How Microsoft's human resources culture drove away talent - <AUTHOR> http://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2012/aug/13/microsoft-human-resources-culture

<comment><USER2> I was hoping that this was an analysis of the new review system, or at least _included_ an analysis of the new review system.

It doesn't; this is a two year old article that suggests that Microsoft's old review system ("stack ranking") was flawed. Which is a fine position, and this was a well-written criticism, despite being old news when it was written, but it doesn't hold up so much after the changes HR made to the review model. (Disclaimer: MSFT employee.)

<comment><USER3> > it doesn't hold up so much after the changes HR made

Do you have a link to anything public about this? I've only read negatives about stack ranking and MSFT HR. It would be nice to read about how they've changed their evil ways.

<comment><USER2> You'll find a handful of announcements if you google "microsoft new review system". [http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/12/5094864/microsoft- kills-s...](http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/12/5094864/microsoft-kills-stack- ranking-internal-structure) is helpful as it includes the memo that introduced the new system.

What I have not seen is any substantial discussions about the new system recently, which would be useful since the FY has now wrapped and we have had our first review under the new system.

Speaking only for myself, I don't really know how different the new system is than the old system, but I also didn't see a lot of problems in the old system. This may be because my group is somewhat odd (we're not in Redmond.)</comment></comment></comment>


Pineapple Fund Offers $4M Matching Grant to MAPS for MDMA Research - <AUTHOR> https://www.maps.org/news/media/7012-press-release-pineapple-fund-offers-$4-million-matching-grant-to-maps <comment><USER3> If MDMA were to become approved medicine in the US, I see it as an important milestone when it comes to getting rid of misguided classifications of drugs as having no medical value even though there are both research and anecdotal evidence suggesting otherwise. I am certain that a change in the US will have impacts on other countries as well.

I donated last summer because I sincerely believe this research will have a huge positive impact on many peoples lives if MDMA were to become medicine. Seeing this news I have decided to donate again.

<comment><USER4> Thanks for your donation! (that will be matched :)

The Phase 2 trials and FDA's breakthrough therapy designation along shows strong medical value of MDMA, especially in a clinical context with psychotherapy sessions and a trained therapist.

I hope this starts a renaissance in the use of psychedelics to treat, long term (with short term drug applications), many mental conditions.

<comment><USER5> Agreed! I've set up matching donations for your matching donations among my friends. Thank you for supporting this cause...I think a lot of mental conditions go ignored and un-healed as a consequence of not understanding these substances well (both the benefits and side effects).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> This is fantastic news. MDMA and psychedelics when taken in the right setting with the right support people can be incredibly healing. Right now it's primarily focused on PTSD and other traumas, but it can be a powerful experience for improving relationships or personal growth as well.

<comment><USER7> I can anecdotally confirm this. I took MDMA under pretty normal party circumstances and honestly it was life changing. I've found it easier to be friendly, talkative, relaxed, and positive, even weeks later. I'm interested to see how long these effects last. My intrusive thoughts have been lowered and my overall outlook is more positive.

I don't have PTSD, but I do have depression, anxiety, and unofficially, I probably lie on the autism spectrum.

Can I prove anything with my sample size of one with plenty of confounding variables? Of course not. But does it make me personally believe the studies that have indicated it can be a good treatment for mental disorders are valuable and true? Absolutely.

I strongly believe that safe, controlled administration of pure, clean MDMA is something every adult should have the opportunity to legally try, especially in cases where evidence supports benefit to a psychological condition. And more research should happen. The mindset of "all drugs are heroin" has got to go.

I'm not advocating people taking pills they bought on the street, but I do support legalising of drugs that, when pure and controlled in dose like pharmaceutical medicine, don't cause a significant number of deaths or violence - such as MDMA and marijuana.

I strongly support destigmatization of drugs and more research, and the breakdown of the black and white border of "the government decides which drugs are good and which drugs are evil and everything else is for violent crackheads."

<comment><USER8> Have plenty of friends that have overcome social anxiety they've had their entire lives with just one night of MDMA.

<comment><USER7> It honestly feels like this is what has happened. I have to talk on the phone all day at my job and was not suited to it at all, and I won't pretend I suddenly enjoy it, but now I find it way easier to get thru than I did before.

I'll probably do it again. I just wish there were more studies so I could know how often is safe and optimal to take it.

<comment><USER9> On the very safe side: Not more often than every 6 weeks. Ideally not more than 15 doses in lifetime (that's what MAPS guidelines say). Stop once you are sad beyond the 'blue Tuesday' (not everyone has a blue Tuesday, but after repeated use it usually starts to happen and gets worse). There is quite some literature, sadly not nicely structured and concentrated in one place as far as I know.

<comment><USER10> I belive what you're saying isn't true and neither can I find a direct link to a MAPS guideline saying anything about the 15 doses in a lifetime.

In my experience I had blue mondays way worse on my first 3 times, and then I've got to the point where I am no longer blue on the days after. That would be my 6 times over a 5 year period.

<comment><USER9> I would have to search for that, but limiting your total cumulative dose makes sense in light of research showing adverse brain changes in longtime and/or heavy users.

The 6 weeks number is more a rule of thumb. For some it's longer, for others shorter. In the beginning, it may not matter, but if you browse drug forums for a while, you'll see the pattern 'don't do it too often' emerge.

6 times over a 5 year period looks quite safe. I have some friends who have used MDMA more than that and some of them started to have longer 'sad' or 'depressed' periods, sometimes stretching into months. Again, it would be great if there was an authoritative manual for all of this, but I don't think something like that exists.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> This is fantastic. I recently helped a few of the NGOs selected by Pineapple get their tech together to accept the funds. It gave me a chance to learn more (as much is public) about the fund and love hearing about bolder moves like this to make such an impact. Being close to the NGOs that did receive the funds, I can say first hand just how much of a difference this macro-funding is making for real orgs that care so much about change. @Pine thank you for giving a damn.

<comment><USER4> Thanks Jim! Let me know if there's anything I can do to make things easier for the NGOs!

Some days, I still wake up and I'm a little bit astonished about the impact that my bitcoins can have. I certainly would've never predicted this when I first got into bitcoin.

<comment><USER12> do the funds sent to these recipients remain btc and are leveraged against as an asset or are they converted to fiat?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> From the press release:

"If this funding challenge is met in gifts, grants, and multi-year pledges, MAPS will have raised sufficient funds to complete its Phase 3 trials."

That statement is huge. The idea that MAPS has successfully taken a compound through the entire FDA approval process using only donations is kinda amazing. They received breakthrough status with the FDA, they are starting phase 3 trials, and the only thing holding them back is an amount of money that would be a drop in the bucket for a big pharma company.

</comment><comment><USER14> Pineapple Fund is seriously awesome, really warms my heart at the great things that they're funding. :)

<comment><USER4> Thanks :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> This is fantastic news! I did an actual fistpump seeing this in the HN list this morning. In my anonymous, just-another-person-on-the-internet opinion, there isn't a lot out there that holds more potential for humanity at the moment than furthering our understanding (and consequent _responsible_ use of) psychedelics.

A huge thank you to Pine for supporting healing-driven science and noticing that MAPS is doing this particularly difficult work with efficiency and integrity.

</comment><comment><USER15> It's been said a bunch of times, but it should be said a bunch more times: what pineapplefund is doing is incredible. I can only hope that is how all of us would react to that sort of windfall.

</comment><comment><USER16> Usually MDMA has the backlash of lowering the amount of serotonin release in your brain the days after you take it, which makes you feel down. The so- called tuesday blues. So how come these people in these treatments aren't getting more depressed after their few hours of excitement?

<comment><USER17> > Usually MDMA has the backlash of lowering the amount of serotonin release in > your brain the days after you take it, which makes you feel down. The so- > called tuesday blues

Usually MDMA has absolutely no observable backlash (it may still harm your brain though, even if you don't feel it, I don't know if it will or not) if you don't take it more often than once in 3 months (or 1 month if you insist, but absolutely never more often), avoid taking too much of it, take enough piracetam, magnesium and antioxidants (acetyl-l-carnitine, acetyl-l-cysteine, vitamins E and C, lipoic acid, CoQ10, green tea extract, grape seed extract etc) before, during and after the MDMA trip, take L-tryptophan+piracetam after the trip, smoke some weed (but don't do it in advance - this can cause a panic attack and nausea), drink enough water, sleep well and take L-tryptophan+piracetam again when you get up. What will follow is usually going to be a rather pleasant state called "afterglow". Taking emoxypine, piracetam, magnesium and St. John's wort during the days after to actually restore the receptors can also be a good idea. I have also heard eating some psilocybin shrooms can prevent MDMA hangover too but I doubt combining psychedelics is a good idea for everybody.

DISCLAIMER: The above is a piece of theoretical knowledge provided for harm- reduction purposes only and not even proven scientifically (I'd be glad if the researchers could consider checking it). Use it at your own risk. Don't take what is not legal in your country. I don't recommend taking MDMA without a prescription though I do recommend to consider harm-reduction measures if you decide to take it. Anyway, make sure you are not allergic to any of the substances you are going to take, are not taking any drugs that may interact with them and don't have any other contraindications.

<comment><USER16> You kind of contradict yourself by saying there is no backlash and then giving a list of supplements to reduce the backlash...

It's proven that your brain down-regulates serotonin after taking MDMA, which can last a couple of days (or even longer). What's not proven is those supplements you mention. They are the go-to advice you find on websites like rollsafe etc. but that's all based on shaky science (small control groups, non peer-reviewed papers, tests on mice that might not reflect on humans etc.). Basically MDMA has not been researched well enough on humans (so thanks Pineapple fund for improving this situation). There's also no evidence that supports 'afterglow' and the supplements you mention are mainly antioxidants (and magnesium to reduce jaw clenching) that will reduce the oxidation in the brain, but doesn't affect the serotonin levels. Another good way to reduce oxidation is to keep your body cooled (but hard to do at parties). Taking 5-HTP the days after might have an effect on serotonin levels, but again, research is lacking.

<comment><USER17> > You kind of contradict yourself by saying there is no backlash and then > giving a list of supplements to reduce the backlash...

What I am saying is there will certainly be some backlash if you don't do anything to prevent it but you can (or you can not - sure I can't say these advices will help everybody, perhaps some of these may even harm somebody if they have some specific contraindications) effectively prevent about 99% of it. Perhaps my grammar is not perfect but I hope the idea is fairly easy to get.

> What's not proven is those supplements you mention.

Sure, not proven any credible way. Hopefully the researchers will read this thread, take these in consideration and prove or disprove some parts.

> tests on mice

In fact there have been quite enough "testing" on humans though it's neither scientifically clean (no double-blind placebo-controlled trials, no large control groups observed, no measurements etc) nor official enough for obvious reasons. Everything is based on personal experience people share anonymously, but believe me - though not formally credible nor systematic this data is very far from being entirely mythical and useless. It's absolutely worth testing by researchers we are talking about and, well... by unaccredited enthusiasts who are going to to engage in the research on their own perhaps.

> There's also no evidence that supports 'afterglow'

Sure, no evidence, just reportedly-systematic experience of anonymous individuals. Let's just say it may cause this state, not that it necessarily will.

> and magnesium to reduce jaw clenching

Magnesium is not just to reduce jaw clenching, it's also an NDMA antagonist, known to prevent amphetamine-type drugs tolerance. And it is also an important electrolyte that you may loose if you dink, sewat and pee excessively.

> keep your body cooled (but hard to do at parties)

MDMA is, arguably, much more fun and much more safe to take at home together with just the one you love. I especially discourage taking it at parties and especially mixing it with alcohol.

> but doesn't affect the serotonin levels... Taking 5-HTP the days after...

That's why I recommend L-tryptophan. Tough less-famous than 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan) for a number of reasons, it can be considered a more natural and more safe alternative to 5-HTP. L-tryptophan is the essential amino-acid naturally meant to be consumed regularly (it occurs naturally in many foods and also available in pure form as an over-the-counter supplement) your body uses to produce the amounts of 5-HTP (and then serotonin) it needs from it.

Also St. John's wort is known to upregulate serotonin receptors and increase of serotonin (!!!up to potentially life-threatening levels if combined with other serotonin-boosting substances so never take it together with MDMA, only the day after!!!).

Piracetam and emoxypine are not only antioxidants (in fact I don't even know if piracetam is an antioxidant at all) but nootropics that may improve brain blood flow, oxygen consumption and synaptic transmission, modulate the receptor complexes of the brain membranes by increasing their binding ability, stabilize biomembranes (i.e. membrane structures of blood cells - <USER2> and thrombocytes during their haemolysis or mechanical injury accompanied by the formation of free radicals), have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory action, change the monoamine level and increases the dopamine content in the brain etc.

> but again, research is lacking.

That's why it's so great to read about the ladies and gentlemen at the Pineapple Fund going to fund the research and that MAPS is undertaking it. And that's why it's so important to share every potentially valuable idea on the subject with them so they can use it in the research.

There are 2 reasons I am writing this here:

1\. I hope this can help people (though I am not sure it will help everybody) to save their health and prevent unpleasant experiences (as far as I've heard overwhelming majority of people who try MDMA experiences rather severe backlashes - this suggests they are doing it wrong and cause damage to their brains).

2\. I hope this can provide the researches with ideas to start with when looking for safety measures to be proven scientifically. Surely "making sure that your schedule is clear of obligations the next day" is always a great idea but I think the stuff I've described above (including the previous commentary) should better be used too.

<comment><USER18> Piracetam is not approved by the FDA for any medical use and it is not permitted to be sold as a dietary supplement, so it can neither be prescribed nor sold OTC. It may be possible to import it, but that's legally questionable; then again, if you're using MDMA, you're not concerned with questionable legality.

<comment><USER17> In this case the researchers ought to test it too so it could be approved by the FDA together with MDMA because piracetam alone makes HUGE difference. If you are going to take MDMA and can choose only one supplement to use to protect your brain from adverse effects - that is to be piracetam (of course something better may exist but I have never heard of anything better so far). I can't confirm this scientifically but I could bet whoever has tried it (or at least the majority of them) will tell you this is true.

By the way I live in Europe and have been taking piracetam (it is an approved medicine available at every drugstore here, over-the-counter in some countries, on prescription in others) every day (making just occasional pauses for a month or two) during about 15 years already and man it's just so great I don't want to live in a country where I can't get it easily. In my opinion (based on my own long-term systematic experience with it) piracetam is an essential for brain fitness, good quality of life, physical, creative, spiritual, educational and professional self-realization. And I have never had a headache during these years (except slight headakes that I had a couple of times after having drank a way too much alcohol) although I used to have headache almost every day when I was a child and wasn't taking piracetam!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> One big issue not addressed in this post, how is MAPS differentiating between PTSD and BLAST[1] in this CT? They have identical symptoms, but one is psychological and one is physical. Being unable to differentiate them could cause some SERIOUS error in the results. Have you thought about how you are going to address that?

[1]BLAST is a traumatic brain injury similar to CTE. It is caused by shockwaves emanating from explosives. Symptoms are near identical to PTSD.

<comment><USER20> One could select for people who were not subject to an actual explosion?

<comment><USER19> If their target audience is PTSD patients, they are looking at a primarily veterans as participants. It's pretty hard to determine if a veteran was exposed to an explosion or not.

<comment><USER18> An enormous number of people suffer from PTSD who are not veterans. People who have been raped, witnessed crimes, etc. could all suffer PTSD. Trauma can be almost anything if it causes a negative impact (e.g., depression, anxiety) in the future, and persons suffering from depression or anxiety as a result of such trauma would likely be diagnosed with comorbid PTSD.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> i for one welcome our new crypto-currency funded drug research clinical trials. Please try to be as ethical and scrupulous when doing your research as possible: it's important that we have high quality scientific results, regardless of whether they support our hypotheses, so that people trust the outcomes.

</comment><comment><USER22> This seems like evidence towards Gwern's theory that pineapple fund is a retired dark net drug dealer...

<comment><USER23> It could be, but I think the purpose of a fund like this should be to target organizations that are 'unpalatable' to other donation sources, and MAPS is a great example.

<comment><USER22> Oh yeah, I'm all for it. Just noticing.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Very nice, on reddit people suggested they donate the interest alone like University endowments do

They could buy a bunch of masternodes because those are dividend producing assets in the cryptocurrency space

The yields should be pretty good

<comment><USER8> Saving lives, changing lives, moving science forward - all better than 6-10% returns.

Kind of the whole point of charities is that the work they do is a better return than the market. Otherwise, every charity would be an endowment and they would just consume the 6-10% annual returns for their work.

<comment><USER24> A lot of charities do like 5% nonprofit stuff and 95% for profit

Despite ideals it makes your rebuttal moot

<comment><USER25> If _all_ charities do that, his point is moot. Or if the most effective charities do that, his point is moot.

Which charities do this, and why should we believe they're the most effective?

<comment><USER24> > and why should we believe they're the most effective?

Whoever gave you that idea?

That practice has nothing to do with how the world is changed.

I believe most charities practice this, I saw a presentation on it with a bunch of accredited investors, don't have the source.

You can't will your alternate reality into existence.

<comment><USER25> > > and why should we believe they're the most effective? > Whoever gave you > that idea?

1\. This quesiton makes no sense. 2. The question is how high the returns are --do they exceed the returns of investment. That would depend on the effectiveness of the charity.

> I believe most charities practice this, I saw a presentation on it with a > bunch of accredited investors, don't have the source.

Charities report their opex. I've never seen one listed as 95%. Most are <10%. Some, like Mozilla and ACLU are split between Foundation and Corporation, but most are not.

> You can't will your alternate reality into existence.

So...you made some claims. I asked for evidence. You refused. I provided counter-evidence.

I'm pretty sure you're just trolling now. Or arguing in bad faith, at minimum.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> [unpopular opinion, criticism is welcome]

People who build cheap cars/smartphones/clothes/food/anything usually don't care about poor people at all, even if poor people benefit the most from those cheap protducts/services.

They care about profits in $$$

$$$ incentives bring the most value to poor people, so the best motivation I can think of for improving society is money-making businesses .

<comment><USER27> wrong thread ?</comment></comment>


Show HN: Python Static Blog Generator - <AUTHOR> Dear reader,
Just over a year ago I started on a static blog generator. First in Perl, but soon I wrote a Python version as well and kept developing both versions in parallel.
I have been using this program to generate my own tumblelog, https://plurrrr.com/, which has been up and running for over a year with daily posts (please check it out). It's a good example of how a blog generated with the program looks.
The software comes with 10+ templates so you are not stuck with the same look as Plurrrr.
Please check it out: https://github.com/john-bokma/tumblelog
Thanks. Feedback is very welcome. <comment><AUTHOR> Clickable links:

Software: [https://github.com/john-bokma/tumblelog](https://github.com/john- bokma/tumblelog)

Example site: [https://plurrrr.com/](https://plurrrr.com/)</comment>


Ask HN: How would you transmit smell over the web? - <AUTHOR> Please elaborate on the technical details of your solution and limitations to your approach (e.g. device size). <comment><USER2> Purely speculating with no technical background..

On the sender side, there would need to be a "smell microphone" to inhale and encode smells based on chemical properties. The data can be transmitted over HTTP or another transfer protocol.

On the receiver side, there would be a "smell speaker" (and maybe amplifier) that decodes and exhales the smell.

I can imagine various technical challenges on both ends, specifically chemical analysis and synthesis on a small enough scale to be practical.

EDIT: This page has a history of such attempts, most recently Aromajoin with "the first wearable scent device" in 2016.

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

</comment><comment><USER3> I don't have a design, but I chime in on everything. I would suggest that your device should be compatible with existing VR headset gear and not too bulky. Maybe partner with Valve for the network access to allow gamers and game developers to integrate with it easily. There must be an open standard that some of this gear uses.

</comment><comment><USER4> [https://www.wired.com/1999/11/digiscent/](https://www.wired.com/1999/11/digiscent/) (Note the date.)

<comment><AUTHOR> Very interesting.

> The iSmell failed to get the interest of the public. When looking at what > went wrong for the iSmell, it is revealed that the missing link was a market > survey. According to Startupover's Andrea Dusi, the iSmell "was definitely a > nice idea, but not a useful one". DigiScents has shut down due to a lack of > funding, although it still "continues to license its technology and is > looking for funding for a relaunch. [1]

I wonder if with virtual reality, something like this will pick up.

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISmell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISmell)</comment></comment>


USBCondom - <AUTHOR> https://www.crowdsupply.com/xipiter/usbcondom <comment><USER2> The board looks a little fragile. A tool like this (which is going to be used on the road) needs to be as solid as possible. For $10/unit it seems like they could afford to at least give it an epoxy surround.

<comment><USER3> I think it's on purpose. Looks cooler, gets attention of your fellow coffeeshop nerds.

<comment><USER4> I doubt it - it's because it's pretty trivial to make a PCB like that with components - one could design the PCB in maybe an hour and then manufacture is really easy and cheap - probably about $1 each for those boards even in low numbers (check OSHPark.com).

In contrast, making a case is much much harder. There really aren't any good low-volume case making methods. Injection moulding is out. Machining from aluminium is an option here, but it's very expensive. There's resin casting, but that's difficult and I don't know if it's really suited to manufacture.

Honestly, making the case is 10-100 times harder than the PCB (for such a simple one like this anyway).

<comment><USER3> I say "looks cooler" and you respond by saying that it's easier to make. Since when does "cool" equal "difficult to produce"? And why didn't anyone tell me about that rule in high school?

<comment><USER5> He's saying that they didn't do it because it's cool, they did it because it's harder to make a case than a PCB. And I agree. It's insane how many "I made this board, how do I get a case for it?" posts I see online from n00b hardware hackers. An engineer with experience will consider packaging from the outset. Thinking about it after the fact can make the manufacture much more difficult and expensive.

That said, I think $10 is a good price for something like this. I, personally, would look for a corporate/industrial application that would justify a price 10x that.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Or you just cut two wires in a normal USB cable. No need to buy condoms!

I think the board is because some power sources might go "hey I'm leaking, there is no device but I draw power!" and cut it off, but I only ever heard about it and never encountered it. My USB ports nicely power fans without ever having a data connection to anything.

<comment><USER7> Cutting the wires will cause iDevices to charge at 500mA only.

<comment><USER6> Okay that explains then: Apple needs to be a bitch about things again.

<comment><USER8> USB charging ports use the data pins to signal a request for more than 500mA. If you disconnect the data pins, how can any device (apple or anyone else) get more?

<comment><USER9> The charge pins on a battery charging input could be used as a makeshift i2c to communicate with a smart battery chipset, thus communicating the same intentions ("hay! give me more!") without any additional wiring or need for access to the USB subsystem, while making use of the USB form-factor that's so ubiquitous today.

if lithium batteries weren't so problematic when overcharged you could float- charge everything pretty efficiently, then you wouldn't even need a management system.

Our current way of doing things is probably here to stay, though.

<comment><USER8> Since the whole concept of this 'usb condom' is to physically disconnect the data communication, re-designing the protocol to use the remaining pins as a data channel would defeat the whole point.

<comment><USER9> No, the point in the redesign of the protocol would be to eliminate the need for a 'USB condom'.

A data channel isn't a data channel. USB is designed to be widely used by many industries, as such the standard has provisions for many use-cases. A battery data channel is only for the charging equipment to communicate with the battery's chipset a limited amount of parameters. The data being transferred is incredibly limited, and can thus be sanitized easier when compared to USB.

A protocol designed in such a way would also be easier to test, as the scope of vulnerabilities would be much more limited than a general purpose data channel.

Regardless, it was merely a possible answer to

> If you disconnect the data pins, how can any device (apple or anyone else) > get more?"

and really wasn't meant to be a valid product or concept. Just a fleeting thought.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Or in software (Linux):

        # cd /sys/bus/usb/devices
        # for n in usb* ; do echo 0 >$n/authorized_default ; done

...so that no drivers or userspace programs are allowed to communicate with any newly connected devices.

[https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/usb/authorization.t...](https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/usb/authorization.txt)

Of course this only prevents the USB host, you'd have to disable all USB- gadget daemons on your android phone to not have the charger tinker with the phones's data.

NOTE/added: I just realized that the main purpose this is marketed is to protect the phone's data. I'd me more worried about the computer if someone asks me to lend some juice...

<comment><USER11> yeah but then there is badusb

[http://www.wired.com/2014/07/usb-security/](http://www.wired.com/2014/07/usb- security/)

which attacks the usb firmware on devices. ANY data communication and your usb device/port itself can get hacked

the usb condom might actually prevent that,

<comment><USER12> Are you sure? As far as I could tell that thing was about messing with the firmware after you've already gotten control through normal communication.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Or you could buy one of the charge-only USB cables I saw all over Asia. They are a bit cheaper than the normal data-carrying ones as they have fewer wires.

<comment><USER14> This!

I got lot's of these things from portable usb batteries.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Electronics people: why are there any components in this at all? If it's just about disconnecting certain pins, couldn't it just pass the power lines through and be half the size without a PCB at all? For example, it could easily be a cable missing two wires, right? (Note: I'm an idiot when it comes to electronics, so I'm genuinely interested.)

<comment><USER16> According to the USB spec, a device must complete a protocol handshake and declare a desired voltage level before the host is allowed to supply anything more than a minimum voltage. In case of the USB condom, this handshake would have to be executed by the condom.

I'm not sure how widely implemented this behavior is for "dumb" USB chargers though, as opposed to actual hosts though.

But it might be that they want to preserve compatibility with actual hosts, in case that you i.e. want to charge on a public PC. Or they want to make sure that even if your charger is actually a disguised malicious device, you can still use it as a charger, which would be kinda ironic.

<comment><USER17> That's correct. LockedUSB adapter disconnect the data lines however it have an internal controller that still negotiate and complete the USB handshakes so the device can charger faster while being safe. [http://www.lockedusb.com](http://www.lockedusb.com)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> What _are_ the fundamental flaws in the USB protocol that make it insecure? I know firewire allows for DMA, but I didn't think USB, besides being a complex serial protocol, had any intrinsically unsafe features?

<comment><USER8> It's not the protocol but the fact that USB devices are just too trusting. Plug your phone into a USB socket and you've little protection against it communicating with whoever is on the other end of the USB connection.

<comment><USER19> Is this not why my phone asks me what I want to do when I plug it into the computer? USB debugging mode, charge only, and another option or two that I can't remember right now. If I select "charge only" will I be secure in the same way?

<comment><USER20> This really varies from phone to phone, sadly. When I plug mine in I am only given a choice of which protocol to use to give the host computer access to all my files (and it connects using the default one as soon as you plug it in).

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> See also the _extensive_ discussion from a year ago:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6379272](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6379272)

</comment><comment><USER22> There are multiple projects/products out there for this, some of which are linked here and some of which are not. Not all are currently available. There was a fair amount of discussion and useful information in a Brian Krebs article: [http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/06/gear-to-block-juice- jacki...](http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/06/gear-to-block-juice-jacking-on- your-mobile/)

USB Condom: ~$10, available. Tends towards either a bare board with USB connectors or that board with plastic shrink tubing on it. ([https://www.crowdsupply.com/xipiter/usbcondom](https://www.crowdsupply.com/xipiter/usbcondom)) ([http://www.usbcondoms.com/](http://www.usbcondoms.com/)) (probably an earlier version but the same person: [http://int3.cc/collections/frontpage/products/usbcondoms](http://int3.cc/collections/frontpage/products/usbcondoms))

UmbrellaUSB: ~$12, available soon? More polished/finished looking than the USBCondom, got their information on voltages from the USBCondom folks (see comments in the Krebs article above). Working on fulfillment of their Kickstarter (funded July 3). ([http://www.umbrellausb.com/](http://www.umbrellausb.com/))

ChargeDefense: ~$??, a "coming soon" page, a picture of a prototype, and maybe more in September. ([http://www.chargedefense.com/](http://www.chargedefense.com/))

LockedUSB: ~$20, available. More technical details available, more expensive and very blocky looking - expect it to block any adjacent ports. Technical information indicates that the single unit should work with both Apple and non-Apple devices ([https://lockedusb.com/product/lockedusb-adapter-charger- fire...](https://lockedusb.com/product/lockedusb-adapter-charger-firewall- power-optimizer/))

Practical Meter: ~$20, available. Protects ONLY when used with their optimized 3-in-1 charging cables otherwise passes data through. Provides a 5-bar indicator of current. ([http://www.powerpractical.com/product/practical- meter](http://www.powerpractical.com/product/practical-meter)) more details in their kickstarter ([https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/david-toledo/the- practi...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/david-toledo/the-practical- meter-know-your-power))

PortPilot: ~$60, not yet available. Much more expensive, MUCH more informative, switchable between data/no data. Includes a display showing possible and actual power draw, etc. Almost a development/diagnostic device. ([https://hakshop.myshopify.com/products/portpilot](https://hakshop.myshopify.com/products/portpilot))

At least 3 listed below via Amazon (2 in UK): PortaPow $7 (2 versions, www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GC4AJOU, looks like a "beat you to market" device), and Pisen ~$1.70 ([http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E8ALIYU](http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E8ALIYU) and [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E8AJ41E](http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E8AJ41E)).

<comment><USER23> There is also: [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EB3LRAE/](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EB3LRAE/)

Which apparently signals to the charging device to output higher amperage, as cutting the data connection will make some devices only provide 0.5 amps. Not sure why this one is branded "for Galaxy", as the charging device shouldn't really matter.

<comment><USER24> Because iPads expect a different voltage, so the device has different resistors inside. The one I used for my original iPad is by the same brand, but says 'for iPad':

[http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E8ALIYU](http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E8ALIYU)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Looks like this is equivalent to a dedicated usb charger.

There should be an option to enable data transfer, currently you have to physically remove it.

I would love to have something like this, if it enabled my devices to be read only; some usb flash drives have a physical button to enable that.

<comment><USER26> Enabling for read-only in the general case simply wouldn't be possible. The device would have to know every USB protocol that could possibly be spoken and which commands are for reading and which for writing (and what to do with commands that do both).

You could maybe make now that only worked for USB storage devices and only allowed reading, but it would likely be complex and have other downsides (lack of performance and compatability issues probably) that would make it not worth it.

<comment><USER16> This would basically be a packet-inspecting firewall for USB instead of IP. I agree that this would pose a number of technical challanges as a lot of the tools and optimizations we have in IP stacks don't exist for USB, but I don't see how that would be principally impossible.

In fact, as there is a lot more standardization in USB profiles than in IP protocols, it might even be easier. I.e. if you just inspected messages of the mass storage profile and blocked everything else, you might already get pretty far. I agree that the performance problem would stay though.

<comment><USER26> I don't think you could make a IP firewall that enforced read-only either, at least not in a general case.

<comment><USER27> You'd have to have knowledge of what protocol was being spoken. Otherwise, you don't know of if a packet going back the "wrong" direction is a control mechanism (request for data, flow control, etc) or data itself. In terms of ethernet, you could possibly do UDP, but you lose any sort of error handling or flow control.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> Honestly the Wired quote is a much better summary and gets right to the point.

"Many public locations now offer USB charging stations, but it's a trivial task to modify one of these to allow an attacker to access your data. Int3.cc's device cuts off access to the data transfer pins on the USB port, while still permitting access to the power supply."

Way too many words on that page before just getting to the damned point.

</comment><comment><USER29> It's worth noting that this is unnecessary for iOS devices, where plugging your device into an unknown USB port prompts you to either "trust" or "not trust" the computer in question (with "not trust" disabling data transfer).

<comment><USER30> Do you trust your "trust" and "not trust" settings? Are you sure that there are no backdoors in there, or bugs that could still lead to device getting hacked?

<comment><USER31> Do you trust your (USB) condom?

<comment><USER30> Honestly? No. There's a bit too much electronics in that one for my taste. I'd happily trust the one designs of which I audited, and board I soldered myself. But until I get over to doing this, I'll be stuck with just cutting data wires.

EDIT: I retract that. From what I can tell, it's just three SMT resistors on that board. So it seems fine to me.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER32> Mobile USB charging ports (as found in airports etc) are more of a gimmick than anything else. A shoddy one will easily damage your device, and if you're constantly plugging into different ones, that seems like just a matter of time. Plus, an unknown one will most likely just put out 500mA (slower charging), and USB A connectors aren't made for high insertion cycles so expect flaky connections. Plus you still have to carry the bulkiest part (the cable) so you still need kit.

I personally just carry a three way AC power splitter cube while traveling, which gives me enough ports for laptop+phone+whomever I ask to share with.

</comment><comment><USER33> ChargeDefense's website is live and we are taking pre-orders. We have our Juice-Jack Defender (500mA) for $12 and our Juice-Jack Defender Turbo (1A) for $15. We have volume prices and can do customized case with your company colors and company logos. ChargeDefense also had a array of other products, wall charges, battery pack, and cables. We will start shipping orders out this month. Please visit our website for more information.

</comment><comment><USER34> In terms of a protective cover/case, maybe there is a cheap, everyday item or container it would fit into nicely. I put pen springs around all of my cable heads.

</comment><comment><USER35> I feel someone should point out that the iPhone charger uses the data lines to basically ask for the available amperage, and charger faster if the charger is "iPhone compatible". So something like this will still work for iPhone but it will force it to charge much slower then it would otherwise.

> [https://learn.adafruit.com/minty- > boost/icharging](https://learn.adafruit.com/minty-boost/icharging)

</comment><comment><USER36> Seems like you can already get similar stuff elsewhere for cheaper and with a little plastic around the PCB: [http://smile.amazon.com/PortaPow-Fast-Charge- Blackberry-Char...](http://smile.amazon.com/PortaPow-Fast-Charge-Blackberry- Charging/dp/B00GC4AJOU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408799798&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+condom)

<comment><USER37> Exactly, and for just $6.99

Not adding the plastic is being lazy.

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> We resell something similar, from DFRobot: [http://www.robotmesh.com/usb- power-detector](http://www.robotmesh.com/usb-power-detector)

One of the ports has the data lines connected, the other port doesn't, so it could be used as a USB condom.

</comment><comment><USER39> I wonder if it would be possible to use a similar system to make a usb hard disk read-only. This would make it easy to avoid malicious computers transferring pesky autoexec.inf files and things like that.

</comment><comment><USER40> I use a $10 usb 'lipstick' battery for the same thing - it charges itself and the phone, no data. Plus I get a free battery to charge my phone when there isn't an outlet available...

</comment><comment><USER41> Had hoped from the title the product would be a way to switch a USB drive from read/write to enforced read-only mode to protect from malware on unknown hosts. Would be a nice product in itself.

</comment><comment><USER42> I'd pay more for something like a "smart usb condom" which does allow data but only just for power negotiation, so that my devices can still negotiate for higher power when available.

</comment><comment><USER43> $10 is expensive for such simple electronics! I understand that the price of the first piece is the highest, but if this gets mass-produced I think the price can easily drop to something like $1.

<comment><USER44> That assumes a massive number of people want this. As it is only geeks understand the risk and even fewer want/need to protect from it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> Be sure to check out [http://int3.cc/](http://int3.cc/) Ridley's community project, and watch his talks if you haven't seen those.

</comment><comment><USER46> I can't help but wonder if we'll see USB condoms that help to protect against spying through EM/power draw changes, i.e. to spy on decryption activities.

</comment><comment><USER47> If I can get a flash drive for $10 I should be able to get this for <$5. I'll wait until the novelty wears off and get it for $1 from china, on Ebay.

</comment><comment><USER48> Couldn't a person just cut the green and white wires in their charging cable if they were concerned about this?

</comment><comment><USER49> If you're going to carry this around why not just carry a wall charger instead?

</comment><comment><USER50> Oh...I thought this was a...um...

Never mind.

<comment><USER51> :0 ok it's another sh __t

</comment></comment><comment><USER52> Did no one else get that it's a joke?

<comment><USER53> Is it a joke? IMO the name is bad and would put me off using it in professional/business situations, but everything else about the project seems serious to me.</comment></comment>


TED: Mike Rowe talks about dirty jobs and innovation - <AUTHOR> http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/mike_rowe_celebrates_dirty_jobs.html <comment><USER2> The thing I love about Mike Rowe is that he's been to hundreds of 'dirty' jobs and has come out with a converse theory on nearly everything we've been told to believe.

We're told we should work as little as possible in a job thats as physically undemanding as possible and believe we should be paid more for it.

The best days work for me was when I had to knock down a wall. I had a 10 lb sledge hammer, a wall I'd wrongly presumed to be cinder block, but was in fact reinforced concrete blocks they used for bomb shelters in WW2. It took me about 6 hours to finally get the wall down and that night I slept like a baby and for like 3 days I don't think it was even physically possible to get annoyed.

I don't know why, but when I work with my hands I always seem to be in a much happier mood, and I think it helps that demolition is just downright stress relieving. IIRC there's a demolition company in the UK where you can pay them to let you rip down a part of an apartment or office building before they tear it down. Apparently they made a lot of money with the idea.

<comment><USER3> You enjoyed it so much because you knew you didn't have to do it for the rest of your life.

<comment><USER2> Ha, I'd been doing work like that for a year and I did it for 2 years after that. The only reason I stopped is because I moved out of the country, and I've got a guaranteed job offer to go straight into a construction job as soon as my papers go through.

That's purely work, that's not including the things I've done as favors to people. Helping to build a dock was the most fun, but a weekend of drink and power tools is hard to beat.

I think I need a DNA test, I think I've got some hillbilly in me.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Easily one of the best TED talks I've seen. It certainly makes me wonder what I'm contributing to society building GitHub. Not that what I'm doing isn't fulfilling and helpful to others, but rather what more I could be doing.

<comment><USER5> I think you're doing fine. GitHub _is_ infrastructure, and programming _is_ a dirty job.

<comment><USER6> Programming is not a dirty job for most (maybe if you are a plant PLC programmer)... the shows name is quiet literal, as figurative as you may want this to sound it just doesn't work talking about Mike Rowe. Unless you regularly arrive home showered in feces and tape your pants to your boots before heading into work.

<comment><USER5> I didn't mean it literally, obviously. I meant it in the sense that programming is not generally considered a glamorous job, aspired to by celebrity-conscious kids everywhere. It can be an art, yes, but often it's about rolling up your sleeves and putting in long hours to build something great.

Mike Rowe specifically mentioned the concept of infrastructure; something that societies need to be good places to live but whose construction and upkeep are not occupations encouraged by the media. Well, there is informational infrastructure too, and it's programmers who build it, mostly unsung outside our own narrow circles.

A dirty job, despite your narrow reading of the show's name, does not just mean you literally get dirty doing it. It means an unglamourous job where you just ignore everything else and go in and do what needs to be done. Hyett & co. might be micro-celebrities now, but that came after a long stretch of very unglamorous hacking - sitting on their asses staring at a tiny screen at all hours of the day and night, _getting shit done_. When was the last time you saw that kind of occupation celebrated in, say, an ad? And yet the product is the infrastructure we all rely on.

That's what I meant, sorry for being ambiguous. And if you still disagree, I'll show you some of the code I just wrote, I promise you'll feel dirty for _weeks_ ; )

<comment><USER6> Oh no I know exactly what you mean, but the thing is... everyone, in every field feels the same way about their job. Just about everyone in the world feels that they work in the most underrepresented and unappreciated jobs.

I watch dirty jobs every now and then and love the show, but I think it is very clear that he is talking about the literally dirty jobs. Any job can be considered to have 'dirty' parts, depending on how far you want to stretch the definition. To think that even celebrated jobs like doctors and lawyers don't have, by your loose definition, dirty parts is very naive.

I am not really attacking you, I just always roll my eyes when people start complaining about their jobs. I guess growing up blue collar has made me very cynical when people working 8 hour days in air conditioned offices complain about doing dirty work. Hard, intense, difficult, exhausting? Sure. Dirty? No

<comment><USER7> Of course the TV show has to depict physically dirty jobs. Most TV programs seem to have a requirement to capture and keep hold of the viewer's eyes and ears. A TV show where a bunch of people sit in cubicles in a mostly silent office and you only hear typing, mouse clicking, and the occasional phone ringing does not make for desirable TV programming (even if it accurately depicts reality).

Just because most people feel that they are under-appreciated in their professions doesn't mean that that feeling is less legitimate. Everyone has the right to complain about their job, regardless of how cushy it seems to others.

In a way, complaining about your job is proof to yourself that you aren't where you want to be yet. That's the essence of a lot of startups.

<comment><USER6> Considering Mike Rowe is pushing for more trade school enrollment makes it pretty clear I think that he is talking about legitimately dirty work, the real literal definition.

I don't understand what any of this has to do with "dirty"? So now we just stretch the definition of dirty to mean anything one can complain about at work? Then there is no point to it, by that definition there are dirty parts to every single job in the world.

Personally I cant think of any other job that is further from dirty then most programming jobs (literal definition). Why is that tech people have to hijack everything with the me too talk? Next we will read about strong men competitions and all the tech people will chime in with how deployment is such a heavy weight to lift... but hey its just figurative! Or how the programming is like cleaning toilets, because you have to look at other peoples code... on your monitor!

And if you really think your job is dirty, go find an electrician and pull wire through a steel mill, or work with a nurse, or a truck driver, go pull up well pumps, or drain septic tanks... or any other legitimately dirty job.

Or just stop trying to jack the little bit of pride a blue collar worker can have because he actually knows what dirty work is everyday.

<comment><USER7> It doesn't have anything to do with "dirty" or Mike Rowe. You were saying that you were tired of people complaining about their jobs. I happen to think that complaining about your job is fine.

I don't think anyone is trying to hijack the phrase "dirty job" to lessen those who do literal dirty work in any way. I'm not attacking you.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I love Dirty Jobs and Mike Rowe is an amazing host. The amount of charisma that man has is insane and the ability to say the right thing at the right time, every time, is something I wish one day to acquire.

<comment><USER9> He does one very dirty job very well: selling Fords.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> I wish I've had a classics education

<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anagnorisis>

<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peripeteia>

</comment><comment><USER11> I like his overall message - but I can't help feel a twinge of disagreement that happiness and success do not come from following your passion and your dreams. I think a better way to say it would be that you might not find yourself where you originally dream, but if you have a direction, work hard, follow it, opportunities will come and you will get somewhere fulfilling.

<comment><USER12> Are you disagreeing because you have copious experience showing that following your dream leads to happiness, or are you disagreeing because it's what you've been told all your life and you can't easily give the idea up?

Mike Rowe is not necessarily the world's expert on job-related happiness, but he does have a unique and extraordinarily well-traveled perspective. I am not entirely inclined to agree with him either (because of my own personal experience; I am very happy as a programmer, but I note that even many of my coworkers aren't, in the very same environment), but I can't dismiss what he says entirely either, because the man has me creamed on the experience front.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> The Dirty Job's approach to their show is so perfect. No nonsense, no fear, just show it for exactly what it is.

</comment><comment><USER14> Mike Rowe gets it right on so many levels. If Obama really wants to make a difference I think he needs to talk to this guy. He systematically relates to intellectuals and non-intellectuals and does it with ease.

<comment><USER15> Rowe's strengths don't apply to Obama's situation.

Unlike Obama, Mike Rowe isn't trying to tell people what to do and never has to deal with anyone who wants to thwart his goals.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> I'm a big fan of Mike Rowe, and it looks like he's serious about the message he wants to spread. There's more at the site he's starting (started):

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

</comment><comment><USER17> Discovery Channel is the unsung hero here. Mike Rowe is a fantastic host and narrator, but it is the Discovery Channel which has given him and others the platform to do what so many else have struggled to: get young people interested in science and technology. Sure, a lot of it is overly high-level or pseudo-science or simply mindless explosions... but they sure have done one hell of a job making a lot of traditionally uninteresting things, interesting.</comment>


Schwag for Startups (Free Stickers) - <AUTHOR>

I am the creator of StartupSchwag.com, a subscription tshirt/chochki of the month club.  We currently print one startup's shirt per month (startup pays nothing for this) and accept stickers/chochkis for distribution to a growing international subscriber base.
Today I'd like to announce that we'll print stickers for startups, 5-10 startups per month, at no cost to them, and ship the startup the extras. That means if we do a run of 2500 and only ship 1000 to subscribers, each startup gets free sticker schwag to do with as they wish.
Please, interesting logos, clever designs. If it looks like "My First Logo," it's not as interesting to me or anyone receiving it, and it probably won't get used. Please be in a public beta or launch state. YC/Tech Stars/Euro equiv startups will receive priority - I'd prefer to help early stage startups spread the word, but there's 'early stage' and 'hatched last weekend and nobody's seen it yet.' - the former is preferable =)
Please contact me if you're interested.
http://www.startupschwag.com/ | email@example.com <comment><USER2> point of curiosity: according to your site, valleyschwag, who was your inspiration, recently decided to close up shop. what do you think you can do better/cheaper/faster to keep the same thing from happening to you?

<comment><AUTHOR> Where they were relying on freebies, we license art and print it on demand. Where they had (for some time) web devs stuffing bags a few days a month, this uses a fulfillment shop from day 1. More details in the TechCrunch article (including comments from ValleySchwag's guys):

<http://urlbrief.com/e81862>

<comment><USER2> thanks. makes sense.</comment></comment></comment>


Marketing Recommendations for 2019 from an Industry Insider - <AUTHOR> https://outfunnel.com/8-marketing-recommendations-from-industry-insider/ <comment><USER2> > If you look at the features pages of providers, most tools appear the same. > But in practice, there are meaningful differences. Each email-sending tool > has a different "product DNA". There's typically one thing they're great > for, and are the other use-cases are often bolted on – which is extremely > frustrating for users with specific needs.

There's an interesting discussion to be had here about what are the things exactly that influence "product DNA". I'm guessing it's mostly... founder personality? And what their priorities are?

<comment><AUTHOR> I first started thinking about this in my previous job at Pipedrive. CRMs are like marketing software: all seem to have a very similar feature set. But if you looked closely you would see that Close.io was better at high-volume /SDR type work, Pipedrive was better at managing a sales pipeline (with perhaps fewer but higher value deals), some were better at contact management.

Same features, but founders had put together their unique blend based on their worldview.</comment></comment>


You're Overpaying for Drugs and Your Pharmacist Can't Tell You - <AUTHOR> https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-24/sworn-to-secrecy-drugstores-stay-silent-as-customers-overpay <comment><USER2> > Pusey's contracts [...] bar him from volunteering the fact that for many > cheap, generic medicines, co-pays sometimes are more expensive than if > patients simply pay out of pocket and bypass insurance

Can they give the correct information if asked?

It sounds like some patient education could help - a list of questions to ask, like "is there a generic equivalent to this drug?"

</comment><comment><USER3> Nice. Amazing the amount of asymmetric information. Makes me want to use an independent pharmacy or someplace like Costco. Or a way to price shop. Copays basically are a two way street. Sometimes good for you and other times better for the company.</comment>


Paul Graham's email? - <AUTHOR> Hey I have an important question about using one of Paul Graham's books and I wanted to ask him about it. He seems to have taken his email off his site :/ <comment><AUTHOR> Okay let me elaborate on it's importance(to me). I might have done something... illegalish. At least I'm afraid I did, so I wanted to find out from him whether I did or didn't. :D If I did I want to apologize because he's someone I look up to, and I don't want any animosity from him.

</comment><comment><USER2> firstname.lastname@example.com

</comment><comment><USER3> ask here. he'll probably respond.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> email@example.com? ^^

</comment><comment><USER4> Guess</comment>


Firefox OS - <AUTHOR> https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/os/

<comment><USER2> With Ubuntu Edge closing in, I'm still in doubt whether HTML5 can power ALL the apps on my phone. Ubuntu Edge isn't really HTML5-powered, so that also makes me think. Firefox still has some quirks regarding their HTML5 implementation and the Android Firefox browser is still no way near the iPhone experience (although I'd better blame this on Android, because other browsers on Android don't compare either). Nevertheless, the Firefox OS website is something worth seeing - can anyone point me to a Javascript library that can achieve the same scrolling effect?

<comment><USER3> [https://www.google.com/search?q=javascript+parallax+librarie...](https://www.google.com/search?q=javascript+parallax+libraries)</comment></comment>


When Did Lightroom Get So Freaking Powerful? - <AUTHOR> https://iso.500px.com/when-did-lightroom-get-so-freaking-powerful/?utm_source=500px&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=may21_630AM_when-did-lightroom-get-so-freaking-powerful <comment><USER2> Absolutely - I'm a huge fan of Lightroom, especially with using a plug-in like Silver FX.

Not sure about the other photographers out there - but I probably on turn to Photoshop for 5% of my shots at most.</comment>


Ask HN: Has anyone seen some really good startup websites lately? - <AUTHOR> Looking for some inspiration.
Sites that gave you this "ah nice!" moment. <comment><USER2> I read the weekly [https://betalist.com/](https://betalist.com/) newsletter. There's no shortage on "ah nice!" moments (visually).

From an idea point of view I can only remember bookmarking [http://rakam.io/](http://rakam.io/) ([https://betalist.com/startups/rakam](https://betalist.com/startups/rakam)). I'm a developer so B2D tool excite me most. And their base solution is open- source and on-premise.

<comment><AUTHOR> This is already very useful! Thanks!</comment></comment>


Design and Evaluation of a Continuous Consistency Model for Replicated Services [pdf] - <AUTHOR> https://www.usenix.org/legacy/event/osdi00/full_papers/yuvahdat/yuvahdat.pdf <comment><USER2> Should have (2000) in the title. See [https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1251250](https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1251250) for publication metadata.

<comment><USER3> Came here to say that.

Why don't papers include the date and publication in the final text? It's frustrating.

Speculating on my own question, in the Old Days a paper would get bound up in a paper book so there was no ambiguity. But this shouldn't stand in the Post Arxiv world - the standard LaTeX template should have standard slots for this on the front page.</comment></comment>


More than a decade of MIPS multi-threading - <AUTHOR> https://www.imgtec.com/blog/more-than-a-decade-of-mips-multi-threading/ <comment><USER2> Is this any different from hyperthreading on Intel processors?

<comment><USER3> Best I can tell is that Intel hyperthreading supports 2 threads in an execute- until-block model. Some resources are shared. So if you disable hyperthreading, the loop buffer resource doubles in size for the single thread running on that core.

MIPS supports more simultaneous threads with an actual scheduler. Dunno if that actually gets you anything.</comment></comment>