Do the Rich Need the Rest of America? - <AUTHOR> http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2010/08/02/do-the-rich-even-need-the-rest-of-america-anymore/

<comment><USER2> Why do people even pay attention to this drivel? Who is going to dream up their fancy meals, drive their fancy cars, clean their fancy housing, and manage their financial empire? This just touches the surface. Who's going to educate the middle class they depend on for execution, protect their property and legal rights? The rich have more to gain through society, law, and government than any other class.

<comment><USER3> The article's claim isn't that they don't need the middle and lower classes, just that they don't need the _American_ middle and lower classes (instead, what they need from those classes can come from foreigners).

<comment><USER4> I would love to see an American (even a rich one) navigate (for example) China's business atmosphere and not end up stymied.

I'm often reminded, when someone claims to have the "secret" to some other country's vast "untapped" market, to an interview with Jack Welch when he was still at the helm of General Electric.

Much earlier on, he knew of China's burgeoning economy, and wanted GE to be at the forefront of it, marketing products bearing their service mark on all manner of product. They decided to start with light bulbs, and picked out a plot of land in an industrial area of Northern china and started making them. Within just a few years, China went from the typical 4-5 light bulb companies or factories (which Welch indicates is the norm for any market regardless of population) to 2,700. Every mayor of every town in the nearby area decided to poach one worker from GE's factory, replicate the manufacturing process, secured funding from Central Bank for machines to make bulbs from the US, and set to work competing directly against GE.

Somehow, I don't think China is any kind of market for anyone but the Chinese. Call me crazy.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> "Some would argue this is a vast overstatement." - always nice when a link- bait-esque article has the counterpoint built right in.

</comment><comment><USER6> Atlas is shrugging.

EDIT: I meant this only as a connection to the work of literature not at all indicating that the Mega-Wealthy Class actually makes the world go round and is "a good thing"(tm)

<comment><USER7> Which "Atlas" are you referring to? If you mean that the American people are tired of supporting a billionaire welfare class, then yeah, maybe.

<comment><USER8> While both remarks were somewhat snarky, I'd like to hear your evidence that "the American people" are supporting the "billionaire welfare class". It's the first time I've ever heard the table turned like that and would like to learn more.

<comment><USER7> America subsidizes its rich tremendously. I have absolutely no problem with the genuinely self-made rich. I have a big problem with billionaire welfare queens.

Direct subsidies:

\- In 2008-2009, America bailed out its financial class to the tune of almost a trillion dollars. Some of this was paid back, but it still amounted to a zero-interest loan to people worth $1M+. A lot of it ended up in offshore accounts and bonuses.

\- The Federal Reserve system is a crony network that provides zero (or negative!) interest loans to connected banks with which they can gamble in the markets. Their losses can be socialized through mechanisms like bailouts and the FDIC, while gains are privatized. Since this is newly created money, it amounts to a tax on the savings of the rest of the economy. Wouldn't you love to be lent money at 0% interest to gamble in a can't-lose casino?!?

\- America's contracting process is hugely corrupt, and there's a huge number of pigs at the trough. Nothing irritates me more than rich people who got rich off _government contracts_ whining about all those "parasites on welfare." (Ironically, the defense contractor crowd funds a lot of right-wing stuff like that.)

\- The U.S. military is used partly to protect the politically risky offshore investments of America's moneyed classes. Shell Oil is not charged a fee for service when the U.S. foreign policy apparatus leans on a foreign government or deploys military force to guard its interests. The middle class pays (and sometimes dies) for that.

\- The public funds scientific research, while private players get rich off marketing its applications. In some cases technologies are developed whole- cloth in public academic and military institutions and are then more or less handed over to private interests. Tycoons have been getting rich off publicly funded research for a century. Did AT&T have to pay for the development of TCP/IP? Nope, we did. In some cases, private entities even end up _as the owners of publicly developed intellectual property_. That means _they can sue you for using what you paid to invent._

\- As an extension of the above, military and scientific SBIR grants are used by many private companies to fund their R&D, which they then keep proprietary and market.

Regressive taxes:

\- The tax code is filled with loopholes that require complex accounting to achieve, amounting to a huge regressive tax on those who do not have personal accountants.

\- Complex regulations amount to a regressive tax on new entrants to an industry and on smaller players, since larger players can afford to employ armies of paper pushers to comply with the law.

There's more than that I'm sure.

Americans forget all this. They pay out the nose in taxes and government debt to subsidize the rich, and then the rich convince them that they're rugged self-made individualists. Sorry, but to be a rugged self-made individualist tycoon you must: pay for everything you need to set up your venture, pay for every service you use, pay for the development of the IP that you use, and pay everyone you employ. If any of that was subsidized, you fail at claiming to be a self-righteous "Atlas" and need to STFU.

As an engineer, a personal peeve of mine is technology businessmen who beat up on academia... as if they'd have anything to market without academic research. You will find a couple of those on HN from time to time arguing that academia is unnecessary, over-funded, etc. while they sit around plotting the next startup idea based on academic research from the 60s and 70s.

<comment><USER9> _The tax code is filled with loopholes that require complex accounting to achieve, amounting to a huge regressive tax on those who do not have personal accountants._

As a person that broke the mark about 6 years ago, I have to agree. The first year that I "made it" was the first year that I could afford a real CPA. The loopholes where amazing. I ended up paying slightly less taxes than the year before and earned twice as much.

As much as I take advantage of the system (anyone in their right mind would). It is unfair, I feel that I pay enough, but it is ridiculous that we have to use loop holes in the first place.

The politicians raise taxes on the rich to win some points with the voting mass, they create some loopholes with a wink, wink to the rich who go along because in the end it is the same net. Meanwhile the taxes are not spread even, the rich and middle class end up bearing the brunt of taxation while it hurts the middle class far worse.

<comment><USER7> I've experienced this a little bit too.

The richer you are, the bigger the loopholes get. When you get really rich, you can do offshore accounting and all kinds of big-ticket tax-dodging that results in you paying less taxes as a percentage of your income than the person who makes your lattes.

I'm actually in favor of a flat tax (maybe trailing off to zero at the extreme low end of the scale) with _absolutely no loopholes_. Everyone pays X percent on all income, period. You might have a few deductions, but they would be for things like healthcare, child care, and education and would be strictly monitored.

That would actually raise taxes on the rich dramatically.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: What should I try to do while still in college? - <AUTHOR> I've just finished sophomore year at a good liberal arts university.
I have two more years left here; what should I try to do? What should I bias for? What do you, someone who is no longer in college, wish you did, and found most useful during your time there?
More about me: So far, I've spent most of my time learning how to do work, then how to do hard work, and about myself (ADHD, etc). (In fact, I'm procrastinating right now.) I spent most of my childhood doing what I was interested in (lego, then computers), which doesn't develop the skills needed for college.
I'm a Computer Science and Mathematics double major, but I'm not sure if I'm clever enough for pure math; I am aceing the CS classes, though. I'm vaguely participating in a startup-like venture, but there is little pressure, and hence little actual startup atmosphere - but still good experience. I've thought many times about dropping out (of college), but I seriously don't have a plan, aside from the vague notion of "going to SF and figuring something out". Besides, it seems like a good idea to get a college degree + the CS/Math sophistication alongside it. Nevertheless, I'm quite bored, by the vapid partying (which I refuse to take part in - decimating my social life), the happy-go-lucky attitude of most people, and lectures + homework in general.
My life goals? I want excitement (see ADHD, above). Maybe with computers. The current startup frenzy seems to fit like a glove, but I've only heard about it on the internet. <comment><USER4> Go out with as many women as possible. Once you join the startup life the women will be few and far between.

<comment><USER5> _Nevertheless, I'm quite bored, by the vapid partying (which I refuse to take part in - decimating my social life)_

Doesn't seem like he may be too interested in this.

<comment><USER4> You don't have to do jell-o shots to go out on dates or have a social life.

<comment><USER6> Amen. Do not go to the vapid parties, but do go to parties. Learn to throw the parties yourself if you have to. They don't have to be big at first -- a lot of the best parties I've known had less than a dozen people.

I assure you that somewhere, somehow, there are groups of non-vapid people on or near your campus. Find them. Try clubs of all sorts, film societies, drama clubs (cast or crew!), amateur sports, music groups, anime or SF conventions... whatever. Just find them.

<comment><USER7> You don't find girls at parties. Truthfully, you don't WANT to find girls at a party. Any girl after the first month of freshman year who will hook up with someone she met at a party - has already done so. The best route is to find an activity that you like and meet people through that, then you actually have something in common and a chance to spend time talking sober. That forges real relationships, which ultimately are a lot better because you have someone to lean on not just someone to hook up with. But truthfully, having someone is important and hardly precludes you from being in a successful startup. There are 20 of us now at my startup and only 1 or 2 are single.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> #1 regret (which I will probably make up, job quitting possibilities) - <USER2> going abroad - Doesn't necessarily mean studying abroad but traveling for month+ outside your home country during inter-school summer vacations

<comment><AUTHOR> I come from Hong Kong (luckily not too damaged by deafeningly unindividualistic culture) - and spent the two years before college in Norway (<http://www.uwc.org>). Also quite constrained by financial difficulties.

<comment><USER8> Finances are a limiting constraint.

> My life goals? I want excitement (see ADHD, above).

Interesting article with a twist: [[http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/StockInvestin...](http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/StockInvestingTrading/CanYogaHelpMakeYouRich.aspx)]

Re: fear and finances, this presentation from Ignite Portland might alter your thinking: "Once upon a time, in the midst of war, I went to Afghanistan with one hundred dollars to my name, a one-way airplane ticket and no promise of a job." [<http://is.gd/Bvc>]

I would recommend doing what you fear. Growth comes from pushing yourself. As a contrived example, if talking to beautiful women scares you.. talk to strangers in controlled situations (art galleries, sporting events). One of the best ways to meet people is where you have continuity - e.g. you see them regularly. Some of the most interesting people I know are interesting because they know people of all interests, vertical groups. Join groups that you have an interest in but are not already skilled in. True networkers connect people who might never meet together.

Sometimes a personality test can help you learn more about who you are. People like to give advice but sometimes don't because it might offend inadvertently.. perhaps you can talk to someone who is known you for a long time and ask them for advice? This one linked below is expensive but better than the Myers-Brigg test. <http://www.kolbe.com>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Do EVERYTHING you can that will not be economically feasible (travel for a month or three) or even possible (spend a summer at Cambridge University in England). You will live to regret not doign these things when, after you get a job, you get two measly weeks of vacation per year.

Use it all up: take extra classes, join a club, make a friend from another race, etc...

<comment><USER10> Two weeks _paid_ vacation.

<comment><USER11> Agreed. Don't forget that unpaid leave is often an options.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> See what else is out there. Computers might be fascinating, but until you learn about a bunch of other fields, you will never know if they're what fascinates you most. Take as many classes as you can in as many areas as you're interested in, and be sure to take lots of classes outside your major. Finish more than one major. Join a sports team or club where you'll meet people you wouldn't otherwise. Save the specialization for your senior thesis, grad school, or for your job. Try to meet people with a wide variety of interests, so you can make a truly informed decision between majors and career paths.

Others may tell you to choose an field of study early on and become an expert. I definitely admire that goal, but I don't think college is the place. Most underclassmen have no idea what really interests them; I certainly didn't.

</comment><comment><USER13> Others have suggested great things to do outside of class, but I have some related to CS.

Take a compiler course (or several). This really should be required, but unfortunately it wasn't at my school until after I graduated. Also, lots of algorithms and other "real" CS courses. Now is the time to learn that stuff.

Avoid the "trendy" courses (Stanford Facebook application class, I'm looking at you) and go for the hardcore CS stuff. The rest you can easily learn on your own, but I found having a professor and structured course was invaluable for the CS topics.

Of course everyone is different, but that's my opinion.

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm trying to, and planning to, take as many hard, hard courses at college as possible, for precisely that reason. When is the next time in my life when someone will hold me accountable to learn something really hard? I don't think it'll happen again.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Ask around. Find the professors who are the best at teaching Introduction to X (where X is any field) and take their classes. The teacher is more important than the subject matter, almost every time.

Useful values of X: statistics, biology (esp. molecular biology), linguistics, statistics (I mention it twice because it's twice as important), economics, first-year chemistry, physics. Skip organic chemistry unless you want to be an M.D.

Keep practicing the essay writing. If you can get good at that, or at least _comfortable_ with it, it's _better_ than a second major.

Which brings me to my radical suggestion: Drop the double major. Double majors are a waste of valuable time: You could be taking a sprinkling of intro and second-year classes in a bunch of different fields -- including at least one class from every _excellent_ prof on campus -- but instead you're spending time taking boring classes from bad lecturers just to check off boxes for your second major, which _will not matter to anyone, ever_. [1]

(My school made me have a minor. I minored in history, which was a nice change of pace from physics, and was enjoyable, and made me practice all that writing, and I found an excellent history prof and took three of her classes. All of which was good. And yet... if I hadn't been forced to take the _fourth_ history class, which was required of all history minors, I could have done the econ class instead, from the _really good_ econ professor who was recommended to me. I regret missing that econ class to this day.)

Make a choice: e.g. if you like to program, are leaning toward startups, are aceing CS classes, and are not feeling "clever enough for pure math", major in CS -- that's where the marketability is, anyway. Then dump the math major -- just add math classes to taste. Then, add _other_ classes to taste. If, as you say, you're "quite bored", you need to try something different. Mix it up a little. Archaeology. Japanese. Music Theory 101. Accounting. _Something_.

[1] There are only two times that double majors make any sense. One is if you're a premed. Another is if you're so hopelessly fascinated by the classes in your second field that as a senior you discover that you've accidentally come within two credits of your second major -- might as well finish it off.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the advice. It rings very true - lately, I've begun to bias for good profs, and good profs only. They make everything worthwhile.

Actually, I'm taking intro to islam this summer quarter, from a really good prof (though some say he's just really arrogant). But the class is extremely well organized and he really knows his stuff. Should be awesome.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Get heavily involved in a campus organization that suits your interests. If such an organization doesn't exist, start one.

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm involved in two things: the newspaper, and this 'programming' group. The newspaper's been fun - I'm quite interested in the whole gambit of publishing. The programming group hasn't done anything because no one wants to spend time in it - I've been programming alone all my life, so it's no different if no one is doing it with me.

<comment><USER14> That's good to hear -- I ran a paper in college and it was an awesome experience. This is such a hugely transformational period in publishing that knowing the ins and outs of the business makes you aware of how many opportunities there are right now. My current startup is intended to help small magazines and campus publications establish an online presence and being able to draw on personal experience makes me way more confident in its ability to succeed.

But yeah, I was in a similar boat in terms of the ADHD and not fitting into the general party culture and everything kind of fell into place when I started focusing on doing stuff that was actually fun to do and not so much on stuff I assumed I was supposed to be doing (i.e., my homework).

<comment><AUTHOR> Interesting - it is definitely an awesome time to be in publishing. I redid (as all freshmen tend to do) the paper's website, which was a huge learning experience.

A lot of publications seem to have problems getting themselves online - collegepublisher is the witness. So you seem to be in a viable area.

Most of the misery was from schoolwork, which is improving slowly. The social side is at a standstill, because I really don't like beer. It's a catch-22 from where I stand. I think I've always _just_ focused on what was fun/interesting and ignored much else, which you can't do in college, at least academically. I want the liberal arts anti-focus, but of course didn't realize it would be this hard.

<comment><USER15> Drinking <> Socializing

If you learn nothing else, learn that.

It is perfectly possible to go to a kegger and drink water all night and still have a good time meeting interesting people and talking to them about interesting things.

Find those interesting people. Keep looking at different parties until you do.

I still keep in close contact with friends I met at University, and would not trade that experience for the world.

<comment><USER16> Exactly.

Do whatever you want, and don't let others stop you. If you enjoy going to parties - go. Someone deciding to get out of control and funnel a pitcher of beer doesn't mean you can't be standing 20 feet away having a great conversation with interesting people.

The same goes with joining a club of any sort. I mildly wish I joined the entrepreneurship club - but didn't since the majority of people there were all talk and no action.

That suggests another point - you will likely regret NOT doing things more than doing things. It is the time to experiment and potentially make some small mistakes.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> If you're planning on a career in programming, I'd recommend trying to get an internship somewhere before you graduate. If you think you might want to start a startup, go that route, but it won't hurt to do an internship at a big company either (it's actually probably better than working at one after you graduate, but I wouldn't know first hand).

If you want to go the startup route, I'd recommend just sending emails to a bunch of startups you like. Most of them probably aren't actively seeking interns, but would be at least intrigued by the opportunity.

</comment><comment><USER18> My biggest regret from college is not getting more involved with the activities/groups my college offered. I was plenty active around campus socially, but I was only in one group my entire four years. (Well, two if you consider being a computer assistant a group.) You will gain a lot and not feel as if you missed out on what your college has to offer by participating -- not to mention all the friendships you'll build in the process. Get out there and join groups!

</comment><comment><USER19> College, after sophomore year, tends to be less about the classes and more about the people. Choose as many classes as you can solely based on the professor's character/infamy. Those people will inspire you and help you choose what is interesting.

Also, try to see as much of the world as possible, and this doesn't just mean traveling. I'm thinking about people like this person at TED: <http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/233> \- try to find these people and get connected with what they're doing.

</comment><comment><USER20> First off, since your a sophomore, your plans will change. Bet money on it. Don't get caught up in specifics of where you want to be. Instead take advantage of the powerful abstractions where you can to work out what "axioms of life" you want to design your life with. That's your homework assignment in the unwritten curriculum of the university. The vast majority of people fail that lesson, good folks recognize it and get it partially right, the great people master this lesson, implement, and refine it for the rest of their lives.

Always consider your personality. My regret may be exactly what you DON'T want to do. Having said that... Being a physics students at very good engineering school, and having participated in student design competitions my only regret is not having taken more pure mathematics. In science and engineering, if it works, there's your evidence. You have shown it can happen. Mathematics I viewed, at the time being so simple minded, as a set of neat tricks for solving physics problems (or engineering problems, which at the time I thought of simplistically as merely applied physics problems). The reason I regret not taking more pure math isn't the theorems or skills I missed getting, it was the mindset. Every profession and field looks at the world in a particularly special way. It's a more abstract version of the saying "If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." I'm actually doing research in graduate school now in mathematics and I'm really glad for it. The perspective from being a bit physicist, a bit engineer, and now a bit mathematician really gives one a lot of versatility, and that's where the variety of experience in the "hard subjects" pays off. You see, everyone who has specialized to be only one thing, think university professors, are like shaft mines. The specialists dig deep to get at the really rich seams, but they pass by a lot of pretty good stuff following the very richest dig through their subject. Take a bit more breath in your studies and you will see lots of good stuff, and how it's connected together.

Finally, have fun too. Every day of my undergraduate schooling was a cycle of learn, work, play, build, fight, drink, sleep, and repeat tomorrow. It's the best that could have happened in spite of being exhausting, all consuming, obsessive, and unrelenting. I loved it because to me that is fun.

Best of luck to you.

</comment><comment><USER21> If you want to do the startup thing, notice people who are smart and more ambitious than you and spend your time hanging around with them.

If you want to have your pick of a quality corporate job and find your excitement elsewhere, build something tangible you can point to during an interview. It doesn't have to be complicated, it just has to indicate that you can accomplish something on your own.

Remember that becoming an expert in anything takes 10 years, so assuming you are around 20, think about what you would like to be an expert at when you are 30 and start working on it regularly.

Edit: One more thing -- college can be one of the last times in your life when it is trivial to make new friends. Make as many as you can, and try to hang onto the good ones after you graduate.

<comment><AUTHOR> I don't think I'd be able to survive corporate. I had a summer job doing IT- ish things in a small accountancy a couple years ago, at the end of the two months I was about to kill myself from the boredom and monotony.

That expert advice is valuable - thank you. I'm currently interested in programming language theory (prompted by steve yegge), we'll see where that takes me.

I'm trying hard with the friends thing, but there are precious few who don't "submit" to the partying culture.

<comment><USER15> to be blunt...

Pull your head out of your ass.

The world works as a social organization.

You don't have to sacrifice beliefs, but you do have to actually socialize.

And yes, that does mean going to parties and learning how they work just like you go to class and learn how to do homework.

<comment><AUTHOR> You're right. I'm also depicting the social organization - and my resistance towards it - in rather polarizing terms. A large part of the problem is choosing socializing over doing something fun/interesting, which I've learnt, only a while ago, that you gotta do.

<comment><USER15> And your assumption that socializing isn't fun or interesting...

<comment><AUTHOR> Not sure. Probably because I tried a few times and was bored - and just wanted to get back and do stuff.

But I get your point. Thank you.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Pick up skydiving!

I did during my military service (compulsory between sophomore and junior year at my engineering school in France), and there's nothing better for your ADHD. Seriously, it looks very ballsy from outside, but it actually would fit super well with your craving for learning and discovery - plus it will help solve the women issue, see comment #1 :-) And it's the best way to meet people as crazy as you are but completely outside of your usual circles (kind of saved my life when I moved to MA ;-).

</comment><comment><USER23> Travel while you can do it cheaply. Take as many electives as far outside your majors as you possibly can without graduating later; college is better at giving you exposure than skills anyway. Make friends that you want to have parties with. Meet people who do things you know nothing about; you'll have fewer chances to do that in the working world.

Drop out if you know you have better things to do with your time, and you can spend time around a large group of people with varied interests anyway.

<comment><USER15> btw - Cheap Travel is just that...

I spent 6 weeks in Scotland for <$1k including airfare.

As a student, you are used to skipping meals, sleeping on couches and sharing a room in Hostels.

When you get older, those things are all out and everything gets much much more expensive (my most recent vacation to SF cost me $2k for a week).

<comment><USER24> Can you type up some suggestions/things you did?

<comment><USER15> I found a jump on jump off bus tour that took me on a loop of scotland and allowed me to get on and off the bus as many times as I wanted, and then got off at every stop for at least a day if not a couple days.

I brought a tent and never used it.

I hacked the hostel sleeping: by being the last one back to the room every night I never had to worry about the drunk asshole waking me up in the middle of the night. by finding hostels that allow you access to the rooms during the day, I took a good 4 hour nap every afternoon when no one was about.

I ate at bakeries for breakfast / lunch. Plus some fruit or cheese. Which you can carry with you and always have available.

One big meal out at a restaurant every day (or cook a big meal with a group)

Hang out in the lobby in the morning and ask if you can tag along as people head out. (I spent 4 days in the very very north by just asking if I could come).

Ask other people what they liked / didn't like about where they've come from.

Hitch hike.

Hike. \- I saw Sea Otters in a small cove while just bush walking for the day.

Visit Museums - REally really creepy stuffed animals in dense quantities.

I spent several days with a chap from Canada. We got 10 - 1 pound coins, and proceeded to "place a bet" every block all day long while walking around Aberdeen. We bet on number of women in the next block, number of dogs, color of doors, etc. No duplicates on the bets and alternate making them up. We even bet on kids running around a play ground. At the end of the evening the "big winner" got to buy dinner for both of us at a curry joint.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Smoke weed (or do tantric yoga) until you become conscious on a new level (you'll know when you have, if you have difficulties smoke more stronger weed, hash, oil, use a vapourizer or take it orally after extracting it with fat (bake < 300f) or alcohol).

Take mush (of the psilocybin variety) until you understand the nature of the change in consciousness created by the mary jane.

(you can try mescaline anytime after mush if you so wish, it will likely help you either understand the changes or find the connection, but would likely be counterproductive before mush is taken in a significant dose)

Take LSD until you feel an unshakable connection to the universe (start with a massive dose, theres no time like the first, listen to The Beatles [anything after Help! is best] and The Doors for assistance 'breaking on through to the otherside').

Then smoke DMT until you reach 'DMT hyperspace'. (Do not let fire touch the DMT, only touch the flame to the glass [and even then not /right/ under the DMT] take big hits you gotta take 3 big hits and hold them in before you become unable to smoke [mildly difficult]; keep trying.)

At this point you will understand your consciousness in a way science could never teach you, and you won't have to ask us anything about what you should do, you will already know.

<comment><USER26> I'm not going to advocate substance abuse, but if you are going to do it then you might as well do it in college with experienced friends looking out for you.

That said, I find people have different biological reactions that determine if they will enjoy a particular chemical experience. If you have no interest in it or don't enjoy it, then don't worry about it. If you do have an interest in it, then do it responsibly.

<comment><USER25> Psychedelics are counter-addictive. They are only abused by those who have severe problems with generally 'abusing' anything that makes them feel good (and psychedelics don't 'make you feel good', they simply remove the mental barriers allowing you to feel that way if you so choose). All substances mentioned with the exception of LSD exist in nature, DMT is produced in the human brain and is responsible for near death experiences, and possibly dreams (and is the most powerful psychedelic listed; claims that psychedelia is unnatural are unfounded). LSD is highly similar to LSA (which occurs naturally). There are not issues with 'biological reactions' with these substances, except issues that cause mush to be far more potent on some individuals (start with a .25 gram dose [will do basically nothing in 99% of people, but will let you know if you are hypersensitive]). The only long term 'issues' people develop from long term psychedelic use, are creations of their own minds. When mental barriers are broken down, when you /truely/ have control of your mind-- its just like having root access, do something wrong and you might fuck something up. Do whats natural, nothing you see, think or feel on psychedelics is anything but natural.

<comment><USER26> I've heard of people having issues with DMT and LSD, of the four you mentioned, though they might have been dosage issues.

Weed is the only one of the four you mentioned that I would have no trouble with doing if it were presented to me, and DMT is the only one that I would definitely not do without more research.

<comment><USER25> And yet you do DMT everytime you sleep (most likely), and certainly it is released during near death experiences. Unlike all of the other substances mentioned it is is produced by the human brain, and is the cause of many natural brain states.

(I do not, of course, recommend anyone go out and try DMT without first experiencing other psychedelics in the order given, or in fact without doing the research.)

I highly recommend you do that research.

<http://erowid.org/>

<http://wikipedia.org/>

Psychedelic use is not to be taken lightly. It is not a form of recreation (shouldn't be), it is a method of deep introspection, of breaking down mental barriers, a journey within yourself (among other things which really cannot be explained until you have reached the state of understanding that usually occurs with mush or mescaline use. This too is not an absolute, but is common to most peoples 'route' in this journey.)

Use of entheogens is, of course, not the only route to these states, tantric yoga can perform the same function as cannabis, and years (or decades) of deep meditation can take replace the use of mush, LSD and DMT.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> College was the best years of my life. Here are my guidelines.

1\. Learn as much as you can from class and people.

2\. Build authentic relationships. A lot college friendships usually last a lifetime.

3\. Follow your passion. Studying a subject you enjoy learning, and don't force yourself to learn something you don't like for the sake of making more money.

4\. It's always good to take a break once in awhile.

5\. Don't take college for granted and cherish your friends. When college is over, you're going to miss it.

</comment><comment><USER28> Do as much extracurricular stuff as you can manage with as much time as you can give it, in whatever interests you. I was also a CS major, and my free time went to theatre. I actually ended up with two degrees, the second one being theatre, so I guess for me it was a little more than extracurricular, but the point stands. Now that I'm out of college and have a wife and job, I find it infinitely more difficult to find time to do any acting/directing/etc, and it's something I really miss and I'm very glad I did it in college while I had the chance.

Might not be theatre for you, obviously. Might be music, might be hiking, might be journalism, might be Ultimate Frisbee playing, whatever. Find something that isn't related to what you'll end up doing 9-to-5 after you get out, and explore that thing.

EDIT: slackerIII's point about making new friends is also spot-on. Luckily, extra-curriculars can make that easier so the two tips go hand-in-hand. ;) The social atmosphere of college is completely unique (at least in American society; I realize you may or may not be US-ian), so open yourself up to it and take advantage.

<comment><AUTHOR> Not intending to get a job or get married (is the former actually feasible?), but will keep your advice in mind. I'm trying to get out hiking and climbing (I'm in the northeast), but (this) college is so much work.

<comment><USER28> Is getting a job feasible? With a CS degree? Yes, it can be done. ;) What were you planning on doing after college other than getting a job?

<comment><AUTHOR> No, I meant the other way round - is it feasible not to get a job out of college? I was thinking the startup route, but again, that idea is still the vague-move-to-Valley plan.

<comment><USER28> Ah, okay. In that case, I have no idea. ;) Based on the number of startups in existence, I would guess that yes, it's probably feasible, but I didn't go that route so I won't have anything useful to say about it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER29> Take your best idea and RUN WITH IT! Don't quit college - the degree DOES matter; But use that free time and run all aspects of your "startup" business - create it, deploy it, market it, refine it. You can do that AND keep your classwork up. Once you're out in the post-grad world, the pressure is on - <USER3> take advantage of it NOW and see those ideas come to life!!

Go on an info-diet, CREATE, don't CONSUME.

</comment><comment><USER30> Start doing some part-time businesses now. Get with classmates, especially classmates outside your major, put together something quick and dirty and see if you can make a few bucks. You'll learn what you need to complement your skills & personality and get some experience balancing different parts of your life, going through the whole business start-deliver-grow-falter-fail cycle. Invaluable experience and killer resume/interview material.

For social groups, find groups _outside_ of college. You'll be able to connect with people at all stages of life, and you won't be an outsider the day you graduate. Find something with a worldwide presence, whether it's the group or just the activity itself. I did medieval re-enactment, I connected with not only other medievalists worldwide, but all historical enthusiasts. Travel? Free room and board and often transport from the more established co- enthusiasts. Instant networking, too--jobs, advice, backing, prospects, you name it.

</comment><comment><USER31> I'm currently in my last year of computer science. This will be my second degree, the first being a B.A. in Philosophy. I definitely think that your on the right track with the comp.sci./math double major. However, like you, I find the comp.sci courses easy and, for the most part, really uninteresting. Not that the info. isn't useful, it has mostly to do with having to sit through lectures where the professors have been teaching the same courses for years now and are utterly bored with the material as well. Unfortunately, a degree seems to be the main currency with employers, despite the fact I don't think that a comp.sci. degree adequately prepares you for becoming a competent programmer.

Ultimately, I would recommend sticking with your program but pursuing your own programming and mathematical interests on the side (if you have time) in order to sustain and augment your enthusiasm for your future profession.

Best of luck.

</comment><comment><USER32> For one thing, don't be too quick to underestimate the value of socialization. You don't have to be a vapid partier just looking to hook up, but making social mistakes is much less costly in college than it is in the business world. Find some groups that interest you, and there are probably girls there that share that interest - it's much harder when you're out.

Is there some programming project you're passionate about? In college, it was horse racing and poker for me. Always trying to make a quick buck, I know. Anyway, the only real way to learn about writing code is to do it. Your first project will probably fail, so don't sweat it.

If you like this craze, pick an easy language and write a web application. You can get a VPS running for $20-$50 a month, and you could install SVN on there as well. Anyway, have fun and observe yourself - and make sure to study your algorithms!

</comment><comment><USER26> Participate in the COMAP Mathematical Contest in Modeling. It was the 4 best days of my undergraduate career. I did problem B in 2005, here's a link to the problem set:

[http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/contests/200...](http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/contests/2005/problems/)

</comment><comment><USER24> Wow... you sound just like me. I have the same issues with working, and the same desire to work in startups or similar. Honestly, I think it helps a lot to know that I'm not alone.

I actually just got this account as I only discovered this site a few days ago (and I love it!) so I don't know if there is an easy way to get in contact with you, but I think it would be interesting to get your name and maybe an AIM screen name or the like.

My advice? Make friends, and do whatever whenever while you can. Also, I have an internship in a big business now, and I hate it. It's boring, slow and totally uninteresting. Still, I'm glad I did it. It's something worth experiencing and it's given me new motivation to get good at something and start a business. Find out what you want, and don't stop until you get it -- even if you hate it, the experience is good.

</comment><comment><USER33> Male bonding activities are never wasted time. Seriously. Even something as small as going along on a beer run, might get you a position on a board twenty years from now, or a great job in an amazing place, or, by far the most valuable of all possibilities, crash space on a sofa in San Francisco.

</comment><comment><USER34> I'm in the same boat you are, my friend. I'm taking two classes over the summer to start my Jr. year on time.While I can't give you advice from historical experience, I can tell you what I'm doing.

Right now I'm using this time to save up some money. I know that I ultimately want to start a company, but I don't know what type (startup, lifestyle) or even in what industry. I do know that I like technology, but I don't think that I would be able to use my skills to compete in that industry, though I may be able to use my knowledge there to give myself an advantage somewhere else. Right now I'm doing what I can to see what my interests are, so that I have a plan after college.

I see college as two things: A way to meet people and build my network, and a plan B should the "own my own business" plans fall through.

</comment><comment><USER35> Be careful avoiding things that other people enjoy because you think they are vapid. Try to enjoy them instead.

Travel a LOT-- long trips (3-4 weeks per trip if you can swing it). It's very hard to pull this off after college for most people.

I'll echo the "meet women" sentiment. For some, it can be hard to meet women after collenge-- especially if you get a job at a startup (most people meet women at jobs and women are notoriously absent from startups).

Career-wise, if you want to do a startup someday... Either find a cool startup that you can work at (be picky) or build something that you'd really love to have yourself but no one has made yet.

</comment><comment><USER36> take art 101 or design 101 or calligraphy 101, something that forces you to learn the basics of design and composition.

<comment><USER37> Wish I could upmod you more than once. Having an artistic (in the proper, good sense) sensibility and simply good taste will improve your designs tremendously.

You see, one clever fellow named Steve Jobs did exactly that. He took a calligraphy class that turned him onto design. Later he became pretty well known for his great products.

On a side note, good taste helps even in the small things or the things you do not design yourself but simply choose: clothes, business card designs, and so on.

<comment><USER36> thanks, I had some free spaces left when I was pursuing my comp sci degree and took one composition/design class. It helped me to look at other things besides just code. I did wish I took some more because it was interesting and somewhat applicable.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> What's your ADHD symptoms like?

I remember a period of my life where I would have to spend hours on a single page of a book because I wasn't able to retain anything. I should have went to the doctors about it.

<comment><AUTHOR> Fleeting thoughts, constantly. Spending a lot of time bringing myself back from mini-tangents inside the brain; in mid-sentence, distracted by thought/sight/sound/smell and hence lost train of thought (dozens of time a day).

I seem to do reading fine, but retain very little from the reading, in comparison with classmates. I've mostly been taking math-y classes (cs, math, phys). Physics was very difficult. Writing essays is even more difficult - this is the source of most of my academic troubles.

</comment></comment><comment><USER39> I was in a similar boat as you 2 years ago, and I wish I did two (seemingly contradictory) things different: 1st, go outside of your majors - take some acting classes, some poetry classes, some philosophy classes. 2nd, understand your majors - take a couple of hours to research every class your major offers, and decide which ones sound appealing early on - at Rutgers, I finished a CS BA without taking a compilers or OS course, which was, in hindsight pretty clearly, a mistake.

</comment><comment><USER40> I'm 21 myself, so I don't know if I qualify as an advice giver but...If you want to meet like minded people, you've started in the right place.

With this in mind, depending on what metropolitan area you are in/near there should be events... like BarCamp [<http://barcamp.org/>] or Refresh [<http://refreshingcities.org/>].

Traveling is definitely something I recommend as well.

</comment><comment><USER41> Start a website or blog. It is the single best decision I have done in the last decade. I have found many interesting people online that are interested in the same things as me and many interesting people have found me through it.

And yes, go out with as many women as possible too. I made the mistake of going to an all-male college.. well just about (~30% female at Georgia Tech).

</comment><comment><USER42> My advice, is a little different from the rest. All those things are good and all, but it doesn't hurt to lay the ground work for your future.

I recommend that you start coding your statup now. This is the best time for it. You have no expenses. You have very few commitments. And you are surrounded by a lot of other smart ambitious people that you can tap. Clubs, professors, classes, will make it easy for you to find out who the smart people are. So if you run into a problem, you can easily find someone to help you understand it.

And this way the times when your startup grows very slow, you'll have some other things to play with. Honestly if you don't have an idea now, start throwing some ideas in your head, pick one and start coding, if you change your mind along the way, change your product, you have plenty of time to get a winning combination. And remember, it doesn't need to be rocket science, Facebook is nothing more than a big database.

But this shouldn't be your only concern, you have to multi-task. Honestly the startup life is pretty shitty. You work all the time, you lose touch with most of your friends because you constantly skip going out, and unlike college where you are surrounded by women of your age, you end up being pretty much a monk, seeing two-three women your age during the week. So spend that time in college having fun.

a) start lifting weights. Trust me, it'll do wonders to your social life and for your self esteem. Honestly if you are afraid of going to the gym, buy a set of weights at a store and workout at home. I actually prefer that because you don't spend the extra time of driving to the gym, and can do it whenever you have free time.(i usually work out when I watch TV since I'm in front of it anyways)

b) Join some activity clubs. Honestly you sound like you have no idea what fun things you like. So look at all the clubs at your college and join a bunch and see what you actually like.

c) if you want excitement there is nothing better than buying a motorcycle. Start off with a Ninja 250(used). The reason is that its a starter bike(it'll run you like 2K used, 3K new, they hold their value really well). Granted its a little dangerous but thats part of the excitement. Then once you get the basics down, upgrade to a 600cc bike(the most expensive one will run you like 7 grand). And don't upgrade to a 1000cc bike because those are the killers.

d) get laid, Honestly college is probably the easiest time of your life for that .You are surrounded by women your age and as long as you are even remotely in shape you'll get a positive answer. If you wear glasses get contacts. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you'll be knee deep in women once you graduate. Like I said, w/o going out I see maybe 1-2 attractive women my age. And if you hate the party scene in college, you'll hate the bar/club scene when you graduate. You don't want to end up like that guy in the 40 year old virgin movie. And trust me, if you ride a bike, have a decent physique and no glasses, in college? You will have NO problem getting women's numbers. All you have to do is initiate the conversation.

e) take a road trip, just get into your car and head some place 2000 miles away.

f) obviously there are many other exciting things to do, but I don't know your money/location situation, so I dunno if you can afford to go sky diving, or if you live near an ocean so you can learn how to surf/ride a jet ski

<comment><USER43> Anyone can afford to go skydiving once, and it's worth doing.

</comment></comment><comment><USER44> N == 1 in my sample but a few random things that I did in college that have made me happy ever since: meet you future spouse; make lifelong friends; learn a foreign language; play in a band; act in a play; and find a life long sport that you enjoy.

</comment><comment><USER45> Everybody's saying run run run, time's running out! I beg to differ. You'll have time enough for things you don't want to do, later in life. For now, kill time, relax and don't do stuff you don't want to.

</comment><comment><USER46> Try to meet everyone. Remember, keep track of, and develop real relationships with all of the people you click with.

</comment><comment><USER47> start doing regular blah blah on HN ;)

</comment><comment><USER48> Smoke pot.</comment>


RailsInstaller for Windows 2.0.0 Preview Release - <AUTHOR> http://www.engineyard.com/blog/2011/railsinstaller-for-windows-2-0-0-preview-release/

<comment><USER2> Please kick the tires folks, everything ran well from an initial go.

<comment><USER3> Congrats Wayne! Keep up the awesome work with this and RVM. Ruby must win :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> You rock, Wayne!</comment>


Show HN: My 5-year mocap Machinima project with Hollywood stars - <AUTHOR> http://www.deathknightlovestory.com/

<comment><USER3> I'd love to know how you got reputable actors to star in WoW machinima!

<comment><AUTHOR> Actually, they were very enthusiastic about the project from the word go - <USER2> fact that it's __considerably __different to the run of the mill short film was a significant draw, I think.

I think that hacker types like us underestimate just how novel the approaches we take can be for people in the outside world, as it were.

Joanna put it best, IMO:

"There's an old phrase in acting which is "stay in the boat." As things change, stay in the boat. Don't go 'oh, I would never dream of doing that' or 'oh we didn't do that, I haven't been trained'.

Just learn and stick with it and find out how it is going. Because you'll be able to find that a) you'll be able to contribute quite a lot more than you thought you would, but secondly you can't afford to be divorced from new methods of entertainment."

<comment><USER4> I just wanted to say that I really appreciate the way your plot is structured and "fitted in" within the larger World of Warcraft setting. The way you did that calls back to machinima's own origins within another media and was a delightful thought to have today.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you very much! That's exactly what we were going for, and it's fantastic to hear that you appreciated it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Points to a whole new way of making movies. I'd love to see some behind the scenes video or stories about making it - do you have anything like that?

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm going to be posting some over the next few days, actually - plus a series over at Charlie Stross's blog talking about the past, present and future of Machinima.</comment></comment>


Is India Moving Closer to Becoming a Hindu Nation? - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/world/asia/india-citizenship-protests.html <comment><USER2> Off-Topic for HN.</comment>


How to prolong lithium-based batteries - <AUTHOR> http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries <comment><USER2> \- Charge frequently and don't allow full discharges (Li-ion batteries don't have memory);

\- Keep batteries at temperatures lower than 30ºC;

\- Charge with voltages lower than 4.1V/cell.

<comment><USER3> I would just add to this, don't keep battery at 100% (unplug it when it's done charging)

<comment><USER4> > I would just add to this, don't keep battery at 100% (unplug it when it's > done charging)

Absolutely incorrect. What makes you think that keeping a 100% charged battery plugged in bad? The device has its own charging circuitry that stops charging when full.

<comment><USER5> Anedoctal evidence, my SOs Dell's battery is basically dead(about 2-3minutes of charge) even though it has spent 95% of time plugged in fully charged.

Laptop forums are full of stories like this.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Thinkpads offer a way to limit the percent State of Charge (SoC) while charging. AFAIK this is the only laptop which does so.

I do this manually by removing the battery from my laptop once it reaches 70-90% SoC (and I'm plugged in, obviously). This is superior for battery protection because the temperature is limited to room temperature, but inferior because the laptop shuts off on power loss.

<comment><USER7> Are the battery life savings really worth the hassle and potential for lost work?

<comment><USER8> Since I've picked up my Thinkpad, I really wonder why Lenovo doesn't stick in a small internal battery ontop of the removable (say good for like 10 minutes or something...) so that: a) On power loss (battery removed), it can still dump into hibernate (the real one) b) So you can hotswap the external batteries. I have two batteries, and when I'm out for long periods, it annoys me that I have to dump it into hibernate so I can swap batteries. It's just an extra few minutes that really annoy me.

<comment><USER9> Some laptops have room for two batteries. My old FSC Celsius H did.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Wouldn't total mAh delivered be a better metric than charge cycles, since less power is delivered per cycle with shallower discharges? Some quick calculations, assuming a linear loss of capacity over time:

Assume an example rated battery capacity of 1700mAh

The average capacity over the life of the battery (i.e. reaching 70% capacity) is 80% (assuming batteries start at 90% and drop linearly to 70%).

At 100% DoD, 500 cycles * 80% * 1700mAh = 680Ah

At 50% DoD, 1500 cycles * 80% * 50% * 1700mAh = 1020Ah

At 25% DoD, 2500 cycles * 80% * 25% * 1700mAh = 850Ah

At 10% DoD, 4700 cycles * 80% * 10% * 1700mAh = 639Ah

So clearly a 50% DoD is better than 25% or 10%, but where does the optimum lie?

</comment><comment><USER11>
       Depth of discharge |    Discharge cycles

        100% DoD          |         500

         50% DoD          |        1500

         25% DoD          |        2500

         10% DoD          |        4700

So....4700 discharges with 10% DoD. Isn't that just like 470 full (100% DoD) discharges in terms of total energy supplied? In other words, the battery lifetime can be described by a single amount of energy (e.g. 1000 kWh). It doesn't matter if you use that much energy interspersed with frequent recharges, or with full discharges each use.

<comment><USER12> The products are 500 discharges, 750 discharges, 625 discharges, and 470 discharges, so it turns out that it does matter a bit; you can store 50% more total energy in the battery over its lifetime if you discharge it 50% each time than if you discharge it either 100% or 10% each time.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Hmm. I have 15 minute interval logs of battery stats for my mbp since the day I have it logged (with gaps when it was asleep/off) .... about 20,000 entries.

I could extrapolate the data based on my usage patterns (the charging/discharge/etc are all in there)

Anyone know offhand how to tell the charing circuits in the mac to stop charging at 50% capacity? I'm thinking I could easily automate that for a few weeks or months and check out the log data...</comment>


Ask HN: Are YouTube's demonetization choices ideologically influenced? - <AUTHOR> A friend of mine made this claim to me.
At first, my reply was that this was absurd, and that Google/YouTube are motivated by shareholder value only, and any ideological bias is only due to it's impact on shareholder value (e.g. through impact on ability to recruit, through impact on advertisers).
But, now I'm less certain. Still seems unlikely, but I'd like to challenge my previously strongly held opinion on this that there's no way it could be true.
Is there good evidence one way or the other, on whether google or YouTube specifically (and not their advertisers) are ideologically influenced on demonetization? <comment><USER2> Remember this: [https://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-searches-for- hillar...](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-searches-for-hillary- clinton-yield-favorable-autocomplete-results-report-shows-2016-06-09)

I doubt anyone can give you a sure answer. But this sort of a thing is a "public secret"

[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/04/google- in...](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/04/google-influence- hiring-government-officials)

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/as-obama- nea...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/as-obama-nears-close- of-his-tenure-commitment-to-silicon-valley-is- clear/2015/02/27/3bee8088-bc8e-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html)

Any of these?: [https://duckduckgo.com/?q=google+cia+post](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=google+cia+post)

Notice the term "data provider" (a provider is a willing participant) in this snowden leak slide: [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbulence_(NSA)#/media/File...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbulence_\(NSA\)#/media/File%3APrism- slide-7.jpg)

The question really is "what ideology?" Not whether or not everything they do is ideological.

Maybe I should slowly put down my tinfoil hat.

</comment><comment><USER3> Given the scale at which demonetization seems to be occurring, one would expect the evidence to be obvious: videos espousing an explicit ideological point of view would be demonetized, and those expressing the opposite ideology, or none at all, would not.

If you read about and watch content related to the issue you'll likely fail to notice such a pattern. If demonetization were merely about suppressing right- wing content, then why would Google also demonetize let's players, reviewers, vloggers like Hank Green (who would doubtless be considered "left wing"), anime channels, commercial and apolitical channels as well? The proof appears to be disproved by contradiction.

It is possible for ideology to affect demonetization, but not in the obvious sense that right-wingers mean (that of Google, being a "liberal" company, simply choosing to harass them.) The motives of _advertisers_ are what is important here, and Google's desperation to make an unprofitable platform profitable and competitive.

This is hardly the first time a change in Youtube's algorithm has had major consequences for types of content and revenue - see Ross' video on the future of animation on Youtube[0] for instance... did Google have a political agenda against animated content on Youtube? No, and neither is it likely that Google's current monetization scheme is intended to suppress a particular kind of content as much as _any content advertisers might consider unfriendly,_ which just _happens to include_ content intended to be provocative, anti- establishment or controversial as a set.

Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? No, at least not as a primary motivating factor. Is there evidence for it? Nothing objective, in my opinion. I would suggest that you do your own research and make up your own mind.

[0][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi6FcI2wFrw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi6FcI2wFrw)

</comment><comment> wu-ikkyu >any ideological bias is only due to it's impact on shareholder value

This would be the primary source of ideological demonetization. I'm not quite sure how this would be any less objectionable than developers at GOOG demonetizing content based on their own independent ideologies?

In any case, it would seem the latter is negligable compared to the former.

</comment><comment><USER4> Well Google and YouTube have definitely removed sites and videos on the right/far-right for supposed terms of service violations so there are definitely things they won't let you say on their services that are legal.

For example, the racist and far-right site Daily Stormer was removed from Google, and videos which discuss political issues such as immigration are often privatised/removed by Youtube or at the very least, demonetised.

From personal experience these removals do seem to effect those on the ideological right more, but I'm not sure I could provide any good data to back that claim up. Although after firing James Damore for ideological disagreements it does seems fairly hard to question whether or not Google might have some internal ideological bias, it's just whether or not that bias is affecting their algorithms.

I think Google are quite smart about this though. I don't think demonetisation is a huge issue on it's own, I tend to agree that it's in Google finical interest to demonetise certain content. But what worries me is that Google and YouTube might be promoting content that fits a certain narrative. Google searches and Youtube's trending section do seem to promote content that falls into a specific ideological category.

[http://aibrt.org/downloads/EPSTEIN_&_ROBERTSON_2017-A_Method...](http://aibrt.org/downloads/EPSTEIN_&_ROBERTSON_2017-A_Method_for_Detecting_Bias_in_Search_Rankings- AIBRT_WP-17-02_6-1-17.pdf)

Perhaps this is all completely unintentional, but it does seem to be happening. And with world leaders such as Angela Merkel requesting Zuckerberg do something about ideological wrong-think on Facebook it does seem to suggest there is at least some political pressure being pushed onto companies like Google and Facebook from the outside, regards of the internal politics of the company.

[https://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/27/angela-merkel-caught-on- hot-...](https://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/27/angela-merkel-caught-on-hot-mic- pressing-facebook-ceo-over-anti-immigrant-posts.html)

I think we'd be naive to believe it doesn't happen at all, but it's how consciously these ideological decisions are made and how much influence governments have over these companies that concerns me.

</comment><comment><USER5> Yes.

</comment><comment><USER6> Read the article "Google is not what it seems" by Assange.</comment>


Canonical reveals Ubuntu for Android - <AUTHOR> http://www.extremetech.com/computing/119031-canonical-reveals-ubuntu-for-android <comment><USER2> "The other problem is that while Canonical is pushing the build to hardware manufacturers and mobile carriers, it has no plans to release it to the general public for independent development."

It seems to crazy to me that Canonical is going to lock down this software and not let people try to install on their own devices for their own purposes.

While I couldn't be more excited by the idea of this project, that article made me very concerned about the future of Canonical and where they are going as a company.

<comment><USER3> Are they planning on locking it down after release? If so, they will really piss off the open source ecosystem.

However, controlling the release of pre-alpha software that doesn't work very well on existing hardware seems like a very good idea to me.

<comment><USER4> From <http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android/commercial-info>:

> Ubuntu for Android components produced by Canonical are generally licensed > under the GPLv3 or LGPLv3. Alternative licensing is available on the proviso > that Canonical retains discretionary rights to include work done in the > public versions of Unity and Ubuntu.

It sounds like this will be released as free software, and the GPLv3 pretty much forbids locking it down.

I think that what they are saying in the article is that they won't be releasing the code until they have a hardware partner; so you can't download it now and try to hack it to work with CyanogenMod or something. But once they have a hardware partner, the code will all be released under the GPLv3.

<comment><USER5> That understandable, but it's also a bit of a shame, since there's hardware out there that might be able to be hacked to run this already, the Motorola Atrix.

<comment><USER3> According to [http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/21/2812424/ubuntu-for- android...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/21/2812424/ubuntu-for-android- hands-on) it sounds like there are a couple of large usability issues with the Atrix 2.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Canonical has done many questionable things recently, but innovation like this is why they are going to succeed commercially.

</comment><comment><USER7> A request for future posts from extremetech.com (and essentially all other "news" services like this).

 _Please_ look for a 'Print' view, which displays the content on 1 page and in a much better format:

[http://www.extremetech.com/computing/119031-canonical- reveal...](http://www.extremetech.com/computing/119031-canonical-reveals- ubuntu-for-android?print)

</comment><comment><USER8> This started off sounding really cool, and then on page 2 they reveal pretty much nobody's going to have access to it.

<comment><USER9> "Realistically, Ubuntu for Android has been developed for future handsets that are going to have the horsepower to push everything the software is going to require."

So, like, six months from now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> If the phone could access remote computing resources then this would be awesome. (I could show you stuff I've written years ago saying you should "dock" a phone, wirelessly, to keyboard and monitor and have it also connect to external CPUs and GPUs. I'm sure other people have had the same idea.)

I'm just really skeptical that a smartphone has enough computing power for me to want to use it as my desktop. That's why Apple has gone the route of iCloud; you have your content already synched to your desktop but you keep the interfaces and hardware separate. This is a move that won't be viable until hardware catches up. Or it will be like the original MacBookAir: underpowered but good for certain mobile business users.

<comment><USER11> As much as I loathe anything cloud related, I feel the need to mention that Ubuntu has their own cloud service called Ubuntu One, which can sync files[1]. So the possibility _is_ there.

If they are successful with Ubuntu Android, it might mean more people switching to Ubuntu on their desktop, too, which would be a win in the long term.

[1] This is a Nautilus plugin as far as I remember, so it works on any computer where you can install it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> There does exist an APK on the market for some devices that seems to contain an Ubuntu like userspace. It seems handy for phones with HDMI out or docking stations. It requires things to be rebuilt for Arm, but many things seem to be available.

</comment><comment><USER13> _"Canonical has unveiled that its goal is to narrow down the amount of devices that you carry to just one that will provide the same functionality of all three items mentioned above."_

This isn't a software problem. Moreover, this isn't a solvable hardware problem -- For something to replace a laptop, it had better have a physical keyboard to type comfortably on.

For it to fill the role of a tablet, it had better be light, easy to use with one hand, and with a big enough screen to consume content on.

For it to fill the role of a phone, it had better be small enough to fit into my pocket and easy to hold up to my head.

These requirements are not compatible.

<comment><USER11> The basic solution might be to "disconnect" the hardware from the input paradigm. Your device would be a portable computer that you can plug into different input devices: a phone, a tablet, or a docking station with screen and keyboard at home. The OS switches between input paradigms (switches! Not provide a shitty one-size-fits-all solution, like Metro) based on what input device you are using. If it's implemented properly[1], it would be highly modular, so you could decide what sorts of input paradigms you want to have installed, and have different "Input Environments" (sort of like a Desktop Environment, but specific to an input paradigm) or roll your own using components (just like creating your own DE with a WM and additional programs)[1].

With innovative goodies such as the Raspberry Pi demonstrating that you can have pretty usable (as in hardware-specs) general-purpose computer the size of a credit card (and things are only going to get smaller in the future), I don't think this is a far-fetched vision.

[1] In case you haven't guessed it already, this requires a free (as in speech) computing environment, not shitty, locked-down pseudo-computers like many (most?) smartphones and tablets these days.

<comment><USER13> We're already well on the road to disconnecting it in an even more fundamental sense. Our computing is moving to "the cloud", and our local systems are turning into windows into this cloud.

The backend is already being disconnected from the UI used to manipulate it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> This is a very neat idea. I highly doubt that Google will accept it over ChromeOS. In my opinion this will get Ubuntu to get crazy popularity if they manage to make it as an app for non-rooted devices.

</comment><comment><USER15> Anyone else feel like Canonical is fragmenting themselves into oblivion?

<comment><USER3> I feel that Canonical is making the same mistake Apple did. Taking engineers off of OS X Leopard and putting them to work on iOS was such a bad move.

In Canonical's case, it's an even worse idea, isn't it? Why spend engineer resources targeting the tiny Android market rather than the huge desktop Linux market?

Obvious sarcasm aside, I'm really happy to see Ubuntu innovating here. If it was commercially available, I'd be plunking my money down now. But I'm already a Linux user so I'm an easy sale. Kudos to Ubuntu to try and market to people other than those like me.

<comment><USER15> Except that everybody always wanted an iOS device, so it was obviously an easy sell for Apple to do that.

Trying to sell people an Android phone that happens to have Ubuntu on it? How are you going to reach consumers? Are you going to get a carrier on board? Good fucking luck.

<comment><USER3> In 2005 & 2006 nobody wanted an iOS device because nobody outside of Apple knew about it. If investors had heard that Steve Jobs was stealing engineers from OS X to work on a phone they would have been slammed in the press for cannibalizing their core products to enter a market with a lot of well capitalized competitors.

<comment><USER16> And look how well that turned out! Apple made the right moves at the right time. Some of it was probably luck. But canabalising their Mac and iPod markets has made Apple one of the most successful companies ever.

Not sure Shuttleworth has a similar insight on the state of mobile computing but if they can create a great product, maybe they have something.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Direct link to Canonical's announcement: <http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android>

HN discussion: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3617238>

</comment><comment><USER18> What about input devices? Via bluetooth? Or am I missing something that is in the dockstation?

<comment><USER3> It's being demoed on the Atrix 2 lapdock. Google for that to get an idea of the sort of target Ubuntu has in mind.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> Wouldn't it be cool to use a projected laser keyboard and virtual trackpad for input?

<comment><USER20> Any user feedback on what the typing experience feels like tapping on a table with synthetic clicks as feedback? How does one hold modifier keys?

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> Weirdly enough, wrote about something like this, back in 2008 : [http://www.vijayanand.name/2008/10/the-future-of-living- how-...](http://www.vijayanand.name/2008/10/the-future-of-living-how-3g-could- help/)

It was still a very Nokia Centric world, back then.

</comment><comment><USER22> Wonderful, so Desktop Linux, on a phone. Because Desktop Linux, on a desktop PC worked so flawlessly, and Ubuntu was so user-friendly that they needed to replicate that awesome experience to mobile devices. (sarcasm intended)

I would be much, more interested in a raw, low-level Linux platform, upon which others can build a fresh new touchscreen-oriented UI, minus all the KDE/Gnome cruft. I really don't want my phone looking like a clone of Windows 3.1.

<comment><USER23> Not sure why you got downvoted, but I agree. I've been trying out each new upgrade of Ubuntu for about 6 years now. They've come a LONG way. Say what you want about Ubuntu but it has improved ten fold since the beginning.

 _I apologize in advanced for my negative, probably incorrect, generalized opinions about linux and perticularly Ubuntu but I just can't help but feel this way._

After all these years of messing with linux, I think I finally understand what linux is all about. Behind the sugar coated philanthropic message of "free software (with bad UIs) for the world" to give the open source community a feeling of vision and humane pride, it's really about giving people the freedom to dick around with their computers. That's it. That's all. It's an OS for people who like to dick around and try new things and feel like they've customized their own machine and their own experience. Same as the custom PC crowd (me). That's just the way we are.

As soon as Canonical tried to actually fulfill linux's goal of bringing Ubuntu to the masses the older linux community got upset. I too got upset. Where the hell where my options?! Almost as if to say, "how dare you design for those heathens and not us hard core tweakers". Now it's getting apparent that Mark Shuttleworth has Steve Jobs envy but the guy is trying to take linux in the right direction. Easy to use, easy to maintain, and well designed. Unfortunately the majority of open source software (software without a company or sponsor that oversees developement) does NOT have this same goal. For them it's about being free and wild and raw and "who cares about the shitty UI, just use commands" So what we're going to end up with is a well designed OS with atrocious software. Thus an experience with a split personality.

Also, in the world of linux, success is not measured by "market share", it's measured by "ability to dick around with the code" aka freedom. Installing what you want, using it how you want, whenever and however you want. Which is the exact opposite of what 95% of what consumers want, for things to just "work". So I think Ubuntu on phones is going to be really awesome for people like me who like to just mess around and try out new things, but I honestly don't see it going anywhere. 10 years from now Ubuntu on the phone is going to be like Ubuntu on the desktop: It's just there and you know, maybe 1 or 2 people, that actually use it.

That's my $0.02. Sorry for being an ass but as an average person that's the vibe I'm getting from Ubuntu and Linux (Gos, Debian, Mint) in general.

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> Slightly unrelated but why is there a dock in the images:

<http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android>

It's 2012 you guys, I think we can do away with cables now.

<comment><USER25> Maybe because pushing 1080p @ 60fps, while running a dual Android/Ubuntu stack while connected to a 3G or WiFi network might be a burden on the battery.

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> I think Canonical are going to die if they keep on the crack pipe as much as recently. This is a fine example of it. Customers and users are dropping like flies already. I don't know anyone now who hasn't bailed on then and gone with mint, Debian or centos.

<comment><USER27> >I don't know anyone now who hasn't bailed on then and gone with mint, Debian or centos.

you must not know many people. ubuntu's numbers certainly haven't shrunk over the last few years.

<comment><USER28> I don't know what Ubuntu's numbers are doing, but you need to consider the rate of growth as well.

Take the following hypothetical situation:

      * Say, every month, a small percentage of the userbase stop
        using Ubuntu (and switch to Mint or OS X, for example).
      * Say the rate of growth is shrinking.

You've already hit the inflection point: if that trend continues, your userbase _will_ start shrinking, you'll wonder why everyone's leaving all of a sudden, and you're suddenly in a position of trying to pull the project out of a nosedive you didn't realise you were in.

<comment><USER27> [http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/02/stats-show-ubuntu-not- los...](http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/02/stats-show-ubuntu-not-losing- ground-to-linux-mint/)

Ubuntu's user base is growing faster than mint's is. And I don't even want to mention how ridiculous the concept of using hypothetical statistics to defend your point is.

<comment><USER28> I'm not saying that Ubuntu _is_ losing users or growing any slower than any other distribution.

I'm just saying that "is not currently losing users" is not the only statistic that should be taken into consideration.

(I'm not defending anyone's point; that was my first post in the thread. I'm also a relatively happy Ubuntu user.)</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Golden Rule for Startups - <AUTHOR> http://paraschopra.com/blog/personal/golden-rule-for-startups.htm

<comment><USER2> Just a caveat to anyone who DOES want to start an "easy business"...

In Founders at Work (another great book from Apress), Paul Graham talks about starting Viaweb (which Yahoo bought to power Yahoo Stores):

Graham: "We had this angry phone conversation where he [co-founder Robert Morris] said something like, 'We've been working on this thing for a whole month, and it's still not finished.' It's funny in retrospect, because we were still working on it 3 years later. At the time, I was just thinking about how to get him to keep working on it for another month..."

In the same book, Max Levchin talks about starting Paypal:

Levchin: "It was pretty funny because we met with all these people in the banking and credit card processing industry, and they said, 'Fraud is going to eat you for lunch.' We said, 'What fraud?'"

Levchin ended up spending almost all of his time writing software to tackle fraud, which turned out to be Paypal's core competence. He now calls PayPal "a security company pretending to be a financial services company."

So, again, keep that caveat in mind when you're looking for an "easy" business. Letting people email money? What could be easier? Muahahahahahaha...

</comment><comment><USER3> In theory I agree and a few years ago this were exactly my words. Now look at the successful web sites and acquisitions of the latest years and tell me if you think there is a match.

</comment><comment><USER4> "Instead, given your skills, time and money investment and other constraints, you must choose the hardest possible business."

I'm not so sure about this golden rule. A lot of overly complicated ideas that consumers will never grasp seem to fit what you're describing.

I'd argue it's the easy to grasp ideas that are the ones that go viral and become successful. DropBox comes to mind. Posterous and Mint are also pretty straight forward. I don't know that these businesses were "hardest" thier founders could have chosen.

<comment><USER5> i didn't RTFA, but perhaps what that quote is trying to say is that you should choose something that's VERY hard to implement properly but easy for consumers to use. simple interface is key, but if the implementation is also super straightforward, then there will be tons of competitors or opportunities for scooping.

ideally, it would be something that you have special skills in implementing but other founders might not. one example is start-ups spun out of university research projects (e.g., VMWare, biotech start-ups).</comment></comment>


Start-up Tips From The Bosses Of Ebay, Chegg, Airbnb--And Ashton Kutcher - <AUTHOR> http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2014/04/16/start-up-tips-from-the-bosses-of-ebay-chegg-airbnb-and-ashton-kutcher/

<comment><AUTHOR> Dan Rosensweig (Chegg) on what it takes to be a founder:

> _You have to have a very specific perspective of not caring about other > peoples' opinions, believing in what you're doing, being willing to fight > through things—and that's not for everybody._

Reminds me of Fred Wilson's post about being attracted to mocked and misunderstood companies and services: [http://avc.com/2011/12/mocked-and- misunderstood/](http://avc.com/2011/12/mocked-and-misunderstood/)</comment>


Ask HN: Learn Python in 2020 - <AUTHOR> Few questions:
1. What is the best and also fastest way to learn the language in 2020? (please recommend resources)
2. Do I need to learn Python 2.x or just latest version?
3. What Python API's/libraries/frameworks are most in demand when applying for work?
Thank you all in advance.
Edit: formatting <comment><USER2> Python 3 vs Python 2 is easily answered: The differences are subtle (there are concise lists of differences), you can apply any old tutorial/book/Ressource and for instance mostly have to ensure to type print(foo) instead of print foo or foo.items() instead of foo.iteritems().

Depending on libraries, it highly depends on what you want to do. Python for data science? There are tons of great open books.

Python is great for its REPL shell. You can learn the language by experimenting and exploring. This approach is also part of many API docs in python, in contrast to many other comparable programming languages.

</comment><comment><USER3> You can answer these by googling.

<comment><AUTHOR> True (already done that), but I would like to hear HN community opinion.

<comment><USER3> If you've googled then why are you asking about python 2?

<comment><AUTHOR> Because Python 2 is in almost every book and online course (even that it has reached end of life).</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Impossible Burger debut: A non-meat patty for carnivores - <AUTHOR> http://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/Impossible-Burger-debut-A-non-meat-patty-for-9967111.php#photo-11391868 <comment><USER2> Best of luck making a non-animal burger with zero net carbs and a nutritional content worth eating. If they're aiming to replace burgers they have to reach beyond the taste buds.

</comment><comment><USER3> I'll certainly try this -- if it catches on it could have some significant global effects (global warming, food production, water usage, etc).

I just hope it digests smoothly. I tried "Beyond Meat" and it gave me some pretty terrible gas. Maybe my microbiota wasn't prepped for it or something.

Looking forward to these types of food technologies being refined.</comment>


Hyperspace Might Exist [pdf] - <AUTHOR> http://russellsbstewart.com/hyperspace.pdf <comment><USER2> From the info.txt in the same directory:

"Please note that the information theory paper is only up for academic fraud reasons on behalf of Stanford, which did not get my permission to de facto remove me from the paper without making significant contributions."

[http://russellsbstewart.com/info.txt](http://russellsbstewart.com/info.txt)

Sounds a bit axe-grind-y? What's the story there?</comment>


Ask HN: What will Trump's attitude be towards foreign entrepreneurs? - <AUTHOR> On the one hand, Trump has an 'interesting' relationship with foreigners. On the other hand, he does like small business.<p>It's already possible to start a business on the E-2 visa. Additionally there's the startup visa that Obama was spearheading. It will be interesting to see if the startup visa goes ahead, and if there will be any changes in volume / difficulty of obtaining the E-2... <comment></comment>


Show HN: Search for movies, books, and albums and save them to a list. - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/shawnps/watchreadlisten

<comment><AUTHOR> I noticed that whenever people recommended a movie, book, or album to me, I would take out my iPhone and write it down in a note. This resulted in a lot of notes containing various recommendations people had made to me. I decided to make an app that would let me organize those recommendations.

Client libraries for the APIs are here:

[https://github.com/shawnps/rt](https://github.com/shawnps/rt) [https://github.com/shawnps/gr](https://github.com/shawnps/gr) [https://github.com/shawnps/sp](https://github.com/shawnps/sp)</comment>


Kickstarter: Making the Mafia Look Like Chucky Cheese Since 2009 - <AUTHOR> http://www.goblinscomic.org/kickstarter-making-the-mafia-look-like-chucky-cheese-since-2009/

<comment><USER2> The link to the copyright dispute certainly seems easy to understand

[https://www.kickstarter.com/dmca/goblins-alternate- realities...](https://www.kickstarter.com/dmca/goblins-alternate-realities- submitted-by-goblins)

If this is correct, then Kickstarter profits off the theft of someone else's IP, and damages the original content creators business.

But being American, isn't this just the sort of things people get sued for damages over?</comment>


Bolivia President's Flight: What Really Happened - <AUTHOR> http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/07/03/evo-morales-controversial-flight-over-europe-minute-by-heavily-disputed-minute/

<comment><USER2> "We need to land because we cannot get a correct indication of the fuel indication – we need to land"

My explanation is that they were heading back to Moscow, but then were not sure if they had enough fuel because of a problem with the fuel indicator, so they asked for permission to land in Vienna.

</comment><comment><USER3> ?? Ecuador and Bolivia don't even have common borders....

<comment><AUTHOR> Brain freeze. Fixed the title.</comment></comment>


Commit to Keep Coding – GitHub + Beeminder - <AUTHOR> http://gitminder.com

<comment><USER2> I'm the Bee in Beeminder. I think that beeminding your github account is going to be amazing for hackers/founders -- a way to force yourself to always be making forward momentum. We've been tracking how much code we write for over a year now -- though in a bit more structured way. We track user visible improvements (it has to be something worthy of tweeting @beemuvi for the hardcore fans of beeminder). We've been doing one-per-day for 733 days now and if we ever fall behind we pay a user $1000. It's been invaluable in keeping us going!

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Summary for those not familiar with the craziness that is Beeminder: It's a combination of quantified-self tool and a commitment device app (like StickK and GymPact and Aherk) where you put up money, to be paid if you don't do what you said you were going to do. In this case you're pledging to push commits or close issues a certain number of times per week.

The money aspect sounds super perverse, but we think of it as paying a fee for a service (the graphs, reminders, etc) that happens to be waived if you never need Beeminder's kick in the pants.

</comment><comment><USER3> I don't think counting commits is a good metric, because I know if it were me, I would start splitting my commits up into trivial changes in order to meet the count ("added comment", "added line break", etc).

It supports going by issues, which is better, but how about counting additions/deletions?

<comment><AUTHOR> Ooh, yes, GitHub's impact metric. We should add that.

I think minding commits isn't as bad as it could be theoretically though. I feel like pride is sufficient deterrent not to do pointless commits. And general pressure for more fine-grained commits is probably valuable.

<comment><USER3> Well, the repo I'm thinking about using this on is private, so I have no pride and no shame.

Wait, I guess this doesn't support private repos.

<comment><AUTHOR> Oh, Gitminder does let you beemind private repos, as long as the github account you oauth with has access to it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Very cool - anyone who's following pg's advice to "stay alive" would be well advised to git committing :)

</comment><comment><USER5> Can we get details about the way this is implemented?

I assume you poll Github on some timescale? I noticed that Beeminder took around 24h to see my commits.

<comment><USER6> We are in fact polling using the GitHub API, but it should be hourly, not daily.

Right after I finished this we noticed that we could also do this with a post commit hook, so we're planning to implement that as well.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I want folks to commit to removing bugs!

<comment><USER8> New development is destabilizing. That means more bugs. I want folks to commit to creating bugs too!

<comment><AUTHOR> Ha, great point! For our own User-Visible Improvements goal we initially felt like it shouldn't count to fix a bug that we had only just created, since that's not exactly a net improvement. But then we decided that it's fine to count it, for exactly the reason you say.

We haven't gone quite so far as to count the actual creation of the bugs towards our goal though. :)</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Is seeking a patent for a web service worthwhile? - <AUTHOR>

I'm 90% done the features of a web app that I'm really quite excited about.  I only have a couple of things to finish up before I'll be posting up a Beta for you all to play with.  One of those things, at the insistence of several non-tech but lawyerly family members, is to explore getting a patent.  I rather dislike software patents because I feel they're ripe for trolling/squatting, stifle technological improvements, and I think code resembles more a recipe (non-patentable) than an invention.  That being said, I'm alive in a world where software patents are real, and my dislike for the possibility of somebody stealing my beloved idea [and especially implementation of it] is greater than the grudge I hold against software patents.
The technology in question is a customizable toolbar that installs as a bookmarklet.  I'm not comfortable explaining what the toolbar does, but rest assured that it's very, very useful, and definitely a novel idea.  The closest thing I've seen to it is Quix [1], which leaves much to be desired.  What I've made is a remarkable feat of CSS/JS hacking, and I don't want it to be stolen.
Aside from the obvious advice of "ask a lawyer," I'm looking for advice about the following:
1) Assume my App was "Quix" (with some very unique twists)... would it be patentable?  Would it be worthwhile, IYO, to patent it?  (Subquestion: How much protection would a patent grant; could somebody copy it and modify something slightly?)
2) Assume I did want to seek a patent, how much of the product could I expose right now? Could I still launch a "Beta" or would that be putting it in the public domain?  How about a video?
I realize the likelihood of this idea being a measurable success is slim... says you.  Yet, I cannot help but be optimistic about it.  I've demoed it to several family & friends (of varying tech-savviness) and while some are indifferent (but see the value), the majority are excited about it and can't wait to start using it.
Finally, thank you all very much for taking the time to help me in what feels like a pivotal point in my life.
[1] http://www.quixapp.com <comment><USER2> An idea that's easy to steal probably means that you either won't get a patent if you try (and you're wasting your time and money), or that if you do get the patent it might not even be enforceable down the road (and you'll have wasted even more time and money). There are a lot of clever hacks our there. Just because you don't see an implementation of it doesn't mean nobody has played around with the idea already.

Aside from that, if you do get a patent and Google infringes on it, what are you going to do? If the answer is "nothing because I don't have (at least) six figures sitting around to take them to court", then don't get a patent regardless of whatever other reasons you might have for getting one. It's unfortunate, but patents are almost only useful for companies that have the financial resources to defend them.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for your input, I truly appreciate it, but you haven't really answer my questions.

Pretty much any idea or product is easy to copy once there's a working version of it. I don't think any information is obtained by thinking about how easy to copy something is. I'd also have to disagree with your outlook of taking on Bigcorp. It's my understanding that if Bigcorp clearly infringed and I had a pretty decent case, a lawyer would take it up and split the "earnings" with me, and that it would be easier for Bigcorp to just settle and cut a check to me and my lawyers.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> I hate it when my questions leave the front page and are doomed to never be visited again. From now on, I only submit during peak hours.</comment>


How offensive is (Arch) Linux community anyway - <AUTHOR> https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/41728

<comment><USER2> Looks like its just one guy being a d __ _</comment>


Ask HN: Let customers self-install your server product. Why it so difficult? - open-source-ux There is only one language that has almost universal support amongst web hosts. It can run on basic shared hosting plans and on nearly every server. It can be deployed by simply uploading your code to a directory on your web host. It's a widely criticised language, but still accounts for the vast majority of server side code (80% according to some sources). You know what this language is: PHP.
But this post isn't really about PHP. It's about why in 2017 we still have no easy way for users to easily and painlessly self install web apps or products using other languages. Why can't I upload my Python, Ruby, Lua or other language code with the same simplicity as PHP?
Having a ridiculously easy web app installation process for servers would unlock countless opportunities for developers to reach more users or customers.
But perhaps developers don't want that because it makes SaaS less attractive? There will always be demand for all-in-one managed hosting solutions, so surely this can't be the reason?
Before someone mentions sandstorm or cloudron - these don't solve the problem and ironically are complicated to install themselves.
By the way, this question was partly inspired by a blog post by programmer Jeff Attwood:
"If you want to produce free-as-in-whatever code that runs on virtually every server in the world with zero friction or configuration hassles, PHP is damn near your only option. If that doesn't scare you, then check your pulse, because you might be dead."
To broaden choice, Attwood argues we should
"build compelling alternatives and make sure these alternatives are equally pervasive, as easy to set up and use as possible."
That was written in 2012 (https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-php-singularity/).
We have plenty of alternatives in 2017, but none of them are 'as easy to set up and use as possible' for server-side installs. Why? <comment><AUTHOR> > Before someone mentions sandstorm or cloudron - these don't solve the > problem and ironically are complicated to install themselves.

I have used both but Cloudron is ridiculously easy to install. Like 3 commands - [https://cloudron.io/get.html](https://cloudron.io/get.html). What in that do you find hard?</comment>


Elon Musk's giant lithium ion battery completed by Tesla in South Australia - <AUTHOR> http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/worlds-most-powerful-lithium-ion-battery-finished-in-sa/9183868 <comment><USER2> Coupled with the state's newly installed fleet of backup diesel generators, the battery could stop thousands of households unexpectedly losing power for half an hour or so..

yeh its the diesel back up generators that are the guarantee..</comment>