Ask HN: What to do with the ability to fly for free? - <AUTHOR>

I have the ability to fly for free, thanks to some benefits generally unusual in the tech industry (but common in the airline industry).  But I can't help feeling that I'm not really utilizing this opportunity very well.  I tried thinking of ways to realize the value by somehow monetizing on this ability but unfortunately nothing worthwhile (&legal) comes to mind.
So, I'm reaching out to the HN community for suggestions, which would be deeply appreciated, I wouldn't mind parting with a "buddy pass" to the best answer.
What I've done so far:
I've flown out to SiValley, LA, NY at different code/startup conventions and I've loved every bit of it.  Florida is no SiValley, and going to these new cities and meeting hackers and entrepreneurs really helped recharge my batteries.  I figured, I get the low cost of living in FL, but get the benefit of being where it's happening too! <comment><USER2> Create a book about airports. Contact a publisher beforehand. Do some interviews, people wait around for ages and have nothing to do. Take lots of photos of the most interesting or attractive areas. Shoot some videos. Determine what the most perfect airport would be. Create a feature matrix of airports.

Create a site regarding coupons or discounts for duty free shops. I know I am travelling soon and was wondering what duty free shops I'd encounter at the airports I would reach, their products and their prices. Get some shops to signup with you and submit their deals when they happen. Finally, I've heard flying at night is safer radiation-wise than during the day and astaxanthin is a good antioxidant to be on. Have fun.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, these ideas are awesome. Only concern I have is with Airport Security becoming suspicious of someone going around taking videos and photos of the airport. But I'm sure that can be mitigated by establishing a rapport with them and explaining to them what I'm doing ahead of time.

The duty free shops thing is a great idea too. Gotta do a little more research regarding what's already out there in that arena, but the ability to travel definitely would be a significant advantage! Thanks again! BTW, where are you planning on travelling to?

<comment><USER2> Austria. Yes, I agree: you'll need to establish a rapport, but, they will only be following rules. So you'd just need to find out those rules. I doubt they'd notice you anyhow if you just take a snap here or there unless you have a guilty conscience, which you shouldn't. It might be easier to do a travel film, around the world in 80 days, and get 80 travel stories (of either best, worst, most interesting or standout trip) from 80 travellers. If you have a website up beforehand, you can point travellers at it whilst at the airport on your laptop, and they can decide if they want the interview. You could ask people for some photos they could send you.

Now that I think about it, you could look at the Sartorialist but restrict it to airports as an inspiration: <http://www.thesartorialist.com> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sartorialist> : what you want is real people with real stories that can elicit discussion.

I have domains orbit8 and orbitsquare if interested.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Well, this might sound selfish, but I would think about how you could keep getting free flights after you change jobs.

I have some other ideas too:

\- You could become an absolute expert in something and get a free pass to see how any culture in the world experiences it. Me, I'd do something with cooking.

\- Charge for placing Geocaches. My dad flies for work to Washington DC every week and several of his friends have asked him to plant geocaches in other places. I bet you could charge for that, and it would be fun for you to have a different story each time.

\- Help people going through long distance relationships somehow.

I might come up with more later.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks! These are very helpful.

The only thing I have any real expertise in is software development, entrepreneurship and cars. So I thought about becoming some sort of a travelling consultant... but with telecommuting and the very nature of the software business, I doubt it would give me any significant advantage over other consultants. Not to mention if I can land clients in various cities, the savings from the free travel would be negligible.

Geocaches; now that's a pretty sweet idea. But I'm not quite sure how I'd charge for it. I could leave code snippets worldwide!

As far as helping those in long distance relationships, only thing I can think of is acting as a sort of courier.

The Geocaching one's really got me thinking. Mixed with a little advertising, I think there may be a serious business and advantage with the free flights! I'd love to hear more from you, and in the mean while I'll do a little research on Geocaching.

<comment><USER3> Yea I think you could have lots of fun and make some good money. Make a website displaying how the user could schedule a geocache plant, you'd pick it up at their door, you'd take their cash (or bill them later), and send them a picture of their planted geocache.

I've only been geocaching a few times, but my entire family are big geocache- ers. Feel free to email me directly - miles.matthias at gmail.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I don't know about monetizing, but I had this for a few years with when my mom married an airline pilot (until I got too old).

I abused the heck out of it. Found places where flight schedules facilitated daytrips and would spend afternoons in NY or DC. Went somewhere for a weekend every month. Went to Europe for a summer. Dated someone in another city for a while. I became very familiar with the flight schedules for the airline.

Ah, those were the days.

</comment><comment><USER5> Well just see what there is to see, go to Rio for the weekend or see the Grand Canyon or visit Panama or London. Visit all 50 States. Go to SF and hang out on Berkley Campus for the weekend. Just Go try different things and see which ones you like. Go to New Zealand for your vacation. Just GO

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks and that's definitely worthwhile. However, despite the free tickets, rental cars, hotel cost, eating out can really add up. Not to mention, I end up relaxing more than I should and get backed up on my startup work. Thus far I've burned thru several thousand dollars from my savings (not really regretting it, but it's not sustainable)

I've thought about trading trips to the Bahamas in exchange for coding with me on some projects. I suggested this to some hackers I met at a codeathon but they didn't seem to receptive (in retrospect, I can see how that may seem really shady).

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Here's a suggestion; don't ask about creative ways to use airplanes with the user name "killa911".

<comment><AUTHOR> Point noted. This was my hacker handle since '95 and has nothing to do with what you're inferring. I'm a former New Yorker, and 9/11 hit very close to home for me and ended up taking away a lot from me.

I've thought about changing my handle but feel that it would be one more thing I'd give up to the A-holes who've already caused me a lot of grief. So, I guess I'm just being stubborn.

<comment><USER6> Fair enough. I feel the same way about my mySpace page and AOL account. So hard to let go sometimes :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> 1\. Close loop with family and extended family 2\. Same with friends 3\. Explore culture (Europe/US/Canada/South America) 4\. Hackerspace courier/evangelist 5\. Documentary production/location shooting/stock shot collection 6\. Meeting incubator: create meetings with people you've always wanted to meet 7\. Nationwide volunteer: Habitat for Humanity/Red Cross/Hyperlocal Blood Donor (if you have a rare blood type)

Never feel guilty, just be creative.

</comment><comment><USER8> how about something like this: <http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/>

:)

<comment><AUTHOR> That's an awesome idea, but I'm not sure I'd like to be so conspicuous. I do enjoy trying to blend in . At least here in the US, I really try to indulge in the local experience and try out a day in the life of....

However, despite the free flight, as I mentioned earlier, hotel/rental car/food etc adds up pretty quickly.

<comment><USER8> here's something you can do to improve the speed:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Carriers>

:)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> The only way I can think of directly monetizing this is to do a courier service.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah, I thought about that first. Seemed to be an obvious one. But to really make it worth my time it, I'd have to charge quite a bit more than UPS or other courier services. Then I got to thinking about who would then be likely to hire me to "deliver" valuables from one city/country to another...

Maybe I'm focusing too much on the downside, but think about it... would you really want to take aboard a suitcase packed by a client which you couldn't really look at? Just not worth the risk for me...

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> If you need a buddy here in the US, I can help :) Also got flight benefits, on a stand by basis. Email me.

<comment><AUTHOR> Cool! But how I do I get in touch with you, I don't see an e-mail address on your profile? Mine's email@example.com</comment></comment>


Ex-Subway pitchman Fogle gets more than 15 years in prison - <AUTHOR> http://news.yahoo.com/latest-ex-subway-pitchman-sentenced-063556844.html# <comment><USER2> That many victims should be cause for more years than what he received in my opinion.</comment>


Cycle.js: a fully reactive JavaScript framework for Human-Computer Interaction - <AUTHOR> http://cycle.js.org/

<comment><USER2> I am so absurdly excited about cycle. I tend to get excited about things, true, but this feels like a coherent and elegant approach to making interfaces.

I felt like this when I first understood React, but React is incomplete, it is just the view layer. Flux never felt right to me, and I've been exploring alternatives ever since I realized I didn't want to pass callbacks all the way down my app tree. I've messed with Om, Baobab, Reflux, etc., but I never felt like I understood the whole picture, like my toolset was complete. I had always assumed I would use React plus something, but after reading through a bunch of Cycle example apps, I'm enthralled.

Another thing, FRP is a paradigm that I'd looked at before, but never really grocked. Reading cycle examples let me see how many problems I have this approach could solve for me, even a bunch beyond the interface domain that cycle focuses on.

Anyway, I'm pumped about it and encourage people to take a look :)

I had my moment of truth by running and reading through the examples in this repository: [https://github.com/ivan-kleshnin/cyclejs- examples](https://github.com/ivan-kleshnin/cyclejs-examples)

</comment><comment><USER3> I couldn't find any info on this in the docs, but would there be a possibility to use React components (JSX or regular js) inside of Cycle?

This would open up possibilities of using already done D3-react components together with Cycle (somehow).

[http://cycle.js.org/custom-elements.html](http://cycle.js.org/custom- elements.html)

<comment><AUTHOR> If you can wrap the React component as a Web Component, that would be the best format for interop in Cycle (it supports WCs out of the box). However, this also exists: [https://github.com/pH200/cycle- react](https://github.com/pH200/cycle-react)</comment></comment>


Good and Bad Procrastination (2005) - <AUTHOR> http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html <comment><USER2> I am constantly struggling with procrastination even though I love my job and what I do. It seems like sometimes I'd rather do anything other than what I'm actually suppose to do and what pays the bills, almost like a mental disorder.

I've tried setting goals, blocking websites, uninstalling games, creating logs and even creating rewards for doing X amount of work, none of those seem to really help so far.

The procrastination article is from 9 years ago and has been posted numerous times before on HN, yet it's at the top of HN. I suspect that procrastination is a horrible problem for programmers due to the vast amount of distraction available via the internet.

Also, [http://paulgraham.com/distraction.html](http://paulgraham.com/distraction.html)

I'm installing Watch Dogs for the 4th time right now rather than doing my real work (which is very fun, time critical, and offers REAL rewards), wtf is wrong with me.

<comment><USER3> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADHD-PI](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADHD-PI)

Would you say this describes you?

<comment><USER4> I have always found self-diagnosing as idiotic, but honestly, this is 100% me. Can't concentrate on anything, hesitate and procrastinate a lot, also am forgetful. Never had major problems though, always have had good grades for whatever reason. Should I seek help or try to keep it under control myself? I am almost out of school and I feel relieved; so much pressure when you try to concentrate on the topic, but just physically can't. I feel much more comfortable learning the topics I personally like.

<comment><USER5> There are plenty people with ADHD-PI and good grades. Many goes undiagnosed into adult life as well.

Seek help. Be prepared to have to explain it a few times. Some doctors are amazingly reluctant to accept that ADHD doesn't mean stupid, lazy or crazy. (Yes, there is a book by about that name. Can't vouch for it yet.)

Also, medicine or not, be aware that you might have a few advantages: When everyone else freeze (exam, first to an accident etc) if you are prepared you can think clearly when few others can. You most likely can study very well on your own (but going to class is still recommended just to have an idea of what the school/teacher/professor thinks is important.)

Try to use your special abilities like: thinking outside the box (automate things), eye for details (something is fishy), people skills etc. I'd also like to think that a job were you are clearly ON or OFF would be an advantage.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I was talking to my father about this topic last week. We talked about the best strategies for combating procrastination. He used to be in the British Army and suggested that a militaristic approach has always worked for him. He talked about the button polishing, the bed sheet folding and the shirt starching. These were tasks that were set by the commanding officers and needed to be performed flawlessly. They weren't pleasurable, they were boring and often felt unnecessary. Failing these tasks meant severe punishment and potentially being kicked out of the army.

This gave him a framework for success. The knowledge that however boring something is, it _needs_ to be done. A combination of a carrot and a stick can help this process.

Another approach, from a member of a mastermind group that I attend, has a 'dull day'. On Monday of every week he does all the administrative work that he hates. This includes dealing with expenses, filing, bug fixing, documenting etc. He has been doing it for months and loves the fact that he can start the day on Tuesday with a clear head and clear conscience.

So, breaking this down (from my admittedly small sample set):

\- Be Strict -

Be strict with yourself and use incentives or disincentives. There are plenty of ways to provide a disincentive for failure. This startup has just launched and asks you to pay if you fail to hit your goals: [https://gofuckingdoit.com/](https://gofuckingdoit.com/) [0]

\- Have a Routine -

Habits are formed using triggers, routines and rewards. Try to set a good habit by working on your project using a trigger, a routine and a reward. You could try the Tiny Habits Method: [http://tinyhabits.com/](http://tinyhabits.com/) [1]

\- Make Time -

Make time for your project (rather than finding the time)Be honest with yourself and know that procrastination will happen. But, you can _make_ time to get stuff done: [http://www.startupclarity.com/blog/make-time-side- project/](http://www.startupclarity.com/blog/make-time-side-project/) [2]

[0] [https://gofuckingdoit.com/](https://gofuckingdoit.com/)

[1] [http://tinyhabits.com/](http://tinyhabits.com/)

[2] [http://www.startupclarity.com/blog/make-time-side- project/](http://www.startupclarity.com/blog/make-time-side-project/)

<comment><USER7> A professional procrastinator like myself knows that button polishing can become a very interesting task if it means you can postpone what you really should be doing. See [http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/](http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> No conversation about procrastination is complete without mentioning John Perry's (Stanford Prof) essay on "structured procrastination": [http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/](http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/)

Basically... "the procrastinator can be motivated to do difficult, timely and important tasks, as long as these tasks are a way of not doing something more important." Like John, I've accomplished a quite a bit by procrastinating like crazy.

<comment><USER9> Perry actually won the Ignobel price for this essay: [http://www.improbable.com/ig/winners/#ig2011](http://www.improbable.com/ig/winners/#ig2011)

(you may have to scroll down a bit to see it)

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Possibly off-topic, but I wonder when PG will be writing more essays. I remember that one of the things he was looking forward to when sama took over YC was the extra time to work on projects and write more.

</comment><comment><USER11> This essay is mostly spot on, but there is some "more important work" that is harder to define: emotional/social work, raising a family etc. These things are mentioned in your eulogy, but not your obituary.

I'm pretty sure this essay was written before pg had kids. I wonder how/if his perspective has changed.

</comment><comment><USER12> _" The starting point for understanding why you procrastinate is to treat yourself with enough respect to assume that behind your inactivity lies an excellent, if not immediately apparent reason. And this reason is to be found in an altogether different attitude or trait _inside yourself _that precipitated your procrastinating reaction...

What is [it] a reaction to? What is the unknown factor that provokes such a highly visible and aggravating response? The nature of the invisible stimulus can be partly deduced from the extremely emotional and hostile nature of the reaction. For however much you may want to see it as a kind of passive paralysis, procrastination ... is a very aggressive act: it is a pushing away, a rejection._

 _Tragically, this stubborn rebellion by the unconscious usually triggers even more severe and desperate measures from you, its hapless guardian, to impose a strict regimen of work: total isolation, twelve-hour days, endless changes of locale and paraphanelia. But it is all for nothing. Attempts to be ruthless with yourself in order to 'overcome procrastination' must always lead directly back to the hated condition itself, thereby engendering stalemate. Under these highly sensitized conditions even a reasonable order, _as long as it is an order _, will be rejected. The sense of failure and frustration increases exponentially as the vicious circle clicks back into gear._

 _People who accuse themselves of procrastination are not procrastinators. They are accusers. Far from being lazy, they are driven by such extremes of self-distrust and compulsive overcontrol that they throttle the spontaneous contact with self that all creative activity requires. "_ \-- Victoria Nelson, _" Writer's Block"_

</comment><comment><USER13> You should add a (2005) to the end of the title.

<comment><USER14> Yeah, I got all excited thinking it would be a new essay from PG.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> For long time I was trying to beat procrastination. Guess what, I'm still procrastinating more than 50% of time and for last 2-3 years it's no longer a problem.

The breaking point for me was another essay by PG called "The Top Idea in Your Mind" ([http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html))

The concept is that if you get stuck on some problem, even if you procrastinate, you are still unconsciously thinking about the problem and will come up with solutions while doing something completely unrelated (paying games, watching videos etc.) - so this would be another example of good procrastination that you don't have to feel guilty about. For me, procrastination is now part of the process.

<comment><USER16> I was reading before about a solution to procrastination that said you should have 2-3 different tasks. And when you aren't in the mood to do one, do the other. Could work for some, but maybe not everyone. Procrastination is usually not "not doing anything", but doing something else _instead_ of what you should be doing. So try to make that "something else" a task that you need finished anyway.

<comment><USER17> [http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/](http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I lived this for a few years starting my business actually. I put off basically other priority to get things off the ground.

It worked! I accomplished more in two years than I ever thought possible. I now have a large measure of freedom in my work and life.

But, now I do more errands. I found a lot of non-work priorities really fell by the wayside when I took the monomaniacal approach.

I'm still not sure which is better. I have more of a social life now. I'm in better shape. I have a few hobbies. I'm reading more. I feel like I'm enjoying life.

Yet I also feel I'm at an inflection point workwise, where if I just returned to the old levels of productivity for six months, I'd pass into a level where I'm suddenly earning far more than I need, and can pull back even more than I have.

I'm 28 now. Turning 29 in a few months. I've come to terms with the finite amount of time available to me, and that certain activities are easier and harder at given ages.

It feels like I can trade off six months of the last year of my 20s to gain much freedom in the first years of my 30s. I don't think I'm going to do it, because I'm making pretty good progress as is, and I think there's still room to do more work by cutting out distractions (like HN) while continuing to focus on leisure I truly enjoy.

The short version is that I was a type C procrastinator for a bit. I think it was worth it, but I'm not sure if it's worth continuing at the same level.

</comment><comment><USER19> Nice essay. The "small stuff" that you mention has a function - to enable a society. If you don't shave and shower, you will look terrible, and for biological reasons people will think that you're nuts, that's you're an outliar, and expect strange things from you. It is not necessarily too bad, per se.

However, I argue that balance (some small stuff, but not too much, so you have time for important stuff) is better than being a great, smelly procrastinator.

<comment><USER20> Society can be pretty tolerant of eccentricity and a lack of personal hygiene when it's accompanied by genius. Look at Albert Einstein and even Richard Stallman.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> I think the pg's message is good on a higher level, though think about what would happen in an average software development team if everyone followed the rule.

Everyone would be working on fancy, interesting, big problems, while there would be no one to fix the leaking ceiling until after the sudden storm has started.

Oops, it seems it's actually the case in majority of the projects. Most people prefer doing new development than fixing bugs and writing docs, because it's way easier to crush hundreds of new lines of code than to write a good documentation, and it's more enjoyable than trying to reproduce a weird edge case. Also, usually new development is adding more business value than fixing bugs (provided that the whole product is not a one big bug).

</comment><comment><USER22> Here's a good, quick post by Cal Newport titled, "Don't fight distraction, make it irrelevant" that his some of the same points that PG makes:

[http://calnewport.com/blog/2014/06/05/dont-fight- distraction...](http://calnewport.com/blog/2014/06/05/dont-fight-distraction- make-it-irrelevant/)

"Distraction, from this perspective, is not the cause of problems in your work life, it's a side effect. The real issue comes down to a question more important than whether or not you use Facebook too much: Are you striving to do something useful and do it so well that you cannot be ignored?"

</comment><comment><USER23> So could reading this article qualify as a form of "type B" procrastination?

</comment><comment><USER24> I think sometimes the mind just needs to think about other things. I mean, I love what I am doing now too, and I have moments where I'll want to just spend all day and night on it, but there are also times where I would rather do something else like watch funny videos on youtube or enjoy a karaoke session with my 2 year old daughter. It just makes me a happier person to be doing other things as well. I think diversity is important for the mind, that's why we procrastinate.

</comment><comment><USER25> Good? Bad? There is only the value that you place on your own time. It may be that shaving/maintaining friendships/health do not offer rewards that you value. That's your decision. In the end, if your occupation doesn't reward you in a way you value, you will find an alternative way to spend your time.

edit: If you are concerned about how you spend your time, I would suggest that you should spend some time reflecting on why you are making those choices.

</comment><comment><USER26> As the essay mentions Hamming's talk, here's a recording: [http://youtu.be/a1zDuOPkMSw](http://youtu.be/a1zDuOPkMSw)

</comment><comment><USER27> I like this definition of unimportant stuff, "What's "small stuff?" Roughly, work that has zero chance of being mentioned in your obituary."

If you you have children, hopefully they will write your obituary, so putting of cleaning the house to go camping with the kids might result in a, "loving dad" on your obituary.

This is in addition to all the obvious big career stuff I thought of initially after reading that definition.

</comment><comment><USER28> My wife is an absent minded professor. This part "The mildest seeming people, if they want to do real work, all have a certain degree of ruthlessness when it comes to avoiding errands" describes her perfectly.

God forbid if you disturb her while she is working, you will get an earful. She is very determined to get her work done, regardless (at times) of what her husband and kids want out of her.

</comment><comment><USER29> This is why I think it's so silly for people to be such strong detractors of meal replacement products (like mealsquares, ambronite, and soylent), not wanting to eliminate EVERY meal from your life is quite understandable, but wasting hours of your day when you're deep in flow state on food is a terrible tradeoff in much the same way laundry is.

</comment><comment><USER30> Graham hits the nail on the head again. I don't beat myself up about procrastinating too much -- as long as the procrastinating includes reading Hacker News, iOS Dev News, Good Stack Overflow comments and conversations, basically anything that will make me broadly a better and happier programmer.

</comment><comment><USER31> I've slowly found that by focusing on interesting things (and sometimes productive) instead of dedicating time to school projects that are merely time wasters, I can complete projects I want whilst doing satisfactory in school with minimal effort.

</comment><comment><USER32> I agree with the article's opinion about errands, and believe it's true these small boring tasks end up killing inspiration for the more interesting stuff we'd rather be working on.

HOWEVER, am I the only one who thinks Paul's redefinition of procrastination is nonstandard? When people advise you not to procrastinate, they are usually telling you to do your damn job (or to study for an exam, you get the idea) instead of doing something else that could clearly wait. Most people understand that procrastination means doing anything -- no matter what -- instead of a mandatory task that is boring or too hard. Nobody will ever tell you to do your taxes _instead_ of working on that rocket science project, which is what Paul seems to be implying...

</comment><comment><USER33> > _What 's the best thing you could be working on, and why aren't you?_

Because that probably will probably not make me enough money to pay the rent.

If I were rich and didn't need to work. I would.

<comment><USER17> Then just work enough to pay rent and eat. I bet you earn more than you strictly need.

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> Very unrelated but biting me hard due to procrastination: Does anyone know any tax preparer in the US with reasonable rate?

I'm a non-US citizen/resident. I incorporated a C-corp in Delaware exactly last year through an agent (remotely). The company has been dormant since its inception.

Its fiscal year is March 31, which means the deadline should be June 15 this year. I need someone who can do e-filing for me. One guy I found online quoted me $500 which I think ridiculously expensive :(

<comment><USER35> You are indeed bitten due to procrastination, but it might not be for the reason you think you are. If the company has been dormant since its inception, why are you worried about paying taxes? The IRS doesn't come after dormant companies that don't have revenue. There's nothing to come after.

Are you using paying taxes as a way of procrastinating from real work? A much harder problem is making something people want. Worry more about that.

</comment></comment><comment><USER36> Ironic that i'm reading this at work.

</comment><comment><USER37> I'll have to remember to read this later.</comment>


Show HN: $111,993 headphones and other unreasonably/reasonably priced items - <AUTHOR> https://glymart.com/collections/all <comment><USER2> What I've found so far :

-Most prices are absurdly high and end with 3

-Some items have reasonable prices (e.g [https://glymart.com/products/a-1-telecom-mopar-external-spea...](https://glymart.com/products/a-1-telecom-mopar-external-speaker-with-embossed-logos-2-3-4-1-way-black) )

-The domain was registered recently and never mentioned on any other website before your post (how did you find it ?)

-The first item has a wrong image, but all the others seem OK.

-Terms of use and privacy policy include an adress in Vietnam. It isn't clear whether this is a real adress.

-The same item is sold twice at vastly different prices : [https://glymart.com/products/yuneec-typhoon-h-hexacopter-pro...](https://glymart.com/products/yuneec-typhoon-h-hexacopter-pro-with-intel%C2%AE-realsense%E2%84%A2-technology-gun-metal-gray-1) and [https://glymart.com/products/yuneec-typhoon-h-hexacopter-pro...](https://glymart.com/products/yuneec-typhoon-h-hexacopter-pro-with-intel%C2%AE-realsense%E2%84%A2-technology-gun-metal-gray)

The website was obviously generated automatically : it has over 400 pages of products. I think the goal was to sell products available elsewhere at a premium, and order them as needed. Or maybe there are no prodcts and they just want someone to buy one to try to understand what's happening :P. My first theory was that the prices were not converted properly, but assuming that they are in Vietnamese Dong instead of USD leads to absurdly low prices.

In any case, that's a weird online store.

Edit : their contact form includes an adress an phone number, both located in California. It seems unlikely that those are their real adress and phone number.

<comment><USER3> I found this site via shopping for refrigerators also. Price very cheap. Contact# is a cell w a full vmail box. They list bestbuy as a contact for installation. Called Best Buy they will not price match & are not officially partnered w site. Additionally they could not confirm whether or not they have done any installs for the company. I have emailed the site, waiting on a reply. I noticed a discrepancy in cu ft stats from search to actuall site. Plus they fail to provide any model # details or product specs. Haven't moved on purchase yet still doing home work but at this point I'd say "buyer beware"

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'm confused at what this is supposed to be? A bunch of products have the wrong image and the image that's shown is not nearly worth what it cost.

<comment><AUTHOR> I am speculating that it is possibly a money laundering site, was hoping others could chime in.</comment></comment>


Why no one cares about Yahoo CEO's fake degree - <AUTHOR> http://www.minisprout.com/business/why-no-one-cares-about-yahoo-ceos-fake-degree/

<comment><USER2> I think there's probably a better reason: Yahoo didn't have a lot of qualified candidates to choose from. Who would want that job?</comment>


Why I'm glad my iPhone broke - <AUTHOR> http://sirupsen.com/iphone/ <comment><USER3> I can't believe that any majority of smartphone users' lives are being debilitated by owning a smartphone. Just like there is a large area between not drinking and being a full-blown alcoholic, there is a large area between not owning a smartphone and being addicted to a smartphone.

If you cannot control yourself enough to stop constantly taking pictures and posting them to Facebook and you don't like this behavior, then tossing the phone in the trash might be your best play. But for those of us who own a smartphone and rarely touch the camera and Facebook app, the phone isn't affecting my life in a negative manner. Yes, I'd rather have access to 16GB of local music and access Spotify than not have it. If it's there, I can choose to use it or not.

The issue here isn't the smartphone, it's making bad choices that lead to negative outcomes for you.

<comment><USER4> These were kind of my thoughts. I love having a smartphone and even before they existed I tried to get the dumb ones to do the maximum possible via sms. I really like being able to not worry about finding my way someplace or being able to think "Hmm, I want to go to a museum/eat at 5 guys/walk around a park/swim. Where's the closest one?" and be told. I like being able to check my email or take a picture of something I find amusing. But it's not ruling my life, it's a tiny fraction of it. If people want to know so badly what I'm thinking, eating or doing, well, call or text I guess - I don't have time to document it. I've found very little disturbance to anything, the only possible time I might miss something is if I'm somewhere deathly boring and I choose to ignore it in favor of browsing and even that isn't common.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Try this - Leave home with nothing and go take a walk around. No bags, no phone, no keys, nothing. Just clothes and maybe $20 in your pocket for emergencies. Leave early and with no commitments later in the day. Eat on the road. Return when you feel like it. Walk at whatever pace you like. Go wherever your legs take you.

It's an awesome feeling like nothing else. Helps if you live with someone so they can let you in when you return.

<comment><USER6> I used to do that with a TravelCard in London in the late 90s. £4 used to get you round the entire city and you can eat well for £4 on top of that. It's probably doubled now.

Some out of date Kodak 35mm film (free) and an old Praktica camera (free) and the city was mine. That, clothes and a rain coat and I was happy :)

I don't advocate it, but trespassing has certain interesting side as well and is free (if you don't get caught).

<comment><USER7> Well, in Rome the day ticket is €6 and you can eat for about €4. You can leave your raincoat at home :)

<comment><USER6> I like my rain :)

<comment><USER7> What about the grub?

<comment><USER6> I'll give you that. I've actually been to Rome btw. Apart from the train journey there and back and the psychotic drivers, it was an awesome weekend :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> _It's handy to have all these things in one device, but for now, the pros outweigh the cons for me._

The pro's listed: You call people more & you don't worry about damaging your phone anymore. Personally, those pro's don't even come close to outweighing the inconvenience of not having instant access to maps, music, camera and email for me.

<comment><USER9> Saying that smartphones make you unproductive and then making a big announcement online about how you're giving up your smartphone is just a hip thing to do right now. The truth is that smartphones are just another tool. It's like saying you won't drive any more because you could get in an accident and die.

Just as I drive as carefully as I can, I avoid being engrossed in my smartphone the whole day. But that doesn't change the fact that when I need to fire off a quick email, check my calendar, or find out how to get where I want to to go, having a smartphone makes a big difference.

<comment><USER10> If anything, the traffic monitoring and rerouting capabilities of a smartphone were worth it for me. I broke my iPhone and downgraded to brick. After the first traffic jam I got stuck in, I decided to grab a used iPhone on eBay. I could use a GPS, but why get one when a smartphone offers so much more?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Here are my observations:

\- No one reads (books) on buses/trains anymore. Its very rare to see someone reading a book in SF in public transport. \- No one looks around anymore. I seem like the only person who is looking out the window, or observing fellow passengers. I would say around 80% of the people have their headphones on, and are engrossed in their smartphone.

One funny incident stands out. I waked into Chipotle (restaurant), and everyone in line was staring into their smartphone. As soon as I walked in, everyone looked up, and in unison went back to their smartphone. It was synchronized enough to be like something from a parody.

I wouldn't say this is necessarily bad, just different than how it used to be. I have a smartphone, but not a data plan, so I don't use it outside of home. However, the maps and transit (to me) is a killer feature.

<comment><USER12> > _No one reads (books) on buses/trains anymore._

They do here (Tokyo area).

What's interesting is that a few years ago, far _fewer_ people seemed to be reading; everybody was staring at their phone. Lately (within the last couple of years), however, this seems to be changing, and I see many more people reading actual books [this is helped by the fact that Japanese paperbacks [文庫] are almost perfectly suited for train reading, being small, thin, light, and flexible].

My guess is that the bloom has passed to some degree, and highly capable phones have become so normal that people are less fascinated by them, and more likely to see the tradeoffs compared to things like books/newspapers/etc. [and indeed, I seem to see more people reading actual broadsheets on trains lately as well]

That doesn't mean people don't look at their phones, of course; many do. But books are back, baby... :]

[This is all merely my personal observation of course; YMMV...]

<comment><USER13> I see lots of people with paper novels in NYC as well.

If I had to guess, I'd say that a third of the readers* on the subway are using paper.

*People I can positively identify as reading something, as opposed to playing a game - if they're using something like a Kindle, or if I see them looking at a screen swiping up or down at regular intervals.

<comment><USER12> ... it's almost an art! <http://undergroundnewyorkpubliclibrary.com/>

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> More often than not on hacker news there's a story about someone whose accidentally gone 'bohemian'. I think it's something we all need to do from time to time. Personally I like to rent a cottage in one of England's many fine forests.

The end of the article did make me chuckle, as after his great story of 'disconnect' he ends the article with 'you should follow me on twitter'.

</comment><comment><USER15> I have read several posts about ditching smartphones in recent months, and the writer invariably states that they were not addicted. However, if their behaviour pattern cannot be changed while still owning a smartphone, then they are addicted. It's a question of will power, and it seems many people don't have it.

I went through a stage of dependency on my iPhone, always filling in small gaps in my day with games, Twitter, email or Facebook. I realised I was spending too much time on it, and so for the past couple of years I've significantly restricted my time with the phone. Certainly it is _never_ used in company. In my opinion, I've found a happy balance. I still get all the myriad pros that a smartphone offers, but don't reach for it every time I'm not busy.

</comment><comment><USER16> There is an in-between solution here:

Buy a cheap Android phone.

For example the HTC One V regularly sells for $150 (with no contract) and has had a few sales days over the past few months where it was selling for only $50. A $50-150 phone gives you that same "I don't really have to worry about my phone" situation while still allowing you to have the smartphone experience -- web, email, apps, GPS with turn-by-turn directions using the excellent Google Navigation, etc.

I owned an iPhone 3G then went to a Motorola Droid (the original one) and then realized that while I could afford "expensive" phones and data plans, I was mostly throwing money away so I switched to cheap Android phones on no- contract plans (Virgin Mobile in my case though T-Mobile also has some nice options).

</comment><comment><USER17> People seem to always enjoy experimenting with the way they live. I don't think the lack of a smart phone that created a good experience, I think it is trying out a new pace.

<comment><USER18> I think that "pace" is something very much disrupted with various doodads vying for one's attention.

I spent several years with my family in a rather primitive house. We tried to minimize use of power when possible to save money and not be dependent on it. As a result, our refrigeration needs were minimal.

For several months, we started shutting off the main power circuit into the house for one day a week, usually Saturday or Sunday (and banning the use of battery-powered gadgets). It was awesome. No phone calls, no humming of the refrigerator, no ability to distract oneself easily with the PC or a movie or the radio. We would eat basic meals, go on walks, or just sit around the house/property on our own and reflect. I'd read more. The evenings were often spent playing cards together, often by the wood stove, with candles, talking more, drinking wine.

I miss those days, and someday hope to return to such a situation. This isn't some kind of snobbery. Such silence and freedom -- such idle time -- is good for the mind, body, and soul (at least that's what I personally believe). I encourage people to experience such peace when they can.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> Of course, having a smartphone doesn't really force you to check it obsessively every two minutes or be literally glued to its screen. To me at least it's nice that I can check e-mail, Twitter and the web while not at home or ask a service for directions.

But I don't feel in any way forced that my life needs to revolve around this little computer in my pocket. I can still enjoy my surroundings and talk to actual people. Heck, I sometimes even miss calls because my ringtone defaults to "no one else should be annoyed by it" but that's ok – just because I carry a cellphone doesn't mean I must use that connectedness at all times.

</comment><comment><USER20> A little while ago my smartphone's screen smashed and it took 2-3 weeks for it to be fixed. During that time, I came to the conclusion that I didn't need a smartphone. Eventually my phone was returned and I loved it again and can't imagine leaving the house without it. Simon is probably right - leaving it at home for a month would probably be a good thing - but unless forced, I just can't bring myself to be without it.

<comment><USER21> Similar situation, although my phone wasn't broken. My wife and I spent about 3 weeks in New Zealand and Fiji for our honeymoon. I toyed with the idea of getting a SIM card, but realized that I wouldn't have time or need to use it.

I found that I didn't miss my phone at all. I had Google Voice at the time, and could text the family from the hotel while winding down. The occasional phone call would have been nice, but I could have used Skype if I really needed to.

Also, my internet browsing habits have changed completely. I only frequent about four websites regularly. Most of my internet free time is spent reading HN Posts and other similar technical articles/blogs that I happen across.

 __ _Side note_ __: While I didn't get a SIM, I wish I had purchased some sort of mobile hotspot. Hotel internet access was ridiculously priced, upwards of $20 per day.

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> Here's my experience. It's not exactly the same, but it's worth a read.

Currently I have a very basic Nokia model. There is a process called 'handing over' or 'hand shake' that happens when you move from one cell (a small region of an entire area) to another or when one cellphone tower 'hands over' the signal to another tower. This process is handled exceptionally well on most smartphones, but not so well on the basic phones such as lower-end Nokias.

So, if you were in the middle of a call and this handshake happens (mostly when you are traveling) and if it isn't done on time, or if it isn't done right, the call is dropped.

Previously I had a HTC Desire S, which I dropped from the top of a building by mistake and hence I ended up with this Nokia. Now, this Nokia had frequent call drops and it won't even notify me when it happens. It got irritating after a point, because I would still keep talking assuming the other person is still listening (while on a call) only to realize that I would have to repeat whatever I just said.

One day, I got so angry, because it was an important call, I just thrashed the phone on to the ground _on purpose_. Luckily, only the display broke, but the phone would still function normally.

Here's my experience with this phone:

1) Previously, on my HTC, all my 2000+ contact would be synced from my google account automatically. There was zero effort needed on my part, so, basically I had everyone's number on my phone synced automagically - My family, Friends on Facebook, Friends on whtasapp, etc.

With this nokia phone, I would have to manually save each number to the phone (which has only a max. of 500 contacts) also it's a tedious process, because I'd need to type them manually. Since the display is gone now, I need to memorize the numbers of important people. And I could feel in a week's time, my ability to memorize (which was previously rusty) has actually improved. With a smartphone, I didn't have to memorize anything - While convenient, it's dangerous, sometimes. For example, I once needed to recall someone's number to deliver my movie tickets at a particular place and I had actually forgotten their number. It was a nightmare.

And it's not just numbers, I actually have the workflow memorized too - <USER2> access phonebook, press right right select. To access recent calls - down down left. Stuff liek that. It's ugly, but it gets the job done.

2) Productivity. I'm a heavy Facebook user. Or I was, rather. I realized, my smartphone alone was responsible for over 80% of the status updates and photos uploaded to my account. It was a content producer by itself. Now that it is no more, I feel the urge to use the platform has considerably decreased, because I don't have a camera phone now and I haven't uploaded anything much since my phone broke.

3) Savings. I saved a LOT. No data plans meant cheaper monthly rates and no phone book meant memorizing only important people's numbers and calling fewer people. I do have a back up of my contacts on my google account though.

4) Safety. I don't walk on the streets typing some random shit on my Android qwerty keyboard nor do I talk to someone over the bluetooth headset while driving. This is subjective, though - Not everyone does all this with their smartphones.

5) No screening. Since my phone doesn't have a display, I wouldn't be able to see who's calling me. If I miss them, I will never get to know who had called me either. So, sometimes, if the phone rings, I just answer and say 'hello' and talk to whoever it is, instead of ignoring people by their name (sometimes to avoid them on purpose, because I would be busy with something). I realized how much I missed out by categorizing certain people as boring. Again, this is a subjective thing.

6) Battery. This phone lasts for almost 2 weeks. My HTC would last only a little less than a day. It's a huge difference. No charging or low battery woes.

All in all, I'm a productive person, comparatively and a more _real-world friendly_ guy - instead of taking pictures of pancakes and uploading them to instagram, I just fucking eat them.

<comment><USER23> So, we reached that point already where we are so forward that we want to go backward? The things that make our life easier really just make it better? I am not sure... I'm not going to say you are wrong, only it is quite funny if you think about it...

<comment><USER24> If you can't say no and don't have much self-control, it just makes sense to get rid of the device that empowers those behaviors. I imagine those people are in the minority but perhaps in the majority amongst geeks. Not to mention things like reddit blockers, etc.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Smartphones are useful. They're an invaluable resource that might even save your life someday.

What you really need is to lay off the twitters and the instagrams.

</comment><comment><USER26> I can live without my smartphone, but I don't need to. Life is better with it. And I can't see why people consider "I've started calling people more" a pro instead of a con.

Why do people think that a person immersed in a gadget is a bad thing? I wouldn't be doing anything better without it. I would be bored to hell, as it used to be before I got my first gadget.

</comment><comment><USER27> _I've started calling people more. ... It's funny how little I called people on my iPhone, and how surprised parts of my generation is when they receive a call. ... improved arrangements and generally had more fun communicating._

Did you ever think to ask the people you were phoning if they were busy with anything? Sure, it might have been great for you to break someones concentration with some basic question that could have had a quick yes/no answer in a text message, but was it great for the recipient? I would also be very surprised if someone called me for something they could have just sent a text for - and if they did it a couple more times, I'd set my phone to automatically redirect calls from them to voice-mail.

<comment><USER28> What? How is he supposed to know what the person is doing before calling them? Can't they just ignore the call if they want? Should we just never call anyone ever just in case they're really busy?

<comment><USER27> I don't ignore calls from people as they could be important. Someone may need help, or they may need to notify me of something immediately. This is a good use for interruptive voice calls.

However, if someone keeps calling me for very unimportant issues, then I would ignore their calls, and check voice-mail later to confirm if it was important.

I expect to get down-voted for this as it is a bit unfortunate, but if people think they can have my time whenever they want for whatever they want, then I'm not going to have any time left for myself. Plus, if an important call does come through and I'm stuck talking to someone about something unimportant, then it's the important call that is going to be stuck in voice mail.

<comment><USER13> I regularly ignore phone calls, and I tell people - if it's an urgent matter and I don't pick up the phone, call me right back. Two calls in a row means "Pick up, this is important."

<comment><USER29> For Android there is an fantastic FLOSS app called Harass Me that lets you set an amount of calls in a specific timeframe to make the phone turn up the volume and "harass you" to pick up. I have that setup for emergencies while my phone is silent otherwise.

<http://www.rfc1149.net/devel/harassme.html> | <https://github.com/samueltardieu/harassme>

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> cm-t I am using on dailylife a smartphone, but i got the same issu:

No camera; I don't take pics from my smartphone.

No music; Not enought choice of music in the format required and anyway the player leak too much battery and it is lagging.

No maps; 10 minutes to get a fix...

 ____

I've started calling people more; taking 10 minutes for a fix on the agps built-in is too long

I don't care for my phone; it is so heavy that I got asked at airport

My concerns were mostly right, but I can live without these things; but someone told me QtMoko was usable, I will give it a try also.

 ____

Let me the time to compile this thing ( Not going back.. for now )

Message sent from my OpenMoko Freerunner GTA02

<comment><USER30> Not to be a detractor, but you really ought to try getting a smartphone that's halfway modern. The GTA02 is four and a half years old -- that's practically ancient history as far as smartphones are concerned -- and it doesn't help that it was always a pretty funky device.

<comment> cm-t I have a modern one, I was just making fun about my situation 3 years ago. Everyone with a neo had the same issues if they was using it as a dailyphone. I thought derision would not be same as detractor, sorry if you or others fell it like this.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> Is everyone really this "connected" when having a smartphone? When I have a smartphone I'm not really "more connected", after all peple could call me on a dumbphone too.

However, what it brings is "Internet everywhere yay!", which I then use to read forums, wikipedia, articles, etc... whenever not near a computer. Plus of course it can play PC games like Freeciv, nethack and Minecraft.

So basically, I'm about exactly as social on a smartphone as on a desktop computer, and now have an environment that used to exist only at a desk, on trains and on the toilet :)

</comment><comment><USER32> Insightful.

I don't think I'm brave enough to try this. I'd feel like I have to constantly jump between computers in case I missed an important email or some relevant news broke. And no maps? I'd never get home...

<comment><USER33> "I'd feel like I have to constantly jump between computers in case I missed an important email or some relevant news broke."

Sounds like you really need to try this then. Seriously, don't let your "fear of missing out" cripple you.

[http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/04/14/fomo- addict...](http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/04/14/fomo-addiction- the-fear-of-missing-out/)

<comment><USER32> Wow, thanks for pointing me to that. I fear it describes me a little too closely...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> _I was a little bit everywhere, all the time. But not truly anywhere. Without the temptation available from my pocket, I feel like I am more present being wherever I am._

Nice summary. I can't quite ditch my Droid but am decreasing the frequency of switching back and forth between the two worlds. Finding that focused single- tasking (when not at work) is underrated and not easy (at least not for me).

</comment><comment><USER35> learn some self control. i have a smartphone, i don't want it to break. i run it, it doesn't run my life, i'm more efficient and better for it. my last smart phone, i bought used for $90 and i used it for a year and the only reason i'm not using it now is because i got the nexus 4. no one has to spend $1000 on a smart phone.

</comment><comment><USER36> You can have the best of both worlds. I have an unlocked iphone 4. I pay as I go. I have no data plan. Before I go out I download what I need so I can read it offline (books,videos,articles,podcasts,etc) Google maps works offline so I dont fear of getting lost. I take pictures for myself

</comment><comment><USER6> I recently got a Nokia C2-01. Very basic thing that is used for calls and texts and doesn't need charging every half a day.

It's also on Giffgaff in the UK so it costs me £20 top up a month for what I was paying around £80 a month for before.

It is a weight lifted from my shoulders in many ways.

<comment><USER37> £20 on giffgaff? You must make a lot of calls to non-giffgaff users on the go. And how were you paying £80 before?

The advantage of having a smartphone is that you can get by easily on something like their £10-12 plan simply by using data to make free skype/gtalk/SIP calls and everything else is unlimited anyway.

Battery and general reliability wise, nothing beats a good old Nokia though!

<comment><USER6> Yeah 800 inclusive minutes on that deal. I make a lot of calls (650-700 mins a month).

£80 before: handset included and crap contract.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> same happened to me. my nexus one broke several months ago and had to use a nokia brick that was lying there but i hate it.

I do not call people more often, i use my laptop for communicating with people now. I'm still stuck with that nokia though because i think we live in a time of ugly phones.

i was about to get a 4s until they introduced that elongated screen, not to mention the huge screens on the androids. Seems like if i want to get a thin cool smart phone these days i have to put up with excess everything. i wish there was a minimalist phone out there that was still cool.

<comment><USER39> >i wish there was a minimalist phone out there that was still cool.

Well, you could always get a BlackBerry, you know. Or if you REALLY want minimalism, then buy a refurbished Razr V3 off of eBay. And this quote is a bit puzzling:

>i was about to get a 4s until they introduced that elongated screen

You can still buy the 4S -- Apple is still selling it.

<comment><USER38> i don't know, my experience with nexus one is that once a new model comes out, the older one soon becomes unsupported.

I still use snow leopard for instance and i can't get many new features because of that.

So yes i can buy a 4s, but i was hoping for one that won't go unsupported soon. Plus you're right about the blackberry, i am considering one.

<comment><USER40> Apple still supports the iPhone 4, which is older than the iPhone 4s. What do you have against the 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5? It will still fit in your pocket, and it's lighter, thinner, etc.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER41> I wonder why his first instinct was to just lay out $1000 instead of seeing if he could get his current one repaired or replaced on insurance?

<comment><USER33> I was wondering the same thing.... I was also wondering how he could NOT just get another iPhone for less than $1000? Seriously, if my iPhone died tomorrow, and I had no insurance, I could still easily buy one on ebay for like $300 or $400.

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> "You should follow me on twitter here" ... Groan.

<comment><USER43> Please explain why that line bothers you and refrain from insults. This is not reddit.

<comment><USER42> I'll amend it, sorry, but it aggravates me slightly when someone is writing several paragraphs, describing in detail how much they are free from digital distractions, and so on and so forth, and at the very foot they say... Follow me on twitter.

... it speaks volumes to me, none of it good.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER44> Now I'm waiting to hear how deliberating it feels when the computer breaks ... wait, how is one going to blog then?

<comment><USER45> When I was out of the country on vacation recently, I didn't turn on my phone and I didn't bring my computer. I didn't have internet (because I refuse to pay for internet at hotels) either.

Writing (by hand) in a journal and just experiencing the place you are in can be amazing. I found that some of the most amazing parts of my trip were when I (a) was not trying to takes pictures or something and just took it all in or (b) when I was writing in my journal about what had happened during the day.

Every time I've gone without a computer/phone for several days has been wonderful. I really should do it more often, but I have a job where I have to use both all day...

</comment></comment><comment><USER46> You should check out iCracked. They'll either fix your iPhone or buy it from you!

</comment><comment><USER47> I live without a phone for 3.5 years. I use Messages (on OS X) to text friends that have iphones, and Google Voice for those that use something else. So far it works pretty well for me.

</comment><comment><USER48> Let me guess: for some BS superficial reason, like:

1) Getting the chance to switch to Android which is, like, soooooo much better (and "open")?

2) Getting the chance to live life without constant connectivity, and appreciating the small things?</comment>


Amazon Redesigns Website - <AUTHOR> http://www.amazon.com/ref=gno_logo

<comment><USER2> BTW, you're seeing a test that most people can't see. Here's what it looks like: <http://mashable.com/2011/09/04/amazon-redesign/></comment>


WebGL Endless Forest - <AUTHOR> http://oos.moxiecode.com/js_webgl/forest/index.html

<comment><USER2> Nice (in Chrome and Firefox)! Any idea why this doesn't work in Safari? I just get a spinning circle.

<comment><USER3> Do you have WebGL enabled in Safari? (it isn't by default)

To turn it on, first turn on the Develop menu in Advanced Preferences, then select "Enable WebGL" in the Develop menu.

<comment><USER2> Yep, WebGL is enabled. I don't get the unsupported browser message, just the same spinning circle that the other browsers have, except this one doesn't go away.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Working on an old PC without supported graphics drivers/hardware - any chance of a video?

<comment><USER5> Wow... No 3D card? That's a SERIOUSLY old PC.

<comment><USER4> It's (probably, as I didn't build it - Radeon HD3400 for those who know better) 3D capable but apparently not on the WebGL support list of FF/Chrome/whatever.

<comment><USER6> Chrome and firefox blacklist webgl on certain setups, but you can force-enable it. On chrome, put about:flags in your urlbar. As well as being able to enable webgl, there are many other goodies there. On firefox, put about:config in your urlbar, search for webgl, and enable the force-enabled option. Your system will either crash, freeze or display an endless webgl forest...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Very cool! Is the source for this available anywhere?

<comment><AUTHOR> It is not obfuscated. View source fot the code, and for the linked libraries (also not obfuscated).

<comment><USER8> Seriously cool. Many thanks for not obfuscating the source :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, but I just submited. It is copyrighted to OutsideOfSociety 2011, <http://oos.moxiecode.com/>. They did the great job.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Looks great on my over 5 year old PC running Ubuntu 64 bit (yes PC != Windows!) with an nVidia 6800 and Google Chrome browser.

Both CPU cores were at 70% though.

</comment><comment><USER10> Something innately eerie about this, nice work. Did you come up with the "scene" yourself or is it borrowed from somewhere?

<comment><USER11> Nice work! Where is the music from?

<comment><USER12> Click the (i) Info button in the top left.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Hm i get an 404 on wordpress :-|

</comment><comment><USER14> that's pretty cool. It's fluid and nice. Rare enough for WebGL ;-)

</comment><comment><USER15> Hey guys, let's please stop posting all those trivial WebGL and CSS3 demos on HN, ok?</comment>


The Perishable Startup - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@shaanbatra/the-perishable-startup-fb449b3b6f3f <comment><USER2> Really thoughtful piece from someone we rarely hear from when startups fail, an early employee.

To me the money quote is one of the best description of a founders responsibilities I've ever read:

The founder must be a gardener, treating its people and processes with a delicate touch, ensuring the company is growing healthily and sustainably. The founder must be an architect and know when to hack and when to build, always aware of the foundation beneath the surface. Most importantly, the founder is a navigator sailing into uncharted territory.</comment>


New Biz Idea? Forget Writing a Business Plan, Use Mockingbird Instead - <AUTHOR> http://bostinnovation.com/2011/02/23/got-a-new-business-idea-forget-about-writing-a-business-plan-use-mockingbird-instead/

<comment><USER2> Mockingbird is hardly the first online wire-framing tool.

<http://balsamiq.com/>

<http://iplotz.com/>

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

<comment><USER3> Sure, but is it really necessary to make every review a roundup?

If you like a product and that's all you've had experience with, I don't think you need an obligatory mention of other products you can't actually recommend.

I know we like the horse-race aspect, and are chagrined to see someone who wasn't first to market credited as if they were the only product of its kind.

But people who actually use these products just want to endorse something that makes their life easier. They do that in context of how it differs from better-known alternatives, not compared to other things the reader has probably never heard of. I think that should be an accepted viewpoint.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Don't business plans serve a different purpose then mock-ups? Are you sure you can just switch one with the other and call it the same thing. A mock-up may be contained within a business plan, but a mock-up can't replace a business plan.

<comment><USER3> They do. They can differ in importance, though.

The specifics of the product used to be less important. Now with a lot of web and app-based businesses, it's like you can't really explain the opportunity fully without showing the way it works with a mock-up. So that's why they suggest it's a more vital first step to pitching your business idea.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> New Biz Idea? Forget Mockingbird, Use a Napkin Instead! But seriously there's no end to this. If you have a great idea, you need to put the pieces in place to not only develop & build the product but also to ship and monetize it.

I will say it is very simple to get caught up with a business plan and spend less time on communicating what the idea is in terms of what it takes to get it built. That's the easy way out and not the solution.

</comment><comment><USER6> Ask HN: Mocking bird alternatives?

<comment><USER7> <http://keynotopia.com/> is ftw. Super cheap, works on most devices, and when exported to PDF... the links (aka interaction) is maintained.</comment></comment>


The Fifth Generation Computer Project in Japan - <AUTHOR> http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/5thgen.htm <comment><USER2> I remember living through the AI Winter and Japan's Fifth Generation Computer Project.

Those of us who were interested in AI at SAIC, at least the people I talked with the most, were skeptical of the approach of using Prolog. This is also a personal bias since I have logged about ten years of commercial Lisp development and only perhaps six or eight months of using Prolog professionally.

That said, there are languages like Prolog, Lisp, Haskell, etc. that really help get different perspectives on developing software.

<comment><USER3> Symbolics sold quite a few Lisp Machines to Japan. Also running Symbolics Prolog.</comment></comment>


It's always windy somewhere: Balancing renewable energy in Europe (2017) - <AUTHOR> https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/07/its-always-windy-somewhere-balancing-renewable-energy-in-europe/ <comment><USER2> Wind enthusiasts keep making claims that if only they could average wind over a huge area, it wouldn't be intermittent. But when you look at wind power generation data for huge areas such as the CAISO (California, Oregon, etc.) control area or PJM (New England to the Midwest), it doesn't work that way.

Here's PJM's actual wind power generation for the last 24 hours.[1] Peak, 2300MW. Valley, 250MW. A 9:1 range. Those are real numbers from real wind turbines connected to a huge real world power grid. Today is a bad day; about 4:1 variation is normal. CAISO has similar numbers.

[1] [https://dataviewer.pjm.com/dataviewer/pages/public/windpower...](https://dataviewer.pjm.com/dataviewer/pages/public/windpower.jsf)

</comment><comment><USER3> > As a result, for solar to balance out the variability of wind, European > countries would have to install ten times the existing capacity.

> The authors consider that level of expansion unlikely, which is why most of > the analysis is focused on wind.

Is this really so unlikely? The amount of Solar panels in use now seems so pitifully tiny and the cost of installing them is only going downwards as well as their power output going upwards.

I guess the article means that it's unlikely by 2030, but I think a 10x increase in Solar power is more likely than somehow the Balkans and the North Sea countries magically balancing their different power loads.

<comment><USER4> One problem with solar in Europe, especially in Northen and Eastern Europe, where heating in the winter dominate consumption, is that almost all solar potential is in the summer, when less electricity is needed. This is basically a result of the Northern latitude of Europe (Madrid and NY has about the same latitude).

For wind it is the opposite. Wind is strongest in the winter when the consumption is highest. This makes wind a much more attractive option in Europe than solar, given that electricity can't be stored easily at grid level.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> dumb question on power producing /usage: say that Germany (and countries linked to it's power lines) produce 100 units of energy but only 95 are used that moment /day or whatever. What happens to the extra power? Where does it go? I understand that they try not to overproduce but I'm sure it happens

<comment><USER6> That's actually a very good question. My understanding is incomplete, but this is what I make of it:

What you suggest turns out to be impossible. The amount of energy that goes in and out must be identical. So this means:

* Either less goes in: The required mechanical effort to make the turbine turn goes down. It will have to dissipate the extra energy as heat and catch fire, or it will become less efficient, and have stronger winds behind it as less wind energy has been used.

* Or more goes out: The transparting cables are not perfect, they are a kind of very low resistor. They do convert electricity to heat. A short is an extreme example of this. In this case, a smaller version will happen: cables will get slightly hotter.

As I understand it, monitoring and balancing the electrical grid is a very complicated problem.

Recently, and discussed on hacker news, the opposite happened in Europe: Not enough power was available on the net because of political circumstances. All the generators had to push a little harder, so they all slowed down a tiny bit. Result was the 50HZ of the european grid went a very tiny bit down to 49.999...Hz, and some clocks lost 6 minutes of time as a result.

<comment><USER6> A small appendix: This is what would happen if nobody controls the grid. Of course, humans and automatic systems do control the grid.

So if you have a gas turbine, and you see it slowing down, you feed it a little more fuel and vice versa.

Unfortunately, solar and wind energy make this impossible. So for wind, the turbine has brakes, but there are videos on youtube where they fail or get overloaded, resulting in burning turbines. I guess solar does something similar (Edit: the braking not the burning of course).

In practice, the non-renewable energy turbines like gas are the easiest to control so these are used to balance the grid.

On top of all of this, running a turbine costs a lot, so there is a lot of grid management going on to decide who can generate which amount of electricity. Decisions made at this level better match the actual load on the grid, or the catastrophic consequences of the post above happen.

Brning turbine: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y1Ib0GM5x8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y1Ib0GM5x8)

<comment><USER7> Wind and solar is actually pretty easy to throttle back in principle; wind turbines need to have braking capabilities anyway in order to handle high winds, and you can literally just stop drawing current from solar panels whenever you like. The reason this doesn't happen in practice is mainly one of policy: we want to use wind and solar rather than fossil fuels, so they have priority when selling to the grid and non-renewables either have to shut down or pay penalties for not being able to do so fast enough in the form of negative energy pricing. This pushes up the cost of non-renewable generation which has to be made up for by charging more for it when it's needed, driving up the overall cost of electricity for consumers. (This is why Germany has both negative electricity prices at the wholesale level and some of the highest consumer electricity pricing in the world.)

EDF were talking about possibly needing to change this in France in the future, since otherwise their heavily nuclear-based power grid couldn't cope with the increased levels of highly variable renewable power they're predicting. The nuclear plants just can't adjust their output power fast enough or deep enough.

<comment><USER8> > Wind and solar is actually pretty easy to throttle back in principle; wind > turbines need to have braking capabilities anyway in order to handle high > winds

Also, many wind turbines are variable pitch: the angle of the blades can vary, so the controller can put them in a less efficient position to reduce the turbine power, or "feather" them to produce no power (the brake is also used in this case to completely stop the rotation).

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Another way to help is for users to conserve energy. Most people and companies can reduce their consumption while gaining quality of life by paying more attention to their use.

While conserving doesn't solve everything, it seems an essential part of the strategy.

<comment><USER10> Amory Lovins' "negawatt power" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negawatt_power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negawatt_power) .

In his 1985 book he "argued that utility customers don't want kilowatt-hours of electricity; they want energy services such as hot showers, cold beer, lit rooms, and spinning shafts, which can come more cheaply if electricity is used more efficiently."</comment></comment>


Show HN: Remote control your digital life from Twitter - <AUTHOR> http://ctrltwit.com/

<comment><USER2> This reminded me directly of some mIRC Scripts. For example, if you had to change your nick, instead of using the private command `/nick newnick`, the script will give you a command you can use publicly on the channel, like `!nick`. So everyone can know _twice_ that you're changing your nick. Also people who was using theses scripts used to change nicks every time they do something (eating, sleeping, going to work, ...) — and I always hated that because it was adding too much useless noise to IRC.

Now... this tool seems quite similar. Controlling your life should happen in secret - I don't want to know when you want to turn on the bulb in your toilets, I don't care how much space you have in your dropbox, …. All theses things are private matter.

Twitter is already full of useless noise, don't add more...

<comment><AUTHOR> I kinda hear ya.

However - I always thought of twitter more as a communication protocol rather then a content app. I think twitter today is indeed already full of noise, and anyway there's no way to use it for content without curation tools.

<comment><USER2> Yes. Me too (hence the comparision with IRC/mIRC Scripts). However this kind of communication is just purely personal, I doubt anyone is interested in the fact that some friend wanted to know how full his dropbox was at some time in the day. Maybe the _result_ is interesting, but the trigger is not.

But if this works with direct messages, i'm buying it!

(edit: typos)

<comment><AUTHOR> I have an example in another comment of how I can buy stock with it:

CTRL @robinhoodapp buy $FB USD100

And then apart from making the transaction I can start convert with my followers about this deal. What do u think of such scenario?

<comment><USER3> Sure! By all means advertise to the world that you're about to make a trade. The HFT folks will love that.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Seems really interesting but not a huge fan of filling other peoples timelines with my Tweets controlling things. Or am I missing something?

<comment><AUTHOR> There are two options: 1\. if you reply to a tweet, or start a tweet with a '@', then most of your followers won't see it, unless they follow the replied to handler. so if i tweet a command to @instagram, only @instagram followers among my friends will see it, and there aren't many... 2\. there will be cases where you want to engage a conversation around a command you send. for example:

CTRL @robinhoodapp buy $FB for USD100

So you buy FB stock AND you get your friends talking about it. Is it a good buy? a bad move?

<comment><USER5> A twitter-based app used to "like" Rihanna pictures on Instagram has also the credentials to spend huge amount of money ?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Out of topic, your page include logos of other large companies such as Linkedin, Dropbox, Instagram, is that legal? You can do that while they are not your customers/clients? Maybe what the logos mean is you can get your information from those company from your app. My first impression is those companies are your customers/clients.

<comment><AUTHOR> I didn't consult with a lawyer or something... each company and their "branding" rules for API users and most allow to use the logo under certain restrictions that to my best understanding I don't break. Dropbox for instance had to approve the app before I could use the API and I bet they had a look at the website beforehand.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Nice, so you use an external service you have no control on to command external services you have no control on. Great !

</comment><comment><USER8> Nice product, well executed. Reminds me of IMified a few years back.

If you want to build something similar yourself for your own app, it's very easy with the Wit API [1]

[1] [https://wit.ai](https://wit.ai)

</comment><comment><USER9> Cool product and congratulations on launching. I kind of had a similar idea but never got round to building it.

What would put me off is the fact that I'd be cluttering up the feeds of those that follow me with things that should be done in private. Surely it would work better with DM's rather than public tweets?

Also I'm not sure how practical / time saving this will be. For example liking a photo on instagram using CtrlTwit doesn't really save me any time/hassle than just going straight to instagram.

However like I said it is pretty cool and I'll give it a try. You're presentation is great too.

</comment><comment><USER10> Reminds me of Hubot [http://hubot.github.com/](http://hubot.github.com/)

I suppose you could also use twitter DMs for notifications from services.

</comment><comment><USER11> I built something more general months ago[0], but I found that using twitter to send commands adds a fair bit of overhead and noise to your twitter stream which is annoying.

It's a novel idea and the I see the appeal, but keeping down the clutter in the twitter stream is a key issue imo.

[https://github.com/k0nserv/twicmd](https://github.com/k0nserv/twicmd)

</comment><comment><USER12> I believe there was a similar product that did pretty much the same thing 3-4 years ago. Would anyone recall? What happened to them? I don't know if I would like controlling my personal stuff in a public environment.

<comment><USER5> Maybe IFTTT can react to specific tweets.

<comment><AUTHOR> I bet they can, but then you'll need a separate recipe for each different command, and as a user you'll need to enable each command before you can use it. This way you just start by tweeting and it just works (after 1st oauth process that is, that is initiated as a reply to your tweet)

</comment></comment></comment><comment> philipp-spiess It's a good idea but it's easier to click the link and do the action manually instead of typing the text and click reply. So there is absolutely no gain for me in using your product.

<comment><AUTHOR> fair enough. i know it's for the keyboard savvy type.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Hey guys, I like your landing page a lot--what framework did you use for it? It looks like you used something out-of-the-box, not necessarily from scratch.

<comment><AUTHOR> its from themeforest. pick your landing page here: [http://themeforest.net/category/marketing/landing- pages](http://themeforest.net/category/marketing/landing-pages) (and then modify a little...)

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Sorry but I don't see the use of relying on Twitter for requesting other APIs !

</comment><comment><USER15> This just seems like a good way to annoy your followers.

</comment><comment><USER16> Interesting product

<comment><AUTHOR> Thx! I hope it can appeal to non-hackers as well as it involves typing commands, much like CLI IMO.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: How much equity is reasonable for early employees? - <AUTHOR>

How much equity is it reasonable to offer to employees(lets say, the first 10) who have joined you in early stage startup phase? <comment><USER2> I'm interested in practical cases for this too. Also, check this link by pg <http://paulgraham.com/equity.html>

I quote from the article:

> For example, suppose you're just two founders and you want to hire an > additional hacker who's so good you feel he'll increase the average outcome > of the whole company by 20%. n = (1.2 - 1)/1.2 = .167. So you'll break even > if you trade 16.7% of the company for him.

> That doesn't mean 16.7% is the right amount of stock to give him. Stock is > not the only cost of hiring someone: there's usually salary and overhead as > well. And if the company merely breaks even on the deal, there's no reason > to do it.

> I think to translate salary and overhead into stock you should multiply the > annual rate by about 1.5. Most startups grow fast or die; if you die you > don't have to pay the guy, and if you grow fast you'll be paying next year's > salary out of next year's valuation, which should be 3x this year's. If your > valuation grows 3x a year, the total cost in stock of a new hire's salary > and overhead is 1.5 years' cost at the present valuation.

</comment><comment><USER3> It really depends on the state of your company, your product, and what you're bringing to the table vs. your employees.

If you've got two non-technical founders and you're going to need an engineering team of 40 to bring your product to market, then excluding the dilution of investment, you probably want %50-%70 of the company in your pool.

Of course, if you're looking for a rule of thumb, it is usually %15-%20, and it doesn't matter what the state of things is, you offer senior engineers a fraction of a percent and no anti-dilution clauses....

Oh, and you split the stock enough such that this fraction of a percent sounds like a large number of shares.</comment>


Is IT bad for your health? How our jobs might be killing us - <AUTHOR> https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2016/4/it-bad-your-health-how-our-jobs-might-be-killing-us <comment><USER2> > _I am absolutely convinced that I set myself up for this event over my > decades of travel, lack of sleep, late-night dinners, entertaining clients, > and long hours at the office in my 20s and 30s._

I did this for over 5 years starting at 18 (in a non-tech career field). I vowed that I would never take a position where 55+ hour work weeks are the norm. I hated working. My hatred at work enveloped my personal life. It was hell for me and everyone who was close to me.

It's ridiculous that we (generalizing) allow this to be the norm. I understand extenuating circumstances, but we have _got_ to take better care of ourselves instead of letting the rockstar dev or code ninja monikers control us.

Regardless of my opinion on work hours, I'm glad that OP is in better condition.

Edit: The author is a CIO, so it's more understandable that longer hours are expected. I'm more talking about the 2-3 year devs in field who are letting their jobs drive the bus.

<comment><USER3> In most fields, somebody working for 2-3 years hardly qualifies as experienced, much less a veteran.

<comment><USER2> Around here (my physical locale), calling someone a 2-3 veteran is a colloquial term. It just means that the person has some experience.

Edited.</comment></comment></comment>


Are People in Silicon Valley Just Smarter? - <AUTHOR> http://singularityhub.com/2015/06/15/are-people-in-silicon-valley-just-smarter/

<comment><USER2> The answer is way simpler than this article suggests. What's really happening: Energetic, technically inclined people are moving to SV from elsewhere to attend the best tech schools in the country, make contacts with the valley's huge network of tech investors, and land a job with Google/Facebook/Appple. Coffee shops and chance encounters play some role in spurring innovation. But what's really going on is that Silicon Valley's attracting innovators to come there.

</comment><comment><USER3> No, some of us are dumb as shit. Bell curves don't lie son!</comment>


Simple Strongly-Typed Events - vitaly-t https://github.com/vitaly-t/sub-events <comment> vitaly-t For anyone looking for a simple strongly-typed events library, I wrote _sub- events_ : [https://github.com/vitaly-t/sub- events](https://github.com/vitaly-t/sub-events).

It requires no time to learn, is quite basic, while still very flexible and well-documented: [https://vitaly-t.github.io/sub- events](https://vitaly-t.github.io/sub-events).

If your project does not need anything advanced, in the likes of _Rxjs_ , or you do not want to invest much time learning it without an actual need, _sub- events_ offers an easy way to get started with strongly-typed events.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Hey, I've also got one in progress, can we join effort?

This includes other modules related to forking events and async processes

[https://github.com/Kelerchian/florcky](https://github.com/Kelerchian/florcky)

<comment> vitaly-t Join effort how? I have finished my project, it is complete.

I have looked at your project, and it looks like you have bundled events implementation with something else entirely. An event library should probably stand alone in this ;) However, my implementation is a bit more advanced.

If you are interested in using sub-events, and have questions - feel free to ask me on GitHub! ;)

<comment><AUTHOR> I do agree that your implementation has less stringly-typed code, which is nice.

I'm actually more interested in creating more awareness on how events can be used to communicate between components in-place of shared states.

I'm also curious on why did you choose to use class over interface, which is zero-cost, to implement subscription.

<comment> vitaly-t Both Event and Subscription class have their own state to maintain, plus all the methods, so they cannot be interfaces.

As for sharing events between components, there is nothing to it, you just expose an event object from the component, so anyone can subscribe.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


The Mobile Publishing Problem – We Need to Replace Websites with Cards - <AUTHOR> http://jasonlbaptiste.com/featured-articles/the-mobile-publishing-problem-we-need-to-replace-websites-with-cards/ <comment><USER2> Why don't we just give up teaching children literacy already? It's clearly too much trouble to have actual content, let's make the whole society one big touch screen swiping exercise.</comment>


Show HN: GrooveJar – Conversion Rate Optimization Software - <AUTHOR> https://groovejar.com/?ref=QJY8 <comment><USER2> I've been following these guys for a while, and just a single recurring client will pay for the investment. When you've done the basics in search and ppc optimization, the next step is CRO without a doubt.

</comment><comment><USER3> Great insight, thanks for sharing. This is really benficial and great motivation for anyone thinking of becoming an entrepreneur

</comment><comment><USER4> I would gladly pay $49/mo for a product that increases conversion without making my site unusably annoying.</comment>


Order-Revealing Encryption - <AUTHOR> https://crypto.stanford.edu/ore/ <comment><USER2> Impressive work. Especially for producing an implementation.

But be very very careful about ever using it ( and really any cryptography that does more than standard encryption/ signing) in practice without understanding the security it provides. Revealing element order can in fact reveal most of your data set in some cases. There are cases where leaking order is safe and very useful and there are cases where it is not safe despite there being nothing cryptographically "wrong" with the scheme.

(Edited) To give an example: although not the exact same primitive,some Order Preserving Encryption schemes leak square root(n) bits where n is the bit length of your plaintext[0]. For social security numbers, this would mean you loose about 5 bits of entropy and there are only 10 or 11 bits to start with in many cases[1].

And as they say, attacks only get better and people are actively working on attacks using order leakage[2].

Just because something is provably secure doesn't mean it is the right kind of secure for your application. Crypto is not pixie dust. You actually need to understand the exact guarantees something provides.

[0][http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~aboldyre/papers/operev.pdf](http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~aboldyre/papers/operev.pdf) [1][http://www.pnas.org/content/106/27/10975.full.pdf](http://www.pnas.org/content/106/27/10975.full.pdf) [2][https://twitter.com/hackermath/status/741054948612308992](https://twitter.com/hackermath/status/741054948612308992)

<comment><USER3> > Revealing element order can in fact reveal most of your data set in some > cases.

A contrived example to demonstrate this is if you published some kind of database about behavior observed from IP addresses, but using ORE-encrypted IP addresses instead of plaintext ones. If the database explicitly contains all 2³² IPv4 addresses, someone can then perform a series of comparisons to sort the entire database (which is an explicit goal of ORE), which then reveals the plaintext values because they're exactly equal to the positions of the entries in the sorted list!

A subtler case could arise if the database is complete _for some range of IP addresses_ and an attacker happens to know the plaintext values at the bottom and top of that range. Then the attacker can learn the plaintext values of everyone else in the range.

An even subtler case could arise if the attacker simply knows a bunch of specific plaintext values. In that case, the attacker can learn constraints on the numeric values of other database entries, which could mean, for example, learning the first 1-2 bytes of a particular IP address, which could confirm or disconfirm hypotheses about a user's ISP or geographic location.

Edit: I'd like to see some of the more subtle attack ideas that the people you linked to are developing!

<comment><USER4> That's me above in Ian's [2]. We're hoping to have something ready to share by the end of the month. I'll post a Show HN when it's available.

In the mean time, here's a paper from some folks in Norway that shows attacks against two prefix-preserving IP address anonymization schemes:

[http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/11767831_12](http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/11767831_12)

<comment><USER2> Oh right, it was either you or your advisor who told me the IP address story.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> It's important to note that either:

\- the things you are encrypting are not numbers, or

\- your scheme is not as secure as you would like it to be,

where the second point means that necessarily there is some information leakage: that is, more than just their order can be derived from ciphertexts. This is not necessarily bad; the questions is what it is that is leaked, and if that is harmful to your situation.

The website links to two papers, one for each of the above categories, of which only the second one is sufficiently efficient to be of any use. Apart from the order of two ciphertexts, it reveals the index of the first bit at which the ciphertexts differ.

<comment><USER6> > the things you are encrypting are not numbers

I do not believe there's any data that cannot be represented as a number, so this point confuses me.

<comment><USER5> That's a good point, indeed any sequence of bytes can be interpreted as a number. But it may also encode an element of a set that has an ordering differing from that of the numbers. (For example, you could order, let's say, the set of all cat pictures by how cute they are.) That's what makes the difference.

<comment><USER6> So if I understand properly, the real issue is whether knowing the ordering and the data type would allow one to infer something about the contents?

I also wonder if there's a way to make that statement of when this causes something to be revealed more mathematically precise... maybe it's something that could even be automatically detected by someone with access to the original data?

<comment><USER3> You could talk about whether something is unique. For example, Social Security Numbers, telephone numbers, and IP addresses are designed to be unique. By contrast, given names, ages, or favorite colors are not unique in isolation.

Unfortunately, that turned out not to be a hard-and-fast distinction because things that are not unique in isolation are often unique in combination.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi- identifier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-identifier)

The Netflix deanonymization paper discusses how things (how much you like a movie) that are _very_ non-unique in isolation can be _very_ unique when you have an extremely large number of them. Arvind Narayanan (one of the authors) has given a few discussions of the problem of dimensionality for privacy; one way of thinking of it is that there's an unfathomably large amount of volume in a very high-dimensional space, so there's an extremely large amount of opportunity for points in it to be very far away from each other, even if there's nothing especially "atypical" about the individual points.

This is closely related to the "curse of dimensionality"

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

although the curse is often stated from the analyst's perspective when hoping to find patterns, whereas the phenomenon Narayanan is describing is more from the perspective of the individual whose data are in a database and who hopes to appear similar to other individuals in order to retain anonymity, yet turns out to be very distinctive merely because of the number of dimensions.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I find this interesting. I am a bit more interested in the implementation FastORE linked to at the bottom of the page. It seems to be pretty reasonable.

I've been thinking for a while now about what could be accomplished with partial steps towards homomorphic encryption. ORE is an interesting twist on homomorphic encryption that I hadn't thought of before --- one can merely sort encrypted data. I wonder what sorts of unexpected things one might be able to do with the ability to sort encrypted data?

</comment><comment><USER8> Not related to the content, but in the Background section I tried to click on "Provably secure" sort of expecting it to expand. Meanwhile under ORE constructions, the similarly-styled "Semantically Secure Order-Revealing Encryption" is a clickable link.

</comment><comment><USER9> Is an ORE scheme implying that if you have some key, you have an efficient algorithm to sort through the plaintexts of a set of ciphertext. That would be faster than decrypting them and comparing them all.

<comment><USER3> Their paper says

> In our scheme there is a public algorithm that given two ciphertexts as > input, reveals the order of the corresponding plaintexts and nothing else.

It's not clear that this is "efficient"; it might be somewhat computationally intensive. But you can do it using only public information and without being able to decrypt the data.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> So why ORE instead of headers validated with a signature?</comment>


Dell's XPS 13 Developer's Edition: My Missed Opportunity  - <AUTHOR> http://magnatecha.com/dells-xps-13-developers-edition-my-missed-opportunity/

<comment><USER2> Not so much a problem with your choice of computer, but with the specs you chose for it. You will only make this mistake once... ;-)

</comment><comment><USER3> Christ, the problems of a princess. Sell the Pro and buy the XPS.</comment>


Accurate Recording: What makes European DVRs so much better than American DVRs - <AUTHOR> http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/06/accurate_recording_the_one_amazing_feature_that_makes_european_dvrs_so_much.single.html

<comment><USER2> I like my DVR better: its called Netflix.

<comment><USER2> Not sure why I'm getting downvoted here. I'm a cable cutter, DVRs hold no meaning to me.</comment></comment>