New food delivery service Kiwi brings robots to UC Berkeley campus - <AUTHOR> http://www.dailycal.org/2017/05/15/new-food-delivery-service-kiwi-brings-robots-campus/ <comment><USER2> This reminds me of hearing Reed Hastings of netflix talking about starting the DVD mail-rental business as preparation for when streaming became technologically viable. They knew that internet delivery would eventually work, but to be the big first mover they needed to establish a customer base. As soon as broadband reached a level where streaming video is viable, they convert the customer base over to it.

Likewise, robot street delivery is going to be huge. The marginal cost of delivery will tend towards zero, and its really useful. If a company spends years and zillions of dollars messing around with AI and machine learning bullshit to power these, they will miss the boat. The goal of a successful company should be:

\- Get as much VC as possible

\- Spend it on low cost chinese built bareboned GSM controlled bots

\- Hire warehouses full of vietnamese computer gamers to control them

\- Get more VC

Once you have a market cap of billions, THEN you get a lab of engineers together to make them increasingly autonomous

<comment><USER3> So compete at a high burnrate in an extremely crowded space with a huge workforce faking your technology until you can pivot your product and market down the road?

I get what you're saying as a general heuristic; but this is not that in my opinion.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Hi, Im the cofounder of kiwicampus.com, thanks a lot for the feedback, we are actually using monocular computer vision to navigate in the sidewalks and in some robots LIDARS for collision avoidance, we are also testing with SLAM detection in the smartphone we have in our kiwibots. We have made a great progress in automation and self driving, also in network software for take control of the robot if we need it (last 3 minutes of every delivery we control the car to make sure we deliver in the correct address, also for crossing streets and crowded sidewalks. Still in a semiautonomous phase but really excited about the future, let me know if you are interested in know more about us.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Website: [http://www.kiwicampus.com/home](http://www.kiwicampus.com/home)

From [https://angel.co/kiwicampus](https://angel.co/kiwicampus): "Current self driving algorithms require huge amounts of data to be trained with, so our robots are initially being controlled from Colombia."

(not affiliated, I just found these DIY-like robots very fun)

<comment> gene-h " so our robots are initially being controlled from Colombia." There was a sci-fi movie about that[0]. In short a wall gets built between the US and Mexico, and telerobots controlled by workers in Mexico start being used for the jobs normally performed by migrant workers.

That being said there are some interesting legal issues with telerobots. Currently, most laws we have presume the person performing the crime is physically present. For example, in the unlikely event that one of these robots injures someone or causes property damage who exactly is held liable?

Another interesting case is if an evil set of Berkeley engineering students in desperate need of robot parts for a project, pays the driver of one of these robots to disable tracking and drive it to a secret robot chop-shop. Supposedly, the penalties for the evil Berkely engineering students can be less than if they went out and kidnapped the robot, because the company allowed and trusted the worker with access to the robot.

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

<comment><USER5> Sci-Fi Short about telerobots controlled by gamers: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXX0TRtg5Vk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXX0TRtg5Vk)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I almost tripped over one of these last week! Then I stared at it as it rolled away, wondering if they were being remote controlled or had some basic AI and pathfinding. Sounds like a little of both.

I think it's a great start, but the clearly have a lot of work to do. They should start by adding a pole and flag so you can see it coming. :)

<comment><USER7> Completely unrelated, but thank you for posting the chicken papricash recipe on your website. Sounds really good. Just printed it out, am planning to try it.

<comment><USER6> You're welcome. :) Not sure I wrote it on there, but you can substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream for a smoother taste. Also, my brother sometimes adds a little powered sugar right before blending for extra sweetness.

<comment><USER7> Good to know, thanks

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> This is interesting, but these robots move slowly - or at least not as fast as a car.

I don't see food from outside a mile or 2 km range being deliverable in any reasonable amount of time.

Is this the food-delivery equivalent of the last mile (kilometer) problem? Because with delivery the rest of the miles are also important...

<comment><USER9> I live in Berkeley in one of the areas that they're testing these and there's 20+ restaurants that do take-out within a mile of me, so that part isn't a big issue. Even a mile could be a 30 minute round trip though, as they run on sidewalks and so inherently can't really go much faster than walking speed, and that's not very many deliveries per hour per robot.

<comment><USER10> Autonomous robots are far cheaper than humans to operate and could more easily parallelize the task of doing multiple deliveries per hour. In addition, the markets will expand significantly when the price of food delivery comes down to $1-2. Also, car-driven food deliveries also only average about 2 per hour, in part because of parking issues on both restaurant and customer end.

(disclaimer: I am a co-founder of one of their competitors -- robby.io -- we're based in Palo Alto/Stanford)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> How do they plan on dealing with vandalism and theft? Those robots look pretty defenseless.

<comment><USER9> Other than the video camera that's presumably recording everything around them and the real-time location reporting? If you just want to damage it you can chuck a brick at it from its blind spot, but that's true of everything.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I hate to be so negative but this looks terrible. I remember seeing that other food delivery within San Francisco that uses a robot but at least it looks like there was real engineering put into it.

[https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/12/marble-and-yelp- eat24-star...](https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/12/marble-and-yelp-eat24-start- robot-food-delivery-in-san-francisco/)

This is just a glorified rc car with a basket on top being controlled by outsourced workers. Not even a MVP prototype imo.

<comment><USER4> We are actually using monocular computer vision to navigate in the sidewalks and in some robots LIDARS for collision avoidance, we are also testing with SLAM detection in the smartphone we have in our kiwibots. We have made a great progress in automation and self driving, also in network software for take control of the robot if we need it (last 3 minutes of every delivery we control the car to make sure we deliver in the correct address, also for crossing streets and crowded sidewalks. Still in a semiautonomous phase but really excited about the future, any feedback to improve our product?

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> I hate to be negative; so I won't. I can't see this being scaleable, profitable or useful at a meaningfully higher level than people.

<comment><USER13> And imagine if it did scale. What an eyesore that would be. Would we count them in the census?

<comment><USER14> What if they were drones though? Would that be more palatable to the eyes?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I saw one of this the last week. I felt like one of this "wow" moments that you can only get in the bay area (:

</comment><comment><USER16> Wow - that site is terrible. On initial load I have 3 ads (left side, right side and bottom) that take up 10% of screen each, cover the content and other ads, and scroll with me.

[http://imgur.com/a/TKJNC](http://imgur.com/a/TKJNC)

<comment><USER17> I definitely recommend uBlock Origin - [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock](https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock)

<comment><USER18> I recently switched to JavaScript by whitelist only and now I won't go back. I always thought disabling JavaScript was just for tinfoil-hat luddites, but now I realize how often JavaScript detracts from the experience and how little it enhances it. Speed-wise, it reminds me of going from 56k to DSL back in the day.

<comment><USER19> Are there any browser addons which selectively block Javascript? Something a little more curated than NoScript would be good.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> Redwood City has Starship Technologies robots doing Doordash deliveries in the downtown area. Those look more like a finished product. They're mostly autonomous but can be controlled over a cell phone link if necessary.

[1] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y3-AmqVg5E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y3-AmqVg5E)

<comment><USER21> There is something unsettling about the prospect of fleets of bomb-defusing robots wheeling around pedestrian sidewalks on their unknown delivery missions.

If these become ubiquitous, they'd also provide a ready cloak for anyone wishing to detonate a bomb without any link to the crime or chance of harming themselves.</comment></comment>


The unfundable world-changing startup - <AUTHOR> http://scobleizer.com/2008/12/05/the-unfundable-world-changing-startup/

<comment><USER2> This is going to be big. It may be as big as Google. It may be bigger.

Quick summary: _Everything_ on the web becomes programmable, mashupable, combinable, commentable (with whatever kind of comments/attributes/properties _any and every_ user wants) and searchable ditto.

Somebody fund this guy!

</comment><comment><USER3> I watched 8 min of the first video in there. Lot of abstract talk and nothing credible. Anyone who can provide a gist?

why is Scoble going gaga around this yet not fund it himself.</comment>


Show HN: Quant News – curated news for systematic traders - <AUTHOR> http://www.quantnews.com/

<comment><USER2> Just shared with two people I know in the field. Thanks :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you! I hope they find it useful.

The site is a hobby for me, so there won't be any ads. And you can see that I'm not much of a web developer. Still, I take the content seriously. I read a massive amount of news, and I post links to the most interesting stories and whitepapers. Sometimes you'll see a cluster of links from the same site -- that happens when I find a new RSS feed and backfill some good stuff.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Can I place a sponsored link there?

<comment><AUTHOR> I think probably not, but thank you for asking. This is something I'm just doing for fun. If you are a blogger with relevant posts, please submit them in the form at the bottom. Then you can get links for free.</comment></comment>


How much traffic do the biggest typo domains get? - <AUTHOR> http://markmaunder.com/2009/how-much-traffic-do-the-biggest-typo-domains-get/

<comment><USER2> ww.com pulls in 1500 users each day completely out of nowhere, it has done so pretty much since I bought it.

As for facebok I checked them against some known numbers, they peaked around 100K visitors per day but right now they're below 5,000 per day.

It looks like all their traffic dropped to next to nothing in one go, which makes me wonder if it was typo traffic to begin with.

If it were typo traffic that component would have kept pace with the growth of facebook and it clearly didn't. So my guess is they were pulling in traffic in some other way and that got shut down.

</comment><comment><USER3> Man, facebok.com is nasty. It's custom made to even _look_ like Facebook. They are raking in the big bucks, I'm sure.</comment>


Neo-nomads transform a laptop, cell phone and coffeehouse into their office - <AUTHOR> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/11/MNGKKOCBA645.DTL <comment><USER2> How on earth can they concentrate on their work in a cafe?

<comment><USER3> Exactly. If you can't afford office space why not do your programming in a university library? Lot's of good reference materials at hand and places to hang out too.</comment></comment>


What happens when we run out of food? - <AUTHOR> https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190319-what-happens-when-the-food-runs-out <comment><USER3> Apart from: how to manufacture processed food, or resort to cannibalism, I was watching some documentaries the other day, where some guy just washed the toxicity out of wild berries, made some bread out of it and ate it.

During an event where we have zero vegetation and zero animal cover, the situation can get quite grim indeed.

We should start tackling the food problem more seriously. I, for one, support giving away some of my indulgences to feed the poor, even if I did 'earn' it. And eventually paving way for their employment and self sustainment.

This is one of those things, IMO, software engineers should think about - <USER2> people used to solving problems at scale.</comment>


400Gbps: Winter of Whopping Weekend DDoS Attacks - <AUTHOR> https://blog.cloudflare.com/a-winter-of-400gbps-weekend-ddos-attacks/ <comment><USER2> Too bad this was written as a Cloudflare advert, instead of emphasizing the changes that ISPs need to make (ingress source address verification) to make these attacks much harder.

[https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2827.txt](https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2827.txt)

<comment><USER3> We've written about BCP 38 repeatedly:

[https://blog.cloudflare.com/understanding-and-mitigating- ntp...](https://blog.cloudflare.com/understanding-and-mitigating-ntp-based- ddos-attacks/)

[https://blog.cloudflare.com/technical-details- behind-a-400gb...](https://blog.cloudflare.com/technical-details- behind-a-400gbps-ntp-amplification-ddos-attack/)

[https://blog.cloudflare.com/the-ddos-that-knocked- spamhaus-o...](https://blog.cloudflare.com/the-ddos-that-knocked-spamhaus- offline-and-ho/)

<comment><USER4> uRPF is a pain to people who want to do any kind of creative TE with their network. For residential networks, I somewhat understand the value, but it makes dual homing unreasonable for anyone who doesn't have an ASN + BFP sessions.

I'd argue rather than this, we need to be able take Flowspec (RFC5575), and make it more reasonable for transit.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Maybe a little less "we are the best", "our hardware can handle nearly everything", "we can take it", etc. next time...

<comment><USER6> Now a company is not allowed to be proud of their service? Cloudflare does a good job, and they're proud of their accomplishments, and they have a right to be. There's nothing wrong with that! I imagine you're also proud of your accomplishments.

<comment><USER5> You can be proud, but you can also overdo it. A man's praise in his own mouth stinks.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Has there been any recent jump in the size or grade of bots available to botnet operators or is there some other technological reason underlying this change in magnitude?

<comment><USER8> I think its a good question to ask if the _way_ in which attacks are generated these days has enabled greater size. Cloudflare points out that they may have already been this big, they just couldn't measure them before.

What I find most interesting is that this problem is providing a lot of pressure on ISPs to co-operate more. There are a lot of competing agendas, which we've seen with the very outsized fights of NetFlix against tier 1 and tier 2 transit providers, but those transit providers are being hurt by these people. By cooperating at some level it may be possible to mitigate the attack surface available to DDoS agents.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I always appreciate Cloudflare's write ups. That said, once folks are attacking it, and since you can measure things without black holing traffic, is it possible to identify machines participating ? Specifically to work with ISPs and network service vendors such that such attacks would serve to highlight compromised machines and then working with the ISPs of those compromised machines create an automated channel back to the operator?

<comment><USER9> It depends heavily on the type of attack. In many cases it is not like a syn flood which commonly used random spoofed (i.e. fake) source ip addresses.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> With more and more network attacks and an increase in security breaches, I think we need to rethink some parts of the Internet for better security and reliability.

There's an interesting project going on - SAFENetwork[1] - similar to ipfs, which has the potential to render DDoS attacks obsolete for some use cases, if it gets adoption of course.

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

</comment><comment><USER11> Given the size of the attacks, shouldn't it be possible to identify who is behind these (or at least where it is coming from)? Or are they all distributed attacks from random hacked PCs? I find it hard to believe there are still enough vulnerable PCs: the count of those should be going down, not up. I guess if the source is nations the actually source might be difficult to pinpoint.

<comment><USER2> These volumetric attacks are likely UDP amplification attacks from hacked servers, not PC s.

<comment><USER12> They don't even have to be hacked, just expose vulnerable services.

<comment><USER13> I think OP is referring to the origin, not the mirror.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> In the lab it's difficult to generate 400Gb/s traffic.

From my perspective it seems like this attack is pretty sophisticated and has access to some pretty fat pipes. It's hard to imagine that this scale of attack could come from some infected PCs.

Can an expert weigh in here on the difficulty of generating this much traffic in an attack?

</comment><comment><USER15> I'm curious what happens if a free website is on the receiving end of a L3 attack, since only business plans and higher are advertised as having "Advanced DDoS support". Does CF dynamically adjust DNS and send the malicious traffic to your origin once it hits a certain threshold?

<comment><USER3> Matthew answered that below, but at this point our L3/L4 attack handling is mostly automatic and we would protect the FREE web site. We can dynamically adjust DNS to do all sorts of things when we feel like it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> Funny, stories like this to me always read as someone hacking themselves for job security; clearly not the case. Curious who the target was Cloudflare, or their clients.

<comment><USER17> Targets are typically clients. Sometimes we can reasonable speculate as to motive, other times we're perplexed. One example: we saw a huge uptick in attacks targeting adoption agencies. Couldn't figure it out until we learned that adoption of Russian children by US/EU parents was a major hot button political issue in Russia. In other words, there's always a motive, it's just not always clear to us what it is.

<comment><USER16> Yeah, that's obvious to me that the adoption sites like that are targets, but see how it be bit puzzling off the cuff, or something of the sort. Not sure in fact what for sure would be a target that clearly lacks anything of note.

<comment><USER17> Usually forums of one sort or another. Obviously they're being attacked for something that's being posted there, but usually we have no idea exactly what or why.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I wish we could see an article like this for AWS.

<comment><USER19> I don't think AWS mitigates DDOS. If an app is under DDOS at AWS and was using an Elastic Load Balancer, the app would have to pay for the inbound bandwidth through the ELB and would have to pay for scale-up to respond to the increased traffic load.

It'd be much more cost effective to pay CloudFlare a fixed monthly fee and stop the DDOS attack before it even gets to your AWS resources.

<comment><USER20> Last time I looked at the AWS jobs site, they were hiring for a DDoS mitigation team.

<comment><USER21> having a slight understanding but no direct knowledge of their network infrastructure, that's probably for financial not technical reasons (they can handle the largest volumetric attacks and then some)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Who's behind these?

</comment><comment><USER23> Dejavu.

"the largest distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks ever seen" ... returns again part 2

</comment><comment><USER24> Hmm Looks like if you want to benefit from this level 3 DDos protection, you'll need to hand $200 / month over to Cloudflare.

Sounds fishy to me.

<comment><USER25> $200/month feels cheap to me considering how much effort and money it would take to get this defense if you are on your own.

Just talking about the bandwidth cost, if it was even possible for me to get the 400gbit/s bandwidth required to weather such an attack, it would cost me way more than $200 per day with my current ISP. And that doesn't yet include my own time and stress.

If the stuff we're running was valuable enough to DOS, I would totally consider the 200/month extra

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> If internet connection speeds continue improve, it is fairly obvious DDOS traffic will increase. Claiming that it is bigger than ever when Internet connection speeds are higher than ever is like claiming that gravity from the Sun is stronger when you are closer to the Sun.

<comment><USER27> Pretty sure they are saying that because they can handle more traffic they can measure the attack now instead of blackholing...</comment></comment>


Deepstream 5.0: Resurrected using MIT license - <AUTHOR> https://deepstream.io/blog/20190920-release-deepstream-5.0/ <comment><USER2> The biggest pain point I've experienced with these pubsub services is how to negotiate client connections so that all the subscribers to a topic are directly connected to the same machine. In other words, clients' messages do not have to ever be relayed at the networking level. This means providing some reconnecting or connection-info data for the client, and it's why I think most of these frameworks fail to improve on home cooked solutions: you have to touch the message to help squeeze out efficiency.

A non-IP based routing mechanism _requires_ some kind of header/parsing/deserialization of the message being passed. In application level code this is quite slow, you have to query some kind of map synchronized about cluster nodes. This is especially shitty if message addresses are ephemeral, especially per RPC call (which is the default behaviour in most cluster-based RPC frameworks), because then your near cache of the cluster map is never populated. Alternatively you can just broadcast to everyone (skip the cluster map) but then why cluster?

It would be great if we just had IPv6 adoption though. Then you could just uh, route. The DNS based routing in stuff like Kubernetes is close but not for external Internet facing clients. The whole point is to avoid a bastion host.

<comment><AUTHOR> I totally agree. Having a single point of entry gives us some small benefits like a single connection/simplified deployments but it isn't efficient to have a provider connected on one node in a cluster and have to forward data to subscribers on another just because of how they were distributed by a load- balancer. Theres actually an action in the handshake protocol which allows a node in a cluster to redirect a connection to a different/more optimal node. It was used for multi-tenancy clusters previously. In theory you can run multiple isolated clusters (or individual nodes) and have multiple connections from the client, routed based on which subscription lives where. It's a pattern I have been talking about with a couple of users but it hasn't been required by anyone yet. It isn't as efficient as doing it on a network layer but it at least reduced intercluster traffic dramatically.

<comment><USER3> I used to be really concerned about this, but one day I sat down and did the math and realized that the worst case scenario is that I'd have no more than two times as many messages, which means this isn't a scalability issue: if a topic has N subscribers, at bare minimum you are going to have N+1 messages to send a given event (one to receive it into the cluster, and N to dispatch it to the subscribers); if everyone is connected to some random machine, then you need to take the incoming event and send it to the right internal machine that is storing that topic (which is one extra message) and then that machine will need to indirectly send the message to the connecting computers of the subscribers (which is one extra message per subscriber), so you end up with 2N+2 messages. The alternative, where users cluster themselves based on topic with their entry connections, is that these individual end users have to maintain a ton of separate connections for inbound messages for each of the topics they are interested in, which is often going to work out to be much worse for everyone involved.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> What is deepstream? The website doesn't really say what it is for.

<comment><AUTHOR> [https://deepstream.io/tutorials/concepts/what-is- deepstream/](https://deepstream.io/tutorials/concepts/what-is-deepstream/)

Generally deepstream is an alternative to using firebase, socket.io, featherJS and meteor. However rather than putting the logic within the server you instead run them as microservices and allow deepstream to handle load- balancing for you.

The two main things deepstream offers are:

\- Events

You can publish and subscribe to events by simple doing:

deepstream.event.emit('event-name', data)

deepstream.event.subscribe('event-name', data => {})

Which is the functionality you expect to see from most pubsub mechanisms

\- Records

Records is events with persistence. They are more heavy weight objects that persist their content in a cache + db and across all connected devices without the user/developer having to actually do anything. The also support offline support if you want to be able to get/set data while offline.

// get a record

const record = client.record.getRecord('unique-data-name')

// wait for record to be loaded from server

await record.whenReady()

// subscribe to any changes that happen in the future

record.subscribe(data => console.log('someone updated this object!', data)

// discard when finished

record.discard()

You can also set data directly without having to subscribe using

client.record.setData('some-record', newData)

The are multiple other aspects deepstream provides like merge-conflicts, permissions, authentication and some useful patterns, but the above code is about 90% of what you would expect a user to use in deepstream

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I added to the CNCF Cloud Native Interactive Landscape:

[https://landscape.cncf.io/category=streaming- messaging&forma...](https://landscape.cncf.io/category=streaming- messaging&format=card-mode&grouping=category&selected=deepstream)

It's the the 24th streaming & messaging project or product we're tracking.

</comment><comment><USER6> Please add some text at the top explaining what it is.

<comment><AUTHOR> thanks for the feedback! Do you mean in the actual Hero or to elaborate more within the 'what it is' section on the home page?

<comment><USER7> I spent 5 minutes trying to figure out what Deepstream, because I was intrigued. I was unable to figure it out based on the front page, documentation link and the GitHub repo.

<comment><AUTHOR> What sort of documentation would make most sense? We went through iterations of example animated apps, code samples and text but can't seem to explain it clearly yet =( Any input would be much appreciated!

<comment><USER8> I think Facebook does a fantastic job of demonstrating the value of their tooling that they open source.

Buck: [https://buck.build/](https://buck.build/)

Presto: [http://prestodb.github.io/](http://prestodb.github.io/)

The front page of these contain the project name, one-line elevator pitch, long form description, and an automatically playing demo of the product.

<comment><USER9> This is a great comment. I've come across deepstream over the years. I've always come away thinking that I could make something similar that would serve my needs without adding a dependency into my project. You need to demonstrate some compelling feature.

Eg. sync

Naive copy sync: 53ms

DeepStream sync: 6ms

<comment><AUTHOR> I would say the compelling feature is it's opensource 'serverless' data-sync with permissions, clustering, monitoring and auth built in. Serverless here meaning there is no server code required, just run the server. The easiest way to market it would just be the OS competitor to firebase.

The issue with that however is taking that approach means we lose the NodeJS ecosystem support which is massive (and required to add custom plugins/maintain the server). We tried it before and it was terrible in terms of metrics and participation.

Thank you for the feedback though! I will definitely be looking at redesigning the home page and will use your feedback when doing so!

<comment><USER9> > The issue with that however is taking that approach means we lose the NodeJS > ecosystem support which is massive (and required to add custom > plugins/maintain the server).

Could you explain what you mean here in greater detail? I'm only talking about changing your marketing copy. I don't understand why you lose the NodeJS ecosystem.

By the way I'd also remove most of the content from the front page. It's too busy. Make every word count.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah when we made deepstream sound more like a standalone deployment, similar to nginx or rethinkdb (meaning you can get an executable/install via package managers and so forth) and downplayed the NodeJS part of it we ended up having alot less people contribute to the project or even using it as they wouldn't be aware that it could be installed via NPM. I guess my point is that the status quo of node server dependencies seem to be run as part of a bigger project (featherjs, meteor, socket.io, sockeetcluster) which means you npm install and configure it via javascript. The last couple versions have been me trying to navigate the landscape so I can provide a totally standalone/configuration based server that can also be extended by end users (hence all the typescript interfaces and support).

Basically I'm not certain how to pitch this exactly. I feel a bit of condolence from the fact that when it was a startup with over ten employees we had the same issue (specially since I was the tech guy)

Anyways, more than happy to hear any suggestions! I been involved with this project for over 3 years so I definitely have a biased view on trying to see the project for the first time.

<comment><USER9> I'd focus on sync as your headline feature. It's technologically complex to do well and it provides real value for mobile apps that want to do a great offline experience. Our phones are offline way more than most of us realize and we don't notice it because Google / Apple have did such a great job with sync. But many 3rd party apps are not great at that and consequently have crappier user experiences due to connectivity problems.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> How well does Deepstream work with offline periods, e.g. stuff being created/modified on a disconnected mobile device that later connects and needs to sync?

Is it possible to make it work in a way that the server only sees encrypted data? I can see it working in a clunky kind of way if each client had two versions of each document, a clear one that is operated on, and one encrypted (possibly a record at a time or something) that is synced.

</comment><comment><USER11> Looks promising! Does deepstream work well as a standalone server or is it best used in combination with express.js if I am building a real-time web app?

<comment><AUTHOR> Deepstream works best as a standalone server!

Ideally you would just configure it using a config file for your permissions ([https://deepstream.io/tutorials/core/permission/valve- introd...](https://deepstream.io/tutorials/core/permission/valve- introduction/)) and use http auth to authenticate your users ([https://deepstream.io/tutorials/core/auth/http- webhook/](https://deepstream.io/tutorials/core/auth/http-webhook/)).

You can see this sort of configuration here [https://deepstream.io/guides/live-progress- bar/](https://deepstream.io/guides/live-progress-bar/)

If you want you could add a custom plugin that would take the HTTP server within deepstream and enhance it using express for all your non-deepstream routes, if you raise an issue for it I think it's something that can be done in the near future! But generally wouldn't recommend for non-pet projects since they serve two different purposes.

Edit: Also thank you!

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Here is the project description because it took way too much navigation to find:

> deepstream is an open source server inspired by concepts behind financial > trading technology. It allows clients and backend services to sync data, > send messages and make rpcs at very high speed and scale.

</comment><comment><USER13> phoneix channels does the same thing and can fallback to long polling while relying on the erlang vm to scale out to many more machines.

</comment><comment><USER14> Why MIT? I recall it was AGPL before.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yup! We changed it to MIT as AGPL actually limited a few people from using it in their companies (company wide license regulations) and I would rather promote adoption under a more permissive license.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Do you have .NET Core driver/client? or at least gRPC endpoint?

</comment><comment><USER16> I guess it's time to build my own cryptocoin exchange.

<comment><AUTHOR> We actually had a couple of usecases that used deepstream for that sort of thing.

[https://vimeo.com/143728632](https://vimeo.com/143728632) was what led to deepstream being initially written a few years back

<comment><USER17> The UI looks incredible - was it closed source, and did it die with the company?

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks! We had an awesome UX designer as a co-founder. It was closed source yup, also based on a pretty old stack of knockout and CSS so it isn't very salvageable</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Linux Filesystem Fuzzing with American Fuzzy Lop [pdf] - <AUTHOR> http://events.linuxfoundation.org/sites/events/files/slides/AFL%20filesystem%20fuzzing%2C%20Vault%202016.pdf <comment><USER2> Fuzzing is an incredibly useful technique for finding bugs in a codebase. But it should be noted that BUG() is the _only_ valid response if your state is invalid. Filesystems should _never_ try to soldier on if their internal state becomes corrupted -- there lie dragons.

<comment><USER3> The correct response is to stop writing to the filesystem. They mean BUG as in it crashes the kernel. Having said that most Linux machines will not let you mount filesystems unless you are root or physically present so they don't seem like major concerns although should be fixed.

<comment><USER2> > They mean BUG as in it crashes the kernel.

I know what BUG means. There's a reason it exists: to make sure that code in an invalid state doesn't do something really dangerous. assert() is very useful.

<comment><USER4> It should be noted that we've hit that BUG() assertion on ext4 using the mount option errors=remount-ro - it should just not be possible to trigger an invalid state causing your kernel to Oops when you've configured it like this.

See Vegard's discussion with Theodore Ts'o about this: [http://marc.info/?l=linux- ext4&m=144898400422842&w=2](http://marc.info/?l=linux- ext4&m=144898400422842&w=2)

<comment><USER5> I'm awed by your work but this is really an abomination:

"Unfortunately, company policy prohibits me from sharing the actual code." ([http://marc.info/?l=linux- ext4&m=145007745502639&w=2](http://marc.info/?l=linux- ext4&m=145007745502639&w=2))

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Super interesting, but...

We have "Time to first bug" for a lot of file systems (ext4, btrfs, hfsplus, NTFS) covering a wide range of OSes & platforms ... and yet not a single word about ZFS?

Come on Oracle... you can do better than that.

<comment><USER7> My understanding is that Oracle's linux devs were behind btrfs before the Sun takeover and thus are boosting that, and also Oracle's lawyers are highly litigious on licensing issues, so they probably view ZFS on Linux like lions circling a carcass.

<comment><USER8> Close!

Chris Mason wrote btrfs when he started at Oracle (not Sun):

[http://www.linuxfoundation.org/news- media/blogs/browse/2009/...](http://www.linuxfoundation.org/news- media/blogs/browse/2009/06/conversation-chris-mason-btrfs-next-generation- file-system-linux)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Wow, I did the same thing as part of my Bachelor's thesis recently. I'm glad they ran into similar issues I did, although I didn't spend much time on that part of the work. (It still got me the best results, afl is great like that.)

I guess I should bump reporting/fixing the issues I found on my todo list.

</comment><comment><USER10> Awesome! I work on an embedded project that could benefit _enormously_ from having AFL run against it, but I've never taken the time to do it, because it would take several engineer-weeks to even investigate if it could be done. Their approach to "porting AFL to the kernel" makes me think that yes, it would cost perhaps an engineer-month but at least the outcome wouldn't be "nope, not practical". Thumbs up.

<comment><USER11> If you know the build system for your project, have some way of getting input via stdin, and existing test corpus, it's surprisingly simple.

I was able to set it up in a few hours for a moderately sized library. Along with valgrind, I was able to find and fix all of the bugs it uncovered after over a CPU month of testing.

<comment><USER12> Arguably llvm's libFuzzer is around the same magnitude of complexity and delivers similar results.

I used it to create a fuzzer for CPython [1] and it didn't take terribly long to get something going. Majority of my time's been focusing on new test cases.

[1] [https://bitbucket.org/ebadf/fuzzpy](https://bitbucket.org/ebadf/fuzzpy)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Once again Ext(4) shows that its praise for a clean, robust code base is well deserved...

<comment><USER14> Have we lowered our standards so much that "it took longer to crash it with a fuzzer" already qualifies for "clean, robust codebase"?

<comment><USER15> Our standards were higher in the past? [citation needed]

There's a trade off between development cost, performance, functionality, and correctness. Writing a filesystem with reasonable performance and that never crashes and never does the wrong thing is hard.

<comment><USER14> > Our standards were higher in the past?

No, but our fuzzers were worse, so we didn't know :-)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Randomly modifying a filesystem image and then fixing up the checksums seems a little unfair. Would it not be reasonable to write code that assumes data that matches its checksum is valid? Isn't that the point of a checksum?

<comment><USER17> > Would it not be reasonable to write code that assumes data that matches its > checksum is valid?

If you assume that, you don't need checksums in the first place.

<comment><USER18> How's that? If you go read your data, re-checksum it, and that matches the original checksum, then you have confidence (to the strength of your checksum function) that the data is not corrupted.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I expected ext4 to last longer than the others.

<comment><USER20> It does, by a fairly large margin (alongside XFS)? The "time to first bug" table is sorted alphabetically, and the times are humanised not in the same unit.

A reverse time-sort would be

        ext4 (2h)
        XFS (1h45)
        GFS2 (8m)
        NTFS (4m)
        NILFS2 (1m)
        HFS (30s)
        HFS+ & ReiserFS (25s)
        OCFS2 (15s)
        F2FS (10s)
        BTRFS (5s)

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> Why isn't Oracle running this on the JVM or Oracle DB?

<comment><USER22> Who says they aren't? Oracle DB results would be internal. Where would you start with AFL on the JVM? Class loader verifier?

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> Using a gcc plugin to instrument code for AFL sounds interesting (and generally useful for speed). Does anyone know if this plugin's code is available anywhere?

<comment><USER24> I don't know about their implementation, but I wrote exactly this plugin for GCC several months ago and announced it on the afl mailing list, as a patch to the source. The lack of replies lead me to believe it was mostly uninteresting to people - but maybe I should have advertised it more.

You can find the source code here: [https://github.com/thoughtpolice/afl/commit/e54c0237e934d734...](https://github.com/thoughtpolice/afl/commit/e54c0237e934d7340d477a837eb891c4fe638b26)

It should not be difficult to update this to work on more GCC versions (I only tested on GCC 4.8.x), but that will take some #ifdef'ery. Porting to newer AFLs should be relatively trivial.

EDIT: I initially wrote this for no particular reason, mind you, other than to play around with writing GCC plugins, and the result wasn't so bad, modulo non-existant documentation. I also thought it would be nice to have an identical equivalent to 'afl-clang-fast' for GCC ('afl-gcc-fast'), in the hopes that perhaps one day the hacky, sed-inspired backends could be removed from afl. I initially wanted to use this on a POWER machine as proof of a portable GCC plugin for afl, although I lost interest in porting to a newer GCC, before losing access to the machine. Watching afl fly on 176 cores was fun, though.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> Any link to the video presentation?

<comment><USER25> Just noticed this presentation is in the future (or a typo)

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> Nice to see that the law firm of Oracle still has a few engineers on staff.</comment>


Qatar Airways cabin crew to wear hazmat suits - <AUTHOR> https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/qatar-airways-full-body-cover-protection/index.html <comment><USER2> It really seems like an overreaction. Eye, nose, and mouth protection is enough. Hazmat suits and plastic gloves are awful to wear for extended periods of time. And are they going to wear diapers too?

Also, according to the photos, the masks they got are only the generic surgical ones. Would be much more beneficial to give them FFP2/N95+ respirators instead of the hazmat suits.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> _... along with safety goggles, gloves and a mask during flights ..._</comment>


NYC Man Earns $55,000 A Year Peddling Candy On Subway - <AUTHOR> http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/12/02/nyc-man-earns-55-000-a-year-peddling-candy-on-the-subway/ <comment><USER2> Somehow, I feel like those being critical are posting from a SF coffeeshop, sipping a $5 latte, planning the next social-deals-crowd-sourced "startup".

The man is more of an entrepreneur than most of the people on this site, myself included. What makes it even more inspiring is that he didn't have a 150k offer from Google to fall back on.

<comment><USER3> Some of the comments here are really disappointing. Can't believe some people here are focusing on the fact that it's illegal to sell candy on the subway instead of this guys' hustle and trying to drag him down. Good to see the worlds current/future patent trolls and paper pushers have found HN in time to rip on someone making his own way.

<comment><USER4> You'd think hacker news members, wantreprenuers from all over the world, would applaud his effort... I was so upset over the many comments below. I typed up a rant. But went back and re-read everything just to try to see it from everyone's point of view.

I have some questions for you guys:

\- If it were 2 little white girls selling cookies to save up to go to college I personally believe the comments below would have a completely different tone. But because it's a black guy named "Tracks" wearing $300 shoes selling candy the community looks down on it... Yes, I pulled the race card, it's the perfect time for it, and I'm a pasty ass white kid. I laugh at "nigga" jokes like everyone else but this is just the perfect example of subtle racism, something it took my black friends a long time to explain to me.

Just a few weeks ago, didn't hacker news have a link on the front page about how kids (white county kids) across the US are being handed hundred dollar fines for operating Lemonade stands without $400 food permits. Lemonade stands are also "illegal".

THIS is the problem with America, it's turning into Anti-Business Europe. Selling anything requires 12 pounds of permits and licenses. THIS is what is slowly killing the US, THIS is what Steve Jobs was talking about when he complained to the President that building factories in the USA is so much harder than in China.

"Selling on the subway is annoying."

\- Excuse me but, what the fuck are you doing on the subway that is so god damn important that you can't be snapped out of your "state of zen" and hear someone ask "anyone want candy, candy for $2" for 5-10 seconds max. The loud ass subway, underground, with no view, screeching and bumping and vibrating along. And the black guy selling candy is what's bothering you?! Again... If it were 2 little white girls selling cookies you'd smile and wish there were more little entrepreneurs like them in the world.

If it were "annoying" people wouldn't be giving him 50 thousand dollars a year. They wouldn't be buying his candy.

"It's illegal:"

\- Says who? Law and ethics are 2 different things. In the US it's illegal to download media for personal use, in Switzerland it's not. In the US the drinking age is 21, in other countries it's 16. Who is "right"? Who is "correct"? So many laws are made by rich men to benefit rich men that over the decades our middle class has shrunki, the richest country in the world is in debt, and our jobs are being lost overseas. The Rich are getting richer, the poor getting poorer. This is what happens when well established rich men use the "Law" to keep everyone else down while making themselves untouchable. Making everything "illegal". Selling candy on the subway is not allowed, selling lemonade in front of your house is not allowed. Where the fuck can I go to make a living? The jobs are all gone too.

HOLD ON, is the Subway not public grounds? Do we not pay taxes for public transportation, pay again to use it, and we still can't sell shit there?! So I can't sell lemonade in my own fucking front yard, I can't sell candy on my own fucking public land. Do you see where I'm going with this...

Not only that but city planning, government policies, and the fact that only 50 years ago blacks weren't allows to shit and piss in the same bathrooms as whites. All these policies together have created unequal societies, segregated cities, ghettos, and deprived groups of people of all color from a future. This is the equivalent of complaining about Native Americans setting up TeePees in Public Parks because it's illegal. There's a time to fuck the law and a time to follow it.

Time after time I see posts on hacker news about white men doing semi-illegal things and making big bucks out of it. This time a black dude did it and we all piss on him. Glad to see racism is alive and well, even in entrepreneurs. I hope you all come back in your next lives as Gay Black Jews living in a parallel universe where it's the 1800s.

<comment><USER5> Nope. I see this is a throwaway because you don't feel like taking a karma dip (at least you don't lose your internet points).

Your points boil down to this.

1\. I'm upset because other people don't feel the same way as me

2\. Closing down/fining illegal shops because they don't have the proper permits is killing America.

3\. Selling in the subway is not annoying, for me

4\. It's ok to ignore laws because some laws are minor and mostly ignored (i.e. jaywalking) and because other countries have different laws on the same subject.

5\. If you don't agree with me you are a racist.

Oh and the whole reason we don't see it the same way as "two white girls selling things for college" is because the man is not trying to go to college. If it was "two black girls selling things for college" that would be comparable. He is exploiting his race in order for people buy his candy.

>"If you don't spend a dollar with me, either you don't have it or you're a hater," he's concluded."

How is this a respectable business model?

<comment><USER4> But your point boils down to this: \- Follow the rules regardless of them being unfair or illogical. \- Everyone needs to be a good little rule follower just like me.

Who are you trying to impress?

\- We've all illegally downloaded software to try it out.

\- We've all hauled ass past the speed limit

\- We've all jaywalked.

\- We've all bought thousands of dollars of products online and NOT paid the sales tax on it like it is required by law.

\- We've all taken money under the table at some point without keeping track of it to see if we have taken enough to qualify for paying taxes on it.

\- We've all slowly driven past a stop sign instead of fully coming to a stop.

\- We've all BROKEN rules. Because RULES are stupid. Literally, they don't look at one's specific situation or view point, rules are blanketed over everyone. Despite them being dumb as fuck like "speed limits". Study after study shows that when speed limits are removed, accidents go down. (State revenue from tickets does too).

Did you know that in many cities you have to pay $25 and fill out a form to get a permit to have a fucking Yard Sale. No body even knows, or follows it, but it's a law.

These ridiculous rules have created imbalances in our society. People/businesses who HAVE money can easily apply for permits and licenses and continue making MORE money. PEOPLE who NEED money can't afford these things.

"Well that's spam" some people say. And what the fuck is ADVERTISING (billboard, junk mail, posters)? State sponsored spam. So rich people can spam and make money but poor people can't?! Those with money can advertise on billboards on the side of highways that distract you from driving, they can advertise on TV commercials, they can advertise using Junk mail which cannot be stopped because there's no "do not mail" list. People with money are allowed to piss us all off. But when those who don't have money try to advertise using plastic signs on the side of public roads, that's "illegal" and they get taken down within 24 hours by the city. There's no place for people without money to get free advertising or a place for them to sell their products or services. Hell, we can't even start businesses in our own homes because of zoning laws.

And we're going to sit here and talk about rules... Fuck the rules.

<comment><USER5> Whether you see the "no selling in the subway" law as pointless or not depends entirely on your opinion on the matter. Not everyone thinks the same way.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Selling shit on the subway is illegal. The reason this man is capable of making a profit is because he has almost no competition. It has nothing to do with entrepreneurship, being a good salesman, having a good idea, or really anything positive other than the giving spirit of some New Yorkers. He's milking a system in which he exists illegally and if it were actually legal to sell shit on the subway, the subway would be significantly less tolerable and he wouldn't be able to come close to making a good living.

<comment><USER7> Why is it okay to break the rules in the tech world but if you do it in the NYC subway, it's cheating.

Entrepreneurship is all about breaking the rules, making your own way and making things happen.

The guy probably didn't have a lot set up for him in life, so instead of feeling sorry for himself, he put on his shoes, grabbed his box of candy and made it happen.

Just because he's exercising his entrepreneurial spirit by doing something that's not as sexy as programming the next facebook/twitter/social "disruption" doesn't mean his attitude shouldn't be applauded.

Give the guy some credit.

<comment><USER8> >Entrepreneurship is all about breaking the rules, making your own way and making things happen.

Braking the rules is ok, braking the laws is not. So if I understand, you would consider the people, that are in the drug business, as entrepreneurs? Illegal activities are highly profitable, precisely because most people, will not participate in them, and this distorts the market.

<comment><USER9> Why _exactly_ is breaking the laws not ok in the general case?

And in this particular case, why isn't it ok? He is _clearly_ providing a service that the people are demanding.

<comment><USER10> Have you been on the subway when a peddler, beggar, dance troupe comes through with a loud spiel?

It's more like the subway version of spam.

 _Clearly_ lots of people are demanding spam, right?

He's providing a service that a few people* are demanding, and most people find annoying.

Plus evading sales tax, creating litter, reducing rent from the legit concessionnaire, etc. If that's OK, why stop there, why shouldn't I set up a candy stand in the movie theater?

*the ones who take up one seat for each butt-cheek

<comment><USER11> I've lived in New York, and it's just a fact of life on the subway, kind of like the way that it stinks on hot summer days. I'd rather that the police and the court system spend their resources on real crimes because I can always ignore these guys and the panhandlers while I read my book in peace.

<comment><USER6> And that is why it's tolerated to a certain threshold. Thankfully (for us and him) we're still below the threshold. But if more people start selling candy on the subway you can bet you'd be happy they did something about it. And this dude would be making significantly less money.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> "While it might frustrate some to learn that the man who hectors subway riders to buy a granola bar is making more money than many of those commuters, there is something impressive about Tracks' entrepreneurship."

Haters gonna hate. Love this guy and his positive attitude.

<comment><USER13> The annoying thing is not how much money he makes but how much he annoys people. IMO, it's basically the same thing as short changing people and pocketing that money. A few cents or a few seconds of time is not going to make or break someone but it's still a net drain. Just because your not robbing houses or kidnapping people does not mean it's ok.

<comment><USER9> Why is it when the discussion is about somebody selling candy on the subway certain peoples minds seem to be turning to violent crime, but when you hear about people with unlicensed lemon-aid stands we don't seem to see this?

To put it bluntly, I suspect it has something to do with the demographic people associate both of these (rather identical) businesses.

<comment><USER14> That's not putting it bluntly.

If you were blunt you would say that people are suggesting that his alternative occupations would have been burglary or drug dealing because he's black, and they are fools. And you would have been right.

<comment><USER9> That is a tad to blunt for my tastes, but yes. Though I'm trying to allow some room for people unconsciously thinking like this, unintentionally.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> This guy is a jerk. Last week he called my wife a white bitch because she didn't buy any candy. I respect the hustle but not the man.

<comment><USER16> This may be the most relevant post in this entire thread.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> In any major city, one is bombarded with intrusive marketing (commercials, neon signs, think of Times Square). On the NYC subways there are plenty of obnoxious people, many asking for outright handouts. Tracks is a small time entrepreneur - he embodies the successful aspects of a start-up: great elevator pitch, asks for your money, and shows up to do it again the next day. I wish him much success.

</comment><comment><USER18> 55K revenue? What were his actual profits? Does he pay taxes? Respect to the guy for making a living and taking care of his family, but the piece makes him out to be making a killing when I suspect the reality isn't that inspiring.

<comment><USER7> 55k is a lot better than nothing.

I don't think it makes any indication of whether he's making a "killing" or not. The only thing that can indicate that is the $300 kicks, which are more likely to be his personal indulgence than reflective of everything.

The amount of money he makes isn't what's inspiring. What's inspiring is the fact that he had two choices - wait for something good to happen to him and blame others or take responsibility for things and make them happen by himself. Thats what's inspiring.

<comment><USER19> If you spend every day walking around, you want the most comfortable shoes your money can buy.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I think this is the epitome of entrepreneurship --> "I've been doing this since I was 11. Not because I had to do it, but because I chose to do it...because there's nothing better than your own money."

Well said.

</comment><comment><USER20> Is this legal on the NYC subway? On the DC metro, eating is forbidden and enforced. I remember a story from years back about a little girl being led away in handcuffs for eating a few french fries. Hopefully this story won't get him into too much trouble.

And hopefully it won't spawn too many copycats either. The last thing this guy (not too mention the other riders) need is for the number of people peddling sugar to multiply.

<comment><USER21> Wow.

([http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=94999&page=1](http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=94999&page=1))

> *Seventh-grader Ansche Hedgepeth was handcuffed, booked and fingerprinted > for eating French fries in a northwest Washington subway station.

12 years old?

<comment><USER22> They take it seriously. In fairness, it works-- the DC subway system is way cleaner than NYC. The good side of fascism, I guess.

<comment><USER23> On the other hand, the NYC system is not particularly dirty. I'm not from NYC and so haven't ridden the subway a lot, but I've never seen a single seat unusable because of filth. That shiny plastic stays pretty clean.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> I think the writer heard the subject's rap lyrics wrong. I believe he's saying:

"I do what I gotta do, just to stay on my feet. I'm flipping them sweets, I sell cavities, the s* will leave a hole in your teeth."

That makes more sense than the article's last line, "and s* believer, hole in your teeth."

<comment><USER25> Came here to post the same thing ... he definitely said "this s __t will leave a hole in your teeth"

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> Why sell candy on the subway, when you can literally pan for gold in NYC? <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxG8HBy3hpk>

</comment><comment><USER27> Hate to say it but it sort of aggravated me that at the end of the video he says "This what y'all buyin me, $300 sneakers. I stay fly from head to toe."

When I think about it, it shouldn't, he's just a businessman making money and spending it as he wants, but for some reason it was irksome... maybe because some people buy over pity and it isn't quite legal what he's doing

<comment><USER3> Maybe you don't value $300 sneakers and see it as wasteful? I do. But, I'm sure this guy would shake his head at someone buying a $2,000 laptop (or something like that) when there is one for $1,000 that is "just as good."

<comment><USER28> I don't know. Those shoes look awfully comfortable and make him look clean. Perhaps they are a very valid business expense and well worth the money: Perhaps he did A/B tests with different shoe styles and manufactures? Perhaps the shoes are a topic of conversation during the sale that he can switch to and then back to close a deal? Perhaps if his feet don't hurt after 11h and he's able to hustle that one more hour, the shoes pay for themselves.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER29> I wonder if he A/B tests with pretzels on the weekends.

<comment><USER30> Funny, I know what A/B testing is, but I had to read this twice. I thought you were referring to the A & B trains which converge with the D train track between 59th and 145th.

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> a family member of mine supports himself playing cello in the subway about 3 hours a day five days a week.

<comment><USER32> That's impressive. Violinist Joshua Bell could only garner up $32 during DC's rush hour: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myq8upzJDJc&t=18s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myq8upzJDJc&t=18s)

<comment><USER31> My brother says that playing in a high traffic place like that is usually less successful than on the platforms, because nobody has to stop. He often plays on the platforms that have trains coming opposite directions on either side, giving him a captive audience for a few minutes at a time.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> The comments on this thread make me want to never come here again...

<comment><USER34> To be fair, it's only 3 or 4 people in the thread who appear to be of the authoritarian "do what the government says and get off my lawn" mindset. It just shows how easy it is for a vocal minority to dominate a discussion.

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> I really hope this article doesn't create a gold rush where the subway will become inundated with people trying to make a quick buck...almost like Silicon Valley :)

</comment><comment><USER36> I don't eat candy, because I plan on keeping my teeth as long as possible. I admire this guy's entrepreneurship and hustle, though.

</comment><comment><USER37> Is $55k enough to actually live in NYC?

<comment><USER38> When you think about it, $55k in cash is comparable to a $70k taxable income.

<comment><USER39> Except that the $55k in cash is also taxable income, especially now that he's told the entire world about it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER40> I hope he is paying taxes on that money. He just made a public statement of earned income.

<comment><USER41> Ooh, very true. Plus, this entire thread seems rather emotionally split between support and derision. I wonder if he claims benefits of low income while pocketing his earnings from the sales.

While this story could serve as advertising and up his revenue, it might also be a bit of a curse for him if the IRS wants to cause some extra hassle.

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> I love this guy's hustle. He knows his products inside out, his margins and his markets.

</comment><comment><USER43> Is it just me or does it seem a little strange that this story is on the top of hacker news?

</comment><comment><USER44> He needs to be Square'd!

</comment><comment><USER45> I used to sing on the subway with a friend - we made about $200 between us for singing until our voices started to fail (6 hours). This lasted the summer between high school and college. We could have made 36,000 yearly without tax each if we were desperate.

<comment><USER14> Watch out. Some HNer is right now investigating whether or not you're allowed to sing on the subway.

<comment><USER46> Anyone who rides the subway likely knows that it's against transit rules to make loud noise. You don't need to look it up. These rules are there for good reasons. Bold people can sometimes get away with making money by breaking law but we don't hav to support them just because they a successful.

<comment><USER47> It is explicitly legal to perform non-amplified music in the subway.

<comment><USER48> Could you point to where it is explicitly stated that this is so, remembering that this is performing music for profit.

Is this covering the US copyright position too?

In the UK, if they're performing on the street they'd need a street performance license (local authority) and a music license to cover the copyright of the writers (from PRS). You might need a second license if you were imitating a particular performance (from PPL).

<comment><USER47> You can't sell CDs. Obviously you cannot sell tickets to your performance. You can collect donations.

<http://www.citylore.org/citylore_resources-guide.html>

<comment><USER48> From your link " _not performing in subway cars_ " is given explicitly as one of the Government regulations that accords with the First Amendment.

This appears to contradict the spirit of your comment if not the letter. The GP stating that singing wasn't allowed "on the subway" and you replying that it explicitly was allowed "in the subway". I can see how you can both be right and individually agree with your link too though so the above is really just for clarity.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER49> A business is a business ...a product or a service(candy), a distribution channel (subway), customers (subway riders) and profit margin... that is it!

How many of you (on HN) have done that? the answer can be surprising.

Before thinking about making millions $$$ on a startup maybe try to run a lemonade stand this weekend.

Non-Technical co-founder is a big +

<comment><USER50> Thank you. I can guarantee you that most people's startup do not make $55k/year.

</comment></comment><comment><USER51> This guy is selling through pure hustle. I find it hard to criticize him when he's working his ass off, every day, to earn a buck for his family. He's not mugging anyone. He's not stealing. He's not, in fact, doing any harm at all.

I bet most of the people bitching on here would complain even more if this were a story about how he's collecting welfare.

<comment><USER6> Why is it considered a thoughtful argument that he is at least not committing worse criminal acts?

<comment><USER52> I suppose it's because the guy is black.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Where and how to "learn" UI design - <AUTHOR>

Hello,
what's the best thing I could do to deeply dive into UI design? I live in Italy. Other than Internet blog etc that talks about it, is there any "school" or course I could follow?
Any suggestion will be very appreciated!
Thanks,
Filippo <comment><USER2> I don't know about courses but I read The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman more than 10 years ago and it profoundly changed my life.

Obviously it doesn't only deal with UI design but I really recommend it if you're looking for a place to jump off from.

Be warned, once you read it you'll find yourself becoming extraordinarily annoyed by certain types of doors.

[http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald- Norman/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald- Norman/dp/0465067107)

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, that looks very interesting. I've studied architecture so I'm already annoied by doors and other stuff! Will definately look at this book, maybe in italian if I can find it

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> A little off-topic:

Asking how to learn design seems to be common here, yet no one here has taken the time to seize this opportunity and actually build something that aids developers to learn how to design for the web.

<comment><USER4> <http://hackdesign.org>

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks jkaykin, I've subscribed and started today to hackdesign! actually this was the main reason that "told me" to deep dive in UI</comment></comment></comment>


Wearing a Hi-Vis Vest Gets You into Everything for Free - <AUTHOR> https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/chalecos-reflectantes-entrar-gratis <comment><USER2> I was an environmental activist back in the 1990s. When I started everyone wore the usual anarchist get up. I turned up in a pair of safety boots, black trousers, high-vis coat, shirt & tie and a hard hat. We could walk in most places together "I'm just escorting this lot off the premises".

Was great fun.

</comment><comment><USER3> Honestly the vest isn't even required in many cases, it just effectively covers up for a lack of confidence. You'd be surprised how frequent you can do things you otherwise couldn't if you walk with authority and act like you belong.

Not saying it's a good idea or that I've personally done it, but I know it works more often than you'd expect.

</comment><comment><USER4> I tested the theory of "no one questions an orange cone" in college, securing myself a front row parking spot for a few weeks. Someone eventually took the cone and the spot, but I think the results would hold up to peer review :)

</comment><comment><USER5> And this is why we can't do nice things for people anymore.

<comment><USER6> I think it's kind of awesome and sad at the same time.

We're programmed to trust uniforms from an early age. Anything that looks official isn't questioned.

My pet peave is when retail stores have some guy with a pad and marker checking receipts on the way out. I'll keep walking and my wife will accost me as if I'm either an asshole for not stopping. I think it's only because she feels obligated to follow the "rules". I made a purchase. I'm leaving.

<comment><USER3> I do the same thing. If you have reason to suspect me, stop me, but otherwise I'm going to keep walking, especially if it's Fry's. I purchased the item, I'm under no obligation to volunteer for inspection.

<comment><USER7> [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopkeeper's_privilege](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopkeeper's_privilege)

In some states you can legally be stopped by a "shopkeeper" and required to provide a receipt to prove purchase.

<comment><USER3> > Shopkeeper's privilege is a common law recognized in some parts of the > United States under which a shopkeeper is allowed to detain a _suspected > shoplifter_ on store property for a reasonable period of time, _so long as > the shopkeeper has cause to believe that the person detained in fact > committed, or attempted to commit, theft of store property_

Emphasis added is mine. Nice try, but unless they suspect me, this doesn't apply. I'm more than sure they can't get away with "suspecting" every single customer who leaves to even a crazy judge.

<comment><USER8> Costco requires it as part of your membership agreement.

<comment><USER3> So does Sam's club to my knowledge. They can do that due to you having membership agreement in place, but places like Fry's have no legally enforceable reason to require it for every customer.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher (1991) - <AUTHOR> http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html <comment><USER2> The author of this piece wrote a book called "Dumbing Us Down" that is one of the most influential books on education I've ever read.

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

</comment><comment><USER3> I'm sympathetic to Gatto's arguments and also intrigued by alternative schooling models, but I wonder what has kept it all so fringe? Does anyone have insights into Gatto's credibility?

<comment><USER4> > [...] but I wonder what has kept it all so fringe?

A lot of people are employed by the school system. Like the other guilds, teacher training probably has a lot of inertia and indoctrination. Teaching instructors teach student teachers how they managed their classrooms, not realizing that the actual "traditional" approach to education in America was the one-room schoolhouse.

> Does anyone have insights into Gatto's credibility?

John Gatto was most active in the 90's and 2000's (Wikipedia says Gatto had two strokes in 2011). He seemed to start his protest against school in the latter years of John Holt's rebellion:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Holt_(educator)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Holt_\(educator\))

[https://web.archive.org/web/20050206095110/http://www.holtgw...](https://web.archive.org/web/20050206095110/http://www.holtgws.com:80/index.html)

<comment><USER5> > Like the other guilds, teacher training probably has a lot of inertia and > indoctrination. Teaching instructors teach student teachers how they managed > their classrooms, not realizing that the actual "traditional" approach to > education in America was the one-room schoolhouse.

This is an uninformed generalization that I see around here quite a bit.

Gatto's ideas are actually not particularly fringe. There are certainly many teachers who are resistant to change for various reasons [1]. But there are also are many smart, dedicated people working hard to improve our schools, inside them and outside of them. I know several who have given the larger part of their careers, and given up much more lucrative opportunities, to create new models of schools. So why do our schools seem to be stuck?

The comment above implicitly makes the "Scott Walker" hypothesis: that schools are staffed by unmotivated, low-quality humans.

I'd like to offer a few other possibilities. [2] argues that schools are pinned between three competing goals: "democratic equality (schools should focus on preparing citizens), social efficiency (they should focus on training workers), and social mobility (they should prepare individuals to compete for social positions)." What looks like an intractable mess is really just the current political equilibrium of these goals.

[3] chronicles how schools became dominated by the values and structures of business over the 20th century--Taylorism, not the qualities of business celebrated on HN. The same forces that sometimes cause huge companies to become lumbering uncompetitive behemoths were imported into schools, most recently with the centralized technocratic accountability movement. It is hard to make change from within such an organizational structure.

The reason I took the time to write this, after a full day of work in a teacher preparation program, is that all this is intimately connected to tech. If you buy "Scott Walker," the prevalent anti-labor ideology that teaching is a routine low-skill job, you might also believe in disruption, that systemic change in education will come from technological solutions. Silicon Valley has no shortage of wealthy fools trying to automate education. (Ask where they send their kids to school.) [4] documents the lousy track record of educational technologies promising disruptive change; anyone working in ed- tech ought to have a story for why it's different this time. I'm more hopeful for design-based research and design-based implementation research approaches, but that's for another post.

Anyway, teaching and software development have a lot of similarities: they're deeply collaborative, creative activities which require balancing priorities on many axes and scales. The complexity of the work is often invisible to outsiders. It takes a long time to get good at it, there's a fair amount of personal style involved, and skill is hard to measure. I get that they're in pretty different socioeconomic positions at present, but I wish there were more thoughtful and supportive discourse between the two.

[1] Lortie, D. C. (1977). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. [2] Labaree, D. F. (1997). Public goods, private goods: The American struggle over educational goals. American educational research journal, 34(1), 39-81. [3] Callahan, R. E. (1964). Education and the cult of efficiency. University of Chicago Press. [4] Cuban, L. (2009). Oversold and underused. Harvard University Press.

<comment><USER6> Exactly -- imagine how hard it is for a single software developer to change the direction of a large corporation. Teachers trying to change the school system face a problem orders of magnitude harder than that.

<comment><USER7> > orders of magnitude harder

They seem to be at about the same difficulty to me; it would be nice if you could elaborate.

<comment> barry-cotter If a private company fails over and over again it goes bankrupt and is dissolved. If a government department or organisation completely fails at their goal they'll generally be given more money and resources. See many, many school districts in America, the CIA (failed to predict the fall of the USSR and 9/11), the Pentagon (Iraq and Afghanistan), the State Department (Let's destroy Libya and Syria!)

Organisations very rarely reform or change. Usually they die and other successful ones take over their market niche. Where this doesn't happen or happens very rarely things change very slowly.

Any competitor with the public school system has to compete with free at the point of access. Absent transferable budget per child local school systems have a huge advantage.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> compiler-guy Previous discussion:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=182727](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=182727)

<comment><USER8> Also [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1231109](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1231109).

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Sounds like much the stuff that Ivan Illich said a couple of decades earlier: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschooling_Society](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschooling_Society).

He didn't convince those in control of education either.

</comment><comment><USER10> > Surveillance is an ancient urgency among certain influential thinkers; it > was a central prescription set down by Calvin in the Institutes, by Plato in > the Republic, by Hobbes, by Comte, by Francis Bacon

Made me think of Calvin and Hobbes - but there's conflicting evidence if this was the main inspiration behind the names [0]

[0]: [https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-significance-behind-the- na...](https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-significance-behind-the-names-Calvin- and-Hobbes-I-know-they-refer-to-John-Calvin-and-Thomas-Hobbes-but-why)</comment>


Let Consumers Use Better, Cheaper Cable Boxes - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/opinion/let-consumers-use-better-cheaper-cable-boxes.html

<comment><USER2> I am one of those people who bought a used TiVo box and used it with a cablecard from Comcast.

The reason I did this is because with a basic cable subscription you can't watch HD channels, even though the HD channels are free, because they will only give you a non-hd cable box.

After researching online, I found that you can use a TiVo box with a cablecard and get HD channels.

I can only imagine that millions of Comcast basic cable customers out there are either 1) watching non-HD TV, or 2) paying extra for an upgraded cable box because they don't know this trick.

I completely agree that this business model needs to change. I should be able to receive cable channels, that I pay for, with whatever device I want. Being able to receive cable channels with my chromecast would be awesome. One less crap to keep around.</comment>


Pipes in Python - <AUTHOR> http://sulami.github.io/posts/pipes-in-python/ <comment><USER2> I've mentioned this before, but both of these are overengineered. You need only define a custom class that overrides the | operator.

Then you get (from the original article)

        Pype(Users.find_all) | partial(group_by_category, max=5) | print

where you have something like

class Pype: def __init__(self, f): self.f = f

        def __or__(self, f):
            return type(self)(f(self.f))

You need fancier tricks to be able to make the Pipe object transparent, but its possible.

The approach provided in this article is bad, it tries to reinvent a bunch of things (the operator module, for itemgetter, and stuff like getattr by wrapping them in strings.</comment>


Turn drab data into sexy IOS charts - <AUTHOR> http://www.shinobicontrols.com/blog/posts/2012/02/27/turn-drab-data-into-sexy-charts/

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you and I've just changed the headline.

Here are also some great examples to look at:

<http://www.shinobicontrols.com/shinobicharts/product-tour/>

</comment><comment><USER2> with a headline like that (and in all caps as well) I expected to actually see a chart on the page. This needs more show, less tell.</comment>


Agni-V, India's first ICBM test-fired successfully - <AUTHOR> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Agni-V-Indias-first-ICBM-test-fired-successfully/articleshow/12726732.cms <comment><USER2> Does having more ICBM-capable countries make the world safer?

<comment><USER3> Potentially, if you think that countries are rational actors and the mutually assured destruction doctrine.

I think this makes the chance of an Indian/Chinese non-localized war much less likely.

<comment><USER4> The prospect of a major Indian/Chinese land war was already quite remote. A rather large, high mountain range separates the two, and neither has the the ability to fight an extended war at the end of supply lines running over that mountain range.

<comment><USER5> If you didn't know, India and China HAVE fought a war in that region, and you always fight wars 'at the end of supply lines' by definition, so not sure what you mean by that. In fact, both countries have the ability to fight extended wars. India has been fighting a war for decades on its western frontier with Pakistan which is as rugged as the eastern frontier with China. India maintains the highest battleground presence in the world on the Siachen Glacier. So no, the prospect of a land battle on the Indo-China border is neither unlikely, nor unprecedented.

That said, modern China is a pragmatic country whose primary focus is to keep its own population happy. China has a lot of hurdles in the path to the realization of that goal, and needs the economy of the region to stay stable for that. If China attacks India (or vice versa), global supply chains and economies will get severly affected and in turn will have an avalanche effect on the economies of both the countries. Hence, practically speaking, neither countries would wage war on each other unless taken over by a whimsical, dicatatorial leader (and which dictator isn't whimsical?).

<comment><USER6> India and China have better work than fighting wars at this time.

Our time, money and resources are better utilized spending on development activities than pointless wars.

Besides we(Indian civilization) have never attacked any country in several thousand years and never will. There is no bigger a peace loving nation in the world than India. But if some one attacks us, we need to defend ourselves.

Historically India is impenetrable through the northern and eastern sides because of the natural defense Himalayas provide. Nothing has changed in the modern times.

<comment><USER7> not sure if being the "peace loving" nation has been good thing for india... India has had too much of that and looks to be a spine less country now which is not willing to take any kind of position or action...

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> How does this makes to #1 news on HN?

<comment><USER9> It's 10 pm in SV and 10:30 am in India...

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Last I checked India was over 1 billion in population with sky rocketing political corruption stats. How does these missiles benefits majority who go without a proper meal everyday.

<comment><USER5> Pride. To tackle the political corruption issue will require a massive movement and a big consensus. If you visit India, you will realize that nothing gets done through consensus. Only individual actors achieve large successes. India still lives in a kingdom mindset where people draw pride from the acts of their superiors and are thankful for such acts. If you try to do something radically different, you will get a lot of resistance from everyone around you because "that doesn't work here". But if you do succeed, everyone around will claim to be part of it and will talk of you proudly.

So, in that environment, building an ICBM (which is btw a very hard engineering challenge and took India 30 years) is an achievable goal for an individual actor (the defence organization DRDO) and because it was an Indian success, brings pride to a nation of 1.2 billion. Getting rid of corruption will make our lives significantly better (there are many other much more modest goals that will have a similar effect), but it won't bring close to as much pride. In a country where you'd die before driving a Tata Nano if you had any semblance of money (Tata Nano is seen as a cheap car - something not to be proud of) and an iPhone is a must have, such sources of pride as an ICBM count for a lot.

Yes, we are flawed, but as we say, "what to do, we are like this only"

<comment><USER11> One of the main strengths of india is it's ability to create very low cost products of reasonable quality in many fields.it's probably the greatest thing modern india can offer the world.

For example the tata nano has created the whole mini car segment, that has significantly reduced the cost of low end cars around the world. now many people globally can afford to buy new car. Such effect is much harder to achieve than building an ICBM(which is a pretty old technology).

And indians don't take pride in it(if not at a level of buying it, but at least as a national innovation) ? that's a shame.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> bravo!!

</comment><comment><USER13> Congratulations to the techies and engineers who worked on this project, however no donuts for those who sponsored it. Here is why:

1\. The objective to make a destructive missile is probably not a priority for a country with a billion bare-footed men. Apart from ego-massage you get nothing out of it.

2\. The missile doesn't add any value to safety of the country, because - believe it or not - wars are always suicidal. It doesn't matter who is more powerful. Damage is equal on both the sides. Death is equally sad on both the sides of war. Loss is only public, while media and stupid politicians make meat out of it.

3\. The most important reason why this missile is a complete waste of tax payers money is that India should focus on widespread poverty, education and corruption at this hour. Not some retard idea to be able to attack the world.

Otherwise, engineers like many out there working under stupid management, you've done a great job!

<comment><USER14> India doesn't have a billion barefooted men.

War isn't suicidal. Damage is NOT equal on both sides. There have been engagements where one of the two sides have had no casualties yet met the objectives of the conflict.

A missile helps india focus on just that - poverty. Instead of spending its resources on fighting wars that WILL come to be at the absence of nukes and ICBMs. Indo-Pak war of 1965 was based on the misguided pakistani notion that the Indian army was severely crippled following the war with china. This prevents incidents like that.

<comment><USER15> exactly. It is extremely unlikely that there will be a full scale war between India and China; perhaps only border skirmishes. A ballistic missile deterrence can only help to "balance" the stakes and make the region more stable. I also wonder whether the OP and others who post suggestions for getting rid of poverty really mean? These are rocket-scientists, not social scientists. The resources allocated for poverty reduction programs is already quite staggering....pouring more money cannot solve the problem; it is a social and economic change that will occur eventually. Meanwhile, one can secure the territorial integrity of India and build expertise in missile systems, among other things...which surely can't be a bad thing, especially since it looks like there is gonna be a space race sooner than anybody thought about.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> this makes Asia a safer place to live by neutralizing the forces. India follows 'no first use' policy.

so India is helping make a safer place.</comment>


Everybody Loves Mohammed Day - May 28th - <AUTHOR> http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127969803882492 It's a depressing situation that we find ourselves in when people hold so much hatred against a religion/community, that they scope out an internet campaign to spur their hatred out. How much do people actually know about this man that they're so openly insulting? Look at what some prominent non-Muslims have said about the Prophet Muhammad to get some perceptive to who he was and what he brought:
My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history. - Michael Hart in 'The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons In History,' New York, 1978.
He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretentions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the divine right, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports - Lamartine, "Historia de la turquie", Paris 1854. Vol. II. pp.276-7
I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind....I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity,the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life. - Mahatma Gandhi, "Young India", 1924.
I Have Studied Him the Wonderful Man, & In My Opinion Far From Being An Anti-Christ, He Must Be Called the Saviour of Humanity. I Believe That If a Man Like Him Were to Assume the Dictatorship of the Modern World, He Would Succeed in Solving the Problems in a Way That Would Bring It the Much Needed Peace & Happiness. Europe is Beginning to Be Enamoured of the Creed of Muhammad. In the Next Century It May Go Still Further In Recognizing the Utility of That Creed in Solving Its Problems & It is in This Sense that You Must Understand My Prediction. - George Bernard Shaw <comment><AUTHOR> the ordering of the thread has become skewed, and now it sounds like I insulted starkfist's mum from the outset.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> It's a depressing situation that we find ourselves in when people hold so much hatred against a religion/community, that they scope out an internet campaign to spur their hatred out. How much do people actually know about this man that they're so openly insulting? Look at what some prominent non-Muslims have said about the Prophet Muhammad, to get some perceptive to who he was and what he brought:

My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history. - Michael Hart in 'The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons In History,' New York, 1978.

He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretentions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the divine right, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports - Lamartine, "Historia de la turquie", Paris 1854. Vol. II. pp.276-7

I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind....I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity,the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life. - Mahatma Gandhi, "Young India", 1924.

I Have Studied Him the Wonderful Man, & In My Opinion Far From Being An Anti- Christ, He Must Be Called the Saviour of Humanity. I Believe That If a Man Like Him Were to Assume the Dictatorship of the Modern World, He Would Succeed in Solving the Problems in a Way That Would Bring It the Much Needed Peace & Happiness. Europe is Beginning to Be Enamoured of the Creed of Muhammad. In the Next Century It May Go Still Further In Recognizing the Utility of That Creed in Solving Its Problems & It is in This Sense that You Must Understand My Prediction. - George Bernard Shaw

<comment><USER2> If there weren't fatwas issued against cartoonists perhaps the infidels wouldn't have to go into hater mode. Just sayin'...

<comment><AUTHOR> Insulting someone people love is never a nice thing, and people are going to react emotionally. Let's say person A insults person B's mum (who died after a long struggle with cancer), person A will rightly get really really offended. This from the love and attachment they had for their mother. Many Muslims have a very strong attachment to Muhammed (if you were to study his life, then you would probably understand why), and thus they react very emotionally when people attack him in this manner.

<comment><USER2> I am flagging this discussion because this is ridiculous.

<comment><USER3> OK I guess I could not question your decision here maybe but let me make my point:

Firs, I was raised in a non-religious home and all my ancestors were either protestant, catholic, or Jew, or probably adored a totem or some other chunk of stone or wood ;-) And as such I have a problem with the emotional reactions. I have a problem with the violence and death threats. I have a problem with a war on terrorism that is conducted by terror and disdain for Muslim protests in return.

This question of the perception of Islam by non-Muslims is such a challenge. Islam has been around and is not going away. However, Islam is complex and diverse. It's so important to keep discussing and resolving and exchanging ideas on this.

Even if us geeks like to think that the world is made of predictable things like science, machines, and nice people, it's not. And it has been that way since the dawn of people. So if a growing portion of the Muslim world thinks there is a problem with the way we portray them, if they keep thinking we disrespect their values and prophets, maybe we ought to listen, debate, and propose new ideas.

I, for one, believe that many Muslims are wedded to a value system that comes more from ancient tribal societies than from modern industrialized democracies. I believe that this is the main root of this clash of "cultures" instead of the "Clash of Civilisations" which sounds like an announcement for a war to come.

I do not want to bore you guys or take this out of the realm of Hacker News etiquette but this seems like such an important issue. Please kill it without killing my karma ;-)

I have lived in the Valley for years before moving to Oregon and I know the culture there is not very favorable to questioning racism, political and religious values. But please ask yourselves if you really think that Muslims are monsters or if you have just not misunderstood them. Then put the violent ones in jail and stop attacking the religion of the other 99% who are peaceful.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


CinemApp - <AUTHOR> http://cinemapp.world/ <comment><AUTHOR> We just released this on the Play Store and we would be happy to know what you think about it !</comment>


More Evidence That Tablets Are Slowly Killing the PC - <AUTHOR> http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-22/more-evidence-that-tablets-are-slowly-killing-the-pc#r=hpt-ls

<comment><USER2> I think tablets will supplant television more and faster than they will kill- off desktop PCs. The one-way cultural channel offered by TV is a far stronger competitive overlap with tablets than those shared by tablets and PCs.

<comment><USER3> Sorry, do you mean tablets will kill off TV as in the huge flatscreen sitting in my living room? Or do you mean tablets will kill off TV as in broadcast/cable/satellite/Netflix/etc?

<comment><USER2> As in broadcast/cable/satellite networks. Not Netflix, Hulu, etc.</comment></comment></comment>


Using jemalloc to get to the bottom of a memory leak - <AUTHOR> https://gdstechnology.blog.gov.uk/2015/12/11/using-jemalloc-to-get-to-the-bottom-of-a-memory-leak/ <comment><USER2> So the AssetServlet had a memory leak? Serving stuff from nginx is undoubtedly more efficient, but it would have been nice to know the real cause instead of just the workaround. If you work around a problem it has the nasty tendency to come back to bite you at another time.

</comment><comment><USER3> Given the sophistication of the HotSpit JIT compiler, I'm surprised that zlib hasn't yet been replaced with a pure-Java implementation in the JRE. Of course, I'm presuming that a pure-Java implementation would be much less likely to leak.</comment>