With A Talent War In The Valley, Perhaps Romania Has The Answers? - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/05/with-a-talent-war-in-the-valley-perhaps-romania-has-the-answers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29 <comment><USER2> There isn't a talent shortage. There's a shortage of courage to hire anyone with less then a Google-level CV and of will/ability to mentor them.

The 4 * 2 hour reviews + coding test + references + logic questions + firewalking culture is ridiculous. It might make sense in places where firing employees is extremely difficult, but not in NYC or SF.

%99 of the jobs supposedly in "shortage" could be filled by anyone with an attitude for programming, self motivation and a good mentor. Look at the current products of Silicon Valley - how many of these require much more than basic web development skills?

<comment><USER3> There's no economic incentive to hire anyone below the top decile. Assuming you believe the "10x" rule (which says that there is a 10x productivity delta between the best and worse developers), I get the best bang-for-the-buck by hiring the best developer I can find.

Even if compensation did scale linearly with productivity, two programmers with productivity X are still worse than one programmer with productivity 2X since communication costs grow as the team size grows.

I wouldn't be a prudent businessman if I didn't fight relentlessly for the best developers...

<comment><USER2> Of course you should hire the best dev you can find (though I seriously doubt its possible to tell who'll be the best for you - both in terms of skill and, as importantly, personality).

Personally I don't believe in the x10 rule. It might have been true when you had to code your own servers in Lisp to build a website, not when you build a Django CRUD app.

In any case, when you mentor someone, they may turn out to be that top %10 dev.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I know a great team of devs in Romania. They were really good and really moved my project forward. Send me an email if you want an introduction (I have no stake in it, I just like them and want to help them get good projects).

</comment><comment><USER5> (Edit: This was supposed to be a reply to a comment that seems is gone/deleted now. Please be kind if this comment looks like out of context :-))

DISCLAIMER: I run a small Django company in India, with more than half of the revenues coming from remote web development for US/Europe companies.

Remote development service can work very well irrespective of location if "cheap labor" is not the only reason behind it.

What I have seen is people hiring remote developers in East see remote developers as "us" and "them". As long as remote devs are not seen as a part of team working together like a machine which is working 24x7 - one part of the machine works, while the other part rests.

As someone(I don't remember who) once said, "if you are paying peanuts, you will only get monkeys".

Now, we have had times when we HAD to work(no other option) at as low as 7 USD. What is the problem with this? This is not enough, anywhere in the world. During those days, results were disastrous for us. Since we had to cut expenditure and eventually salaries, we lost 4 out 5 of our core dev team. In a way we had to build our team from scratch.

Remote development can work and we have had some amazing experiences. Here is what I have seen works:

\- Have an in house dev team: For anything non-trivial have an in house dev team, even if it's a team of just one engineer. Hire a good one. He will help you in understanding/verifying the technical capabilities of the remote team. And It will ease up lot of communication difficulties and shorten the unending meeting over Skype/IM to a minimum and save boat load of time.

\- Give them a small project for a week as a test of their capabilities. This way you will also keep out swindlers - companies/developers pretending to be good instead of actually being good.

\- Stay away from unbelievably cheap labor: You can get devs at 5 USD but understand this; while life may be cheaper in east but it's never this cheap. You may get a good developer (with no other options) really cheap, but he/she will jump the ship without blinking as soon as a better paying opportunity comes. You will get an good(not great) developer for $20-$25 and really good devs for $35 - $45. If you are looking for "GREAT" engineers(which as rare here as anywhere in the world) they will cost approximately same(or may be 10 - 15 % less) as in US/Europe.

\- Stay away from companies who claim to have expertize in every possible technology. Find companies who work in niche. E.g, Want a rails developer; find a company/individual that specializes in rails. These are the companies that generally have a project manager talking to you and you will probably never get to talk the actual developer.

\- Don't do too many meetings: Meetings, specifically long ones and in the morning, drain out energy. When a developer has a meeting at 10 am to 12 noon, you just killed his and in turn your whole day of work. Have 3 - 4 short 15 min meetings per week and stick to them. Also do not generate unnecessary email traffic, long meetings and long email are the same thing - time wasters. Instead use ticketing systems to full advantage. Concentrate most of the communication on it.

\- Learn about the remote team: If you have a remote team, learn about them. Learn about their culture. Learn about things that are important to them. Talk about things that interest them other than work. Always remember, a common developer(who is employed by an outsourcing company) is shit scared of the client paying in dollars. They will say yes to almost anything(specifically Indian devs - no matter how advance we claim to be, we as a people, are yet to shake out out of colonial mentality of "Yes Sir! As you wish Sir"). They don't want to offend clients and in turn their bosses. So get to know your developer team. A small amount casual talk will go a long way toward building the mutual trust and increase comfort level and in turn productivity. The target is to make your remote team feel as passionately about your product/project as you feel yourself. And it is not possible if you are not willing to invest time/energy to integrate your remote team.

Just my 2 cents.

</comment><comment><USER6> You may replace Romania with any country from Eastern Europe.

<comment><USER7> That's the thing, Romanians are also natural born 'poets', i.e. lateral thinkers. There is a lot to be said about Romania, place of real cultural confluence, turks, germans, hugarians, soviets, greek-ortodox, communist yet latin background, etc. It's not just about the codding.

<comment><USER6> I'm sorry, but everyone expects 'smart & gets things done' not poets with cultural confluence of whatever.

What does matter is expertise, skills and learning, all other staff is completely irrelevant. (See [http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/TSE.2009...](http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/TSE.2009.41))

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> We had a team of about 10-15 in Romania.

The long and short of it was that it was nice to put in requirements late in the day and have them done in the morning but overall the code quality was terrible.

We had a Romanian developer here in the States and he was great. He was in charge of the Romanian contingent so he could have been a bit better on the code quality control side but corralling 15 coders is not an easy task so I don't blame him.

I am sure there are a lot of talent around the world but a lot of them make their way to the States or other higher paying Western countries under visas and leave the average back home a bit depleted.

I've seen the same phenomena in Pakistan and India as well. Great Pakistani and Indian devs here in the States and mediocre coders back home.

<comment><USER9> I'm a Romanian and I'm still living in Romania, working remotely for U.S. companies.

First of all, I do not agree with what you're saying. A lot of people do not leave the country, simply because of our culture. We are used to live close to our families, we are used to live close to our place of birth. We are not as disconnected as other nations.

I have ex-colleagues that were hired by Google. At least one of them preferred their Zurich office to be closer, even though he is so capable that he could have chosen any of their locations. I also have ex-colleagues and friends that _refused_ to work for Google or Facebook and that are still in Romania. Including myself.

There's something often not said whenever people talk about outsourcing to Eastern European countries: foreigners often come with high expectations, in exchange for peanuts. This article says that you can find a great developer for 2000 EUR. That's true, but that's also peanuts and those developers getting paid with 2000 EUR won't stay interested for long and if they do for the long term, they'll just put the minimum effort into it, while doing their own thing.

I very often get invitations from U.S. companies to join their projects. Because I like to stay up to date with the pulse of the market, I accept to participate in many interviews. However, because I don't want my time wasted, I talk about salary expectations early on. And I can't tell you how disappointed I get, as companies that have quite the reputation come to me with salaries that are somewhere between 1000 EUR and 2000 EUR ... which really, is downright insulting.

Also, companies that have a large development team in the U.S. tend to outsource the throwaways. This is another thing that's often not mentioned, and I'm sorry, but you won't get the best developers here with this attitude.

Now, do not get me wrong. I love working for U.S. companies, but do not offer peanuts or throwaways, otherwise you will get monkeys. And when reading pieces like the above, remember that context is everything.

<comment><USER8> "And I can't tell you how disappointed I get, as companies that have quite the reputation come to me with salaries that are somewhere between 1000 EUR and 2000 EUR ... which really, is downright insulting."

Ugh! That is /terrible/ for talent anywhere to have to put up with.

We have two developers, one Turkish and one Indian who worked for us here in the States for several years each. Excellent developers. Now they both remote in from their home countries and still make their original salaries. I think that might be a decent model for those that can do it. Move to a host country, develop the trust that only working in the same office can give, then carve out your own situation as you see fit, whether it is travelling the U.S. in an RV, or moving to the deep suburbs or moving back home even if that home is on the other side of the planet. Overall it will accelerate the trend to parity all over the world.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I don't understand why Poland is not mentioned in this article. I know a lot of Polish engineers working on H1B in a valley, but I don't know how exactly this number compares to Romanian engineers. What's more, at Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Nvidia Polish interns were the largest group of interns on J1 visa last year (as far as I know J1 is required for all countries except USA and Canada). Also, a lot of arguments stated in this article also hold for Poland.

<comment><USER7> Because I'm Romanian and I'm writing about my experience. Saying that, I know some with great feedback from Poland, like WAYN guys and others.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> I can speak from first hand experience that developer quality in East Europe is excellent. When I first went to East Europe over 10 years ago there was very little offshore hiring so the local developers were resorting to local jobs, mostly around small businesss IT - things like accounting systems, POS, etc.

Today most of the developers have a good command of English, keep up to date with the latest technology trends and have a solid classical education background in math, engineering, etc.

The huge oversupply in talent meant that a lot of the best developers ended up working in black and grey hat hacking, online fraud, etc. There is a reason why East Europe is the epicenter for these activities.

There is no reason why startups in the West should not be hiring more people out of these parts of the world. It is definitely less competitive than other traditional outsourcing centers and the quality of people and work is excellent.

If anybody is interested in hiring in this region and would like some advice or someone to act as a bridge, be it to find full time people or contractors, feel free to contact me (details in profile).

</comment><comment><USER12> _Forty-five years of Stalin-esque communism meant sports and education were the only acceptable ways to compete in Romania._

I am just wondering what were acceptable ways to compete 15 years before 'Stalin-esque' communism during 'Iron Guard' times? <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Guard>

</comment><comment><USER13> The same could be said of Argentina and some cities in Brazil, with the added benefit of being closer (timezone-wise) to the US. Don't know what's so special about Romania besides it being part of the EU.

<comment><USER14> I'll tell you what so special about Romania. 1\. We are learning foreign languages nowadays even from kindergarten (computers too). Even on the communism times we learned English and other foreign languages (myself I learned since I was 8 years old). 2\. Strong theoretical learning in math and physics. 3\. Proximity to Europe (this article doesn't address just the US market but also Europe) 4\. Imagination and creativity of the people. We were used to not having things so we tried to be creative about them, make them somehow. I didn't have toys when I was a kid so I made my own toys (including functional model rockets and airplanes). We cam accomplish a lot with less resources and you don't have to micro-manage us (and I had bad experiences with micromanagement of some outsourced people from Asia - they couldn't do anything without me telling them in detail what to do). 5\. Being part of EU and NATO is no small advantage. That means the country is secure and changes of regimes (like we see in South America sometimes) are not possible anymore (not to mention wars - how's Argentina doing with Britain?)

<comment><USER15> So it's not much different from Poland and probably other postcommunist EU members.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> There's actually another solution for the "talent war", and it will probably be exploitable for at least 5 years. Functional programming.

First, the median programmer who actually knows FP would be at least 90th percentile in general, and a strong argument can be made for 95th. If you're using a language like Scala or Ocaml and filter out people who don't actually know them, you can usually hire 50-80% of the people you bring into the office... which keeps interview costs down.

Second, people who insist on functional programming still have a tight job market, so there hasn't been the same bidding war and salaries have only gone up 20-30% instead of 50-75%.

A good (1.8+) Java developer costs $225,000 per year... because people who get to that level of skill in Java are just rare (and Google is buying them all). You can get that same level of developer in Ocaml or Haskell (and probably a better product, because it's a better language) for about $135-150k.

</comment><comment><USER14> Romania definitely has the answer! Just like I said in this Quora answer: [http://www.quora.com/Business/What-is-the-best-to-invest- now...](http://www.quora.com/Business/What-is-the-best-to-invest-now-in- Romania/answer/Mircea-Goia)

<comment><USER7> Great opinion piece! Thanks Mircea.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> if it wasn't for my Romanian developers, i would've never been able to build SlickFlick without any money or being able to code.

</comment><comment><USER17> I don't understand the purpose of this article. The article itself is very, very shallow, it lacks substance, and there's nothing specific to Romanians in it. When you have a pool of 20 million people to chose from, you will find experts in every field imaginable with any skill set you need.

</comment><comment><USER7> Romania - best kept secret no more. The more the merrier! via @curiousshark

</comment><comment><USER18> emotionalprofile.com is form Romania

</comment><comment><USER19> Romania has some pretty smart people and their best do well in western environments.

However, I am reminded that when Sacha Baron Cohen needed to pick a country to film his movie Borat's scenes of a mock-Kazakhistan, something even more impoverished and backwards looking than the real Kazakhstan, he picked Romania.

Why is there not already a large number of Romanian startups producing high quality engineering? Well, as part of the EU since 2007, the most talented Romanians now move to Germany and the UK for software work.

The same principles are at work in the American Union as that of the European Union. There are many intelligent English speaking people in Alabama who have been to excellent schools established during the space program, and many parts of areas have very low wages. However, we do not see much outsourcing to Alabama because the talented tech people (aside from Marshall Space Center) are not actually telecommuting in tech work from those remote areas, accepting those low wages. They instead move to California and New York when they graduate college. This happens because in both the EU and US there is freedom of movement between member states.

Both states are part of a union with freedom of movement between states. Both unions have poor areas. In neither case can you rely on finding high skill talent and expect to pay low wages as the article suggests, because the talent moves from the poor regions to the areas that pay market wages.

<comment><USER20> The article mentions some startups: "... start ups that left Romania, with the likes of Ubervu, Summify and Brainient."

Admittedly, this is the first time I've heard all these names.

<comment><USER9> Ubervu is still in Romania.</comment></comment></comment>


Google fires employee behind controversial diversity manifesto - <AUTHOR> https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2017-08-08/google-fires-employee-behind-controversial-diversity-memo <comment><USER2> Dupe: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14952787](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14952787)

</comment><comment><USER3> Here is the document if interested: [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586-Googles- Ideo...](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586-Googles-Ideological- Echo-Chamber.html)

<comment><USER4> It's important to read this document before commenting. The censored version from Gizmodo etc. had all important references removed.</comment></comment>


The End Of The Library - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/13/the-end-of-the-library/

<comment><USER2> This strikes me as one of those (many) pieces where TechCrunch (and the Silicon Valley elite) are too far removed to make an accurate assessment. Like colonial explorers, amazed by the "crude" methods of the peoples they encounter.

Libraries are one of few effective public resources that function to address class inequalities in our society. It's not just about access to information, but also a community guide for everything from how to vote, apply to jobs, and file a tax return. They provide entertainment by lending DVDs and CDs (think Netflix for those who can't afford $9/month), as well as books and magazines. They also provide free gathering space for tutoring, job training, and community building.

For millions in America, an iPad or eBook reader is equivalent to two weeks pay or more. For them, the end of libraries would be another sign that they're being abandoned and continue to erode the pretense that an "American Dream" exists for everyone.

</comment><comment><USER3> My little anecdote. I was at the library today and it was packed even though it was a Sunday and only open for about four hours. My library was is a definite hub of my community and if anything has only increased its presence over the past few years. It's an amazing resource and there are a tons of programs for folks of all ages. The selection at my local library is a bit limited, but I can reserve books online from the county network and they will ship and hold them at my local library for me.

There was a similar article to this on /r/books a while back I was really struck and inspired by this comment. It touches on the importance of libraries in larger communities.

 _I created an account just to join this discussion. I am a professional librarian and work in mid-sized city downtown library. Those of you who say that libraries do not end ignorance or stop illiteracy are correct. Those of you who say you can find just about anything you could ever want online are also correct. However, every day I assist grown adults who can barely read (and have zero computer skills) sign up for food stamps. I help people who have worked for years in food services apply online for fast food jobs because there are no more paper applications. I help construction workers apply for unemployment online. I assist people who can not afford attorneys with legal templates so that they can file for divorce or for child custody (no we do not give out legal advice.) I help people make copies of their IDs and receipts so that they can send a fax so that they can get their electricity cut back on. I proctor tests for college students who are taking distance ed classes. I maintain microfilm and digital newspaper collections of the local newspapers. Staff at the library, over the decades, have indexed the newspapers to make them searchable. (BTW the local newspaper is so badly staffed now that they rely upon the library exclusively for access to content that is over 15 years old.) We maintain local history documents. We maintain old and rare books that pertain to regional history. We select and provide assistance with databases that we feel meet the informational needs of the community. We answer mail sent from inmates in prisons asking for the addresses of half way houses and food stamp offices for when they get released. I have old out-of-print books of historic stock information for the odd guy trying to find out if the stocks he found from the 1940s in his grandfather 's closet are worth anything. I have price guides, car repair manuals, and old city directories going back to the 1920s. My library is also a government documents repository, which mean we house both print and digital documents that were created by the various federal agencies. Looking for the City and County Data book from 1974? We got it. Staff have been trained to use the government resources. They will help you find what you need if it exists. Not only are libraries a place for information gathering and assistance. It is also a place for the community to come together. In an environment of drive-thru restaurants and online shopping, its one of the last few places where you can run into your neighbors and not have to buy something. It is a place for tutors to meet with their students. I see people everyday who come to the library just to get out of the heat or the rain, who come on their lunch breaks, who come after school, or walk over from the bus station (dragging luggage) because they missed their bus out of town and the next one will not come for hours. I don't know where communities will be without libraries. I imagine communities would be poorer without them._

[http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1m8l01/the_price_of_l...](http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1m8l01/the_price_of_libraries_is_cheap_compared_to_that/cc6utpk)

</comment><comment><USER4> As a father and graduate student let me tell you that we use libraries A LOT. There is no way I would buy the amount of kids books (or e-books) that we go through in a month in lieu of a library.

As for the grad student part, I use the library largely as a research tool, which means utilizing materials that were pre-e-reader as well as the research staff.

Safe to say that there is much much more to libraries than checking out the latest books.

</comment><comment><USER5> >>> I know this sucks. Libraries have been an invaluable part of human history, propagating our culture and knowledge over centuries.

Public Libraries also provide free/subsidized access to that culture and knowledge, which the current digital distribution channels that MG discusses do not.

The internet provides free access to a lot of information as well, but a lot of high quality information is being moved behind paywalls or proprietary distribution channels. The fact that accessing a lot of this information requires a paid for broadband connection and +$100 device also serves as a barrier for access.

So if we want to talk about the role libraries play, and what potential channels are going to replace them, we need to keep this in mind as well. It's easy to talk from a position of relative wealth about how you no longer need libraries, but they serve more people than jus the wealthy.

</comment><comment><USER6> I use libraries as other use coworking spaces - especially university libraries and especially in Europe. Libraries offer a quiet place to get stuff done.

That's not going to change. In fact, a refocus on libraries as common work/study areas is probably what will happen or is it already happening?

<comment><USER7> I do the same at my college. During my college's ongoing remodel of the library, they're increasing the coworking space and decreasing the shelving space. I think this is the future, and some libraries already realize that.

We only need a few large libraries to store books, and that is well-served by Archive.org on the digital layer, and the Library Of Congress in the physical layer.</comment></comment>


The Oracle NoSQL Database 11g - <AUTHOR> http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/nosqldb/learnmore/nosql-database-data-sheet-498054.pdf

<comment><USER2> What the hell? First, they dissed NoSQL, and then make their own implementation?.

What is this marketing sorcery?.

<comment><USER3> They recognized NoSQL as a threat (after laughing about it for years). Now they do a classic two-pronged strategy: attack it viciously _and_ provide a solution of their own. It's old school corporate behavior.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> It's a cluster version of Berkeley DB Java Edition.</comment>


Apple Leaves iOS Kernel Un-Encrypted for First Time - <AUTHOR> https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601748/apple-opens-up-iphone-code-in-what-could-be-savvy-strategy-or-security-screwup/ <comment><USER2> Oh, my ignorance and the questions I now have -- I wish there were some up votes on this, because I'd love the knowledgeable people of HN to weigh in.

Does this mean the "cat's out of the bag" forever more? If they encrypt the final release, does that provide any benefit, anymore, or was obfuscation the only benefit of encryption? Did the prior encrypted kernel simply make exploits more difficult to find? Was there any other benefit to encrypting? I assume jailbreaks are more likely (to be frequent) now? Does this mean the federal government is less likely to need Apple's help to break into phones or install their own software? Is Apple now any more worse off than, say, Android, where the kernel has been open all along?

How conceivable is it this was a terrible blunder? Wouldn't there have been safeguards in place to prevent this in their build system, like an encryption step? Or, like whatever stub does the on device decryption failing, and preventing install? Wouldn't they have had to intentionally work around that? And if it was a colossal mistake, will it likely be beneficial in the long run, anyway? (More eyes, more reports, more fixes?)

<comment><USER2> I guess it was the decrypted arm64 kernelcache that was discussed elsewhere on the net on the second day of WWDC, a week ago. So, perhaps this is stale news to those in-the-know.

Interestingly, only the 64 bit ipsw was left unencrypted, not the 32 bit. The inconsistency may imply it really was an error?

As for the impact, apparently it's been possible to decrypt 32 bit kernelcaches on A5 and lower processors for some years. I don't know if that holds for more recent versions of the OS, or just those from several years ago. But, it's not entirely unprecedented that it's out in the wild. Apple just gave the exploit searchers a head start this time.

<comment><USER2> Here's the post/thread that caught on:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11954780](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11954780)</comment></comment></comment>


Realistically, What's Next for Gun Laws in America? - <AUTHOR> https://www.libertarianism.org/media/free-thoughts/second-amendment-supreme-court-alan-gura <comment><USER2> Not my thing politically, but very interesting and rational and well worth listening to IMHO. (Speaking as an anti-gun Brit!)

</comment><comment><USER3> I believe it will take a few more such shoot outs for public outcry to be enough for NRA to act. And even then it will be a minor change in law. I am not very optimistic about gun control in the US.</comment>


The "free electron" programmer - <AUTHOR> http://jasonsupdates.posterous.com/the-free-electron-programmer <comment><USER2> ya, well, I can relate, you know, cause I'm a Pisces, and I'm also a unicorn, so that basically makes me Superman. I suggest you pay me a lot of money and don't tell me what to do. If you treat me like a princess maybe I'll let you piggyback on my fabulous talent all the way to the bank cause I'm such a nice guy.

<comment><AUTHOR> I detect sarcasm here, but that's ok. The thing is that suggesting things isn't very productive. If you want employers to pay you a lot of money and not tell you what to do, you should demonstrate that you're worth a lot of money and work best without being told what to do.

<comment><USER3> If you currently work equally well when you are or are not being told what to do (let's just call it micromanaging, because no one really minds _high-level_ being-told-what-to-do), and you don't want to be micromanaged, should you negatively bias your micromanaged output so your managers will stop doing it as much?

<comment><AUTHOR> If you enjoy being passive-agressive, then I suppose the answer is yes.

My point was more along the lines of saying "don't think that just because a blog post says you're a free electron, that you're going to automatically get job offers lining up for you." You should get jobs because you are a good match for them.

If you currently feel micromanaged, you're better off hitting the problem head-on. Either find out why you're getting micromanaged and correct it, or find a new job.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I wouldn't describe myself as a "free electron" programmer, that seems a bit out of my league. But I am an inventor (INTJ), and I can tell you that the industry does not seem particularly aware that these personality types exist.

The overwhelming sentiment across the industry seems to be that there is one and only one ideal software developer archetype, who should fit into the overarching software development machinery like a well-designed cog. However, my personality traits make me wholly unsuited to being a cog, I just can't do it. It would probably be vastly more convenient for me if I could be a cog, but I can't sustain that mode for long. I invent things, I make new things, I make broken things better, I tackle novel problems, I don't sit on an assembly line, I don't do the same thing day in and day out, I don't do well with routine. I am creative, curious, adventurous, pragmatic, strong-willed, and occasionally try crazy things. And I have a legitimate passion for technology. I am not risk-averse, dogmatic, susceptible to intimidation, nor even remotely interested in office politics. Unfortunately, many of these traits seem to be the opposite of what's necessary to get along, and get ahead, at any modern, large software company.

I've run across a few other programmers with similar personality traits (inventors, architects, masterminds) and for the most part they run against the grain of the establishment and do not seem to be treated particularly well by the industry (a common theme seems to be jumping ship earlier than usual).

<comment><AUTHOR> In fairness, jumping ship early isn't necessarily related to how programmers are treated in the case of "free electrons". These personality types tend to get bored with projects quickly and enjoy new challenges.

Note that I use the term "free electron" more in the sense of being a particular set of personality types and less in the sense of necessarily being a great programmer. Either way, I feel that "free electrons" are very valuable no matter what their level of programming skill.

That said, you're correct that these people tend to go against the grain. And you can't really blame people for not knowing how to deal with them: they're incredibly rare. It's a shame though. These kinds of programmers are valuable in so many ways and bring something else to the table that can't be found anywhere else (whether or not they feel they qualify as "free electrons").

And FYI, inventors are ENTJ. INTJ is the mastermind. :-)

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> So much like me, especially my deficiencies as free-electron are painfully obvious to me. What's even worse, I'm a loner so there's no one to compensate for my deficiencies.

<comment><AUTHOR> I suppose I focused too much on potential weaknesses of free electrons. I should probably make another blog post about the strengths. After all, your strengths should be more than enough to balance out your weaknesses!

<comment><USER5> I don't think that's the case. You praise us for having unmatched aptitude for understanding complex systems. While it's probably true, reading such open praise made me uneasy.

Strengths do not balance weaknesses because understanding thing fast and thoroughly does not help me to finish what I am building before loosing interest.

<comment><AUTHOR> Programming by yourself is really hard, no matter what your personality type.

Other people may have more of a "get it done" personality, but they aren't as good at coming up with an "it" to get done. If you put the two together, you have a perfect match!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I hadn't read the article cited before and it hit home for me in some ways. I've been the guy to deal with tons of crap code that I hadn't ever seen before and fix that critical bug that was making it impossible to ship.

I'm also a pain sometimes if I don't get my way. Right now I care about page load times and features for our current customers and my management cares about these big initiatives. I see their point but that's not what I want to be doing so I have a hard time caring. It's not a good thing really but the things that I've done on my own have turned into major improvements to our technology and served our existing customers very well.

Not sure where I'm going with this but it sort of put some more perspective on some decisions I've felt as though I need to make about where to take my career. I've been coming to the conclusion that a startup is the only way I'm probably going to be happy at work for the short, medium, and long term.

</comment><comment><USER7> I just don't have the stomach for anyone calling themself a free electron. Self-praise is no praise.

I wouldn't dare call myself a great husband, a great father, a great thinker, or a great engineer. I have my moments.</comment>


A new project: multi-track audio editing (2005) - <AUTHOR> http://www.1014.org/index.php?article=283 <comment><USER2> Wow.

The title looks like a link to a toy project. But this is actually the origins of REAPER!!!

My favorite DAW. Feature rich, original, not bloated, cross platform and reasonably affordable. Pretty inspiring to see its early stages and how it is very successful now. Despite the current version looking way cooler, some early UI elements still recognizable.

<comment><USER3> Yeah, took me a while to figure that out. Interesting to see that it took 15 years to get where he is today.

I've never tried reaper, how does it compare to DAWs like abelton live, waveform pro (the old Mackie Traction) and bitwig (which is the go to commercial DAW for Linux users)

<comment><USER4> It's really excellent - I previously used Cubase and Ableton.

<comment><USER3> Interesting. How are the included effects and instruments?

Is there a single version or different tiers like abelton, where you get almost no instruments with the cheapest tiers?

<comment><USER5> Reaper has a plethora of built-in effects and you can script your own in JS or Python or EEL2. You'd have to use third-party synthesizers though.

That said, the GUIs of said effects are basic, but I personally still find them useful.

There is no difference between the evaluation, non-commercial and commercial tiers.

I'd say, give it a try, the days when Reaper was a niche DAW are way in the past. Especially if you like the idea of being able to customize every corner of your DAW, Reaper is the no-brainer choice.

<comment><USER6> Nitpick: the JSFX audio effects you're referring to are scripted in EEL2. Reaper itself can be scripted with Python, Lua and EEL2 (see [http://reaper.fm/sdk/reascript/reascript.php](http://reaper.fm/sdk/reascript/reascript.php)). It also has a C plugin API.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I recently finally installed a DAW called Caustic 3 on my Android phone, which move I was putting off for quite a while, for lame reasons. I now consider that time to be my wasted years. The app is worth its toy price just in shock and awe at how well it works on a phone. It has limitations, but—pshaw!—it's still a 'workstation' quite able to punch up to the big boys, only on the phone—meaning I don't have to prop myself up at the table.

The demo is fully functional apart from saving files or exporting the song—but it saves the project automatically between sessions.

It's mostly for electronic music, with nine synths available apart from the sample-based one. However, with the sample-synth you can record some audio or load a soundfont, or throw samples into the beatbox. There's even an audio editor. But I'm guessing that phone memory might pose a problem for using long audio tracks.

The app is made entirely by one guy. Afaik SDL is used for the GUI and input, which leads to not only it being available on iOS too, but also on Windows and Mac (and working in Wine)—where it's completely free.

This vid shows the gist of it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q86OrU-E7RU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q86OrU-E7RU) (and other ones in the channel explain the rest).

<comment><USER8> Caustic does perform well, it's probably the best Android music making app I've seen in terms of both performance and features.

That said, compared to what is available on iOS, it's pretty basic (sorry to turn this into iOS vs Android, not my intention but just putting some info out there for people interested in this area).

On iPhone and iPad, there are fully fledged DAWs (Cubasis, Auria, Garageband) with many of the features of desktop ones if that's your thing (personally I find this kind of software better suited to mouse, keyboard and large screen); there are "groovebox" apps in a similar space to Caustic but with much more powerful sound engines (e.g. Korg Gadget); and a huge ecosystem of amazing plugin synths and effects which can be wired together using hosts such as AUM (or one of the aforementioned DAWs).

While music making on iOS does have limitations compared to desktop (e.g. due to iOS restrictions) and can be frustrating sometimes, if you can find a workflow that works for you, it's incredibly fun and for me provides a great experience somewhere in between "jamming" with physical hardware (a touch screen is preferable to a mouse when tweaking knobs etc), and the flexibility and convenience of using a computer. If anyone is interested in mobile music making, iOS is the platform to go for - a base model iPad will open up a whole world of cheap, fun, awesome-sounding music making.

The audio development situation on Android has improved somewhat since they introduced a new API called Oboe, and low latency audio is now possible on modern devices, but there is so much variation from device to device, and in general you can't do anywhere near as much processing compared to even an old iOS device without encountering crackling etc, so it's unlikely IMO that Android will catch up to iOS for music making any time soon (source: I do cross-platform mobile music app development).

Mostly this is because iOS is built on top of the foundations of MacOS, which has a long history of pro audio use; and also because the iOS device landscape is much more tightly controlled; but also Apple have made quite a lot of effort to provide foundations for a music making ecosystem on iOS (e.g. Inter- app Audio and AUv3).

<comment><USER9> Thanks for this detailed reply. It so happens that I just bought an iPad for the purpose of jamming and learning how to use synths, so I'm very excited to try out some of the apps you mentioned.

Can you recommend where to start? I.e a particular app that lets you compose, jam, and tweak sounds, or a sampler, or just a particular tutorial.

<comment><USER8> Yeah absolutely! I was actually just thinking I should write a blog post or something about this topic some time, as I often find myself trying to explain how to get started with mobile music making to people… perhaps this comment can be v0.1 of that post ;)

To some extent, I'd say it depends on what kind of music you want to make, and how you want to approach making it. I'd recommend different starting points to someone who wanted to primarily "arrange" songs in a somewhat traditional fashion, perhaps recording in some live instruments and adding some synths and effects and drum loops etc.; vs. someone wanting to make electronic/experimental music in a more freeform "jamming" approach; vs. someone primarily interested in playing synths live with a keyboard. Personally I'm more interested in the electronic jamming approach, but I'll try to comment on the approaches too, I'm just not an expert there.

If you're interested in arranging songs and perhaps recording some live instruments, you probably want something similar to a "DAW" (Desktop Audio Workstation, terminology for desktop software such as Cubase or Logic). Software like this presents your song as a timeline, usually with time on the x axis and multiple tracks of recorded audio or MIDI notes on the y axis, so you can see the overall arrangement and easily create e.g. a verse/chorus structure (this kind of thing: [https://www.audiotechnology.com/wp- content/uploads/2019/03/2...](https://www.audiotechnology.com/wp- content/uploads/2019/03/2.Arrange-View-S3.jpg)).

This will let you record in audio from a microphone (you can use the one on the device, or you can connect an existing audio interface via USB with the right adapter, or you can buy specialist iOS microphones), edit it, add effects to it etc., and then let you add in other tracks with synths etc. with notes usually arranged in blocks on a "piano roll" ([https://sevish.com/wp- content/uploads/2016/03/19-edo-c-maj.p...](https://sevish.com/wp- content/uploads/2016/03/19-edo-c-maj.png\);) then you can structure your song by moving these blocks around and editing them.

Garageband is actually a great starting point here – it's free with every iOS device, and has a load of built-in synths, loops and effects, and is pretty easy to use. If you want to get more serious, I think Cubasis and Auria are the two main contenders on iOS. Personally, I have to say I find this kind of software a bit fiddly to use on an iPad, especially if you don't have a pencil. It's the kind of thing that to me benefits from having a mouse for more accurate editing and a big screen. That said, a lot of people do happily make music like this on an iPad, and if you do want to go this route, you can use a lot of the other awesome plugin synths and effects available for the iPad inside your chosen app, so it's pretty flexible.

If you're interested in something a little less traditional and more electronic focussed, but pretty straightforward to use, I think "groovebox" type apps are great. These apps typically contain a bunch of synths and effects, and let you create multiple tracks with loops on them, sometimes using a piano roll, sometimes using a "step sequencer" (where you have 16 steps you can turn on or off, each step representing 1/4 of a beat). The main difference between these and the more "DAW-like" apps, is that they tend not to have such a traditional way of arranging songs on a timeline - it's often more about playing it somewhat live. They also tend to be closed ecosystems, in that you can only use the synths and effects provided with the app. The advantage here is that they tend to be cohesively designed, and immediately gratifying.

For me, the best app on iOS for this is Korg Gadget. It comes with a big selection of synths and effects, all of which sound great and strike a nice balance between simplicity and still being able to tweak the sounds in interesting ways. There are also a bunch more synths/effects you can buy in app, but there is plenty to get started with in the basic version. It's pretty easy to use, and it sounds great. It's not that cheap though, although they do sometimes have sales on it, and there is a free "LE" version you can download to try it out.

Some other apps that might be of interest in this area include Auxy (which is simpler than Gadget, very elegantly designed, but a little bit basic for me - but free to try), Ampify Groovebox (probably a bit easier to use than Gadget, but more limited, again you can try it out for free), and NanoStudio 2 (which is maybe a bit closer to a DAW than a groovebox, it's somewhere in between). If you're interested in hip hop style music making (which is more sample based), you might find Akai iMPC Pro or Beatmaker 3 interesting - these are more focussed on a classic sampler-type workflow.

Finally, there's the more free-form approach of using individual synth and effect apps. There are tonnes of these, including from some of the big names in the music industry (Korg, Eventide, Moog). You can use the apps on their own, if you just want to play with one sound at a time (e.g. hooking up a keyboard and playing with other instruments, or running a guitar through an effect), but where it gets really interesting for me is that Apple added a technology called "Audio Units" (more commonly referred to as AUv3) to iOS a few years ago, which allows synths and effects supporting this standard to be used as plugins inside other apps.

This means that you can hook up e.g. a synth by Moog to an effect by Eventide, and then add a drum machine by Korg on another track, etc. You can do this inside most of the DAW apps I already mentioned (and in Nanosutdio, I believe), so you can use these plugins to arrange songs traditionally; but another kind of workflow has emerged on iOS which is much more freeform, primarily using an app called AUM. AUM can host Audio Unit apps, but has no concept of a traditional timeline. Instead, it can host Audio Units which generate MIDI note data instead of sound, then route this note data to synths, which are then routed through effects. You can then just "jam" in real time and record the results – it's a workflow much more analogous to using hardware sequencers and synths, and is something quite unique that has emerged as a popular way to make music on iOS.

I actually recorded a video recently for someone showing a quick jam session in AUM to explain the concept better, so check that out if you are interested, it should explain it better than I can in words :) [https://www.dropbox.com/s/6xq0fw37k4lx8km/AUM.mp4?dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/s/6xq0fw37k4lx8km/AUM.mp4?dl=0). If you are interested in this way of working, hit me up for recommendations on specific apps and effects.

One last thing to mention is the weird and wonderful apps that don't quite fit in any of these categories. The fairly low barrier to entry to iOS development, the nature of the touch screen, and the low price point of most apps has created a really exciting scene of developers creating some really crazy apps. Some of these are just nice uses of the touch screen, some of them are fun toys, some of them are crazy modular synthesis systems. A few apps to check out if this intrigues you: Figure is a really fun way to make simple electronic loops. Samplr is one of my favourite touch screen experiences for playing with samples. Drambo is an insanely flexible modular synth/sequencer (there's also MiRack, which is a port of a desktop app called VCV Rack, if you are interested in modular). Fractal Bits is a weird and wonderful glitch synth. There are so many great apps out there, the only problem is it's addictive! There's a good forum at forum.audiob.us if you want to delve deeper.

Sorry, this post is rather long - I hope it doesn't break any etiquette rules here.

TL;DR: Garageband is free, great way to get started with fairly traditional music making on iOS. Gadget is king of the groove boxes but its worth checking out a few apps as they tend to have free "lite" versions. If you want to get into the world of freeform music making, AUM is the place to start. Have fun and feel free to ask questions here or via Twitter/whatever!

<comment><USER9> This is great, your long answer is much appreciated!

Definitely a lot to digest, so I look forward to trying out some apps and workflows. I'm happy to connect via twitter, and if you need a beta tester for any eventual blogpost, then I'm more than glad to help out.

I think a focus on just one style makes sense. For me it's definitely more in the groovebox category, even if there is still multiple aspects to it. I think there are always the 2 topics of "how do I make nice sounds" and "how do I build that up into good tunes/patterns/songs". Maybe drums could even be considered a separate topic.

Personally I also want to get to grips with FM synths. For the composition part I have to say I tried and failed at trackers (renoise), which made me conclude I needed something more visually intuitive, and tacticle when it comes to manipulating the parameters. I'm eager to see how well a touchscreen works for the latter.

By the way, if you know of any place to hire good online tutors, I would like to know about it!

<comment><USER8> Got ya. I think Gadget sounds ideal for you, it's really visual and quite straightforward to use, but has loads of different synths (including a phase modulation one, which is similar to FM). Maybe check out Gadget LE and see how you get on with it!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I digitized my studio a few months ago and settled on Reaper (running on kubuntu 20.04). I'm pretty happy with it, though Linux support is "beta" and support is forum based (there's a couple bugs that I'm just living with because nobody's engaged on them in forum posts).

I probably could have gotten away with Ardour for my needs (recording, editing, mastering) - however, I can run Reaper at lower latencies (via Jack configuration) than Ardour. Mixbus seemed promising, but requires more latency still. Bitwig is cool, and I'd happily pay for it, but their midi implementation on linux is pretty weird, and I don't have the patience to fiddle around to make it work. I haven't used Ableton, so I can't comment on comparison; there _is_ a plugin for Reaper which gives it a live performance mode apparently along the lines of Ableton's, but it's mac/windows only.

Anyway, Reaper is extremely featureful, and is only around a 15MB download. Good midi implementation, customizable, good range of bundled effects (and ability to write your own in javascript). There's an audio engineer who posts tutorials on youtube under the name "Reaper Mania" \- check out the recent ones to get a sampling of capability / workflow.

</comment><comment><USER11> Justin Frankel of Winamp and Gnutella, before he went on to make Reaper.

</comment><comment><USER12> Awesome "historic" documentary. I just recently got into playing around with electronic music production, and went for Ableton as my DAW of choice for now. Reaper was a serious contender though, and I understand it's the weapon of choice for quite some semi-professionals and even pros.

Very interesting to see how it started like a toy project.

</comment><comment><USER13> As a professional podcast producer I've been experimenting with moving my workflow to ios and have been absolutely smitten with this thing: [https://apps.apple.com/dk/app/multitrack- daw/id329322101?l=d...](https://apps.apple.com/dk/app/multitrack- daw/id329322101?l=da)

It has that "slower-workflow" but "you cant fuck up by misclicking" vibe, that i miss from older UIs. Moving slower allows your mind to wander while working which can unlock some real creative thoughts.

... and it's 13,9 MB.

</comment><comment><USER14> If you want to see how it looks today: [https://www.reaper.fm](https://www.reaper.fm)

</comment><comment><USER15> I just switched from logic to reaper a few months ago. It's an incredible piece of software that does everything and more that I need from a DAW while also being able to load all my plugins etc.

It's lighting fast and completely customizable too. Oh! And the video tutorials with Kenny Gioia are incredible.

The only criticisms I'd level at it are that it's initial configuration is not that user friendly. You also lose a lot of software synths and stuff that you'll need to buy if you are migrating from logic (I already used Native Instruments stuff so it wasnt a big deal for me).

For $60 it's hard to beat. Way better than pro tools imo.

</comment><comment> tokamak-teapot I bought Reaper a few months ago and use it on an old MacBook where it performs quickly and flawlessly. Very happy to see the journey it has made!

</comment><comment><USER16> I've been having fun playing with Soundtrap. It runs in the browser, allowing you to access your projects on any device. I'm not sure if it can meet the needs of professionals, but for someone just starting out with music it has been great.

[https://www.soundtrap.com/](https://www.soundtrap.com/)

<comment><USER3> Is there a connection to the article?

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> I appreciate Reaper very much although I'm religiously married to Cubase since it was a single floppy disk. This is quite something to dig up an origin story of a DAW.

<comment><USER18> Same. I love Reaper, its no-nonsense approach, how unbloated and customizable it is. Truly great software. I paid for a copy out of respect and encouragement, but I never use it. I've tried, but it's just not going to happen anytime soon.

Cubase is kind of a house of cards with lots of weird technical debt from back when there were Atari ST's in every recording studio, but it _works_ and the Cubase keyboard shortcuts and workflow are just so ingrained in me that switching is not worth it -- when you're writing and recording music the shortest path from idea to execution is always the best. I can't afford to let my tools get in the way of that. This is also why I still use Cubase 5 instead of a newer version -- because I know exactly how it works, there are no surprises, and it does everything I need.

<comment><USER19> Reaper has extensive support for customizing keyboard shortcuts. I think there's even a Cubase skin theme.

<comment><USER17> It's not just shortcuts. It's the whole package. I know one swimming pool, I know the sharks and the little fish. Another pool - different sharks, different fish... By the time i got to know them, I forgot what i was doing in the pool in the first place</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Is there any significant reason to stay on LinkedIn? - <AUTHOR> While I do maintain the ability to have access to my connections' contact information, and get an email periodically letting me know when tidbits of a profile are updated, this is not very compelling to me.
I am seeing the burden related to deciding who to include in my connections, the slight extra burden of reading the emails reminding me why LinkedIn is still valuable to me, etc. What about when I no longer want someone to be in my connections (but doing so may not be the right signal to send their way)? I get that it is helpful to recruiters, etc., but right now that is not a group I am really interested in accommodating.
Is there something I am fundamentally missing, if I jump ship?
Edited: minor wording change for clarity <comment><USER2> This blog post sums up my feelings on LinkedIn pretty well:

[https://evertpot.com/10-years-of-linkedin/](https://evertpot.com/10-years-of- linkedin/)

 _My only issue is that I feel, as an independent contractor, I'm obligated to maximize my potential in acquiring new customers. I don't yet have the luxury to shut down an entire channel for new leads, despite the fact that LinkedIn has actually done very little for me in that regard. On top of that LinkedIn has become so ubiquitous that it's actually become a standard question during some interview processes to ask for my profile. I feel that "I don't have one" because of "principles" is never a great opener when you just made a new connection with someone._

The only other real tangible benefit I get from it is knowing about job changes my friends have made. I'm in my mid-30s and most of my good friends from University are spread across the continent. I'm lucky if we talk to each other a few times a year. So having the ability to passively learn "Oh hey, Jonny is now at Google" is valuable to me because I now know I have good contact at Google.

<comment><AUTHOR> > My only issue is that I feel, as an independent contractor, I'm obligated to > maximize my potential in acquiring new customers. I don't yet have the > luxury to shut down an entire channel for new leads, despite the fact that > LinkedIn has actually done very little for me in that regard.

This has been the only reason I have stayed on.

> The only other real tangible benefit I get from it is knowing about job > changes my friends have made.

I certainly understand this need. It seems, though, that Derek Siver's "What I'm Doing Now" page [1] addresses this.

[1] [http://nownownow.com/about](http://nownownow.com/about)

</comment></comment><comment> J-dawg I get the impression that LinkedIn is increasingly how people get jobs. A few people joined my team recently with very in-demand skills and it seems they were mostly hired through LinkedIn.

One guy in particular has a very long and detailed CV on his profile that he always keeps up to date. He also claims to have coached several friends to do the same, and they all started receiving better quality job offers almost immediately (he claims). He's a smart guy who seems genuinely interested in helping people so I have no particular reason to doubt him.

I think LinkedIn's value as a general business networking tool is pretty low, but for finding jobs it seems to be becoming more and more important.

Maybe the answer is only to activate your profile when job hunting.

<comment><USER3> My Girlfriend is an IT Recruiter in Stockholm, Sweden and Linkedin is by far the most common way for her and her recruiter colleagues to find candidates. Linkedin's search feature is one of their strong selling points.

Github + Linkedin and a visible email adress goes a long way to finding a job if you got a desirable skill set. List skills, list jobs and, if allowed, projects on Linkedin. Treat it as an SEO'ing your own personal brand.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> > Is there something I am fundamentally missing, if I jump ship?

Basic People/Company/Industry research capabilities, it's the most under- utilized tool on Linkedin.

If you need a quick contact name in a particular organization or space-- there is no better way to find individuals-- (who you may or may not know).

And these are people who you may be able to help-- and potentially assist you.

On the burden of Linkedin update spam, you can control your notifications.

<comment><AUTHOR> > Basic People/Company/Industry research capabilities, it's the most under- > utilized tool on Linkedin.

good point

> On the burden of Linkedin update spam, you can control your notifications.

Point taken. Updated my settings - still something I really don't want to _have to_ think about.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> For me, the biggest benefit is being able to see if I know anyone at a company I'm interested in for a job, sales opportunity, conference invite, etc. and also to be able to easily connect in a professional way to people I meet without pulling them into fb (which I've basically abandoned). It might not seem like you need any of those things today, but in 5 years you might change your mind and getting that info back again without having something like LinkedIn is difficult.

</comment><comment><USER6> I got the best job offer of my life on LinkedIn from a recruiter who obviously read my profile and visited my website.

</comment><comment><USER7> There are annoying bits, and its rough for developers but if you're established and well connected it can be an incredibly useful tool for finding leads in different industries for services/partnerships that you don't have existing experience with.

In my experience it works MUCH better than it should.

</comment><comment><USER8> I still ask myself why no one has still built a better linkedin... I mean, there is clearly _A_LOT_ of improvments you can do on it, and I won't even start talking about their shitty UI/UX

</comment><comment><USER9> A guy I worked with that headed the IT/Windows group at my company left to start his own consulting business.

He has had a ton of success building clients from LinkedIn

</comment><comment><USER10> I get contacted by internal company recruiters on LinkedIn. I've found my last two jobs that way.

</comment><comment><USER11> I only have a LinkedIn account as the App I have requires me to have one. If I delete my account, my App goes too. If I create a new account just for the App, all my users have to re-link their accounts. Sucks.

</comment><comment><USER12> LinkedIn is a great networking tool no matter where you are in your career. You can make connections that wouldn't other otherwise. I know it sounds like a cliche answer, but it is true.

<comment><AUTHOR> What specifically, in your opinion, makes it great? How is having it better than networking in person at, say, a MeetUp?

<comment><USER13> LinkedIn isn't for networking with new people, it's for retaining professional contacts. Think of it like a professional rolodex where people keep up to date resumes.

I personally know plenty of past coworkers who I respect and would gladly recommend in a heartbeat. LinkedIn is the perfect way for them to see that I work at the company they want to work at, and gives them a frictionless way to send me a message despite us not being actual friends.

If you don't find enough value in that, then maybe LinkedIn isn't for you.</comment></comment></comment>


The Simple Algorithm That Ants Use to Build Bridges - <AUTHOR> http://abstractions.nautil.us/article/290/the-simple-algorithm-that-ants-use-to-build-bridges <comment><USER2> previous discussion on another article about the same algorithm here -> [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16466908](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16466908)

</comment><comment><USER3> Richard Feynman had, as ever, interesting things to say about how ants navigate and communicate[1]. He spent a long time looking at ants, following them, moving them around on bits of paper and eventually (I elide some details here) ended up with the Nobel prize in physics.

[1] [https://www.e-reading.club/chapter.php/71262/23/Feynman_- _Su...](https://www.e-reading.club/chapter.php/71262/23/Feynman_- _Surely_Youre_Joking%2C_Mr._Feynman__Adventures_of_a_Curious_Character.html)

</comment><comment><USER4> For everyone interested in ants, there're some fantastic youtube channels dedicated to ants, AntsCanada being one of my favourite. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, just a big fan of that guy's camera work. Lots to learn about ants from there.

</comment><comment><USER5> Army ants are not to be trifled with, esp. if you're a plantation owner in Brazil.

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

</comment><comment><USER6> How does this algorithm ensure that wide bridges are built (lets say more than 10 body lengths wide)? Even if the final bridge would be stable the intermediate steps imply a much higher torque.

<comment><USER2> ants have the ability to lift 5000 times their body weight [1](tiny supermen if you ask me), assuming that helps in building wide bridges and countering the higher torque (during the intermediate steps) disclaimer: not a physicist [1]:[http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/5970/20140210/ants-s...](http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/5970/20140210/ants- support-5-000-times-body-weight-before-losing-heads.htm)

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> It would be cool if we could point cameras at ants and reverse-engineer the simplest set of rules for ant behaviour using AI/ML techniques.

<comment><USER8> We could call the resultant algorithms "simulated ant kneeling".</comment></comment>


China Is Collecting DNA from Tens of Millions of Men and Boys Using US Equipment - <AUTHOR> https://www.aspi.org.au/report/genomic-surveillance <comment><USER2> Us also does this to almost all newborns under the disguise of testing for genetic disorders. That's about 4 million per year, almost the same number as China.

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK132148/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK132148/)

<comment><USER3> You say this as though one would not expect that testing for genetic disorders requires DNA collection.

<comment><USER4> If testing was the only goal, then the DNA collected should be discarded. But we all know governments won't do that.

We need CRISPR-as-a-service to periodically change our DNA as needed.

<comment><USER5> That's unfortunately not even remotely feasible for a number of reasons. There's no effective delivery mechanism for large-scale changes, efficacy is low even when a CRISPR system does get delivered to a cell, and there can be serious issues from both on- and off-target activity. These limitations will certainly improve as the technology advances but I can't imagine that there will never be a tradeoff. I would argue that the solution to this problem is regrettably not technical.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


One-bit Computing at 60 Hertz - <AUTHOR> http://laughtonelectronics.com/Arcana/One-bit%20computer/One-bit%20computer.html <comment><USER2> Thanks for posting, Tomte. This is a project that's been discussed on HN on the past.

\-- Jeff

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7616831](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7616831)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12469790](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12469790)</comment>


Show HN: Aiveo – Make your project take flight - <AUTHOR> https://aiveo.ca

<comment><AUTHOR> We're looking for some feedback on our new issue tracking system. Anybody who registers for the website and gives us feedback here in HackerNews, will receive a coupon to be upgraded to Condor for free for 6 months. We want to know what you all think and what we can do to improve. Thanks and hope you have a good experience.</comment>


Upgrade your office without budget - <AUTHOR> http://www.slideshare.net/floown/5-ways-to-upgrade-your-office-using-science <comment><USER2> Quick summary of the 60 page slideshow:

(1) postit notes with goals on your walls

(2) write goals on your windows

(3) mix up the seating arrangement

(4) create a (book) library

(5) add flowers</comment>


Ask HN: My MacBook Pro died 2x this week – Apple refuses service - <AUTHOR> I have a 2 month old MacBook Pro (macOS 10.12.5). Drive with FileVault encrypted. Single partition harddrive, no linux/windows/etc.
Audio stopped working. USB devices stopped being recognized. Rebooted. Dead. When it comes to the Apple logo it instantly reboots, infinite cycle.
At the Apple Store this week. Told me they would change the logicboard but ended up just wiping the drive - "problem solved". Reinstated my TimeMachine Backup. Good for 5 days. Just happened again.
Apple tells me the problem is "with my files" not the hardware. With the drive being encrypted during boot is it even possible that the computer accesses anything I may have ever put on it?
Output when booting into safe-mode http://imgur.com/a/SnCCM
My last MBP ran for 5 years 24/7. This one ist just a PITA. <comment><USER2> They will fix it, you just need to do all the troubleshooting. Set it up without restoring your backup to show that it isn't your files or software.

Service Warranty. For all service orders, Apple warrants that (1) services performed will conform to their description for ninety (90) days from the date of service, (2) except for batteries described in the subsection below, all parts or products used in service will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for ninety (90) days from the date of service, and (3) batteries installed as part of Apple's battery replacement service for Apple portable Mac computers will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for one year from the date of service. This warranty is an express limited warranty. If non-conforming service is provided or a defect arises in a replacement part or product during the applicable warranty period, Apple will at its option, either (a) re-perform services to conform to their description (b) repair or replace the part or product, using parts or products that are new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability, or (c) refund the sums paid to Apple for service.

</comment><comment><USER3> If you personal files are enough to bork a system, then either Macs are now unreliable pieces of crap or they simply chose to blame you in the hope you will believe it long enough for the warranty to expire ( or for a new model to come out ).

System overheating a bit and leading to intermittent connection in some components on the board maybe? heating/cooling cycles can play hell on badly done solder connections.

( or dodgy caps : I had a board unreliably work for a year after some capacitors started boiling away, then a triac blew up )

<comment><AUTHOR> "...chose to blame you in the hope you will believe it long enough for the warranty to expire..."

Customer for over 25 years...considering my CLV (customer lifetime value)...this just makes me sad :-/

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Which OS do you have on it? I guess macOS, since you say it is FileVault encrypted, but if not, you should give us the full information about what you've done to it. Just keep taking it back to them and they will fix it right eventually.

<comment><AUTHOR> Most recent MacOS, I think it is 10.12.5. Problem is they wipe the drive and then claim "well it works". On the last call (50 minutes....) they even threatened that I have to pay if it turns out it is "my files" that cause the problem.

When you boot into safe-mode, this instantly pops up (funny that is says MBP model 13.3 when I have the 15 inch version): [http://imgur.com/a/SnCCM](http://imgur.com/a/SnCCM)

<comment><USER4> Just take it in again.

MacBookPro13,3 is just a device identifier string, meant to identify the model, not the screen size in inches. So that is probably not wrong. (updated to remove some guesses). Here's where you can look up your model using that string:

[http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac- lookup/?search_keywords...](http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac- lookup/?search_keywords=MacBookPro13%2C3)

You could make a genius bar appointment and paste that imgur link into the notes field of the appointment, and then show it to them again when you get there (since they probably won't have looked at it). Basically just reproduce the problem in front of their eyes. If it's doing this in safe mode, it should have nothing to do with your files.</comment></comment></comment>


Paul Graham - from social shyness to patronizing - <AUTHOR> http://techiteasy.org/2008/06/03/paul-graham-from-social-shyness-to-patronizing/

<comment><USER2> The point of an essay (at least pg's style of essay) is to explore a subject and, to a lesser extent, to incite others to explore the subject and their own feelings about it as well.

Unfortunately, the writer here decides not to explore his own feelings fully and his points are made in a few sentences without details or evidence,

 _"The bits on London or Paris are terribly naïve and missing the point. Whoever is using the word hip for London or art for Paris can only have a vague understanding of what he is talking about"_

This smells like an ad-hominem

 _"Looking into Paul's ferocious defiance towards school and corporate culture, it is easy to imagine Paul being a rather shy person, who would rather jump in the ocean than being part of anything looking like a team."_

Lack of substance really hurts this blog post.

<comment><USER3> But that essay style, say the most truth with least number of words, also incites people to disagree. The way they do may not always add valuable information, but it is still fun to read. You can not tell me you did not enjoy:

 _Also remark that in painting, many of the women whose pants you are trying to get into aren't even wearing pants to begin with. Your job as a painter consists of staring at naked women, for as long as you wish, and this day in and day out through the course of a many-decades-long career. Not even rock musicians have been as successful in reducing the process to its fundamental, exhilirating essence._

Just the fact that PG provoked the above is wonderful.

<comment><USER4> Incidentally, believing that live models would be titillating is a classic sign of a noob. That idea is left over from Victorian times, when the mere idea of a naked woman was exciting. In actual fact, live models are generally pretty unattractive. Someone who wanted to stare at women would do way better, nowadays, at any beach.

<comment><USER5> Congrats, pg, I think you may be the first person to ever have applied 'noob' to painting. :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I have to say, I was partly inspired to attend art school (and study painting) by 'Hackers and Painters'. After all, it's an O'Reilly book. I am an archetypal hacker personality even if my achievements are modest. Computer architecture is as natural to me as breathing, whereas I could barely draw a crude stick figure. I realise MBTI has limitations but I am solidly in the realm of INTP/INTJ.

Anecdotes are not data, but let me tell you - by any measure of personality types I have ever seen, hackers and painters are as close to different species as you can get that can still produce offspring. 'Painters' thought processes and modes of creativity are so alien to those of a 'hacker' that I have no idea how the world does not descend into chaos with so many of those types populating it. I say this after spending many endless days in the company of 'painters' (especially if you include the tutors, many of whom had painting careers).

In fact the experience was shaking enough to make me reconsider my once strongly-held belief in universal suffrage. I gave it a year of full time effort and then threw in the towel. Of course, I am assuming that 'painting students' don't change dramatically by the time they become 'painters'.

Also, regarding the marvellous statement about spending all day with women who aren't wearing any pants - I'll leave what that en'tails' every 28 days up to you to figure out - if that doesn't get through to you then let's just say the novelty wears off.

Paul, if you are reading this, your thesis is bollocks. Thanks for nothing.

<comment><USER4> Don't judge painters by art students. They're quite different groups. The link between art students and painters is nothing like the one between, say, medical students and doctors. Most art students (painting majors especially) don't end up as artists, and quite a lot of artists spent little or no time in art school. IIRC, Picasso went for one semester and Van Gogh didn't go to art school at all. Calder studied engineering.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I don't mindlessly follow everything pg says or does, but I do think the author is totally off base here.

Basically, I don't think you can "get" the hacker/painter parallel unless you really _are_ a hacker. When I am in the right mood and sit down to code something, it is not me typing stuff and watching letters appear on the screen. It is not me transforming the state of the computer's memory. It is ideas flowing from my brain and becoming a creation. It's creative. (I don't paint, but music and coding go well together. When you hit upon the perfect melody, it just feels good. Programming is exactly the same for me.)

I don't want this post to be about me, but I do want to say that pg is not alone in thinking that programming is creative.

If all you do is write "select * from foo" into your PHP pages, though, and read "Hackers and Painters", you'll probably dislike it. That's because you're not hacking, you're code monkeying. There is plenty of money to be made by monkeying, but don't confuse it with art.

<comment><USER8> I think the hacker / painter connection is a bit overstated, partially due to the entanglement of a couple separate points. One of the major parallels that PG draws between hacking and painting is that some languages (most notably Lisp, though it's just as true of Forth and Smalltalk, as well as newer languages like Python, Ruby, OCaml, Haskell, etc.) are very flexible and well- suited to iterative development, and that this completely changes the character of programming with them. Similarly, he describes the difference between painting with tempera vs. sketching and oil paints, which allow more experimentation and changes in plan. (I'm not a painter, so I'm taking this at face value.)

While this is a useful analogy, it doesn't really say anything specifically unique to hackers and _painters_ , vs. other creative types in general; it's more a statement about how working with malleable mediums affects the creative process. Many of his points about painting could be easily adapted to other creative pursuits: Hacking and cooking * , hacking and composing, hacking and writing, etc. His points fit most strongly when relating hacking to other "maker" fields, in a general sense. Due to his background, he refers to "Hackers and Painters", but the connection seems tenuous in writing. (Also, not many people actually paint, so the examples may not be very accessible.) Consequently, some people have missed his underlying point (that hacking is a creative thing, not something purely theoretical and logical) and, for example, dismissed his references to painting as an attempt to rub off some its glamor on programming. _Hackers and Makers_ would be a better fit for his message.

* For example, consider the difference between making a stir-fry, with all its chopping required in advance, to a stew that can be progressively tasted, maybe have a dash more pepper or tomato added, let it simmer longer, etc.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Most of the comments I've seen in response to this post are either that "the author was wrong" or "the author didn't give enough evidence." I think that you are completely missing the point of what this guy Cecil wrote.

His point was that pg's essays on philosophy/art made him cringe. Ok? That's his whole deal. He goes on and tries to explain why, but I think that what is really valuable here is that Cecil (who I'm assuming is an artist) is expressing a point of view which has largely gone unstated.

To be honest, reading Cecil's post made me feel better in some way. I don't know anything about art, but I have been thinking about philosophy for freaking forever and I have to say that PG's essays often make me cringe when he traipses into topics which he really -does- seem naive about. Note I said "seem." I don't have examples offhand because I haven't read one of his articles for weeks. Also, the point of -this- post is not at -all- to talk about PG, it is to talk about my understanding of Cecil's post[1].

I think that in general my aversion to internet discussion comes from the fact that people seem to spend approximately 1 second understanding each other and 20 minutes formulating counter-arguments to what they are assuming/hallucinating their "opponents" -meant- (not said). They often miss the -point- of what others are trying to say (and yes, I recognize the massive potential hypocrisy in meta-meta-criticism). Have some heart.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

[1] I think that I could, in fact, explain why they make me cringe. (I assume that Cecil could, too, actually - I assume he could sit down next to you, read through them with you, and whenever you saw him cringing you could ask him why - I don't think he's making up the fact that he cringed.) I could go back and re-read his essays and write up long responses explaining what classic philosophical and logical errors he is making (most of which have to do with assuming context/over-generalization/etc.), but the problem is that his errors are very deep. His errors (like so many people's errors) have to do with his big complicated worldview - to reveal them would take a book. And frankly, I don't care - it's much more interesting and fulfilling to respond to someone who's really spent their whole life "thinking" about deep philosophical problems (Chomsky, Foucault, Nagle, Graeber, etc.)

</comment><comment><USER10> The author might have done well to read pg's essay on disagreement since his attacks were mostly vague (I too agree that the characterization of London and Paris could have been better supported), and the attacks were executed merely by bringing up an example point and then not attacking it. On the point of cities, I think that there is good economic evidence (not cited by pg) that Cambridge and Boston are very much an intellectual center because some of the greatest universities of the world and they are leaders in terms of patents and scientific citations (from "Who's Your City" by Richard Florida).

</comment><comment><USER11> I stopped reading as soon as I saw "jumped the shark". For me that's an auto- fail.

</comment><comment><USER12> Wow.

In a world where philosophy was reserved for 'philosophers', art for 'artists', hacking for 'programmers' and business for 'businessmen' the hapless inhabitants would be sleeping the open and picking berries.

Thankfully this ain't 'that' world.

<comment><USER9> It takes many years to learn to play a violin. Violining is reserved for "violinists." You are confusing -description- with -prescription-.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Repost.

</comment><comment><USER14> fanboys, don't click it!</comment>


Nest.land – An immutable, blockchain powered module registry for Deno - <AUTHOR> https://nest.land <comment><USER2> Having a package registry has its advantages and disadvantages (npm) but nest.land is trying to make the best of both sides, a very common complaint with deno is that it does not have a package manager or official registry. The nest.land team took as a axis to use blockchain as a central technology, which in my opinion is a serious decision, since problems such as left-pad would no longer occur since the packages are immutable, in the case of packages they have a system package reporting which mitigates malicious packages very well.

regarding whether or not deno should handle packages with url is a dividing issue, first of all deno does not try to be a direct successor of nodejs, it tries to be compatible with the browser, in the browser it is imported using directly url, some solutions are, use a deps.ts file and have all the import there, use import maps and maybe manage them using Trex, in order to change the paradigm is crucial to move forward, many when nodejs was presented did not like the idea of server-side javascript, Today the nodejs ecosystem is one of the most important in the industry

</comment><comment><USER3> Because we definitely don't want to remove malicious packages as the software supply chain finds itself under increasing attacks

<comment><AUTHOR> You might want to take a look at this before commenting randomly on someone else's hardwork. [https://docs.nest.land/#what-are-the-benefits-of-nest- land](https://docs.nest.land/#what-are-the-benefits-of-nest-land)

What find themselves under increasing attack are developers and their projects.

<comment><USER3> Hmm, none of these things are what I look for in a dependency management system. Blockchain is not the solution to much of anything

<comment><USER4> We aren't a package manager. We're a registry and CDN (of sorts). Blockchain is actually a huge solution to this problem for three very notable reasons. The first is that Deno module imports are url based, and we don't want code going off the internet, as this would break the code dependent on it. Blockchain solves this because transactions (module code) are unable to be modified or deleted. This means that import links will never break, thanks to blockchain! In addition, it's unbelievably cheap to permanently store data. For reference, we've stored 17,297 files on the blockchain. For proof, you can see our wallet address and transaction history here: [https://viewblock.io/arweave/address/tySYSW93nDky1sbCO56PmyE...](https://viewblock.io/arweave/address/tySYSW93nDky1sbCO56PmyEyspbyYx7x9ZXMNueKOOg) This permanent and decentralized data storage has cost us right around 5 cents USD. Thirdly, thanks to the blockchain, the module data is completely decentralized across over 340 nodes and counting around the world. You can see the exact statistic here: [https://viewblock.io/arweave](https://viewblock.io/arweave) Again, thanks for bringing these things up. These are great points for us to address publicly.

<comment><USER3> You might take a look at how Go implemented their module system and solves the above without blockchain or a lockfile. Simple algo, excellent engineering, built in security and integrity checking.

In the end, you will want to mirror all external dependencies (repos, git, pkg) into your own cloud.

So Demo has us specify versions at the point of import, in how many files? Is this lunacy?

I store more files on GitHub for free, how can blockchain be cheaper than that?</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>