Chaldal (YC S15) Wants to Become the Amazon Fresh of Bangladesh's Capital - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/30/chaldal/ <comment><AUTHOR> Hi all, I am one of the founders of Chaldal. Happy to answer any questions here -- about Bangladesh or Chaldal. :)

<comment><USER2> What's the hottest Bengali song right now or recently?

<comment><AUTHOR> Way out of my expertise. But this went viral a few years ago: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blXydyJLkYY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blXydyJLkYY)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> I think your model is really cool and seems like it would work better for the Bangladesh context than the US context (as a comparison to Instacart). Do you think Chaldal will have a net positive impact on society? How do you envision things may change in Bangladesh if/as your model dominates urban grocery retail?

<comment><USER4> Thank you!

Actually we believe this can work in all contexts. The immediate value add for the customer is lower prices, better quality, more convenience.

We have also seen a lot of inefficiencies in getting food from farm to consumption. One example is wastage - the more data we have on consumption, the better we can predict wastage, and the better we can redistribute food. So yes, we are hopeful that this will have a net positive impact on society.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Was it useful to do YCombinator and be in the SF Bay Area for several months while working on a product that is only available in Bangladesh?

<comment><USER4> Absolutely. That said, be prepared to take a lot of long-haul flights :)

YC is a value-add, no matter where you're based out of.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I hate to be that guy, but...

* Given the traffic in Dhaka, you'll forgive me for not believing your one hour delivery promise.

* The only way I can see to get around the traffic problem is to either go hyper-local (i.e. maintain warehouses in every neighborhood), or have delivery people walk/take rickshaws. Either way, this isn't going to scale to the entire city without a TON of startup capital. Which I'm not sure you have.

* How does YC feel about the inevitable "system loss" that's comes with doing business in Bangladesh?

I'm also very interested to hear how YC intends to maintain management accountability in a business halfway around the world.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, these are very good points. Below are our thoughts:

* We will be maintaining warehouses in every single area. We currently have 2 but plan to have 9 to cover the entire city. That is the only way to ensure 1 hr delivery. We are also offering this service for products which are fast moving (around 1500 SKUS). Slower moving products are sent from the main warehouse.

* We will need a bit of capital, but not as much as most people think, it costs us around $230k to start a warehouse and run it for six months. It is a lot cheaper than starting a departmental store in Dhaka, and you get far more efficiency per sq. ft as you are not optimizing for a "browse experience" for shoppers. Our shoppers are our employees and we can control their movement for maximum output/sq. ft. Theory is departmental stores can survive, so can 7000 sq. ft. warehouses.

* I don't see why accountability and management challenges should be any different in BD than it is in the US. Enough startups have thrived in India and China.

* Bangladesh also has a decent history of foreign investments with companies like Telenor and Microsoft managing local offices. So corporate accountability does exist in the country.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I'm familiar with the Instacart model in the US, where they do shopping and delivery but do not have any warehouses. Did you consider this model? Why did you decide to own the warehouses as well?

<comment><AUTHOR> Few reasons:

1\. Inventory management is very poor in the retail stores around Dhaka. Most (95%) of them are very small (carrying ~500 SKUs), and even the larger ones have difficulty in ensuring supply of all products. We found that people would get annoyed if we couldn't send them all the products they asked for (98% fulfillment rate was not good enough).

2\. The prices don't work if you are a layer on top of the existing infrastructure. People are a lot more price sensitive -- in fact, irrationally so. They care about getting a "bargain" rather than the mathematical value of the bargain. SO we couldn't survive by taking a mark up on products like instacart.

3\. Part-time work is non existent and we couldn't trust the quality of the workforce in an on demand model. We have to train people to understand the difference between mayonnaise and mustard.

4\. Some Indian startups have gotten around the idea of on-demand workforce by just hiring all their deliverymen full-time. Their unit economics should be pretty tough.

5\. The warehouses are optimized for picking and dispatch. Real Estate prices are expensive. We should be seeing much better revenue per square feet than regular grocery stores.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> How do you deal with the political volatility? I'm pretty sure Amazon doesn't have to think too much about Hartal or their delivery trucks being burned.

<comment><AUTHOR> We will have to price it in as a systematic risk. Our competitors in the local market face the same risks, and when Amazon does come in they will have to face it too. For now we are focused on competing locally. Things have not been all that bad for us in Dhaka -- we actually deliver a lot faster on hartal days.

And insurance works just fine in Bangladesh once you figure out the claims process.

<comment><USER8> Do you deliver in your trucks on Hartal days? It would certainly be awesome if they didn't attack your trucks because you're simply taking food & essentials to people.

<comment><AUTHOR> +1, hopefully we can make that happen.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Bhalo atchen!

<comment><AUTHOR> Ji Dhonnyobad. Apni Bhalo aachen?</comment></comment>


New Surface Pro - pierre-renaux https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-pro/overview <comment><AUTHOR> One import thing with all Surface laptops that most people don't know:

> Support is limited to the country you purchased the device in.

Eg:

\- If you buy an Apple laptop, and need a repair, they'll fix it if it's in warranty, regardless of where you are.

\- If you buy a Microsoft laptop, and need a warranty repair done in a different country, Microsoft won't help you.

I purchased a Surface Book (which I love) in a Microsoft store in the US. It's been sporadically doing this since a couple of months after I unboxed it:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_f85KlC5Bc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_f85KlC5Bc)

Microsoft UK won't fix it. Even when I travel to the US I'm not sure I'll be there long enough for Microsoft to do the repairs. I love the hardware, but this policy is really bad. I paid for the top of the range laptop and expect support for it.

Edit: I've raised this with Microsoft Support in the past and they've simply restated the policy and closed the case as resolved. When I attempted to escalate it, they told me to post a complaint to Microsoft's legal department (?!?).

<comment><USER2> > \- If you buy an Apple laptop, and need a repair, they'll fix it if it's in > warranty, regardless of where you are.

Not true. That is only for the iPhone. The Macbook has only national warranty.

<comment><USER3> False. From the UK terms for MacBook Pro (I checked the terms from the Netherlands as well, and they are similar):

 _You may obtain service in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland without paying any shipping and handling fees. Outside this region, service options may be limited. If a given service option is not available for the Apple Product in such country, Apple or its agent shall notify you about any additional shipping and handling charges which may apply before rendering service. Shipping and handling charges will not apply in countries where Apple does maintain an Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider ("AASP") (a list of current service locations is provided at locate.apple.com /uk/en)._

IANAL, but basically this seems to say: (1) in the EEA you can get your support no questions asked, (2) outside the EEA you may have to pay S&H charges, unless there is an Apple Store or Reseller.

<comment><USER4> "If the product is portable, meaning that it can operate independently without a power cord, you may obtain warranty service worldwide. However, service will be limited to the options available in the country where service is requested. If the product is not portable, warranty service may be restricted to the country where the product is purchased."

[https://store.apple.com/Catalog/Images/worldwidewarranty.htm...](https://store.apple.com/Catalog/Images/worldwidewarranty.html)

Apple care is totally worldwide.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I've been using a Surface Pro 3 as my one-and-only for almost 3 years, and it really feels like time to upgrade, so I've been looking forward to this one.

My workload is probably something like 40% reading, 30% writing, 25% coding, and 5% running code, and the Surface has been a nearly ideal form factor for this.

The new "Surface Pro" ticks a lot of boxes for me:

\- Supports my existing keyboard, pen, dock, and power adapter

\- Improves battery life substantially

\- Offers improved keyboard and pen for when I get around to it

\- Fanless options

\- Improved performance (not that I need much more)

Unfortunately, the configurations are weird. My ideal machine is an i5/256GB/16GB. The closest I can get is i7/512GB/16GB, which nearly doubles the cost, and requires a fan. I just don't get how they can make the floor for 16GB RAM $2200. Is there any professional workload where 8GB isn't constricting today, let alone in another 3 years? My only thought here is that maybe the RAM increases the thermal envelope enough to require the fan, but that seems unlikely, and I would still happily make that sacrifice if I didn't have to also pay for the processor and disk upgrades.

I'm going to harangue them on Twitter, and also look into clearance SP4s with 16GB.

<comment><USER6> Do you actually use it in tablet mode? I always wonder how many surface pro buyers actually use it as anything but a laptop.

<comment><USER7> It goes into tablet mode for me when:

1\. I write in my daily journal using the surface pen and onenote.

2\. I am taking notes in onenote with the surface pen at a meetup.

3\. I am writing random fiction nonsense (onenote, surface pen).

4\. I am taking notes in onenote w/ pen on one side of the screen, while having chrome open on the other with one of the MOOCs I am taking.

5\. I am working on Chinese or Japanese exercises in onenote w/ pen with my kindle open to an exercise book.

I play around with portrait / landscape, having the flipback extended, etc, based on mood and position.

SP3.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> One trend I am noticing is that I keep sensing a clear difference between, say, a standard iPad vs. a Surface. A standard iPad feels like a tablet appliance, whereas a Surface is a full-bore laptop in tablet form.

Mentally, whenever I hold a Surface, I don't find myself thinking of the kind of experience I expect from the iPad. I realize now there is the iPad Pro, which has more horsepower/keyboard/pen etc., but it still doesn't feel like a full laptop.

Does anyone else feel like the iPad experience is more.. I dunno, geared towards casual use and entertainment with the walled garden of apps, and Microsoft really doesn't reach/target the same market (even though they are trying)?

EDIT: I guess I am trying to say, something about this market still doesn't feel quite right.. maybe there are still options to innovate.

<comment><USER9> I had really bad experience with Surface Pro 3 (lots of hardware and software issues), but I have to say this: Microsoft is trying to do the right thing here. There is no reason tablets should be dumb-down media consumption devices when they have computing power equivalent to desktop PCs of a few years ago. But to be used as real computers they must have keyboard and stylus _by default_ and must allow to install arbitrary apps without jailbreaking and hoops.

The biggest thing that's dragging Surface down is its UI. Neither classic Windows apps, nor Metro apps are very pleasant to use on the given hardware.

I wonder what Alan Kay thinks of Surfaces compared to iPads.

<comment><USER10> Surface Pros run Windows 10, so they have the same UI as other computers. I don't see the problem?

<comment><USER11> If the UI/UX is bad for any one or all devices it runs it, that is a problem.

<comment><USER12> It's not, there are two modes, one for tablets and one for desktops/laptops, and you can quickly switch between them.

<comment><USER11> And that's the problem. The two modes doesn't "change" (or the apps are just the properly optimized for the different modes) the apps enough so in reality, an app is either good in one mode or the other, not in both.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13>
      > The most versatile laptop.

...that doesn't ship with a keyboard (pen isn't included either). No USB-C. 16GB RAM maximum.

<comment><USER14> Are you saying that 16 GB isn't enough?

<comment><USER15> It absolutely isn't. I'm a C++ programmer working in games industry, my work machine has 64GB and all our work-issued laptops are 32GB(which is not enough to actually start local servers of our game, so doing any mobile work is quite limiting).

why does this apply here: because I can easily imagine artists using this to modify some assets and trying to run the game to see what they look like, but with 16GB of ram they won't even load the editor, much less the actual server+client combo.

<comment><USER14> Your game needs some serious work. Maybe if your developers had 4 GB RAM on their computers the constraint would benefit them.

<comment><USER16> I am not sure if you are trying to be funny or if you are an arrogant prick.

<comment><USER17> What's so taboo about creating things under the constraints of machines that everyday people own? The best engineers are always the most resourceful and focused.

<comment><USER16> Maybe their stuff is extremely complex and is already optimized? Before you make such a suggestion you should be very sure that you understand the situation.

<comment><USER17> Responding to a question with a question only makes more questions

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I've been waiting for this for a while (despite being a Mac user for years and years). And it doesn't quite compute (ba dum tss). Two reasons really.

1\. No USB-C. 2\. If I want 16 gigs of RAM, I need to opt for an i7 and half a terabyte of SSD.

I wish I could just go for an i5 with 256 gigs of storage and 16 gigs of RAM. That would be sweet (and not as expensive).

Too bad, let's see what others come up with.

<comment><USER16> I don't understand why they create these bundles. Why not let me choose CPU, RAM and disk separately?

<comment><USER19> They do it because customers find it simpler, and because it makes it easier to keep all the models in stock.

<comment><USER20> And because a customer who _must_ have one feature will pay for the other features they don't need if that's the only way to get it.

<comment><USER16> That makes sense. Especially since devices can't be upgraded anymore you have to go to the biggest model "just in case you need it one day"

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> I got excited, then I saw prices. Then I saw the keyboard isn't even included and costs $160. Ouch.

This will be $1800+ after tax, why not just get a really solid laptop at that point? Hell you could buy two solid desktops

<comment><USER22> The pen is amazing for what it does. You can annotate things on the same machine where you're doing everything else. It's also a wonderful machine for flying.

But you pay up for those things. So for you, definitely just get the solid laptop. Surface pros can be maddening, and often feel finicky enough that they can't be primary machines.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> I love my Pro 4. This video won't convince me to upgrade, but I'll be a tad jealous of every new starter at our firm who gets assigned one!

<comment><USER24> Care to elaborate why? I'm somewhat of an apple-fanboy but Surface seems more and more appealing, and I'm leaning towards giving one a try.

<comment> angus-prune I have an SP3. It is the best device I've bought in years.

I interact with the device in a fundamentally different way. I will sit and read a document with a pen and no keyboard (to proofread, highlight and makes notes). I'd tried this on ipad and it never fit in my workflow well.

I will use it to take notes at a meeting in OneNote. Again, the ipad workflow never worked for me for this.

The benefits definitely aren't for everyone. But it fits me perfectly, and I wouldn't go back from it now. Its probably at least a year before I upgrade (I also have a desktop for heavy lifting). I'm feeling the pinch of the older SP3 cpu a bit on some of the work I do, but not enough to warrant an upgrade yet. If I had money to throw around, I'd get the new one as a drop in upgrade without a second thought.

<comment><USER25> OOC, can you explain why the iPad workflow has never worked for those things you mentioned? Seems like one of its core intended designs is taking notes/reading documents much like an actual notebook

<comment> angus-prune When I tried it might have worked if you'd fully bought into the apple ecosystem, but in a mixed corporate environment it just wouldn't work.

A document had to be somehow transferred into each viewer, and manually saved back out so I could use the reviewed document on the desktop.

With the SP3, live documents are stored in either dropbox or a network share and its seamless.

I do a lot of design work in indesign and photoshop, and even word. Being able to make both simple and substantive changes on the fly is a lot more use than far more limited ipad apps.

The SP4 pen is far more pleasant to write with than any ipad stylus I came across. This is all just a matter of taste, but I found my muscle memory reacts for better to the SP4 stylus.

My ipads were great for many things, but work was never one of them for me.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> SP3 user for ~3 years.

Usecases: Web Dev in node/javascript/HTML/CSS, now using WSL. Notetaking in onenote + surface pen for general journaling, notes at meetups, notes from MOOCs, notes from self-language-study. Vague low-power gaming sometimes. Adobe Lightroom photo editing.

Issues: Onenote is absolute fucking garbage at syncing. It is __absolutely unusable __when offline. It will throw unskippable error dialogs about being unable to sync when offline, meaning I can 't use it to write or take notes at all unless I tether. It is so useful in all the above usecases, with no competitor, that I have subjected myself to just getting my tether on my phone ready when I'm out and about and needing to use onenote. However, it is frustrating to the extreme.

Anybody here at Microsoft care to comment on this actually being addressed? Syncing and offline issues have been a "top priority" for the onenote team since 2014 according to the flares of investigating I do occasionally.

<comment><USER26> I hear you. OneNote uses OneDrive which is a huge mess itself. Sync to Dropbox would help so much... there's even ticket for that on their uservoice. OneNote also sucks massively at searching in notes...

<comment><USER27> My #1 gripe about OneNote is that it can't be moved to the SD card on Android. It's manageable since you can decide which notebooks to keep on the device, but still annoying.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> Intentionally omitting a USB-C port kind of reveals how petty microsoft is being. Deciding to omit backtracks from a nice universal standard presumably to intentionally hinder Apple who put all there chips in it. Now accessory manufacturers (thumb drives, displays, etc) are forced to support older ports now longer, potentially forever, until MS adopts.

Lest we forget, the dream that was USB-C was that we wouldn't need half a dozen different cords and adapters to connect things, we could just use one port for everything. Sure dongles are slightly worse than cords, but one cord for everything is the best solution. So Mac users need dongles now, but MS is like "fuck that, give people what they immediately want and screw the future".

<comment><USER29> Most people will have replaced their new Surface Pro long before they actually need a USB Type-C port. Apple chooses to act against it's own customers' interests by rushing to new ports and requiring they buy all new hardware. This will be the third generation of Surface Pro that does not require any new accessories.

If I end up buying the new one (which I might for the built-in LTE), I won't have to buy a new type cover, pen, dock, or spare chargers. Everything is compatible. In my car I keep a Mini-DP video adapter, a portable DVD-RW drive, and an Ethernet adapter, all are USB Type-A, and all would still work with the new Surface Pro.

Consider how much loathing I hear from Mac fans about Apple taking away MagSafe. Why would Microsoft do that to their Surface customers? This is Microsoft making a pro-consumer decision.

<comment><USER30> > Apple chooses to act against it's own customers' interests by rushing to new > ports and requiring they buy all new hardware.

I just moved to a 2016 MacBook Pro and the only "all new hardware" I've purchased is a pair of $10 adapters. I haven't replaced any of the hardware I already own, because I don't need to.

I can only really criticize Apple for not including an adapter or two, and for not including more than two USB-C ports on the base 13" MBP. The latter's really pretty regrettable.

<comment><USER29> Similar to your MacBook, you will be able to get adapters for the Surface Pro for your USB-C needs!

They included the ports people use the most, and will support adapters for those of you who need less popular ports.

<comment><USER30> That's certainly true. Apple included the ports that people _will_ use the most, at some point in what they believe to be the justifiably near future (we'll see!), and they naturally support adapters for those who need what are currently the more popular ports.

So with the Surface Pro you're probably buying adapters one to two years from now, whereas with the MacBook you're probably buying those adapters today. Whether adapters are bought now or two years from now I don't think is that great of a concern.

<comment><USER28> That's so short sighted. Sure, if we stick with what everyone uses now everyone will be supported. They only way to move towards those greener pastures is to have companies actually support them.

MS hasn't supported the port, and is intentionally taking a swipe at Apple "people who love USB-C love dongles." To me implies they know what they're dong and are trying to reap the benefits of the inevitable awkwardness of transitions.

<comment><USER30> It was only a commentary on whether buying adapters/dongles or converting to new hardware now vs. later doesn't (or shouldn't) matter to users individually, not a suggestion that USB-C adoption shouldn't concern users in a more collective sense.

For what it's worth if I was in the market for a Surface Pro I think I'd have also preferred USB-C, given its momentum.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> No Thunderbolt 3 as the leaks said. Can't buy it for that reason alone. (Our office goes for TB3 Docks everywhere so Mac and Windows Users can use the same Flex Desks)

<comment><USER32> Which dock and what has your experience been with them? Seems there are very few out there..

<comment><USER33> I have a Dell XPS 15 9560 with the TB16 dock. I had tried a couple (Kensington, etc), and had issues (like, buried waaaaay down in the Kensington fine print was the fact that if you had a 4K display, the USB3 ports would "downshift" to USB2, and the GigE port would go to 100mbps...)

The TB16 dock is great though, works seamlessly and smoothly with 4K displays, GigE, supports Power Delivery and remote 'wake' (there's a power button on the dock that if the laptop is sleeping will wake it).

<comment><USER31> Have you tried using the TB 16 with a MacBook Pro?

<comment><USER33> No. But I could try with my partner's MB if you're curious.

<comment><USER31> Yes I am. :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> > Surface Pro boasts 50% longer battery life than Surface Pro 4, 2.5x more > performance than Surface Pro 3

Why do they compare it to the Surface Pro 3, and not the 4??

<comment><USER35> Because "1x the performance of a Surface Pro 4" didn't get past the guys in marketing.

<comment><USER36> Well 1.05x but yeah. Truth hurts!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER37> I'm interested to see if the claims of ~20ms latency on the pen hold up in reviews. That's less than half of the latency of the Apple Pencil and within spitting distance of the 10ms considered to be the holy grail of imperceptibility. I could never get into pen-based input because the latency drove me nuts, but may have to rethink that.

<comment><USER38> Apple pencil was never touted as having particularly low latency. On the other hand surface devices have always made a point of having the best touch/stylus experience, so I won't be surprised if that 20ms really holds good.

<comment><USER39> A year ago when I tested the two back to back, the Apple stylus had something like half the latency of the MS one, and also seemed more accurate.

It's hard to tell how much of that is hardware difference vs. optimization of the signal processing software though.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER40> "2.5x more performance than Surface Pro 3"

This statement begs an obvious question...

<comment><USER41> Should they call it the Surface Pro 7.5?

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> Do people still use these¹ cameras seriously, or is Microsoft trying to out hipster Apple?

[1] : [https://c.s-microsoft.com/en- us/CMSImages/Surface_J_Overview...](https://c.s-microsoft.com/en- us/CMSImages/Surface_J_Overview_HighlightFeature_V1.png.jpg?version=13555b4d-c642-8dbb-e1af-83661faadf0a)

<comment><USER43> Yes, it is very rare as it is highly expensive. These cameras use film sheets with a size of 4x5 or 8x10 inches (depending on how you process the film and scan it the total might be in the hundreds of dollars per image). The image quality however is unmatched by any digital equipment.

Scanning back solutions also exist (basically a scanner that you can attach to the camera) . These cost thousands of dollars each and may take a few minutes per image. You cannot use them for moving subjects. [1]

These factors make cameras like this a very rare sight indeed.

[0] [http://www.dannyburk.com/drum_scanning.htm](http://www.dannyburk.com/drum_scanning.htm) [1] [http://www.betterlight.com/products4X5.html](http://www.betterlight.com/products4X5.html)

</comment></comment><comment><USER44> The biggest note to me seems to be the addition of tilt sensitivity, which will also be available via Windows Update for other surface devices (the footnote is vague on which ones).

</comment><comment><USER45> As a side-note: if you are selling premium devices with these mark ups and charging extra for essential accessories (a keyboard) you better have premium physical stores where I can try them out. I'm in the UK and PC World does not count: they will most likely not know the difference between this and a Surface Pro 4.

</comment><comment><USER46> Any Linux support? I'll buy Microsoft hardware if I can keep my full development environment (Qt creator included)

<comment><USER47> Linux support will be limited.

I'm running Ubuntu 16.04 and Win10 on a Surface Book \- no pen input, can't use dedicated GPU, wifi signal occasionally dies, can't wake up from sleep

Other then that, Linux actually runs pretty well and is very usable.

<comment><USER7> >other than that

That's... a pretty big "that"

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER48> Can you actually use this "laptop" on your lap? Doesn't the fact that it has a kickstand make it extremely awkward, if not impossible? I have not tried one like that myself, so I honestly don't know, but I'd be very surprised if it worked on one's lap.

<comment><USER49> I have SP4 - despite many other issues I have with it, the kickstand DOES make it great to use on a lap. In fact I find it much easier to use on my lap than any laptop that I have used.

Being able to adjust to any angle means you can use it just as comfortably in an airport chair vs on a lounge etc.

<comment><USER48> I don't get how the kickstand could actually make it easier to use than a normal laptop. Can't you adjust the angle on any laptop?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER50> You could link on the official page tho: [https://www.microsoft.com/en- us/surface/devices/surface-pro/...](https://www.microsoft.com/en- us/surface/devices/surface-pro/overview)

</comment><comment><USER51> Still need to take the i7 to get 16GB of RAM. I really appreciate that even the base spec, touch-bar less MBP can be fully loaded out with memory.

</comment><comment><USER52> Top model has 1TBGB SSD ! That's 1 terabyte gigabyte or zillions of all kinds of bytes :).

Typos aside, hardware looks promising, but Windows...

The only place were I'm ok with Windows is a multi monitor gaming rig.. And that's because there's no other choice.

<comment><USER38> Windows is probably the best OS on this form of PC. The form itself is shit, that's another matter.

</comment></comment><comment><USER53> Look I'm a fan but until I see it running some real heavy artillery (Ableton Live 9 Suite, Massive, AmpliTube, and a half-dozen VSTs) in real-time vs. the competition, then it's just another hollow claim. Sure, hardware and performance are getting better. Sure, the Surface Dial is a massive game changer in the long term.

But, look, the problem with marketing to creative people is that they take it sort of as a challenge to prove you wrong. It's like ingrained. Kind of a bad habit, but, hey, it is what it is and I will happily admit I want one of these new devices and would consider it a major upgrade from my current gear.

<comment><USER54> I'm a fairly professional creative myself and have been using Surface products to do my work for the last 4~ years almost exclusively. Heavy Photoshop work, lots of video editing, 3D modeling & rendering, etc.

Sure, I'd love to have 32GB of memory and an even more powerful machine in general, but I've been damn happy with all of the Surface products I've owned.

<comment><USER55> I would love to hear your feedback on the new Surface Pen features. Keep up the great work!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER56> Looks like a nice incremental improvement to the Surface Pro line.

The "no fan" option on the Core i5 could be quite nice, one of the annoyances about the Surface Pro 3 that I've seen was the noise of the fans.

<comment><USER57> I'm curious, does "no fan" mean no vents? Cos it will overheat once dust accumulates.

<comment><USER58> It has vents. It may even have active cooling by other means (e.g. Lumia 950 smartphones are water-cooled).

Don't think dust will gather inside the device that easily if there is no fan to suck it in.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER59> I have used Surface pro 1, and I got too many problems such as keyboard's key is broken which I had to buy a new keyboard twice. The surface is totally freezed when I connected keyboard to it.

I again convinced myself that the Surface pro 3 is better so I bought it. Wow, some problems are: \- The top right of backside is extremely hot when I watch youtube. \- Again, the Alt btn of the surface pro 3 keyboard is broken. \- batter length is not as advertised.

Therefore, I wont never buy a new surface even if it is cheaper than macbook pro. I am saving money to buy a new macbook pro.

</comment><comment><USER60> Honestly, $100 for the pen? That should honestly be included since the keyboard isn't.

<comment><USER61> Wow, that means they really jacked up the price this year. My SP4 was pen included. $1060 for the m3 model with a pen and type cover.

<comment><USER62> I got mine for the equivalent of 1028 USD: SP4 i5, 256G, 8GO pen and type cover (this was a special offer though). This was one month ago. So when the new model will go out, the prices of SP4 will probably drop.

So far the only drawback of the SP4 is the battery life, so except if they improved it a lot I don't see the point of paying the 500-600$ more. They say it's possible to watch 13.5 hours of videos, but manufacturers tests are not trustable anyway. It would probably be more like 7-8 hours of real-world usage. Are the extra 3 hours worth the difference? Maybe, but for my usage no.

<comment><USER63> Depends... being able to get through a day at a conference center matters a lot to some people. Not so much to me, but to some.

<comment><USER62> Yes, it is why I said "Maybe" :-) I'm actually working in research and I'm going to conferences, but the limit of ~4 hours kind of forces me to focus on talks instead of coding all day long.

I mean, during the conference day I'm kind of depressed of not having battery any more, but with cold head I tell myself it is better for me.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER64> People are pushing this as a MacBook killer but it's more like an iPad Pro killer. With the same 4GB of RAM, a Core m3 and 128 GB of storage, it costs $100 less than the iPad Pro with the same RAM and storage (but an ARM processor). The m3 here makes a good difference.

For the same as the 8GB i5 with 256 GB, you get a MacBook with a Core m and the built-in keyboard. It's slower than the i5, but it's an actual laptop.

</comment><comment><USER65> Their pricing structure floors me. On the i7 models, you pay $1100 more for 750GB of extra SSD space and 8GB of extra RAM over the entry level i7 model. That is ridiculous. With that kind of premium to protect, they'll also make it nearly impossible to manually upgrade/replace the RAM and SSD, which makes buying one of these things a pretty bad decision.

<comment><USER66> Agreed, but how's that different to what the competition is doing?

16GB RAM starts at 2199 $US. That indeed quite off-putting for something that should replace my laptop.

<comment><USER65> I'd argue that iPad Pro isn't really competition for the Surface Pro. It's a tablet; the Surface Pro is a full-fledged PC. I would absolutely buy one because I love the weight and form factor, but I'd need at least 16GB of RAM, and I just won't pay an $1100 idiot tax for the top of the line model. I'll watch to see what iFixIt says about soldered RAM etc., but I'm not hopeful.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER67> Alright, now that this is out: what should I get?

Most of my heavy-duty work is done via SSH into a remote VM. I watch movies, but mostly browse the web. Most of my actual work is programming intensive. I like pretty screens. Larger is usually better. I want to be able to take it on a plane without hassle when I travel.

New surface? HP Elite x360 15"? Wait for Surface Book refresh? Yoga?

<comment><USER68> Dell Precision 5520 looks like the best machine out right now, among the larger/higher-performing options.

<comment><USER67> Looking for a hybrid though (tablet mode), doesn't look like Precision does that? Otherwise that'd be a solid choice.

<comment> vladimir-y XPS 13" has convertible model. Nowadays Precision laptops come with the same chassis as XPS, nothing premium there as XPS is the regular multimedia laptop. I'd recommend before getting Dell's laptop to first go through the owners comments at the Amazom/reddit/etc, I saw many complaints about quality control and the coil whine problem, so for me Dell is not an option.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER69> I have a SP4 and I really, really like it. But this doesn't seem to differ that much from it. Does it? :)

What's new compared to SP4?

<comment><USER70> 50% more battery life than the 4, fanless options for the m3 and i5 versions, on screen support for the surface dial, and a new hinge that lays a little flatter seem like the big changes. It's largely an incremental improvement.

<comment><USER71> And LTE.

It would be pretty damn surprising if you got any more than an incremental improvement this late in the game.

<comment><USER70> Oh yeah LTE is neat but I don't really have a use for it so I always forget to look.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER72> I use my tablet quite a lot to browse the web. It's an old iPad 2. Everytime a new tablet comes out, I wonder if I should update but cannot find a reason. Is there anything new in this tablet that would benefit me?

All I really care for in a tablet is that it is:

      1) Fanless (The iPad is fanless)
      2) Lightweight (The iPad weights 600g)

<comment><USER73> _Is there anything new in this tablet that would benefit me?_

Do you ever want to use keyboard with your tablet? Can you see that advantage of a pen? Is there any windows software that you might want to run on your tablet? If no, then no.

Basically this isn't a tablet that is competing against the iPad, it's a tablet that's competing against the macbook/macbook air.

<comment><USER72> I use my laptop to do anything else then browsing the web. If a tablet would run Linux smoothly, I could see myself using it with an external keyboard. So I could put the tablet onto something so it's on eyelevel and put the keyboard on the desk. I guess that would work with a bluetooth keyboard?

However, as far as I know the surface line does not support Linux well.

<comment><USER74> Windows has a linux subsystem now, so it depends on how you define "support"

<comment><USER72> What can one do with that "subsystem"?

I want to use all the software that is in the Debian repos. I don't want Microsoft to spy on me. And I don't want to be exposed to their security issues.

<comment><USER19> > I want to use all the software that is in the Debian repos.

They have this, more or less (well, Ubuntu rather than Debian). You get real apt-get and you can install things, most of them work.

> I don't want Microsoft to spy on me.

No luck there, though it seems like everyone short of the BSDs is doing that these days :(.

> And I don't want to be exposed to their security issues.

You still are, though again I don't think their security position is worse than anyone else (again, short of the BSDs) these days.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER75> Following the Apple school of numbering things up to a point the throwing a random self-titled reboot, I see. It won't work, Microsoft. It didn't work for Apple. Just ask anyone who owns an iPad, and count the amount of time it takes to figure out exactly _which_ model iPad they own.

<comment><USER76> I have the The New iPad, which is the old iPad now.

<comment><USER77> I think the numbering system goes away when the innovation ends. Meaning, the only thing changing in the future is slight hardware upgrades, like the MB Air or Mini which are identified by date.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER78> The keyboard looks bad. I don't want the oversized left and right arrows. I want pageup and pagedown there instead.

The XPS 13 2-in-1 is better for me if only for this reason. The XPS also comes with a pen, USB-C, and a decent hardware configuration like 16Gb of ram because we are in 2017!!!

I just wish I could get QHD+ screen. No option on dell.com, while I see that on [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5MV7YA](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5MV7YA) so it must exist somewhere. I also have been told that it may be possible to get a trackpoint on similar models that share the chassis - but no touchscreen then.

Oh, and there is no LTE in any case. I guess I will have to wait for 2018 to at least get the QHD+ option.

<comment><USER79> I own a Surface Pro 3 with the SP4 type cover (i.e. the version before the one that just came out and which is basically the same). I thought I'd miss all the keys from my laptop and desktop keyboards. Turns out, there are lots of hidden shortcuts. I got used to doing Fn+Arrows for Home/End/PageUp/PageDown and now I wish I could use that on other keyboards too. To me it's easier than having to reach for those keys when they are to the right or to the top of the keyboard, so much that I think I type a bit faster on the type cover, as long as I'm properly seated and the keyboard is on a solid surface (e.g. a desk).

I find the keyboard very good (the right menu key is a bit useless, but you can remap that using many methods) and the touchpad is the best I've used too, although it's probably not as good as the ones in Macbooks.

If the keyboard is the only thing holding you back, rethink it. You should be more worried about the price and the kickstand which is not a problem for me but might be for you, especially if your legs are short and you intend on using it on your lap a lot.

<comment><USER78> The keyboard is holding me up. I have shortcuts mapped to the keys above the left and right arrow. I use them extensively to navigate between desktop and tabs. A few years ago I read about using such shortcuts and now they are deeply ingrained into my workflow.

I don't think I could do without them, and they are one of the only reason I'm considering the XPS: a proper keyboard.

FYI, by default these 2 keys go to the next tab, when using the shift key right above: they go to next desktop, using the control or menu key right next to them they reorder the tabs, etc.)

For the tool I use everyday, price is not the problem. However, a bad keyboard is.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER80> I've been very happy with my SP4, but I wish I'd gone for the i7 CPU instead of the i5.

It would be nice if the top-level configuration on the SP5 had 32gb of memory - I end up swapping sometimes (which TBH isn't that bad with a SSD, compared to the old rotating rust drives)

<comment><USER81> What Core i5 model does your SP4 carry? Does anyone know where you can find the models they are using in the new SPP?

I'm sure the Core i7 are something like the 7500U (i.e. dual core, four threads) - is your Core i5 dual core, dual threads?

<comment><USER80> It's an i5-6300U at 2.4 GHz. 1 socket, 2 cores, 4 logical processors.

<comment><USER81> That's the really weird thing about Core i7 mobile processors. They are also 1 socket, 2 cores, 4 logical processors. Just slightly faster base/turbo clocks than the i5. I dislike the naming. I only recently realized my work laptop is a U series, which explains why my 8 year old desktop (AMD quad core) is much faster at compiling the same projects...

<comment> Const-me My laptop with U-series i3 builds C++ just as fast as my 3 years old quad core desktop i5.

The reason is eDRAM i.e. large L4 cache in the mobile CPU. Some workloads (compiling C++ appears to be one of them) like lower RAM latency even more than extra CPU cores.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER82> They are still using the SurfaceDock with the SurfaceConnect Cable: [https://www.microsoft.com/en- us/surface/accessories/surface-...](https://www.microsoft.com/en- us/surface/accessories/surface-dock) , which does basically the same as USB-C.

In an era when even Apple is rumored (and even if false, still plausible) to be switching to USB-C for the iPhone, Microsoft still tries to force a proprietary connector. Didn't they learn anything from IE? Even if it's good for them for a while, it'll be their demise not following standars and thus locking thenselves out of everything.

<comment><USER83> From what I've seen, USB-C is a _disaster_. The ports and cables all have to support specific profiles, which are just getting more and more complicated, for specific features to work, and there is _no visual indication at all_ of this. If you got a cheap cable (which people _will_ do), you may suddenly find that maybe charging doesn't work. Or maybe it melts. Or maybe it doesn't transfer data. Or maybe using it for a video signal doesn't work. _There is no way of telling without trying it._

USB-C just isn't popular enough yet to have crashed and burned (though even after that it'll still be popular for ages for want of an alternative).

I have a Surface Book (the hardware was good enough to get me to switch from Linux, without ever actually having seen one), and the Surface cable is _marvellous_. Magnets are awesome, and the Surface Book is probably _the_ most carefully magnetically-designed computer hardware. At work I have a Dock and I pretty much just put the Book on the desk by the connector and it jumps into place and my external monitors connect. And removing it, really easy and it can't go wrong. The whole thing is really, really nice.

<comment><USER84> Sure...except you have to buy a $200 dock to connect it to anything.

Why can't I buy a $40 (or Chinese equivalent for $20) adapter to connect it to things?

Why isn't there a pin-out or open standard?

I know the magnetic factor would be a problem for this use-case - it would often be too "heavy" for the magnets.

<comment><USER23> I bought a Kensington dock, I think it is the model I linked to below, but I paid way less for it on amazon. Works great.

[https://www.kensington.com/au/au/4491/33972/sd3500v-universa...](https://www.kensington.com/au/au/4491/33972/sd3500v-universal- usb-30-dual-docking-station)

<comment><USER33> If it's anything like the Kensington sd3600p I had, not so great. Buried far below anything else was the not so little detail that if you plugged in a 4K display, USB3 ports on the dock would downshift to USB2, and GigE to 100mbps (why bother?).

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER85> 799 USD for 4GB RAM, 128GB of flash, and an "Intel Core m3"? Come on. I understand that the Intel CPU is almost 300 USD per unit, and that pushes the price. I hope that Snapdragon SoCs running Windows 10 with emulation for x86 stuff drive down Windows 10 tablet/laptop prices dramatically. BTW, despite being expensive, the new Surface Pro looks great.

In my opinion, Intel is playing Serguéi Bubka's technique: because there is no enough competition, they go as slow as possible in the mobile market, just matching the performance of the second competitor.

</comment><comment><USER86> back to naming hell I see.

Surface Pro > Surface Pro 4 > Surface Pro 3 etc...

Is it bad to have higher numbers in product titles? I don't see a problem with "Surface Pro 5" but maybe "normal" people do?

<comment><USER57> I don't mind the name. However, differentiating between versions when buying a surface from a third party site e.g. EBay would become problematic and unnecessarily time consuming.

</comment></comment><comment><USER87> They picked some low-rez pictures to show this off. Check out the picture of all the software being demonstrated. Apple is always really good at showing you a crisp picture of the software side.

</comment><comment><USER17> Microsoft is completely unashamed and masterfully brilliant at copying and improving on Apple's strategy. The only concern is that they're making a bunch of machines not many people will buy, however, in the long run it's better that they have the production expertise and well minted engineers. Apple should and probably isn't resting on its heels, I bet we're going to see a preemptive strike on HoloLens (and probably .NET) sometime soon, maybe starting at WWDC this year...

<comment><USER88> What about this are you describing as copying Apple's strategy?

<comment><USER17> MS built out an entire hardware line that mimics Apple's hardware line and then put up counter points to Mac alongside each competing Apple product. It is obvious and Microsoft's collective ego shows. It is a very late response to Apple's old campaign, they have moved on completely.

<comment><USER44> Mimics? At last check, none of Apple's laptops had full touch screens or supported a stylus. If you're talking about design or style, you might be able to argue that.

<comment><USER17> You are talking about features. Not the products themselves. Tablet. Laptop. Convertible (in-between). There usage and perception is the same. There is no defining feature that make them different. They go after the same market, that is the key.

None of these products (Surface) really matter because Microsoft is just buying time and expertise with the Surface line. HoloLens will change everything, as soon as it drops. Microsoft will be working furiously to spin down the Surface line and ramp up its new platform. It is the gold key. We don't always have our phone in our hands but imagine you have these lenses on all the time to help you experience a deeper world.

<comment><USER44> _There usage and perception is the same._

The usage and perception of a laptop with a detachable keyboard, full touch screen, and a stylus is the same? I don't think so. Perhaps they're very similar, but I think it's a stretch to equate them.

 _one of these products (Surface) really matter because Microsoft is just buying time and expertise with the Surface line. HoloLens will change everything, as soon as it drops. Microsoft will be working furiously to spin down the Surface line and ramp up its new platform. It is the gold key. We don 't always have our phone in our hands but imagine you have these lenses on all the time to help you experience a deeper world._

I think you're slightly overly optimistic about the future here.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER89> I recently purchased a new laptop, after looking through a bunch of options -- Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, etc. Ultimately, I settled on one from Xiaomi. For $720, I get an i5-6200U, 8gb of DDR4 RAM, 256gb SSD, 1gb dedicated graphics card, a 13.3" panel, aluminum body, backlit keyboard, USB C + HMDI + 2 USB 3.0 ports etc.

Build quality is similar to Surfacebook, but I would have to spend another ~600 to match the stats. Is the whole touchscreen tablet combo worth that premium?

<comment><USER90> > Is the whole touchscreen tablet combo worth that premium?

I would say it depends. I love the touch screen (I've disabled my touchpad) - and I love the real pen/digitizer.

The sp4 is basically the dynabook: high dpi screen, a pen that works.

Still some annoyances with scaling in legacy apps - and I've yet to find a great "smart" drawing/cad program that really takes advantage of the pen - I'm thinking something like Ivan Sutherland's "Sketchpad".

I haven't quite gotten around to it, but I believe it would make a great Smalltalk companion (although it's a "button" short). It does work quite well with MIT's "scratch" system.

<comment><USER91> Regarding drawing and CAD programs, have you heard of Moment of Inspiration (MoI)? The interface is designed to be suitable for stylus input with fewer and fatter buttons, scrubbing, etc. More importantly, the workflows also seem to be designed around this so repeating or chaining actions is easy and you never feel like stylus input is cramped or lacking precise control.

Other pros:

      -fully customizable HTML UI
      -fast, lightweight but powerful
      -advanced actions (cloning along a path) aren't archaic hidden abilities for advanced users, they're discoverable and usable by new uers
      -reasonable price

Cons:

      -not as serious/enterprise as some people might need
      -due to semi-indie status it probably won't serve as your ONLY 3d modeling tool with only a handful of file format option

All said, it makes for a fantastic addition to existing toolbelts but could also be a complete game changer for a certain class of users.

<comment><USER90> No, I had not. I'll certainly take look.

[http://moi3d.com/](http://moi3d.com/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER92> I honestly wish Microsoft would have have just loaded their surface with USB c ports. I guess there is always next gen :/

</comment><comment><USER93> At $899 USD, there are a lot of options besides the Surface Pro. Our organization will buy it though because they take a corporate approach to purchasing and they always buy warranties. I never understand that... but whatever. Just buy 10 more Surface Pro and swap 'em out if want "warranty". Still cheaper that way.

</comment><comment><USER94> Why are kickstand hybrid laptops a thing?

Its the combination of an over-sized tablet that you find impossible to hold and touch type on comfortably at the same time because 'TOUCH ON EVERYTHING', mixed with the idea the family photo frame sitting on your desk would make a great workstation if I just added a detachable keyboard. Lame!!!

</comment><comment><USER95> I love my SP2, but i only use it for note taking in onenote for all my study related stuff and its amazing for that. Syncs to my Windows Desktop and Macbook in a few seconds. The whole note taking experience still has some small issues, but in general it's been a huge boon to my productivity.

</comment><comment><USER96> I would really love one but need to be able to use something on my lap when I'm on the couch.

Think I may go for an XPS 13. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_aSht_ssls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_aSht_ssls)

<comment><USER71> If you're fine with the on-screen keyboard (which is fine for browsing, once you get used to it), flipping the keyboard so the keys are on your lap and the back rest lies on the back of the keycover is pretty good for lap usage.

</comment></comment><comment><USER64> How easy is it to remove Windows and install Fedora 25 or Ubuntu 17.04?

</comment><comment> vladimir-y 12.3 screen, no thank you, I'd rather take the new 14" Lenovo X1 Yoga 2nd gen, which also has a 3 USB + 2 TB3 ports (amazing ports set for such a slim form factor).

</comment><comment><USER97> Is the RAM still soldered in and therefore not expandable / upgradeable?

I'd love to get the 256Gb SSD / i7 version and upgrade to 16Gb RAM

<comment><USER70> Soldered or purely onboard everything is the only way to get devices that thin. There's just not enough space to include a RAM socket that's 50% the height of your entire device.

</comment></comment><comment><USER98> Laptop that you can't even put on your lap...

<comment><USER99> I don't know if you own one or not, but as someone who has owned one for several years now, I can tell you I've NEVER had a problem using mine, with the keyboard, on my lap.

<comment><USER100> I've had a couple since the original Surface RT and I have a tough time with it. I really don't use the device anymore because balancing it on my lap became really annoying. It's fantastic on a table though.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER101> I am pretty sure that the view camera in the picture on their home page is no more a USB 2.0 device rather than USB-C, XD

</comment><comment><USER102> 4GB of memory for the $999 i5 model is so 2005. I cant think of a single client that could operate with those specs.

</comment><comment><USER103> How many cores will the new CPUs have? I remember someone telling me that the older version all had 2 cores only

</comment><comment><USER104> At first sight it has similar specs to HP Envy and Spectre series. I'm wondering about the price.

</comment><comment><USER105> I'm mostly curious what they're doing with that 4x5 view camera connected to a laptop...

<comment><USER106> Could be a scanning back.. but they also don't seem to have a shutter cable attached :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER105> I'm very curious what they're doing with that 4x5 view camera connected to a laptop...

</comment><comment><USER85> Current Windows logo in the tablet is ugly. The old with colors was nicer, in my opinion.

</comment><comment><USER107> If only it did not run Windows

</comment><comment><USER108> Why is it comparing battery to surface pro 4 but performance to surface pro 3?

<comment><USER109> Intel hasn't provided any interesting performance improvements in Kaby Lake; it'll probably be about the same performance as the Pro 4.

</comment></comment><comment><USER110> Nice, but... have they hired people who left apple to make this website?

<comment><USER111> Ha! I wish I could upvote this all the way to the top!

</comment></comment><comment><USER112> Anybody knows if they are going to release a new surface book too?

</comment><comment><USER113> Can Microsoft stop making laptop/tablet hybrids please?

<comment><USER114> Why should they? How would that benefit anyone?

</comment></comment><comment><USER115> Is this locked to install apps from Windows Store only?

<comment><USER116> No, that was only Surface Laptop - this is full Windows 10 Pro based on the pre-order page.

<comment><USER117> And to be clear, the Surface Laptop can be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro as well. Eventually that will be a $50 upgrade, but for the first year after launch, it will be a free upgrade.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER118> Anyone bought the new Lenovo X270 yet ?

</comment><comment><USER119> I made an account just to provide some balance to the glowing reviews about the Surface Pros, and to see if I'm the only one here that feels this way. I own a Surface Pro 3. I want to like it but a few things ruined it for me.

TL;DR: Unless they redesign the charger and make the touchscreen resilient to cracks, I won't be buying another Surface in the future.

Complaint #1: Am I the only one here super frustrated by the design of the SP3's (and SP4's) charger? Specifically, the magsafe-like plug. It frays right where the cord meets the plastic plug and short-circuits. You can actually see the spark inside the plastic piece that connects to the computer, and the LED indicating it's connected to power will flicker on and off. I've owned two cables now (the original and the replacement I got for this issue) and it's happened on both. There's a thread here about this: [http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/power-cable- fraying.108...](http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/power-cable- fraying.10845/)

The result is I have to be very careful when it's plugged in, because if I move and shift the cable, it might short-out and the computer shuts off (and it resets my Surface's time, too). Also, annoyingly, sometimes the LED in the plastic magsafe plug indicates it's connected to power, but when I connect it to the Surface the Surface says "plugged in, NOT charging" (emphasis mine).

Microsoft recalled the power cords due to the AC power plug, but not the magsafe connector. So when I contacted Microsoft about the recall, they sent me the part that plugs to the wall, which was not the problem. I've tried reinforcing the connection with electrical tape, and that helps to a very limited extent.

Complaint #2: A month into owning the SP3 I dropped it and the screen cracked. This broke the touch screen (the Surface thinks I'm repeatedly tapping where the screen is cracked.) I had to disable the touchscreen drivers to make the Surface usable, so now the tablet functionality is all gone, which is a bummer because I bought it in part for reading and videos. And, even with the drivers disabled, when the computer boots up from power off, it often waits indefinitely at the screen with the word "Surface" unless I "massage" the area where the screen is cracked. This behavior (and recommendation to massage the screen) is documented in this reddit thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/4vmimv/surface_pro...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/4vmimv/surface_pro_3_i7_256_gets_stuck_on_surface_logo/).

Dropping it was my mistake, but I wish the Surface's touchscreen was more resilient/better able to handle cracks. iPads and iPhones seem much better off in this respect.

Complaint #3: Occasionally, the Surface will turn itself back on when I've pressed the power button to turn it off. The result is I'll come back to use the Surface later and the battery will be totally dead. I'm 85% sure that it's not me hitting the power button to turn it back on, especially because my power settings are such that, if it's sitting idle for 5 minutes, it should go to sleep.

I really like the Surface in a lot of ways, but the issue with the power cable and the fragility of the touchscreen make me unlikely to buy another Surface, and make me hesitate about recommending a Surface to a friend.

</comment><comment><USER120> How is this a functional laptop? And I'm being dead serious here and 100% literal - how do I work with this machine while it's on my lap? It looks like it would be a real pain in the ass to do so, with the "Kickstand" and all.

<comment><USER121> It's not a functional laptop. Putting a Surface on your lap is the worst experience you'll ever have. But as a portable Windows 10 device, my Surface Pro 1 is one of my favorite devices.

<comment><USER5> I don't know what kind of laps other people have, but I'm decidedly average in every way, physically, and I use my SP3 on my lap every day.

Usually it's on a table or desk, but it's fine on my lap too.

<comment><USER122> It is completely lapable, but typing on keyboard without anything underneath is a bit weird. I hope they upgrade the SurfaceBook next.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER123> Nothing like confusing naming/branding than having a new product called "Surface Pro" when the Surface Pro 4 was released a few year(s) ago.

> Xbox

> Xbox 360

> back to "Xbox One"

Microsoft sure has weird naming tendencies,.

<comment><USER7> Angular

Angular 2

Angular

Facebook

Facebook Messenger

Messenger

Not to mention... google play store vs play store vs google play music vs google books vs Inbox vs gmail vs Google docs vs Google Drive (wtf is even the difference between these two?)

I want to mock but then I recall every naming meeting we've ever had at my company and I totally get it

</comment></comment><comment><USER124> Am I poor or is this thing crazy expensive ?

<comment><USER125> It is only expensive if you compare it to the craptops from dell and hp.

Its got the same pixel density of a macbook pro, weights half as much, has a touchscreen, etc.

<comment><USER117> > _Its got the same pixel density of a macbook pro_

Just to clarify, the Surface Pro and Surface Book have a 267 DPI 2:3 aspect ratio display. They are fantastic.

The MacBook Pro's display is ~227 DPI and is not 2:3.

<comment><USER16> From my subjective experience my MBP's screen is still better than the Surface Book screen. Despite lower DPI.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER126> Needs better storage options. I want an i5 with 512GB or 1TB, but not for $2,000++.

</comment><comment><USER81> These are neat, but expensive. I just ordered a laptop this weekend.

* 17.3" 1080p

* Core i7 (quad core)

* 16GB RAM

* Discrete graphics

* Backlit keyboard (at no extra charge!)

$800 shipped to my door. Only thing I need to do yet is order an M.2 SSD and I'll be happy for the next 4 years.

So my heart leaped a little seeing a new Surface announcement, but personally, smaller screens will never work for these tired eyes. That and when I bumped up to 16GB of RAM... I hit $2200. (It's also hard to see which Core i7 they put in these, but I have a sneaking suspicion there's a 'U' in the model name, meaning it's actually dual core.

Obviously the laptop I'm getting weighs 3-4 times as much and has a fraction of the battery life. It's a completely different animal. But for me, personally, the Surface will just remain "interesting" until it's portable, powerful AND the pricing is not exorbitant. Then I could see trying to get some work done on it when I'm out and about.

<comment><USER127> That's a really good deal - mind sharing the manufacturer?

<comment><USER128> Not the OP, but I had a similar deal with a Lenovo P50 during their black Friday sale, 1k USD for 15" quad core i7, discrete graphics, and 256 SSD. I've never seen the OPs price point except for vendors like Sager.

<comment><USER81> 15" is usually easier to find deals on. And to get the SSD included. I am spending $100 to get an M.2 Samsung 850 EVO 250GB. I'm willing to do refurbished and previous generation CPU/GPU, which gets me most of the performance for less money. If I was more into gaming, I think the newer Geforce would've mattered more to me.

Lenovo Clearance does have a Y700 (17.3" 1080p) with GTX 960, Core i7 quad, 256GB SSD, but only 8GB RAM. Brand new for $799. [http://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-y700-se...](http://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-y700-series/Lenovo- IdeaPad-Y700-17ISK/p/80Q0008WUS)</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Nokia Labs - Conversation - <AUTHOR> http://www.nokia.com/A4568203 <comment><USER2> Yay! I've been fed up with the typical nokia SMS client and a few days ago started writing a better one which does pretty much the same as this one.</comment>


You should stop using "You should follow me on Twitter here." - <AUTHOR> http://twitter.com/#!/dcurtis/status/6864194372636672 <comment><USER2> Some background: <http://dustincurtis.com/you_should_follow_me_on_twitter.html>

</comment><comment><USER3> I don't understand this. What is this in reference to?

</comment><comment><USER4> Huh?</comment>


E-Bikes, Getting Lighter and Faster - <AUTHOR> https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-15/lighter-and-faster-e-bikes-may-start-replacing-second-family-car <comment><USER2> I've sort of been thinking about it. Our car is 20 years old and gets driven about 100 miles a month. When it dies, it won't be replaced. My regular bike is fine for commuting and light errands, but I think a more cargo-type bike might be good to have. One of my coworkers got a nice one that she likes a lot—hauls her kids around on it.</comment>


The Index Funds Win Again - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/your-money/stocks-and-bonds/22stra.html?em

<comment><USER2> "Mr. Kritzman devised an elaborate method to take such contingencies into account." -- Markov chain Monte Carlo maybe?</comment>


All about npm and why it is the heart of JavaScript ecosystem? - <AUTHOR> https://hashnode.com/post/npm-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-javascript-ecosystem-cimvnbetj02r1wz53u4bjw1dr <comment><USER2> I am disturbed by the caviler dismissal of the security vulnerability created by mutable and upgradeable versions.

npm does not have "immutable versions" \-- the library you depend on can be replaced with different code given the same version label and with a normal toolchain this change would be picked up without even alerting you. As far as I can tell, this has not been exploited, but it is ripe for abuse.

Furthermore, a package manager is more than just the server it runs on -- things like the culture of how it is used also matter. As far as I can tell (please convince me I am wrong about this), common practice with npm is to import "the latest" version of a library -- that's a security problem AND a version incompatibility just waiting to bite someone.</comment>


Do You Prefer Fast or Precise? - <AUTHOR> http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vcblog/archive/2015/10/19/do-you-prefer-fast-or-precise.aspx <comment><USER2> In addition to the blog post there's also a survey: [http://www.instant.ly/s/6cd68](http://www.instant.ly/s/6cd68)</comment>


How to protect your DNA data before and after taking an at-home test - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/smarter-living/how-to-protect-your-dna-data.html <comment><AUTHOR> >To delete your 23andMe data, head to your account settings page and find the "Delete Your Data" option under "23andMe Data." You can download any or all of your data before you destroy it. If you agreed to have your sample saved, it will also be physically destroyed.

>However, 23andMe uses a laboratory that must follow regulations under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, or CLIA. This means that some data, including your DNA, sex and date of birth will be retained in order to comply with these regulations. The company will no longer use that information, though.

>To delete data from Ancestry, sign into your account, click the "DNA" tab and choose "Your DNA Results Summary." From there, click "Settings" and choose "Delete Test Results." You'll have to enter your password again to confirm that you want to delete your information.

>This process will delete your DNA data, as well as prevent you from appearing in any family finder results. You can also delete your entire Ancestry account. As with 23andMe (and any federally compliant DNA-testing company), your DNA information will be retained for regulatory compliance purposes, but nothing else, according to Ancestry's privacy policy.

So you actually CANNOT delete your DNA information, since it is retained by law for "regulatory compliance purposes." Which means that it is there for NSA/CIA/DIA et al to access.</comment>


A quantum computing startup tries to live up to the hype - <AUTHOR> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/08/08/business/tech/quantum-computing-startup-tries-live-hype/ <comment><USER2> There's a really inspiring talk from Rigetti here, actually on Y Combinator [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzMvG8UO6Eg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzMvG8UO6Eg)

</comment><comment><USER3> I can't imagine joining a startup in today's day and age named after the founder (Rigetti computing/ Chad Rigetti). Props to the work they have done so far, but I personally would not have enough faith in the CEO's motives to join a company with a name like that.

<comment><USER2> How is this any different to Hewlett-Packard or DuPont or thousands of other comparable companies? They sound more like objects or brands than surnames anyway.

Besides you should watch some of Rigetti's speeches, he really seems like a great guy and CEO who is passionate about quantum computing.

<comment><USER3> Those companies were created at a very different time and are 79 and 216 years old respectively. I can't think of any other moderately successful tech company that has started in recent memory which is named after the founder, although perhaps there are a few examples. In my mind, it takes a certain amount of arrogance to name a tech company after yourself; you alone cannot possibly make it great (unlike a law firm, consultancy, hedge fund, etc.) and naming it as such severely discounts the perceived worth of other employees.

<comment><USER4> Dyson is the only one I can think of, but I'm sure there are more.

<comment><USER5> Norton, Kasperky, Dell, Wolfram, HP, Cray, HTC, Bose...

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> The original article on bloomberg:

[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-07/quantum-c...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-07/quantum- computers-today-aren-t-very-useful-that-could-change)

Has a seemingly less enthusiatic title:

Quantum Computers Today Aren't Very Useful. That Could Change</comment>


File Content Histograms - <AUTHOR> http://www.cutawaysecurity.com/blog/file-content-histograms

<comment><USER2> I did something similar many years ago for identifying bit order and sense in mu-law encoded audio files as part of a larger audio-file display program. There were four combinations possible (big-endian, little-endian combined with bit-normal, bit-inverted) and no consistent standard was adhered to by the various organizations supplying data.

Although developed specifically for mu-law data I found it quite helpful for identifying other file types as well, just as the author here described.

Bill

</comment><comment><USER3> English vs. Russian vs. Japanese text (UTF-8)

<http://imgur.com/a/vwoIF>

</comment><comment><USER4> I am fascinated by the Truecrypt file histogram. I'd be interested to see a histogram of an encrypted partition or whole file system.

Hmm, may not get any work done this afternoon.

<comment><USER5> All binary file formats should be randomly distributed along the spectrum if their file size is large enough.

Also, I am not sure that this sort of diagram would be suitable to tell certain file types apart, there is probably always a better way to do that.

You should notice that the histogram of a zip file, for example, should level out (like the truecrypt histogram does) if the file were as big as the truecrypt file.

The look of these histograms is largely influenced by the file size. So, I think only the peaks are worth to interpret.

<comment><USER6> _All binary file formats should be randomly distributed along the spectrum if their file size is large enough_

Why would that be the case?

\- Executables: some opcodes are more common than other, and usually contain text/messages

\- Zip files / compressed images / mp3s: compression might have a distinct "signature" that has peaks, for example block headers

\- Database files: not all values are equally common in records (probably peaks around zero, because of fixed-size integers and string padding)

And so on...

<comment><USER5> When I wrote that previous comment I assumed that most binary data would probably use an encoding that is longer/shorter than 8 bit (that's what was examined here). But thinking about it, that might not be true. I don't know.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Very interesting... but what does it mean? It it just a method of determining filetype from its histogram?

<comment><USER6> Yes... for example, it shows how easy it is to recognize encrypted (or random) data, as it is too uniformly distributed to be anything else.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> The link is dead, anyone got a mirror?

<comment><USER4> It was up for me, but here is a mirror:

[http://www.cutawaysecurity.com.nyud.net/blog/file-content- hi...](http://www.cutawaysecurity.com.nyud.net/blog/file-content-histograms)

<comment><USER8> Can you post it somewhere else or pastebin?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> does anyone know if this is reliable for guessing file type? how would you code a file type guesser using this techinque?

perhaps relative distributions would be close enough to the "general pattern" for a particular file type to be guessed?

<comment><USER10> It's not reliable, but it could work for certain filetypes. Notepad uses it for Unicode detection. Try putting "this app can break" into Notepad, save it and reopen it :) [http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2004/03/24/95235...](http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2004/03/24/95235.aspx)</comment></comment>


Salty diet makes you hungry, not thirsty - <AUTHOR> http://exactlyscience.com/archives/12047.html <comment><USER2> Blogspam of

[https://insights.mdc-berlin.de/en/2017/04/mission-control- bo...](https://insights.mdc-berlin.de/en/2017/04/mission-control-bodys-salt- water-supplies/)

</comment><comment><USER3> This may explain why some diets to reduce weight strictly prohibit any salt intake. When I read about that, their explanation was always vague and essentially was hand waving about an experimentally discovered fact.

This study hints the real effect - to combat excessive salt the body needs more energy that makes people hungry and eat much more than necessary to offset the salt consumption.

<comment><USER4> Oddly, that would imply a high salt, low calorie diet would lose you the most weight... if self control wasn't your limiting factor.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> A friendly reminder that your body does indeed need salt. If your consumption is not excessive, there is nothing to worry about. This effect is more about eating a 3rd french fry,or potato chip imho. Read about electrolites (brawndo joke here) and learn what balance makes you feel best.</comment>


Making It in America - <AUTHOR> http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2012/01/making-it-in-america/8844/?single_page=true <comment><USER2> Great article. I'm from the boonies of Tennessee and have seen the exact same thing.

The biggest change that I've seen is that working hard is no longer enough by itself. A few decades ago anyone in my small town who was willing to work hard could get a respectable factory job that provided a reasonable lifestyle. Anyone who couldn't make it to college would be alright if they were willing to put in the elbow grease. Many of my friends took that route.

Today that's no longer true. Companies today want a few high skill jobs rather than many low skill. Those factory jobs are gone and they're never coming back. It's rough.

<comment><USER3> >Today that's no longer true. Companies today want a few high skill jobs rather than many low skill.

While that is true, high skill doesn't necessarily mean a 4 year college education. Coming from a manufacturing background (engineer) I can assure you that good machinists are in high demand. Kids shouldn't be given the impression that shop-classes in high school are for "stupid people." Most people don't realize the demand for these kinds of jobs. Even good welders can make good money if the work is put in; the same cannot be said for all factory positions..

<comment><USER4> What I've read about welding, for example (<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/business/24jobs.html>), suggests that there's no good path to break in anymore: welders with 10+ years of experience are in high demand, while novice and intermediate welders aren't, mainly because the "easier" jobs can be done by machine these days. But how are you going to get 10 years of experience if there aren't jobs for welders with 4 years of experience?

And the pay even for the very highly skilled doesn't sound that great; the NY Times article linked above quoted a rate of $22/hr for a highly skilled welder, which is decent, but not particularly great for something that's considered highly skilled and has a 10-year skill ramp (works out to $44k/yr pre-tax, if you work fifty 40-hour weeks).

<comment><USER5> _And the pay even for the very highly skilled doesn't sound that great;_

Not sure what you mean, that puts them at the 70th percentile of personal income in the US. That rather sounds like highly paid professional to me.

<comment><USER4> In some ways of looking at it yes. And yet we just had this other thread about how software engineers making $100k are just getting by "ok", not even upper- middle-class...

<comment><USER6> $100k in NYC or SF is not going to get you much.

<comment><USER4> Well, it'll get you considerably more than the majority of people living in NYC or SF have. =]

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Good article. Nothing unexpected for me but a good, calm summary of the matter. I appreciated the distinct lack of "us vs them" jingoism - it comes down to the numbers, nothing more.

One thing that bothered me was the attitude of "Maddie", though, towards her lot in life. I've seen it before and it baffles me:

> "If you don't know jack about computers and electronics, then you don't have > anything in this life anymore. One day, they're not going to need people; > the machines will take over. People like me, we're not going to be around > forever."

I just cannot fathom this blithe indifference to her fate, and this assumption that, as someone who doesn't "know jack about computers and electronics" she is basically doomed. Why doesn't she instead feel like she might want to start reading up on these critical topics? The article doesn't paint her as lazy or unwilling to learn. It just doesn't seem to occur to her, for whatever reason, that the option of self-study is open to her. I can't figure it out.

<comment><USER4> Some people I think could read up, at least on some aspects, but I don't think it's equally easy for everyone to learn all topics. If we woke up in a world tomorrow where technical skills were _not_ highly in demand, but, say, the two main growth sectors involved writing and music, how many of today's Google employees would be able to successfully retrain as novelists, journalists, violinists, poets, historians, and editors? My guess is some would and some wouldn't; and a number would need significant time to do so, and/or would end up as only mediocre employees in their new occupation.

That's how I feel with computers, anyway, that I've in effect pulled a lucky straw: I've been interested in and good at computers since I was like 8, and it turns out they pay. If the money was elsewhere, I'm not sure how easily I'd be able to switch. Likewise, I'm not sure how easy it'd be for an adult who was never fascinated with and adept at technology to go the other way, and "become a techie" through self-study, purely because they think it's important/lucrative, as opposed to because they have the sort of interest/drive/skill that most techies have.

Or put differently, I don't think everyone is the same or perfectly malleable; not necessarily due to genetics, but at least by the time they reach adulthood people have different skills/proclivities and are more or less adept at learning certain things. Since the universe isn't aligned in some cosmically fair manner, some people's skills/interests align with what's currently in demand, and other people's don't, which puts the people out of alignment in a more difficult place, like me in an age where being court poet, painter, or musician was the main path for middle-class kids to advance, and engineering was seen as a more working-class endeavor.

<comment><USER7> I won't deny genetic predisposition exists. You can have your 10,000 hours and what not but some people are just better than others at $task. I remember a high school friend of mine who, after hundreds or thousands of hours of guitar practise, still could not play by ear, something I could do at age five. Yes, there are differences.

But I think a great many things can be learned. I actually disagree that all those Google engineers couldn't re-educate, should they have to. They would just have to choose carefully their new vocation.

You have (perhaps inadvertently) given a great example in your list of future Google employee vocations:

> novelists, journalists, violinists, poets, historians, and editors

Think about these careers for a second.

      - novelist: writing skill, internal subject, long term
      - journalist: writing skill, external subject, short term
      - violinist: focus on repetition and incremental improvement
      - poets: writing skill, internal subject, taste
      - historian: external subject,long term
      - editor: writing skill, external subject, taste

Do you see what I'm getting at? They're all so different. And I kind of find myself "choosing" one of them myself (I'm a professional programmer).

I think intelligent people tend to be able to bend their mind to whatever purpose they desire, with enough effort. Sure, a bit of genetic predisposition helps, but that's just tweaking the dials. You can go in the general direction just with intellect and effort.

And I'd wager that the reason you were interested in computers since age 8 was simply because you were exposed to them. If your Dad had been a typesetter for the NYT, could things have turned out differently?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> This was a good read, thanks. The high-level takeaway is the same we've been hearing for a while: U.S. manufacturing output is growing in value terms, but employing fewer and fewer people as more of the value is being produced by machines, and less by humans. But the case study elaborates some more specifics of what's going on.

<comment><USER8> I don't understand why people want to go back to the bad old days of early to mid 20th century labor. I suspect it's baby boomer nostalgia for a past that never actually existed in reality.

<comment><USER4> I don't think most people want to go back to mid-20th-century labor in particular. It's more a question of what people are going to be gainfully employed doing, if it's not the old things.

For example, one possible result of increased technology in manufacturing could've (in some hypothetical world) been steady employment but greatly increasing productivity, so e.g. the U.S. 2010 manufacturing sector employed the same share of the population as the U.S. 1960 manufacturing sector, but thanks to technology was vastly more productive, churning out lots more stuff per employee, with employees doing more interesting things than 1960s assembly-line drudgework.

That's one of the techno-utopian visions sometimes kicked around: for every job lost on an assembly line, a new job is created as robot technician. But instead the ratio has been more like, for every 3-4 jobs on an assembly line, a new job is created as a robot technician. At least, that's the case within the manufacturing sector; it's possible that the missing equivalent number of jobs _are_ really being created elsewhere, in a more loosely related way, but it's hard to quantify.

<comment><USER9> If society can get the same productivity with ever fewer people, then it starts making sense to have a Guaranteed Minimum Income.

[http://www.xamuel.com/ten-reasons-for-guaranteed-minimum- inc...](http://www.xamuel.com/ten-reasons-for-guaranteed-minimum-income/)

The notion of full employment is not necessarily good or realistic. Sooner or later, a hi-tech society is going to have to answer the existential question of "what to do with life?".

Low-tech societies can get away with answering it with "work!" because they truly _need_ everyone to do that.

Point is: if productivity keeps increasing more and more, why is it such a God-given thing that the point of our lives should be to work? We need to start thinking about how to achieve personal fulfillment in a post-scarcity world.

<comment><USER4> I more or less agree, and it's interesting that while it's now seen as a (very) "left" policy proposal, much of its historic support has been from people who are more associated with free-market economics. Various reasons, but they boil down to a mixture of negative and positive ones.

The negative ones are that it's better than the likely alternatives: Milton Friedman thought it was better and less distorting to just hand people one cash payment than deal with the huge mess of welfare, Section 8 housing, food stamps, unemployment benefits, medicaid, etc., etc. that the U.S. currently has. That's sort of the case here, in that just paying people a basic minimum income is probably less distorting than trying to adopt policies to force full employment (France-style policies that make it hard to fire people, protectionist trade tariffs, etc.). Arguably, it makes people more willing to accept major shakeups caused by markets if there's some minimum floor for what happens to people caught in transitions or left out of shifts; otherwise people are more likely to try to push back against the markets. (Actually that last point is why classic Marxists were _against_ these kinds of things, because they thought it had the effect of sugar-coating the markets' effects, thereby making people less willing to revolt against them.)

Positive reasons include promoting entrepreneurship (provides a safety net making people, especially those not from middle-class-or-better families, more likely to take the risk of jumping from a stable job to start a business), and giving people more freedom to choose their associations, as opposed to feeling they need to cling to their ethnic group, religious group, or other such organization for quasi-welfare (e.g. many non-believing Mormons stay in the church because it provides a safety net). F.A. Hayek described that as a necessary part of moving towards a less tribalist/group-centric society: _"The assurance of a certain minimum income for everyone, or a sort of floor below which nobody need fall even when he is unable to provide for himself, appears not only to be a wholly legitimate protection against a risk common to all, but a necessary part of the Great Society in which the individual no longer has specific claims on the members of the particular small group into which he was born."_

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Towards the end the article talks about multiple factors that are constantly in flux regarding the flow of jobs but how overall they've been moving in the direction of non-American manufacturing jobs. I've seen a few articles recently about this flux moving back in the opposite direction[1][2][3], but this article (for all of its interesting info and stories) doesn't address those signs _at all_. Hopefully soon we will see an article from somewhere addressing if these anecdotes are negligible or part of a real trend.

[1] [http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/14/10156162-ma...](http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/14/10156162-made- in-america-trend-against-outsourcing-brings-jobs-back-from-china)

[2] <http://www.economist.com/node/18682182>

[3] [http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary- mainmenu-43...](http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary- mainmenu-43/9418-reshoring-american-manufacturing-jobs-come-home)

</comment><comment><USER11> This is fascinating:

 _Second, Maddie is cheaper than a machine. It would be easy to buy a robotic arm that could take injector bodies and caps from a tray and place them precisely in a laser welder. Yet Standard would have to invest about $100,000 on the arm and a conveyance machine to bring parts to the welder and send them on to the next station. As is common in factories, Standard invests only in machinery that will earn back its cost within two years. For Tony, it's simple: Maddie makes less in two years than the machine would cost, so her job is safe—for now. If the robotic machines become a little cheaper, or if demand for fuel injectors goes up and Standard starts running three shifts, then investing in those robots might make sense._

I think this is why there are a lot of manufacturing jobs in China, Chinese workers are much cheaper then machines which could also do the same job... for now.

The "for now" is true for all kinds of jobs and kind of unsettling.

</comment><comment><USER12> Brief aside, what is the name for this type of writing? A longish piece in a magazine illustrated with personal stories interspersed with facts about how it relates to the bigger picture and general trends? Editorial?

<comment><USER13> I'd be tempted to call it Gladwellian.

<comment><USER14> John McPhee did it long before him, and still does it better.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> Articles like this make me wonder why more manufacturing isn't robotocised and pulled back to domestic shores. Why are blue jeans destined for Western markets made in China by hordes of human automatons? Couldn't stuff like this be made locally in almost-fully automated factories instead?

China, India, Vietnam, etc. have a significant dependence upon cheap, semi- skilled labour. Surely the future is uncertain for these countries as programmable robots become the norm and there is little reason to outsource most types of manufacturing.

<comment><USER12> Even after shipping costs humans are cheaper than robots, plain and simple.

<comment><USER15> Right now perhaps, but not in the future when this technology becomes commodotised, as all technology does.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Did anyone else feel a bit uneasy with the racist undertone? The author seemed to dismiss out of hand that "Chinese or Mexicans" could do any kind of skilled labour. There is a fair amount of high tech work done in Asia these days.

<comment><USER12> The adversarial tone of international vs. domestic manufacturing was probably due to compassion for the "Maddies" of the US. True, there seemed to be no care for the "Maddies" outside of the US giving it an "us vs. them" feel. Not necessarily racist, but overly patriotic perhaps?

If anything this phrase caused me a furrowing of the brow "the Gildemeisters and their ilk".

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> Actually there is a demand for high skilled trades. The problem is most of the not so academically gifted kids want to do useless college degrees instead of learning a trade.

I think what US need is a german style vocational education system

</comment><comment><USER18> Relevant reading:

Race Against the Machine (<http://amzn.com/B005WTR4ZI>)

The Lights in the Tunnel (<http://amzn.com/B002S0NITU>)

</comment><comment><USER19> Interesting!

Can anyone point to/recommend other articles or books on the topic of machinery & computers replacing human workers? I'm very interested in this subject</comment>


Must companies embrace remote work to survive? - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/merrygoworks/must-companies-embrace-remote-work-to-survive-375493ec3c31 <comment><USER2> In most cases no. In some yes.

Remote work isn't for everyone. A talented developer can work great in a team but while he is alone at the house, he won't be able to focus and work as much effectivlly like being in an office.

It goes both ways.</comment>


Why computers have two zeros: +0 and -0 - <AUTHOR> http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2010/06/15/why-computers-have-signed-zero/ <comment><USER2> This article doesn't really explain why computers have two zeros. It just talks about their existence and usage.

Does the ACTUAL reason have anything to do with 2's comp?</comment>


Amazon plans to turn Prime two-day shipping to just one day - <AUTHOR> https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-plans-to-turn-prime-two-day-shipping-to-just-one-day/ <comment><USER2> About half of what I order on Amazon doesn't even ship for a day or three... this change is mostly meaningless in that context.

</comment><comment><USER3> How about they make it actually arrive 2 days first? My prime is always at least three days. I feel ripped off with every order.

Meet your current goalposts first maybe? Its been years.</comment>


Facebook Can Be Anything It Wants to Be  - <AUTHOR> http://www.penn-olson.com/2010/11/29/facebook-business/ <comment><USER2> Facebook cannot be everything. For example cannot dominate the space occupied by twitter. When you are on facebook you often expect a level of "social" intimacy with your contacts. But for others collaborative , ad hoc, tasks like finding information, having strong interpersonnal ties can even be a burden.</comment>


Ask HN: B2B startup originated from a Reddit post – what launch/growth strategy? - <AUTHOR> As the title says I've been working for about a month on a SaaS startup project that pretty much originated from a Reddit post that went viral. A bit of context: A few months ago I started working on a python algorithm that takes people data (linkedin & other sources) and turns them into organizational charts (example: https://i.ibb.co/swCt7Z6/image.png). I coded this for an organizational research class, but I though that it could potentially be useful in business too, to understand clients' organization and/or for organizational benchmarking. I shared the project on the r/consulting sub (link below) and it got a great response, with 450+ upvotes and lots of comments. This really positive reaction inspired me to get to work and build out the product.
Now that the product is testable (I have about 100 users on the beta, mostly from Reddit) I'm wondering about distribution next steps. I've been thinking about a launching on PH, perhaps share the project on Reddit and maybe also create some youtube videos to demo the product and build some audience over time.
What would you recommend for a launch/ growth strategy at this early stage?
Thanks so much for your inputs!
Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/consulting/comments/gc5pqo/python_script_to_turn_linkedin_into_an/
Test the beta: https://buildorgchart.herokuapp.com/signup <comment><USER2> I think this is a neat idea and is very useful for any type of sales planning. This isn't so much growth advice as survival advice. You should read LinkedIn's terms of service very carefully to determine if your product is compliant. LinkedIn makes it very difficult to scrape their site and their TOS states pretty clearly that combining LinkedIn data from their developer/partner API is a no-no. As far as I can tell, apps that use the LinkedIn APIs are really supposed to enhance the LinkedIn experience for users rather than enhancing the experience of other products.

I can't remember the specifics of the app I thought I wanted to build that would use LinkedIn's data, but I remember being turned off from the idea after reading their TOS.

This might not apply to your product but it's something to be aware of.

</comment><comment><USER3> Couple small notes.

Do not link people to the sign up page. I almost closed the tab and walked away completely. But I deleted the "/signup" from the end to see what the landing page looked like.

Spellcheck the site, your main page has "Pintpoint"

I would have some kind of mock-up of what the functionality is at a high level on the main landing page. Right now you're doing all of the selling yourself. Let the site self itself so when your uses forward it to other users they are more likely to signup.</comment>