The Eudora Email Client Source Code - <AUTHOR> http://www.computerhistory.org/_static/atchm/the-eudora-email-client-source-code/ <comment><USER2> Previous conversation: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17127486](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17127486)

</comment><comment><USER3> Eudora had this awesome feature that detected if you were about to send a flame / testy short reply, and warned you against it. I seem to remember a "spicy pepper" icon? It saved me from embarrassment more than once. I hope the modern email client maintainers can rescue that bit of functionality.

<comment><USER4> Oh yeah, I remember that! I think they called it "MoodWatch" or something. If I recall right, it gave a live measurement of the composition, so you didn't even have to send an email to play with it. It had a scale of one to three or five peppers or something like that. I remember playing with it and trying to figure out what kind of language warranted the largest number of peppers.

I do miss that functionality. And it could probably be better implemented today. I think the original feature just checked for a specific set of words and phrases in a blacklist. These days one could probably make a plugin that reasoned about the tone of the content, not just on word choice but also on sentence structure.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> While only tangential to the article, the short story from which Eudora gets its name is fascinating in both its depth and simplicity: [http://art- bin.com/art/or_weltypostoff.html](http://art-bin.com/art/or_weltypostoff.html)

</comment><comment><USER6> Found an old CDR from probably 98 or so a while back and it had my Eudora folder backed up on it. On a whim I clicked the exe and much to my surprise it started right up with all my mail intact. I'm so used to software just stopping working after a time that I was completely impressed.

Not to mention, that was certainly a trip down memory lane reading those emails (and cringing at many). Worth tracking down if you have one laying about.

<comment><USER7> That is awesome! I wish everything that spat out a proprietary backup file format came with a self executable viewer.

<comment><USER8> I believe that Eudora used the standard email format of the day (RFC822), so it was really easy to extract emails to use/store as you wish.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Eudora is great.

</comment><comment><USER10> Light grey text on white background along with not allowing zoom makes this site unreadable on mobile.

<comment><USER11> Using Chrome on Android 8.1 I can zoom, which helps. But much more significantly a helpful "Show Simplified View" button pops up. Pressing that dramatically improves the usability of the page.

<comment><USER12> Use the Reader view.

<comment><USER11> No doubt that is what "Show Simplified View" turns on.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Samsung Galaxy S 2 (International) Review - <AUTHOR> http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined Staggering review, Anandtech analyses every aspect of this phone, and the smartphone industry comprehensively and scientifically.<p>Samsung have really impressed with this phone, in terms of how much effort they have invested in the hardware and software. One thing still stands out for me, the battery life. While good, it still doesn't hold a candle to the iPhone 4, as shown on the charts. <comment><AUTHOR> Staggering review, Anandtech analyses every aspect of this phone, and the smartphone industry comprehensively and scientifically.

Summary: Great phone. Samsung have really impressed with this phone, in terms of how much effort they have invested in the hardware and software. One thing still stands out for me, the battery life. While good, it still doesn't hold a candle to the iPhone 4, as shown on the charts.

There's so to discuss in this article. Another interesting point was the section on web browser scrolling - Anandtech shows how it all works behind the scenes, and how Samsung have matched iOS' scrolling smoothness.

<comment><USER2> I have both iPhone 4 and S2, and no the scrolling smoothness is not even comparable. Either that or there is sonething wrong with my S2.

<comment><AUTHOR> Smooth for Android is still jerky for iOS, ha.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> I will say, I have this phone. And I love it. I am not surprised by the glowing reviews for it. Best phone I've ever owned.

<comment><USER2> 1\. Have you ever owned an iOS device?

2\. If answer of 1. is yes the how do you find the touch interface of S2 and android devices in general? (I find it broken).

<comment><USER4> i find the overall UI experience not as consistent and thought out on android, but its still very good. That said the screen, speed, weight & size of the S2 are amazing!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> > I have to be honest that continuing to shun the search button confuses me. > Not just because not having it means we can't run kwaak3 and get to console > without lots of work, but because not having it made me realize how much I > use it. Thankfully almost everywhere that I'd use the search button there's > a contextual shortcut - menu, then search. It's just an added button press > in the occasional spot, which can be alien if you're used to having that > button.

You can actually hold the menu button and it will function as the search button instead.

> The TouchWiz task manager also is snappy and has some nice - kill everything > - buttons to free up all RAM.

This really bothers me. There is absolutely no need for such a thing and Samsung is basically advertising the misleading idea that you need to "kill apps".

<comment><USER6> If it's anything like my Galaxy S in recent firmware updates, it doesn't act in the same way that the unnecessary task killing apps do, it only lets you close things that are actually active and using CPU, not ones that have been suspended in the background by android. It's come in handy on a number of occasions, mainly because it shows when an app has gone nuts and lets you kill it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Funny, despite all the glowing reviews, I have a Samsung Galaxy S (the original), and I hate it. I swore I'd never buy another Samsung product, nor another Android-based phone because of it.

The only way to get any decent performance out of it (and I mean, basic performance like mp3s not skipping) was to root it and format the file system. Then remove a _bunch_ of crap samsung and my carrier put on it (Smartone actually put a porn app on there). They were extremely slow to make Android releases available for it (2.3 came out like 6+ months later). Now some apps won't install because the Market limit was raised to 50mg, but this phone only supports 25mb download. And, while trying to upgrade the phone twice, using the official (crap) software, it's bricked (At least the local samsung office was quick/effective at repairing it).

My point? To both Samsung and Android, the market is too hot, and there's someone too successful (Apple) to be messing around with your brands. It's a commodity market, there's simply too much choice not to have a solid product.

<comment><USER8> The SGS2 has nothing in common with the SGS1 except the name. They fixed everything. Seriously.

<comment><USER9> Except the audio quality - which they made worse...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Single page (print) view for Instapaper, Readability, etc: [http://www.anandtech.com/print/4686/samsung- galaxy-s-2-inter...](http://www.anandtech.com/print/4686/samsung- galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined)

</comment><comment><USER11> I had a Galaxy S 1 and the lag was horrible. HORRIBLE! I resorted to rooting and using a custom firmware (Darky's ROM, which was like getting a new phone). With my S2, the lag is no where to be seen. I've had it for almost 2 months now, and I love it! Everything just works, and as a result I haven't even considered rooting it.

Samsung has historically had great hardware products, and crappy software products. But at least with the SGS 2 they seem to have gotten it right. Time will tell if they are more responsive about Android releases, but to be honest I'm not that worried because it works so well out of the box.

<comment><USER8> the lag fix had little to do with the rom, its voodoo lag fix (aka ext4) and then 8 month later or so, samsung finally fixed it in their rom (it was a bug with their file system, RFS) so any rom based on anything post gingerbread is now fixed (including samsung stock)

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> incredible review, they just covered about EVERY GODDAMN ASPECT. hell, they even took out the motherboard! i am impressed.

from now on i will only read reviews from anandtech.com

<comment><USER13> They seriously know their stuff there. Back when SSDs were first becoming popular they had this expose on the problems that the SSDs of the time had with random write sometimes taking 100s of milliseconds, leading to manufacturers to change their firmware.[1] I'm not sure how many review sites can claim to have uncovered new problems and gotten them fixed.

<http://www.anandtech.com/show/2614/8>

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Very nice review.

Despite being a tech guy in the Valley for a long time, I've never been a gadget guy... But the progress of Android OS and Samsung's phone have got me going a bit gadget/phone crazy. I really wanted an SGS2 until the rumors of the Droid Prime started to circulate. But, whichever variant of the SGS2 or Droid Prime (sounds as though it could be a _monster_ phone) comes to Verizon, I can't wait to upgrade.

<comment><USER15> SGS2 isnt coming to Verizon. <http://www.mobiledia.com/news/104872.html>

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> Why is the S2 only available in US now?

I can definitely recommend it, although I don't like the stock Samsung software/Touchviz that much. I put MIUI on it, which in my opinion makes it the best phone on the market (best hardware by far/software nearly matches the iPhone).

<comment><USER17> What do you mean only in US? It's been in Europe and Asia for months now (since May).

<comment><USER18> Maybe they use Europe for testing. Maybe because it's a huge market that request must be filled all at once. Imagine there was a problem and they had to return the devices to factory.

<comment><USER19> Europe is a bigger market than the USA, and a much more complicated one to get right - each country has it's own regulations, language, different stores to deal with, etc.

I can only assume it's the American carriers that caused the delay.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> I found this was a very good review. I liked that they kept the part where the browser was buggy (I never had that bug on my SGS2 btw.), and that they explained how the browser uses the GPU.

</comment><comment><USER21> > "To start, home screen one is the far left, not the center."

That's a little disappointing. That can leave you up to 6 swipes away from the screen you're trying to get to. As a user who shortcuts everything on one of the screens I would find this annoying. Very minor though in the light of everything else, just a surprising decision.

<comment><USER22> > "To start, home screen one is the far left, not the center. Switching > between these is accomplished _either_ by swiping back and forth _or > dragging on the dots at the bottom_. This animation is extremely fluid"

They thought of that.

<comment><USER23> Or, pinch, which zooms out so you see all six at once.

So, just two actions (pinch + pick screen)- and, it's instantaneous. Very nice.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> I'm glad I finally know why the iOS browser is so much smoother than Android devices. I've been trying to figure that out for years. Good to hear that Google and the device makers are making headway. That scrolling looked very smooth on the GS2.

</comment><comment><USER25> This phone is awesome. The screen is amazing, fits great in (my) hand, it's very light and TouchViz 4 isn't _that_ bad.

<comment><USER23> I think he meant"only now".

<comment><USER23> Sorry, somehow this comment is on the wrong parent.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> What browser is that running? Also, I thought pinching was patented by Apple?

<comment><AUTHOR> I think it is, but everyone's been using pinching, from the original Palm Pre to most Android phones past 2.1.

Apple also have a patent on two finger scrolling for inside forms and tables. I don't think anyone else does that.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> My only complaint about this phone is that it is so thin and lightweight that it's difficult to believe it'll survive being sat on without snapping in half. And yet it has survived being landed on quite a few times when I've forgotten it's in my pocket before flomping onto the sofa.

</comment><comment><USER8> I'd like to inform Anandtech that the SGS2 Intl is available since april 2010 and they're 5 month late. ;-) (and yes I own one since april and no the USA is not the center of the world)

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Interesting also that the physical design now exactly mirrors the iPhone now - a single real button in the middle.

<comment><USER28> It's no different from the SGS (1); physical button flanked by a capacitive button each side, with physical power and volume buttons on the sides.

<comment><AUTHOR> Pardon, I was actually spouting what Gruber said!

<comment><USER29> That's ok, the Galaxy was also ripping off of the iPhone.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


The Fat Free Revolution That Gave America Diarrhea - <AUTHOR> http://priceonomics.com/the-failure-of-the-fat-free-revolution/ <comment><USER2> > And in 2011, a Purdue study hammered the final nail in the olestra coffin. > It found that olestra incites weight gain by tricking the body into thinking > it doesn't need to metabolize fatty foods. Once your body is accustomed to > olestra fat that has no calories, the body is surprised by the calories of > real fat.

I wonder if the same applies to zero calorie sugar substitutes?

<comment><USER3> Anecdotally the people I know who eat/drink sugar free things don't lose weight, which always struck me as odd when it cuts out so many calories. I'm assuming someone has done some science on this before but I can't find it right now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Another good read that's akin to Pricenomics is Tedium: [http://tedium.co](http://tedium.co). I get it about once a week in my inbox, and unlike most email newsletters I actually read this one.</comment>


A persistent multiplayer online programming game - <AUTHOR> http://gr1d.org <comment><USER2> This looks amazing! I've been looking for a game like this for a long time. I hope it lives up to my expectations. :)

</comment><comment><USER3> Out of curiosity, how do you handle things like preventing an infinite loop from bringing down the server?

<comment><USER4> Maybe that's what's happening right now :-)

If I would build something like this, I'd go for an interpreter with a stack you manage yourself to handle infinite loops... _using a timeout, not by solving the halting problem, random smartass!_. But I over-engineer everything so don't trust me on that.

They probably use a timeout on the process too. Actually I would think using "dangerous" (i.e. filesystem) code is the real danger they'd have to defend against.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> The site appears to be down. Does anyone have a cache/description?

<comment><USER6> This video is embedded on the home page: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XZ9-_EgisE>.

"gr1d.org is a persistent multiplayer online programming game. Its inspired by games such as Robocode, Planetarion, various persistent online worlds and cyberpunk fiction.

"gr1d.org combines write-your-own code, persistent online world, cyberpunk- RPG, and multiplayer risk style domination and resource gathering together into a fun experience for programmers.

"As you gain levels, skills and experience, you can code more powerful agents to use these skills. You produce a fully-fledged class in the .NET ide of your choice, and upload it to the gr1d.

"While you're offline, your agents continue to run within the gr1d, looking for experience, resources and combat."

<comment><USER7> It'd be nice to see this move to more of a language agnostic platform.

<comment><USER8> How? And how much work would that be vs right now.

Continuation: Actually, I thought more about it, and I might have some possible solutions. It would probably change how the game works, though.

If unique players were separate processes altogether and they communicated with the server, then the game could support a plethora of languages because it could run each player as a separate process and link to it.

This seems incredibly dangerous for the server (running rogue programs), and annoying for players ("oh, sorry, your particular language isn't supported :/" or "oh sorry, the most recent version of your language isn't supported, even though you're using brand-new feature X"), but possible.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


The Art of Avoiding an Asshole [Cofounder] - Guy Kawasaki - <AUTHOR> http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/04/linkedin_and_th.html <comment><USER2> 11\. To avoid an asshole boss (co-founder) try not being an asshole yourself!

12\. To avoid an asshole boss (co-founder) try not to look for reasons he could be an asshole.

Slightly tongue-in-cheek, but seriously, most disagreements are the result of poor communication, not because one person is the villain, and one, the victim-that one person is right and one is wrong. Furthermore, 90% of our communication is done with our body. If we are suspicious and judgemental of new people, they will read this in how we move and posture, and respond in kind, resulting in the precise situation we are trying to avoid.

This doesn't mean to ignore warning signs, but to focus primarily on whether this person is willing to collaborate and compromise with you as you work towards your goals. I find a recommendation from someone I don't know (Linkedin) to not be particularly helpful as I don't know this person's point of reference. Perhaps this person is always looking for assholes.

</comment><comment><USER3> In the comment section, Shefaly makes a good point about trying to observe the guy in social situations (i.e., not a formal interview or business meeting).

I recommend visiting a restaurant and observing how he treats the waitstaff. If he's rude or abusive to the waiter, how do you think he's going to treat you when you're his employee or partner?

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> This post is actually about a 'boss', but it fits very well when considering a cofounder.

The numbered points at the bottom are the best ;)

</comment><comment><USER4> Have people lost the ability to write without using profanity ? I thought the guy who wrote up one of the best speeches that I recollect reading would have better sense.. Mr.Guy, quit being a potty mouth.

</comment><comment><USER5> Looks more like an Asshole tracker squad :D hey, it could be another idea to start this company by collecting Asshole profiles and showing up on request :D

</comment><comment><USER6> there is no need to read Guy's article to give it a point here ... specially if you are half Scotsman :)

<comment><AUTHOR> He he, I dunna ken fer whutchur oon aboot!

Btw, great work on <http://jobitems.com> ;)

<comment><USER6> It's quoted from Ivanhoe isn't it? :)

Thanks Matt.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Have you ever outsourced development and if so, how did it go? - <AUTHOR>

While usually not a good long term strategy, outsourcing development overseas can be cheap and smart approach when technology isn't the core of the business.<p>I'd like to hear about your experiences and recommendations of where to look for engineering talent. <comment><USER2> Short summary [It's too late to write a thorough response]:

1) with any sort of outsourcing solution, you either end up paying too much or having to hand-hold and babysit the development process. both are expensive resource-wise.

2) especially if you arent focused on the technology, the people who actually do the work treat you as nontechnical, and try to screw you over. Worked with an outsourcing firm once, and a person messaged me:

"okay 4/11/11 1:03 AM tell me whats issue on XHTML/css which is developed using web2.0 technology 4/11/11 1:03 AM not Table based old technology . 4/11/11 1:04 AM This xhtml/css is very much all search engine friendly as well as Google friendly . 4/11/11 1:04 AM Whats the issue with xhtml/css ? 4/11/11 1:04 AM Please explain so that we can fix issue asap ."

now, needless to say I wasnt particularly focused on the development of the website [it was ancillary]. I estimate i spent more time babying the outsourcing team than I would have spent actually getting the site up myself.

<comment><AUTHOR> Lol, "using web 2.0 technology".

Thanks for the insight. Shady, incompetent firms seem to be a common theme but there has to be at least a few honest, effective resources available.

<comment><USER2> There's a good explanation for why they are few and far between, and I'm going to quote The Dark Knight here:

"Joker: Like my mother used to tell me - If you're good at something, never do it for free."

If they were good, they would charge a lot of money [making them unappealing]. By going with a cheap alternative, you are either going with a new company or with an incompetent group.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Outsourcing generally depends on what project specifically you want to outsource, and the work quality varies immensely. Personally, I've had a reasonable experience dealing with an outsourced logo development project, but a terrible (and relatively expensive) one with an outsourced web development project. I learned the hard way: when you hire an outsourced web developer, you get a web developer (read: they'll make you a webpage), not a designer or product engineer.

The key theme is to be involved every step of the way and have a clear idea of what you're looking for.

</comment><comment><USER4>
      .. recommendations of where to look for engineering talent.

I wrote this comment on the India specific HN version that has some suggestions on how to go about finding a good offshore development firm - <http://hackerstreet.in/item?id=1058>. It could be of some use to you.

</comment><comment><USER5> I've done it quite a few times. Mostly it went bad. The last one though is going quite well. Why?

\- very, very clear and limited requirements.

</comment><comment><USER6> I've had great success! Get a referral.

<comment><USER7> Can you give me one? :)

<comment><USER6> Depends what you want done. I know good folks so prices might be in the mid to high range of the typical outsourcing menu. I am not taking a cut, FYI. Put up the project (high level) somewhere and share the link.</comment></comment></comment>


Chris Dixon: Things I'd do if I ran a big VC firm - <AUTHOR> http://cdixon.posterous.com/things-id-do-if-i-ran-a-big-vc-firm <comment><USER3> Comments on the ones I found interesting (OP's already pretty brief)

 _#1 Lower management fees_ \- Great idea from my outside perspective, but it'd worth knowing where those fees actually go in the first place. Some of it might even be useful (e.g spending time networking incurs costs - <USER2> fees, travel, etc c.f #10)

 _#2 Keep a records of all employees in investee companies_ \- Hmmm, nice idea but not too sure about the data-protection issues. As an employee, do I want my company's investors keeping tabs on me? Also, as a CEO, do I want my investors to keep tabs on my employees? What if we disagree about the impending death of the company and they try to pre-emptively poach someone for another portfolio company? (Perhaps this already happens).

 _#4 Have everyone tweet/blog authentically_ \- Not convinced that all people in firm need to do this. One or two high profile folks should be enough. Public writing is not easy so leave it to those who want to do it.

 _#7 Have offices that look and cost like startup offices_ \- If you're running a big VC firm, I'm not sure you can get away with 'startup' offices. Startup office are cheap because they _have_ to be. Not necessarily because it's the _best_ way for the company to operate. I see no reason why a VCs office needs to be anything like a startup's office.

 _#11 Have far fewer meetings with startups_ \- i.e kiss fewer frogs. I don't think this works. You only get to do this if you're a very well known, successful VC because then good deals find you. Otherwise you need to be meeting lots of startups.

 _#14 Use brand to...recruit top talent (particularly engineers) from top schools [for portfolio companies]..._ \- This is quite interesting, but I don't see it being particularly successful. People want to join companies, not necessarily join whatever portfolio company the VC thinks they might be useful for. It could also complicate the company dynamic e.g who does this engineer really report to? If there's a dispute, then what happens?

Edit: Removed the ones I didn't have many comments on

<comment><USER4> A summary of a post that is already short and already a list is not needed.

edit: nevermind

<comment><USER5> Feel free to downmod me, but in defense of the parent, it isn't a summary, but a rebuttal / questioning of some of the points presented.

Some of the questions raised are interesting, and add to the discussion considerably.

<comment><USER4> whoops.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It's interesting what a large percentage of these we do. Almost all of them.

<comment><USER7> I had the same thought about First Round Capital.

FRC is one of our company's VCs. I have no insight into their accounting methods (#9), but they seem to hit all of the others except "have far fewer meetings with startups" (#11).

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> The financial anatomy of VC firms came as a surprise. It wasn't till I read "mastering the vc game"# that I understood how fucked things are.

The strucure breeds mediocrity and the culture that founders hate.

Unfortunately, the people that need convincing are investors in VC firms. Bad returns are the only thing that will convince them. Many regard the category of VC as doomed to significantly shrink; this small chunk of finance in general can't support itself. There are more VC _firms_ than successful exits.

# horrible name, good book

<comment><USER8> Well, more VC firms than > $100 million exits over the last 10 or whatever years.

I agree there's plenty wrong (as you'll find with any industry or its institutions), but I'm not entirely sure you can blame VCs as a whole for their terrible recent results. Not only does it include two nasty recessions (the one early in the last decade was particularity focused in the areas VCs invest(ed) in), but the important of the IPO exit slamming shut cannot be overemphasized.

Venture capital had a great run from the end of the '50s to the beginning of the last decade, but rules of the game have changed and so will the industry. And as you note, most everyone is betting on a significant shrink as one of the changes.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I find the tips relating to "VC as Staffing Agency" the most interesting. I wonder if this stems more from the NYC startup issue of competing with wall street for talent. If the focus is working for a portfolio company of [X], rather than startup [Y], it gives some brand cover for recruiting. It also allows startups to pool resources for recruiting by sending one recruiter to schools for the portfolio rather than each startup having to spare an employee for a few days to give a canned talk.

</comment><comment><USER10> Many of these are good ideas that the better vcs already do.

The "own x%" thing has to do with LPs and is probably unavoidable.

<comment><USER6> The own x% thing is a consequence of two things: fund size and taking board seats.

<comment><USER11> Could you explain?

<comment><USER6> There's a limit to the number of boards a partner can stand to be on simultaneously, which means if investment = board seat, the number of investments per fund is limited. And if fund sizes are big, that means the average investment has to be big. Which means you have to get a large percentage of each company to generate the returns you need.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> while reading this it struck me that we do most of these things at YC.

</comment><comment><USER13> Most of these sound like pretty good ideas. Most firms probably don't do them just because they don't have to unfortunately.

</comment><comment><USER14> _..,and maybe some male receptionists_

</comment><comment><USER15> (what I would change) / (why i dont actually run one) != what you you think it is.

</comment><comment><USER16> "- don't talk/tweet/blog about your vineyard, yachting, golfing etc while you tell your CEOs to work non-stop and be frugal etc. "

I don't really get this one. It seems like great advice for the CEO of a company, but not for a venture capitalist?

<comment><USER4> Most VCs are richer than most CEOs, especially when you consider most CEOs are in their first startup and haven't made it yet.

<comment><USER16> exactly... that's my first point: give them something to reach for, the end game.

my second point is that the VC is not really leadership so the example the VC sets is irrelevant.

<comment><USER17> While I don't agree with the original point either, VC's most definitely hold a leadership position within a company. After all they always a board member and two or three VC's typically represent the majority shareholder block.

I've seen it go both ways. I've seen VC's lead companies to huge exits, as well as lead companies straight into the ground.

<comment><USER16> i did not consider the fact that they hold a board position and represent the majority shareholder block and because of that they have an influence on the company culture. i was wrong and retract my statement accordingly.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


ShowHN: an easy way to track your packages - <AUTHOR> http://mypackag.es/

<comment><USER2> But I know when they arrived... I signed for them.

A more useful service would allow me to log in and see the current status and location of each package I've notified it about. I've had as many as 10-15 packages in transit at once before and it became tedious to make sure I got all of them. (In fact, one got lost, and I didn't notice for another month.)

<comment><USER3> Not necessarily. For example, if you're having a parcel delivered to your home, but it arrives when you're at the office, you'd want to be notified when this happens. Maybe your significant other or roommate signed for it. Maybe no one signed for it and there will be another delivery attempt. This sort of thing happens to me all the time for packages I don't want delivered to my office.

On the other hand, notification of other tracking events would be useful too. I'd make it optional to have those.

<comment><USER4> Yeah, I might like to be notified when it is actually shipped out, or maybe even when it changes locations. Often time you might have a date range so it could also be useful to know if it's at the local hub and should be delivered today if I need someone at home to sign for it.

Anyways, it would sure beat digging up the email and visiting the tracking page all the time to keep up with it. I also liked the suggestion about being able to see the status of all my packages on one page across shippers.

I'm sure all this complicates things for you quite a bit, as right now you don't need people to sign up or anything. You don't even need much of a website beyond what you currently have. If this version goes well I'm sure you have plans to incorporate some of this stuff, so in that regard, this seems like a great MVP.

<comment><AUTHOR> Sending alerts for other events is definitely something I've thought about as well and plan to add in some way. I haven't quite figured out the best way to enable optional features like this -- perhaps a separate email address or something in the body?

As you hinted, I'd like to keep things as simple as possible and avoid signups if I can (criminal, I know), at the very least for the basic feature of being notified on delivery.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> (OT, but...) What I can't understand is: why can't FedEx/UPS tell me approximately when they'll deliver my package? Or send me an SMS say, 15 minutes before the scheduled stop, so I know when to expect them? Surely the drivers are not following a stochastic pattern and performing a random walk through the streets?

<comment><USER6> I suspect the delivery companies know this information internally, but don't want you to freak out if your package says it will arrive at 10am but doesn't come till 2pm because of traffic or the truck breaking down.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Very cool. However, I don't see anything on the page that explains what I'm getting myself in to from a privacy perspective. Based on most spam laws, once I email you, we're engaged in business, so you could take liberties with that and start sending me email. This looks like a neat service, so maybe I'm ok with that, but I'd like to know up front.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the comments. Privacy is very important to me as well and I plan to get something up there soon, I just wanted to get it out the door in the meantime.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Thoughts:

Really like the 'mail to track' interface. Great way to get tracking numbers into the sytem.

I use Delivery Status by Junecloud to track packages. I have to copypasta to get them in; but then it sends me a Growl every time my package's status changes, and I can hit the Dashboard to see where my stuff is and when the estimated delivery date is.

I would need a similar level of functionality; getting an email when the package is actually delivered won't cut it. Something that had a Dashboard/Growl client and an iOS notification client, though: that I'd switch to in a heartbeat.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the input. There's definitely a lot more that can be done, especially for those who need to track a large number of packages. More features, possibly requiring a login, is something I've thought about, however this super simple service meets my needs perfectly, and my guess is that I'm not alone. Depending on how this goes, I'll be looking at building out more functionality.

<comment><USER8> Cool. I basically asked you to build me a pony that I already have, so I fully understand. Dig what you've done already.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> really interesting. One comment on the UX. Since there are no clickable buttons/links I thought this was just a coming soon page.

Create a button that says 'track now' or some other call to action.

Once I read the middle paragraph I understood how it works but I bet most people will never piece that together.

and yes, package tracking would also be good. Have a look at Dominos pizza order tracker. Something as easy as that would be fun and engaging.

<comment><USER10> _Create a button that says 'track now' or some other call to action._

How about 5 or so entry fields for tracking numbers and a button to "Create Dashboard" to track all of the at once? You'd get back a page with a long universally unique random URL that you can bookmark.

Once on the Dashboard, give the user the option to password-protect the page by registering.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> FWIW, I use <http://twitter.com/TrackThis>. You just have to follow them (they don't post anything, so no stream spam) and send them a dm w/ the tracking number. They send you a dm whenever there is an update to your package location while it's traveling.

<comment><USER12> Alternatively you can receive the info by SMS or email (or an iPhone Push)if you register at <http://usetrackthis.com>

I love their service!

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Seems like a really neat service. In the XforY tradition, a TripIt for your Amazon orders.

One quick layout suggestion: Your #content div is currently set to 914px, and on Firefox, that's dropping Step 3 to a lower line. If you increase that to 915px, it lifts up to be on the same line as the first 2 steps.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, fixed! I tested it in FF3.6/Mac and it looked ok. What version are you on?

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> If you're getting into tracking multiple packages, Delivery Status does a very good job of this: [http://junecloud.com/software/iphone/delivery-status- touch.h...](http://junecloud.com/software/iphone/delivery-status-touch.html) \-- although it's not a webapp.

</comment><comment><USER15> Great idea. It'd be fun if I could either login or get a link mailed to me of a Google Map overlaid with all of my current shipments, annotated with data about them.

Definitely like the simple nature of your app though. Signing up is as easy as adding you to the address book.

</comment><comment><USER16> Looks good. There are two things I'd suggest:

(1) gmail oauth integration: instead of having people forward tracking numbers to you, you can read their mail for them.

(2) If you can collect just a bit more data (destination address), you should be able to construct some useful statistical models predicting when packages show up at my address as a function of delivery service, day of week, season.

</comment><comment><USER17> love it :) Great job! What & How would you earn bucks out of it?

</comment><comment><USER18> Cool. How will you monetize? There should be gmail apps that allow you to plugin directly... the main problem is setting this thing up.

<comment><AUTHOR> Not too focused on monetizing at the moment. It's something I built cause I needed it for myself.

re: gmail - you can very easily setup a filter to automatically forward shipment confirmation emails from the places you most frequently shop (e.g, Amazon).</comment></comment>


Libscore: View the growth of open source libraries - <AUTHOR> http://libscore.com/?#libs

<comment><USER2> I'm involved in the project if anyone has comments/suggestions.

<comment><USER3> I'm curious about the reasoning behind including that annoying circle with a down indicator inside that appears shortly after the page loads and bounces at the bottom of the page until you first scroll that page.

It seems to serve no purpose other than to let you know that there is more data to be had by scrolling, but surely pretty much everyone who is going to see that page already has learned about scrolling. It's one of the first web browsing skills more people learn.</comment></comment>


Everyone Needs a Personal Website - <AUTHOR> http://www.diiulio.org/technology/help/everyone-needs-a-personal-website/

<comment><USER2> May I humbly recommend another option:

Github pages [https://pages.github.com/](https://pages.github.com/)

+

namecheap [https://www.namecheap.com/](https://www.namecheap.com/)

EDIT: shameless plug. [http://kelukelu.me/](http://kelukelu.me/) Though being Asian, I don't think I will ever get on the first page of a google search result for my name.

<comment><USER3> Well one of the main points of the article is that you should have your own website so your content isn't hosted on another service that could censor what you write. Given the whole 'retard' fiasco at GitHub, I don't think it would be the best place to host things

<comment><USER4> I think since the premise of the author's article is that everyone should have a place where they can take more deliberate care of their online presence, it's pretty reasonable to infer that it goes without saying that one shouldn't use pejoratives like "retard" except in cases where the word itself is under discussion (like critiquing the use of the word in society, as we're doing now). Even still, I'd consider that a pretty hazardous topic to write about unless I were a linguist or in some field that made it appropriate to discuss it intellectually.

Admittedly, it's not clear whether GitHub would take down such a repository/site, but my hunch is that when it's deliberate and not casually thrown around, people wouldn't have as much footing to complain about a charged word. That being said, I'm not willing to test it, which says your point has merit just by virtue of a chilling effect.

Nevertheless, a sibling comment mentions using S3, which (I think) would be less likely to get taken down (although I've never heard of Amazon outright refusing to take down such content, so maybe the request simply hasn't happened yet).

<comment><USER5> >>> Admittedly, it's not clear whether GitHub would take down such a repository/site, but my hunch is that when it's deliberate and not casually thrown around, people wouldn't have as much footing to complain about a charged word.

The point is, it's not your website if some moderator somewhere can search- replace your content, probably without you knowing.

>>> use pejoratives like "retard"

Retard should not be a pejorative. It is a medical term.

<comment><USER4> >Wait, retard is a pejorative now?

It's fairly well-documented[0], and the GitHub incident in particular has been discussed on HN at length[1]. I think I gave the exclusion that if you're talking about it in a context that's socially acceptable (e.g. critiquing the use of the word, or as you point out discussing it medically), then I imagine that's fine (but I don't know, and I'm not about to test GitHub on how readily they'd censor content in a gray area).

This point about whether a site is yours or not is a red herring. For the purposes of technicality, you could argue that you don't really own your online presence unless you own the servers and the service providing access (per example: Wikileaks used Amazon's S3 service until AWS dropped them[2]). For the purposes of this discussion, however, it suffices to say that you "own" your online presence if your front page (absent a personal site, your profile pages on social networking sites) is determined by you rather than potentially influenced by friends (e.g. tagging you in a photo at a party).

[0]: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retard_(pejorative)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retard_\(pejorative\))

[1]: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9966118](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9966118)

[2]: [https://aws.amazon.com/message/65348/](https://aws.amazon.com/message/65348/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> The author's key point: if you want a presence in Google, you need your own web site.

Hostgator is much cheaper than his alternatives, starting at $3.96/month. He's writing for a very low tech audience, though; people who think Markdown is "technical".

It's interesting that "WordPress hosting" now costs 4x more than getting a web site and installing WordPress.

</comment><comment><USER7> Great suggestions for non-technical people in there but if a real concern is ownership and control of content then the only real option is buying or renting server space and putting up a website with maybe Ghost (the most overrated blogging platform ever) or the open source Wordpress or just plain HTML. All the other options listed still could potentially shut you down for some weird TOS violation (like if you're a big KKK supporter or something). Is it likely to happen? No. But isn't this where we post our overanyzed takes on everything?

<comment><USER8> Really though, the only way to _own_ your own web content is to run your own server, and physically control access to it. Even buying or renting server space puts your content in the control of a third party.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Why? Why does everyone 'need' a personal website? Reasons presented in the article are why you would want one, and they break down to bragging.

<comment><USER4> I was going to post something to this effect, but I'm glad you also brought up the bragging point. I think it's safer to argue that everyone _could benefit_ from a personal site, and the arguments the author lays out are pretty compelling in that context, but not much further.

I'd like to see a discussion over whether a personal website is a better investment of one's time (and money?) than a LinkedIn profile on balance (maybe for certain people). It may be controversial, but I imagine there are good points on both sides (more detailed insight about exposure from google analytics on someone's and better export affordances with personal sites; a real network and infrastructure on LinkedIn's side).

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> First off, no, you do not need a website. You are a high school student. Slow your roll.

Secondly, what you really need is an editor, because damn your site is riddled with misspellings.

</comment><comment><USER11> "Everyone needs a mobile app"?

Are there any way someone can defend personal mobile apps for personal presence?</comment>


The Rest of the Story (Yammer & Scala) - <AUTHOR> http://codahale.com/the-rest-of-the-story/ <comment><USER2> I can appreciate that having a personal opinion about Scala's use in one particular context belched out into the world is unfortunate, but I have to say that Coda's email reads like my laundry list of concerns about Scala. I could have written this email just by theorizing about Scala's shortcomings based on my short time playing with it. Except in this case, it's correlated with real-world stories.

I like Scala, and I think it's the most powerful and flexible mainstream language available today. Unfortunately, that's the problem.

<comment><USER3> Wow. If this is Charles Nutter I'm surprised no one has commented on this. I'm sure someone could make the argument that as there is ample evidence that humans are much less rational than we typically care to admit, that we are feeling animals who also happen to think rather than thinking animals who also happen to feel, so it is that the creator of what it is today easily the most popular non-Java JVM language could conceivably be "blinded" by their own personal investment in a "competing" language. But I think the much more interesting fact about this comment is that the commenter is basically a fucking programming god. And he thinks Scala is too complex. If I was Colebourne I would be posting on my blog, a very short post, basically just saying "Hey, all you bitches telling me 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, you wrote a little date library, WTF are you again?' Does Charles Nutter carry enough weight for you?"

My own personal viewpoint is that the Nutters and Colebournes are totally on the money. I remember reading a quote from Miguel DeAcaza talking about thread based concurrency programming models in the new N-core paradigm, he said it didn't scale, because "there are not enough PhDs in the world." Despite it's name, I don't think Martin's baby will in the end have lived up to it. Didn't scale, not enough PhDs in the world.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> "If someone asks me for an honest opinion of them or their work, in private, I feel morally compelled to be as honest as I can with them."

I can vouch for that. Around a year ago I asked him for feedback on Cassandra and his response was both thoughtful and helpful. I appreciated that a lot. Thanks, Coda.

<comment> johnx123-up Can you share _that_ Cassandra feedback, please?

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> He wouldn't say that in public because it would be harmful to the Scala community, but everyone who read it is very glad for having read it.

But if everyone thinks this way, those innovations will have one view on the web (where there is an image to care for) and another one of engineering departments, where people get real... and that sucks.

<comment><USER6> Obviously he took the time to write this post in such detail because he hopes that its intended recipients can take action to address the issues he raises.

It's not like there isn't already plenty of Scala bashing going around these days anyway.

<comment><USER7> I think it is very constructive and I expect that improvements caused by it will land in trunk soon.

<comment><USER5> I found it constructive too, but its not like the Scala implementors only heard about those problems now and can easily fix it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I'm curious to know why Yammer went with Scala to begin with (not to imply that it was a bad decision at the time).

Was it Language of the Week the week they started building Yammer? Were they trying to follow in Twitter's footsteps? Were they a bunch of Java developers looking for something better than Java? Did someone on the team have previous Scala experience?

Would Yammer be where it is today had they gone with Java (or another language, JVM or not)? Before running into the limitations described in the leaked email, was everyone happy with Scala?

<comment><USER9> Their whole product is a ripoff of Twitter so that was probably it.

<comment><USER10> Not just Twitter. Twitter and Facebook combined.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> It's good to see honest evaluations of technologies. It helps people better decide when something is mature enough to adopt for their organization, and helps in avoiding the landmines when they do. It also lets the the "owners" know what is impeding adoption so they have better focus. Scala is several years old now and really is gaining adoption in larger (ie conservative) firms.

Scala is far from perfect and has some warts, but that's the type of technology that always seems to win. C++ vs Eiffel, Intel vs Motorola.

</comment><comment><USER12> Why are the needs of the "Scala community" to save face more important than the truth?

<comment><USER13> The reality of the Scala community is that most of the major players (the Typesafe side) prior to commercialising directly were hoping for some level of popular adoption with devs that would bubble up into startups/SME and for whatever reason that hasn't happened. So now they are banking on the idea they can sell directly into large enterprise space as a one size fits all approach that involves cross training developers (as there are very few out there due to the mentioned lack of adoption). This is pretty risky and needs momentum that can easily be killed by negative stories.

A lot in the original email is correct (I can't speak for the performance stuff as my skills are more webdev side of Scala), especially the way that libraries/OSS projects/sbt pan out. Something like Dispatch that is a fantastic tool and should be simple is a mess of functions-as-operators and poor to no documentation or examples to the point where for some things even reading the source code is not a lot of help. I'm not going to type out my thoughts on the shambles that was the sbt rewrite at 0.10+... just complete madness.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> He's not even a little wrong about HN.

<comment><USER15> He's not. And so I laughed when I opened this thread and the highest rated comment was a java vs scala post. Rather than a reply to his thesis.

<comment><USER16> A Java vs Scala post is far more interesting to me than discussing the "shut up about the tools and just work" thesis.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> I am getting more and more tried about this kind of arguments, I am studding Scala and I like it, It can be right for some things and wrong for others, it's just another tool in my toolbox like Java, JavaScript, Ruby... You gotta have tools, and be able to choose between a Hammer and a screwdriver when needed, that's the real "Hacker"

</comment><comment><USER18> I would like to see a time where JVM languages completely overshadow and remove Java from the scene, leaving only the VM itself as a requirement. It's a terribly depressing tool to use, and it's frustrating when I have to refer to it when using Scala or Clojure, particularly in I/O .

</comment><comment><USER19> Coda's opinions, even if leaked, were highly appreciated. This guy has invested a _lot_ of time on Scala so it's in better position to say what he thinks about the language. In the end, it should help to fix imperfections and help the community.

</comment><comment><USER20> Yammer using or not using Scala isn't going to make or break the language. Adoption seems to be ramping up in organisations of all sizes: [http://thecodegeneral.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/scala- adoptio...](http://thecodegeneral.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/scala-adoption/)

</comment><comment><USER21> Can't help but upvote half the replies in this thread. Sometimes I forget how many ridiculously smart people hang out around here. Happy to be amongst you all, even as a generally passive participant.

</comment><comment><USER22> Here's why I, personally, prefer to put all my investment into languages like Scala and Clojure.

Scala and Clojure, for their problems (which are not severe, but not to be ignored) have the advantage of being closer to the languages and approaches of the future, in which building comprehensible systems at very high levels of complexity/intellectual intricacy will be even more important relative to performance of executables. I expect that the problems of these languages (including performance) are going to become much less major over time, just as performance gaps between Java and C and between C and hand-written assembly have nearly disappeared.

Spending another 5 years in Java means you're preparing yourself for a 1996 job in 2016.

Why Scala and Clojure? Unfortunately, the 10-year forecasts for Haskell and Ocaml aren't great. I wish they were, because those are great languages. The reason: libraries and tooling matter, and they seem to be mattering _more_ as the years pass (while differences in performance between languages narrow and matter less over time).

Hiring and talent: It's true that you can't hire 50 Scala programmers per month. On the other hand, most startups are far away from being in a position to hire 50 programmers per month at all, much less 50 good ones. Choosing an "esoteric" language works both ways. On one hand, it reduces the total pool of ready developers. On the other hand, I know companies that use Haskell and Ocaml and are able to hire 60-75% of their in-office interviewers while remaining selective; this would be impossible for a Java shop-- there are just too many unqualified Java developers. Choosing a language like Scala or Clojure will do a lot of the filtering for you.

<comment><USER23> Do people think the hiring and talent argument holds water?

The more I hear this argument (e.g., from the "Python Paradox"), the less I buy it.

Is the theory that true "hackers" care more about the programming language syntax and semantics than whether it has the right libraries for the subject domain of the startup?

Is the theory that true "hackers" care more about whether the startup uses a new and un-tested programming language than traction, likelihood of success, money, or the actual problems being solved?

Do the best "hackers" come in by searching job sites for niche programming languages, rather than referrals?

Even ignoring the huge disadvantages in library support, tooling, community sizes, and so on, are the hiring and talent advantages believable? Are the sort of people who learn Haskell also the sort of people who would be 99th percentile C++ systems engineers for some reason?

<comment><USER22> I think it's this: the best programmers generally want to learn new languages and approaches. This means that by mid-career, they've been exposed to at least 5 languages and seriously used two or more. They've at least tried functional programming. Rarely is the general-case favorite, for such a person, C++ or Java.

Finding great programmers who know C++ and Java is not very hard. Finding great programmers who _prefer_ those languages is quite difficult.

<comment><USER24> _I think it's this: the best programmers generally want to learn new languages and approaches._

This is true, however an inherent danger to Haskell/Lisp/ML-filtering is that this group has also a relatively high percentage of people who think every problem is a nail.

So filter for people who know functional languages, but also have plenty of experience with, say, C or C++ projects.

<comment><USER25> You really believe functional programmers are more willing to treat their language choice as a golden hammer than C++ or Java programmers? You must have installed a different version of reality than I have.

<comment><USER24> I didn't say filtering on Java was any better. Just that 'filter on Haskell or Lisp' is no golden rule. You will miss out on good candidates. There are great programmers out there who never really touched Scheme or Haskell outside a CS course.

Also, I think that a fairly large subset of C++ programmers who think that C++ is an ugly and complex language. But it's often practical, e.g. because it is used in legacy software, because it's fast (and provides more abstraction than C), or because many good cross-platform UI libraries use C++.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Pompous. If you ever tried to use Yammer's "API" you wouldn't be asking this guy for an opinion on anything.</comment>


Hike beats WhatsApp to launching messenger app payments in India - <AUTHOR> https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/20/hike-messenger-payments-india <comment><USER2> I think that Whatsapp does not understand how the diehard users use it.

I live in India, one of whatsapp's biggest markets. I am stunned every day by the level of penetration that whatsapp has achieved here. From people in the slums to people over 65, everyone uses whatsapp. I regularly see long-form, local language content on whatsapp. I wonder who is writing all this. It reminds me of the early email days.

Whatsapp has wasted way too much time trying to cater to the snapchat demographic. But the snapchat demographic, either has not heard of Whatsapp (average US user) or thinks whatsapp is what you use to talk to grandma (the average Indian teenager).

They announced their intent to work on digital payments a full four months after demonetization was announced in India. No release yet (8 months and counting). They have probably squandered a massive opportunity here.

To my knowledge, they do not have any presence in India, their largest market. I wonder if that would have made all the difference.

</comment><comment><USER3> But not many uses Hike in India. WhatsApp still the most widely use app in India.</comment>


Snowden given safepass to Ecuador [pdf] - <AUTHOR> http://s0.uvnimg.com/files/2013/06/13298/xc560-5b4f588.pdf

<comment><USER2> From the WSJ:

      Late Wednesday, Univision Networks posted images of what it said
      was a "safe pass" for temporary travel that had been issued to
      Mr. Snowden [...]

      But according to a senior official in Ecuador's foreign ministry
      on Wednesday, Mr. Snowden had no such pass. "He does not have any
      documents issued by the government of Ecuador, such as a passport
      or a refugee identification," said Galo Galarza, a senior
      ministry official. He didn't provide additional details.

[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732432820457856...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324328204578569270162405156.html)

<comment><USER3> Any explanation to such strange thing?

Is it fake document? I wonder why there is no photo, no signature or stamps.

Or is it just ecuador playing safe?

<comment><USER4> > _Any explanation to such strange thing?_

One possibility is that the Ecuador embassy was checking for leaks.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Ecuador denies giving Snowden a travel document: report

        "That's not true. There is no passport, no document that has been
        given (to Snowden) by any Ecuadorean consulate," Galo Galarza said
        in comments posted on the website of Ecuador's Teleamazonas, a
        private television station.

[http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-denies-giving-snowden- travel-d...](http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-denies-giving-snowden-travel- document-report-211115581.html)

<comment><USER6> I think there is a possibility of a trick here - the document is not given to Snowden, but he somehow already actually is in Ecuador and Ecuador's officials have this document and he has been granted passage. This way Aeroflot's statement that Snowden has not been booked for any flights during next 4 days is correct, as he has already left.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I can't see a stamp or a signature, it's therefore invalid AFAIK.

The absence of middle name is also strange (if Mr. Snowden has one).

Anyone with access to a printer within an Ecuador embassy can do that, but without the stamp and the signature the value is zero.

<comment><USER8> That, along with the misspelling of height (spelled hight) in the document, makes me believe that this is not a valid document.

<comment><USER9> Having seen many Spanish language immigration forms, bad English translations are not surprising to me at all.

<comment><USER10> Ditto for official Polish documents I've dealt with. You often have to pay a hefty sum for a certified translation, and there are almost always some very funny errors to enjoy.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> If this document is genuine, it's a little ironic that they forgot to include his middle name.

<comment><USER12> Well, it was done by the Ecuadorian consul in London, so maybe he did not have all the facts.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> One thing puzzles me - why this document has been issued in London, not Ecuador?

<comment><USER14> Assange printed it from the Ecuadorian embassy in London while everyone else had gone to lunch?

<comment><USER15> OK, I know jokes aren't appreciated on HN, but this comment is comedic art.

<comment><USER16> Jokes are ok, they just have to be unique and funny - like this one. Clever doesn't hurt either. Stupid memes or lame, tired, or mean jokes are not ok.

<comment><USER17> It's always good to have an official ruling. God forbid someone goes overboard.

<comment><USER18> Exactly! Couldn't agree more, humor is definitely one place we need strict guidelines, otherwise how we all know what's funny and acceptable and what isn't?

<comment><USER16> I'm just telling you what I've observed over the years here and dispelling the notion that it's frowned on entirely. If you want to start reddit-style memes, go ahead, have fun.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> OT: Looking at the US polls, the smearing worked nicely.

<comment><USER20> Alternative explanation: HN is an echo chamber that does not closely reflect general opinion in America

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> The missed the "J" again...

</comment><comment><USER12> Marital status single? I guess for legal reasons, he left his partner behind. 'Baby, I know we need to talk, but I am currently on the run from the American government.'

<comment><USER22> He left his _girlfriend_ behind. He's not married and never has been.

<comment><USER12> True. I had forgotten the exact status, still, I was merely using it as a pretext for my terrible joke.</comment></comment></comment>


Does Bill Gates Think the Internet is 10 Years Old? - <AUTHOR> http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/05/does-bill-gates-think-the-internet-is-10-years-old.html <comment><USER2> Bill Gates wrote a book in 1995 entitled, "The Road Ahead".

Guess how many times the word "internet" was in that book.

That's right. Zero.

So maybe it is only 10 years old for Microsofties.</comment>


Cloud Irregular: IAM Is the Real Cloud Lock-In - <AUTHOR> https://forrestbrazeal.com/2019/02/18/cloud-irregular-iam-is-the-real-cloud-lock-in/ <comment><USER2> This is a great point. When I talk to people who are worried about cloud lock- in, the parallel I use is the operating system. Does anyone regret going all- in on Windows for their enterprise desktops 20 years ago? Did we try to go multi-desktop? Or build our own distribution?</comment>


Ces 2009: Sony Vaio P Super Don't-Call-It-a-Netbook Hands On - <AUTHOR> http://i.gizmodo.com/5125930/sony-vaio-p-super-dont+call+it+a+netbook-hands-on <comment><USER2> Everything exept the price-point is good. Netbooks = the Big Mac 'n' Fries of the PC world; this is like going into a restaurant and ordering a super-classy burger, which kind of misses the point of a burger.

<comment><USER3> Very, _very_ recently, this wasn't true. Even as recently as two years ago, you paid a massive premium for something in the netbook form factor.

The netbook revolution isn't because suddenly there were these notebooks in that form factor, it's because someone managed to make small and _cheap_ notebooks.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> The crazy thing about this machine is the screen, which at 1600x768 in a 8" gives a 220 ppi... The iPhone looks crisp at 163 ppi, and we're on our way to the approximately 300 ppi limit of the human eye.

<comment><USER5> When we hit 300 ppi I will cry a tear of joy. We can forget about hacks like antialiasing and some types of font hinting with the attendant color fringing and fakery. Text is so much easier to read when it's crisp and clear.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Looks cool but how small is too small for "netbooks". At some point they are too small for the lap, and I think this might be getting close. Not sure though.

<comment><USER7> It's bigger than an eee PC, the defining product of the "netbook" category

        eee PC: 8.9 × 6.5

        Vaio P:  11 x 7.9

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> My Asus eee 1002HA came in the mail yesterday. So far It's pretty neat.

[http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=24&l2=164&l3=0&...](http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=24&l2=164&l3=0&l4=0&model=2659&modelmenu=1)

</comment><comment><USER7> eee netbook is about 1 kg, this is 635 grams; and it has a built-in cell phone. <http://www.obsessable.com/laptop/sony-vaio-p/specs/>

Not sure on the price-point, but I think there's a market need for netbooks in the direction of these specs.

</comment><comment><USER9> I would love to install ubuntu as soon as i lay hands on one of these netbooks. :)

</comment><comment><USER10> Holy shit, I expected this to be a lot crappier and cost $3000</comment>


RaceSplitter rejected after three years for using a slider control - <AUTHOR> http://www.dafacto.com/2014/11/05/racesplitter-rejected-after-three-years-for-using-a-slider-control/

<comment><USER2> That is pretty lame. But perhaps if it was revised to have the user slide vertically instead of the normal direction it won't be an issue. Or use two buttons and make the user press both of them to start.

I agree that Apple is being silly here, but they might have had to tell too many developers to not use the slider like that; other devs who really were trying to add a misleading experience. They don't want to be seen as applying the rule inconsistently.

They reserve the right to use the slider when they re-implement your nice app as their own native stopwatch.

</comment><comment><USER3> It's the flipside of the android 'anything goes' mindset. But the Apple appstore seems to make more money for developers than the android store does, based on reports, so I am wondering if this kind of thing helps or hurts.

</comment><comment><USER4> I think in 7 years there will be no such thing as "independent app developers". Other than games perhaps. Hopefully by then the browsers will be capable enough.

<comment><USER5> At that point Apple will slowly start to say that HTML5 is inferior to native apps and that it use too much batteries.</comment></comment>


Google loses Java patent case against Oracle - <AUTHOR> http://www.cnet.com/news/supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-appeal-from-google-in-java-patent-case/

<comment><USER2> Please don't use the titles of HN submissions to editorialize.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

<comment><AUTHOR> fixed</comment></comment>


Ask HN: How hard to find music software dev jobs? - <AUTHOR> Are there many openings for working on music related to software development?
As a hobbyist musician, features for creating/producing songs commonly pop into mind.   It would be nice to leverage the free motivation in a software development job.  I've done basic searches but maybe I'm missing targeted places to look.
I've worked developing creator software for graphics and 3D, but music seems to be a different animal to some degree. <comment><USER2> I have the feeling many audio companies are quite nerdy and it's hard to compete with die-hard audio-nerds.

If you are not looking for the core audio development there are however surely more normal dev jobs in these companies too. Bandcamp are all remote btw. but I guess hard to get in to too :).

Generally just pick the job that brings you the closest to where you want to be and move on every 1-2 years to something closer to your dream.

<comment><USER3> > I have the feeling many audio companies are quite nerdy and it's hard to > compete with die-hard audio-nerds.

Are we now describing strong developers who know their (difficult) domain well "nerds"? Kinda makes sense, given how most software engineering drifted into gluing together libraries and could be basically done by a monkey who has enough tolerance for boredom and frustration...

<comment><USER2> I'm no native speaker, maybe I misused the word a bit. I mean it in a very positive way :)

Precisely here I'd describe a person that spends much of their free time to code with audio and at least since their late youth. Often somehow valuing the technology over the actual sound (at least not clearly coming from the musician background, but rather from DIY, art or programming).

It's just a very attractive niche quite a few have a strong dedication to and if something could also be a hobby there must be some good people doing it already.</comment></comment></comment>


Without encryption, we will lose all privacy. This is our new battleground - <AUTHOR> https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/15/encryption-lose-privacy-us-uk-australia-facebook <comment><USER2> Old. If you do not recognise from day one how Clipper chip, fbi to the pgp you miss it.

Also if you miss china and the importance of that market and their view on internet etc., that is the new thing you miss.</comment>


Hungry termites nibbling at Oracle's foundation - <AUTHOR> http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2013/07/26/oracle_threatened_by_database_minnows/ <comment><USER2> Aside from the simple fact that I'm experienced and comfortable with Oracle's competitor databases and don't need them, you know what keeps me away from Oracle? Their reputation.

Oracle the company have managed to spend several years convincing me that their software licencing is expensive and designed to trap me into needing extra expensive add-ons, and that their management are litigious predators out to shut down innovation by whatever means.

Quite frankly, why would I build for their platform?

</comment><comment><USER3> What the article misses is a discussion of the core reasons keeping folks with Oracle. I know a little about that - sometimes eventual consistency is not an option and you just need to max the performance on an ACID system. Some folks just need a throat to choke.

But I'd like to know how many other reasons there are.

<comment><USER4> I work on an oracle-based system with roughly a thousand tables and 200.000 lines of PL/SQL code. What keeps us on oracle is:

1\. We know it well. It is easy to develop for because it's just SQL on a single server.

2\. In traditional ACID transactional processing, our core business, it performs quite well. Even mediocre queries often perform well. We've never had a customer or use case outgrow a single oracle db yet. Part of the reason oracle is so expensive is that you need very few servers if you properly design your db architecture.

3\. Our customers already know how to deploy it, which makes rolling out our product much easier. It is proven and well-understood technology. Often they already have an oracle server for us to share.

4\. Our product is designed around oracle and ACID. Migrating to an alternative would be painful (if moving to an ACID alternative like postgres) or horribly painful (if moving to a BASE database).

I think people often make the mistake of looking at the single license cost of sql server or oracle and assuming they're more expensive than the <insert favorite alternative> nosql db of the hour when you add up all the costs. I used to mock microsoft for bringing up TCO, but i have to admit it's a fair point. Stackoverflow runs off of a mirrored pair of sql server instances. You have to wonder how much servers they would need and how much extra development it would have cost to handle the same load on an eventually consistent alternative.

My personal opinion is that you have to choose up-front whether to scale up or scale out. Scaling up means paying for oracle or sql server and having a simpler development model because you have a single db instance. Scaling out means going for nosql and taking some of the reliability and synchronization work into your codebase. I don't think companies like oracle are selling the development advantages of scaling up very well, probably because they're not developer-oriented. The strategic mistake oracle continues to make is to alienate devs. They could build a strong case for oracle over nosql, if they cared about developer relations.

<comment><USER5> _Scaling up means paying for oracle or sql server and having a simpler development model because you have a single db instance. Scaling out means going for nosql and taking some of the reliability and synchronization work into your codebase._

Ignoring some of the specific details and focusing on the underlying point here:

Having had to work with both ACID and BASE systems extensively, the above point strikes a chord with me. Those of you who haven't dealt with both in anger, take heed of it.

BASE is a lot of code and reasoning to work with properly, and you're sacrificing the many knobs, tools, and easy ad-hoc queries (read: simpler debugging) that the common ACID systems have to get it. Common ACID systems are well understood, so there are many fewer surprises in wait. Furthermore, those systems are mature and have walked the inescapable trail of tears to get there; data is the lifeblood of most businesses, so it's not a place to take risks.

I'd rather work with ACID. BASE is for when you really need it (and when you really need it, you'll _know_ ).

<comment><USER6> Distributed systems are hard, including for database vendors. So when the database "doesn't scale", the database gets blamed.

It's a bit like blaming Boeing for gravity, then swearing only to use fleets of microlights to relocate your shipping containers.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Oracle is not just a database company anymore.

<comment><USER8> This. These days, Database is one of hundreds of products covering every enterprise market under the sun. Their emphasis is in selling you products for specific needs, which of course will use the database underneath. In that sense, developer relations are less important, since

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I assume all of these companies are moving _some_ of their data off Oracle.

In any event, Oracle is a bully.

I think most of the companies only do business with them, because they have to (as sometimes there is no alternative). What Oracle will probably learn painfully in the future, is that folks will be moving away as soon as they get the chance.

</comment><comment><USER10> The NoSQL hype currently is in the "Trough of Disillusionment" phase, not?

<comment> guard-of-terra Actually no, it's in the "we figured it out and use it instead of hyping it" phase.

<comment><USER10> This would be "Slope of Enlightenment": [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle) . I venture to doubt that NoSQL has reached this phase yet.</comment></comment></comment>


The final Windows 10 free upgrade nag will be full-screen - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2016/07/the-final-windows-10-free-upgrade-nag-will-be-full-screen/?comments=1 <comment><USER2> I think for Microsoft the cost of maintaining old releases outweighs the backfire caused by the forced upgrades.

<comment><USER3> This. As painful as it may be in the short term it will be beneficial in the long term. What MS is desparatly trying to avoid is having a critical mass of users who stick with win7 from here on out like what happened with XP. After dealing with that for years they want to cut off the appendix before it makes them sick this time around and who can blame them.

When some big 0day hits 7 all those consumers and small/medium businesses who turned a surprise win10 upgrade into "well we may as well go with 10 on everything at this point" will probably stop complaining.

<comment><USER4> Microsoft's can wish that everybody updated to the current version, but fantasies that aren't based in reality usually remain a fantasy.

There are a large variety of reasons to not upgrade, or upgrade later. Pretending these use cases don't exist or that they should ignore their own requirements just because Microsoft (or any other vendor) would find it convenient is a demonstration of how little they care about their users.

This push to force everyone into a monoculture has been so successful (lol), it has _increased_ [1] the market share of _Windows_ 7*.

> who can blame them

Their customers that expected a well engineered product, but are instead handed an ultimatum to accept new features, new bugs, new incompatibilities, and an order to upgrade at the vendor's convenience.

The point is to server the customer's needs, not the vendor's convenience.

[1] [https://www.netmarketshare.com/report.aspx?qprid=11&qpaf=&qp...](https://www.netmarketshare.com/report.aspx?qprid=11&qpaf=&qpcustom=Windows+7&qpcustomb=0&qpsp=207&qpnp=3&qptimeframe=M)

<comment><USER5> The market is going towards increased sophistication and incremental updates for operating systems. At the same time you have to be able to compete with low cost or free alternatives. Pretending that you can do that, without limiting the number of versions you have to maintain, is worse in the long- term.

<comment><USER6> Well then they'd be wise to offer free Windows 10 upgrades to Windows 7 users forever instead of charging for it after July 29th 2016. And yes, I know they have to make money, but Apple hasn't charged for an OS upgrade in ~3 (soon to be 4) years now and that is their competition. If they were serious about getting people to use Windows 10 they'd let people stay on 7 until their compatibility concerns are fixed.

<comment><USER2> I'll ignore the Apple comment since everyone knows the reason for that. What we don't currently know (I think) is if Microsoft will charge a premium for upgrades after the 29th. From what I've read they haven't announced upgrade pricing which means it either won't have an upgrade version (i.e. you pay full price) or it will be a dirt cheap and they won't announce it in hope they get more Win10 installs before the expire date.

<comment><USER7> > The free upgrade offer will end on July 29 and we want to make sure you > don't miss out. After July 29th, you'll be able to continue to get Windows > 10 on a new device, or purchase a full version of Windows 10 Home for $119.

[https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/05/05/windo...](https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/05/05/windows-10-now- on-300-million-active-devices-free-upgrade-offer-to-end-soon/)

It seems there will be no other upgrade path than paying $119. But of course it's not unlikely that they will be forced to extend the offer or give some other option.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> They're going about this the wrong way.

The little use my Windows 7 PC gets is for games. I have zero incentive to upgrade to Windows 10 as everything still works fine.

They should take their win10 advertising budget and throw it at a popular games studio to make an exclusive for the new OS. That'll have a much bigger impact on conversions.

<comment><USER9> Please never say that again. It's bad enough that all the Xbox ports are Windows 10 exclusive.

<comment><USER10> AoE3 outright refused to install on Windows 2000, required WXP. Put me off for a long time (though turned out I hated AoE3 when I tried it).

<comment><USER11> I seem to recall Just Cause 2 required either Vista or W7.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I'd actually love to be able to upgrade, but I use Windows 7 as a Virtualbox guest and all I get when I try to upgrade is "Unfortunately, this PC is unable to run Windows 10" due to the VirtualBox Graphics Adapter.

I've gotten Win10 to install by forcing it a couple of times, but it runs like a dog and the guest extension don't seem to work.

<comment><USER13> I run a Windows 10 guest in Virtualbox and it works fine. Well, about as fine as I expect from desktops in Virtualbox.

<comment><USER12> Was it an upgrade from 7 or a new install? 7 works fantastic (been using it for a couple years). My brief experience with 10 as a guest was that VB was not ready for it and it was a buggy mess, screen glitches, couldn't get guest additions to support native resolutions, etc.

<comment><USER13> It was a new install. You have to tell Virtualbox which OS it is going to run, though I am not sure what it does differently. It seems you can change the setting afterwards.

You may just have bad luck. It always takes me a day to get Virtualbox running correctly on a new PC, no matter how many times I have done it in the past.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Well, I guess Microsoft does not have any more consumer trust to lose, so they may as well go at full speed to try and promote Win10 that way.

</comment><comment><USER15> I hope the "Do not notify my again" option really does what it says this time.

Unfortunately, I doubt that Microsoft will simply stop nagging people after July 29. They'll either extend the free upgrade indefinitely, or change the pop-ups to read something like "Limited time offer, 80% off!"

<comment><USER16> Not to mention the trickery of putting it on the other side of the screen, in low-contrast text. Purple on purple?

MS has no decency or plausible deniability here. They want to remove the end user's choice and rely upon trickery.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> I recently bought a Thinkpad with W7 Pro. I have no real use for Windows right now, and I'm thinking of wiping that disk to install a BSD on it.

But things change, and I if I'm lucky, I may (have to) do a little bit of software development (porting at least) for Windows in a year or two. Most likely people will want Windows 10 support at that point. In my situation, would you recommend upgrading?

EDIT: I've considered using a VM for Windows, but I don't know if it'll be painfully slow. And I'm not sure if I can get a copy of Windows for that purpose free of charge.

<comment><USER18> I would recommend a VM, which is what I do for all systems I need to develop for but not use as my everyday system.

<comment><USER19> Note that VMs often will not get the necessary IDs to entitle the PC itself to the upgrade. Switching between a VM and bare metal will change the entitlement as Microsoft sees it, and I'm not totally sure entitlements will work on VMs at all. Just in case, I'd upgrade the PC itself, even if you do it with a spare hard drive or something.

<comment><USER18> Hmm, you're right, I'm not sure what will happen to the license itself. It's just what I do when I need to develop for systems that I won't use for other things.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> It's interesting that the big update to W10 ("Redstone") arrives a couple of days after the free offer ends. Perhaps they want the last minute rush of cajoled upgraders to be greeted with a known stable version, rather than the latest and greatest which could have issues to shake out.

<comment><USER2> running a redstone insider build on my laptop right now. it seems more stable than their release branch and a lot of the UI inconsistencies were fixed. of course I cannot speak for every PC out there but I know of cases with the current stable build not working on some PCs which means that one is not a stability monster either.

they should have either extended the free upgrade offer for a month or released Redstone earlier. it doesn't make sense to make someone upgrade today and then force them to re-upgrade to redstone a few days later.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> Have they announced the price for upgrading after the deadline?

<comment><USER22> £99/€135/$119 for Windows 10 Home or £190 for Windows 10 Pro.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> So if I've upgraded, and then downgraded (twice!), will Microsoft remember, and let me upgrade later, when 7 goes off support?

</comment><comment><USER24> Microsoft must be really desperate.

</comment><comment><USER25> Wondering what Windows 7 users are going to be using 4 years from now.... can't hold back the flood forever so not sure why they're still so insistent about it when MS has made their intentions so clear.

<comment><USER26> My father still uses winxp laptop to play dosbox games so I think people will be fine.</comment></comment>


Slacker News - <AUTHOR> https://slashdot.org/ <comment><USER2> Could they put anymore ads on that site ;) but funny</comment>


Ask HN: Is there a machine learning version of 'the algorithm design manual'? - <AUTHOR> The algorithm design manual is really nice in that it provides a mapping from problems to algorithmic approaches. I was wondering if there is something similar, specifically, for machine learning problems. <comment><USER2> Have you seen this -> [http://peekaboo-vision.blogspot.com/2013/01/machine- learning...](http://peekaboo-vision.blogspot.com/2013/01/machine-learning- cheat-sheet-for-scikit.html) ... Specifically the image at [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ME24ePzpzIM/UQLWTwurfXI/AAAAAAAAAN...](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ME24ePzpzIM/UQLWTwurfXI/AAAAAAAAANw/W3EETIroA80/s1600/drop_shadows_background.png) It seems like a good start.

There are myriad resources but none that I can think of that cover all the different problem types.

What are you interested in specifically?

</comment><comment> creative-coder There is another book written by the same author specifically aimed at Data Science problems, called 'The Data Science Design Manual'. Check it out at its dedicated website: www.data-manual.com</comment>


Lot of Indians are still using Orkut. - <AUTHOR> http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/explorer/?r=IN&l=ORKUT&csd=1230796800000&ced=1401861600000

<comment><USER2> I used Orkut for a few months and then switched to Facebook. I don't even remember what Orkut was like ;)</comment>


Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Regulating Tech - <AUTHOR> https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/7/15/20693930/mayor-pete-buttigieg-kara-swisher-recode-decode-podcast-interview-2020-presidential-race-racism-tech <comment><AUTHOR> Tech part of the interview starts about 27 minutes in. In the transcript it's the question starting with "All right, talk a little bit about your relationship to tech."

</comment><comment><USER2> I don't think you know where it's going to go, Pete.</comment>


Nokia's Suicide Note - <AUTHOR> http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=2931

<comment><USER2> Excellent analysis: Nokia has effectively announced that they have no focus and plan to spend three quarters losing money in the hops that in 2012 or 2013 WP7 is going to be a big hit for them.

It's a shame Elop doesn't take a page out of Jobs' book instead of Ballmer's. Rather than announce a strategic blah blah direction blah blah partnership blah blah, he could have called a press conference, walked on stage, and showed them a Nokia running WP7, announced a date you could buy them, and invited the heads of the world's biggest carriers on stage to announce cut- rate deals and plans for them.

p.s. I meant to write "hope," and not "hops," however considering what we make out of hops and the kind of decisions we make after drinking too much of it, I'm leaving it uncorrected.

<comment><USER3> Agreed. And in even less time, he could have walked on stage with an unlocked Android-based smartphone. What would Nokia have to lose from offering such a device? Does the new partnership with Microsoft prohibit such a move? If so, it seems like a limiting move for a hardware manufacturer that harkens back to the early days of Windows.

<comment><USER4> I agree. I keep hearing comments about Nokia being late to the game... blalballba ...if they decided to use android instead of WP7. I don't see how that is an issue. As has been stated by Nokia, this is going to take 1-2 years to make the switch to WP7. Why don't they spend 1/2 of that time switching to a popular platform instead of an unpopular platform. I guess I'd have to be an ex Microsoft employee (like the CEO) to understand any of this zaniness.

<comment><USER5> I assume that they want to keep their hardware platform. And porting Android to that would almost certainly require opensourcing their baseband implementation and thus enable everyone else to build phones with similar architecture (ie. without dedicated baseband CPU).

<comment><USER6> I don't think being able to go without a dedicated baseband processor will be an advantage for more than one hardware iteration. It may be useful in featurephones, but not that much with smartphones.

<comment><USER5> It enables Nokia to manufacture cheap smartphones with good battery life. Some Chinese Android-based phones are starting to have comparable prices, but certainly not battery life.

<comment><USER6> For how long will that advantage exist? Would you like to lose performance on your game because your phone wants to chat with the cell towers?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Ok, I have a lot of respect for esr, but all this talk of "porting" makes me think that no one knows how any of this works. "Porting" Android or WP7 to a new phone consists of: write drivers, write userland apps that give your users the experience you want, and possibly modify your existing bootloader code. They have documentation on their hardware, they have existing BSPs to reference, etc. This is _not_ a hard problem. Getting this up and running with basic functionality would _absolutely_ take no more than a month. Period.

<comment><USER8> And then there's this bit:

> _History matters; the Android codebase is designed to be ported in ways > Microsoft is probably culturally incapable of even imagining._

NT is portable. It's been ported to at least four CPUs that I know of (x86, Alpha, MIPS, and PowerPC), and MS has announced that they will deliver it on ARM.

I don't much care for MS, but pretending that they're incapable of writing a portable OS is nonsense.

<comment><USER9> Um...you do know that all the non-Alpha/x86 ports were considered failures in- house and dropped, right?

Portability was one of the first things Microsoft sacrificed to get things "working right".

And the OS engineers who wrote the "portable" NT code have long since vested and moved on. The new kids on the block have probably never seen their code.

<comment><USER10> Right, and this is why my Windows NT 4.0 CD contained x86, Alpha, MIPS and PPC versions. I had never tried anything but Intel, but it was certainly not just in-house.

<comment><USER9> Right, and how many Windows NT apps were there for MIPS and PPC? If Developers still have too much trouble creating "universal" apps, your port is effectively dead. Outside of x86 and Alpha, NT was never used.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Smart devices is Symbian, Meego, WP7.

Mobile Phones is S40 (not Symbian). This is the ancient Nokia platform, which is the only part of Nokia that is currently competitive in its price bracket.

The intention is to kill off Symbian as quickly and painlessly as possible. Good riddance. It was not a realistic smartphone contender to begin with. Finally Nokia stops throwing good money after bad. Only it may be too late.

One of Nokia's systemic problems is its uneven software culture. Nokia's diffrentiator was hardware. When competitors surpassed Nokia in software it was fighting a losing battle. From this point of view the move makes much sense. Remove the software that don't perform well: Symbian and Ovi service "platform", developer tools. Keep and streamline the parts that have a chance of success: S40, MeeGo.

The transition will be painful and success is far from certain, but the obvious alternatives would be even worse.

<comment><USER6> S40, IIRC, _is_ Symbian. It's related to the S60 that powered lots of Nokia smartphones, mostly the ones that actually work. Keeping to it and ditching the newer versions would be clever.

<comment><USER11> You remember incorrectly. See e.g. <http://www.forum.nokia.com/Devices/> for comparison.

<comment><USER6> It's a marketing barrier, not a technical one. The core is very much the same.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_40#Operating_system>

<comment><USER11> Sorry, but your link doesn't support your assertion. It only says that S40 is simpler than S60 and that S60 is based on Symbian.

With a bit of googling I found this quote from a Forum Nokia champion: "Series 40 (S40) is not based on Symbian at all, but a Nokia proprietary real-time operating system. Series 40 does not allow any native (C/C++) development (with or without Qt). The primary app development for Series 40 based phones is Java (JME, J2ME, MIDP/CLDC), or Flash Lite." [http://discussion.forum.nokia.com/forum/showthread.php?21666...](http://discussion.forum.nokia.com/forum/showthread.php?216661-Why- Qt)

Here's another link: <http://eve-c.org/2011/syskwyawan/>

<comment><USER6> Interesting. The use of the word "variant" on Wikipedia misled me.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Splits nokia in two? What a load of crap! Nokia is currently split into four, or five, or ten, or worse. When you consider the platforms, the hardware streams, ovi, qt -- it's a total mess of competing agendas.

I've been in the belly of the beast, and aside from having a very nice sauna, it's really ugly in there. There's total paralysis, as evidenced by the lack of competitive produts. OPK was fond of saying how nokia needed to reinvent itself, but he lacked the willpower to make any meaningful changes.

When I was there we used to say "it's hard to fire a Finn." Now some heads are finally rolling. Shaking it up like this is their only chance.

</comment><comment><USER13> Eric totally forgot about S40. It's a platform which sells very well.

<comment><USER14> He didn't forget about it. It's presence ruins his argument, so he didn't mention it.

There has been a side-conversation between Eric, Doc Searls and I for days on this subject.

The 'other shoe' will shortly drop when Nokia sues Google for infringement of many of the patents it holds.

Nokia also just radically cut it's R&D spending. Payments for WP licenses are being offset with payments from Microsoft for things like the Nokia Maps and 'other' items (likely: Nokia patents). Elop essentially ended up with an effective $0 WP license.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> "Porting?" As I've noted already, this move sounds like he's trying to follow a script for corporate meltdown drawn from Smalltalk history:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2206788>

Congrats. "Porting" enters into the plan!

If the CEO follows that script, he will have damaged employee relationships to the point that Nokia won't be able to execute some of the difficult goals he's set going forwards.

Seriously, he needs to look up some old ObjectShare alums to get some historical perspective on what he's trying to do and how it can go seriously wrong.

</comment><comment><USER16> Opinion from Robert Scoble:

<http://scobleizer.com/2011/02/11/dear-nokia-fans-youre-nuts/>

<comment><USER17> Compactified version: "I prefer Windows Phone 7 and consider it much better than the rest, so it was a smart move. It's just that WP7 has no apps now, but you'll all see it'll rock."

He says that platform with no apps doesn't matter at all, then believes apps will magically come out of nowhere (uh, reminds me of <http://twitter.com/RovioMobile/status/35985499667562496>), so the platform will shine and become an ecosystem. Sure, this is probable (especially after the agreement), but they'll have very tough time making it so. We've already seen lots of great platforms failing for about the same reasons and WP7 may as well become another one.

Time'll show the real outcome, and we could only wish Nokia+MS to success.

Personally, I believe Nokia would've in a better position if they put all resources on MeeGo development and ability to run Android apps on it (which was already shown recently). This way they'd profit on two already strong ecosystems at once, yet won't become yet another Android vendor. But that's just my own thoughts.

<comment><USER18> Microsoft has many weaknesses, but attracting and supporting a substantial developer community has NEVER been one of them. Look at the speed with which developers adopted XBOX360 on the back of Microsoft's toolchain.

There are millions of developers across the world with Visual Studio on their machines, who are VERY comfortable with The Microsoft Way. Their resistance to downloading the Android SDK and using Eclipse to write a Java app is high. Their resistance to buying a Mac to do iPhone development is higher. Their resistance to downloading the WP7 SDK and writing an app in a language familiar to them is VERY LOW.

It may be harder for them to attract the cutting edge startups... the Paths and the Flipboards... but Microsoft is not Palm. They are not Google. They are not Blackberry. There will be apps. Particularly with respect to business apps, there will be MANY WP7 exclusives.

And for the big, 90-percent-of-all-app-use apps, like Facebook and Angry Birds, Microsoft will either write the apps themselves, or court the shit out of the companies who make them to get them to do a port. They will give them direct lines to WP7 engineers who will fix their bugs.

They'll have a developer horde, no question. They'll screw up a lot of things about WP7, but I'm baffled that you think nurturing a developer community is one of them.

Remember: "Developers! Developers!"</comment></comment></comment>