The Flight of the Startup - <AUTHOR> http://www.threeriversinstitute.org/blog/?p=251 <comment><USER2> A book that I am currently reading that I have found tremendously helpful and thought provoking is The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steven Gary Blank. Most customers don't miss product development, they miss CUSTOMER development.

Disclosure: I am developer, not a marketing used car salesman.

[http://www.shelfari.com/books/1344861/The-Four-Steps-to- the-...](http://www.shelfari.com/books/1344861/The-Four-Steps-to-the-Epiphany)</comment>


Why Survivorship Bias Is Bullshit - <AUTHOR> http://www.thegenses.com/blog <comment><USER2> Survivorship bias is kind of bullshit, I mean luck does play a role in success, but the longer you work at something, as long as you have a good idea/plan of attack/all the other traits needed to succeed in a field, the less luck will play a role in determining your success. Luck matters less and less over longer timescales, as long as you keep doing the right things.

<comment><USER3> Possessing those positive traits you speak of is also a matter of luck: the upbringing of an individual has been proven to affect one's ability to make correct decisions. Effort counts, and it counts a lot, but let's not pretend that we can override causality with it. That's why we have things like welfare and social nets.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> TL;DR: "I can't hear you, I can't hear you, LA LA LA LA! Therefore, things I dislike do not exist, QED."</comment>


Show HN: Customizable themes for iOS - <AUTHOR> https://www.apptemplatez.com/ Checkout our mvp. Feedback welcome. <comment><USER2> Your templates are nice and have good use of color. But why would you have the stock photo promo pics as your product images instead of the mockups? I can't decide if it comes off as gimmicky, as in you're trying to be trendy with no justification beyond that, or deceitful, as in you're hiding the product/trying to make it look better than it is. Neither could be the case but that's how I interpret it. Either way, that's not good. You're clearly a good designer; own it!

Also, your Twitter link in the footer is broken.

<comment><USER3> My guess is that if looks more stylish, and tried to convey a sense of what the theme is about.

It is a balance between looking good, and showing useful content.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Just a bit of useful criticism here.

The themes look all the same with only a slight variation on color and font use. Also it'd be nice to see them used in an example. Ie: map app, messaging app, photo, etc.

Great job though I think this space needs something like this.

</comment><comment><USER5> Looks nice, but the website looks like you're fitting a left shoe on your right foot. Looks premade and needlessly crowded. Also the 'z' at the end of your name screams 2002. Otherwise, nice products.

<comment><USER6> Yhea should have called it AppPlanet.io or GetAppPlanet right? Or what about ooozunmba or any other meaningless name that sound 2013 startup. Kickstarter + Airbnb for iPhone themes.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Oh, man. This is just AWESOME. Great idea and pretty good execution out of the gate. Good luck!

</comment><comment><USER8> Other than the font in "Jazz Age", you've got something pretty useful here.</comment>


Functional JavaScript, Part 3: apply, call, and the arguments object - <AUTHOR> http://tech.pro/tutorial/2010/functional-javascript-part-3-apply-call-and-the-arguments-object

<comment> mycroft-holmes I'm relatively new to JS and functional programming and I've found that functional programming has been extremely difficult for me to grasp. I eventually figure it out (so far) but it takes me _forever_ to read through code. You return a function that has a function in that that has another function in that and so on.

Is this normal?

<comment><USER2> Yes and no.

Some of this is that JavaScript is just not very well equipped to do functional programming. For instance, the nesting of functions in JavaScript is not only verbose to write, it also introduces a lot of noise in the code.

One pretty simple/obvious setback for JavaScript is that declaring an anonymous function (or a lambda) entails quite a few characters. In ES6, [this will change with the introduction of "Arrow Functions"][2], but that's not going to be a cure-all by any means.

Languages geared more towards the functional edge will handle things like curried higher order functions almost without you realizing it. For instance, taking an excerpt from my next post in the series (still unpublished):

        var uncurried = function (a, b, c) {
            // do something with a, b, and c
        };

        var curried = function(a) {
            return function (b) {
                return function (c) {
                    // do something with a, b, and c
                };
            };
        };

There we have two ternary functions (3 arguments), but the first one is uncurried (how you would expect it in javascript), and the second one is manually written in a curried fashion.

Some programming languages, such as Haskell and OCaml, have function currying built into the language. What that means is that, technically, __every function is a function of one argument, and one argument only __. Syntactically, however, they may make this restriction almost unnoticable.

For instance, in OCaml, one could write the two functions above like:

        let uncurried = fun a b c ->
            // (* do something with a, b, c *)

        let curried = fun a ->
            fun b ->
                fun c ->
                    // (* do something with a, b, c *)

The difference, however, is that in OCaml these are _exactly_ the same thing. In OCaml, no functions have multiple arguments. However, invoking curried functions syntactically looks the same as what one would expect invoking a function with multiple arguments would be. To call the functions above we would write:

        uncurried foo bar baz
        curried foo bar baz

Whereas in JavaScript, we have the obvious difference:

        uncurried(foo, bar, baz);
        curried(foo)(bar)(baz);

Many would argue that the readability of the former is much better than the latter.

\---

Anyway, what I am trying to build up to in this series is building a set of tools to make writing code like this a little more fluid in JavaScript than native JavaScript would allow.

This goes back to my example in [Part 1][1], where I show an underscore example:

        var firstTwoLetters = function(words){
            return _.map(words, function(word){
                return _.first(word, 2);
            });
        };

Which, the _exact_ same thing can be represented "my way" with:

        var firstTwoLetters = map(first(2));

I would argue that this is much more readable, and perhaps you would agree?

      [1]: http://tech.pro/tutorial/1953/functional-javascript-part-1-introduction
      [2]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/arrow_functions

<comment><USER3> I think your post is a bit misleading; in the OCaml example, both functions are curried. This would be a better juxtaposition (I'm mostly guessing at the syntax; I'm a Haskeller).

        let uncurried = fun (foo, bar, baz) -> qux
        let curried = fun foo bar baz -> qux

It's a relatively small nitpick, but that's what currying means in this instance. And really, JavaScript is the same way; a function with "multiple arguments" is really just a function where the argument is a tuple. It's just that syntactically, it's cleaner in JavaScript (and many other languages) to declare and call functions with tuples.

<comment><USER2> I guess I didn't mean for it to be misleading, but I wrote the example like I did on purpose to show that in OCaml, the arguments are curried by default... that there is no need to have the `fun` keyword 3 times.

The misleading part was probably naming the first function "uncurried"... the point of the example was to show that they were both curried.

I'll try to make this more clear in my post. Thanks.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I've been on a functional JS binge recently and have found [https://leanpub.com/javascript-allonge](https://leanpub.com/javascript- allonge) extremely helpful in explaining functional concepts and reexplaining basic javascript concepts. I can't recommend the book enough.

<comment><USER2> Having read the book, I can definitely recommend it. Along with the book, Braithwaite created [allonge.es][1], a functional js library which follows much more closely how I would create a FP utility library in JS (versus, something like lo-dash or underscore).

      [1]: https://github.com/raganwald/allong.es

<comment><USER4> Being a novice, what would be extremely helpful would be to see someone apply these concepts in different parts of the stack on a real world web app. Discussion also regarding when these concepts should not be used or are otherwise terrible would be great.

<comment><USER2> That is great feedback. I am actually working on creating a "functional" version of the 2048 game, along with my own implementation of the AI solver, as part of this series. Kinda goofy, and maybe not a "real world" situation as much, but should at least show the concepts being applied.

I also very much recommend this video by Brian Lonsdorf, titled "Hey Underscore, You're Doing It Wrong!:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3svKOdZijA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3svKOdZijA)

<comment><USER5> I think Lonsdorf needs to check out PureScript [https://github.com/purescript/purescript](https://github.com/purescript/purescript). He's practically writing in a style like it already.

<comment><USER4> It would also be helpful to have resources regarding the type notation that he uses. I imagine that the notation is the same regardless of the language you use to apply it, but I'm not in a position to be sure. E.g. [http://learnyouahaskell.com/types-and- typeclasses](http://learnyouahaskell.com/types-and-typeclasses)

<comment><USER5> Yes he's borrowing the type notation from haskell to make his intentions clear, but of course this is only conceptual, and comments can be wrong - you'd need something like TypeScript to actually get feedback on types.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER2> author of the article here: this is part 3 of what will likely be a 6+ part series... as a result, this post is still sort of "laying the foundation", before getting to some of the "fun stuff".

In any event, would love to hear any feedback!

<comment><USER6> I found your section on converting prototype methods into utility functions really interesting, I found myself doing the same thing a few days ago. One suggestion for your 'demethodize' function is to replace the prototype methods you use with purely functional versions (AKA replace [].slice and fn.apply). It seems kind of funky to have a function dedicated to demethodizing prototype methods that makes use of prototype methods!

<comment><USER2> Yeah, I think I sometimes weave back-and-forth. I try to avoid thinking about "micro-optimizations", but can't help myself. As I'm writing this series I'm compiling together a small and opinionated library that uses a lot of these concepts, and I am tending to use native methods, for loops, while loops etc. in favor of performance....

but I should probably stop that and instead favor the clean code following the very principles they are there to promote! One of my points was that performance doesn't really matter here anyway.

Thanks for pointing out. I might update a couple spots.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Wow, what an amazingly detailed article. Really enjoying this series so far.</comment>


Ask HN: What open source project to master? - <AUTHOR>

I'm looking for aproject to master and work in the field, or even just to contribute to an open source project.
I'm looking for ideas. For example, mastering the linux kernel, or git internals.
It should be something that few people truly master, and I prefer something that can land me a nice lucrative job. <comment><USER2> [http://www.dotproject.net/](http://www.dotproject.net/) had a very good structured php source. I have learned a lot from it to be a better java developer. back in the old 2004's...</comment>


Someone Is Trying to Sneak Bitcoin Mining Code into Open Source Software - <AUTHOR> https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bitcoin-mining-github-open-source-bots <comment><USER2> Quite interesting, but in me it sparked an idea imagine parts of bitcoind, that when included in software, paid back the developers of that software one tic for every thousand or so tocs the software was being used...

</comment><comment><USER3> >>>Motherboard reached out to GitHub for confirmation...

4TI ---Bingo!</comment>


Lesson from HN: Self-regulating communities - <AUTHOR> http://blog.rafaelcorrales.com/2010/05/self-regulating-communities.html

<comment><USER2> _"... 'Wow. You make an incredible amount of bad assumptions' that only insult and don't offer a counter-point, it shows a downside of a self-regulating community. And in this case, it also shows a downside of allowing complete anonymity of a user in a community. ..."_

You are right.

Ad Hominem (HD1) isn't warranted, nor is the tone (HD2) ~ <http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html> Nobody bothered to point out the guidelines ( _bottom menubar, 5th along_ ) which give hints especially on replying to comments. Also nobody bothered to point out _"How to disagree"_ ~ <http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html> or _"Trolls"_ ~ <http://paulgraham.com/trolls.html> both useful to read and understand.

Stick around, read, post useful articles and don't be afraid to thoughtfully comment.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the links -- I wish I had seen that stuff earlier. I certainly wasn't expecting a "welcome package" :) when joining Hacker News, but maybe there's a better way to share ground rules with new members, beyond the self- regulation? Maybe when you create an account, it takes you to "here are the 5 main norms" page and then you can start posting?

<comment><USER2> _"... Maybe when you create an account, it takes you to "here are the 5 main norms" page and then you can start posting? ..."_

HN user @epi0Bauqu (Gabriel Weinberg) also has just the thing - a list of quality topics for all new users to read ~ <http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Word</comment>


"I immediately did what any professional IT/IS guy does" - <AUTHOR> https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/31/amazon_account_hacking/ <comment><AUTHOR> From the article:

"I immediately did what any professional IT/IS guy does: I began the lockdown. All associated devices get removed from the account," fidelisoris, who asked us to use their internet handle, recounted.

From me:

No, No, No, No, No - what any "professional IT/IS guy" would do is delete the account - if you have been compromised, anything short of scrapping it all and starting again is a fools errand.

If you have had a root kit on your windows machine, you use external boot disk to format and re-install, you don't remove it. If you are in a sensitive area you probably bin the computer.

If your x account is compromised, kill it.</comment>


The Ouya game console has geopolitical implications - for your kids - <AUTHOR> http://falkvinge.net/2013/06/27/oh-boy-more-ouya-hype/ <comment><USER2> I _hope_ he's right, but honestly, this seems a little over-optimistic. I doubt the Ouya will transform the world in the way Rick Falkvinge thinks it will unless people actually _want_ it to.

<comment><USER3> Especially since the Ouya, while certainly open to development as much as any other Android device, isn't any _easier_ to develop for. Making an Ouya game is just as difficult as making a game for any other platform.

From my perspective, there's nothing in the Ouya that will interest the kids in programming any more than any other console.</comment></comment>


The hardest computer game of all time - <AUTHOR> http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/01/robot_odyssey_the_hardest_computer_game_of_all_time.html <comment><USER2> For a more modern entrant in the genre of games that are secretly programming, I can't recommend Spacechem enough:

[http://www.spacechemthegame.com/](http://www.spacechemthegame.com/)

Surely a bit less difficult than Robot Odyssey, but immensely enjoyable nonetheless. I finally forced myself to uninstall it after spending waaaay too much time hyperoptimizing my solutions against the online leaderboard... it was rather addicting. :)

<comment><USER3> The developer of SpaceChem also created The Bureau of Steam Engineering [http://www.zachtronics.com/bse/bse.htm](http://www.zachtronics.com/bse/bse.htm) and The Codex of Alchemical Engineering [http://www.zachtronics.com/alchemy/alchemy.htm](http://www.zachtronics.com/alchemy/alchemy.htm) which are both free.

Incidentally, I didn't realize that he was the creator of Infiniminer. For those unfamiliar with the game, it is what inspired Notch to create Minecraft.

<comment><USER4> Oh man, Codex of Alchemical Engineering is a game that brings back very fond memories. In fact, he also made KOHCTPYKTOP: Engineer of the People [http://www.zachtronics.com/play- kohctpyktop/](http://www.zachtronics.com/play-kohctpyktop/) another game that I used to love.

I'm glad this guy went into game-making.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Fascinating! After reading this I was encouraged to see if anyone had covered the game on YouTube and found a guy who did a whole let's play series on it while explaining what he was doing and how the puzzles worked. Part 1 at [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJeseZEZn6Y](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJeseZEZn6Y) for anyone curious.

<comment><USER6> "Famous strongbad line".

It's bizarre that this guy would refer to something so obscure as famous, and yet I knew exactly what he was talking about (put mouse over 'email'):

[http://homestarrunner.com/main13.html](http://homestarrunner.com/main13.html)

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Rarely does a game from that era have that much complexity, and in CGA. Wow.

Also, an ASCII guide to gates:

             output  input(s)

                    +
         NOT   --o< |--
                    +

                   -+--
         OR    --(  (
                   -+--

                   -+--
         NOR  --o(  (
                   -+--

                  --+--
         AND   --(  |
                  --+--

                  --+--
        NAND  --o(  |
                  --+--

                   - +--
         XOR   --(  ((
                   - +--

                   - +--
        XNOR  --o(  ((
                   - +--

{C,P,N}MOS transistor implementations are exercises for the reader. :)

<comment> m-photonic Apparently it's an Apple II game, not a CGA game. I was fooled too though.

<comment><USER7> Thanks. s/CGA/HGR{,2}/

Neat read (I never coded for Apple II):

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_graphics#High- Resolut...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_graphics#High- Resolution_.28Hi-Res.29_graphics)

<comment><USER8> Actually, they did port it to IBM PC and TRS-80 Color Computer.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> There is also a clone written in Java, Droidquest, which contains all of the original levels and an additional secret level: [http://www.droidquest.com/](http://www.droidquest.com/)

</comment><comment><USER10> A similar (and undoubtably simpler, although still often infuriating) but still fun logic/programming game is Manufactoria[1].

Spoiler: Vg'f onfvpnyyl cebtenzzvat n uggcf://ra.jvxvcrqvn.bet/jvxv/Gnt_flfgrz

[1] [http://pleasingfungus.com/Manufactoria/](http://pleasingfungus.com/Manufactoria/)

</comment><comment><USER11> The modern version is probably what kids are doing iwth Redstone in Minecraft:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6spHvGPtQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6spHvGPtQ)

<comment><USER12> i love how minecraft has this redstone system. the latest update also added a cloning command, so you no longer need to repeatedly make the same circuts again and again - you can carry a command block, and click a button to clone a circut/place it, leading to better abstraction.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> I _LOVED_ playing Robot Odyssey as a kid.

I've always been surprised how obscure it is. Never did clear the thing but I finished at least 80% of it before I was 14. I must be a lot dumber now.

Edit: I just gave GATE a try. Ugh, I can't get past level 15.

<comment><USER13> Make it 20. lol

<comment><USER14> Gate?

<comment><USER15> [http://www.quinndunki.com/OGOL/GATE.html](http://www.quinndunki.com/OGOL/GATE.html)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Oh I enjoyed this game when it came out. It was what convinced me I had made the right choice to get an EE degree rather than "just" a CS degree. I really wanted to connect programs to thrusters, not just subroutines.

<comment><USER17> Same here. I was 8 or 9 years old and couldn't understand how chips worked. They were just sort of magic to me, so I wired all my solutions without chips. It required a massive mess of logic gates to solve things like the Ventilation Shaft and Minefield puzzles in level 4.

The signals puzzle in level 5 was as far as I could get... but it got me hooked on algorithmic problem solving.

Edit: to get an idea of the complexity of the puzzles, here's a link to a walkthrough of level 4:

[http://mysite.verizon.net/thomasfoote/DQ/id28.htm](http://mysite.verizon.net/thomasfoote/DQ/id28.htm)

<comment><USER18> I actually did the exact same thing! I staid away from the chips because they were to black-boxish and then gave up on level 5.

I have yet to see a current-gen game with as awesome a circuit wiring mechanic as RO.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Reminds me of ChipWits. God I so loved that game.

[http://www.chipwits.com](http://www.chipwits.com)

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

[http://www.richardsnotes.org/archives/2005/03/29/chipwits/](http://www.richardsnotes.org/archives/2005/03/29/chipwits/)

</comment><comment><USER20> I found the source code of the remake (DroidQuest), which is no longer available for downloaded at [http://www.droidquest.com](http://www.droidquest.com) for whatever reason. Here it is: [http://svn.krischel.org/viewvc.cgi/branches/droid- quest/](http://svn.krischel.org/viewvc.cgi/branches/droid-quest/)

</comment><comment><USER21> Robot odyssey was hard. I got the third robot, but never actually finished.

But man the hitchhiker's guide text game was impossibly hard.

<comment><USER22> (From memory - SPOILER!)

>Take tea

       You cannot take that.

>I

       You have:

         No tea

>Drop No tea

       Taken.

Brilliant! :D

<comment><USER23> O. M. G.

 _That 's_ how you do it?

<comment><USER24> It's not that simple, of course. First you have to transport a miniaturized version of yourself into your own brain and remove your common sense.

<comment><USER14> So... this game is a prerequisite to run for any major US Office?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Really cool. I hadn't seen this game before, but the idea is dear to my heart since a few years back I developed a similar iOS app called Circuit Coder. Sorry for the shameless plug, but if you're into games like this, it might be worth knowing about.

<comment><USER26> Just wanted to give a quick reply – I purchased your app when it first came out and I love it to death.

Thank you for that!

<comment><USER25> Thanks! So glad to hear that!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> Never played the game, but reading about this reminded me about how awesome my life is. There are so many great games and other resources out there. I just started to brush up my math on Khan Academy for fun.

While it is commonplace to complain about the youth an how spoiled they all are we should remember that young people today have a plethora of ressources at their hands and if pointed into the direction of the nearest hackerspace, or community garden or similar open and encouraging environment, they can do and learn whatever they want.

All we as parents and grown ups have to do is to point them to these opportunities and to encourage them to explore their talents.

</comment><comment><USER15> Wow, thanks for posting this. I read about this game on Micah's blog a few years ago and while I had forgotten the name until now, it's been stuck in my mind ever since. Maybe I'll actually give it a shot this time!

</comment><comment><USER28> Inspired, I tried DroidQuest, but can't get figure out the controls. I feel like I'm missing something really dumb, but all I can do is move around the starting menu, how do I select something?

<comment><USER29> Try the tutorials. Instead of entering Robotropolis sewer, just head down and start with "Robot Anatomy".

</comment></comment><comment><USER30> This is probably the game that had the most impact on my interest in computers as a kid.

I think all we had access to were cracked versions in Juneau, Alaska where I grew up (I remember it as a "Black Bag Crack"), so I don't think it was possible to finish the version I played. Regardless, in 4th grade I loved it, but I don't think I actually got that far.

However, I realized later that it had given me the foundation of my understanding of digital logic. It's kind of awesome when I think about that.

</comment><comment><USER31> Another tough one is englishcountrytune [1] from stephen lavelle

[1][http://www.englishcountrytune.com/](http://www.englishcountrytune.com/)

<comment><USER12> i have a friend who's crazy about that game - it's more a spatial reasoning puzzle than logic based (ala, building a circuit).

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> This game also helped define me. I remember running around 5th grade thinking in my head 'beep pause pause beep beep pause'.

I created a parallel to serial and back set of chips to create a remote control system to get through the invisible maze level.

I played this on either a Tandy color computer 2 or 3 ... not sure which. I wonder how many engineers/programmers this game created. Such great memories.

</comment><comment><USER33> I was almost certain that this would be about QWOP.

</comment><comment><USER34> I'm one of those weird guys who thinks this game would be a whole lot more fun if all you had were NAND gates.

</comment><comment><USER35> If you like _really_ hard puzzle games, give "Puzzle Moppet" a shot sometime... I recently got an email from a hardcore puzzle fan who has been playing it on and off for a year, but still was unable to complete it.

The gameplay isn't particularly innovative though, and it didn't sell well.

</comment><comment><USER36> There's an early windows game Bug Brain which sounds quite similar. You're building brains of various insects and worms from single neurons to perform various tasks.

</comment><comment><USER37> My parents got me this game, way back when. I think I got half way through it before the game sapped my will to continue.

</comment><comment><USER38> Masquerade for the Apple ][ would probably qualify as one of the hardest games ever to come out on this platform.

</comment><comment><USER39> The headline made me come here to talk about Battletoads but the article left me kinda disappointed...

</comment><comment><USER40> Are there any working ports for Mac?

<comment><USER41> You can also find a DOS port online. And play it using Boxer.app boxerapp.com

<comment><USER27> The guy in the above mentioned 'lets play' videos says that the DOS version (he has) has a bug which lets you use the soldering iron in the tutorials but not in the actual game.

<comment><USER42> I think it's the copy protection which can be bypassed by a patcher at [http://scanlime.org/2009/04/a-binary-patch-for-robot- odyssey...](http://scanlime.org/2009/04/a-binary-patch-for-robot-odyssey/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER43> I miss Datasoft's Alternate Reality.

</comment><comment><USER44> It all seemed reasonably simple until I saw you can put chips inside robots and chips inside chips. Let this be a lesson to you kids - nothing can complicate things like recursion can complicate like recursion can complicate like recursion can complicate _stack overflow error_ things.</comment>


The Strangest Factor Yet for Rising Obesity? - <AUTHOR> http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/the-strangest-factor-yet-for-rising-obesity/# <comment><USER2> Doesn't seem very convincing to me.

"...life expectancy for African-Americans rose... [after] public officials upgraded the sewer and water systems in black neighborhoods."

I think I'd rather be obese and alive than thin and dead from a disease caused by poor hygiene.</comment>


Show HN: A Student and Layoff Hiring List - <AUTHOR> https://entrylevel.io/layoff-list <comment><AUTHOR> Hey Hackers,

We have been asked, what are we doing to help recent grads or people affected by COVID 19? Many students will be graduating soon during a time when companies stopped hiring. Inspired by others, we put together a form & a layoff list to help those that were affected.

Please add your resume to our public list. We will be sharing this list publicly with our job network and people at companies that are hiring.

Please let us know if you have any feedback or questions!

P.S. We are working on a Twitter bot to randomly pick one candidate from the list to post their resume/info on our Twitter daily.</comment>


Dell acquires Sonicwall - <AUTHOR> http://www.sonicwall.com/us/company/Acquisition.html?elq=8f755563d68e4a0f9430f75edfc9fe1c

<comment><USER2> Two dead companies do not make a live one... SonicWall lost their edge 5 years ago, and now they compete with the likes of Pfsense and M0n0Wall.

As a former SonicWall customer, I _MUCH_ prefer PfSense to their products, and the price is MUCH better... FREE. SonicWall, You lost me by holding back feature updates to nickel and dime me into upgrading to an ever-increasing support contract.

Dell, since you are flushing money down the hole these days, how about you send me some. I'm sure I can make a better return on it than you can.

Cheers! :)

<comment><USER3> Dell is "dead"? I suppose relative to the incredible profits of Apple, every other company is dead.</comment></comment>


Dharmesh Shah pays out $3,001 for Twitter contest hack - <AUTHOR> http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/92872/How-I-Inadvertently-Ran-an-MIT-Student-Hacking-Contest-For-3-001.aspx

<comment><USER2> It's a good thing none of the students went crazy on Fiverr, or Dharmesh would have been out of a _lot_ more money.

<comment><USER3> Yeah, I realized that mistake. I'm glad I was able to escape relatively cheaply. It could have been much worse.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> [Note: Paul and Tim are students at Olin, not MIT. The article doesn't make this clear until later on.]

</comment><comment><USER5> You should have written some HN bots to make this story go to the top.

Congrats on the monies.</comment>


Express.js boilerplate for membership/subscriptions with Stripe - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/eddywashere/node-stripe-membership-saas

<comment><USER2> Dude Nice! I'm glad you published this. Will let you know if I hit any issues.</comment>


Business 2.0 Doesn't Do Backups, Lost Entire June Edition - <AUTHOR> http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/01/news/magazine.php <comment><USER2> I don't know much about publishing, but I would think each department has a copy of their respective contributions. If I liken their editorial system to version control, why wouldn't, say, the art department have layouts on their local machines?

</comment><comment><USER3> It isn't so bad, they did manage to recover the content:

"But all is well, he said, and the magazine will go to press on schedule next week. The recovery was made much easier, paradoxically, by a bane of modern business: litigation, or at least the fear of it. "The text had all been copy- edited and sent off to the lawyers, so it had been saved as e-mail," Quittner said."

</comment><comment><USER4> They had a backup server. Misplaced automation is the villain. Makes sense to automate a task that you do 100+ times a day, but backups are generally run once a day, and are recovered maybe once a year.

My backup system involves a script with a bunch of copy commands that I can see flying by in the console as they work.

</comment><comment><USER5> Too bad they weren't using Mozy!

</comment><comment><USER6> Classic case of 'Do as I say, not as I do' ;)

"How to protect company's data"

<http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/11/01/8392042/index.htm>

</comment><comment><USER7> Also on techcrunch: <http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/05/02/june-issue-of- business-20-deleted-before-going-to-print/></comment>


Drones delivering pizza? - <AUTHOR> http://www.techiediy.com/drones-in-the-future-delivering-pizza

<comment><USER2> The first model should be named Hiro.

<comment><AUTHOR> I was thinking 'Pie in the Sky'</comment></comment>


Your Software May Be Lousy but at Least It Is AGILE - <AUTHOR> https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-software-may-lousy-least-agile-james-williams-2/?trackingId=6RQGNwaCzzhOnElgx7XSQQ%3D%3D <comment><USER2> Project Managers are often the least useful people at my work. They mostly take valuable time away from you, while their contributions almost never impact the outcome of the software, appart for negatively, by either having it take longer because of how often they distracted the devs, or by having it be of ridiculous quality because of how little they understand characteristics of software maintenance and long term costs.

I've only seen them be useful when other teams or part of the company are waiting for things, and lots of cross team coordination is needed to align work, and make sure things are ready for the next one to start.

A PM working on a project who's only person waiting for it is the client/user of the software, is almost always a waste of everyone's time and the company's money.

<comment><USER3> The only useful project managers I've ever seen are people who used to be developers, but also have vision for long term strategy. Those people are rare but they amplify the teams they work with.

All the other PMs I've worked with spend their time making schedules, release plans and other "management porn" tasks, which are regularly being updated because they're not based on reality.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> > "[t]here is absolutely NO long term planning, no long term defined > deliverables, no schedules in place...."

[this remark does _not_ , as far as i can tell, reflect the OP's assertion about what "Agile" is, but just the sum of their own empirical observations] It fits my experience though, without any exceptions that i can think of.

Indeed, Agile consultants likely view these things as selling points (features rather than bugs) to clients--the less work the client has to do themselves to "get up and running" as an Agile shop, the more attractive it looks executives and the more likely they are to buy the Consultant's services.

</comment><comment><USER5> This rant has some seriously flawed assumptions. Agile is a generic set of values for building software. There's nothing that says you should have no manager, or no code review, tests, and maintenance.

No framework prevents people from using it to make bad decisions. It's a shame that Agile has picked up that reputation.

If you're in a company with these problems, and you're in a position to deal with them...please do some research before condemning it all.

<comment><USER6> I've experienced what the author describes a few times. Agile is mostly orthogonal to the problems the author describes. The problem is that people get used to that mindset and try to apply "agile principles" to all problems, including ones that are better solved other ways (better architecture, better management, better business plan, better strategic technical vision, empowering technical leaders to say "no", etc.).

<comment><USER7> Exactly, SCRUM/agile can't fix any of the things you mentioned.

<comment><USER6> Right. But nobody told the project managers.

And nobody has a book for them describing the process for making sure those things happen the right way. "Know the software business" and "hire good people and empower them" is pretty vague and, frankly, not actionable for managers who couldn't jump into code or design reviews and contribute meaningfully.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> This is the first I've heard of no actual development manager (or equivilant). Back in the olden days, there were instances of the project manager actually being the manager of the developers though.

I could see the "no manager" aspect work in small, self disciplined teams where each member has skin in the game (ownership), but not outsourced teams with no accountability. If that is a trend, it is a Darwinian trend sure to extinguish itself naturally.

<comment><USER7> Just search on "dev manager" and agile. You'll come across lots of articles from scrum proponents that attempt to severely downplay the need and role of dev managers and sometimes claim they aren't needed at all in an agile shop.

The one thing they usually don't mention is all the new agile servant leader positions your company will have to hire instead of dev managers.

<comment><USER8> I would guess it's because those scrum masters want the job of the dev manager (and the pay).

Scrum is pretty horrible, but CIOs seem to eat it up.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Agile frustrates me to no end because it takes the engineering out of software engineering. If you need a product to be engineered then you need a proper engineering process in place.

The only thing I'm convinced that agile might be useful for is ui development and maybe some web consultant shop where requirements just can't be done that well.

</comment><comment><USER10> When people write articles like this I feel like I am living in a parallel universe. Agile development is not without its problems, but the complaints in this article are basically the exact things where agile improves over what is often done.

> Marketing and/or Product Management and/or Sales and/or the CEO constantly > throw new requirements and new feature/functionality or constantly change > existing architecture or design or functionality at the whim of the > customer, at the "agile" development team who are expected (they are 'agile > ' after all) to be able to react on a moment's notice

If you are following SCRUM to the letter, only a team's Product Owner is allowed to give them things to work on. Any other stakeholder who wants something done has to convince the Product Owner to include it; they are never allowed to give something directly to the team. XP doesn't require that new work always goes through a single person, but it does require that everyone coming up with requirements comes together in the Exploration, Commitment and Steering phases to help the developers properly prioritize work from the different sources.

> There is certainly no proper requirements review, certainly no design or > functionality review

SCRUM includes an explicit place for this in sprint planning and backlog refinement. XP includes an explicit place for this in the "planning game".

> certainly no code review or proper software test engineering.

If this is true, you should fire your developers. Following SCRUM, work on something is not done until it meets the team's Definition of Done which is created by the team itself. The people on the team have the authority to require that proper code review and testing is done before work on an item is complete and the team can move on to new work. If they are not doing so, they have no one but themselves to blame. XP places an even higher emphasis on code review and testing and explicitly requires it.

> This also makes recruitment very easy for companies - no need to have > experienced software development managers who can judge and find good > people.

Really, it's almost the exact opposite. The lack of day-to-day management of the developers doing the work makes finding and hiring good people an even bigger and more important part of the software development managers' jobs.

> The other popular alternative is to just outsource to a bunch of 'agile > developers' you have absolutely no control over in some third world country > where the developers can't even speak or write English - which of course > isn't their fault because they were never taught or expected to speak or > write proper English anyway.

Essentially the exact opposite of Agile. The Agile manifesto explicitly says "Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project" and "The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation". Both of those are in direct opposition to using off-shore outsourced developers.

<comment><USER7> In Agile, as implemented at most non-consulting shop places, the Product Owner really doesn't have the authority to block things coming into the sprint being pushed from executive staff, important customers, or sales. The PO just acts as a point of contact/funnel to push the stuff coming in from these places into the sprint.

<comment><USER10> You can't really blame the process if you aren't following it.

If your assertion is just that most companies suck at developing software, then I agree with that. However, it isn't because they are following Agile. In most cases, things would be somewhat improved if they followed Agile more closely.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> _The other popular alternative is to just outsource to a bunch of 'agile developers' you have absolutely no control over in some third world country where the developers can't even speak or write English_

...and that's when I stopped reading. Software is used around the world. Software is _written_ around the world. The author only limits himself by adopting this kind of bigoted perspective.

<comment><USER12> Read the next sentence. It's not bigoted. He's simply pointing out that if you have a team working in English and replace part of it (or add on to it) with a team that can't work in English you'll get crap results. Likewise if you have a product written in English (comments and naming conventions) with English documentation and hand it off to a non-English-speaking team you'll get crap results. This can of course be reversed: if your company is in India writing all its documentation in Hindi it would be silly to hire a Chinese or American team who can't work consistently in Hindi. Etc.

You wouldn't hire a bunch of web developers to write an embedded system in C & assembly. If someone did you'd say that it was idiotic. There's nothing wrong with the web developers, they're great at Javascript, they just don't have the skills needed to do the job.</comment></comment>


Why I'm fighting SOPA: We need a solution, but a better solution - <AUTHOR> http://gigaom.com/2012/01/21/gimbel-sopa/ <comment><USER2> More rubbish that advocates the false-to-fact concept of "Intellectual Property". In my view, "IP" can't exist. Who invented the light bulb? Who invented radio? Who invented television? Who invented the linked list? Who invented the telegraph? Multiple people, all at about the same time.

Can't happen elsewhere? What about the history of the Knuth-Morris-Pratt string matching algorithm?

Independent invention nullifies the ownership of ideas. "Intellectual Property" - bah, humbug! A false concept to try to get governments to enforce monopolies.</comment>


An Office Designed for Workers with Autism - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/21/magazine/autism-office-design.html <comment><USER2> If you've met one person on the spectrum, you've met one person on the spectrum. The range of non-neurotypicality is extremely broad and highly individualized.

To give a quick analogy: most people have output filters to prevent them from saying things that other people will consider to be abrupt, rude, or irrelevant. Most spectrum people have input filters instead, developed to keep them from being hurt by the world. When an input-filter person talks to an output-filter person, the speaker might sound overbearing, arrogant, or impolite. When an output-filter person talks to an input-filter person, they might sound smarmy and unwilling to convey essential information.

Or... they might not. Endless variations exist, and some people on the spectrum have learned to emulate output-filters, make subtler points and ask clarifying questions. All of this takes a lot of processing time which has to be done in emulation mode rather than having native subroutines, so when brain resources are scarce -- say, when under stress -- they get less priority.

And that's just one aspect of the spectrum. The reporter managed to get one really good quote in:

"People with my type of disorder, it's not that we don't have emotion," Gadson said. "It's that we have too much emotion. We can't push that stuff back."

If you take away one thing from this article, that's the right one.

<comment><USER3> Jeez, maybe I'M on the spectrum. That describes me a lot.

<comment><USER4> It's common for those more 'high-functioning' \- i.e. more able to 'mask' in society - to not receive a diagnosis until much later in life. Anthony Hopkins was not diagnosed til late in his life [1].

I mentioned it already elsewhere in this thread, but if you want to explore things further it may be worth taking the RAADS-R [2]. While the test itself, and self diagnosis in general, is in no way comprehensive, it may help, and can be the first step towards a diagnosis.

[1] [https://eu.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/people/bru...](https://eu.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/people/brucefessierentertainment/2017/01/02/westworld- star-anthony-hopkins-explores-consciousness/96018744)

[2] [https://aspietests.org/](https://aspietests.org/)

<comment><USER5> I took one a while back that was 25 or over need to go see a specialist, I scored 43.

I never did, I function fine and one advantage to been a programmer is none- techies expect you to be eccentric.

I don't think I am but it's good top cover.

<comment><USER5> > At the Culver City office, overhead lights bothered one or two colleagues so > much that everyone agreed to work without artificial lights, so that often, > by the end of the day, they are all working in pitch darkness, rectangles of > soft, bright light from their computers illuminating their faces.

Oh crap. I chose the quiet office without windows over the noisy office with windows, then I took all but one of the bulbs out of the overheads and put a lamp on my desk.

The email thing hit a bit too close to home, I always worry about the tone and whether I'm been too blunt, my boss has commented (not disparagingly) that I can be direct, I asked if that meant rude but apparently not, just direct.

<comment><USER6> Wait, does anyone not worry about the tone if the relationship is not super- casual?

<comment><USER7> I rarely worry about tone in any established relationship. I don't feel like that is particularly unusual.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Before reading the article, I predicted that it would end up being an office that was like _most_ people would want, as the workers.

Instead, I find that it's a typical office that made a ton of mistakes and changed things _just_ enough to get by.

And, much like I predicted, those changes were things that most people would be happy about.

It's pretty predictable that being told to clean off your desks, and then coming in the next week to a completely redesigned office would be off-putting for a lot of people. They don't need to be on the spectrum for that to be a stressful situation. Maybe many people shrug it off pretty quickly, _but they shouldn 't have to._ Just freaking tell them what's going on. And since it's their workspace, maybe even let them in on the redesign during the planning, too.

I was surprised that offices weren't a thing, and they still tried to do cubicles. And their employees were forced to do things like put monitors between each other to stop their perfectly normal behaviors from getting on each others nerves.

At my previous job, the CEO put in really expensive lights that we didn't ask for. Because they were expensive, he got upset when we turned them off and insisted we leave them on. We did, but we didn't like it. We even put up cloth to block some of the light for those who really hated it. When we got moved to another part of the building without the special lights, we turned them off and that was suddenly okay. Ugh.

In short, I think most of the stuff in the article applies to people in general, and it'd sure be nice if managers would realize that.

<comment><USER9> Yeah I don't know if I have autism or whatever but I do know that I can't fucking concentrate with a dozen people having loud conversations 5 feet away from me. I don't think this makes me "weird" \- there's a long history of letting people who are asked to concentrate like exam-takers, at least, the courtesy of silence. But if "be nice to autistic" people is what we have to say in order to get a return to basic human decency, so be it.

<comment><USER10> > Yeah I don't know if I have autism or whatever but I do know that I can't > fucking concentrate with a dozen people having loud conversations 5 feet > away from me.

It's not autism. Ignoring a stimulus takes effort. It diverts resources that you could be using for something else.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I feel like this describes all of the software teams in which I've worked, although I had better managers than they seem to have at Auticon, which is ironic given what they are trying to do. Beam strikes me as being a poor communicator in general, not giving people a heads up on office changes and going so far as to move someone's desk without telling them about it is just plain lazy and stupid.

</comment><comment><USER12> >The interview process alone is a sociability test that many people with autism are destined to fail or inclined to avoid altogether.

Having lived outside of the U.S., I think this is a particularly American problem. We have strong extroversion/optimism bias here, especially in the hiring process.

One of the worst aspects about being high functioning is having to choose between authenticity and acceptance.

</comment><comment><USER13> I wonder if one could claim autism or ASD as a way to get a decent private office with a door as an ADA/EOE thing.

(I've done something right in my life that one of our office buildings was built with not-soundproof-enough walls on the private offices, so the _office manager_ /ops person (who stereotypically would be the one fighting this for budget reasons) was the first person to suggest/drive the "we should completely rebuild our 6-month-old office to have better sound isolation and even more private offices".)

<comment><USER14> I have a much easier time convincing people of my ideas on a one on one basis, and honestly a big part of it is then getting to say what scares them and me promising to make allowances or at least not to muck it up too badly.

People talk around their real concerns when others are listening. Especially if there are toxic optimists in the room.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> More in their line to design offices for loud extroverts and office-pest type characters... a sturdy door with a lock is usually good enough.

<comment><USER16> How would you describe an office pest?

<comment><USER7> I have a coworker who has an uncanny ability to appear in my cube right after I fart. Does that count?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> These type of articles always make me question myself and whether I'm on the spectrum, but I look online and only see resources for screening children. Is there a straightforward way to get screened as an adult?

<comment><USER4> The diagnostic process varies greatly from place to place. Even within countries different regions will handle diagnoses differently, and diagnosis for adults is typically much more difficult than it is for children. You may be asked to bring a parent or guardian who can answer questions about your childhood and development.

A good first step may be the RAADS-R test, which you can take here [1]. While not comprehensive, your results will be shown alongside those of people on the spectrum for comparison, and you can get a good idea of where you stand. If you do pursue a diagnosis, it could help to bring a printed copy of your test. The site also offers various other tests, including ones for voice and face interpretation.

[1] [https://aspietests.org/](https://aspietests.org/)

<comment><USER18> Is there any reason other than personal knowledge to get diagnosed on the spectrum? I woulnd't at all the surprised if if I landed somewhere on it, but even if there was a (drug) treatment I don't think I would want to take it, I more or less like the way I am.

<comment><USER4> As mentioned in the article, many autistic people find it difficult to become or stay employed, and a formal diagnosis can help in terms of accommodation or working at a company like Auticon. However, if you find yourself coping fine with life, work, and relationships, pursuing a diagnosis is totally optional.

<comment><USER18> I'm doing well enough in those regards, but even if I wasn't what would a diagnosis do wrt life and relationships?

<comment><USER19> Self acceptance. I developed quite the case of self loathing from a life on the spectrum without knowing it. I had a deep unconscious belief that I was bad, lazy, dumb or just broken.

It's helped me to treat myself and others with a lot more compassion. My mental health and productivity have both improved dramatically. It has been truly life changing.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> My roommate in college was on the spectrum, and I work with a number of people who are. Their social missteps don't bother me, as I know they can't help it.

It's like I when had a friend from another country. English was not his strong point, and I quickly learned to not infer nuance from his word choices.

</comment><comment><USER21> "It was like my brain threw the blue screen of death on me."

My brain goes into kernel panic and forces me to restart from GRUB using an earlier build.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIqbMCfR3r0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIqbMCfR3r0)

</comment><comment><USER22> Favorite bit of wording from the article: " _the number representing_ pi up to 15 digits "

</comment><comment><USER23> I'm glad to see companies trying to build businesses around the needs and abilities of their employees in this way. It starts with accommodating a group of people, but there might be lessons learned and advancements that benefit all employees at large.

</comment><comment><USER4> This was a great read. Hopefully this trend can spread to more countries.

</comment><comment><USER24> Why not? We already have offices designed for smart assholes. Visit a trading floor.</comment>


How Manufacturing Could Get Better With a Dose of Networked Data - <AUTHOR> http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/the-internet-and-things-how-manufacturing-could-get-better-with-a-dose-of-networked-data/262621/

<comment><USER2> (1) I can't wait for people to stop using the phrase "internet for things." That is similar to saying "p2p" or "horseless carriage".

(2) Social, being a known quantity, is easy to invest in and so commoditized. Where the internet interfaces with things -- computer vision, makerbots, etc. are all where personal computers were back when the Apple I came into play.

(3) Hacker spaces are the new incubators :-)

(4) "Things" might be harder to solve, but there are a lot of problems solvable only by software people. Take any of the tools you take for granted while developing software and look for it in the world of arduinos and makerbots.

<comment><USER3> About your first point (which is the only one I have a good answer for) consider first that a horseless carriage is a very useful term for those of us who think horse and buggy when we hear carriage (hopefully not many, if any, anymore).

It will be a long time until internet for things is no longer the prefered venacular.</comment></comment>


Microsoft, Adobe beat open source developers to Android - <AUTHOR> http://www.networkworld.com/article/2875283/opensource-subnet/microsoft-adobe-beat-open-source-developers-to-android.html

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm not a fan of Microsoft or Adobe, so this is a bit disheartening. Why is it so hard to convert or port LibreOffice and GIMP for Android?</comment>


Sun Valley Stress: What's a Media Mogul To Do?  - <AUTHOR> http://trueslant.com/dianemermigas/2009/07/07/sun-valley-stress-whats-a-media-mogul-to-do/ <comment><USER2> Great post... One point I disagree with is that I still believe Newspapers are not going to die. They will change and innovate and hopefully utilize new technologies to become more efficient.</comment>


HN Feature Request: Jump to parent link on comment header - <AUTHOR> Just a little link like [^] that sits besides the [-] collapsing link, that takes you to the parent comment.  Each message's ID number can be assigned to it as the HTML id prop, so we'd also get permalinks in post views too.  Would help with following long threads. <comment> sras-me You can try this reader [1] I made for HN and reddit. It has got a feature where you can peek a comment's parent right on top of it (use the "show parent" link)

[1] [https://sras.me/reform/#/setconfig;reddit=programming,scienc...](https://sras.me/reform/#/setconfig;reddit=programming,science,askscience;hackernews=topstories,beststories,askstories,showstories)</comment>


Why Technology Will Never Fix Education - <AUTHOR> http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Technology-Will-Never-Fix/230185/?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en <comment><USER2> Technology is a tool. If you think education can be fixed by one tool you don't have much experience.

</comment><comment><USER3> From the article:

"But even an equitable distribution of technology aggravates inequality. Students with poor high-school preparation will always find it hard to learn things their prep-school peers can ace. Low-income families will struggle to pay registration fees that wealthy households barely notice. Blue-collar workers doing hard manual labor may not have the energy to take evening courses that white-collar professionals think of as a hobby."

People with higher IQs will learn more from MOOCs, just as they learn more from books. Education is an IQ multiplier and therefore will not benefit everyone equally, but it is not politically correct to say that.

<comment><USER2> Education is not a multiplier.

Personally I was a Resident Director at a University. My job was to make sure students succeded. It was always the kid that worked hard that made it no matter the IQ. Work Ethic is much more important. Here is some research that shows this [http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2005/12/14/high-iq- no...](http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2005/12/14/high-iq-not-as-good- for-you-as/)

Another IQ failure but this one is on under achieving due to low self- motivation. [http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/publications/VTBookUndera...](http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/publications/VTBookUnderachievementCh16.pdf)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Thanks</comment>


Every second a few people hit "play" at the same time - <AUTHOR> https://www.spotify.com/arts/serendipity/

<comment><USER2> I like it.

Would be nicer if it didn't switch so fast.</comment>


Show HN: FsmPro: Reduce your systems development time by 50 percent with FsmPro - <AUTHOR> https://fsmpro.io/ <comment><AUTHOR> FsmPro is built with the sole purpose of designing state diagrams and generating code from the designs. Real-world state diagrams can get super complex and its code difficult to maintain; FsmPro supports codification of state diagrams so that users can spend more time making their designs robust.</comment>


Ex-Harvard President Larry Summers calls Winklevoss twins "Assholes" (w/video) - <AUTHOR> http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/20/technology/summers_winklevoss_facebook.fortune/index.htm

<comment><USER2> While I appreciate Mr Summers's role in repealing Glass-Steagall and making sure that securities derivatives weren't regulated, I wouldn't have nearly so much admiration for him if he hadn't also lent his support to massive taxpayer bailouts for the banking sector. I'll admit I was a little nervous that he might show some introspection when the idiots of the world challenged his world view, but he convinced me of his bravery and righteousness when he openly mocked Raghuram Rajan's paper that warned of a potential financial crisis.

I was hoping to see some of the ol' Larry Summers come out of hiberation, and I'm glad he showed some of that wit and vim when he was asked about the Winklevoss twins. What a fun and funny guy!

<comment><USER3> Why is this surprising? Summers is just part of the revolving door posse, having passed through Goldman after his Harvard tenure.

I actually _like_ Summers' style from what I've seen of him, and I've always been pleasantly surprised to get emails back from him when he was at Harvard and I would email him about issues that concerned me (as an old-time ('76) alumnus). I liked what he did while president, actually standing up to some of the rampant political correctness among the faculty.

But we shouldn't expect him to rise above his obvious role as one of the banksters.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Well, the best you can say about Larry Summers' tactlessness is that it's equal opportunity. And, is that the Winklesvosses in that photo? This is the bigot in me coming out, but that picture alone is enough to make me root for the Zuck, a difficult task indeed.

Even rich assholes deserve their day in court, though. If they were defrauded or had their IP stolen, then you've got to follow the rule of law, regardless of where it might lead you or who it might offend.

<comment><USER4> Also: there's no actual evidence of asshole-ness besides their costume and cultural affects (rowing?). While even in the best plausible telling of the Facebook story, Mark clearly pays the part of massive asshole.

We usually hate the visibly "asshole" type because they got to where they are through privilege, connections, and looks. All of which the Winklevosses have in spades. But they have apparently started multiple businesses and produced things of actual value; they're putting their privilege to good use instead of jumping into consultancy or investment banking. So it's a bit of a presumption to call them "rich assholes." They are definitely rich, and may be assholes, but we've got no evidence of the latter. It's not like Facebook made a bunch of money and then they jumped on it for a shakedown; from the moment it started, they've been upset for a perceived breach of legality (questionable) and a definite breach of ethics.

<comment><USER5> Yeah, those consultants and investment bankers, they just rake it in without working....

If you're going to monetize already being rich, going into IB is not a great play. PE or wealth management, maybe...

<comment><USER4> Work is different from producing value.

Of course, it's easy to say that "well the fact that they get paid well is indicative of value-produced!" This is only true, however, within a particular cultural paradigm that we've constructed and is by no means universal or timeless.

And, no, simply working long hours does not mean that investment banking or consulting are somehow not lucky. The fact that as a revealed preference privileged people often choose to work in those fields over others points to it being a pretty good play for them.

<comment><USER5> Having spent years working in one those fields, I can tell you that the workforce was relatively middle-class in terms of family backgrounds compared to say, the buy-side or wealth management. Having parents with money doesn't help you much when you're trying to do an accretion-dilution spreadsheet at 3 in the morning, but it does help a lot when you're trying to raise money for a PE fund or find asset-management clients (neither of which IBs do). A lot of folks were the children of first-generation immigrants, as well, working their asses 100+hrs a week off to make good.

Engineers complain when their profession is painted with the broad brush of stereotypes - introverts, nerds, anti-social, impersonal. Making a blanket statement that investment bankers are just the kids of rich people, or don't produce value, is equally ignorant and unfair. I'm not a banker any more, and I'm happy not to be, but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of hard working people in that field that deserve respect for frankly working a lot harder than you or I probably do and in fact producing a lot of value financing business in this country.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> So they are a-holes for dressing up to meet with the president of Harvard? If they were to show up in shorts and sandals would he have taken them seriously? Or should they wear jeans and button-up shirts? Little did they know it was a fashion show.

I'm not rooting for the Winklevoss twins or anything but seems to be that I'd probably dress up a bit to meet with the president of Harvard. While in college I wore a suit (albeit a cheap one) from time to time for special occasions and I was a pretty poor college student.

<comment><USER7> He wasn't saying they were a-holes for wearing suits. He was just pointing out the correlation.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I was also amazingly surprised that he referred to them as the "Winklevii" at one point in the original interview. Seems very offputting that the former president of one of the most prominent US universities would refer to former students in such a crass (?) way.

<comment><USER9> Yeah, it should totally have been Winklevoi. Doesn't he know the difference between Latin and Greek?

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Or, you know, they're trying to be respectful. Curious logic for a guy who spends all his time working with bankers...

<comment><USER11> I don't know, I'd have the same first reaction. How many undergraduates even own a suit? I don't think I or any of my friends owned a suit until long after graduation.

<comment><USER12> Almost very undergraduate I know owns at least one suit... Granted, they're not all Armani suits, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a second-year or higher student these days who doesn't have at least one suit.

<comment><USER7> I think it would be extremely easy to find. The only reason anyone ever buys a suit in the first place is to go on an interview for a ('real') job or attend a wedding.

<comment><USER13> Or a funeral, which is why I bought my first suit in college. College is prime-time for grandparents passing away.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Thank you for alerting us to this very important news.

</comment><comment><USER15> Larry Summers is an "advisor" for Andreessen Horowitz (and presumably gets paid $$$). Marc Andreessen is on the board of directors for Facebook and probably has a bit of stock. His comments are thus easily explained by financial incentive. Larry Summers is doing exactly what he gets paid to do... "advise".</comment>


Spontaneous creation of the universe from nothing - <AUTHOR> http://arxiv.org/abs/1404.1207

<comment><AUTHOR> I linked the arXiv paper because I felt it was what deserve credit, but I'm not able to apprehend it fully. A more muggle-friendly version of the story is available here: [https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/a-mathematical- pro...](https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/a-mathematical-proof-that- the-universe-could-have-formed-spontaneously-from-nothing-ed7ed0f304a3)</comment>


Stolen Ideas: Apple Didn't Build That [INFOGRAPHIC] - <AUTHOR> http://mashable.com/2012/10/27/apple-stolen-ideas/ Apple is the largest and most successful technology company in the world's history, but how did it arrive at that lofty perch? Did it create all the ideas folded into its shiny gadgets, or did it beg, borrow and steal them? <comment><USER2> Proof that execution > ideas?

</comment><comment><USER3> My favourite is the iPod section where 3 of the 4 points are complete wrong. That said much of the document is factually baseless.

But the real takeaway from this is that Mashable is willing to use content from a spam site in order to drive traffic. Pretty disgraceful.</comment>


App dev accused of trespassing to remove licensed software - <AUTHOR> https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4j0qbo/ny_i_entered_a_building_and_took_back_what_the/?1 <comment><USER2> This is most likely a troll.

</comment><comment><USER3> Bullshit. No one can be THAT dumb</comment>


Every Bitcoin Electrum wallet since 2015 is insecure, update now – explanation - <AUTHOR> https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2018/01/07/be-your-own-bank-every-bitcoin-electrum-wallet-since-2015-is-insecure-update-now/ <comment><AUTHOR> tl;dr JSON RPC server on localhost with wide-open CORS; any web page you go to could have stolen your coins. Publicised by Tavis Ormandy.</comment>


Ask HN: How do you get your hair cut if your favorite salon/barber is busy? - <AUTHOR> How do you get your hair cut if your favorite salon/barber is busy and booked for next couple of days. <comment><USER2> I would usually just wait but if it's urgent I'd go to another barber with availability and ask for a "touch up", that way they don't mess with it too much</comment>


Ask HN: Project Euler-Type Challenges for Data Science / Analysis? - <AUTHOR> I've used DataCamp a few years ago to get started with data analysis in Python and R. Learning to code through the browser, and "get this answer right" in order to advance the course you're taking is a great way to mix theory and practice. Recently, I've discovered Project Euler, and fell in love with its format.<p>Is anyone aware of similar short-form, challenge-type websites out there, focusing on data science / analysis? Using real datasets to answer specific questions, possibly with many in the "very hard" end of the spectrum. <comment><USER2> AFAIK, Kaggle ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaggle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaggle)) is the go-to site to hone your skills in data science using challenges, similar to Project Euler. The nice thing is that not only you can make money if you solve a challenge (unlikely for starters) you can build a profile that can be valuable in job applications.</comment>


iCloud for Windows sucks - <AUTHOR>

The iCloud version for Windows only allows you to sincronize mail, contacts an calendar with Outlook, and favorites with Internet Explorer. That sucks because I'd rather use Thunderbird and Chrome...<p>I'm surprised Apple is so shortsighted with this!! <comment><USER2> ...Really?

You're surprised that apple is offering a less than ideal experience on a platform that has been a rival of their own for decades?

They want you to get "jealous" and think about how much better the experience would be on a mac.

Just look at how awful itunes is on windows.

<comment><AUTHOR> If you have iCloud on Windows is because you use also iOS /MacOS X. You can't create an iCloud account from Windows.

<comment><USER2> I wasn't aware of that, but I feel as though the point still stands. It's in their best interest (it's in ANY major platforms best interest; this is not just apple engaging in this behavior) to give you a poor impression of their rivals. You'll become frustrated with the experience, and decide to just stick to their platform more often.

In this case, instead of driving you toward purchasing a mac, they're driving you away from purchasing another windows machine in the future. You'll think about how much more convenient the mac is compared to windows, because you're thinking in terms of mac-centric software.

Maybe it's just me though - maybe i'm just a conspiracy nut.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Yeah, Apple should bend over backwards to accommodate a rival platform, because...</comment>


Technology Panic - <AUTHOR> https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/techno-panic/index.html <comment><USER3> It is, to say the least, surprising not to see nuclear power and nuclear weapons mentioned anywhere in this timeline. I feel like any general historical treatment of the 20th century, however superficial, that entirely omits the Cold War still has some work left to be done.

(Also weird to see that the images are only rendered at 72dpi, and thus have a lot of scaling artifacts on a high-DPI display. I haven't even looked at it on a phone yet, but that also lends me to think this whole thing is a little undercooked.)

<comment><USER4> I agree with you - people seem to forget how terrified we all were, of the Soviets and Americans annihilating us all in a blinding flash, within minutes of the first sirens going off.

I recently had a chance to talk to some kids about this (20-something, to my 50-something years old), and there was, seriously, befuddlement over the idea that we grew up in the 80's under the threat of nuclear annihilation. Somehow, they'd been aware that it was there - the parents had communicated it - <USER2> that it was such a significant factor in real life was just unfathomable to them.

But, it really was something we were terrified of, all through the 70's and 80's. Within minutes, our entire world could be turned into a blinding flash and it would all be over - all it took was a politician to lose control.

Seems we are still in that position today, but the kids don't seem to care.

<comment><USER3> We aren't really in that position today. The size, deliverability, and maintenance levels of both the US and the Russian nuclear stockpiles are nowhere near where they were forty years ago, and recent history has raised a lot of questions over whether even then they were where the zeitgeist believed them to be. No other country has stockpiles even remotely approaching the size it'd take to produce a conflict equal to Cold War fears.

Unfortunately, the major change between the Cold War and now is that the existential risks facing our civilization back then turned out to be a lot more straightforward to solve.

<comment><USER4> The weapons are still armed and point at us all. The magnitude might have changed, but the threat still exists.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> There are persistent fears about technology increasing unemployment. I remember elementary school classmates in the early 1980s in rural southwest Missouri having a very dim view of computers because they were going to 'put people out of work'. This may be subsumed by the 1811 - 1816 "Looming Unemployment" entry, but I feel like it's given short shrift in this timeline...

<comment><USER6> I think it's clear that automation can eventually lead to a total lack of subsistence work. However I think there will long be volitional work that humans enjoy -- things like performing music, writing books, serving each other physically (like massages) and other things that are just fun/entertaining more than in the pursuit of resources.

<comment><USER7> For that kind of prosperity economy we would need some kind of UBI or social guarantee of livelihood.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I just see an empty page with:

"Will you pay more - or less - for the things you love, eat and use every single day after the UK vote?"

<comment><AUTHOR> It's a BBC site, so maybe it tests your localisation or maybe there's a paywall after a certain number of visit.

Sorry about that .</comment></comment>


Call to genocide: radio in Rwanda - b-man http://www.idrc.ca/rwandagenocide/ev-108178-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

<comment><AUTHOR> Nowadays it's being used for good there, as well:

[http://www.labenevolencija.org/en/current- activities/great-l...](http://www.labenevolencija.org/en/current- activities/great-lakes-reconciliation-radio/projects/rwanda/programs- activities/soap.html)

A friend of mine is doing some research with them, and I've had the pleasure of meeting several people involved with the organization here in Holland.

They use a dramatic soap-opera format to follow the lives of some characters during a horrible series of events, their experiences, conflicts, etc. Something like 90% of radio-owners in Rwanda listens to the program regularly.

The goal is to teach how cycles of violence can be cut short, to lend a platform so that people can think about and discuss their experiences, and to help give tools to individuals to help deal with the psychological trauma that nearly everyone there shares.

</comment><comment><USER2> The sad thing is, 16 years after the Rwandan genocide, most of the countries in Eastern and Central Africa are unstable and deeply divided between tribal lines and are fast heading towards becoming failed states. Kenya is a good example; after the 2007 General elections burst into chaos fueled by Private Ethnic Radio stations and SMS messages.

If nothing is going to be done soon, either Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda or DRC will fall into genocide preetty soon. My bet is on Kenya during the 2012 General Elections.

The radio stations there are starting to sound as Radio Rwanda. The first thing someone asks you is your tribe!

Sanctions need to be imposed on the leaders of this countries or else the Rwandan genocide will look like a Christmas party.

</comment><comment><USER3> What is more dangerous in my opinion is the use of the internet for spreading mistruths that could lead to terrible consequences. On a much lower level you see countless facebook groups protesting against things which are untrue as well as false rumours perpetuating on twitter and other social networking sites with no level of moderation. Virtually all of this has been relatively benign so far but this could quite easily go the other way. However, the internet does have the advantage that people generally take it with a "pinch of salt". Nevertheless Voltaire's quote could still ring true one day:

 _Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities._

<comment><USER4> I don't doubt what you're saying at all, but do you have any specific examples in mind? I'd be interested to see.

<comment><USER3> There was a Facebook campaign about a year ago saying that the British Government was going to use taxpayers money to build a £100 million super- mosque in London.

If I remember rightly the mayor's office had to publically come out and say that no taxpayer money was being used after the Facebook group had many hundreds of thousands of members.

In this case the harm was pretty minimal but in a climate that was more turbulent the wrong message on "real-time" social media could cause a dangerous situation.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> While I not only concede but actively promote this to be an important issue, I nonetheless question that it belongs on HN. It's not something that, in the words of the guidelines, gratifies my intellectual curiosity.

The problem is, for technical people who are in a community whose members they respect, where else can they go to discuss things like this?

<comment> b-man The use of social media (as in local and national radio with social participation) and radio as triggers and facilitators for deep cultural and social changes does gratify my intellectual curiosity, that's why I posted it.

It's not just a political thing, this genocide was shaped by the use of current technology, and it is a hint of what could be coming in the future in my opinion.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> This is one of the canonical "technology is not always a positive" stories. (I know, radios don't kill people, people kill people, but radios make people damn more _efficient_ at killing people.)

<comment><USER7> Not sure I agree with that - certainly, radio became a catalyst to incite violence, but the problem wasn't radio, but that there weren't enough radio voices. Media was primarily state controlled as the article points out and Tutsis were used as scape goats for all manner of problems at the time.

The problem in believing that it's 'technology can be a negative' in this case is that the solution for some people would be to ration and control what technology gets distributed which perversely is the reasoning for the government run media and lack of competition ('the news is too important to let private enterprise bias the public').

Finally, while I can accept that radio was a catalyst, the groundwork for the genocide was laid long in advance and facilitated by France (<http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=1940>) in the last couple decades. The silly conspiracy theories the US gets frequently accused of, France actually did in Rwanda (and continues to attempt to do in many former colonies with their foreign policy based more on mercantilism than trade - only the most recent example being Cote D'Ivoire).

What is most troubling about Rwanda is how (at least until Sarkozy was elected), France defends its role and also members of the government that initiated this genocide at the UN. It's little wonder then when I visited Rwanda (possibly one of the biggest emotional experiences of my life was after hearing the director of a orphanage speak in graphic detail of some of the horrifying massacres and killings that took place), that everyone seemed to want to learn English.

<comment><USER8> [citation needed]

The article you linked claims that Hutu and Tsuti are little more than social constructs. There's a certain class of Marxist-influenced academics who like to blame everything on social constructs and ruling classes.

However, the Wikipedia page <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_Tutsi_and_Hutu> , though it discusses the Western influence on conceptions of race in Rwanda, presents arguments that Hutus and Tutsis are of different genotypes.

In short, it takes more than the hearsay of this French guy I haven't heard of to convince me that an ongoing French "conspiracy" (which the article you linked made no mention of, by the way) is responsible for turmoil in several parts of Africa. As if there wouldn't be any violence in those places if those meddling French would just stop conspiring. Please post something to support you view, if you have anything.

<comment><USER7> Other starting points for you to read: \- <http://www.afrol.com/articles/16082> \- [http://www.africa- confidential.com/article-preview/id/509/No...](http://www.africa- confidential.com/article-preview/id/509/No-Title) \- [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/mitterrand-legacy- under...](http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/mitterrand-legacy-under-heavy- scrutiny/story-e6frg6to-1111117156815) \- [http://crinfo.beyondintractability.org/case_studies/rwandan_...](http://crinfo.beyondintractability.org/case_studies/rwandan_genocide.jsp?nid=6815)

Perhaps "conspiracy theory" was a poor choice of words since they're not so much theories. The approach of divide and conquer had long been used in Africa to manage populations within colonies. Further, the identity cards that marked large "H" and "T"'s to denote Hutu's and Tutsi's were both used and encouraged despite intermarriage between the two groups being "frequent" as documented by the UNHCR ([http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,469f2d0c2,3df4...](http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,469f2d0c2,3df4bea50,0.html))

I note further that it is no secret that French colonies have significantly lower economic growth than their British counterparts: <http://faculty- staff.ou.edu/G/Robin.M.Grier-1/religion.pdf> (pdf). Africa in general has faced a number of difficulties - but even within Africa there are some much better examples of governance than others and in almost each (if not all) of those cases, those examples were not French colonies (there's a TED presentation by Hans Rosling if I recall, that speaks to economic growth/poverty in Africa)</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Frequently Misunderstood JavaScript Concepts - <AUTHOR> http://bolinfest.com/javascript/misunderstood.html

<comment><USER2> Awesome summary of JavaScript's dangerous corners. I wish I had read this about 6 months ago, before I started writing a lot of JavaScript. I think I've been burned by each of these.</comment>


Facebook changes algorithm to boost original reporting - <AUTHOR> https://www.axios.com/facebook-algorithm-original-reporting-e127c8b7-c749-4120-a65e-239b55d18758.html <comment><USER2> "it will use artificial intelligence to analyze groups of articles on a particular story topic and identify the ones most often cited as the original source."

and

"Facebook will also begin to down-rank news in its algorithm that doesn't have bylines, or present information about the company's editorial staff on the publishers' website."

Okay those are the new requirements for content mills and fake propaganda outlets. How long before they adapt?

Actually vetting reporters, reportage and news outlets is really hard for a team of smart humans editors to do. Even the premiere organizations like the NYT and Washington Post with their armies of editors has failed at this from time to time. Algorithms are not ready for this task yet.

<comment><USER3> > _" it will use artificial intelligence to analyze groups of articles on a > particular story topic and identify the ones most often cited as the > original source."_

Great idea, they should give it a snappy name, maybe something that rhymes with "stage tank." Of course this does nothing WRT organizations that tend not to cite earlier reportage when it originates outside of the company.

> _How long before they adapt?_

Why, that would require creating a staff of fake names, so in a lot of cases it'll probably be completed sometime around close of business today. Maybe the end of the week.

<comment><USER4> Deduping blogspam and re-reporting of AP/Reuters, and using that redundancy to uprank the original source, is something Facebook should have been doing a decade ago.

It should be more akin to [https://techmeme.com](https://techmeme.com) (or hn for that matter) where they editorially try and choose the first or best source. If a better source becomes available they swap. Facebook could benefit from this dynamicness, where a story can bump and replace an existing post.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This is the actual press release. Shame on axios for not linking to it.

[https://about.fb.com/news/2020/06/prioritizing-original- news...](https://about.fb.com/news/2020/06/prioritizing-original-news- reporting-on-facebook/)

<comment><USER6> is this irony?

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> >In conjunction with those changes, Facebook will also begin to down-rank news in its algorithm that doesn't have bylines, or present information about the company's editorial staff on the publishers' website.

Will they down-rank The Economist, I wonder? :)

<comment><USER8> I imagine they can whitelist known trustworthy entities that follow some modicum of rules.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> This is a critical bit that won't address the problem worldwide:

 _For now, the tech giant is focusing on stories in English. It hopes to expand to other languages in the future._

<comment><USER10> It's pretty typical for companies to start with English and expand from there. Siri had a similar arc, now it supports 20ish and continues to grow.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> It seems these days opaque machine learning models means transparency.

I would prefer they would say that they're down grading their preference for user engagement, and time on platform, for what the trained model says it's original reporting.

</comment><comment><USER12> Well this is the next logical step for AdTech. Since all of the newspapers and other media outlets have been disrupted by the rest of the AdTech industry the next step would be to allow for people to create content on the platform and then you keep your moat.</comment>