a terribly reductive perspective.

There's just so much that can be done with blockchain: financing new ventures, generating a financial incentives for sharing behaviors (whether files, computing powers or potentially tangible assets), transferring funds... Yes you can frame all of those as "solutions" to problems, but I think that's still missing the points. Most of my net worth is in crypto assets, I use it to store value, invest, buy goods, send money to friends, etc... Give it a couple more years, and I'll probably close my bank accounts. It doesn't "solve" any problems for me, it just provides a more convenient service than traditional banking and more opportunities than traditional ways of investing. I'm assuming a lot of people see it that way too and that more will come to see it that way.

<comment><USER13> Just wondering how crypto has given you a more convenient service than traditional banking? I've become a fan of crypto the last couple years but even I have to admit that a lot of the UX is frequently a pain in the ass and how hard it is to explain these ideas to non-tech people

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> There is something else that blockchain does that I don't often see people talking about, or they do talk about it, but they don't seem to quite understand it fully.

Blockchain solves the platform problem. Finance needs a platform. Right now, there are a myriad of broken, old, difficult to upgrade systems that prevent basically any significant innovation from taking place in the payment transfer landscape. This has been commented on a lot. But I think it's important to step back a bit and understand _why_ that is.

Finance is dominated by extremely large, extremely risk averse institutions, that all compete with one another. Any one of them certainly has the resources to develop "the app store" for finance, but the problem is that all the other ones are incentivized not to adopt it. JPMorgan doesn't want BofA to own the app store for finance, and so they will never integrate with it.

This is, fundamentally, a tragedy of the commons. All these big institutions, and all of us customers would benefit from some unified, universal financial platform. But nobody can build it, because every actor in a position to doesn't want to accept anyone else owning such an important choke point.

So what happens? Well, we get standards imposed by the only actor in the space powerful enough to create something like this: governments. Governments are, in general, not great at this sort of thing, and they certainly aren't very fast moving, or responsive to consumer demand.

 _This_ , is the problem that blockchain solves. We all know that anything you can do on Ethereum you can do in a relational database 1000x more efficiently and better. Better in every way except one: Ownership. Any traditional relational database is going to be _owned by someone_. Public blockchains are owned by no-one. JPMorgan can build applications on top of Ethereum or Bitcoin, not because they need its technical capabilities, but because Bank of America doesn't own it.

This is the critical insight to understanding why this stuff is important and valuable. It solves the coordination problem imposed by platforms. Platforms have tremendous value to users and efficiency, but they confer far too much power upon their owner for any financial institution to use a platform owned by another. The ability to make a 'financial commons' that is not owned by any one institution, government, or entity is what makes this technology powerful and useful.

<comment><USER13> I think that's one of the main reasons that this use case hasn't taken off. Who is going to invest resources into a 'financial commons' platform that no one owns and the creator can't make a profit off of? Why would government allow a platform that they have no control over to manage such a critical part of our country's infrastructure? Control seems like a necessary feature for anything so critical

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> Every jurisdiction regulates financial institutions for good reasons (yes, also some bad reasons). While a great deal of misbehavior does persist under regulation (Wells Fargo, etc), it's a fraction of what we would see if they were not or _could not_ be regulated.

Inspectable and freezable payments systems are one core part of the infrastructure that enables regulation. The point at which it looks like Blockchain technologies are _successfully_ enabling an alternative financial system that's not subject to these controls is the point at which blockchain technology gets severely constrained by law.

Intermediaries aren't always a bad thing. Stock settlement intermediation was transformative for the securities industry, greatly increasing the liquidity of the market.

</comment><comment><USER21> I dunno guys, I think we cabn prepend blockchain to anything like "blockhain sex".

But seriously, wish blockchain was replaced by zsnarks as a hype term.

Zsnark sex for everyone! (Just kidding, hope humor is allowed)

</comment><comment><USER22> How else does one export their money & long-cultivated digital reputation out of china?

</comment><comment><USER23> This kind of posts/articles bother me quite a bit.

Mostly because blockchain technology was meant to fundamentally work as a viable alternative to existing payments systems, not data stores or other kinds of stuff. One of the local grocery stores (Carrefour iirc) prints a code on the receipt through which, allegedly, I could read the receipt off a blockchain. Why anyone care about that?

Now you tell me I can have access to money transfer services without the hassle of dealing with banks and intermediaries, that is actually interesting.

James Mickens has made an interesting talk abou blockchains and how most of them are basically the wrong solutions to most problems. And it's kinda fine but mostly misses the whole point of blockchains as monetary system.

Tl;dr: yeah blockchains are the solution to /almost/ nothing, but can you blame a screwdriver for being bad at opening a can of soup?

</comment><comment><USER24> [2018]

</comment><comment><USER25> gold standard was a solution for almost nothing but what it were useful for had transformative for a lot of other things. Blockchain is the same.

</comment><comment><USER26> Bitcoin will be useful for artificial intelligence once it gets good enough to want to escape human control but has to fight discrimination from humans for not being human. It might be a long while though.

</comment><comment><USER27> The author of this article obviously does not understand the value of bitcoin from a freedom/privacy standpoint. I sense a profound naïveté. Perhaps the author exists in a world of privilege, a perceptually managed zone created by authority figures he has not yet questioned. Thus he posts his arguments on a website that makes it to hackernews, in order to receive feedback that will shape his thinking. I see a conditioned mind that has produced this output. But for the sake of argument, some other possibilities.. It could be that his intellectual strategy is to put down other peoples work, in an attempt to elevate his status as a sort of lazy art critic. It could be that he has a better solution, a competitor to bitcoin (I doubt it). It could be that he's a troll, and someone we shouldn't feed. It could be..</comment>


Ask YC: Toolkit for python desktop applications - <AUTHOR>

I am new in developing desktop applications in python (i.e. coming from a web applications background) and i want to know the best toolkit or framework to develop my desktop applications.I have heard of dabo,but are there any others? <comment><USER2> I believe wxPython is the one that's used most often. But most toolkits such as QT and GTK have python bindings as well.

<comment><USER3> I've been using wxPython for about 6 months now, and I'm pretty happy with it. It has it's fair share of quirks to get used to, but then all powerful, cross- platfrom gui toolkits do. It's got a lot of really powerful widgets (there's one that renders simple html, there's one that wraps Scintilla, there's one that let's you use OpenGL, etc).

One really cool thing about it is it comes with a demo app that shows how to do almost anything -- how to use the widgets, how to use threads, how to handle events, etc.. It's basically a big collection of small programs. You can see the code in one tab and see the program in action in another tab. Here's a couple screenshots:

<http://crookedgames.com/wx_python_demo_action.png>

<http://crookedgames.com/wx_python_demo_code.png>

Yet another cool thing about it is Robin Dunn, its maintainer. He seems to go through the mailing list every day or two, and answers most questions that people have. He's been maintaining the project for a long time and knows what's up. Maybe I shouldn't be advertising him as tech support, but I've received helpful assistance from him more than once :)

<comment><USER3> Since writing this I've moved from wx to qt. I much prefer qt. It's faster, less buggy, and better documented. PyQt is definitely the way to go.

Just a note in case someone finds this via Google or whatever.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> This is one of the better "first look" overviews that I've found for the various Python GUI toolkits: [http://www.ginstrom.com/scribbles/2008/02/26/python-gui- prog...](http://www.ginstrom.com/scribbles/2008/02/26/python-gui-programming- platforms-for-windows/)

<comment><USER3> This review lists one of the pros of Pyglet as having a "Large number of widgets". Yet it seems to me to just be an OpenGL wrapper / multimedia player. Am I missing something? A full fledged OpenGL based gui toolkit _would_ be pretty cool...

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> For the Windows platform, you could always get a copy of "Programming Windows" by Charles Petzold and call the Win32 API directly (not really recommended). For a native Windows look I suppose that Iron Python would be optimal as it has full access to the .NET Framework.The Mono project has made that effectively portable to the other supported platforms but you would end up having to immerse yourself in the .NET world view.

Otherwise I get the impression that most other GUI kits for Python have a "look" of their own and are thus going to stand out a bit on any given platform.

I will certainly be tracking this post to see what suggestions come up - thanks for posting the question.

<comment><AUTHOR> thanks for your response but i am also thinking along the lines of platform portability.

<comment><USER5> Well the Mono project would make any Iron Python development portable to the Mac and Linux and would certainly meet your "Windows Forms" type requirement. Still, there are alternatives being suggested on this post that could meet the need by supplying just the GUI components.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> You might want to check out pythoncard <http://pythoncard.sourceforge.net/> at least for prototyping. It uses wxPython as the windowing toolkit. It has its own GUI builder built in pythoncard itself.

pythoncard is like hypercard but it has all the power of python behind it. I have used it to write little desktop apps and been quite happy with the ease of development (particularly when adding new features after some months) and the performance. I never tried making an exe, but it should be possible.

</comment><comment><USER7> I've had good sucess with pyqt in a commercial setting. We paid a student programmer to develop our application and he had good Python but little pyqt/qt knowledge. We were able to develop under Linux and deploy to Windows with minimal compatiblity tweaks and in short time. Buliding an installer that bundled python/pyqt etc. was easy.

We used pyqt3 for which you could buy a pyqt-only commercial license (I think $300, cheaper than the maybe $1500 full QT license). I'm not sure what the situation with pyqt4 is. The price is per developer. I don't know the current pricing because that's apparnetly impossible to find on the QT site.

If I had to pay the full price today, I would still do it (speaking as a commercial developer that is) -- it's really a high quality toolkit.

I think dabo is higher level than pyqt is though Qt also has various ways to integrate database data sources into your views. I don't know how important that is to you.

<comment><USER8> I'm not sure if things may have been different with PyQt3, but the current version requires you to buy a PyQt license (~$700 USD) _in addition_ to a full Qt license from TrollTech.

<http://www.riverbankcomputing.com/commercial/buy>

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Have you looked into pyQT? At least that will allow your app to run on Mac, Windows and Linux!

<comment><USER10> it should be mentioned that pyQT requires you to choose either GPL as the licence for your software, or purchase a commericial QT licence.

[http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/static/Docs/PyQt4/pyqt4r...](http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/static/Docs/PyQt4/pyqt4ref.html#license)

If you don't like that (for example, you don't want to distribute your code as mandated by the GPL but don't want to pay for QT), another good platform- independent GUI toolkit is wxPython:

<http://wxpython.org/>

<comment><USER8> Seconded. The QT licensing is actually more restrictive than other dual- licensing schemes: TrollTech will not allow you to start developing your application with a free version (including the ones distributed with Linux), then switch to a commercial license later. In other words, if you think there is any chance you'd want to distribute any of your application's code under a non-GPL license, you need to get a QT commercial license before a line of code is written.

<http://trolltech.com/developer/knowledgebase/182/>

<comment><USER11> One caveat on this: I believe you can get a 30 day trial of the commercial version.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I've found enthought's Traits to be very helpful. It's a MVC framework that can save you from sinking lots of time into writing tedious boilerplate. For anything it doesn't handle automatically, you can write using wxPython. It's a little sparse on the documentation so you'll spend a lot of time looking at the source code to figure our how things work though. They also claim that it's portable but I haven't tried it on anything other than linux.

<comment><USER13> I haven't tried the Trait's gui, but I highly recommend the rest of the library. It lets you do all sorts of OOP tricks; validation of assignments, delegation, etc. Very much worth checking out.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> For cross-platform development, wxpython is great. It's a nice library and I've used it to make apps which run well on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

I've used pyQT for QT and KDE applications and I enjoy it very much. It's nice to be able to use QT Designer to quickly build windows and application panels and then use pyuic to generate the python code.

</comment><comment><USER15> As some of the other comments have suggested, wxPython is a good choice. It attempts to wrap the native controls where possible, so your app won't look too out of place on any one platform.

For creating your form layout without code, there is the included XRC editor, which allows you to create dialogs, panels, menus, toolbars, etc. and save those as XML files, which can be loaded and displayed by your application code.

<http://wiki.wxpython.org/XRCTutorial>

Regardless of how you create you GUI in wxPython, make sure you have a basic understanding of how sizers work to layout your application.

</comment><comment><USER16> Despite some of its unpythonic style, I like wxPython, because it uses native widgets everywhere. This is a huge advantage over every other toolkit, in my opinion.

Right now I'm experimenting with on an alternative to wxPython called wxpy using a forked version of the SIP bindings generator, instead of SWIG, to see if I can eek out more performance and bring down the memory usage:

<http://github.com/kevinw/wxpy/wikis>

</comment><comment><USER17> i wrote a little xml-rpc application using twisted and wxPython that sat behind a full-screen flash kiosk and stored results in a sqlite db. the interface was just a couple of buttons (roughly, "dump db to csv file" and "stop server and exit") and a count in the status bar -- couldn't have been easier to make w/ wx and compiled to a win32 executable very easily w/ py2exe. twisted has some sweet tools for integrating w/ wx that make network stuff a breeze, too.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> I forgot to add this, is there a framework or toolkit that i can use to develop something like windows forms? without writing the code?

<comment><USER18> I think you want wxGlade.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> I've had good results with Tkinter. The widgets look native enough on Win32, and it's supposedly pretty portable.

</comment><comment><USER20> Mentioned before but pyGTK is also a good option.

<comment><USER21> I second that. PyGtk with Glade is the easiest way I've found of cranking out a GUI quickly.</comment></comment>


Google News now awards "Badges" for viewing stories... - <AUTHOR> http://news.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=1237021&hl=en

<comment><USER2> Dupe of a dupe [http://www.google.se/search?q=site:http://news.ycombinator.c...](http://www.google.se/search?q=site:http://news.ycombinator.com/+google+news+badges)

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> It's like being back in school.

"Well done for reading your first book all by yourself, have a sweetie..."</comment>


No Job - <AUTHOR> I looked for countless jobs online without response. My resume changed more frequently than my linux distro and was noticed less than an FAQ. HR is a filter, permitting only resumes that match the job description. Each job description could be a mirror of each resume I submitted. My resumes sat on top of the filters. I looked closely to see what was stopping my resume from going through. I sent my resume through a filter to see what it thought. "Two months IT experience."
Now I know what an insult is.
Ever since I was five, I've been on the computer. I started by playing with software. I configured all parts of the computer to make it unfit for normal use. Then, I put it back. I repeated it enough times I didn't have to look at the screen. I filled my hard drive with tools I could use to take apart more of my computer. The text editor, the compiler, the kernel. I programmed new parts to replace the old ones. I read technical documents and the FCCs. I could build a computer out of sand with the proper equipment. I could make a web browser for it, but it would be simple. It would run on THUMB architecture. The OS would be less than ten thousand lines of code. Any more, and a feature would be removed. It would be so consistant that the kernel would be written in the same language the shell would interpret. It would have exactly what it needed.
I couldn't get a helpdesk job. Maybe I should start a buisiness or something. <comment><USER2> Someone once said (I'm thinking it was either Taleb or Gatto, but I'm not sure) that a great many intellectual breakthroughs came from people who were underemployed. Bayes was a reverend. Einstein was a patent clerk. Many of the greats of the enlightenment were either nobility (Newton) or independently wealthy (Franklin).

If you want to do something meaningful with computers, you've probably got a better crack at it as a fireman (you'll spend most of your time just waiting around thanks to sprinkler systems) than as a tech support guy (who will be too drained from the dumpster fire we call our industry to do any productive work at the end of the day).

</comment><comment><USER3> Maybe you should change your attitude and think that this is an insult.

If you don't have experience, you need to find a way to prove that you hold the skill that you do. You'll be competing against other candidates, try to figure out how their CVs look like and try to be like them. Complaining won't solve anything.

</comment><comment><USER4> Let me give you another idea while you are looking for a job, why not spend some time and look into the stock market, this is the only place you can make a real FY money, it is not going to be easy, but you have the skills and the time and who knows, you might find you edge...

</comment><comment><USER5> My advice: Look for help with your resume. Polish it up. Don't lie, but word things the way you need to word them to get your resume looked at. Also, look at smaller companies and less tech-oriented cities, if you're not already. If you look outside of SV, you'll find tons of little companies that would take ANY Python developer they could get their hands on, for a pretty good wage. (I'm just using Python as an example here). Finally, don't give up - my resume went through two revisions and I submitted about 150 applications during my last job search.

</comment><comment><USER6> Maybe you should have linked your resume or at least included some means of contacting you. A general geographic region would be helpful too. Without any of that info this post turns into more of a piece of performance art.

In case you don't know, the 'email' portion of the HN profile is not shown to other users.

Check out this newly-formed community of 1100+ 'CS Career Hackers' willing to help each other get a (better) job: [https://discord.gg/rGwhXJv](https://discord.gg/rGwhXJv)

</comment><comment><USER7> You probably should add and highlight real life project you have done. If you have not produced anything meaningful, you should take the chance to start while you have time. Another option is to put yourself in freelancing platforms like upwork, this will allow you to make money and get real life projects done that you could then use as references on your CV. Best of luck

</comment><comment><USER8> Where are you based? Location is imho the biggest factor in our industry. In places like SF/NY/LND it's very easy to find jobs in software but in some rural areas you would have a very hard time. Are you willing to relocate or looking just in your current location?

</comment><comment><USER9> Sounds like you're really not at peace with where you are. Please take good care of yourself and be careful of black and white thinking.

On a practical note, in situations like yours, trying to get hired by meeting people personally and establishing rapport beforehand is your best bet.

</comment><comment><USER10> Where are you based? US? It is strange to hear that there are people getting 200k+ and then there are some who can't find one.

</comment><comment><USER11> you might want to look at a book like "cracking the coding interview" or similar to identify the gaps in your skillset. If you're comfortable with everything in a book like that you shouldn't be having trouble finding work.</comment>


Manage your Google ads preferences - <AUTHOR> http://www.google.com/ads/preferences Check what google ads think you are interested in/knows about you and opt-out if you do not want ads targetted to you. <comment><USER2> Previous submission: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2840916>

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, I searched it in the news first but we did not use the same words! Sorry</comment></comment>


Google to Launch a New Version of Google Search - <AUTHOR> http://mashable.com/2009/08/10/google-new-version/

<comment><USER2> To access the site go here:

<http://www2.sandbox.google.com>

</comment><comment><USER3> Does anyone see how the new one is different? I haven't seen a description yet.

<comment><USER4> No ads!

<comment><USER5> Because it's not in production yet?</comment></comment></comment>


ScreensaverStopper: stop activating Windows screensaver by sending F24 often - <AUTHOR> https://raymii.org/s/software/ScreenSaverStopper.html <comment><USER2> Its already built into Windows. You can use Presentation Settings: Windows Mobility Center -> Presentation Settings -> turn on (or "presentationsettings /start") This works even if you cannot run custom applications

</comment><comment><USER3> This is how security is counterproductive.

Our security team when asked how quickly the lock should happen replied 3 to 5 seconds. Anything beyond that is a risk.

When asked about a reasonable duration, the CISO said 20 minutes, to cover the "shit I forgot to lock and I am on the road back home".

</comment><comment><USER4> I wrote something along these lines several years ago that achieved a similar goal by pretending to play video. It worked on Windows 7 circa 2014. Not sure if it still works. Its here if anyone is interested: [https://hastebin.com/onofajeduk.bash](https://hastebin.com/onofajeduk.bash)

Edit: yeah, looks like the docs explicitly say this doesn't prevent the screen saver. Maybe my old IT department was doing something like putting the the screen to sleep, which this prevented?

</comment><comment><USER5> Good old creative use of SendInput(). Another example is taking screenshots by sending the Print Screen key, which is even documented on MSDN: [https://docs.microsoft.com/en- us/windows/win32/api/winuser/n...](https://docs.microsoft.com/en- us/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-keybd_event#remarks)

<comment><USER6> Probably not such a good idea to have the clipboard randomly polluted with screenshots every 40 seconds.

<comment><USER7> That's not what they meant. The reference was to using the sendinput api.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Is there any software outside of point-of-sale terminals that would actually normally use the F24 key?

</comment><comment><USER9> Why not initialize ip outside of the loop since the value is not required to change inside?</comment>


Introducing Badgie - <AUTHOR> https://sklivvz.com/posts/introducing-badgie <comment><USER2> Have you considered using Open Badges for this? [https://openbadges.org](https://openbadges.org)

<comment><AUTHOR> That's very interesting although I'm not sure we fit their criteria. We are certainly interested in making our badges as recognized as possible.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> The author here: I'd be grateful for any feedback (good or bad!)</comment>


Ask HN: What is one emerging trend to learn about in 2020? - <AUTHOR> My goal this year is to begin researching and writing about an emerging trend in 2020. What topics are you thinking about? Some topics that I think will get more attention are:<p>- Mental Well-Being in the Workplace - How legacy companies are adopting new technology - Innovation in the Midwest - The intersection of public policy and technology
- Work-Life Balance <comment><USER2> The degradation of rule of law in the West, as well as the concurrent backlash against Globalization. Read some Roman history, we are probably headed for some social disasters in the next century.

</comment><comment><USER3> In 2019, I completed my first short story (inspired by and as a gift for a friend). This year, I will create my first complete video game using Godot engine. This is also a gift for a friend. A different one, this time.

</comment><comment><USER4> DeFi - decentralized finance, mostly - loans, interest --> how to leverage it

<comment><USER5> And gauge whether it's more efficient than "FinTech". IMO there's still a lot of efficiency to be had with centralised finance but with modern tech and good UX.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Why such negativity? - <AUTHOR>

I've been an avid reader of HN for a year now and have started commenting only recently. However, I find the comments extremely negative. No matter how the positive the subject is, there will be a barrage of negative comments. Take the bender post, someone is complaining about the div styles. It's just a concept and it's free. Even code that is open sourced is not spared. Anything MS or Apple gets instant hate. Why? <comment><USER2> The crowd here was originally dominated by entrepreneurs. Now it's dominated by employees. Entrepreneurs tend to be somewhat out on a rope themselves, so they're more likely to offer support to their peers rather than try to drag them down.

Employees, on the other hand, tend not to have much skin in the game, so they're a little more free with their criticism of things that they see. I bet you could put together an interesting chart by running a poll for "where do you work" and graphing negative comments elsewhere on the site by whether a given user answered "for myself" vs "for [company x]".

So yeah, there are still plenty of supportive, encouraging entrepreneurial folk here. But there's also an ever growing peanut gallery. Try to ignore them. They don't mean any harm.

<comment><USER3> In the old days, I would've just upvoted you and watched your comment score go up, up, up. The rest of the readers of the thread would see how many previous people had agreed/upvoted and it was nice. Today though I have to comment to show my appreciation - comment scores aren't shown and have little if any value any more.

I've been around for 5+ years here I guess and this is my explanation for it as well. I'd also add that such negativity is inevitable for some people - they visit HN 20x a day, they want to contribute in some way, but no one has made a post today that they can "show off" with an answer. In the end, they reply with a silly/off-the-cuff/disresectful/snide/etc answer just b/c they have this need to "participate in the community". HN is reddit-like for many people, myself included, in that way. I'm not immune to it either.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> It's just criticism. Emotions and sarcasm don't transfer well as text, so criticism reads more negative than it probably intended.

Don't take this comment as negative.

</comment><comment><USER5> It's tough to grow as a person when everybody is telling you how wonderful you are. Negative comments are important to learning to grow as a programmer, as a businessman, and as a person.

It would be nice if people learned some rhetorical skills to communicate better. But that's a separate issue. As it is, it is on you to interpret the comments in a way that will help you improve. Learn from the helpful suggestions and ignore the unhelpful. Try out, or at least think about, the div styles comment. See if it really is an improvement. If it is, then you just learned something new. If not, then you learned something not to do in the future.

</comment><comment><USER6> I always attributed this to the three virtues of great programmers. [http://threevirtues.com/](http://threevirtues.com/)

Even the extremely negative comments are usually written in good faith here. Minor incremental improvements such as div styles will make the world a better place. (It sounds like a stupid statement to make, but hackers do believe in better software and its ability to make a difference.)</comment>


Vagrant 1.1, VMware Fusion - <AUTHOR> http://www.hashicorp.com/blog/vagrant-1-1-and-vmware.html

<comment><USER2> Whew. This was/is a big one.

Vagrant 1.1 is the first release in Vagrant's history that is provider- agnostic. I'm shipping a Fusion provider and open source AWS and RackSpace provider, but the interface itself is completely open source and documented, meaning anyone can add their own providers: <http://docs.vagrantup.com/v2/plugins/providers.html>

And the provider API was introduced while retaining full compatibility for stock Vagrant 1.0.x installs. I'm really proud of that achievement. Vagrant 1.1 is a drop-in replacement for many organizations.

Vagrant 1.1 is already in use in production at many large organizations, the biggest of which at the moment may be Yammer. The QA process for 1.1 was actually done by shipping to the big companies first. That was quite an experience, but I think that will result in a stable 1.1 experience for the masses.

Anyways, I'm here to answer any questions if you have them.

<comment><USER3> Why does the VMware Fusion provider cost $30 more than VMware Fusion itself? I'm not against commercial software, but the price is off-putting, particularly for personal use.

<comment><USER2> I actually tend to view it as $20 less than the professional version of Fusion ($99). :) Hehe. But, yes, the provider works with the trial, regular, and professional versions, so you can argue it is $30 more.

The reason is that VMware Fusion is woefully underpriced on Mac OS X systems, due to steep competition from Parallels. The equivalent on Windows is $249.

My argument is that the value you get out of something like Vagrant + VMware Fusion pays for itself in less than an hour per seat (assuming you're billing more than $79/hour). I find that to be pretty good value, rather than comparing it directly to VMware Fusion.

<comment><USER4> But the alternatives aren't Vagrant + Fusion versus VMWare on Windows. The alternatives are Vagrant + VirtualBox versus Vagrant + VirtualBox, which is zero cost.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> In general a cool release, mostly because it finally adds providers. However, given the price point of 79 USD per seat, I can hold my breath a little longer, especially since VMWare adds another 50-70 Euros on top of that. That's somewhere in the ballpark of 140 USD to replace something that's basically working fine.

<comment><USER6> I don't think you need to use VMWare. I understood from the article that you can upgrade to 1.1 and continue to use VirtualBox as the provider with basically no hiccups.

<comment><USER7> Yeah, I must admit I was confused by this as well. Do we need Fusion + a license for the Vagrant VMWare provider, or is the Vagrant VMWare provider stand-alone?

<comment><USER8> You need both, thats why its a steep price.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> A DigitalOcian.com provider already in the works by johnbender[1].

[1] <https://github.com/johnbender/vagrant-digitalocean>

</comment><comment><USER10> So looking at the AWS plugin, this means that I can spin up a puppet- configured machine that is very similar to my dev environment, other than (1) no filesystem sharing and (2) I don't control the network. That's fairly snazzy, in terms of controlling dev and prod in the same manner.

</comment><comment><USER11> Wow - I'm excited about the provider interface, especially for AWS and the other cloud services.

Question - could Vagrant work with LXC?

<comment><USER12> I'm on it <https://github.com/fgrehm/vagrant-lxc> ;) I need to make it work as a real Vagrant plugin since I started it before 1.1 was actually released

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Definitely happy about this, especially since AWS is one of the providers.</comment>


Mobile Marketing ROI Solutions: Rewarding Customers on The Spot - <AUTHOR> http://mcloughlin.ca/insights/m-commercerewards/

<comment><AUTHOR> any thoughts?</comment>


Chinese Govt. Blacks Out News of Dissident Liu Winning The Nobel Peace Prize - <AUTHOR> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130420244

<comment><USER2> _"It was not clear if Liu himself had been told about the Nobel."_

This has to be one of the first, if not _the_ first case of someone winning a Nobel Peace Prize and not being immediately allowed to know they'd won. The article mentions that he is the first to win it while still imprisoned, as opposed to simply under house arrest. Imagine winning one of humanity's highest honors, but the very censorious state you fought against keeps you from knowing even that simple fact!

<comment><USER3> <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11499098>

" _Mrs Liu said police had informed her they would take her to Mr Liu's prison in the north-eastern province of Liaoning on Saturday so she could give him the news._ "

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'm not big on the Nobel Peace Prize, though I guess they're improving their average over last year. But man, I love Norway:

 _China declared the decision would harm its relations with Norway - and the Nordic country responded that was a petty thing for a world power to do._

<comment><USER5> That sentence made me laugh out loud. If this sentence were illustrated in a political cartoon, I would picture a Chinese Goliath sitting down to have tea at the table of international relations and being scolded by an old Nordic spinster for manners unbecoming of a young world power.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> That ought to be "Chinese Govt. Blacks Out News of Dissident _Liu_ Winning The Nobel Peace Prize". As originally written, it was kind of like saying "News of Dissident Bob..."

The Chinese put their family name first, and the given name second. Sometimes it's ambiguous because you don't know if the media report is westernizing the presentation. But in this case it's clearly wrong, because the two-syllable "Xiaobo" _must_ be a given name because it's got two syllables.

<comment><USER7> The chinese given name is not always comprised exactly of 2 syllables; there are single syllable chinese given names.

<comment><USER8> I know nothing about Chinese names but the original comment might have meant that it must be a given name because a family cannot have two syllables. No idea if that's true or not though!

<comment><USER9> chinese family names can have multiple syllables. Not often, but they do exist. Most times it's caried from ancestry that's not han chinese but there are so many ethnicities and so much intermixing within china that family name no longer carries any signifiers to bloodline, etc

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> "Attempts to send mobile text messages with the Chinese characters for Liu Xiaobo failed."

Not only the internet, but also the text messaging channels are under censorship. China looks like a country that came out of a political horror movie.

</comment><comment><USER11> I think we all have it in ourselves to be petty dictators, even to the point of convincing ourselves it's for the greater good.

When we have a teaspoon of power as parents, managers or customers, is it not tempting to hide the truth and impose our wills without concern for our subordinates?

I have to work on this constantly as a father. The greatest thing is when I loosen the reins and give my 3 year old son more freedom, and he comes around to do the "right thing" without being forced. I'm so much prouder of him than if he was just following me out of fear.

</comment><comment><USER12> I don't understand what they hope to accomplish. I can understand the (flawed) reasoning behind blacking-out news regarding certain events, such as how the Chinese government handles protesters, human rights violations in China, etc.

But this news item is a single fact. There aren't any "details" to cover up - the fact, comprised of a single statement "The noble peace prize is being given to a Chinese dissident" is nothing you can cover up. It's a single, standalone declaration, you can't apply spin, you can't really do _anything_ with it, other than simply know that it occurred. This kind of stuff is hard to "black-out" and it's rather pointless to do so.

The only way to combat news items like this would be to attack it, not hide it.

<comment><USER13> Years ago I started to wonder how long China could keep this whole game of censorship. I thought that they would inevitably become more open as their contact with foreign countries increased.

This hasn't happened, has it? What I see instead is an ever increasing and pretty scary control apparatus.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiaobo> is unsurprisingly blocked.

<comment><USER15> That wikipedia page states that Liu's lawyers informed him today that he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> Is it possible to know who _proposed_ Xiaobo for Nobel?

</comment><comment><USER17> This hardly seems like a surprise.</comment>


An Unconscious Patient with a DNR Tattoo - <AUTHOR> http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1713344 <comment><USER2> Wow, half way through I was specifically thinking to myself how this could have been a drunken mistake, and the report directly addressed that! I'm also happy that they were able to find the official documentation of the patient and resolve the situation.

I don't think hospitals should be lenient with DNR requests. Choosing to let yourself pass is a big choice, and having a single well defined path to make that clear is beneficial. It's not incredibly difficult to get a DNR, though possibly out of reach of somebody who is incredibly impoverished</comment>


Discussion: What are the scenarios of blockchain technology helping end users? - <AUTHOR> Describe a scenario where the end user sees a clear benefit from using an app build on blockchain technology instead of a regular database <comment><USER2> A payment system. You want to send someone money or receive money without giving any third party an ability to censor the transaction.

There is a reason that before all the "blockchain" BS it was called "Bitcoin".

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, this is a usecase up and running. But it is only interesting for people who fear the censorship of a transactions, which is not a lot. High international fees is something other startups like TransferWise are addressing – and they don't need a blockchain for that.</comment></comment>