Show HN: CSS3 animation - <AUTHOR> http://www.thegoodman.cc/ <comment><USER2> Whenever I see these fancy "HTML5" multimedia demos, I get a little sad that others are impressed by the fact that they were made with web technologies. I know that, practically speaking, we're stuck with the current web tech for a while, but they are, quite frankly, shit for the types of tasks that we demand from them. After decades of studying & practicing computer animation in film and games, we're barely scratching the surface on the web.

<comment><USER3> > After decades of studying & practicing computer animation in film

That is distributed through video. There are closs-platform ways of distributing video. I feel that does the job pretty good, and certainly better than "shit".

If I go to the cinema and watch a Pixar movie, I'm quite content that they pre-rendered the thing very expensively at Pixar and I'm watching something that is limited in resolution, but much cheaper to distribute and reproduce: I feel it's OK that the web manages to reproduce that same experience pretty well.

<comment><USER2> Film is the high bar: The very best we can do with virtually infinite time and resources.

You're totally ignoring the fact that we've got near film-quality, interactive 3D animations, running at 30 to 30 frames per second on 10 year old hardware collecting dust in people's living rooms.

Meanwhile, this simple animation isn't quite getting the minimum 24 frames per second when run full screened on my 30 inch monitor powered by a brand new MacBook Pro.

<comment><USER4> Considering that it runs very smooth for me at 1080p using a first generation, low-end quad core and ultra cheap onboard video, I can only assume that you either have a technical issue with your system or you're using a browser that doesn't properly support some of the required CSS3 features.

<comment><USER5> It's not enough to say that it runs smoothly for most of the animation. It should run smoothly for virtually every second of the animation. I have a computer that beats yours hardware-wise running Chrome, and there were many places in the animation where fps dropped below an acceptable threshold. Some people are also more trained to notice fps drops too.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> My first thought: Nice, well done, very clean, but compared to the stuff that was being done in Flash in 2001, the bar has been lowered so substantially it's as though Flash had never existed and no one has learned anything. The Anti-Flash bias tears down memory quite easily.

But since we ARE dealing with a JavaScript and CSS3 world....

I'm really impressed with what's being done here and the possibilities that it will bring forth:

<http://radiapp.com/> (this looks very promising)

<http://www.greensock.com/gsap-js/>

<http://www.greensock.com/css3/>

<http://www.greensock.com/js/speed.html>

The performance is so good! Check out the Mountain Dew site to see it in action: <http://mountaindew.com/>

(You can tell the developers who worked on the site used to be Flash Developers; it has that sort of polished flair.)

Also this: <http://www.createjs.com/#!/CreateJS>

And a bit of self promotion, built for the above: <https://github.com/damassi/Backbone.Create>

<comment><USER7> Sarcasm? These sites perform terrible on even modern systems. Worst offenders usually involve any kind of scrolling.

It's the anti-moore: while smart people at Intel shrink transistors, these people build virtual machines on virtual machines to keep multiplying the constants in Big O.

<comment><USER6> I agree that Flash not the way to go anymore. I'm just saying that there was once an interactive "bar", and that bar has been obliterated and forgotten and now we're playing catch-up. It's exiciting and interesting, all over again, and there's something to be said about that. (But it's also fun to reminisce about how badass flash once was (check out the <http://thefwa.com/> archives going wayyyy back), and still is: skrillexquest.com)

These simple, linear CSS3 transitions just don't do it for me, having once experienced _that_. But again, it will get there in time.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> This is a fine animation. Congratulations for syncing sound and getting a good narration voice. I guess you used a JS library to achieve this. My difficulties with CSS3/HTML5/JQuery animation as of "t.o.d.a.y" are:

1\. If one has to programmatically create all animations, then browser based animation is at same stage as 1985'ish BYTE issues where drawing a chess grid in CG was a major achievement. A lot of great animation work is done by animators who don't code or won't code (<http://www.ninapaley.com>). Flash provides timeline to achieve this. The newer Edge is nowhere close to that level of fineness. Where are the tools for animators who animate to create these animations? (Psst. We need another Flash!).

2\. Most of the current animation we see in CSS3/HTML5/Jquery is boxy, geometric stuff. Where are animated characters? and how easy is it to do it all in one environment like Flash? I am not a banner holder for Flash but it did provide a good integrated environment to draw, animate and code too.

This is neither a rant nor any stand. I am just wishing that tools develop faster and better so that animators who visually create animation can do cool stuff in browser based animations.

Thanks for sharing a nice work of art :-)

<comment><USER9> Your first difficulty is also my concern / question. Are there still no IDE that can do those animations? I know that there will be in the future. But I hope it will happen soon.

<comment><USER10> Edge: <http://html.adobe.com/edge>

A5: <http://www.a5-animator.com>

Hippo: <http://hippostudios.co.uk>

Sencha Animator: <http://www.sencha.com/products/animator>

Motion Composer: <http://www.aquafadas.com/en/motioncomposer>

Mac Only:

Purple: <http://www.purpleanimator.com>

Tumult Hype: <http://tumult.com/hype>

Online/Cloud Based Tools:

Mugeda: <https://www.mugeda.com>

Blysk: <http://bly.sk>

<comment><USER11> Why aren't web animations more popular due to these apps? Is there something wrong with Edge for example?

<comment><USER12> Unwillingness to appropriate the personnel money (i.e. either hiring people with animating skills or giving a current staff member a raise and having them take on the responsibility of learning to animate) could be a major bottleneck.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Firstly, this is fantastic. Really beautiful work and you've reframed what I thought was possible with CSS animations.

The CSS is remarkably economical and I notice that you aren't using any javascript libraries other than jQuery.

Can you share how you keyframed and timed the animation work? Laying these out by hand must be an exercise in tedium? In particular I'm talking about scenes.css which is where the bulk of the animation happens ([https://github.com/podrivo/thegoodman/blob/master/files/scen...](https://github.com/podrivo/thegoodman/blob/master/files/scenes.css)).

<comment><AUTHOR> I've separated the song in small scenes and animate them separately. There were storyboards too.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Don't try to open this page with Noscript enabled in Firefox - it locks up the browser. I'm guessing that without the javascript to control the CSS, everything runs amok. Seems like you could make a browser DoS attack by simply copying this page and stripping out the javascript? Might be worth a try... for science.

<comment><USER15> I don't have NoScript and opening the page still made Firefox lock up.

Flagged the submission because of that.

<comment><USER14> Flagging the submission seems like the wrong approach - this is something Firefox needs to fix quickly. I believe some websites let you insert your own CSS in certain cases, and this could easily be abused...

There needs to be a limit on how much time can be spent trying to render CSS or a popup box asking if you want to close it similar to how javascript behaves.

<comment><AUTHOR> Maybe an issue related to prefix free and firefox?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> _> You should try it on Chrome_

And people ask me why I keep calling Chrome the new Internet Explorer.

<comment><AUTHOR> why you keep calling Chrome the new Internet Explorer?

<comment><USER17> Because developing sites that work only in Chrome is similar to how sites used to be tailored to IE users. If we're all about interoperability and openness, having something that only works for one subset of users isn't all that open.

<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397158,00.asp> is a year old, but its message is still true: "Sure, anyone can make a site that works in Chrome, so it is open in that sense. But if that site only works in Chrome and not in other major browsers, we have a lack of openness in the Web ecosystem."

<comment><USER18> Chrome isn't at fault for this, though. It's a combination of people wanted to test out and play with the new stuff (a good thing), and not being thorough enough to add all the extra vendor prefixes where possible (which is a waste of time on some things if it won't work anyway).

I wrote a library to abstract the code needed to access the user's webcam through the browser. I had to hold off an experimental launch for around 3 months before I could say it was widely supported, and not just by Chrome.

For experimental stuff, I don't think it's reasonable to hold back like that. It's a great way to check the robustness of an implementation, or the viability of an idea, before it becomes mainstream.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I loved it, and I voted for you. Best of luck. You've inspired me.

</comment><comment><USER20> Without the intention to lessen what you did ... it's pretty laggy on my Galaxy Nexus in the default android browser.

But cool stuff indeed.

<comment><AUTHOR> It's not ready for mobile... Audio gets unsynced and animations aren't smooth. :/

<comment><USER20> Well. Who's bug is it then ;) I'm happy to blame the mobile browsers if you used standards (was not able to get a look at the code cause on the road)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> If I could make a suggestion for multimedia sequences like this, it would be to include some kind of progress indicator. When watching a video, it's always reassuring to be able to see how long the thing is, and how much of the way through it I am.

I didn't have that here, so I have no idea how long I should be prepared to sit and watch it.

</comment><comment><USER22> fantastic work. i think what's really exciting is that it showcases to us what can be done with css3 for everyday apps by making an ambitious film reel.

i can imagine many of the animations you made making their way into apps that use css for navigation, subtly grabbing user attention, etc.

great work :)

</comment><comment><USER23> Awesome. Was completely immersed in it. Hope Husky Rescue uses it as the video to their song.

</comment><comment><USER9> Amazing showcase of CSS3 animation and of course, talent!

I know, it's not meant for mobile, but I'm just curious what will happen and tested it in my 4th gen iPod Touch. Too bad both Safari and Chrome in iOS6 crashed when I press the Start button.

<comment><USER24> It's smooth on my iPad 1 / ios5 / Safari. And that's saying something, it cries with trello and anything client heavy.

<comment><AUTHOR> what about audio synchronization?

<comment><USER25> I'm not able to get the audio sync right on my ipad 3rd gen. The audio starts about 15 seconds in.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> This was good. Who is the vocalist? Sounds like Michael Caine to me.

<comment><AUTHOR> I think it's Jonathan Hutchings, a Finnish DJ. Got it from here: <http://www.whiskyfun.com/Gigs/Husky-Rescue.html>

<comment><USER27> On somewhat unrelated note. Thanks for using the music. I have always been huge fan of Husky Rescue (and this particular track). Did you had to get their permission?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> Kind of reminded me of this (not CSS): <http://www.michalevy.com/giantsteps_download/index.html>

</comment><comment> saint-loup It crashed immediately on my browser (Firefox 17 on Win7).

<comment><USER29> And I as well. Well not quite crash... If I wait 30 or 40 seconds the browser becomes responsive for a second or two.

Ah there! Finally caught it and was able to close the tab.

So basically it freezes up for an extended period of time.

Latest patched FF, Win8.

</comment></comment><comment><USER30> Very impressive to say the least. Great job, I'd like to be one day skilled as such in animation.

</comment><comment><USER31> Most animation designers couldn't do this well in flash or something similar!

Incredibly well-done.

<comment><USER32> are you FN kidding ? did that kind of crap 10 years ago... with flash.

</comment></comment><comment><USER33> @podrivo, looks cool. The audio never syncs up on mobile Safari though

</comment><comment><USER34> podrivo: did you do everything by hand or did you use some kind of IDE?

very cool.

<comment><AUTHOR> I wanted to study it, so it was all hand coded.

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> fyi, the start button has a low enough contrast with the BG that it got lost in my (admittedly poor) monitor and left me scratching my head for some time.

<comment><AUTHOR> hmm, thanks. i'll have a look!

</comment></comment><comment><USER36> Parabéns Pedro, very nice indeed.

Maybe a blog post on how it was done?

<comment><AUTHOR> there is a lot going on right now, but i intend to do that! Obrigado! (:

</comment></comment><comment><USER37> Crashed my Chrome (iOS 6)

</comment><comment><USER38> Wow. Impressive.

</comment><comment><USER39> This is a nice

</comment><comment><USER40> Amazing job.

</comment><comment><USER41> wicked

</comment><comment><USER32> again , no wow effect , been done already , and 10 years ago.The only challenge is doing that with the crappy standard tech ,but nothing impressive for a flash designer.</comment>


BeforetheFlood.com is now streaming everywhere for free - <AUTHOR> https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154452722251005&id=9085937115 <comment><USER2> Here's the YT video if anyone is interested in watching:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90CkXVF-Q8M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90CkXVF-Q8M)</comment>


Operational innovations at Taco Bell rival those at any factory in the world - <AUTHOR> http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_20/b4228064581642.htm

<comment><USER2> Here's the print/1-page view [http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/11_20/b42...](http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/11_20/b4228064581642.htm)

"The most advanced operational thinking in the world is going on in the back of a QSR," Well when you're talking about a fast food restaurant (which is what they mean by QSR)... No offence. Good article, I really like seeing the business side of something I generally ignore. The article says Mcdonalds abandoned multiple lanes, which have just been added at my local (which has a currently unused third window - used to be separate order/pay/collect I think).

Taco Bell doesn't exist in Europe (to the best of my knowledge), when I passed the local McDonalds half an hour ago someone left the car park the way you drive in a game - full throttle and noise, not braking fully even for a busy roundabout.</comment>


Zuckerberg's Bizarre Facebook Insignia Revealed, And What It Means  - <AUTHOR> http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/06/bizarre_facebook_insignia_reve.php

<comment><USER2> I agree with dinde: I don't see what the big deal is about. The comments about a 'cult' and the Illuminati were clearly jokes during the interview. (see [http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100602/whats-under-mark- zuckbergs...](http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100602/whats-under-mark-zuckbergs- hoodie/))

It's like asking if all the birds pictured in the Twitter office are a proof that Twitter is in fact a bird-oriented cult and they're striving for world- domination done by birds. Or saying that Google thinks their users are kids because of the primary colors they put everywhere.

Mark Zuckerberg loves hoodies. He built a giant company. So, of course, they'll make some company hoodies and sometimes they'll add something more than the Facebook logo, something that represents what the company is about.

</comment><comment><USER3> Oh, _come on_! "Childish and creepy"? Complaining about privacy issues is one thing, but finding stupid excuses to slam a person is something quite different.

<comment> loup-vaillant I don't find this childish but "creepy" was actually the first word that came to my mind when I saw that. Before I even read the article. Under the "open and connected" disguise you clearly see the "one ring to rule them all". It even has Facebook's name on it!

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I think this logo is quite accurate.

<comment><USER4> At least it didn't have an Eye of Providence (qua The Great Seal of the United States: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_Providence>).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Good detective work, but man, there is a reason the summer is called "the silly season" in the journalism trade. :D

</comment><comment><USER4> As far as Facebook iconography goes, this isn't nearly as creepy as That Guy from Facebook's old logo: [http://mashable.com/wp- content/uploads/2007/04/facebookguy.P...](http://mashable.com/wp- content/uploads/2007/04/facebookguy.PNG)

Frankly, it seems to be in the general category of vaguely strategy-conveying graphics that a lot of companies employ. It's nowhere near as bizarre as, for instance, the graphics underlying the rationale behind the Pepsi rebranding last year, conveying such concepts as "Relativity of Space and Time", "Gravitational Pull of Pepsi", "The Pepsi Ratio", the comparison of "The Earth's Geodynamo" to "The Pepsi Globe" and "Magnetic Fields" to "Pepsi Energy Fields", and the not-quite-orthagonal axes of "Convention to Innovation" and "DNA to Future" projected through the old Pepsi logo to create the new one: [http://www.fastcompany.com/files/PEPSI%20GRAVITATIONAL%20FIE...](http://www.fastcompany.com/files/PEPSI%20GRAVITATIONAL%20FIELD.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER6> Doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I think a lot of Zuckerberg's bad press comes from his age: i.e., people are jealous of his success.

<comment><USER7> I totally disagree. Age means less and less with each passing day. Zuckerberg's bad press comes from the fact that he has a huge and highly-vocal userbase and he implements features that they don't like, or at least, in a way that they don't approve of even if the features themselves rock. That, and he's a bit too eager to capitalize on his successful platform, willing to take risks with user privacy and data "pushing the boundaries" so to speak in order to find out what users are willing to put up with and what they're not.

When it seems like almost everyone you know has a facebook account, there are bound to be complaints. It has nothing to do with age, it has everything to do with centralized power.

<comment><USER4> His bad press comes from the fact that he's been in the hype cycle long enough to reach the backlash stage, and he made a bold enough move to trigger that backlash.

Any successful startup will fall into this trap if it operates in startup mode for long enough. Just mash up the concepts of "startups iterate quickly and fearlessly", "people fear change", and the hype cycle. Or hell, just rely on the hype cycle by itself.

Note that this is true whether or not changing Facebook's default privacy settings and launching Instant Personalization was a good idea or not. It doesn't matter whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, just that sufficient numbers of people consider it a bad thing, for the thing to trigger the backlash stage. And if you're innovating, you almost have to do something lots of people consider a bad thing. You get a pass for this early on in the hype cycle, of course, but even if you continue the same pattern of behavior, once the hype cycle reaches backlash you will pay for it all in spades, and internet comment trolls will call you a psychopath.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Serious question: Where can I buy one of those hoodies?</comment>


Ben Carson's insane gun control arg. points Americans towards armed insurrection - <AUTHOR> http://qz.com/521137/what-exactly-is-ben-carson-advocating-for-america-when-it-comes-to-hitler-the-holocaust-and-gun-control-laws/ <comment><USER2> FTA: "To follow Carson's logic to its extreme when it comes to the US, however, is perhaps more troubling then indulging his dabbles in historical fiction. Since the end of the American Revolution, the US has been a nation governed by rule of law, not by tyrants or dictators. Presidents leave office after one term or two, not by the barrel of a gun or the hands of an angry mob. They sit next to their successor as he assumes power, on the steps of the Capitol building."

True, but go further back. In the Revolutionary War, arms in private hands, organized as militias, were a major part of overthrowing the existing government. The people who did that wrote the Second Amendment. They did not have hunting in mind, or defending your home against intruders. They hand in mind that the people should have enough arms to form a fighting force to powerful enough to at least help in taking down a foreign invader (or the government in power).

</comment><comment><USER3> Quote from the HN guidelines:

"Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off- topic."

Much as I would love to discuss Mr. Carson and his view on guns and history, I don't think HN is the right place to do so. Sorry :-(

<comment><USER4> I agree with @Veddox. Another forum I am on practically locks thread that pertains to politics right after creation. They have it clearly in the TOS. Politics in general can turn into a heated debate and bring the worse in people IMO.</comment></comment>


Sophisticated hack attack? Don't believe the hype - <AUTHOR> http://www.engadget.com/2016/06/06/dnp-sophisticated-hack-attack-dont-believe-the-hype/ <comment><USER2> The article is a screed against the use of the word "sophisticated" in describing mundane attacks against websites.

It fails to consider at least two things:

1) to non-technical top management, everything about how the Information Superhighway works is "sophisticated". They don't understand it, so: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

2) It's strongly in the interest of overpaid and underworked CIOs that probably got their job via nepotism or the "old boys network" to portray virtually any attack as "sophisticated". Does a CIO want to go into a meeting with the CEO or with the Board of Directors and say: "yeah, this is such a simple attack that it was probably done by a 15 year old". Nope. Admitting that wouldn't be a good career move.</comment>


Ask HN: A database collecting potential fraud and scam reports? - <AUTHOR> As an entrepreneur and occasional seller, I knew many risks associated with online buying/selling. Although there are different measures to protect buyers if there were any wrongdoing or fraud, small and medium sellers are at disadvantage and often, they must write off the loss or pass it on to the next customers.<p>I believe the best way to balance out the table is collecting enough data so the risk can be evaluated in the future. My concern is whether people will appreciate the existence of such database and if there are other entrepreneurs out there currently doing the same thing or interested in such project? <comment><USER2> I can kind of see where your head's at, but it's hard to really know where the value is because what you're describing hits on so many different points.

What would this 'database' (which seems in context so loosely defined it could mean almost anything for the end-user/buyer) do that either replaces or enhances existing fraud protection measures built into the online shopping experience?

<comment><AUTHOR> Agree, that's why it must reach beyond online trading activities. One person can have many cards and emails, but not so many faces or names or real affiliations, so we're going to target that. Still, we need a lot of data to provide anything meaningful. I knew it's very difficult in the past but with the current environment, I think it's doable.</comment></comment>


Show HN: Teleport – Get Your Friends Delivered via Uber - <AUTHOR> https://www.teleportapp.co <comment><USER2> Currently #2 on Product Hunt! [https://www.producthunt.com/tech/teleport-86008a3b-c3eb-4cae...](https://www.producthunt.com/tech/teleport-86008a3b-c3eb-4cae-845c-e23c3ecb93c5)

</comment><comment><USER3> The app seems cool but why not just order an Uber to your friends location? I've done this many times before when I've arranged for friends to be picked up using my uber.</comment>


Testing a jQuery Plugin with ExpectThat and Mocha - <AUTHOR> http://bloggemdano.blogspot.com/2012/01/testing-jquery-plugin-with-expectthat.html

<comment><USER2> I want a better platform to share and curate the news. (ipetitions.com)</comment>


Fractal: An Execution Model for Fine-Grain Nested Speculative Parallelism [pdf] - <AUTHOR> http://people.csail.mit.edu/sanchez/papers/2017.fractal.isca.pdf <comment><USER2> I tried to understand what is going on in this paper. Am I right to say that it seems like they are looking at parallelizing subtasks within each domain and at each time taking advantage of unordered tasks if possible?

<comment><USER3> Correct. One of the goals of this work was to expose and exploit the abundant parallelism within large _atomic_ tasks. However, the tasks within a domain can be ordered or unordered. Our system will exploit any kind of parallelism that is available.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Hi all. This is Suvinay Subramanian from MIT. I am one of the authors on the Fractal paper. I wanted to provide some context for this work, and briefly summarize our paper. I hope this will address some of the comments on this thread. And I am happy to answer any further queries you may have.

You may also be interested in the slides of this work presented at the International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA) last week: [http://bit.ly/fractal-slides](http://bit.ly/fractal-slides)

What motivated this work? While multi-cores are pervasive today, programming these systems and extracting performance on a range of real world applications remains challenging. Systems that support speculative parallelization, such as Transactional Memory (supported in hardware in commercial processors today, such as Intel Haswell, IBM's Power 8 etc.) help simplify parallel programming, by allowing programmers to designate blocks of code as atomic, in contrast to using complex synchronization using locks, semaphores etc.

However, their performance on real world applications remains poor. This is because real world applications are complex, and often have large atomic tasks either due to necessity or convenience. For example, in database workloads, transactions have to remain atomic (i.e. all actions within a transaction have to "appear as a single unit"). But each transaction can be long (~few million cycles) -- such large tasks are prone to aborts, and are expensive to track (in software or hardware).

Now, there is often abundant parallelism inside such large tasks (as has been noted in prior work). But the challenge is how to extract this parallelism while also keeping the entire unit atomic. Prior approaches, including nested Transactional Memory, and Thread-Level-Speculation (TLS) have been unsuccessful in extracting this parallelism -- section 7 of our paper explains why (or see slides).

Fractal provides a new execution model that addresses the limitations of prior approaches, and proposes a hardware architecture that can successfully scale several challenging workloads -- some of which have eluded successful parallelization for decades. Importantly, Fractal allows us to operate at the granularity of "small" tasks that are easy to track. Further Fractal enables programmers to seamlessly compose speculative parallel algorithms.

What are the key ideas of Fractal? There are two key insights: 1\. Decouple atomicity from parallelism -- We introduce the notion of a domain, where all tasks belonging to a domain appear to execute as a single atomic unit. By doing this, we can execute the "subtasks" in parallel, while ensuring atomicity of the "collection of subtasks" via other mechanisms.

2\. Ordering to enforce atomicity -- Unlike prior techniques that "merge" subtasks to enforce atomicity, we leverage ordering to enforce atomicity.

Tell me more about the hardware, aka the Swarm architecture. Conventional wisdom dictates that ordering limits parallelism. Now ordered parallelism is hard -- there have been several attempts at taming this beast, including Thread-Level Speculation (TLS), as alluded to in one of the comments.

In our prior work, Swarm, we demonstrated that it is possible to extract parallelism even in the presence of ordering constraints, with a more expressive execution model, and some nifty hardware tricks.

At a high level, the Swarm hardware executes tasks speculatively, and elides ordering constraints. Only true data dependences force an "ordered" execution. On the hardware side, Swarm has large hardware task queues to manage tasks, and a high-throughput commit protocol and speculation mechanisms that allow it to scale.

You can read more on Swarm at: [http://bit.ly/swarmarch](http://bit.ly/swarmarch)

Fractal relies on the Swarm hardware to enforce ordering guarantees while extracting parallelism. The key challenges were how to assign a suitable ordering to the subtasks that also maintains the atomicity of "domains" of subtasks, how to assign this ordering dynamically, and how to support "unbounded nesting", eg: if your subtask makes a library call, that itself could be parallelized (but must still remain atomic), and so on (supporting unbounded nesting is essential for software composition of algorithms).

Is Fractal / Swarm just an accelerator? We believe that Fractal and Swarm are a more general solution to some of the hardest parallel computing problems. We have shown that the ideas presented in these works are applicable in a wide range of domains ranging from databases, to discrete-event simulation, to machine learning, and graph analytics.

When will we see this in hardware? Currently, we evaluate our ideas in simulation. But our group is working on prototyping this on an FPGA in the coming year. So stay tuned!

<comment><AUTHOR> Awesome! I have a couple of questions if you don't mind:

1) Does this require the programmer to rewrite software or make annotations? Even if that's the optimal way, can a compiler do this automatically, at least to some extent?

2) how general of a workload can this accelerate? You mention speculative multithreading and HTM in both papers, both of which are fairly general purpose techniques.

<comment><USER3> 1\. Currently the programmer needs to delineate code into tasks. A couple of points to note: \-- Often the programmer can start with the serial code, and determine how to delineate tasks. In our experience this is often easier than writing more complex parallelized versions of the same algorithm. Compared to the serial code, our programs are just a few percent longer. \-- We have implemented high-level interfaces along the lines of OpenMP or OpenTM to make it easier for the programmer to break straight-line serial code into fine- grain tasks. For example, if you have a for loop to parallelize, you can use the fractal::forall(...) construct. Table 1 of the Fractal paper lists some of these high-level interface functions.

We are currently working on a compiler that can take serial code and automatically annotate tasks and domains. Keep watching our webpage for updates on that.

2\. Our execution model subsumes both Transactional Memory (TM) and Thread- Level Speculation (TLS). Any program that can be expressed in those paradigms can be expressed in Fractal. And as we show in the paper, Fractal can express parallelism that was not possible in TLS or TM. So we believe it is general purpose. Further. as indicated above, we have seen these ideas to be applicable to applications in a wide range of domains.

That being said, we are always on the lookout for applications that reveal deficiencies in our execution model, to help improve it :)

<comment><AUTHOR> 1\. Yes ,I've seen that, and I think that an OpenMP-esque annotation system specified by the programmer would be optimal, but I don't see any reason that a "sufficiently smart compiler" [ ;) ] can't produce an approximation. Given the SpMT-like "thread" (task) squashing, it shouldn't cause any semantic issues.

2\. Absolutely, SpMT has been proposed as a general purpose technique, that's why I found it odd that the benchmarks weren't on a general purpose benchmark like SpecINT, do you have any benchmarks on SpecINT or any plan to do so?

<comment><USER3> 2: We are currently working on a compiler to automatically delineate tasks, assign domains etc. given sequential code. As part of that effort, we are looking at SPEC workloads, yes.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Is this a physical processor or scheduling algorithm?

<comment><USER3> This is a new execution model + hardware architecture. Currently we have evaluated it in simulation only. But stay tuned for hardware.

<comment><USER5> Complete n00b question -- this is very, very far outside my domain -- but by using much more of a chip in parallel, does this present any challenging thermal implications?

<comment><USER3> This is a concern orthogonal to our work. Today, there are commercial chips with a large number of cores / processing elements today, e.g. NVidia's Volta has ~5120 "cores", Intel's Xeon Phi has upto 72 cores. And there are approaches and active research to handle thermal concerns in such large chips. Maybe someone who is more knowledgeable can shed light on those approaches. I do not think Fractal introduces any new thermal concerns.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Did i get it right, does this CPU use the x86-64 ISA ?

(see page 8, Table 2: Configuration of the 256-core system)

<comment><USER7> It's only simulated at this point.

There are fairly good cycle accurate open source x86 simulators, such as PTLsim or marss86

[http://marss86.org/~marss86/index.php/Home](http://marss86.org/~marss86/index.php/Home) [http://caps.cs.binghamton.edu/tools.html](http://caps.cs.binghamton.edu/tools.html)

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Hi Suvinay! Do you all have a website that keeps interested people updated about the upcoming Swarm hardware? I would like to follow this work. Thanks!

<comment><USER3> Thank you for your interest. We are planning to create a web page for this soon (likely [http://swarm.mit.edu](http://swarm.mit.edu) \-- it's not live yet). Till then, you should be able to find our papers and some upcoming ones at my advisor, Daniel Sanchez's web page: [http://people.csail.mit.edu/sanchez/](http://people.csail.mit.edu/sanchez/).

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Moore's law lives on?

<comment><USER10> Yeah, seems like it's just getting more discrete and less continuous.

That said, this is not an 88x speedup for general purpose computing, just for some specific workload of parallel compute.

<comment><AUTHOR> If I read this correctly, this is effectively a better way to do thread level speculation (aka Speculative Multithreading), so in theory this could help in general purpose computing as well, just not 88x ;)

<comment><USER3> Your intuition on this improving Thread Level Speculation (TLS) is correct. I do want to clarify that this is not just a better implementation of TLS though -- our execution model is more expressive and avoids some of the pitfalls of TLS (see the Swarm paper [http://bit.ly/swarmarch](http://bit.ly/swarmarch) to learn more). Yes, you could use our implementation with a TLS-like execution model and improve on the TLS performance. But you are likely to reap more rewards by using the Fractal execution model + implementation.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: unix home in the cloud? - <AUTHOR>

Finishing a contract for an academic project soon, I'll miss having a unix machine I can log in from anywhere, which has all my scripts and data in it, where I can run stuff for myself.<p>Amazon EC2, slicehost, are marketed as hosting sites. I guess many of you use them as home machines too. Any thoughts? <comment><USER2> All of those are clouds, not really meant as an always-on home in the cloud (or at least an expensive option). I'll assume you are looking for low-budget since you mentioned "Academic project."

What you are looking for is probably a VPS (can be had for < $10/month at many, many places) or simply setting up an old computer on your home connection. Even if you have a static IP, use DynDNS or similar service to get a static address to connect to.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, something like the idea of a Virtual Private Server is what I was looking for, thanks.

I wonder what's people's experience for single-user, private daily use.

<comment><USER3> I have a Linux VPS I use everyday, mostly just privately. It's very handy as a way to get around the corporate network blocked sites, and I can use it if I feel the Wifi network I'm on is sketchy to try and encrypt my traffic. Mine is only 3 bucks a month and that's easily worth it to me. Lowendbox.com has good deals pop up all the time. It's no speed demon, but it works for all I do with it.

<comment><USER4> Lowendbox.com is a great way to get cheap VPS service, and anything <$10/mo is hard to complain too harshly about.. but my caveat to using companies from there is to make sure you have decent backups, handle email/DNS somewhere other than your VPS, and try not to care too much about 100% uptime :)

<comment><USER5> I just use Google Apps for Domains for email. For domains, GoDaddy is decent, but I prefer Namecheap.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> If you can get by with something really lightweight, Amazon has their new EC2 micro instance. It's free for the first year (for new AWS customers), then an on-demand instance runs 2 cents an hour. You can't beat those prices with a stick.

More details about what's included can be found here: "<http://aws.amazon.com/free/>

<comment><AUTHOR> I am considering that, but shutting down during off hours so as not to run into a bill of >$200 a year (I'm not a new customer).

I am curious about people's experiences with using them for that purpose.

I found using EC2's non-micro instances somehow inconvenient because boot times seemed to be too long for casual use, plus I had to pay extra for a permanent IP. Maybe I'm too lazy, or perhaps the micro instances are more suitable for that purpose?

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Google "shell account"? Or buy a cheap, simple computer (think SheevaPlug) and keep it on at home? Carry a netbook? The possibilities are endless...

</comment><comment><USER8> Did you consider "Ubuntu One" synchronization of all your scripts and dotfiles?</comment>


Hey YOU Personalize Your Emails Or Miss Out - <AUTHOR> http://blog.getvero.com/email-marketing-personalization-increases-conversions/

<comment><USER2> Your post is an abuse of terms. You've been flagged to mods. From your post history, seems like you contribute little else to the community than your own website.</comment>


Netflix Now Streaming AV1 on Android - <AUTHOR> https://netflixtechblog.com/netflix-now-streaming-av1-on-android-d5264a515202 <comment><USER2> For once I wish services like Netflix and YouTube would announce that "we've improved streaming video quality at the same data usage" as opposed to "we've improved data usage at the same quality". YouTube's compression is _horrid_, and Netflix's isn't much better. The quality between a 1080p BluRay versus Netflix's 4K stream is quite noticeable, especially in darker scenes.

<comment><USER3> I agree that quality is not satisfactory, Im not convinced that it is the top problem to solve either. Let me explain: I read that video streaming was 50% of Internet's bandwidth, itself was about 3% of worldwide CO2 emissions. It's quite significant, and I would love quite the opposite of your reasoning: a lesser quality to leave us, engineers, time to find a sustainable way of watching videos online.

<comment><USER4> Why don't you go beat up on useless technology which provably pisses away energy (by design!) like the blockchain before you claiming consuming video content on the internet is killing the planet.

<comment><USER5> There's no need to get defensive over this. One can do both.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> So many well informed comments here I have to ask... and please forgive the spam... If you're interested in this area and might be be interested in working at YouTube then please email me using the address in my profile. I work in this area at YouTube.

</comment><comment><USER7> A 20% data saving but how much extra battery usage for devices which don't have hardware decoding for AV1 (which last time I checked was all of them)?

<comment><USER8> Exactly. I am thinking if this is going to be some sort of play against VVC.

Or will Youtube and Netflix force AV1 upon everyone where if you want high quality HDR or 4K Content you will require AV1.

<comment><USER9> I sure hope it's a war on VVC. I don't know why anyone would want a patent encumbered pay-to-use video codec over an open free one unless you're a stakeholder.

<comment><USER8> >I don't know why anyone would want a patent encumbered pay-to-use video codec

Again AV1 is not Patent free either.

<comment><USER10> But it is royalty-free. The patents are freely licensed to those implementing/using AV1.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> When video industry is going step away from 24fps legacy? Judder on panning camera scenes kills all the joy. That would be much bigger improvement than switching to 10bit color.

<comment><USER12> Unfortunately the fact that lower budget TV was recorded onto tape at 60fps in the old days of analog television has effectively ruined high frame rate for everyone.

Gemini Man just came out at 120fps in Cinemas and 60fps on blu ray and regardless of your feelings about the quality of the film, I would have thought anybody with eyes could appreciate how amazing the high frame rate looks.

But no, it's all people moaning about how it looks like a soap opera and "so unnatural" (too lifelike).

It seems anyone who tries high frame rate is crucified for it, so directors aren't exactly incentivised to try again.

<comment><USER13> High framerates DO look like soap operas. It makes it feel like you're watching a play, rather than a movie, and is extremely distracting.

When I go to to people's houses, and they have a newish TV, it will invariably have frame interpolation of some kind on which effectively gives _everything_ an approximated high frame rate. I immediately turn it off for them, and it is always met with either "oh, ya that was really bothering me" or "I can't tell the difference." I've never had someone want it turned back.

<comment><USER14> You're mixing up frame interpolation and original 60FPS content. That's not the same thing at all.

<comment><USER13> No, I'm not. The frame interpolation is actually pretty good, and approximates high framerate relatively well. It is the high framerate itself which causes this effect, however. I've seen two movies in theater at high framerate that were shot as such (The Hobbit and another I'm forgetting), as well as the ability to watch high framerate content on YouTube, and it is absolutely the high framerate that is jarring in cinematic content.

<comment><USER15> My experience is different: I've seen all three Hobbit movies in HFR with 48fps and it was gorgeous whereas interpolation is not even close to what I've seen in the theaters. Cinema is not in FPS count but in camera movements and frame composition. Cheap TV shows and movies look cheap regardless of FPS count.

<comment><USER13> I almost walked out of the theater, and my whole group was on the same page. It genuinely felt like we were watching a play.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> How much slower are encodes vs H.264 or HEVC?

The way some of the comments here are talking about it. It's like it requires a 2 hour encode to encode 1 hour.

For Netflix this is an encode once then just CDN the files. I can't imagine that this would be a significant cost.

<comment><USER17> 30fps on a 9900KS at 1080p. Three to four times slower than x264. As you say, for ahead of time, write once, read many media like Netflix, that's an acceptable trade. It's not going to work for live media yet.

But 10bit 4k streams need nearly 50gb RAM and exponentially more time than 1080p. I've never had much luck.

<comment><USER18> You can't draw conclusions from this for live streaming. That's typically just a subset of the encoder being used in 1 pass. Same for h264 etc.

The live streaming part of av1 is still full on the works. RTP packet formats for SVC isn't even finished yet, let alone implemented in a codec.

<comment><USER17> Not drawing conclusions. That's why I said "yet".

Spec, hardware encoders and maybe even software encoder improvements will likely make it practical.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Given that this is ARM, will this become available to the Raspberry Pi some time? I've set up a Raspberry Pi 4 as a media center but Netflix doesn't work because of codec issues.

<comment><USER20> Netflix only works on devices that support its DRM implementations. I don't think Widevine works on ARM/ARM64

On Android there's some specific API they call that only works on "certified" devices from Google. Random hobbyist builds wont work

<comment><USER21> Widevine is supported on Android, and is utilized by the MediaDrm APIs.[1][2]

Netflix uses Google's SafetyNet API to make sure the device is "certified". When this API check returns false, some features (like downloading media for offline viewing) will be disabled for the device. In some cases, the app won't even show up in Google Play. Devices with a custom ROM are likely to fail the test, but luckily the check can be circumvented with the hide feature of Magisk[3]. Netflix works fine on my LineageOS-powered device when using Magisk.

But even if your device passes the SafetyNet checks, you might not be able to play HD videos. This depends on the Widevine security level, which can be L1, L2 or L3; only devices with L1 are allowed to play HD videos. You can check your device's Widevine security level with DRM Info[4], for example. Netflix also lists specific device models and chipsets for which they support HD streaming.[5]

[1] [https://source.android.com/devices/drm](https://source.android.com/devices/drm)

[2] [https://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/MediaD...](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/MediaDrm)

[3] [https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk](https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk)

[4] [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androidfun...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androidfung.drminfo)

[5] [https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23939](https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23939)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Is there a convenient way to check which instruction set your phone supports? Something akin to hwinfo for Windows.

[https://www.guru3d.com/index.php?ct=files&action=file&id=263](https://www.guru3d.com/index.php?ct=files&action=file&id=263)

</comment><comment><USER23> How is the hardware decoding story nowadays? Have devices with hardware decoders already started shipping?

<comment><USER24> Newer Snapdragon SoCs, and that's about it right now.

<comment><USER25> Only mediatek has a smartphone SOC with AV1 available.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> No word on what their encoding toolset is. That's been the limiting factor with widespread adoption thus far; it just takes too much CPU and too much time to encode as AV1 vs 264, 265, or VP9

<comment><USER27> For Netflix this likely doesn't matter. While Youtube deals with 300+ hours of content uploaded every minute that it has to encode, Netflix only has to encode ~100 titles per month. Even if it takes a month to encode 1 of these, it's still easily doable for Netflix.

<comment><USER26> Yes and no. It's a cost-benefit deal. Just because they _can_ (and they surely can), doesn't mean it is cost beneficial to do so now. It takes CPU time (and therefore money) for each encode they do. If one takes much more resources to do, it may not be beneficial to do so yet. I originally posted my comment wondering if there had been some encoder breakthrough that I had missed that had made AV1 a viable option finally. Looks like there was, but it's still not nearly as good as it needs to be fore widespread adoption (looks like it's still 30x slower than a comparable HEVC or VP9 encode). So I guess it comes down to: are they saving enough on downstream bandwidth to balance out the CPU time for the encode? Releasing it would suggest yes, or they see some benefit to pushing the standard into the mainstream now rather than in six months regardless of the cost to them.

<comment><USER28> That kind of CPU load is a drop in the bucket for Netflix.

<comment><USER29> Yup. Run it during off peak with extra hardware. EZ.

<comment><USER30> Yeah this seems like a good job for AWS spot or the like. If it costs $.01/minute of video, probably worth it even if only a few hundred people watch the title.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> I assume they are using AV1+Opus?

When are hardware decoders and encoders for AV1 coming for common GPUs (Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, etc.?).

</comment><comment><USER32> Does this include Fire TV devices?</comment>


A successful Git branching model - <AUTHOR> http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/ <comment><USER2> Again?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1730788>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1460895>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1222755>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1199117>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1063198> <\- This one, from 317 days ago, has comments.

<comment><USER3> It begs the question, why don't submissions automatically get de-duped?

<comment><USER2> (Added in edit to explain someone else's comment and reference) ... it doesn't beg the question, it raises it. But putting that to one side ...

They're not all the same URL, and when a submission is old enough it's no longer tested against. Minor variations in the URL will also thwart the dup detector.

Several suggestions have been made in the past about improving the dup detector, but it's unlikely they'll be implemented.

<comment><AUTHOR> Not sure if this has been suggested or not, but what about a list of "similar articles" below yours (based on a search of past articles based on title/content/etc) so that you can verify yours is unique?

<comment><USER2> It's an interesting idea, and could be useful. I think that finding a selection that matches your intended submission could be difficult. Would be cool, though.

<comment><USER4> Technically not difficult, but would add quite a bit of complexity to HN in order to fetch and store at least a fuzzy hash of the article bodies.

From there it's mostly a case for a bayesian classifier (LSI) and some elbow grease.

FWIW, the "similar articles" footer on most blogs is implemented that way.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> PG, how about creating a 'hall of infamy and repetition' list for submissions that seem to find their way onto the site every so often? Once a link makes the list, all new submissions are redirected to a page listing the previous submissions w/ points/comments listed.

Some links like this and the comments that ensue are 'evergreen' material, but by continually being resubmitted at a later date the chance of conversation happening decreases and its time on the homepage shrinks while it creates a sort of broken window effect for those of us who haven't seen it for the first (or 6th) time.

</comment><comment><USER6> Then the follow up: [http://jeffkreeftmeijer.com/2010/why-arent-you-using-git- flo...](http://jeffkreeftmeijer.com/2010/why-arent-you-using-git-flow/)

and the code:

<https://github.com/nvie/gitflow></comment>


Deep tech dive video explaining how PS5 has likely already won the next gen race - <AUTHOR> https://youtu.be/PW-7Y7GbsiY <comment><AUTHOR> TL;DR: Sony sacrificed a bit of CPU and GPU to save die space for data compression / decompression hardware to allow for for data coherency and access speeds 100x that of PC, and far faster than the Xbox Series X, allowing for new types of games that won't be possible on PC or Xbox Series X. (Jump to 13m into the vid for the crux of all this.)</comment>


You Too Can Invest in a Startup Likely to Go Bust - <AUTHOR> https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-07/you-too-can-invest-in-a-startup-likely-to-go-bust <comment><USER2> > Wool In The Gang, a supplier of knitting kits, was acquired for about the > same price that investors put in; Crowdcube backers got a gift certificate > in lieu of payment.

This had me scratching my head. Why would anyone invest in a company if you're not even guaranteed payout in the (already unlikely) event of an acquisition?</comment>


Emissions from 13 dairy firms match those of entire UK - <AUTHOR> https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/15/emissions-from-13-dairy-firms-match-those-of-entire-uk-says-report <comment><USER2> This is factually incorrect, and the linked study [1] does not make this claim. In the study, the quoted 2017 level of CO2-equivalent emissions by the top 13 dairy firms is 337 MT. During the same year 2017, the UK emitted 464 MT CO2-e [2], which is about 38% more.

Now, if you want to compare these top 13 firms and see which country they exceed, you can sort all the countries and go down the list until you find one that emits less than the 337 MT. [3] is just such a list. You find that these firms emit just slightly less than Spain (340 MT) but much more than the Netherlands (193 MT).

[1][https://www.iatp.org/milking-planet](https://www.iatp.org/milking-planet)

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

[3][https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=AIR_GHG](https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=AIR_GHG)

<comment><AUTHOR> "match", in fact, can mean "similar", not necessarily "exactly equal".

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Maybe this would help: "Feeding cows seaweed cuts 99% of greenhouse gas emissions from their burps, research finds"

[https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/cows-seaweed- metha...](https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/cows-seaweed-methane- burps-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-climate-change-research-a8368911.html)

Wonder if it affects the taste of the meat or milk... or has some other undesirable side effects?

<comment><USER4> There's a large amount of literature on the effects of diet on meat flavor. I'm much more familiar with that side of things than milk flavor, but anecdotally I would expect similar effects.

Re: not consuming dairy, you be you. Cheese is rad. Good beef/pork/lamb/rabbit/etc. is rad. I think it's entirely possible to produce them in a sustainable and humane fashion, since I've personally been involved in producing beef that way (registered black angus FTW). My moo-cows had happy lives until their end. I think that's an attainable goal and compatible with also enjoying a wonderful tri-tip cooked with oak wood.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Drawdown is one of the most comprehensive and well-sourced books about solving anthropocentric climate change. If this article alarms you, in their technical report they lay out how switching to a plant-based diet is one of the most effective ways you can decrease your ecologial footprint: [https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/plant-rich- diets](https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/plant-rich-diets)

</comment><comment><USER6> >The analysis shows the impact of the 13 firms on the climate crisis is growing, with an 11% increase in emissions in the two years after the 2015 Paris climate change agreement,

Okay.

>largely due to consolidation in the sector.

 _Record scratch_

</comment><comment><USER7> Does anyone know if any of the artificial food research tackling a cows milk substitute?

Oh, wait, I have a Google. [https://www.sciencealert.com/news/20142910-26413.html](https://www.sciencealert.com/news/20142910-26413.html) is a six year old press release, so I guess it didn't get to market 'in five years'. It would be good if they could get something that could be made into cheese, or skip the wasteful bits and go straight to cheese. All I hear about is burgers, but I would have naively assumed milk a much simpler goal.

<comment><USER8> No idea about cheese, somebody is probably working on it. I would make a guess that the market for artificial milk is not worth the investment for most businesses, vegans, vegetarians and plant-based people moved on to plant milks and I think they're here to stay. There is a Swedish producer making high fat oat milk which apparently works really for coffee foam. My perspective is the question of whether or not plant milk vs cow milk is nutritionally equal doesn't matter since cow milk is not really required in modern society. It's an incredibly calorie and fat rich product that's intended for a developing calf, it was useful for humans living in harsh, winter conditions prior to industrialized farming but we can make up those calories elsewhere now.

<comment><USER7> Nutritionally, cheese is interesting due to the calcium content and vitamin K needed to absorb it rather than calorie content. And requires large amounts of cow (& sheep & goat) milk to create it. If artificial milk was possible, it could be made by traditional processes into the traditional cheeses we use for our varied cuisines. Direct artificial cheese I imagine would only get to market in one or two varieties (likely American cheese slices for artificial cheese burgers, or Parmesan for seasoning pasta).

<comment><USER8> It's a good point but I don't personally believe there are many modern humans outside of some small communitues that actually need to eat cheese for it's nutritional value. That said I understand it's often one of the harder things for people to give up when transitioning to plant-based diets.

<comment><USER4> Why does "need" have anything to do with one's diet? Cheese can be sustainably produced, and as an aside it tastes fabulous (I encourage you to try it).

I have zero intention to transition to a plant-only diet (we almost all already have "plant-based" diets, that term is offensively transparent marketing hand-waving for "vegetarian"). However, I certainly don't look down upon anyone for their individual dietary choices.

<comment><USER8> I don't really care for that term either but I used it because "vegan" has become such a loaded term in these kind of online debates, probably due to it often coming from the animal welfare angle and all sorts of silly hypothetical questions being offered from both sides. As for the cheese, I'll pass, you can keep it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> > The biggest dairy companies in the world have the same combined greenhouse > gas emissions as the UK, the sixth biggest economy in the world

The biggest dairy companies in the world presumably feed a lot of people. The UK is less than 1% of the world's population. Economy rank doesn't matter on its own. This is an obviously disingenuous comparison.

> More than 90% of the corporate dairy industries' emissions are produced by > the cows themselves, mostly in the form of methane.

So we're worried that too many cows are breathing?

> Research shows all plant-based milks, such as soya and oat, result in far > fewer emissions than dairy milk.

And there it is. It's a hit piece.

Most dairy isn't consumed as milk. You can't make cheese or cream from a plant. Dairy is a big part of my diet, and I'm not replacing it with something that isn't even nutritionally equivalent.

<comment><USER10> > So we're worried that too many cows are breathing?

No, farting.

> And there it is. It's a hit piece.

You're not objecting to any of the facts of the article. Nor, presumably, to the general idea of climate change. So I'm having trouble seeing your viscous reaction to the article as anything but anger at being shown facts that paint your lifestyle in a bad light.

FWIW I also consume dairy and meat, and don't plan on stopping, either. And yet I can't fathom the anger this seems to invoke in you. Pointing out the relative costs to society of certain activities isn't necessarily intended to get people to stop doing them. Here, for example, I believe putting pressure on the industry to mitigate that pesky methane problem is the far more promising route.

<comment><USER9> The methane comes mostly from burping. [1]

I objected to how the article draws misleading comparisons amd I gave two examples - how the scale of emissions is distorted, and how offering up milk substitutes as an alternative ignores how most dairy is actually used. I think that's enough to convey my point without a line-by-line breakdown of the entire article.

I do like that they pointed out that consolidation has driven up demand, and at the cost of rural businesses and communities. But it's overshadowed by the rest of the article. For example, the grain alternative would just make consolidation worse.

This isn't about me wanting to drink milk, eat meat, and ignore climate change. It's about how we're replacing our traditional distributed and varied food supply with corporate monoculture.

The article is written with such a heavy bias (intentional or not) that it seems more like an opinion piece. I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed in the journalism.

[1] [http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1734](http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1734)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Planet wide dairy companies. Not just UK based. Are cows not carbon neutral? Grass grows sucking in carbon, cows eat grass?

<comment><USER10> Cows produce (literally: fart) a lot of methane, which is an incredibly potent driver of global warming. A lot of energy also goes into the whole chain of production, from fertilizer used on feedstocks to transportation and so on.

Even compared just to other meats, beef is terrible for the climate. IIRC, pork does less than 1/3 the damage, and chicken gets close to vegetables on this measure

<comment><AUTHOR> > Cows produce (literally: fart) a lot of methane

Excuse me my nitpicking, but cows mostly belch.

[https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/33/which-is-a-bigger-methane- so...](https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/33/which-is-a-bigger-methane-source-cow- belching-or-cow-flatulence/)</comment></comment></comment>


How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C. - <AUTHOR> https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/04/james-fallows-leaf-blower-ban/583210/ <comment><USER2> For what it's worth a gas powered leaf blower puts out as much pollution in a day of work as a Ford Raptor will in 100,000 miles. Source: [https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions- test-...](https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-car-vs- truck-vs-leaf-blower.html)

<comment><USER3> They could just ban gas-powered leaf blowers to prevent that.

<comment><USER4> That's what they did.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> The ban is on _gas_ -powered leaf blowers. I've switched to all electric yard tools at home. No regrets; the tools are durable, can easily handle the whole job on a single charge, quiet enough that I feel comfortable letting my children assist (they can hear my instructions and generally what's going on around them), and no gas engines to maintain.

<comment><USER6> The real issue IMO is that the battery powered yard tools are infected by the same planned obsolescence as existing power tools. Most gas-powered yard tools last damn near forever even if you don't do maintenance on them. The battery powered ones are good for three years and then you're buying a new one. If you're lucky they still make the battery, but it costs as much a whole new tool.

Wish we could standardize modern rechargeable batteries the same way we did with old lead acid models.

<comment><USER7> > If you're lucky they still make the battery, but it costs as much a whole > new tool.

Aren't most companies working on a standardized battery (at least within their brand) so you can swap batteries between your drill, blower, trimmer, etc? It would seem that if that's the case, changing battery form factors would be a real bad idea.

<comment><USER8> (within their brand)

That's the kicker. I have DeWalt, Makita, and Rigid brand electric tools. They all have different, incompatible (yet same voltage/amp) batteries and chargers, each costing as much as the tool. At least gas goes in any gas tool.

I'd rather they be regulations on the amount of pollution (both air and noise) allowed.

<comment><USER9> I'm fine with regulation as long as zero is the amount of CO2 pollution allowed. We need to be in crisis mode now.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> >Noise, they have come to understand, is the secondhand smoke of this era.

Most of the author's points about sound come down to hand waving and weasel wording. He says hearing loss is "coming up fast on the list" of public health problems (a meaningless assertion), and then he never presents evidence that leaf blowers are a significant cause of this. He started with the conclusion (leaf blowers make an annoying sound), and then did his best to argue the sound that annoys him should be illegal.

On the other hand, he's right that 2 stroke engines are dirty as hell, and his statistics to that ends are a bit more convincing.

<comment><USER11> I understand the noise complaint, I work from home and I hear them all week as my various neighbor's gardeners arrive throughout each day. That said... I have an electric one that is awesome and it's much quieter than the 2-stroke I used to have. Leaf blowers do serve a purpose but the electric ones are a great improvement on noise and pollution.

<comment><USER12> Indeed leaf blowers produc one of the most distracting and annoying sounds when working from home

<comment><USER11> Ya, it's not as much of a problem at the office because you maybe hear one leaf blower all week. At home, it's 1-2 per day. When they come do my lawn, it's always while I'm on the phone.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> I wish universities would ban leaf blowers. In addition to pollution, they kick up spores that contaminate people's experiments in the bio sciences. I know people who had to turn around and go back home to shower because they got blasted by a leaf blower walking to work.

Given that campuses are eager to ban smoking, which produces vastly less pollution by volume, leaf blowers should be a no brainer.

<comment><USER14> Why don't we use vacuums?

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Not mentioned is that leaf blowers blow away the topsoil and little bugs that maintain it. The ground becomes hard and no longer water permeable (it's why the suburban ground in California looks — and acts — like concrete.

My gardeners don't use leaf blowers and people are always asking what chemicals I use to keep my garden looking so lush. I don't use any of those either; the process is called "nature".

<comment><USER16> > it's why the suburban ground in California looks — and acts — like concrete.

Look, I am as fanatical about soil biome issues as anyone that you are going to find, but your assertion is overly simplistic. If you look at a soil type map for large parts of Sili Valley, you will see big chunks labeled "Adobe". As in clay. As in it doesn't percolate. As in naturally sparse in organic matter. As in gardening contractors in Milpitas _own_ not _rent_ jackhammers, and it has nothing to do with the long term effects of leaf blowers.

<comment><USER15> Yes, but the topsoil has been blown away exposing that clay.

You just have to look at the "nature strip" in front of my house compared to my neighbors on the same street. We're all on the same terrain. Mine is the only one with grass (and flowers despite people getting out of cars and treading on them).

<comment><USER17> Maybe blown away by wind and / or burned dry by the summer heat.

You seem out of touch with reality (I intend this in the gentlest way possible).

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Good. I had a neighbor that spent multiple days each fall running them. Windy day? No problem, spend 6 hours making a pile and chasing the ones that blow off. Gutters clogged? Use a ladder and a leafblower to clean their gutters. It was ear piercing even inside my home. I asked they not do that, as it wasn't even efficient, and they shrugged me off. I was left with absolutely no recourse but to wear earplugs for a few days. I wish they'd ban those awful things nationwide.

</comment><comment><USER19> Glorious day! I wish they would ban them where I live.

I detest noise, but judging by the popularity of Harley's I must be in the minority.

<comment><USER20> If we could band together and get motorcyles banned I would be ecstatic. Loud mufflers of any kind, really.

<comment><USER21> Motorcycles do not have to be loud. Many riders believe that loud pipes make them safer, but I haven't seen data to back that up. I've owned bikes for years, commuted to work on them (when I've had office-based jobs), and mostly my neighbors are surprised to find out that I ride them, because I don't sit outside and rev them up in the mornings before leaving, or gun them up to high RPMs while leaving the neighborhood.

Motorcycles can be far more efficient than cars, so fight the noise, fight the obnoxious riders.. but not the vehicle.

<comment><USER20> Really my objection is to the loud noise. If Harley Davidson makes a silent electric one, I'll rescind my call to ban them.

<comment><USER19> If Harley Davidson made an electric bike, then people would start buying aftermarket noise makers that play the Harley sound at 140dB.

<comment><USER22> Cars are already piping fake engine noises through their speaker systems [1], so this idea isn't that far away.

1: [https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15117726/faking-it- en...](https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15117726/faking-it-engine-sound- enhancement-explained-tech-dept/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> What is wrong with using a rake to pick up leaves? Leafblowers are loud, dirty, they raise huge clouds of dust, they stink of gasoline, and at the end of the day, blowing leaves into a pile isn't even faster than raking them together. Using a leafblower is a sign of entitled loutishness.

<comment> yjftsjthsd-h > Using a leafblower is a sign of entitled loutishness.

You were fine up until here. Insulting people for wanting to use an easier option isn't a great look.

<comment><USER24> I don't think it's wrong to comment on people who care more about convenience and cost then the externalities they're creating (air and noise pollution).

"Selfish" is not a protected class.

<comment><USER23> Especially on this website, where you can find a substantial number of people working from home in upscale developments.

Also this: the leafblower ban was voted on and passed. The majority of Washingtonians thinks that running your petrol toy in public is so rude and bothersome that the practice needs a city ordinance banning it.

<comment><USER25> Your comparison doesn't actually hold. Working from home, while more convenient, actually decreases the externalities we pass on to others.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> Palo Alto, CA has banned gas-powered leaf blowers since 2005.[1]

[1] [https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=6...](https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=671&TargetID=96)

</comment><comment><USER27> Instead of outright banning them, why not require a strict maximum dB level rating (in other words as tested by an independent lab).

Personally I'm in favor of limiting noise output rather than outright banning.

Otherwise it's tyrannical for a minority to tell the majority what they may and may not do.

<comment><USER28> >The acoustic study found that in a densely settled neighborhood, a gas- powered blower rated at, say, 75 decibels of noisiness can affect up to 15 times as many households as a battery-powered blower with the same 75-decibel rating.

<comment><USER27> The motor of engine is part of the noise, the other is the fans pushing air through, their speed and pitch affect noise levels too, so even an electric leaf blower can be loud and uncomfortable.

<comment><USER29> Yeah, but not the same kind of loud and uncomfortable, as anyone who has actually heard these things in person knows immediately.

<comment><USER30> Ah I see, now you get to arbitrarily decide what noise is annoying for others, because only one kind bothers you.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> The amount of pollution they make is horrible, but my actual disdain for them is that when just a dusting of snow is on the ground, two or three guys with leaf blowers are clearing the town sidewalks at 6 AM. The noise wakes my wife and child, and it goes on for about twenty minutes straight.

I have used a light, wide broom for the same purpose. I use technology, and I am not a Luddite, but leaf blowers don't seem to have enough pluses for me to think otherwise. You still have to strap on a leaf blower, and wave the blower, wear earmuffs (or go deaf), procure and fill it with fuel, and haul it back to your truck or shed.

</comment><comment><USER32> Leaf blowers were the annoying soundtrack of Westwood near UCLA when I lived there from 1966-1983. By the time I left, they were buzzing everywhere from before dawn to dusk. I cannot even imagine what Westwood sounds like now, 36 years later....

<comment><USER32> One more thing: leaf blower noise pollution is inversely proportional to the socioeconomic position of LA neighborhoods (except for Beverly Hills, which banned gas-powered blowers in 1976).

</comment></comment><comment><USER33> I don't know how I feel about bans like this that also ban stopgap solutions.

I've never used one personally, but it sounds like a LiquidPiston engine would solve every problem this writer discuss.

[http://liquidpiston.com/technology/engine- benefits/](http://liquidpiston.com/technology/engine-benefits/)

</comment><comment><USER34> A few weeks ago I saw someone leaf blowing snow on the sidewalk in Alexandria, or at least trying to. One of the most absurd things I've ever seen.

<comment><USER35> I've done it. When we get a dusting of light powder and the pavement isn't warm enough to melt the base layer, it's totally fair game for blowing. As long as I'm using a warm battery that's been in the house, the blower makes quick work of it.

<comment><USER36> In this case a stiff-bristled 24" push broom works quite well and is cheap, easy and quiet if your driveway isn't too long.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER37> I've always hated them. We once stuck tied a fan onto a broom to ridicule the neighour.

But a few years ago I got one as a fire management tool, after seeing Parks workers use them for that purpose along the roadside. They're an awesome way to train a burn, and useful if it starts to get away from you.

</comment><comment><USER38> How the hell am I supposed to get rid of my gas-powered leafs now?

Also, aren't all leaf's technically gas powered?

<comment><USER39> My Nissan Leaf is definitely not gas powered.

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> I've often thought that a great product would be a leaf powered leaf blower/vacuum. Chop the leaves and burn them in a turbine that runs the vacuum sucking them up. Yes, technical problems - so solve them and bring me this product!

</comment><comment><USER41> Has anyone here done commercial lawncare? I mowed cemeteries and churches for 5 years. Electric tools might work for a tiny suburban plot but try doing even a single cemetery with them. We only used leaf blowers at the cemeteries a few times a year (Memorial day, etc.) but there is no way an electric blower would last long enough.

D.C. has Arlington Cemetery too, so I'm not sure what they'll do. Maybe they have an exception.

<comment><USER42> This raises the larger issue of our culture's expectation that acres of manicured lawn is a reasonable thing to expect.

Once that seed of skepticism seeps in, you really reel at the sheer mass of wasted time and money which this country spends on manicuring lawns.

</comment></comment><comment><USER43> When I lived in Seattle, it blew my mind that your society had second-class citizens driving around, cutting lawns and blowing leaves. It seemed so absurd to me, but sense to a lot of people, and was legit a mainstream thing.

Noise pollution in cities is an insidious problem. I'm happy to see that DC managed to reduce it somewhat. Although, 3 more years to wait is a bit of a kicker.

</comment><comment><USER44> Decent 4 stroke ones are pretty clean and quiet IME, maybe just ban the 2 stroke cheapos.

<comment><USER7> Why burn gas to push leaves around at all though?

<comment><USER44> The same reason most people are sticking with their gas powered cars for now, I guess.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER45> I saw someone blowing snow in New York with a leaf blower the other day...

</comment><comment><USER46> LA banned them many years ago but will not enforce the law.

</comment><comment><USER47> Effective 2022. So I haven't been hearing things.

</comment><comment><USER48> Leaf removal, whether performed with a gas-powered leaf blower or a rake, will contribute to soil nutrient depletion in the long term.

[https://druidgarden.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/dont-bag- your-l...](https://druidgarden.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/dont-bag-your-leaves- an-analysis-of-nutrient-loss-and-soil-depletion-for-leaf-removal/)

<comment><USER49> And not removing them completely removes your control over the landscaping, because they will kill everything under them by suffocating them and blocking light from reaching it.

Most people in suburban areas end up with tooo many leaves to compost or to try to mulch with a lawn mower.

>to teach us, the widespread degradation and depletion of soil and other resources leads to a civilization's collapse.

This is why I can't ever take this hippy dippy shit seriously. Because I pick up my leaves society is going to collapse? Okkayyy....

<comment><USER50> You and billions of others are doing it.

Yet people act surprised when articles about insect and worm population collapse come up.

<comment><USER51> Billions of people are picking up leaves?

The total area of 'yards' where leaves are picked up is so utterly insignificant that I wonder if you have ever been outside. In any case, the article is about D.C. and, regrettably, there will never be a shortage of worms in the capitol.

<comment><USER50> Have you ever looked at any sort of public grounds? Because your home isn't the only place on earth with leaves and I don't know where you got the idea.

Public parks, office perimeters, college campuses, busy roadsides, and yes, home lawns are all locations where people gather up leaves to burn them or send them off to the garbage. These are spaces in which billions of people spend all day and expect to be "cleaned" of leaves, so yes, the impact is significant.

<comment><USER51> You clearly live in an urban area. You can see them on maps represented as little dots. Sometimes little blobs. All the other 'empty' parts of the map? Well, this may come as a surprise, but it consists of millions of acres of forests, trees, and wilderness.

You could nuke every city in America and the 'worm' population wouldn't even notice.

It's amusingly myopic to worry about the leaves in an urban area where, most likely, all the trees have been cut down and replaced with buildings and asphalt. Real honestly, nobody cares what the soil is like in an urban/suburban area as (a) the 'soil' was most likely carted in from somewhere else to begin with and (b) the plants and trees one finds in a suburban/urban area aren't native anyway.

I really don't care about the leaves or lack thereof on your 'college campus.' But, I find it astounding that, very often on HN, there is this absolute lack of awareness of how BIG this country and is. Some posts come across as if the author's only interaction with the 'real world' is watching BBC nature documentaries and picnicking in the 'public park.' No offense intended.

<comment><USER50> I grew up in rural America, and you're obviously not. :)

I'm very used to people around me gathering up acres of leaves to burn.

Your argument is exactly the same as what's used by climate change deniers. America has forests, yeah. But half the country is dedicated to agriculture and towns. A lot of the untouched land is fairly mountainous or lacking in deciduous trees, i.e., not great territory for worms and insects.

It's bizarre how people still deny obvious human actions having affects on populations of the little creatures below us. We know that their populations are dropping faster every year. Spraying poison and depriving the ground of nutrients are pretty strong candidates for causes.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER52> Look, these things are horrible for the environment... no doubt.

But in my opinion, two-stroke gas leaf blowers and lawnmowers are the best engines to take apart and learn engine repair on -- repair and maintenance being cornerstones of mechanical engineering. I love doing small-engine repair and these were my gateway drug.

Plus... the smell of mixed grass trimmings and gas is something magical. (Wait, is that weird?)

</comment><comment><USER53> Mulch 'em! (It's noisy too but they're full of nutrients!) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9OhxKlrWwc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9OhxKlrWwc)

</comment><comment><USER54> YEEEEES!

</comment><comment><USER55> This is just socialism, thinking your hearing and breathing is more important than efficient landscaping. If leaf blowers were really that bad the market would have eliminated them.

<comment><USER56> Consider adding a /s ^^;

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> But somehow automobiles are OK.

</comment><comment><USER57> Bah! The whining of electric yard tools is no better. If you don't have a hill just get a tradition reel mower. Instead of a weedwhacker get a scythe. Instead of a leaf blower, buy a rake. Healthiest lawn tools on the market!

</comment><comment><USER58> No need to ban them, just tax their use at a level that pays the costs. Want to use a two stroke blower instead of electric? OK, $20 per hour tax.

Same with light bulbs.

<comment><USER29> What, exactly, are the costs associated with destroying the hearing of everyone within 500 feet? With waking all the sleeping children within that range? With disturbing the concentration of everyone working from home in that range?

A tax that reflects the actual externalities of the usage would be functionally the same as a ban and impossible to actually manage.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Mods: Ability to collapse comments thread - <AUTHOR>

It is quite possible this has been asked before. I'd appreciate the ability to collapse comments thread (just like reddit). The recent Apple watch thread with 700+ comments in less than 24 hours is an example of how hard it is to find the next main comment (without opening the dev tools).<p>E.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8291934 <comment><USER2> It's going to come eventually. In fact, it may be the only major change to the Hacker News UI that we're committed to. But we don't yet know when.

</comment><comment><USER3> There are some extensions out that do it:

[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news- collap...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news- collapse/bbkfcamiocfccgmcjngdljolljhifdph?hl=en)

[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news- collap...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news- collapsible-c/hockhafcdegocajmjhafgjncjpodihkd?hl=en)

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the links. But I'm one of those who try to avoid extensions unless absolute necessary. I can't have all these extensions on my mobile devices too. It's possible to write a tiny bookmarklet that just looks for the spacers used to indent the comments. However, this is something very basic from usability point of view hence I'm making a suggestion.</comment></comment>


If Netflix adds ads, it could lose a quarter of its subscribers – study - <AUTHOR> https://www.indiewire.com/2018/09/netflix-ads-could-lose-subscribers-1202002896/ <comment><USER2> There is a hard backstop here for the media industry: piracy. Media will always be available for free if you really want it, and there really isn't much that the music or film industry can do about that. If your paid version is worse than what is freely available, people will stop using your paid version. The market forces here are very much stacked against Hulu/Netflix getting too aggressive with advertising.

</comment><comment><USER3> I dropped tv because of ads. Im about to drop Prime because of fucking ads before shows. Netflix would lose out too.

</comment><comment><USER4> Hopefully the other three quarters just have very reliable ad blocking set up.

</comment><comment><USER5> I think Netflix will have its Amazon moment[1] very soon. They will realize that their library is very unique (original shows) and use that to their advantage to force ads onto users.

[1]: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17959085](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17959085)

<comment><USER6> It's not enough for the library to be unique, it also has to be good. I see very few people talk positively about Netflix Originals these days. Given how aggressive they are about pushing the Originals over all other content, I don't get the impression that there's a lot of organic loyalty to these series. That doesn't sound like a great base for getting people to both pay and watch ads.

<comment><USER7> I've seen a couple of "Here's what's coming in Netflix Originals" videos on YouTube in recent months, and while there are definitely Netflix shows I really like, the vast majority of them don't look in the least bit interesting.

I hardly watch movies on Netflix any more because there isn't much selection, and the Marvel movies will all disappear when Disney starts their own service that I will definitely not be buying. Their catalog of TV shows is what keeps me around, but that's shrinking as well.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Will unquestionably drop Netflix if they add ads. I already despise the ways they relentlessly pitch other shows. But if they interrupt my shows in any way, that's it, I'm gone. I will not tolerate ads on channels I pay for (and don't watch channels I don't).

</comment><comment><USER9> I tried hulu back in the day when even their paid service had ads. Before this I was used to netflix.

Coming from netflix,the ads on hula completely ruin the streaming experience.

<comment><USER10> Worst part about hulu was the same commercial 3+ times in a row, every break same 1 or 2 commercials. Really makes you appreciate the variety of regular commercials.</comment></comment>


Frequency responses of half-pel filters – The ryg blog - <AUTHOR> https://fgiesen.wordpress.com/2019/07/20/frequency-responses-of-half-pel-filters/ <comment><USER2> >The gist of it is this: if your samples are quantized to say 8-bit fixed point after every step, it seems plausible that you should be able to get away with slightly above unit gain at some frequencies

I'm a 1D DSP guy so I could be totally off here.

But iterating an FIR is basically this

               _   _
         + -> |_ G _| </comment><comment>-> y
         ^              |
         |______________|

With initial conditions of _G_ being the pixel value, right?

I suspect the poles of that system are the eigenvalues mentioned in the post, but I don't really want to do the math. Then you can look at the effects of coefficient quantization as a pole/zero loci problem.

I think you should be able to guarantee stability (at the cost of phase distortion, and maybe overall gain?) by reflecting some of the zeros of _G_ into the unit circle so they don't form unstable poles, but if they wind up being close to the edge then you still have to worry about quantization effects.

But it's been a long time since I've done image processing, so I don't know how relevant that is.

</comment><comment><USER3> Casey's posts that this mentions:

[https://caseymuratori.com/blog_0035](https://caseymuratori.com/blog_0035) [https://caseymuratori.com/blog_0036](https://caseymuratori.com/blog_0036)</comment>


Ask PG: Preferred method of demoing iPad apps for YC Application?  - <AUTHOR>

If we're applying for YC with an app not yet launched, what is the preferred way of submitting a demo for it on the application? We went with a short video but we didn't know if you had something like TestFlight set up. <comment><USER2> From <http://ycombinator.com/howtoprepare.html>

\----

 _The most important thing to us is probably the demo. And by demo we mean a working prototype of whatever you plan to build. Mockups can be helpful too, but they're much more convincing if they do something. Even if you have nothing now, you should be able to build something in the time you have.

(Demo = live. Please don't make a video. We won't watch videos.)_

\----

If you haven't actually launched it yet, maybe a video is ok? Or you may want to make something in a wireframe program.

<comment><USER3> Keiferski that link you referenced is relating to the interview stage.

I think the purpose of the application demo is to provide a visualization of what you wrote in the YC application. They say they only view demos from the most promising submissions, so if they're viewing it you already piqued their interest. Short of a live working prototype, I'd create a page that can most effectively show 1) how your app will generate revenue, 2) key differentiators of your app from similar ones. Regardless of the demo format, their time per submission is minimal so be clear and concise.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> A video is best.</comment>


Harvey Levin's TMZ - <AUTHOR> http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/22/inside-harvey-levins-tmz <comment><USER2> "The domain name tmz.com, however, was owned by a man who built robots—the site's initials stood for "Team Minus Zero"—and he showed little interest in selling. "We had the guy's name, and we knew that he worked at a computer- parts company," Rowe said. One day, Levin decided to go see the man, and he asked to borrow Rowe's modest rental car, so that he wouldn't appear to be wealthy. (Levin drove a Mercedes.) "Harvey called him up, went over, wrote him a check for five grand, and bought the URL," Rowe said."

Great! Should teach this in MBA programs. I used to think sitting on a domain was not right. If little guys didn't sit on domains who would? As if big wallets already don't sit on domains? How many domains does Godaddy, or Google currently own?

Do not care about TMZ. It's Springer. It's FB. It's pop garbage.

I do care about domains. Never understood why domain registers have first right to buy expired domain? As to selling a Domain; vet your buyer. If he's a rich dude, make him pay a little? They can afford it? They have been screwing us over since forever.

</comment><comment> UVB-76 Everything and everyone has a price.

It's only if we don't record the data in the first place, it can't have a price applied to it.</comment>


Startup Quote: Jonathan Ive, SVP, Apple - <AUTHOR> http://startupquote.com/post/9390307907

<comment><AUTHOR> It became an exercise to reduce and reduce, but it makes it easier to build an easier for people to work with.

\- Jonathan Ive

<http://startupquote.com/post/9390307907></comment>


Ask HN: Who is co-founding? - <AUTHOR>

<comment><USER2> who isn't?</comment>


25 Questions to Think About Before Your Next Job Interview - <AUTHOR> http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/02/17/25-questions-to-think-about-before-your-next-job-interview/

<comment><USER2> They missed the most important question:

26) Do you really want to be working for someone else? A smart friend of mine once told me, when you're an employee you are generating wealth for someone else, when you're an entrepreneur you are generating your own wealth.

<comment><USER3> And taking your own risk. I know the crowd here (hacker/entrepreneur) doesn't always think this way, but many (most?) people don't live to build wealth and influence and instead just work for an income that allows them to play in their spare time.

<comment><USER2> If your tolerance for risk is low (for example because you have a family to support) join a startup as one of the early employees, you still get a percentage of the wealth you generate and have almost all of the "security" of working for an established company.

It will also help you build the skills you'll need if one day you'll decide to build something of your own. I followed this path, and it was awesome for me.

I call it a startup apprenticeship program, find an entrepreneur you admire and believe you can learn a lot from, and join his company early on.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Sitting through an interview with this guy would be hell on earth.

</comment><comment><USER5> I've done a bunch of these job interviews lately, and if you want to "work for the man", this advice is spot on. At the same time, this is also relevant to entrepreneurs, because you'll (hopefully) be recruiting employees at some point. It always makes you a better interviewer/interviewee if you've been on the other side of the table.

</comment><comment><USER6> this is stupid. the usual managerial crap.</comment>


Newton VR: Physics-Based Interaction on the Vive - <AUTHOR> http://www.vrinflux.com/newton-vr-physics-based-interaction-on-the-vive/ <comment><USER2> I'm guessing the next big breakthrough in physics will come from VR simulations like this.

<comment><USER3> Maybe in mechanical engineering, but definitely not in physics ;-)

<comment><USER2> This dichotomy is why modern physics is stuck. VR is forcing programmers to question the fundamental concepts while implementing (i.e. using) them in a discrete, non-infinity context.</comment></comment></comment>


The Dots Do Matter: How to Scam a Gmail User - <AUTHOR> https://jameshfisher.com/2018/04/07/the-dots-do-matter-how-to-scam-a-gmail-user.html <comment> a-fried-egg Wait a minute, so if I already have a email@example.com and someone creates a firstname.lastname@example.com account, does that mean email@example.com will be able to intercept all email going to firstname.lastname@example.com because Gewww-gle did a . gaffe?</comment>


RethinkDB (S09) is hiring a customer experience engineer - <AUTHOR>

RethinkDB (www.rethinkdb.com) is hiring a customer experience engineer in our offices in sunny Mountain View, CA.
Why you should join:

  - We've developed a breakthrough innovation in a fundamental piece
    of the software stack that's exciting, defensible, and very
    valuable.
  - You will have the opportunity to communicate with and learn from
    some of the most technically demanding customers in the world.
  - Marketing a breakthrough product in a fragmented market is exciting,
    challenging, and hugely rewarding.
 Responsibilities:

  - Design, implement, and maintain RethinkDB website, including
    customer support and communication tools.
  - Communicate the product to customers by designing a marketing
    message, writing copy, documentaion, etc.
  - Evangilize the product via blog posts, papers, communication with
    customers, etc.
 Requirements:

  - Good sense of web design and UI design. Please send an example of
    best work.
  - Good understanding of at least two programming languages. Ability
    to modify open source components as needed, and to code additional
    components from scratch as necessary.
  - Ability to evangelize high tech software. Good understanding of
    technology (breadth and depth), ability to communicate complex
    subjects in written form, evidence of evangelizing track record (a
    technical blog, active participant on social news forums, etc.)
 Please send your resume to firstname.lastname@example.com. <comment><USER2> What does 'defensible' mean in this context?</comment>


Zika's Lifesaving Side: It Kills Cancer - <AUTHOR> https://daily.jstor.org/meet-zikas-lifesaving-side-it-kills-cancer/ <comment><USER2> Discussed 8 days ago:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15179936](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15179936)

</comment><comment><USER3> The article (very briefly) summarizes a scientific paper published last week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, but does not cite it.

Here is the original article, DOI: 10.1084/jem.20171093

[http://jem.rupress.org/content/early/2017/09/05/jem.20171093...](http://jem.rupress.org/content/early/2017/09/05/jem.20171093.long)

<comment><USER3> And here is a more detailed expository summary, from the PR people at one of the author's institutions: [https://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2017-09-05-zika-...](https://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2017-09-05-zika- virus-targets-and-kills-glioblastoma.aspx)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4>
      After all the flooding in Houston and Florida the situation is ripe for a zika outbreaks and zika spreading further into the United States

</comment><comment><USER5> Congratulations, world might start to reinvestigate viral and phage cancer treatments thanks to those findings.

</comment><comment><USER6> Obligatory XKCD to remember: [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cells.png](http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cells.png)</comment>