Ask HN: Google Doc email virus? - <AUTHOR> We just received multiple "google doc shares" that seemed sketchy and were not sent by the claimed sender.<p>They came from different companies that have no connection to each other, I assume others are seeing them too right about now.  Anyone know whats up? <comment><USER4> I reported this attack vector to Google back in 2012. They awarded a modest bounty, and then a few months later I heard this:

> _" We're deploying some abuse detection and reactive measures to deal with > impostors that might try to abuse this sort of attack. Given this, we do not > intend to perform validation that the URL matches the branding > information."_

That last part was in reference to one of my proposed mitigations, which they chose not to implement.

Here's the discussion on the IETF OAuth WG mailing list from that same time period: [https://www.ietf.org/mail- archive/web/oauth/current/msg07625...](https://www.ietf.org/mail- archive/web/oauth/current/msg07625.html)

<comment><USER5> Unicode domain names, Google OAuth phishing...changing my passwords every 30 days is looking less and less important.

It's sad we can't seem to provide good, usable secure software.

<comment><USER6> > changing my passwords every 30 days is looking less and less important.

Sidenote: I don't think that was ever a good idea, unless you think you were likely to type your password into phishing sites in the last month.

<comment><USER5> Sadly, PCI compliance requirements believe otherwise :(

<comment><USER7> The PCI requirement is to change passwords every 90 days.

<comment><USER8> And is patently silly, forcing the requirement to decrypt rarely used private keys every 90 days.

The requirement should depend on password and hash strength, not some arbitrary decision.

PCI does not recommend employing password entropy checkers either.

90 day password can be weak while passing all the requirements.

<comment><USER9> Everywhere I've worked appears to have their own way of circumventing the security of PCI requirements. On a military base I worked everyone used an easily recognizable pattern on the keyboard. Another place was something like [employer][symbol][123 or 321]. All too often people use the same pattern that the IT team uses when they reset your password. So if the IT team typically sets your password to WhyCombin@tor1, then everyone's going to cycle through 1-10.

Making people reset their password every 90 days probably causes more problems than it solves and incentivizes more easily guessable passwords.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Mailinator here:

Yes, we sent the inbox to a blackhole but keep in mind, Mailinator does not and can not actually "Send" any email.

It's a receive-only service. As always, any email "from" @mailinator.com has had it's reply-to forged (which is pretty trivial).

Also - even before we blackholed the email, it's unlikely any email in that inbox (i.e. hhhh..) was read. Each box has a 50 email limit (FIFO) which was immediately overwhelmed. You couldn't click fast enough between seeing the inbox list and clicking an email.

Mailinator is simply a "receiver" in all of this but we have no indication our servers were otherwise involved.

<comment><USER11> > Each box has a 50 email limit (FIFO) which was immediately overwhelmed.

That makes me think the malicious author didn't expect this to spread as wide as it did.

<comment><USER10> It's my guess that Mailinator is extremely irrelevant to their plan.

They planned to propagate via BCC but they needed a "To:" address - <USER2> one that didn't bounce.

So they hit the "h" key awhile, then added @mailinator.com

<comment><USER12> Would it have made a difference if they made the "To:" a non-existent address? Would a bounce also prevent delivery to BCC recipients?

<comment><USER8> Technically, they have to defeat greylisting and server validity checks anyway to get mails accepted to most modern mail servers.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> EDIT: According to a Google representative on the reddit thread, this application is now blocked. If your account was affected, you no longer need to do anything.

If you fell for this, changing your password is not the right solution - <USER3> want to log into your google account and remove permissions from the application.

[https://myaccount.google.com/permissions?pli=1](https://myaccount.google.com/permissions?pli=1) should show a list of apps connected to your account.

Also, if you fell for this, you sent a bunch of emails to people like the one you received, so maybe tell them not to click.

<comment><USER14> Source code of the worm: [https://hastebin.com/gubegaqusi.xml](https://hastebin.com/gubegaqusi.xml)

Pretty much what you'd expect.

Edit: This isn't the full source code. There was another PHP file visible on their website that unfortunately isn't visible anymore.

<comment><USER15> Heh, they're using Google Analytics to track its spread. That's a nice touch.

<comment><USER16> It's possible to send any data we want to their Analytics tracker... perhaps we send them some spam?

<comment><USER17> Where is ilovevitaly when you need him?!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> It's a pretty nasty one, since it uses their standard OAuth flow with an app "Google Docs" to have users grant full access to their email and contacts.

1\. I can't believe Google doesn't have basic filters to disallow developers from registering an app named "Google Docs"

2\. Perhaps there should be some more validation/limits associated with allowing apps on the platform that can gain full access to email. A secure email account is the One True Source of authentication in the digital world. Google should make it way harder for people to get tricked into granting full access to their inbox.

<comment><USER19> Is it actually Google or is there some unicode trickery going on?

<comment><USER18> Doesn't look like a unicode trick on the app-strings I'm getting

<comment><USER20> Is there a database of homoglyphs for common fonts that one could use to write a visual string matching algorithm?

<comment><USER15> [http://www.unicode.org/Public/security/8.0.0/confusables.txt](http://www.unicode.org/Public/security/8.0.0/confusables.txt)

[https://github.com/codebox/homoglyph](https://github.com/codebox/homoglyph)

[http://homoglyphs.net/](http://homoglyphs.net/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Links of interest:

[https://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=issue&sid=4&iid=c7...](https://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=issue&sid=4&iid=c708d68b1884a629816e361895c125a5)

[https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/692cr4/new_google_d...](https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/692cr4/new_google_docs_phishing_scam_almost_undetectable/?st=j29dyxal&sh=34df3bf4)

[https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15534768/google-docs- phish...](https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15534768/google-docs-phishing- attack-share-this-document-with-you-spam)

<comment> et-al From the reddit link it looks like Google has fixed it:

> _Googler here -- I 'm escalating to the correct engineering and product > teams now._

> _Edit: This is now resolved. Less than a half-hour after escalation, wow! > =)_

> _Final edit: problem is resolved. I clicked the link and got an "oauth > client disabled" message. Not pretty, but at least you won't get phished._

<comment><USER22> "Fixed" in the sense that this app is now blocked. Is there anything to stop an other worm like this, with a different name?

<comment><USER23> I'm sure they'll do a post-mortem and come up with additional protections, they just take longer than the immediate fix.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> I love how simple this worm is. They haven't exploited any security holes (other that looking like Docs), it literally just _asks_ for full access to your email address.

<comment><USER25> Yeah, I read articles calling it sophisticated. This is a super simple and straight forward worm. Disguise yourself as a known app and ask for more permission than you should. IDN exploits [0] and attachment faking [1] are more sophisticated if anything.

[0] [https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2017/04/chrome-firefox- unicod...](https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2017/04/chrome-firefox-unicode- phishing/)

[1] [http://fortune.com/2017/01/18/google-gmail-scam- phishing/](http://fortune.com/2017/01/18/google-gmail-scam-phishing/)

<comment><USER26> It's sophisticated because of it's simplicity and effectiveness.

<comment><USER27> Technical simplicity, but sophisticated social engineering. Guess what the weakest link is between apps? It sure isnt the tech.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> Its a malicious OAuth client (multiple clients?) that calls itself "Google Docs" and fooled user into giving access to read emails, while pretending to show as if it was needed by GDocs itself to access a Document, enabling launch of among other things password resets on other websites.

the root problem seems to be that the identity of OAuth Servers is not authenticated/clearly shown, i.e. a malicious app can claim that its name is Google Docs even though it is not endorsed by Google.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are running any website that has "Reset my password" it might be used by attacker, since even though the attacker does not have access to password, the attacker had access to email inbox. Thus the email password reset flow will allow attacker to compromise other websites that rely on Gmail account for password resets.

[https://twitter.com/zachlatta/status/859843151757955072?ref_...](https://twitter.com/zachlatta/status/859843151757955072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fzachlatta%2Fstatus%2F859843151757955072)

[https://www.dropbox.com/s/l024nggmcizub40/Screenshot%202017-...](https://www.dropbox.com/s/l024nggmcizub40/Screenshot%202017-05-03%2016.01.26.png?dl=0)

</comment><comment><USER29> Wow, Hired.com appears to have emailed all of their users about this. Must be spreadinq quickly. Note that they advise compromised users to change their password - which other comments indicate does not solve the issue.

Below is the Hired notification.

\---

Important: Email Phishing Alert

Hi <first name>,

It has come to our attention that some of our users may have been hit with a Google Docs phishing scam. It appears that this scam has been spreading throughout the internet today, and is not isolated to Hired or our customers and candidates. If you want more information, you can read about it here[1] or here[2].

If you receive a Hired email that says that someone from Hired has shared a Google Doc with you, please validate with the sender before clicking the link or doing anything else.

If you think your account may have been compromised, be sure to change your password immediately.

We apologize for this interruption to your day. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks, The Hired team

[1] [https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15534768/google-docs- phish...](https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15534768/google-docs-phishing- attack-share-this-document-with-you-spam)

[2] [https://gizmodo.com/a-huge-and-dangerously-convincing- google...](https://gizmodo.com/a-huge-and-dangerously-convincing-google-docs- phishin-1794888973)

</comment><comment><USER30> Looks like this is fairly widespread.

This is what the attack actually looks like: [https://twitter.com/zachlatta/status/859843151757955072](https://twitter.com/zachlatta/status/859843151757955072)

<comment><USER31> It managed to hit regional mainstream media here (like 10 minutes ago).

I guess that probably just means someone working there got it though.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Source code of the worm: [https://pastebin.com/raw/EKdKamFq](https://pastebin.com/raw/EKdKamFq)

Edit: How I got this:

Someone on reddit went to their site when it wasn't down, and downloaded the files linked in the page's HTML. I just posted it here.

This isn't the full source code. There was another PHP file visible on their website that unfortunately isn't visible anymore.

<comment><USER32> I like how the code has Javadoc comments, in case other developers need to maintain the worm or use its public API.

<comment><USER33> That's gotta be a copy-paste job. If someone was actually cheeky enough to comment their malware they would've left jokes, puns, etc.

<comment><USER34> Indeed, those comments come from a Google Analytics quick start: [https://github.com/chriskwan/gmailytics/blob/master/quicksta...](https://github.com/chriskwan/gmailytics/blob/master/quickstart.html)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER35> Considering how easy it would be to filter this out, why has Google allowed it to continue spreading within their own email network? Obviously they have no control over what goes on outside of Gmail/G Suite, but inside their own network, they should be able to setup a basic filter to stop anything TO: hhhhhhh@mailinator or whatever it is. I received this email (but did not click the link) in my Gmail account from another Gmail user, so it never left the Google network. From the reports here it looks like it is still spreading even though Google disabled the app.

With all of Google's machine learning expertise, how is it that this got past all of their SPAM detectors? It took me 2 seconds to hover over the link and see it was a crazy link that ended up at a domain called google.pro. Really? One of the world's largest and most advanced email systems couldn't figure that out?

<comment><USER36> It was shut down within 30 minutes.

<comment><USER11> No it was more like hours from when I reported it and when the app was finally blocked.

<comment><USER37> Reddit post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/692cr4/new_google_d...](https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/692cr4/new_google_docs_phishing_scam_almost_undetectable/) (you can view complete timestamps by hovering.)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> We wrote a guide for google suite admins on how to lock down their domain. Oauth and phishing are major threats and google could do much more here [https://medium.com/@longtermsec/more-tips-for-securing- your-...](https://medium.com/@longtermsec/more-tips-for-securing-your-g- suite-4d617bd04bc8)

</comment><comment><USER39> I work for a fortune 500 (wont disclose) but we just shut off email for our entire organization due to this...

</comment><comment><USER40> SANS writeup: [https://isc.sans.edu/diary/22372](https://isc.sans.edu/diary/22372)

</comment><comment><USER41> Articles:

[https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/massive-gmail- goo...](https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/massive-gmail-google-doc- phishing-email)

[https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15534768/google-docs- phish...](https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15534768/google-docs-phishing- attack-share-this-document-with-you-spam)

[https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2017/05/google- docs...](https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2017/05/google-docs-app- spam-goes-phishing/)

</comment><comment><USER42> Hi, I'm Google Docs. Would you please grant me access to your Google account so that I can read, send, delete and manage your mail, as well as manage your contacts?

<comment><USER43> Hi Google Docs. I'm not sure I need any help managing my email at the moment, but maybe we can just be friends?

</comment></comment><comment><USER44> Our support team is getting spammed a lot from our customers. We're in the education space, and it's spreading pretty quick.

On initial inspection the URL looks harmless, but it's got some malicious params in there, mainly

      redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fgoogledocs.g-docs.win%2Fg.php

It appears to request read/send access to your email, and then spam all your contacts

<comment><USER45> I received one with this address as well.

</comment></comment><comment><USER46> Reported as a service disruption on the status dashboard:

> We're investigating reports of an issue with Google Drive. We will provide > more information shortly.

[https://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=issue&sid=4&iid=c7...](https://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en&v=issue&sid=4&iid=c708d68b1884a629816e361895c125a5)

</comment><comment><USER47> Things like this are bound to happen when you have centralized systems controlling everything with full control of the information (no zero-knowledge storage like email/document/communication encryption). You're essentially trusting one third party provider with everything in your life/business/organization.

</comment><comment><USER48> Yes, it's phishing. More discussion: [https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/692cr4/new_google_d...](https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/692cr4/new_google_docs_phishing_scam_almost_undetectable/)

</comment><comment><USER49> Same here. Several emails so far from different seemingly random companies and individuals with clearly malicious Google Docs requests w/ a suspicious param in the oauth request in the link:

"&redirect_uri=3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fgoogledocs.docscloud.info%2Fg.php&customparam=3Dcustomparam"

<comment><USER50> Seeing an alternate redirect redirect_uri= =3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fgoogledocs.g-docs.win%2Fg.php

</comment></comment><comment><USER51> When can we expect a public statement regarding the phishing scam and the fallout? We all know it used our accounts to forward itself to everyone in our contact lists, but what about our emails? Have those also been forwarded/harvested? We need to know this to know how to react.

</comment><comment><USER52> Just received one as well. Source is Hired.com - according to them:

[https://cl.ly/1i0b0v110s0J](https://cl.ly/1i0b0v110s0J)

\---

Hi Sergio,

It has come to our attention that some of our users may have been hit with a Google Docs phishing scam. It appears that this scam has been spreading throughout the internet today, and is not isolated to Hired or our customers and candidates. If you want more information, you can read about it here or here.

If you receive a Hired email that says that someone from Hired has shared a Google Doc with you, please validate with the sender before clicking the link or doing anything else.

If you think your account may have been compromised, be sure to change your password immediately.

We apologize for this interruption to your day. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks, The Hired team

</comment><comment><USER53> Here's an interesting case that I encountered (~1:20pm maybe):

1) I clicked on the link on my phone's email app. It looked super believable since it was coming from a person I was expecting a Google Doc invite from. I allowed access to "Google Docs" and then the page hit a 502 gateway error.

2) I tried it again on my computer by logging in, and this time, when the page was loading (after I allowed access), I saw the website was not legitimate (based on the url) SO I immediately closed the tab.

Here's the interesting part: None of my contacts got a "Google Docs" invite from me - meaning I didn't "send" any mail. Any idea how I can see if the person behind this has my emails too via API requests?

<comment><USER54> Go to your Google account's security settings and see which apps have access. Revoke access from any app that is not needed or has the display name "Google Docs".

</comment></comment><comment><USER55> To see the list of apps connected to your Google Account: [https://myaccount.google.com/permissions](https://myaccount.google.com/permissions)

</comment><comment><USER56> Eagerly awaiting the response from Cloudflare detailing their response, since all of the domains associated with this so far appear to have been hosted with them, or at least fronted by their service.

</comment><comment><USER57> I got one from "DocuSign": [https://twitter.com/choxi/status/844949531896655872](https://twitter.com/choxi/status/844949531896655872)

The link went to a page that looked like Google Docs and asked for my Google login, but I noticed the domain was wrong so I didn't sign in. I tried the link again today and it looks like Chrome does flag it as a phishing site now.

</comment><comment><USER58> Google is on it [https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/03/heres-googles-official- sta...](https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/03/heres-googles-official-statement-on- todays-fast-spreading-phishing- attack/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&sr_share=twitter)

</comment><comment><USER59> My brother called me about 15 minutes ago to tell me this hit his student e-mail as well.

I'd be curious at the postmortem how quickly this thing spread.

</comment><comment><USER60> Feels like "I love you" all over again.

<comment><USER61> Link for the lazy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILOVEYOU](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILOVEYOU)

</comment></comment><comment><USER62> As we saw one should not let users decide who can get access to their email account. Users are easily fooled. Google should review all applications wanting such access manually.

Though this is unrelated to the topic I think it would be good if Google reviewed apps permissions in Google Play too because users are bad at this.

</comment><comment><USER63> G Suite admins: you can check for compromise by going to Reports > Token in the admin panel. A compromise looks like this: [https://i.imgur.com/Dm0NNTn.png](https://i.imgur.com/Dm0NNTn.png)

</comment><comment><USER64> The very same thing happened at my university. The sender is email@example.com

<comment><USER10> Um. The TO address is email@example.com. Not the sender.

</comment></comment><comment><USER65> G Suite customers have been asking for the ability to whitelist OAuth clients/scopes for their domains for years, for this exact reason. So far, Google hasn't really given a shit.

I guess that might finally change now.

</comment><comment><USER66> There is also a Docusign phish email going around. I received a couple of them yesterday from mail2world, though signed by [company name].onmicrosoft.com for that user's business email address. They purported to be from people I knew.

</comment><comment><USER67> I just received one of these as well. They seem to get their targets by compromising a single user and then by monitoring the people who are viewing the same Google Docs as the infected victim had in the past.

</comment><comment><USER68> This happened to me. An unknown person from my organization shared a Google doc. I didn't open it, and replied by saying 'what is this about?'. He said he didn't send any gdocs :|

<comment><USER69> It sounds so simple, but the msn messenger era taught me to always follow up on a shared file for this reason (address book worms were a minor scourge in my circles at the time).

</comment></comment><comment><USER70> The only tricky thing is not seeing these weird permissions. Google may block naming an app "Google Docs" but someone could always trick it with "Google Docs." or whatever

</comment><comment><USER71> The bad thing about centralized internet is it makes some mail servers much juicer targets than the decentralized mail servers of old.

I decided gmail wasn't for me when I read they harvested your emails for ads. 1GB in 2004 sounded so enticing too!

If you are technically savvy and have access to a static IP, I highly recommend setting up postfix/dovecot and registering a domain. It's fairly straight forward for technical people. You can have it setup, soup to nuts in an hour or two. There's online docs everywhere.

It's probably not going to be as secure as a gmail, but it's a much smaller target. Most internet providers will give you a static for an extra $5 or so.

<comment><USER72> And then nobody ever receives your mail because the big mail servers don't trust you.

<comment><USER73> Yeah exactly - last time I went through the trouble of setting up my own e-mail I decided it just wasn't worth it between PTR records, dmarc, and SPF. It's possible, sure, but takes away all of the old-fashioned enjoyment of quickly setting up a Linux box with postfix and on your way you were.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER74> Next up, prepare for the inbox onslaught of every CASB provider hawking their wares and telling you all about the googpocalypse and how they are uniquely prepared to solve it!

</comment><comment><USER44> Just checked the malicious link again.

It looks like Google removed (at least one of) their access tokens

Checked the URL containing:

      googledocs.g-docs.win%2Fg.php

</comment><comment><USER75> Any clues what this was trying to do? I suppose we have to wait for Google to publicise what went on once OAuth had been granted.

<comment><USER28> My guess spreading + password resets + searching for files that can be downloaded/later used for crypto blackmail?

I think we are going to see some of the worst large scale ransom attempts shortly. They also timed it perfectly afternoon on hump day when everyone in USA is just getting ready for / back from lunch.

</comment></comment><comment><USER76> so what should i tell my mom to avoid her Gmail being hacked in future same way? (it wasn't hacked since they had only English language audience this time)

don't click on unknown links which take you to Google login page and never approve access to your data in any dialog?

</comment><comment><USER77> This is burning through our office right now. emailing all clients! diablo!

</comment><comment><USER78> Is there mitigation against deploying exactly this attack another way?

</comment><comment><USER79> Yeah @SwiftOnSecurity warned about this, lots of people/orgs affected

</comment><comment><USER80> I got a few, then it died. Perhaps Google now recognizes this as spam.

</comment><comment><USER81> Anyone know how far spread this is? it just Hit our school emails

<comment><USER82> Looks really wide. It hit our org too. Though in our case, we don't use Google accounts internally, and hence it isn't a threat to us.

And it looks like Google is responding. The link in the emails no longer works, as the OAuth credentials have been revoked. I assume Google will be removing all the applicable app permission grants themselves.

</comment></comment><comment><USER83> there was a warning may 4 about a massive google doc phising scam check on.digg.com/2py2k5g

</comment><comment><USER83> warning may 4 of massive google docs phising scam check on.digg.com/2py2k5g

</comment><comment><USER84> I received it too

</comment><comment><USER14> edit: accidentally double posted

double edit: 1\. replied in above comment. 2\. dunno. first time using HN, accidentally submitted twice when I was on comment posting cooldown I guess.

<comment><USER85> 1\. where did you get this 2\. why did you post the link in 3 separate comments

</comment></comment><comment><USER86> Same here

</comment><comment><USER87> Yes, it's all over.

<comment><USER88> until copycats start

</comment></comment><comment><USER89> Yes, same here.

</comment><comment><USER90> My teacher said not to open this email.

</comment><comment><USER91> amazing how large this is, our company just a massive wave of those. all from "internal" addresses.

</comment><comment><USER33> We have an entire generation that's been trained by big tech companies to instantly click agree, share, like, etc., buttons. This is only going to get worse.</comment>


Google Authenticator gets its first update in years - <AUTHOR> https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/05/06/google-authenticator-gets-its-first-update-in-years-finally-lets-you-transfer-accounts-between-devices-apk-download/ <comment><USER2> Really happy to see this. I once wrongfully (and stupidly) assumed that my authenticator codes would be saved by Android backup, and lost all of them. I was able to regain access to almost everything, but there's one account I'm now locked out of forever.

</comment><comment><USER3> It now allows backup which is a really nice feature to avoid the my phone broke and now I'm locked out problem.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes. If only it hadn't taken them so many years that the most Android users have switched to other services by now.

I believe I moved to Authy in...2015, maybe? Between migrating phones and trying to juggle the tablet I had on the side (as a backup), it was just too much of a pain to use Authenticator anymore.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Funny enough I just picked up Authy a few months ago and it's leagues better than Google Authenticator. Losing my data once in Authenticator was enough pain to make a switch.

</comment><comment><USER5> Remember that time in 2012 when Google replaced the authenticator app with a new one and never really offered an explanation? (afaik?) [https://blog.lastpass.com/2012/03/new-google-releases- authen...](https://blog.lastpass.com/2012/03/new-google-releases- authenticator-version-2-for-android.html/)

Hopefully there wasn't anything more nefarious there.

</comment><comment><USER6> Does anybody know if there is any improvement in the OTP generation algorithms?

I like to have all of my clocks set 10 minutes ahead and Google Authenticator had always been failing generating correct codes. I mean, it's just 10 minutes. IMHO, The OTP generation algorithm should not be that dependent on time.

Then I abandoned it just like many other people.

<comment><USER7> I think that has more to do with timeouts than the OTP generation itself. Like the RSA tokens which allow use of the passcodes slightly before or after the active time range (and can use discrepancies to re-sync the clock) but will not accept an older passcode or one not generated yet. I doubt there's much of an incentive for them to handle clocks that far off, or anything more than normal locale issues for that matter.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Too late.

Which reminds me of another tool I left years ago. Google Keep. Are there any recent updates there, apart from the dark theme?

<comment><USER9> What do you use instead of Google Keep?

<comment><USER8> I use Trello mostly, and keep my notes in Apple Notes.</comment></comment></comment>


Blogger Outraged by 'Silicon Valley' Apparently Wanted a Reality Show of Her Own - <AUTHOR> http://www.betabeat.com/2012/04/13/blogger-outraged-by-silicon-valley-apparently-wanted-a-reality-show-of-her-own/ <comment><AUTHOR> clearly, the so called tech bloggers, have an agenda. this explains her childish public reaction.</comment>


Android is better - <AUTHOR> http://paulstamatiou.com/android-is-better <comment><USER3> I must admit, after watching Stammy use his Android day-to-day and proofreading this post, I am more tempted to try to use an Android as my main device from a consumer perspective. The seamless Google integration really is the killer feature.

However, from a developer perspective, I'm still staunchly in the "I want to build on iOS" camp because of the Android fragmentation issue and because there still seems to be an overwhelming majority of consumer spend on the iOS app ecosystem compared to Android. The Google apps on iOS are really very nice (though admittedly not as nice as their Android counterparts), but the only Google app I really want at this point is a Calendar app. Syncing and manipulating Google Calendar events with the native iOS Calendar app is still pretty terrible.

<comment><USER4> I find it funny when developers don't make Android counter parts or do so in a half effort fashion and then complain that no one spends money on Android apps.

If I could get the same apps on Android as iOS, my Android app spending would easily triple if not more. It isn't a lack of funds that keeps me from buying more. If a dev didn't bother to make it for Android, then he can't complain that no one bought it.

The Google Play store is full of shovel ware right now. The fact that Android users spend less only reflects that. That isn't going to change until the offering changes.

There are instances of Android sales producing higher margins then iOS. I'm surprised more folks don't notice that too.

[http://www.hatsproductions.com/blog/features/organ-trail- one...](http://www.hatsproductions.com/blog/features/organ-trail-one-year- later/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I just bought a Nexus 4 as my second smartphone (the first being a Palm Pre 2). Android is nice in the sense that it's more open and you (I assume, at least, having never owned an iPhone) have more choices to use open-source software. There are other bits and pieces that I also like, like the the modular nature of the software (you can use a different launcher, etc.).

But I disagree with a lot of the pluses in this article. I find the back button eminently confusing. I can never reliably predict what will happen when I go back. Sometimes if I go back from within Firefox, it'll go to the last app I used and _close_ Firefox. Other times it'll go to the last page, or to the home screen. Sometimes in my now-playing screen of PowerAmp back will go to the album list, other times to the home screen. I can _never_ reliably predict where back will go.

The UI theme is also shockingly utilitarian. I've got one of the nicest screens ever produced, 320 ppi, in my hand, and I'm using it to render a #000000 background, #ffffff text, and the occasional solid blue line? Really? Maybe I just don't like the whole "flat UI" paradigm that's becoming the new hotness.

Things also get more difficult when you try to leave the Google ecosystem. There's no CalDAV or CardDAV sync built in (though it's available with flaky and inconsistent addons), and removing all of the Google branding (like the search box at top) doesn't seem to be possible. The Google apps, while functional for the most part, are all very inconsistent in their themeing and UI.

Overall I get the impression that Android will, just like Linux, be eternally "almost there". The version that fixes all the little niggles will be forever just over the horizon. Google's had six years and its unbelievable muscle to polish it, and it still feels kind of half-baked to me. Having come to Android straight from WebOS, I find myself missing the overall polish, consistency, and thoughtfulness that WebOS had. (Despite its own problems, of course.)

<comment><USER6> > Overall I get the impression that Android will, just like Linux, be > eternally "almost there". The version that fixes all the little niggles will > be forever just over the horizon.

Except in the opposite direction it seems. Android is very much already there for consumers, which this blog perfectly highlights. Your complaints, however, are centered around not normal consumers but power linux users.

Linux: Caters to power users, never quite there for consumers

Android: Caters to consumers, never quite there for Linux users

Also FYI it's quite easy to remove the search box from the home screen. You can either disable Google Search entirely, or you can just install one of the half a billion or so alternative launchers in the Play Store. You can even have it look like WebOS if you want: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gau.go.lau...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gau.go.launcherex.theme.vezatmwm)

<comment><USER5> > Your complaints, however, are centered around not normal consumers but power > linux users.

I don't think they are; unpredictable back button behavior and inconsistent/plain UI aren't Linuxy complaints.

> Also FYI it's quite easy to remove the search box from the home screen.

I couldn't figure it out. If you disable Google Search, the box doesn't work any more, but it stays on your home screen. It just becomes a blank useless box. Not the same as removing it.

<comment><USER7> tap and hold, drag to the trashcan that appears and drop. It's gone after that on my nexus 7 running 4.2.2

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Ok, I'll throw out an "iPhone is better" counterpoint and not to say that you are wrong, but perhaps to say that "is better" at this point is subjective between the two excellent platforms.

My wife and I just had twins and my father in law couldn't make it to see them for a couple days, but we both have iPhones so we just used FaceTime and he got to see his grandchildren the day they were born.

My father in law is a pastor and isn't the most technically literate person in the world, but since FaceTime is easy to use and there is no app to install, it was a seamless experience.

In that moment, iPhone was better.

<comment><USER9> The flipside to this is that Skype is becoming pretty ubiquitous, to the point that even tech-illiterate folk can use it...

<comment><USER10> In my experience, Skype is far more well known than FaceTime, it's just that it never occurs to people that Skype exists on their phone. Once you tell them that, a lightbulb goes off in their head and suddenly they're much less interested in FaceTime.

<comment><USER11> Until they see how fucking terrible Skype video quality is compared to FaceTime? Oh and you need to know someone wants to call in advancve, and open Skype, so its what, a phone call then a skype call?

The likes of Skype and Google Hangouts are the equivalent of a POS chev or ford. Sure everybody knows them, and a good deal use them, but not because they choose to. Because they have to.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> It's 2013. Do we still need these kinds of posts? Pick the phone/platform that suits you better. Apple, Samsung and Google are already spending hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising. You don't need to help them.

<comment><USER13> > Pick the phone/platform that suits you better.

It's nice to have a good idea of what suits you before picking. This post is helpful in that regard.

<comment><USER12> I don't feel like it does. It's just pure advertising. It's not an unbiased review. It's also no substitute for someone trying out the platforms for themselves and making their own decision (which is what I'd advocate.)

<comment><USER14> Why is it biased? What makes a review unbiased to you?

Paul spent weeks evaluating the platform which not many people are able to do so they resort to other people's experiences.

This is why Yelp, The Verge, Engadget are popular. Not everybody can try things out because of the risk that it might be a waste of time.

<comment><USER12> Do I really have to explain why something titled "X is better" is biased? I thought the HN crowd was a bit smarter than that.

I understand why review sites are useful. I'm not advocating they disappear, but I do not think personal blog posts which are highly biased are useful. Especially in 2013 when these platforms have been around for years and years now.

<comment><USER15> I don't understand what your concept of "bias" is. A review on a review site is a person taking the device out for a test run, and seeing how it works. This personal blog post is a guy taking a device out for a test run, and seeing how it works.

It would be biased if he worked for Google, or if, at any point, he expressed a disproportionate favour for Android without backing it up. But he didn't. Why is it biased?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I switched just recently from being and iOS user for years. I really enjoy Android more, but this is completely a personal preference and I can make usage arguments for either operating system. iOS isn't bad by any means, and the simplicity is really nice under most circumstances.

Android has way more flexibility and the interface seems way more logical to me. I feel like I can get more from my device and accomplish tasks quicker.

Either way, it's silly to make this a "phone war" deal, since I think they just appeal to different types of users.

</comment><comment><USER17> Strange. I recently switched to Android after 4-5 years on iOS. I miss iOS' "logicalness" and singularity - there was one place for a setting and it was logically placed. In Android, there seems to be sometimes as many as five places to change the same setting, and often you have cascading settings that are overridden by just one app while it is running.

It's quite frustrating, just to pick one, to figure out where to go when you want to change your wallpaper. Settings -> Display -> Wallpaper. Weird - <USER2> it's just me but "Display" is not associated with "Wallpaper" in my head. "Display" means things like screen resolution, which device I want the display beamed to, etc. Android is riddled with "not quite wrong but takes a second to remember" things like this.

I told my wife yesterday, "I didn't think it was possible that someone, in 2013, would develop a phone that was worse at event notifications than the iPhone but they've done it with Android!"

For reference, I've only been on Android for about six weeks at this point. I did two weeks with the HTC One, returned that (camera was not to my liking), and went w/ the S4. I like the display size on the S4. I imagine that, if nothing else changes, in two years I will switch back to an iPhone provided that the screen size is the same or bigger.

To me, iOS is better. I miss it.

<comment><USER6> > I told my wife yesterday, "I didn't think it was possible that someone, in > 2013, would develop a phone that was worse at event notifications than the > iPhone but they've done it with Android!"

How are Android's notifications worse than the iPhone's? Android's notifications have consistently been regarded as superior. There's a reason Apple straight up copied Android's notifications, Google got this oh so very right.

<comment><USER17> Android's _event_ notifications are far worse - there are times when an alarm goes off, I touch the screen, my "unlock" screen shows, and then I'm taken to my home screen. I'm left wondering, "Wait - what just caused the alarm to go off?" There's no notice outside of the alarm. When I look at the notifications page (swipe down from top), there is nothing. The only way I can find what my appointment/event was is to navigate to my calendar. That's way worse!

<comment><USER6> By "alarm" do you mean calendar notification or alarm clock alarm? Because alarm clocks don't require unlocking to see what they are, it sounds like you may be dismissing them before looking at them.

Calendar notifications are in the notification tray until you dismiss them

I don't know what other "event" notifications you are talking about. Also note that a lot of this is up to whatever app you are using and not Android itself.

<comment><USER17> _By "alarm" do you mean calendar notification or alarm clock alarm?_

Calendar

 _Calendar notifications are in the notification tray until you dismiss them_

I wish. See my post for description of what happens 2-3x per week on my Galaxy S4. I'm using the built-in calendar.

<comment><USER6> Oh, try using Google Calendar instead: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.calendar)

(or whatever other calendar program you want - there's really no need to stick with the built-in if you don't like it)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> k-mcgrady I recently switched to Android for a few weeks. I got a Nexus 4 for development and decided I'd move over to learn as much as I could about using Android. I really liked it but I switched back to iOS for a few reasons:

1\. After PRISM I don't like having all my information with Google. I'm willing to give up privacy to a point but giving it all to one company worries me and I trust Apple more as their business doesn't involve using/selling my information.

2\. As an iOS dev I've been using iOS 7 for the past couple of months and it is really nice. It took a little while to adjust to the new UI but I really like it and they seem to be doing some Google Now style stuff with the notification centre which was one of the big Android selling points for me.

3\. The fact that Android is so flexible and open is very useful and there are some great apps available. But I've found that iOS I just a little slicker. iOS runs just a little smoother. Comparing identical apps on each platform (Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter etc.) the iOS ones are just a little smoother and nicer to use. This is one of the big things I've noticed. iOS may have some tradeoffs but it is just a lot nicer to use.

</comment><comment><USER18> Great review! I've been playing with the new Nexus 7 for last two weeks and it's the best tablet I've used so far. Android is killing it.

Looking forward to Moto X becoming available at Play store.

</comment><comment><USER19> Everything is better. Everything is worse. Just pick something that works for you but don't expect you will magically change everyone's mind with your wit.

</comment><comment><USER20> Great choice of Hacker News app in the second picture :)

</comment><comment><USER21> I used Android from 2010 till 2013 and recently switched to iPhone. iOS is just notch above in terms of performance, over all design and finish. Android is good but software updates suck. And apps on iOS are much better designed (both visual and UX).

Lastly, all the google apps work on iOS so I don't feel I'm missing anything.

</comment><comment><USER22> Great article! Not only do I like Android better, but you can save a lot too. It's a win-win.

</comment><comment><USER23> What I hated about Android was that almost every app wanted access to my private information. Unlike iOS, on Android, you have to grant permission at install-time, and afaik there is no way to deny certain permissions selectively. Other than that, I like it a lot, it has come a long way, and it certainly looks nicer than the mess that is iOS 7.

<comment><USER24> And more apps than you probably realize demand the ability (which you probably explicitly permitted) to listen, store and retrieve everything that is said within a sufficient proximity to it (which is pretty big.) You gotta wonder which of those apps are security state Trojan horses.

If you carry an Android phone with even Google Search on it you are carrying a wire that is not ever under your control and is hot at any or all times.

Is this true with iOS?

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> I'm wondering why he forgot Tasker :s</comment>


Ask HN: New games that compete with classics? - <AUTHOR>

I'm currently hacking an SNES controller for use in a Raspberry Pi emulator and I started thinking about the quality of today's games.
None of them are challenging. I don't have good memories playing them like I do for a Link to the Past, Super Metroid, or any of the classics.
Have any of you played new(ish) games that can compete with the classics in terms of gameplay and fun? <comment><USER2> One thing you have to remember, is that after a decade or so of playing video games, you are not the same person you were.

Your tastes are far more refined, which means that you are naturally more inclined to notice flaws in the games that you are playing than you were when you were a kid. Also, you are probably a lot better at video games in general than you were all those years ago. Truly classic games have always been rare.

I don't know how you feel about FPS games, but recently I've been blown away by how awesome Borderlands 2 is. I played the first one and thought that it was pretty good, but I didn't feel compelled to finish it. I finished the second one in 3 days though. Not because it was short, but because I spent almost all of my 4-day weekend playing it. It reminds me of how much fun I used to have playing Doom, Duke3d and Quake.

If you like RPGs, you should try Torchlight 2. It's a Diablo-like game, made by one of the creators of the original Diablo. It released soon after Diablo III, and a lot of Diablo II fans feel that it is a much better game than Blizzard's latest effort. Where Diablo III starts to seem like a job after you reach the highest difficulty, Torchlight is pure fun the entire time you play it. It's also only $20.</comment>


Dr Fauci takes 6000 international units (150mcg) of Vitamin D per day [video] - vanilla-almond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqZLMoLvhgk <comment> just-juan-post This is the first thing of substance I have seen him say in a long time and I hope he makes vitamin D his crusade.

I personally take 8-10k (depending on how many roll out of the bottle) and have for years.

Want to end the unnecessary lockdowns and forced lifestyle changes? Send every citizen $300 in vitamin D.

<comment><AUTHOR> Is there any evidence that it's the vitamin D that gives these benefits and not other co-factors like for example healthy people are more likely to be outside and therefore have more vitamin D in their blood and so on? As far as I know (which admittedly is very little) the jury is still out on this.</comment></comment>


GitStats - <AUTHOR> https://www.gitstats.co <comment><USER2> I can't wait to try this out!</comment>


Minimalist and not-so-minimalist browser window in Sketch. - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/egimenez/browser-wireframe

<comment><USER2> Very nice, thanks for sharing. I'd love to see more examples of how people are using Sketch. The name makes googling almost impossible.</comment>


Ask HN: 12 hours flight. Best options for offline coding? - <AUTHOR> Planes and trains are usually a good place for me to focus and I was planning to do some nodejs project but then realise I shouldn't rely on having internet up there so... what's the best/basic things I should preload on my laptop before take off?<p>Also considering go/Rust as an alternative to scratch the surface of these languages. <comment><USER2> If you need documentation for an language, framework, etc you can take Dash. [https://kapeli.com/dash](https://kapeli.com/dash)

<comment><AUTHOR> that's neat! Exactly what I need. Sadly linux here, might have to fiddle a bit

<comment><AUTHOR> Replying to myself:

\- [https://zealdocs.org/](https://zealdocs.org/) \- [https://devdocs.io/offline](https://devdocs.io/offline)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Offline documentation via [http://devdocs.io/](http://devdocs.io/). It stores the data in the browser's localstorage.

</comment><comment><USER4> In that case, I would code something to help me automate my computer.</comment>


Are scientific theories really better when they are simpler? - <AUTHOR> https://aeon.co/essays/are-scientific-theories-really-better-when-they-are-simpler <comment><USER2> We don't need to justify it philosophically, we have mathematical theorems that provide ample convincing.</comment>


Ask HN: Do you use nocode programming tools? What's the state of the art? - <AUTHOR> I've revently found that games programming nocode tools are incredibly sophisticated.
I wonder why back end server application development tools aren't?
Why do I have to write everything in code?
I would have thought by now I'd be able to wire most of it up nocode and fill in the gaps where more sophisticated stuff is needed with code.
So I wonder, what is the state of the art in nocode?
What is up and coming, what looks exciting and promising? <comment><USER2> Retool seems pretty [1] _state of the art_.

No/Low code is just a new phrase for the older and less-cool _visual- programming_ , which has been a mirage since computer graphics came out...

[1] [https://retool.com/](https://retool.com/)</comment>


U.S. Consumer Debt / U.S. Population = $43,100 per person - <AUTHOR> http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=u.s.+consumer+debt+/+pop.+u.s.

<comment><USER2> That's not the consumer debt figure. Consumer debt, which is credit cards and other unsecured, mostly high interest debt, is $2399 billion.

[http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/default.h...](http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/default.htm)

That comes to $2399 billion / 307 million people = $7814 per person.

<comment><USER3> Sounds a bit more accurate, but pretty much just as scary. If you add in your share of the national debt, it gets really scary. Politicians likely won't have the backbone to deal with making cuts/raising taxes so the likely outcome is sustained inflation.

<comment><USER4> Just to give the full number the average Californian owes $132,655 with National Debt, State Debt and Consumer Debt (including mortgage, car, etc...)

U.S. Debt: <http://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html>

California Debt:[http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-clocks/state-of- califo...](http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-clocks/state-of-california- debt-clock.html)

Consumer Debt: [http://www.youngmoney.com/get_out_of_debt/california- leads-n...](http://www.youngmoney.com/get_out_of_debt/california-leads-nation- in-consumer-debt/)

(Though that doesn't include the estimated $1,012,540 per citizen in unfunded liabilities)

<comment><USER5> Let's not conflate "unfunded liabilities" with actual current debt load though. While both dollar figures, they are wildly different in nature.

<comment><USER3> Yes, but when Social Security money suddenly doesn't show up for a whole generation of people depending on it to retire, and in many cases no longer able bodied to work, the turmoil will be plenty upsetting.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> This has to be mostly mortgages, which makes it a little misleading.

<comment><USER7> Why is it misleading?

<comment><USER8> Generally, mortgages are an amount less than an asset someone has. It would be kind of absurd to consider a person with a $500k house and $50k in outstanding mortgage to be worse off than a person with $0. Mortgages also generally (depending on the state) are non-recourse; if your mortgage is for more than the property is worth, you can hand in your keys and walk off with no additional liability.

I agree from a cashflow perspective, a mortgage even if you have substantial equity can be bad, but most people don't get into debt trouble from mortgages, unless they got some kind of absurd mortgages for close to the value of the property, resetting ARMs, and fundamentally have more house than they otherwise would have purchased. True, a lot of people did this, but it's a historical anomaly.

But I'm sure you knew all that and were just trying to make a point :)

<comment><USER7> So it's misleading because they listed debt rather than net worth? I'm not sure "misleading" is the right term - I'd use "a correct number, properly labelled, but which answers a different question than the question rdl wants answered".

Incidentally, I'm not sure why mortgage debt is more misleading than other debt. If I have $500k in the bank but owe $50k on an auto loan or credit card, is that somehow worse than owning a $500k house with $50k mortgage debt?

As for the call-option nature of loans, that only applies in a few states (admittedly including CA and TX), and only to some loans (mostly only the first loan). While you are probably right that some mortgages should be excluded for this reason, I'd be surprised if they were the majority.

<comment><USER9> The reason mortgage debt is better is because the asset borrowed tends to appreciate (although obviously not in the past 5 years) whereas with a car loan or credit card the asset(s) depreciate quite rapidly, on top of the fact that the interest is much higher and not tax deductible.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I actually think this is an incorrectly attributed number.

If you multiply $43,100 * 300 Million people (remember the population number is 2008) you get around $12.9 Trillion dollars. That's around where the National Debt Clock would have been in Q3 2010 (<http://www.usdebtclock.org/>)

So this is each U.S. citizen's share of the U.S. National debt not Consumer Debt

</comment><comment><USER10> I was a bit disappointed that when I changed the "s" to "k" (and tried variations on that theme), Wolfram didn't have the answer.

I want to like WA, but I feel like its data is so sparse and often spiked just for demos like this. I'd really love to use WA to do a consumer debt comparison for the western world, but they don't ingest most other country data.

</comment><comment><USER11> Is there an investment opportunity around this number?

For example, $43,100 in consumer debt per capita seems totally unsustainable, and one way it might get corrected is through very high inflation, which would make our past debt more reasonable by comparison. So investments that perform well in inflationary periods would make sense... Other ideas?

<comment><USER12> Given that the number is incorrect, basing investment strategy on it would not be the wisest idea around.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Is it even possible to bring this figure down to $0?

<comment><USER14> My economics study ended in high school, but I doubt it would be beneficial to bring it down to $0.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> For comparison: US GDP per capita is roughly $46,000.

</comment><comment><USER16> Pretty sure we can keep spending money on Zynga/iphone games just a little bit longer....before we can't afford food/gas.</comment>


Lithium-air battery research shows potential paths to next-gen batteries - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/10/lithium-air-battery-research-shows-potential-paths-to-next-gen-batteries/ <comment><USER2> > But a commercially viable Li-air battery is still "at least a decade away."

Eh. Why even bother talking about it then? (especially in the context that we've seen _tens_ of these announcements in the past decade).

What all of these "breakthroughs" talk about is that they managed to "double the density for the same cost" or whatever, for only a pin-size battery. Anything scaled beyond that and it starts losing its advantages. That's why we hear about so many battery breakthroughs only to never hear about most of them again. Because when they start getting close to actually making a battery _product_ for the market, they realize it's actually not very competitive at all.

So wake me up when they can make at least a 2,000 mAh smartphone battery that's ready to be commercialized within a year (basically they'd just need to find a customer and start mass production).

Until then it's all fairy tales.

<comment><USER3> Well at least it's not the Q4 2016 :) [https://xkcd.com/678/](https://xkcd.com/678/)

</comment></comment><comment> ju-st > In a press release (PDF), the University of Cambridge scientists admitted > that a commercially viable lithium-air battery was still "at least a decade > away," but their research showed that some of the big roadblocks to > developing such batteries can be tackled.

<comment><USER4> Sounds like one of those tech articles that pop every year about that "new" discovery that will be usable in a "decade" for ever and ever.

<comment><USER5> Ten years: We haven't finished inventing it yet, but when we do, it'll be awesome!

[https://xkcd.com/678/](https://xkcd.com/678/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Link to the Science paper abstract (full paper is paywalled): [http://www.sciencemag.org/content/350/6260/530.abstract](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/350/6260/530.abstract)

</comment><comment><USER6> I distinctly remember reading about lithium-air last year and then the year before that.

All that research success yet no production samples.

ah, they even linked to the article I read in 2012:

[http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/06/lithium-air- battery-a...](http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/06/lithium-air-battery- advance-could-be-jaw-dropping-improvement-over-li-ion/)

<comment><USER7> Battery research news is on par with cancer cure and rapture day news these days.

<comment><USER8> Cancer treatments have advanced hugely, I'm told.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Does this mean your phone would have an air intake? Would it get heavier as it binds with the O2?

<comment><USER10> When this was discussed a few years ago, I believe the conclusion was that yes, the battery would gain weight as it depleted in energy.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Cynicism aside, I wouldn't bet against lithium-air. It will be a game-changer.

<comment><USER12> But will it beat Fusion power to market? :-)

In a more serious tone, there are lots of positive changes like this which are inexorably working their way into production. And I agree with you it will be pretty interesting when your phone lasts for a week or more, with heavy use, on a single charge.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> How many times in the past few years have we heard about "new battery technology" that was coming soon and would revolutionize the industry? Too many, and none of them ever seem to come to fruition.

</comment><comment><USER14> Almost anytime that a technology is said to be a decade away or more from the researcher, you may as well take it to mean that it will never happen.

<comment><USER15> So I'll be bald for a while then...</comment></comment>


Goodbye Blog. Hello Letter.   - <AUTHOR> http://davemorin.tumblr.com/post/1048332443/goodbye-blog-hello-letter

<comment><USER2> This viewpoint fails to see that the author benefits just as much as the reader, if not more, from writing quality stuff that attracts eyeballs.

A famous blogger has much better ways to monetise their fame than monthly subscriptions. A blog is a delivery tool to direct people's attention to places - you can sell stuff via your blog. A successful blog is also a powerful reputation-building mechanism. You can sell yourself through your blog. A successful blog is also a great way to open doors - you can introduce yourself thanks to your blog.

By charging your readers, you decrease the value of your blog... to yourself.

<comment><USER3> >A blog is a delivery tool to direct people's attention to places - you can sell stuff via your blog. A successful blog is also a powerful reputation- building mechanism.

Reputation goes down the toilet the moment you start selling stuff on your blog. Affiliate links are the scourge of blogs, because you don't know whether it was an incidental monetization, or whether the blogger thought "How am I going to get this thing to pay by indirectly and inefficiently taxing readers?", scrounging around for some sort of affiliate junk to claim to be over the moon with.

Examples abound of prominent bloggers flushing credibility and reputation down the toilet when they chose the "Sell" route for monetization.

Reputation itself is a bias, though. Some of the worst blogs are the ones where the writer is clearly preening themselves for future employers.

<comment><USER4> > Reputation goes down the toilet the moment you start selling stuff on your > blog.

I'd say there are a great number of exceptions to that. My blog has several thousand subscribers (for whatever you want to define an RSS subscriber as) that have been following my blog for years, they know I have been working at early stage startups for years and they value my opinion, even going out of their way to ask if I have an affiliate link for something I might have mentioned on Amazon before or elsewhere.

One guy even held off buying a big DSLR camera on Amazon for a few days until he was able to get my affiliate code from me while I was out of town.

People can have a voice that is valued online _and_ sell stuff through their writing/blog. Affiliate sales on my blog alone pay my rent while I can run around doing startups with no compensation.

Ken Rockwell comes to mind too. He reviews cameras and has amazing guides. Each camera page has a blurb about asking readers to buy it from sites that have his affiliate code.

<http://www.kenrockwell.com/>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> It'll be interesting to see how this goes. It has some intriguing possibilities, but it's also a pretty saturated market. The "market" for free information is indeed super-saturated, but the market for pay information is quite saturated as well. I already have more books, e-books, journal articles, conference papers, magazines, e-zines, etc. to read than I can possibly buy and read in any reasonable period of time. Where will reading premium blogs fit into this? I guess into the "e-zine" category. It'll be nice to get more quality stuff in that category, but there isn't really a current shortage of writing I can buy for money. So it'd have to be particularly compelling--- and also has to compete with the premium-quality-but-free online writing that's subsidized via other payment mechanisms, like blogging professors, who get paid in ways other than monetizing their blog directly.

<comment><USER6> I think it also ignores that many of the blogs I find most endearing are from new bloggers finding their writing voice. I find that by the time a blog has become big enough to secure its author a book deal, or a paywall slot, its best days are over.

Of course that may be just my personal quirk.

<comment><USER7> Another issue is that "big" blogs often hire other writers to increase traffic and revenue. TechCrunch, for example. I still love Arrington's posts but some of his new writers leave a lot to be desired - I preferred TC when he was the sole writer and even though _his_ posts are as good as ever, the SNR has fallen.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Maybe someone with great knowledge can chime in, but it seems like this is classic Prisoners' Dilemma. If only some people lock up their content, those who give it away for free will eat their lunch.

I applaud Dave for believing in his position enough to take his writing behind a pay-wall, but I think game theory is going to show this to be a poor solution in the long-term.

</comment><comment><USER7> There's an evolutionary process at work here. Once e-mail newsletters become passé, we'll see weekly fax shots, then snail mail, skywriting and, finally, personal visits at $1000 each. Then you realize you're a consultant.

I jest, I started an e-mail newsletter myself a week ago ;-) It's interesting to think where all this might go though. I bet if celebs could charge a few bucks a month to follow them on Twitter, there'd be a massive revenue stream there from gossip hungry admirers.

</comment><comment><USER9> Is it just me or is the letter.ly subscription page really bland? Too minimalist? I think it needs color, a more detailed description, anything compelling that might make me consider subscribing before closing the page.

A real subscribe 'button' and proper capitalization could help as well.

</comment><comment><USER10> ''Recently, Eric Schmidt, of Google, remarked that "There was 5 exabytes of information created between the dawn of civilization through 2003." He continued, "Now that much information is created every 2 days." We are creating more than ever across this ever expanding medium that we love.''

I feel like a visionary! I wrote recently that ''we have more written-word saved in Google's servers than all previous written-words combined since the invention of the written-word.''

[http://makebelieve1.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/a-pc-appears- on...](http://makebelieve1.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/a-pc-appears-on-every- desk-and-finally-internet-changes-consumer-habits/)

I wonder,though, how did Eric Schmidt calculate the ''5 exabytes of information created between the dawn of civilization through 2003.'' Because I thought about the same thing and I decided that given the incredible variery of mediums from clay tablets to books to computer discs it would be impossible to know. Do you know how he arrived at that number?

And I realize that some HN readers will downvote me for referring to my own blog but so be it, this is a very interesting question for me. I wonder how he arrived at that figure he quoted.

<comment><USER11> I'm guesstimating that he guesstimated.

<comment><USER10> Even just guesstimating seems difficult to me. I wonder then how did he guesstimate?

<comment><USER12> It was his interview question at Google, now he has to live by these numbers. He became the choir.

Just kidding. He has no idea if these numbers are true. The important meat of the message, that humanity now stores more information than ever _jedi hand_ and Google helps you make sense of it _/hand_ is what he wants you to believe.

And believe you will. I mean, we're so much smarter than previous generations (as usual), we've got to be doing whatever, better than previously.

It fits their company purpose. They are the good guys. Add 2+2. Why do you have to make so much trouble with these questions?</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Self-driving car without "murder pedestrian" mode will never move in Manhattan - <AUTHOR> https://twitter.com/philritz1/status/1200902496950128641 <comment> the-rc Does the poster actually live in NYC? It's one of the few places where drivers are actually already intimidated by pedestrians. As soon as car traffic at a crossing slows down, jaywalkers take over despite their red light and pass through vehicles, especially in Midtown, where we outnumber drivers.

<comment><USER2> Pretty sure that is the point OP is making.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> 1\. Self driving cars do not change the laws of physics. I would not walk in front of a car (self driving or otherwise) if I didn't reasonably expect it to stop in time and driver response time is only a small part of that.

2\. Self driving cars are likely programmed to honor pedestrian crossings(in my experience few drivers do). This would inspire me to actually use said pedestrian crossings, helping regulate pedestrian traffic.

<comment><USER4> what about when the light changes but the crowd is still moving across the intersection and the only thing that stops them is oncoming traffic inching closer and smacking the horn?

self-driving cars will need to at least be able to rev their engine and blast the horn when it detects a green light and people in the way

<comment><USER3> what about when the light changes but cars keep turning right and you still can't cross till you jump in front.. I think we can come up with a million examples back and forth without getting anywhere.

In the end, moving through congested areas is a pain for everyone involved. Besides, most drivers are pedestrians at times and most pedestrians drive.. Self-driving cars may shift the status quo somewhat but we all have places to go and traffic will flow somehow. Be it slower than time on a Friday afternoon..

<comment><USER4> i think we agree. the city does not make any sense for self driving cars right now. But they will inevitably interact well before full integration due to popularity increasing outside of the cities. status quo will adapt a bit im sure, but throughput will probably be artificially lowered by pedestrian abuse until people start getting tickets.. which will probably happen

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> SDCs don't have to work everywhere to be useful and/or revolutionary. Manhattan currently has many other obstacles, like weather, poor signage, and reckless drivers.

This person makes a good point, but it's a bit like saying that colonizing Pluto will be impossible when everyone else is talking about colonizing Mars for now.

</comment><comment><USER6> Turn one of the windshield sprayers on the hood around backwards. So it sprays in front of the car.

</comment><comment><USER7> I love how the first suggestion in the Twitter thread is facial recognition for "repeat offenders" (people who walk in front of a car).

How quickly we seek to embrace the Orwellian. Or maybe they just like seeing people in masks?

<comment><USER8> Or maybe they are joking?

<comment><USER9> It's a rather obvious outcome. [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8195712](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8195712)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> If proximities are that closer then surely the answer is that it should be a pedestrian friendly zone.

I get what he's trying to convey and mechanically he's not wrong. But seems like a fundamentally wrong transport paradigm</comment>


What is going on with Netflix lately? - <AUTHOR> http://www.tekgoblin.com/2011/06/29/what-is-going-on-with-netflix-lately/

<comment><USER2> Yeah, seems like they keep trying to make the site "better". In reality, I had very few issues with the old layout and functionality. Judging by the cascade of negative comments on their blog, I'd say other users feel similarly frustrated.

At this point, member reviews don't even load at all, and the new side scroll animation just makes browsing more difficult.

I'd like to see them lay off the design crack and put more focus into what matters most; expanding their streaming content and making sure it works.

<comment><USER3> Yeah, I'm getting pretty tired of Netflix streamed movies' video suddenly freezing, as the audio just marches on, oblivious to its left behind partner. Is it silverlight, or bandwidth, or something else? Don't know.

I've never had a problem with Amazon streaming rentals (on flash, on Linux).

I can almost say the same of YouTube streaming rentals (on flash, on Linux), except the last three movies I watched there suddenly stopped, reporting that they had played the entire movie when only N minutes had actually elapsed. Happens two or three times per movie.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I haven't had any real problems with Netflix except:

1\. The PSN outage severed my streaming for a while, and 2\. Their redesigns are a bit annoying and seem recently to be counterproductive. Particularly on the PS3, I find the most recent rendition to be much more awkward than the previous.

I haven't experienced any outage problems that I could attribute to Netflix, though.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> They need to get their shit together.</comment>


Ask HN: I actually need a job now - <AUTHOR>

I've been working in startups for the last few years, using a lot of the latest tech that startups often use (Rails, Node, Mongo, Angular etc.).
Now I'm back in my home town (failed and can't afford to be out in London doing this any more), and seeking any job for a developer. But all I see is PHP, .NET, VB, Java and everything that HN seems to hate.
I actually haven't touched this stuff since school, and everything I've learned and used over these last few years seems to be useless in the corporate world here.
I'm renting alone and therefore need a job quickly. My options are finding a quick job (e.g. waiter, shop assistant) while brushing up on PHP (or maybe something else has better career opportunities?) in the evenings, or just doing something completely different.
Truth is I want a stable career now and care little about whether we're coding in Erlang or Java. <comment><USER3> Who cares about what languages HN likes or doesn't like? If you have bills to pay, get a job and let go of the need to "please" some random people on the Internet, whatever that means. Imperative, object-oriented languages are all very similar, so just go get a job doing that. All you have to do is make clear to the interviewer that you may not have the precise pedigree in $FOO_LANGUAGE, but are willing to learn.

<comment><USER4> I think "what HN likes" here is throwing you off. I don't think this is about fashion.

Good programmers care a lot about good tools. Different tools also have different communities, which means different views, different standards, different approaches.

I've done projects with great tools and projects with shitty tools. For me, it makes a giant difference. I can spend my energy on solving real user problems, or I can spend it on beating back the idiocy of bad tools. I can spend it on learning from a community that is serious about pushing the field forward, or I can spend it trying to motivate a bunch of no-hopers who picked programming over dentistry because the Computer Information Systems degree was shorter.

I think it's totally reasonable that this person wants to avoid the mire of clock-punchers and half-assed enterprise tech imposed for "business reasons". They're trying for a tactical retreat, not abject surrender. That's the spirit I think HN should support.

<comment><USER5> Bravo. As a longtime enterprise reporting guy turned Rails dev, this resonates deeply with me.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Question, and I realize that you said you want a "job for a developer"... Have you considered interviewing for a job a level above that? I imagine with a few years' of experience at startups, you've learned a lot at a "design" level rather than simply an implementation level (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Consider interviewing for a developer management position. Instead of focusing on specific languages & technologies, maybe take a step back and figure out how to apply other things you've learned: how to direct a project, how to take higher-level ideas and turn them into realities. Those types of jobs tend to be more marketable than "I use X, Y, Z technologies".

If not management, I'd still say try to get a little more "meta" than just "I know Rails, Node..." Market yourself at a business-level, if that makes sense. In my opinion, the tools you use to solve a problem aren't as interesting as how you approach a problem and solve it.

Just some thoughts, good luck!

<comment><USER7> > If not management, I'd still say try to get a little more "meta" than just > "I know Rails, Node..." Market yourself at a business-level, if that makes > sense. In my opinion, the tools you use to solve a problem aren't as > interesting as how you approach a problem and solve it.

This is fantastic advice for _every_ programmer, and once I actually started believing it was when I started getting interesting jobs that pay well.

Stop thinking in terms of the technology you use. Don't focus on it in interviews. What you should stress is the problems you've solved & how that delivered value to the company (revenue, efficiency, etc.)

Being a Ruby master means nothing. Being able to deliver a tool that lets the company fulfill their million-dollar contract is what makes you a rock star.

<comment><USER8> I can't help but visualise an empty suit when people start talking about "delivering value" in the abstract, with a smug sense of superiority. People like you are mostly just lip service.

[http://www.yosefk.com/blog/do-call-yourself-a-programmer- and...](http://www.yosefk.com/blog/do-call-yourself-a-programmer-and-other- career-advice.html)

<comment><USER9> There's a happy middle ground here, no need to split hairs or be black and white. One formula that works is, _be_ a legit programmer/developer/hacker, but be able to communicate with business people on the business level about business problems. Preferably using your own original language, rather than pre-packaged MBA-speak (though sometimes even that stuff is useful if a particular client needs to hear it).

<comment><USER7> >One formula that works is, be a legit programmer/developer/hacker, but be able to communicate with business people on the business level about business problems.

That's what I'm really getting at.

At the end of the day the person who decides to give you money in exchange for your code is a business person who wants to pay you to solve their business problems. Showing them that you understand and have experience solving those problems is as important as proving your mettle to other programmers.

And personally I've always had a much harder time with the business people interviews than the technical interviews. It's something that I have had to _really work at_ , but it's helped me much more than I could've imagined.

<comment><USER9> Yup. I'd say if you're capable of doing both, do both. But if not, focus on being the best programmer you can be. It's the foundation for everything else.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> HackerNewsLondon will occur _tonight_ (in about an hour) [http://www.meetup.com/HNLondon/](http://www.meetup.com/HNLondon/) and if you turn up and blag your way in (you're meant to buy a ticket in advance, offer cash on the door to pay for your pizza!) you'll see companies talking and often talking about jobs. Just network like crazy, most people there will know people hiring. Everyone is friendly, the organisers try to help startups. Go speak to co-organiser Steve (he's an ex recruiter), he'll know who is looking.

[http://www.techcityjobs.co.uk/](http://www.techcityjobs.co.uk/) has a lot of London-focused tech jobs, lots of Ruby etc. Ruby is definitely in demand in London. Avoid being a waiter if you can, your skills will rust.

[http://siliconmilkroundabout.com/](http://siliconmilkroundabout.com/) occurred last weekend, over 100 startups were there pitching for jobs, go through the list of companies and cherrypick, then drop them a line? The CTOs I spoke with noted the lack of Rails folk. Most of the companies had 2-8 job openings each.

Bon chance, i.

<comment><USER11> Also, [http://hackerjobs.co.uk/](http://hackerjobs.co.uk/) run by Peroni (aka Steve Buckley).

[http://www.jobserve.com/](http://www.jobserve.com/) is also decent...

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> You can brush up PHP in a week or less. Don't go the waiter/shop assistant route. Just start interviewing for every and any position you see until you get one. Unless you are absolutely broke with zero money. Then take the first job you can, but make sure you take something that allows you time to be able to go for interviews.

<comment><USER13> This is very good advice. Except that I would brush up on .NET (in a week or less) instead. He would make more money.

<comment><USER14> Good point. You can't learn Java that fast (at least not well enough to make money at it... that's why they're the highest paid developers... people pay lots for souls.)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> My company was looking for a Scala dev in the UK desperately. Yes, perhaps there are not too many Scala jobs out there as there are Java, .NET and PHP, but good Scala developers are not easy to find either. So adding a bit to your list of which language to add to your resume, I would go and spend more time on Scala than on PHP personally.

Why Scala? well, if you came from Ruby, I bet 9/10 you'll like it more than Java, and I bet 10/10 you'll like it more than PHP.

More and more enterprise software companies adopt it (citation needed, but I know my company does). at least it has more chance in being adopted in the enterprise than Ruby

Also it is not completely uncool for startups, you can find your handful of Scala based startups, and I think there is a trend of more and more using it (as it's not as bad as Java in terms of fun, and much better than Ruby / Python in terms of performance)

Sorry I can't offer you a job at the moment, but as a middle ground between cool startup technologies and boring corporate Java EE / Spring etc... I think Scala might be a niche that will get you that job you want (perhaps not the one you need to get immediately)

<comment><USER16> That might be the best pro Scala (your "Why Scala?" blurb) statement I've heard yet. :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> You can probably handle .NET, and if you want a stable, enterprise-fueled job, then an enterprise language like .NET is great.

I don't think HN hates .NET or Java, they just don't make the frontpage as much. .NET (with C#) was quite a pleasure for me to work with and sometimes I miss it while hacking on Python+Django for my daily work.

Also, don't sell yourself short. Let the interviewers decide you're not worthy. Put your best foot forward and hit up some of those shops. If they like you, they'll have you come in and train you. They'll probably have their own deploy strategies and such already setup, so you'll have time to learn the language. Remember these are established places, not move-fast-break-things startups, so it isn't necessarily like you'll be writing production c# or Java the first morning. (If you do that's awesome, but I find that to be unlikely)

<comment><USER18> Seconding that .NET/C# can be a pleasure to work with. Stuff like LINQ is awesome, Visual Studio is a great IDE. I've often thought that if I wanted to just rake in some easy cash I'd go work for BigCorp doing .NET and save up my cash for my next adventure.

<comment><USER19> EntityFramework + LINQ is an amazing combo for getting things done quickly. And Visual Studio provides the best debugging experience I've ever had. Couple it with ReSharper[1] and you're in code heaven. At least until you run into one of the INT_MAX subtle quirks of C#/.NET, at which point you feel like throwing your dev machine off the roof.

[1] [http://www.jetbrains.com/resharper/](http://www.jetbrains.com/resharper/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> As a hirer I can tell you, if you can code in any language just create a cover letter and resume that proves you can code. Do not be intimidated by laundry list of acronyms you find in job listings, but acknowledge them and talk about your confidence in your ability to get up to speed. hth.

<comment><USER21> I would second this. Obviously it depends on the position but I'd take someone inexperienced (in a particular technology) who looks like a good learner over someone experienced in just a single technology.

Often you're hiring someone because of the potential they demonstrate.

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> HN does not hate PHP, .NET, VB, Java. Its just older languages and HN is about discovering new things, and working on cool new languages.

Even if PHP or Java aren't "cool", they are really nice to program with when you master them.

And its good to learn to quickly learn other languages. In 20 years Rails, Node or Mongo might not be there anymore, its good to not get "habits" in IT.

PS: Java has one advantage, you can create web/software and android apps with it. Mobile is pretty trendy right now. But it will take you a lot more time to learn then PHP.

</comment><comment><USER23> My 2 cents, having gone through a few job searches in off markets...

1 - You may need to go lateral or a half step back from what you want, but don't take 3 steps back. There's no reason to be a waiter or a shop assistant unless you want to do that for the next 20 years, or want to automate those industries.

2 - Find your way into the industry or company that you ultimately want to work for. Even if the job isn't perfect. If you want to learn PHP or .Net, get a job doing QA at a shop that uses them.

3 - Small companies are much more likely to respond to resumes tossed over the transom than big ones. This is only based on anecdotal evidence.

4 - Searching for a job needs to be your full time job until you get one. If you're not doing it 8+ hours a day, you're not trying hard enough.

5 - It's best to do both high contact (meeting people you know for coffee, and asking them to introduce you to their friends) and low contact (sending 100s, yes 100s of resumes every week) searching.

Good luck! If you have technical skills, it will all be good in a couple months.

</comment><comment><USER24> Hi - if I can help I'd be happy to. I build teams for companies such as Stripe, Twilio, New Bamboo and others - you can contact me on thayer@team- prime.com and check my creds on [http://www.linkedin.com/in/thayerprime](http://www.linkedin.com/in/thayerprime)

Cheers, and good luck with your hunt.

</comment><comment><USER25> HN hates a lot of stuff. Most of the people here are out of touch with reality. I see a lot of "entrepreneurs" whose startups didn't go so well, or people working in a super cool stack for peanuts, but hey! they get to work on all those cool languages.

Don't mean to sound harsh but... Suck it up. I work with C# ASP.NET. Do I like it? No. Do I hate it? No Does it get the job done (performance wise)? Sure does. Would I prefer to work on another language? Yup. Does it pay well? Yup.

If you are a good programmer it does not matter the language you work on. I know a lot of sucky RoR, python, [insert cool language here] developers and I also know a lot of great PHP, ASP.NET, [insert HN hated kanguage here] programmers. As long as you are a good logic thinker, work on whatever puts the food in the table and hopefully enjoy it.

</comment><comment><USER9> PHP is easy to pick up from JS/Rails/Python [1] (or any other more sophisticated language). The latest version 5.5 is actually a real OO programming language with first class functions and the like [2], and you can get good performance with Apache 2.4's Event MPM + php-fpm [3] and/or the in- memory Phalcon web framework [4]. I've recently been helping a friend with his side business based on PHP and had to pickit up again after not looking at it since 2003, and it's not bad. They're doing good things with it.

Also check out the remote development work jobsites [5] [6] for stuff you know.

[1]: [http://www.sitepoint.com/becoming-php-professional- missing-l...](http://www.sitepoint.com/becoming-php-professional-missing- link/)

[2]: [http://www.php.net/manual/en/langref.php](http://www.php.net/manual/en/langref.php)

[3]: [https://wiki.apache.org/httpd/PHP- FPM](https://wiki.apache.org/httpd/PHP-FPM)

[4]: [http://phalconphp.com/](http://phalconphp.com/)

[5]: [http://weworkremotely.com/](http://weworkremotely.com/)

[6]: [http://jobmote.com/](http://jobmote.com/)

</comment><comment><USER26> Have you checked out [https://weworkremotely.com/](https://weworkremotely.com/) ? Might find it helpful. Also, there's always things like elance. I know you won't make much $, but it might help in the short term. There are occasionally node projects there.

<comment><USER27> Was going to suggest this as well. It seems like the right combination of remote work and newer technologies. Could be very useful.

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Keep in mind that most of the jobs you will see on job boards are posted by recruiting agents on behalf of typical large companies, hence Java and .NET.

If you don't want to join a MegaCorp then you need to look elsewhere - <USER2> 'who's hiring' thread for Nov is here: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6653437](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6653437)

You could apply speculatively to companies close to you (where are you based?) but this is a hard road to travel alone.

I'm kind of in the recruitment business so hit me up if you want a second opinion at any point. My contact details are in my profile.

</comment><comment><USER29> If you are half-decent at JS (specially if you actually can use Angular) I can get you a job in London (or even near Basingstoke if you now happen to live there) no problem, I'm literally swamped with work requests and got so many colleagues looking to hire decent frontend developers (probably Rails too but I don't do that so don't know that well)

IMHO if you are in UK there's no financial sense in staying outside London as jobs (and their compensation) are much better here

(contact: paolo-at-paolomaffei-dot-it)

<comment><USER30> Totally disagree with staying outside of London. I'm in Glasgow, and there is an emerging growth of trendy Scottish startups (I'd like to think my company fits within that bracket too, haha) who are using some great technology.

If you're interested in some android or rails development work hit me up at email@example.com

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> I'd say you are in a good position. People hiring for 'PHP' or '.NET' or 'JAVA' are all most likely also looking for someone who knows javascript. Even if you only know the basics of those languages, the fact that you know javascript and angular are good. Many companies here in my local area are all advertising for .NET but when you get to the specifics they are making web apps... and javascript is what they should hire, but they don't...

</comment><comment><USER32> Would that I could offer you a job, but I'm curious, how did you "fail?" Did you just have trouble finding another job in London to keep you afloat?

<comment><AUTHOR> Well the startups weren't doing too well (two failed) and I was getting paid a relatively low salary... I could probably have found another job but I didn't wanna burn up the little money I had saved up just being 'between jobs' in a really expensive city.

<comment><USER33> My experience as a developer in London right now is that there is a huge shortage of talented developers, compared to demand. You shouldn't have had trouble finding a well-paid job, especially if you have experience with a front-end framework like Angular.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Thanks to everyone for the advice, I feel a lot more confident now and will try to write a CV in a way to display my general skills as opposed to specific experience. I initially thought my application would get binned because I lacked their requirements. Also I guess a lot of coding experience is transferable I just really panicked at first...

I'll be in touch with those of you looking for a developer. Thanks again.

</comment><comment><USER34> As a CTO mad keen for senior Ruby types in London I'm amazed you can't make it work. I'm in a company that has been trading for 4 years, has decent revenues, is just in the middle of a pivot with a decent round of funding...

... and we're small. There are a lot of firms like us and bigger than us with seven figure investments. What the hell have you been doing?

<comment><USER35> He has been looking for a job in his hometown after returning from London. Firms like yours should be more open to remote workers, particularly in a small country like England where most everybody can take the train to London for a half day meeting on a regular basis. Heck, I knew people who commuted from Leeds every day, but not everyone can handle that lifestyle. The best part of it is that the British train system makes it easy to be productive while travelling. Leave home 15 minutes before departure time, step on the train just in time, sit and relax and code for the hours that it takes to get into the city.

</comment></comment><comment><USER36> Lie on your resume. Then grab a copy of "PHP For Dummies."

Development is development, no matter the language.

</comment><comment><USER37> Bunch of YC companies in the U.K. maybe reach out to one of them. I know GoCardless from S11 is there. I think there was one more from my batch at a minimum.

How good are you? We might be open to doing the paperwork for you if you want to move to Chicago:)

</comment><comment><USER38> We could put some use to your tech experience, if you are okay to relocate to India & completely open to fresh new start. if so send me a mail at email@example.com [http://justunfollow.com](http://justunfollow.com)

</comment><comment><USER39> As a coder, refreshing other languages is a breeze. Do not despair and stick to coding.

</comment><comment><USER14> Keep coding. Don't stop. If you have to take other jobs to support your habit, oh well. Find out what the local scene wants and start doing that for free on the side. Eventually someone will hire you.

</comment><comment><USER40> I have a lead on a contract role for a Ruby dev in Central London. Ping a CV to firstname.lastname@example.com and I'll be in touch.

</comment><comment><USER41> Have a look here as well [http://workinstartups.com/](http://workinstartups.com/)

</comment><comment><USER42> In Bath/Bristol (UK), we can't get rails guys, they are as rare as hens teeth. Where are you based?

</comment><comment><USER43> Look at mature PHP frameworks like symfony2 , if you know rails you should be fairly at home.

</comment><comment><USER44> Hey give me a shout and maybe we can work something out. reechaurd@gmail dot com.</comment>


Reviyou-android app to exchange reviews goes live Would Y Combinator accept us? - <AUTHOR>

We are proud to announce a first release of our platform to exchange social reviews and feedback on anybody you want! It can be a celebrity or your neighbor - as long as you provide an honest feedback on his or her professional skills and don't try to offend people and mean GOOD - you are welcome to engage!
Give it a try today and let us know what you think! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.reviyou.android
The question is - Would YC consider this idea for the incubator an upcoming Friday? We applied with 2 cofounders with lots of technical experience and 2 more early employees(designer and developer) working all part time on this idea.
Feel free to contact us, share your thoughs below and obviously to try the app! You can find us on reviyou.com, angel.co, crunchbase, twitter, Facebook, g+,etc. <comment><USER2> Right what I need !

</comment><comment><USER3> Great app!!

</comment><comment><USER4> Thx

</comment><comment><USER5> Brilliant

</comment><comment><USER5> Amazing

</comment><comment><USER6> Love it

</comment><comment><USER7> Nice app

</comment><comment><USER8> great idea, love it

</comment><comment><USER9> greate job

</comment><comment><USER10> cool idea

</comment><comment><USER11> supernice!</comment>


The September issue of Pragmatic Programmer Magazine is out - <AUTHOR> http://pragprog.com/magazines/download/27.HTML

<comment><USER2> The Scalatember Edition

<comment><USER3> A fair followup to Clojuly :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Question on this; how do I go about automagically downloading this in Stanza or Kindle or iBooks on an iPad? Is there a really easy way to do it?

<comment><USER5> don't have an ipad but I found it pretty trivial to write a script to suck down all the epub files (for all issues) since they have a pretty simple naming scheme.

Then cp *.epub to the plugged in storage device (kobo ebook reader)</comment></comment>