Cactus for Mac – A fast, easy and free static site generator - <AUTHOR> http://cactusformac.com/ <comment><USER2> Maker here. This is a nice UI based on the open source: [https://github.com/koenbok/Cactus/tree/v3](https://github.com/koenbok/Cactus/tree/v3)

We decided to make it free to fully focus on [http://framerjs.com](http://framerjs.com), out prototyping tool: [http://cactusformac.com/blog/posts/cactus-and- glueprint.html](http://cactusformac.com/blog/posts/cactus-and-glueprint.html)

<comment><USER3> The mac only stuff is a real turn-off. It might be informative to look at the website visitor statistics to see the piece of the pie you're missing.

<comment><USER4> Different perspective: Mac-only is a very attractive feature for some people. I blog infrequently, and only ever do it from one of my Macs. A solid, native Mac-only app is the only way to make the best possible app of this kind for OS X.

So for me, and others in similar circumstances, it is actually a very attractive feature (and the thing that made me click through to see what Cactus is all about).

I don't care about blogging from Windows or Linux, since I don't ever do that.

(I do care about open source, though, so I would encourage the authors to open source the whole app, if at all possible.)

EDIT: Hmm, but after playing with it I see that this tool doesn't actually provide native _editing_ , which is the part where a native OS X app would be the most useful. This tool just kicks you out to your text editor to actually edit content. (I was thinking it would be something more like MarsEdit, but instead of publishing to one of the blog services, published to a static blog.)

<comment><USER5> Don't know if your current demography actually take into account your point of view, many things kill a app but nothing kill it faster than assuming that you and your audience are on the same page. A example, would be me.

<comment><USER6> Maybe you're not the maker's target demographic. Not being a Mac user, for example.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> It's frustrating to try a static site generator that doesn't just spit out a directory I can upload to a webhost. Why all the required Amazon integration?

<comment><USER8> It does. Check the .build folder for uploadable files to any host.

<comment><USER9> Indeed it does, but IMHO it could do it more openly (i.e., provide easier access directly from the app itself).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Must be something in the water. I'm working on something similar I hope to release early this year that should work cross platform. My plan was to build it as a self-hosted web app, so all the editing happens in the browser, but trigger commands that eventually generate the static site, and help with deploying. See you in show HN in a few...

<comment><USER11> I'm working on a static site generation web app as well, although mine won't be self hosted. Good luck to you! For me it was a convergence of: 1) Outstanding cost/benefit of static file serving. 2) Current static site solutions being too complicated for most end users. 3) Bloated content management system alternatives.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I took it for a spin and enjoyed it. It would be even more awesome if there was a deploy to Github pages that was as easy as the AWS deploy.

</comment><comment><USER13> It would be great if you could deploy this as easily in places other than AWS.

<comment><USER8> You can, you can directly upload the contents of the .build folder to any host.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> So I wrote a 2 liner plugin that replaces .html with no extension, with the idea that I could upload them to s3, but facing the following problems:

\- server doesn't deliver the file with the right mime-type. \- uploading to s3 doesn't yield the right mimetype either, I have to manually set them.

Can Cactus deal with either of these?

Edit: okay, so put prettify: true in config.json, and it generates directories with index.html in them for directory urls. Neat. I don't really want dir/ urls, but it'll do.

</comment><comment><USER15> I wrote a static, static site generator called "Jr" ([https://github.com/Xeoncross/jr](https://github.com/Xeoncross/jr)). There really is nothing you need to do but write your posts. The client's browser renders the whole site when it's requested.

There is nothing to install, nothing to setup, nothing you have to generate. I don't know how to make it simpler and yet still self-hosted.

</comment><comment><USER16> I have personally used in the past Fenix - [http://fenixwebserver.com/](http://fenixwebserver.com/)

It's very easy to deploy sites and even runs [http://localtunnel.me/](http://localtunnel.me/) to share your locally hosted site over the web.

</comment><comment><USER17> Shameless Plug: I built a simple app which allows creating/managing and hosting static websites using Dropbox: [http://www.websrvr.in/](http://www.websrvr.in/) It minifies and gzips all your html, js and css too.

</comment><comment><USER18> The video demo[1] makes it look like this is a command line template generator? Be great to have some additional information about what this tool does and how it does it.

[1] [http://vimeo.com/46999791](http://vimeo.com/46999791)

<comment><USER2> Cactus is a static site generator. That is a video about the command line version. The site and docs should do a pretty good job at explaining. Or just download it and check it out for yourself.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> Is there an open-source replacement for Dreamweaver that's any good? There have been many attempts, but few have both a good WYSIWYG editor and site- maintenance capability. Many have some strong bias towards some template system, not raw HTML5.

<comment><USER20> Not open-source, but [http://macaw.co/](http://macaw.co/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> I'm curious as to why this project is using Django templates (as opposed to Jinja2)? Django is a heavy dependency if you're just planning on using Django templates. Also, from what I've read, it appears that Jinja2 is more extensible.

</comment><comment><USER22> I like this app very much but only used it during the trial. (It was a bit expensive imho.) It is nice to see that is open source now. Really hoped this would be the next iWeb successor. I dint know about framerjs; it looks neat!

</comment><comment><USER23> Cool app, is there something similar for Windows? Frequently people ask me for simple web editing software...

</comment><comment><USER24> Why would someone want to use this instead of jekyll or similar?

<comment><USER20> Not all people are comfortable with a terminal window you know...

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> just an opinion: i really don't want to tie my site with an os x-only app.

for these geeky people to tinker with static site, i _think_ they would prefer actively developed, unix-friendly tool.

but what do i know, i'm just one person.

<comment><USER8> It's available on UNIX systems from the CLI, and is open source: [https://github.com/koenbok/cactus](https://github.com/koenbok/cactus)

<comment><USER25> Cool then. I didn't know about this.</comment></comment></comment>


Did Seth Godin help to save Google Maps? - <AUTHOR> http://blog.referralcandy.com/2013/06/21/seth-godin-google-maps/

<comment><AUTHOR> I know the title's a little incendiary, but the interaction captured really did feel rather prophetic.

That said, I do think it's important not to oversimply, and to avoid making a narrative fallacy.

I'd like to hear your criticisms, as well as your thoughts on the evolution of Google Maps, and about general ideas of building things that solve problems vs. building things that are interesting.

Specifically- we know that what's interesting might not necessarily be useful. But is it possible that something useful NOT be interesting, and die because nobody chose to talk about it? Can anybody think of any examples?</comment>


I attended my first Hackathon and built something for Women in Tech - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/code-like-a-girl/i-attended-my-first-hackathon-and-built-something-for-women-in-tech-dd92297f799#.m0tog3etf <comment><USER2> I'm struggling with the concept of '#LadyBrag'. If you do something good, and are proud of it, just talk about it - You don't need be in a 'special group' to do it.

Women (quite rightly) want Equality in the workplace and various other gender biased industries, but I've always felt that the route to achieve it, is _not_ about creating women-only platforms. That's not Equality - that's Exclusion.

Which is exactly the thing you are trying to overcome.</comment>


Facebook asked users if pedophiles should be able 2 ask kids for sexual pictures - <AUTHOR> https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/03/05/facebook-asked-users-if-pedophiles-should-able-ask-kids-sexual-pictures/395535002/ <comment><USER2> Main discussion: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16523348](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16523348)

</comment><comment><USER3> Not good.</comment>


Trump withdraws from Iran nuclear agreement - <AUTHOR> https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2018/may/08/iran-nuclear-deal-donald-trump-latest-live-updates <comment><USER2> Can anyone actually give me an elevator summary of what this actually means without relying on tribal language or dog-whistles? Clicking link related doesn't actually explain why any of this matters to me outside of signaling and posturing; it just sends me to a timeline of various pundits and celebrities telling me how I should feel bad and angry about this.

<comment><USER3> The US had a deal with Iran where they wouldn't pursue nuclear weapons, and we would ease back on the sanctions that were hurting their economy. Trump scrapped the deal, which (I presume) means the sanctions are going back in effect.

That's going to hurt Iran's economy (and, to a much lesser extent, the US economy as well). It's also going to raise international tensions.

Whether it's good or bad depends on your interpretation of whether Iran was keeping their end of the deal (the spirit, the letter, or both).

<comment><USER4> > The US had a deal with Iran where they wouldn't pursue nuclear weapons, and > we would ease back on the sanctions that were hurting their economy.

Note that we did not agree to remove direct sanctions, only secondary sanctions (sanctions on non-Iranian entities doing business with Iran.)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Now that North Korea is becoming more friendly, one only hopes he's not grasping at straws to create a military conflict to create a distraction from his personal issues.

<comment><USER6> Unfortunately for everyone but Trump, if he _wants_ North Korea to be less friendly, it's not exactly hard to do so. :/

<comment><USER4> Scrapping the Iran deal when Iran was widely viewed as being in compliance would be a _very good_ way to make North Korea less inclined to deal.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Title should be _" Trump withdraws U.S. from nuclear agreement"_ or just _" U.S. withdraws from nuclear agreement"_.

The distinction matters as this is something the U.S. (not just Trump) is doing. The rest of the world care less about who or what causes the U.S. to act this way.

</comment><comment><USER8> One chart that I saw, indicates that the amount of business with Iran that the US does, is about $200 million dollars per year. The EU combined however, did about $25 Billion in trade with Iran last year. So it is much more significant to the EU than the US.

<comment><USER9> Somewhere Putin is laughing historically. This is all so easy for him

<comment><USER10> Hysterical laughter of historic proportion.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> The irony beeing that iran, culturally is much closer to the west then all those "natural" allies in the region except israel. The few iranians i met where quite open minded, scientific endavouring and driven people. Very creative. They even have that messianic martyr streak that makes for such nice founder stories.

"For one year we suffered, wearing the cross of 16 h days- and then my company died, but on the third day, i pivoted and it ressurrected." the pull through narrative of the champions.

Iran is one huge memorial for top-down modernization gone wrong along with turkey and i presume very soon - saudi arabia. Turns out- that when some cruel elite percived as a outsider force inserts a ideology, the people will reject it quite violently and ralley behind whatever oppossition available.

The iran nuclear deal was a attempt to contain and prevent a local nuclear arms race. Which now will go into full gear i presume- israel has nukes, saudi arabia and iran will want them too - or at least join some retaliation strike pact like NATO. Which can be provided by any major nuclear force in the region. So lots of diplomats currently travelling and offering nuclear umbrellas.

The colonial era drawn states dissolve and entitys alligned by culture/religion re-appear. What remains are some mixed out of the way clusters for minoritys, a small kurdistan, syria and a very large iran(including most of the former iraq) with some proxy states, and a wahabi- power block. Turkey will be cut off from the wahabi-block and get stuck in something similar to vietnam.

Lots of the players will go for nukes to cement there conquered territories and enjoy the status of North Korea - in particular since the US seem to be on its way out into isolationism.

Russia supports iran currently by accident. Israel has chosen the lesser competent evil as ally and supports saudi arabia against iran- although the very same saudi arabia still propels most the religious narrative of the islamic oppossition to israels existance.

Its a great game, and the west is actually percived by now as a unreliable buisness-partner and dangerous - often absent replacable ally.

A good coherent strategy would be for the west to force its actual allies - not by propaganda or current ruler, but by cultural development direction( israel, kurds, iran) into a coherent block and leave the rest of the region to do what it always does, repeat past mistakes.

PS: North africa is turning into a bunch of warlords playing europe for ressources and bribes in return for holding refugees back.

</comment><comment><USER12> Macron had it about right: Domestic reasons.

Also, Trump is more comfortable with as well as playing strong man. He doesn't want the U.S. to win; _he_ wants to "win". If he could, I'm sure he'd scrap term limits, fair elections, and line up his kids for dynasty.

Finally, I'll mention that China's in the process of de facto purchasing Afghanistan. Not the political quagmire, but rather dominant if not sole proprietorship over the commercial interests. This will place them at Iran's border. And what's the name of that global trade "road" Xi is building?

The counterbalance there will be Russia, to the extent they can back up their military with the commensurate expenditures. Not a counter-balance that works in the U.S.'s -- nor Europe's -- favor.</comment>


Data Mining Novels Reveals the Six Basic Emotional Arcs of Storytelling - <AUTHOR> https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601848/data-mining-novels-reveals-the-six-basic-emotional-arcs-of-storytelling/ <comment><USER2> Previous thread: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11986214](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11986214)

</comment><comment><USER3> Um. So they took three bits and ran through the permutations - all falling (000), fall then rise (001), fall rise fall (010) and so on. How does this require 'data mining'?

<comment><USER4> It's data exploration, not ML research. It can be replicated easily with out- of-the-box NLP tools.

I think this work will be much more interesting once they add to the study literature written in more languages.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Direct link to paper: [https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.07772](https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.07772)</comment>


[Ask HN] Can I crash at yours for Startup School - <AUTHOR>

Hey All
I am coming from Scotland to startup school, just about to sort out my accommodation and figured I would post here first.
I would prefer to stay with other people attending startup school / related events or are programmers / startup founders, I have checked out airbnb so if you are one of the hosts listed then please reply with your listing.
I dont mind paying etc, I would just prefer not to spend my time at some anonymous hotel, so if you have a spare room or couch and dont mind someone from across the pond invading your space then please reply or email me at email@example.com
Cheers
Some about me, I am a cofounder of a web based spreadsheet company, coding most erlang and javascript, outside that stuff I like football(soccer) photography and music. <comment><USER2> <http://www.airbnb.com/groups/startupschool></comment>


Socrates to Euthyphro: three strikes and you are out - <AUTHOR> http://www.90cubedrule.com/socrates-to-euthyphro-three-strikes-and-you-are-out/ <comment><USER2> Here's the interesting thing: to many people following a monotheistic religion, Euthhypro's second definition of piety (the post labels this as the First Attempt), which Socrates dismisses so easily, is the answer, i.e. piety (being devout) is _by definition_ following the rules given in the Old/New Testament or the Quran (and ahadith).

One can perhaps try to generalize Plato's argument about Greek gods always quarreling, etc. into trying to analyze and find logical inconsistencies in these books. Indeed people have noticed these, e.g. in the case of Quran sone suras that seem to contradict earlier ones, but they have explained these away with various ingenious devices, because they are pious.

So, we arrive at the analytic situation where people are pious because they follow the book and they follow the book because they are pious, which to me is equivalent to the Euthypros's definition.

<comment><USER3> The difference is that the Greek mythology is different from, eg, the Hebrew one. The former had relatable Gods, with all the human insecurities, foibles and inconsistencies, while the latter had a God that handed down a consistent message about morality.

I don't know that saying "piety is what the Christian God says is piety" is useful, because in that case it is your responsibility to have sex with your brother's wife if he can't conceive a child, to not kill your slaves unless they've damaged your property and to beat your wife only with a thin stick, and not a thick one.

The point is that, in any religion, someone picks and chooses. That may be you, or it may be the scholar/marketing person who wanted the message to be relatable, up to date and consistent. So the question becomes, when the choice comes, what is chosen?

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Dialog between two entities is pretty much all there is. If you screw with the dialog, suffering results.</comment>


Ask HN: Imagine you can solve one of your own problems today – what would it be? - <AUTHOR>

There have been so many startups lately that seem to resonate with a very painful problem. Dropbox with file sharing. Uber with hailing a cab. Airbnb with finding lodging.<p>What's the next behemoth? <comment><USER2> Email.

Every inbound message will fall into one of the following categories:

1\. Something that I need to remember. This could be some information that will be of future value in a project, or it could be the contact information of the sender. (Help me store it efficiently).

2\. Something I need to do. (Help me track what I'm supposed to do so I don't forget).

3\. I don't need this. (The delete button works well here, as do filters).

This may be easy (though I doubt it) for rugged individualists, but for those of us who work with a group of people, it's extraordinarily difficult.

I guess I am not really whining about email. I am whining about the interaction of email with project management, task management, calendars, and archives.

And how have I solved this? With a human being. Can your software compete with the $50,000/year price of a person? I'm interested.

(In writing this I realize that I am now advocating the hollowing-out of American civilization by making white-collar workers obsolete, replacing perfectly nice people with machines. Sorry, America.)

</comment><comment><USER3> International payments. Anybody? Please?

<comment><AUTHOR> What about Google Wallet? Venmo? Paypal? Square Cash? Are they solving that problem at all?

[https://www.google.com/wallet/send- money/](https://www.google.com/wallet/send-money/) [https://venmo.com/](https://venmo.com/) [https://square.com/cash](https://square.com/cash)

<comment><USER3> Funny how the three you linked are all US-only..

If you're lucky enough to not live in a country accepted by PayPal, there's no service, that I know of, that would allow you to accept payments, cash out, and not require your customers to sign up.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Growing a team. (Hiring, Training, Managing).

</comment><comment><USER5> Education (I'm working on it right now)

</comment><comment><USER6> Health.

</comment><comment><USER7> Home Ec

<comment><AUTHOR> Home Ec, what's that?

<comment><USER7> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_economics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_economics)

Basically, "stuff to help me keep my household clean and organized and running well."

<comment><USER5> I associate Home Ec (from Middle School) with cooking lol. I know thats not probably the only focus of it but thats what comes to mind.

What about stuff like [http://www.handybook.com/](http://www.handybook.com/)?

<comment><USER7> _" I associate Home Ec (from Middle School) with cooking lol. I know thats not probably the only focus of it but thats what comes to mind."_

That's falls in the category, certainly (well, "cooking for the home", which differs somewhat from "cooking for a restaurant", which wouldn't really be Home Ec), but it stretches much further.

 _" What about stuff like [http://www.handybook.com/](http://www.handybook.com/)? "_

Falls in the broader space, and might be part of a broader solution, but probably most people aren't going to outsource most tasks so there's still a lot that doesn't cover.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Diablo devolved – magic behind the 1996 computer game - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/galaxyhaxz/devilution <comment><USER3> I'm old enough to remember that when Diablo came out, it seemed to be running too fast. This was before 3D video cards were mainstream (which happened with the Voodoo and Quake in 1997 maybe?).

I was working a lot with blitters at that point and running into speed issues on the Mac because Apple liked to release machines with half-width busses, which cut memory throughput by almost half. I'd be lucky to get 60 fps on a fullscreen 640x480 blit in 256 colors on a 68k Mac, but PCs seemed to do it trivially, and also do more with masking and color mapping at nearly the same speed.

Even PowerPC Macs ran between 2-10 times slower than their Pentium counterparts on tons of games. For example, Descent ran at 10 fps or whatever and was barely playable on a PPC 601, but ran great on a 100 MHz Pentium. Even Duke Nukem 3D ran full speed on a 100 MHz 486dx4. That could not have all simply been due to a lack of optimization on the Mac side.

This is all from memory so take it with a grain of salt. But I'm mildly curious what kind of approaches went into their blitting, and if they used things like palette animation (which wasn't available on the Mac because Apple put a blocking call on the palette change, which synced it to the refresh rate, although I never tried it from another thread because I don't think it was thread-safe).

<comment><USER4> I had totally forgotten about Descent, thank you for the reminder. That game seriously scared me as a 13 yo boy at the time. I loved it.

<comment><USER5> The entire genre of flight and space-sims has almost entirely gone away and to me its such a tremendous shame- with today's multi-monitor setups and wide screens they would be such a better experience. X-wing, descent, flight simulator, were all so much fun. I still have my MS sidewinder collecting dust in a closet- which may be part of the problem- these games really needed a decent flight stick to enjoy, and that's a big barrier to entry.

<comment><USER6> To this day I have to 'invert' my y-axis when I play for any sort of 1st person perspective game.

<comment><USER7> Same here! IIRC for me it's due to Duke Nukem 3D's default settings. (Annoying when games "forget" to respect this option, e.g. Crysis 3 in the VTOL flying segment.)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I remember going on vacation with my parents and all I had was the Diablo game manual, because I got the game 1 hour before we left. I read the manual about 100 times in the car... good memories

<comment><USER9> For me it was the Bard's Tale. A demo of Skara brae and a couple of levels of the first dungeon was put on a magazine cover in the UK months before the game came out.

I played that demo to oblivion, I can still pretty much remember all the street layouts

<comment><USER10> Absolutely the same addiction here. Even the identical looking houses (at least on the CPC464) I'm pretty sure by muscle memory I could find the Guild and dungeon entrances, I did them so many times.

I loved that game so much I finally, last week, made it to Orkney to see the actual Skaea Brae. Little bit of artistic licence taken, but Orkney is an amazing place to visit regardless.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> For anyone interested in the history of Diablo, the GDC post mortem is well worth a watch: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VscdPA6sUkc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VscdPA6sUkc)

Quite a bit of detail regarding the origin of the game, going turn-based to real-time, the studio becoming Blizzard North, etc.

Also here's the original design doc: [https://www.graybeardgames.com/download/diablo_pitch.pdf](https://www.graybeardgames.com/download/diablo_pitch.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER12> There is a slowly but steadily progressing engine being developed at [https://freeablo.org/](https://freeablo.org/)

<comment><USER13> It's such a shame there's no modern spiritual successor to Diablo / Diablo 2. The aesthetic and gameplay was great.

<comment><USER14> Isometric ARPGs are niche now, but there's still games being made. Off the top of my head:

\- Titan Quest (just got an update and a new expansion!)

\- Grim Dawn

\- The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

\- Victor Vran

\- Path of Exile

\- Warhammer 40000 Inquisitor - <USER2>

\- Torchlight 1 & 2 (I wish Runic games hadn't imploded...)

It is unfortunate that most of these don't have the same level of randomness than Diablo has, but they're pretty good games in their own right.

<comment><USER15> I played path of exile years ago and it was great.

<comment><USER16> Me too! It was fantastic. Ironically, I stopped playing a few weeks before it came out of closed beta (just didn't have time and then never went back to it... now its changed so much I feel a bit overwhelmed by the thoughts of going back to it)

I actually heard about PoE on HN too, back in 2012 :)

<comment><USER17> The latest update has a sort of dungeon building mechanic and its so so good. Highly recommend trying it out again. The art & graphics have improved _a lot_ since closed beta too (I was there ... just never left)

<comment><USER16> Thanks for the comment! I may give it another look.

(although a big reason behind why I haven't is that I mainly play on consoles now, will have to see how well it runs on my shitty machine!)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Just leavin dis here [https://archive.org/details/Diablo_1996_Blizzard](https://archive.org/details/Diablo_1996_Blizzard)

<comment><USER19> > According to Jurannok, a Blizzard representative on their Support Forums, > the game has been discontinued and Blizzard has no current plans to update > it or start selling it again.

> Sources:

> > [https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/13595100072#post-...](https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/13595100072#post-2)

> > [https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/14611181553#post-...](https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/14611181553#post-2)

> As far as I am concerned, that makes Diablo 1 abandonware, so feel free to > download this iso, legally.

That's quite a jump of logic! Just because they don't publish it now doesn't mean they don't reserve the right to publish it in the future.

<comment><USER20> I think abandonware is always illegal, it's just that nobody cares enough to enforce the copyright. Betting on this when you have blizzard with their trigger happy lawyers seems risky, IMHO.

<comment><USER19> Assumed abandonware, anyway. Some companies have legit given the rights over to the public domain for stuff. Hasbro releasing the encryption keys and rights to Atari Jaguar comes to mind.

[http://www.atarihq.com/news/1999/990514.html](http://www.atarihq.com/news/1999/990514.html)

<comment><USER20> True. The Id software releases are another major example. I am very gratefull for these gifts.

But 'abandoned' implies forgetting or not caring. If a company actively takes some action to allow access, the word 'abandoned' doesn't seem appropriate anymore.

What do you think about the word 'donated' or simply 'licensed'.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Haven't played Diablo 1, I grew up with Diablo 2 (I'm a bit younger lol), but for me D2 represents the most memorable athmosphere in gaming. Man...that music in Act 1...

Years later I bought 2 copies of D2 to replay it. Needed 2 because no shared stash to transfer items between characters.

<comment><USER22> I played stupid amounts of both. In early highschool I was sick for a few weeks, and spent all of it playing D1. One afternoon I decided I needed a drink, so I got up and as I turned around I saw a Hidden melting away into the aether. I decided I should probably break for half an hour or so.

In late highschool I remember walking home from school and seeing a newspaper on our front lawn, and in my head I tried to press the 'tab' key to activate the popup telling me what it was.

As far as the music goes, I honestly can't recall any D2 music nearly as easily as the D1 music comes to mind. The town music is obviously the most iconic, but the caves and hell soundtracks give me goosebumps every time. Combined with the sounds of magma demons, and vipers, and balrogs, and mages. Oh man, those were the days.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> What I like about this code is how much direct it is. No fancy abstraction. Brutally to the point with switch() and if() and that's it!

<comment><USER24> This code was automatically decompiled, though, wasn't it? The original is likely quite different.

<comment><USER23> I don't think it is vastly different in terms of program structure. They lost variable names and maybe some optimized intermediary calculations, but functional calls and branches are usually preserved through decomp (unless some compiler optims have been activated)

<comment><USER25> Could you provide an example to corroborate your claim?

<comment><USER23> This, maybe: [https://github.com/avast- tl/retdec/blob/master/README.md](https://github.com/avast- tl/retdec/blob/master/README.md)

There is a talk presentation linked in there that gives nice explanations and examples.

I used to do a lot of decompilation of Java apps back in the days. It's easier to decompile but still, all intermediary variable names disappeared ^^.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> Alright, let's take a look at these remaining bugs that never got fixed... _puts on Godly Plate of the Whale_ ;)

<comment><USER27> my dude

edit: this guy quests

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Having never played Diablo, is there any way I can still play it on a modern computer?

<comment><USER29> Yes! I actually played it through last year.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/wiki/index#wiki_diablo_i_gam...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/wiki/index#wiki_diablo_i_game_guide)

I've also used this HD mod that adds some characters from Diablo II, better multiplayer, and increases the difficulty:

[https://mod.diablo.noktis.pl/download](https://mod.diablo.noktis.pl/download)

<comment><USER28> Thanks! I'll try it out. Did you liked the game?

<comment><USER29> Of course! It wasn't my first time playing it had just been years since my last playthrough.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> What is the legality of something like this? Really cool project!

<comment><USER31> I think as long as they don't include DIABDAT.MPQ or any of the content / texture files from the original game it should be ok.

<comment><USER32> It is. And it's mentioned at the bottom of the github page, too: "This work is being released to the Public Domain. No assets of Diablo are being provided. You must own a copy of Diablo and have access to the assets beforehand in order to use this software."

<comment><USER33> This seems legally questionable given that all of the source files have a copyright notice from Blizzard indicating distribution without written permission is prohibited.

<comment><USER34> No one is distributing them. If you have the content files, you can point the open source engine to read them.

<comment><USER33> The guy on Github is distributing the source files which have a Blizzard copyright notice on them saying not to distribute them.

<comment><USER35> Which is really weird. Because the code is reverse-engineered and I'm 99% sure the author used Hex-Rays Decompiler (due to variable names, etc).

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> There is no cow level..

[https://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/69604/what- does-i...](https://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/69604/what-does-it-mean- there-is-no-cow-level)

<comment><USER37> These are not the cows you are looking for

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

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> QA tester on Diablo 2 Expansion here.

There was sort of an infamous bug I found on the old D2 Expansion discs that let you bypass securom as well as play as expansion characters in non- expansion games using non-expansion discs. In fact, once you put in the D2 Expansion disc, all the configs got copied and if you switched to the regular non-expansion disc you were able to retain all the expansion features for as long as you had your PC on ;)

</comment><comment><USER39> We should clone this repository before Github gets sent a DMCA takedown notice.

<comment><USER40> >"This work is being released to the Public Domain. No assets of Diablo are being provided. You must own a copy of Diablo and have access to the assets beforehand in order to use this software."

<comment><USER33> Just because someone says what they are doing is legal doesn't mean it is. IANAL so I don't know but the source files have Blizzard's copyright warning in them

<comment><USER41> And now that MS owns github there's reason to believe they're going to be more active/compliant about bullshit DMCA take down requests.

<comment><USER42> It wouldn't be a bullshit takedown request. The source code even had a copyright notice before the repo owner "removed the fear factor".

[https://github.com/galaxyhaxz/devilution/commit/bb01c6f084b8...](https://github.com/galaxyhaxz/devilution/commit/bb01c6f084b8d6525785f7f41a2ceca18c06c86c)

In fact, when you wrote your comment, those notices were still there, so you have no excuse for writing such an ill-informed comment.

<comment><USER43> The copyright notice was fake, I was the one who typed it up originally and removed it so people don't think this actually came from blizzard.

It will be interesting to see what happens on Blizzard's end. I won't be surprised if the repo gets DMCA'd. It's not a big deal to me either way, I did this for the learning experience.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> The repository is ~1mb. Far less than most websites.

<comment><USER44> You need the actual game DVD to bootstrap it. It's a brilliant way to side step any copyright concerns for modding under first sale doctrine.

<comment><USER18> Agreed. I believe some of the open source rebuilds of various SimCity titles use the same tactic.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER45> So many fun hours spent playing with friends and talking about it!

Thanks for the work and trying to breathe new life into it. Look forward to new generations enjoying it.

</comment><comment> what-the-grump I might still have the disks to all except d3.

</comment><comment><USER46> could be there any effort to conversion to opengl support, or it would be too complex to handle ?

<comment><USER47> It would probably be better to port to SDL2, which can then use whichever rendering backend is best for your platform.

</comment></comment><comment><USER48> So many gotos..

</comment><comment><USER49> It's amazing that Chris Metzen's terrible kiddy drawings from the Diablo and Starcraft manuals got him promoted eventually to creative lead.

<comment><USER50> metzen _created_ the diablo universe (with roper) and the starcraft universe (with phinney). he had a bit more involvement than some drawings in manuals.

<comment><USER49> Still, the pencil drawings in the manuals looked like EGM envelope rejects.</comment></comment></comment>


Richard Stallman Was Right All Along - <AUTHOR> http://www.osnews.com/story/25469/Richard_Stallman_Was_Right_All_Along <comment><USER2> This article doesn't seem to give any examples of specific predictions Stallman made that have turned out to be correct. All the article seems to be saying is that Stallman seemed paranoid, and present events seem to justify paranoia.

(Incidentally, people always feel that.)

Can anyone give some examples of specific predictions Stallman made that seemed surprising at the time, but that have come true? I'm not saying there haven't been any, just that such a list would be more useful than this article.

<comment><USER3> "Right to read" [http://falkvinge.net/2011/06/03/stallmans-the-right-to- read-...](http://falkvinge.net/2011/06/03/stallmans-the-right-to-read-becomes- dreaded-insane-reality/) (Related: [http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20069648-264/richard- stall...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20069648-264/richard-stallman- break-free-of-e-book-chains/) and <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_to_Read>)

Here's a lot more in the articles: <http://stallman.org/#politics>

Edit: IFSO: Richard Stallman: The Dangers of Software Patents; 2004-05-24 (transcript) <http://www.ifso.ie/documents/rms-2004-05-24.html>

Copyright and Globalization in the Age of Computer Networks - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/copyright-and- globalization.h...](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/copyright-and- globalization.html)

2nd edit: You are a Terrorist (Du bist Terrorist) German, English Subtitles - YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdIA0jeW-24>

<comment><USER2> Can you give me some examples of specific predictions he made that you feel are most prescient?

<comment><USER4> _From the "Right to Read" 1997-02..._

"Dan had learned that each book had a copyright monitor that reported when and where it was read, and by whom, to Central Licensing." -> _Streaming content, DMCA tech_

"It was also possible to bypass the copyright monitors by installing a modified system kernel." -> _Jailbreaking_

"But not only were they illegal, like debuggers—you could not install one if you had one, without knowing your computer's root password. And neither the FBI nor Microsoft Support would tell you that." -> _trusted computing_

"But ordinary users started using [free debugging tools] to bypass copyright monitors, and eventually a judge ruled that this had become their principal use in actual practice. This meant they were illegal; the debuggers' developers were sent to prison." -> _DeCSS, Sony_

\----

 _From "The Dangers of Software Patents" 2004-05-24..._

"Copyright covers a work of authorship. A patent covers an idea. ...... But a patent is an absolute monopoly on the use of an idea. Even if you could prove that you had the idea yourself, that would be irrelevant: you're still not allowed to use it." ->

 _Apple filed U.S. application Ser. No. 10/842,862 entitled "Multipoint Touchscreen," filed on 2004-05-04 and published as U.S. Published Application No. 2006/0097991 on 2006-05-11._

\---

 _From "Copyright and Globalization" 2001-04-19..._ (Selected bits that were interesting to me)

"In the ancient world, books were written by hand with a pen, …… you could copy a part of a book, then write some new words, copy some more and write some new words and on and on. This was called "writing a commentary" — that was a common thing to do — and these commentaries were appreciated. …… Now copyright was developed along with the use of the printing press and given the technology of the printing press, it had the effect of an industrial regulation. It didn't restrict what readers could do; it restricted what publishers and authors could do. …… copyright law no longer acts as an industrial regulation; it is now a Draconian restriction on a general public. It used to be a restriction on publishers for the sake of authors. Now, for practical purposes, it's a restriction on a public for the sake of publishers. …… To enforce it requires surveillance — an intrusion — and harsh punishments, and we are seeing these being enacted into law in the U.S. and other countries." -> _NAFTA which is mentioned in the talk, SOPA, Protect IP, etc_

<comment><USER2> Predicting DRM phoning home in 1997 does not seem startlingly prescient. Nor locked down systems; those already existed.

The only novel idea I see here is the point that copyright, which was originally a restriction on publishers, has now become a restriction on consumers. But that doesn't seem so dystopian. Everyone is a publisher now.

<comment> loup-vaillant > _But that doesn't seem so dystopian. Everyone is a publisher now._

When you think it through, it does seem dystopian. Imagine that e-ink matures, and paper isn't that useful any more. That we no longer purchase dead-tree copies of our books, magazines, and so on. I think that can happen. I read right now a novel on my electronic reader, even though I have a dead-tree copy, because my reader is lighter and slimmer than my book.

Now, how do I lend you a book for which I have no dead-tree copy? I can't give you such a piece of dead-tree (and naturally lose it for myself). All I can do is make a copy and give it to you. And then I'm a publisher. And then what I'm doing is forbidden. And then I can't even lend you my book.

 _(One could imagine laws/DRM that would erase the copy I own if I ever give another copy to someone else. However, I don't think the IP Lords would want even that. They'd say it harms their revenue.)_

But that's not dystopian enough. True dystopia is when the means of enforcing it kick in: the only know way right now is a "total surveillance" regime, where free software itself is forbidden.

<comment><USER5> """"Now, how do I lend you a book for which I have no dead-tree copy? I can't give you such a piece of dead-tree (and naturally lose it for myself). All I can do is make a copy and give it to you. And then I'm a publisher. And then what I'm doing is forbidden. And then I can't even lend you my book."""

So the "dystopia" is the artificial disability to lend books?

How about the counter-balance that millions of books are now available everywhere with an internet connection, instantly obtainable, with no real trees sacrificed and much cheaper than print editions (that one could get better, though). And you can even get 1-2 chapters for free to check if you want to buy the book (in Amazon kindle at least). Plus, everyone can become his own publisher for his own work (no copyright problem in this case) with easy worldwide distribution and no mediators.

So, yeah, you can't lend your book (almost, see below). But you can lend your ebook reader to others in the family. And how common is dead-tree book lending anyway? How about your friend buys a digital copy for himself (possibly after downloading the free sample chapters?).

"""(One could imagine laws/DRM that would erase the copy I own if I ever give another copy to someone else. However, I don't think the IP Lords would want even that. They'd say it harms their revenue.)"""

One doesn't have to imagine. iTunes store allows you to share your songs (haven't checked about books) with 5 other accounts.

And Kindle permits you to lend books to others for 14 days: [http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200549320)

<comment> loup-vaillant > _So the "dystopia" is the artificial disability to lend books?_

No, that's not bad enough. But it sure leads to a dystopia. Quoting myself: " _True dystopia is when the means of enforcing [copyright] kick in: the only know way right now is a "total surveillance" regime, where free software itself is forbidden._ "

By the way, it still applies even when Big IP do permit you to share with a few friends.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> "I, too, disregarded Stallman as way too extreme... Only a short while ago I would've declared this as pure paranoia - but with all that's been going on recently, it's no longer paranoia."

I considered him extreme until I thought more about it, then came to agree with him on most major points...

... that was in 1993.

Glad to see others here.

<comment><USER7> Since you recognised this issue so long ago, I'm sure you have some recommendations regarding how we can solve it?

<comment><USER8> I'll tell one thing which won't solve it: religious zealotry and advocations for everyone in the world to commit to FSF purity.

Open software advocates should treat closed and controlled systems in the same fashion that techies implore content creators to treat piracy: an unstoppable force of nature that must be accepted and competed with, rather than feared and demonized.

Also underlying both issues: the need for improved business models to sustain free software and open content. People like to get paid, and t-shirts + donations doesn't always cut it.

<comment><USER9> Disclaimer: I'm no RMS fanboy by a long stretch of the imagination.

What you're saying is that they should throw their arms up in the air and say "welp, that's how the real world works in reality, so might as well give up and accept it".

But I think you're being unfair. The normal open advocates don't fear and demonize closed source. They may secretly pity it, they may secretly hate it, I don't know.

The RMS vision of open source, when you get right down to it, is that of two sandpits. In one sandpit, everyone shares their toys. In the other sandpit... who cares what they do?

If someone comes from the closed source world and wants to play in the open source sandpit, they have to play by the rules (sharing and openness).

I think RMS gets frustrated sometimes, because he doesn't want the other people playing in the open playpit giving their stuff away to the people in the selfish (no sharing) playpit. I think his thinking is that it would mean that there is less incentive for them "over there" to examine and repent of their selfish ways.

Sometimes the people in the no-sharing playpit have rich relatives that buy them nice toys for Christmas. But RMS views that as okay, if the open playpit turns out to have a need for one of those, he is confident that the open source people have the ability to make something even better, if they can be bothered to do so.

<comment><USER8> I am, admittedly, attacking a straw man, though in the case of RMS and a few others, it's not far off from reality.

> In one sandpit, everyone shares their toys. In the other sandpit... who > cares what they do?

That's the attitude I mean. The fact is, a lot of people care: engineers, customers, and investors are making really interesting things happen in that sandpit. For FOSS advocates to avoid the development happening there is a hindrance to progress, not in aid of it. Maybe if RMS let himself own an Android or iPhone (perhaps with SIM removed), he would understand why these new platforms are a big deal, and be better equipped to create truly open equivalents, instead of insisting on living in his purist tech world of the 70's (wget-ing web pages? _really_?).

Closed source isn't evil. It's selfish. And we expect a certain level of selfishness from both individuals and companies. I fully support shifting our values in tech and elsewhere to a greater esteem for community and the commons. But calls for all software to be open and free is unrealistic: many people can't or won't create value without a selfish incentive. Time spent advocating against closed platforms is better spent making open platforms better.

<comment><USER9> I think that RMS is quite happy to cut all ties with the closed source world in order to build a brave new one that is an idealised programmers paradise. I look at the GPL and it seems to me the clear intent there is to have this separation, this "software apartheid" if you will.

You and I on the other hand, might look at it and say "okay, but how do these brave new programmers eat? Who pays their rent?" Back in the day, RMS used to just do some hand waving and point out that if (sorry: "once") the economic benefits of open source are realised that companies will do this because they realise it is in their best interests.

I'd be delighted to be wrong, but it seems that only a tiny minority of Open Source developers are actually hired by enlightened companies to work on their Open Source projects full time. Google being an obvious big contributor in that regard. But here's the thing with RMS, he is such an extremist that even Google's contribution isn't enough. He doesn't want a measly couple of buillion dollars worth of commitment, he wants it all, the heart mind body and soul must be dedicated to the cause or you are unworthy.

The sandbox metaphor breaks down when we look at one of the things that RMS objects to about Google, that they use Open Source, and they provide 'free(ish)' software services in return, but because those web/software services sit behind the "big-iron" curtain Google are never obligated to release their changes and improvements. Hence the GPL becomes ineffective in that scenario.

The problem of course is the risk of ghetto-isation of the open source developers. You and I might be reluctant to leap in boots and all because of petty economic concerns and so keep at least one foot in the closed source world. This lets us see lots of exciting things happening there. But don't forget that there is lots of stuff happening in the open source world. Closed source may look more exciting now, but RMS is taking the long position that in the end his legions of trusty hackers working together will create something much better than the corporations all doing their own small secret things.

And something genuinely spectacular happened last year. Last year was (finally) the long predicted, long awaited year of Linux hitting the mainstream. Except of course it wasn't Linux on the desktop, but Linux on mobile (Android).

Unfortunately, as open as it might be, it seems to me that Android is deeply flawed as far as alignment with the GNU philosophy of openness, what with the carriers doing all kinds of horrible things (some behind the scenes, some brazenly out in public). I hear stories of Microsoft making more money off Android than the do off Windows mobile (or whatever it is called this week), simply by threatening legal action, and patents of dubious parentage. Not to mention some of the openness being more open than others (e.g. Google releasing the code to some partners but not others, and not the public)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Agreed - Stallman was right all along. What's working against Stallman though is that his doomsday predictions are being delivered in piecemeal fashion. Each slight erosion doesn't seem too bad by itself. Only in retrospect does the magnitude of the problem reveal itself. Governments and corporations have evolved processes to change laws in such effective manners as to evade most human observation.

tldr; No one tells you the plane's not coming - they just tell you it's 20m late, perpetually...

<comment><USER11> I think the main flaw is that, no matter how popular GPL software becomes, it doesn't stop the government from saying "your machines need to run this closed-source software in order to be used or sold in this country".

<comment><USER12> That would be a difficult law to enforce without declaring martial law. If smartphones are any indication, it's difficult to design a device that cannot be convinced to run unauthorized code.

<comment><USER13> Here's an easy way: promote the use of a security cryptographic communications protocol. Fund development of a plugin for Windows. Advocate or even pass a law that banks, the IRS, and other organizations support it. Ignore requests that the code be published and/or available for other OSes. Ta-da! You've effectively discouraged use of free OSes.

Okay, it's still possible to have a system without proprietary software. Just much harder, and not worth the frustration to most people.

See the links from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEED> as an example of that scenario in action in South Korea.

<comment><USER14> It would be reverse engineered pretty quickly.

Reverse engineering code is pretty hard - but that sounds like a lot of motivation.

<comment><USER13> Did you read the link? "Unfortunately support for SEED alone is not enough to allow for secure transactions with Korean web services."

There's motivation, but still something missing.

<comment><USER14> What's missing? The wiki page doesn't say.

<comment><USER13> Strange! I go to "<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEED>, I search for "not enough" and it's on the end of the first paragraph.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> This article is just a complete non sequitur. The Stallman angle has nothing to do with any of the problems it cites. Free software wouldn't prevent Obama from signing an indefinite detention bill, it won't stop the government from forcing ISPs and DNS roots to do harmful things — the benefits of free software are completely different things.

<comment><USER16> One example: the free software movement should lead to a better DNS system where governments and corporations will have no control over how and where we access information online. I continue to support the EFF and groups like it in order to have funds directed into research on critical issues like this. Would you prefer a GPL DNS or proprietary?

<comment><USER17> The current DNS system is based almost entirely on GPL software...

<comment><USER18> free software, yes. GPL software, no. BIND is ISC liscensed...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> One problem with software you don't have control over is that _anything_ is subpoenable. We don't have to wait for the government to impose their own tracking mechanisms, because as soon as they get probable cause, that's it (which includes missing a finger, having >7 days food supply at home, if you believe Rand Paul anyway). Or just look up Google's government transparency report[1]. When you don't have control over your data, it's just a warrant/polite request away from the government.

Not all government access to private data is bad. After all, it's needed to stop things like child prostitution/pornography rings, and yeah, terrorism. But what I liked so much about this article was putting the slippery slope into perspective. It's easy enough to quote the transparency report, "The number of user data requests we received increased by 29% compared to the previous reporting period." and go "well - just 29%" but that's _one year_. I'll make the surprising bet it doesn't go down. Compare to three decades ago, and a lot of what's happening now seemed draconian then.

[1] <http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/>

<comment><USER3> There's no control over what is bought for customers, or if they're nice, they allow opening it up but there's an automatic gag order. Thanks to anti- circumvention laws among others. Part of the powerful copyright lobby.

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> I think we are giving the government and Obama far too much credit for being stupid/naive/uncunning.

Of course the NDAA funding auth is going to be passed. It must be - thus, they throw on insidious clauses like the detainment, and Obama is the lucky guy who just happens to be in the unfortunate position where he must sign it even though he opposed certain items.

Here is an idea: require all laws to be single subject, single focus. If it is a funding measure, it cannot expand powers/modify any existing laws other than to either increase or decrease funding. If it is a law, such as one that is focused on the detainment of [whomever] then that should be a singular law stating under which circumstances this law shall be applied.

This is the number one source of corruption in the government, the ability to abuse the structure of the legal system.

By doing this one thing, you will cripple lobbying, create transparency and create accountability (you'll be able to understand where each rep is on each issue)

<comment><USER21> You make sound like the administration did not want the powers granted by the bill. This is incorrect. The administration initially opposed the language because they believed it _restricted_ powers they already had to detain indefinatly.

"the authorities granted by the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, including the detention authority, are essential to our ability to protect the American people... Because the authorities codified in this section already exist, the Administration does not believe codification is necessary and poses some risk."

<comment><USER20> No, I am saying the administration is expertly farking with public perception.

I am aware of their want to ensure their power was protected.

I am saying that most people are being played to think that obmama expressed "concerns" but was painted into a corner where he needed to sign this. The fact is they ADDED / ENSURED the clauses they wanted were in there, then played the perception of the signage to make it look like they were the VICTIM rather than the perp.

There is a very very good reason obama is a constitutional lawyer as potus.

Hint: it is not to ensure your freedoms.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Richard Stallman may have been right about the issue but that doesn't mean is approach to solving these issues nor his philosophy are in the same bucket.

I'd say he's always been right to a point since what he said years ago was true then and happens to be true now at a larger scale. It's not necessarily prophetic, just keenly observant. Likewise we have more free software options today than we did in the past.

My personal __opinion __is that it'd be wrong to get rid of either end. Eliminating freedom from software ecosystems would be disastrous. Likewise, I don't think free solves all of our software problems either (one could possibly abstain from many things but that's avoiding not solving the problem). SOPA needs to be stopped but lets not assume that non-free software needs to be limited because of this. Live and let live (and never let your guard down).

</comment><comment><USER23> I just don't see the relationship between government overstepping the mark... and buying a proprietary product form a company you respect, because you want to use the product and are willing to sacrifice the desirable but non- essential quality of unfettered access to its innards.

...OK, actually I do see the connection. The suggestion is probably that if the technology is not totally open, you don't know how much power you're giving away (the manufacturers could be cooperating secretly with the authorities). But if you really feel like this, all you need to do is refrain from using your iClosedDevice for any type of work or communication that you wouldn't trust in the hands of the manufacturers/authorities.

... And OK, I see the point that we need to support the alternative methods or else their won't be any when we need them. It's just the either/or sentiment that bugs me.

<comment><USER24> ... And OK, then you saw the point of the article, after all.

EDIT: Lesson to self. Don't post while you have a cold, and pounding headache as a result. It'll get you downvoted.

<comment><USER23> But the point of the article seems slightly different from Stallman's stance. The article said 'support Linux, even if you use Windows' - whereas IIRC the FSF says 'never use Windows' or something to that affect.

<comment><USER24> That is true, and I agree with it. If that's what you meant, I apologize. My post came more out of annoyance that you kept adding more info with the "And OK"-label, which partially changed your initial stance.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Good article but I disagree that supporting "Android (not Google) even though you like IOS" is a valid strategy for openness. android is all about monitoring and datamining the user. Sad to see the good old openmoko project die.

<comment><USER26> The difference is that I have the source for Android, am running a kernel I compiled myself and have explicit control over all the processes running on it. The only flaw in it is that I have to rely on a closed binary blob for the radio as writing my own would be illegal (FCC etc). It can be treated as a closed circuit though. That's the compromise the openmoko projects are using. Also check out Replicant, Stallman's Android project.

<comment><USER27> Even if writing your own firmware would be illegal (would it be, really?), what prevents manufacturers from releasing the code for examination?

Also, radio firmware isn't the only one missing. I think drivers for video and other hardware are not released for no particular reason.

All this contributes to the fact that one cannot build firmware for any Android device from source. Accompanied by the fact that Google gets to do their mining on your data, Android looks just a little more open, compared to iOS. And it's a shame that there is no alternative in sight.

<comment><USER26> "Even if writing your own firmware would be illegal (would it be, really?) "

For a radio module I would say so. It's one of the reasons cited by the openmoko successors from not doing it. Radio devices have to be tested and certified that the device stays within FCC or EC standards. Changing the firmware changes behaviour.

"what prevents manufacturers from releasing the code for examination?"

Patents, security... I'm sure they have their reasons.

"Accompanied by the fact that Google gets to do their mining on your data, Android looks just a little more open, compared to iOS."

Not if you use your own ROM or root your phone and stop all Google applicatons.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> In Sec. 1021 (the one about indefinite detention power), it clearly states:

(e) AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.

So, how does this give the president the supposed power to detain US citizens? (The oft quoted 'slippery' line about not requiring detention Americans is from the NEXT section, which is specifically about requiring detentions in some cases.

<comment><USER28> Ok. I see now how this can be abused. Is it saying:

(A) United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the US, or (any other persons who are caputred or arrested in the US)

OR

B) (United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the US, or any other persons) who are caputred or arrested in the US

If one reads this as B, then once a citizen accused of being a terrorist steps foot outside of the country, they are screwed.

<comment><USER11> "If one reads this as B, then once a citizen accused of being a terrorist steps foot outside of the country, they are screwed."

Seems like they already are.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER29> "His only computer is a Lemote Yeelong netbook, because it's the only computer which uses only Free software - no firmware blobs, no proprietary BIOS; it's all Free." Interesting that it's made in China. I'm trying to reconcile the implications of that... [http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.htm...](http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.html)

<comment><USER11> And how does he _know_ there are no "firmware blobs"?

<comment><USER30> Because he can close his eyes and wish, I suppose. It's a netbook, there are microcontrollers. The microcontrollers have firmware.

Besides which, I somehow doubt that all the relevant microcircuitry is open source.

<comment><USER14> He's OK with that kind of firmware - as long as the code can not be updated the circuit is considered a black box.

He doesn't ask for open source hardware either, so firmware directly tied to hardware is considered hardware.

<comment><USER30> Seems a wee bit arbitrary. And convenient.

<comment><USER14> He explain more here: <http://www.fsf.org/news/freebios.html>

Or better, here: <http://blog.reddit.com/2010/07/rms-ama.html> search for "microwave".

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> It's worth noting that Obama, upon signing, issued a signing statement that said that he was against the indefinite detention provision, and importantly, that he would not indefinitely hold Americans without trial:

"Moreover, I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law."

<comment><USER32> Obama the candidate opposed the use of signing statements.

[http://technorati.com/politics/article/signing-statements- re...](http://technorati.com/politics/article/signing-statements-redux/)

<comment><USER33> _It's important to note that Obama makes clear in both his campaign assertion and his official memo that he does not consider signing statements to be problematic in and of themselves. Rather, he argues, their use should be limited in scope and reach, clearly stating that President Bush went overboard._

From Politifact's extensive discussion: [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o- meter/promises/obameter/pr...](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o- meter/promises/obameter/promise/516/no-signing-statements-nullify-instruction- congress/)

Politifact consulted 5 experts, 4 of whom (at the time of consultation) felt he has kept his promise. Politifact itself has currently rated the promise as "compromise", meaning partial fulfillment.

<comment><USER34> Politifact isn't exactly the beacon of truth it purports to be either: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politifact> \- the SNL business was particularly odd

<comment><USER33> I agree that they've made errors, but they seem deserving of their fairly good reputation (not as high as, say, NYT).

<comment><USER34> I would imagine the same people and groups that have problems with Politifact also have problems with NYT much like the other side has problems with the WSJ and Fox News.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER35> You have to counter the forces against freedom with an _array_ of approaches, free software being only one of these. Without having a clear understanding of the economic and political understanding of the driving forces behind the ratcheting up of state control, resistance will be pretty much futile, I fear.

</comment><comment><USER36> Of course he is right when he writes about fundamental issues. He's very smart and knows the implications of laws and licenses.

However, he allows no room for dissent, no transition path, no concessions for the real world. His followers are the same.

For this reason, I will never use the GPL for any of my projects (I prefer wxWidgets and MIT licenses).

</comment><comment><USER37> Rarely have I come across an article that promised such a ringing endorsement in its title only to find it peppered with bits of snarky back handed compliments.

So it doesn't come as much of a surprise that there wasn't much there even for the mostly uninitiated, still good(?) press is good press.

Surely, I thought, now that we've declared the imminent death of the Liberty and the Internet and its subsequent rescue by Saint Rick we must have hit bottom.

In the fine tradition of the showman the best had been saved for last. Never fear, he says, because Stallman's had our backs all along - it may have taken a long time but thankss to Richard we have Free and Open platforms like Android* that will protect us in the dark days ahead.

* resist temptation, remember: boot locks, carrier installs, 3rd party spyware, location tracking, cloud storage, baseband, drm everything, few security patches, etc.

</comment><comment><USER38> I've often thought that Stallman was too prickly as spokesman or organisational leader, but I've never regarded him as being too extreme from a free software, ideological perspective. His thinking along those lines has always been meticulously careful and he generally sought out and found extremely competent legal advise. His basic mode of argumentation is to point out various legal exploits and note that there was no good reason to assume that government and industry won't abuse them if given the right set of circumstances.

It's a mystery why every ten years we have to have this discussion about whether we've entered a new age of ethical business and responsible government, where we somehow think that human nature and human organisations have changed permanently (through technological innovation!) in some egalitarian way.

</comment><comment><USER39> People latch onto the word 'terrorist' and think it doesn't apply to them, but we are all 'terrorists' in one way or other because our thoughts and actions do not completely submit to the state. Indeed this is never possible.

</comment><comment><USER40> Excerpted from Volume 43 of How To Boil Frogs by P. Latanna:

      *ribbit*

      To be sure the water is warmer this year but
      surely it is only 9.943 degrees hotter and not
      10 degrees like the author claims.

      *ribbit*

</comment><comment><USER41> Very few people actually dispute the crux of most of his arguments (at least those that have more than a surface awareness), but his dogmatism and often shrill OCD about slapping the GNU-prefix on things and poor social and personal hygiene have resulted in an image of a wildly paranoid crank which has made it easy to write him off casually by many of those who should be listening to him.

</comment><comment><USER42> From the "Yeeloong Notebook" page:

"If you prefer warm interpersonal dialogs in solving problems, you can dial our hotline. Technical personnel will provide help in the _first time._ "

Now I can understand Mr. Stallman!

On a more serious note, the only question is: How much worse do things have to get, in order to start getting better?

Besides, the Yeeloong thing coming from China, I wouldn't be so sure it doesn't contain a bit of tracking circuitry.

</comment><comment><USER37> _This is why you should support Android (not Google, but Android), even if you prefer the iPhone. [...] There's going to be a point where being Free/open is no longer a fun perk, but a necessity._

Stallman on Android: [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/android-and-users- freedom.htm...](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.html)

</comment><comment><USER43> This whole "Stallman doesn't carry a phone" thing is BS.

I spent a couple days with him in Hawaii. He most definitely has a cell phone.

<comment><USER44> And don't talk about his laptop, how nowadays you can still use that kind of laptop?!

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> To what extent can utilities like DTrace make proprietary software free? I know this is kind of a broad question, but can we detect hidden functionality in proprietary software without fully reverse-engineering it?

</comment><comment><USER46> Sorry, but the part about picking Android over iPhone is just bullshit. Android is totally open source and it still came preloaded with Carrier IQ on it. I agree with the sentiment, but let's not be stupid, okay?

</comment><comment><USER47> I can't find a news article saying that NDAA has been used to detain Occupy protesters, only that Occupy protesters have protested NDAA and some were arrested for failing to leave when ordered.

</comment><comment><USER48> 'Richard Stallman Was Right All Along' Is this really news anymore?

</comment><comment><USER49> I love what Bob Dylan said in a song "...instead of learning to live, they are learning to die". That really summed it up for me

</comment><comment><USER50> Invoking Godwin's Law.

Saying Stallman "was right all along", just because he's not completely wrong all the time, is a bit like saying "hitler was right all along". Complete and utter bullcrap.

Stallman is a tit. Being an unwashed dick is his god given right, I won't dispute that. In spite of his undoubtedly good intentions, however, the man has such a poor image that he's done "his" FOSS cause more harm than good. He should go away. Or at least shut up.

</comment><comment><USER51> And I predict everyone on this planet will die at some point in time!

... ...

I guess that means I was right all along!

</comment><comment><USER52> Just because you're paranoid/doesn't mean they're not after you.

</comment><comment><USER53> I can't like this enough

</comment><comment><USER54> Of course he was right all along. As we will all soon discover to our enormous cost.

</comment><comment><USER55> Take note who signed it.

<comment><USER56> A Nobel Peace Prize winner? The man who promised to close down Guantanamo Bay and has still yet to manage to do so? Whose election campaign promised "Change" yet whose only significant move in that way so far, in office for 3 years, is the repeal of DADT? The man who I (along with so many liberals) want desperately to believe in, but who just makes it too hard for us?

Yes, that man.

<comment><USER57> The guy who also oversaw an economy that returned 401Ks to at least _sane_ levels from -40% in 2007-8; the guy who actually said and then _did_ get bin Laden; the guy who pushed for and signed a law that is as close to healthcare reform as anyone has gotten since Medicare was enacted almost 50 years ago; the guy who pulled us out of Iraq when the Republican candidate in 2008 said we should be there for 100 more years; the guy who has kept or compromised on over 200 campaign and administration promises?

You can talk of "change" like it's some concrete label you can bend to whatever cares you want, but remember you voted for a President, not a King.

<comment><USER56> > the guy who actually said and then _did_ get bin Laden

I'm fairly sure that Obama himself didn't "get" bin Laden. The army worked to get information on his whereabouts, and the opportunity presented itself to the President. I'm fairly certain that, aside from discussions about tactical moves, all Obama did to "get" him was give the army the go-ahead for the operation.

> the guy who pushed for and signed a law that is as close to healthcare > reform as anyone has gotten since Medicare was enacted almost 50 years ago

Which was itself mostly a sleazy compromise like DADT, barely worth celebrating.

\---

Perhaps I was too hard on Obama. But his administration has been a failure on the whole, especially compared to the FDR-like, sweeping political moves promised during his election.

<comment><USER58> FDR-like, sweeping political moves require not only an FDR-like President, but a corresponding Congress and popular support. For reference, FDR won 57% of the popular vote, while Obama got 52%. And when things didn't immediately improve after the 1932 election, the Democrats maintained their majority in 1934.

Compare the dominance here: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1932prescountymap.PNG> to this: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2008prescountymap.PNG>

In short, the circumstances of the times did not allow for the kind of complete shift that the Great Depression triggered.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: Guy Needs Gift – Side Project - <AUTHOR> http://www.guyneedsgift.com <comment><USER2> Very nice! I looked at them from several perspectives, and saw some neat things. I like that you have curated commentary on each item, and included (I think) referrer links to Amazon. I was pleasantly surprised to be asked if I wanted to be reminded about something -- not sure what triggered that, but it was cool. I'm going to try using this for my amazon wishlist-creation. ;)

It looks very nice. Would you be willing to write about the tech stack you used for this?

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the kind words :). I am very happy to see that the care I put into the site is being noticed.

I used MEAN Stack to build this: Express / Node / Mongo / Angular.

I knew Express, Node and Mongo from before, I started this project in order to see what Angular was all about.

While learning a new technology, I always think about what to build while learning.

My wife had said that it's always hard for her to pick gift for guys. So I decided to build this for poeple like her, to make the process a little simpler.

The subscription modal comes up only once (for now) after you succesfuly paginate 3 times, (View about 60 items).

Thanks again!

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> It'd also be cool if the ages actually meant something. I noticed that 90% of the items are the same, whether I picked "son", "father", or "grandfather." Do you really think my grandfather would want a nerf gun? :)

I am glad that this list isn't just your standard alcohol, knives, and golf equipment list that heavily dominates men's gift lists.

<comment><AUTHOR> You are right, there are a lot of repitition. But you will see that what comes up as "Grandson" may come up as "Maybe not a good idea" in the "Best Guess" description.

I basically ranked each item from 0 (don't show) to 10 (Best match) for each relationship. So the more you scroll down, you may start seeing some meh results for that particular relationship.

Because every person is unique I have a hard time completely dismissing something (rank as 0) for a particular relationship.

I have plans to add a lot more products. When the total product count reaches more than 300, I think this problem of seeing duplicate results will reduce by a good margin.

Thanks for the feedback! :)

<comment><USER3> In that case, a clearer way of doing that might be to separate the rank 0s into its own section on the same page. "For Grandpa:" and something more bland like "Other Exciting Items" or something like that. That way, as I'm scrolling down, I see a clear break between what's for Grandpa, and what's probably not going to interest him, but is there "just in case."

<comment><AUTHOR> That's a great idea :) - A clear seperation will definitely make the recommendations better. I will work on this for next update. Thanks!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Need one for ladies... I never know what the heck to get my mother or cousins.

Also would be nice if the price query could be custom-tuned, for example, $25.00.

<comment><AUTHOR> If this is worth the time investment, I would be happy to make a sister site :)

Thanks for the suggestion. Until now, I just went with my hunch the whole way. Now that it's launched, I can make some iterations based on actually learning from users.

<comment><USER5> yes please. please make one for the ladies.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It be cool if the gifts weren't so centered on nerd culture, I personally didn't see anything I'd be excited to get. Maybe you could add interest filters?

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the feedback. I planned to do an interest filter in the beginning but decided I would get the first batch of feedback without it while keeping UX as simple as possible.

I plan to roll it out eventually.

<comment><USER6> It might be cool if you had the same UI but instead of who the person is in terms of their relation to you, different archetypes, ie. The Gamer, The Cook, The Farmer, The Fashionister (is that a word?), etc.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> First off, awesome site. I read the background on why you created this so take this with a grain of salt :)

Using new routes for each relationship selection would be cool so that I can press the back button to return to the awesome landing page (I did see you had a return button but it took me a bit too long to see it).

Cool idea regardless! I spend way too much time browsing thinkgeek around the holidays for each member of the family.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the feedback!

You are right, now that I think about it, hitting back while you are browsing product should totally bring you back to the homepage, I just never thought of the scenario.

The fact that you mentioned awesome landing page makes me extra happy. I hand drew the pixel arts myself and had a lot of fun doing it :D

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> can you include transgender items as well? I need help shopping for a transgender dude who doesn't identify as male or even fully female.

<comment><AUTHOR> An amazon gift card, or cash or a good book is a safe bet for any occasion.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> This is on Product Hunt now: [https://www.producthunt.com/tech/guy-needs- gift](https://www.producthunt.com/tech/guy-needs-gift)

Please vote if you like it! <3</comment>


Cheap TOR Vanity Addresses - <AUTHOR> https://vanitydns.github.io/ <comment><AUTHOR> Looks like a pretty efficient algo an they promise that if "this website generates interest and sells at least 20 vanity addresses, we will generate a fully-fledged automatic system to buy and manage vanity addresses."

</comment><comment><USER2> Never thought I'd see domain squatting spread to TOR.

</comment><comment><USER3> buying private keys for a service from someone else seems... bad for any sort- of serious use case.

</comment><comment><USER4> > as there is no traditional DNS system available to provide easy to remember > hostname addresses

I think in future reworkings of TOR a decent DNS apparatus will be one of its features. Usually 'hacks' like this are made obsolete if the hack is repeatedly used and has reached a saturation point. One example of that is how ICANN now allows for any number of novelty gTLDs and I rarely see domain hacks now because of this (Think of using .delicious instead of del.icio.us).</comment>


Ask HN: Who Runs HN? - <AUTHOR> I've done a little snooping and can't find information on the entire team. Who runs engineering? Infra? Product/front end (lol)? <comment><USER2> See

[https://github.com/minimaxir/hacker-news- undocumented](https://github.com/minimaxir/hacker-news-undocumented)

According to this source ,

[https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=dang](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=dang)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sctb](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sctb)

are moderators(also they replied to my email),so i can say that they are putting great effort in running hn.</comment>