Starting a Bike Shop - <AUTHOR> http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/41960243010/starting-a-bike-shop <comment> at-fates-hands Having worked for a bike shop for almost ten years, this article was interesting to me.

Full disclosure - this is who I worked for (<http://www.eriksbikeshop.com/EriksHistory.aspx>)

Some things about what made ERIKS so successful:

1) bike shops make almost zero money on their bikes. The margins are razor thin. They make a majority of their profit on accessories. For example, they buy kickstands for 25 cents and sell them for $12.

2) ERIKS actually used Macs in all their locations and used a custom built POS system. They only needed one IT guy who ran 8 stores when I was there (they have around 14 stores now). He said if they were using MS, they would've had to hire a bunch more support people. It helped keep costs down.

3) At first ERIK looked for lower rent, out of the way places to set up shops. What he called, "sub-prime" locations. Rent was lower, and because of their superior marketing, they didn't need a prime location to drive traffic.

4) They trained their sales staff. This was a biggie. As a new salesperson, you went through a full sales training. You were trained in sales techniques. How to close, how to get people to buy accessories, how to approach someone, how to go through the process and asking the right questions to get to a single bike to sell. By far this is really where they separated themselves from other stores. Most places would hire bike "enthusiasts" and let them casually sell a bike if a person was interested. They had a very pro-sales approach and it showed in their numbers.

5) Keeping wages low. This is probably a contentious subject for most. But as a salesperson, I made minimum wage, with a small percentage for commission. I think it was 1 or 2% of the total sales I had. By keeping the wages low and offering in store discounts and bike manufacturing discounts (which the manufacturers offer, not ERIKS) they were able to pitch potential employees that, "There's not a lot of money in the bike industry (lie), but people who work for us have a good quality of life and good perks of being a part of the bike community." By keeping wages low, they increased their own bottom line.

<comment><USER2> Whoa, that's startling. I always thought bike shops made tons on bikes. You're telling me this bike costs almost $800 even when the parts are bought in bulk?

[http://www.eriksbikeshop.com/2013-Furley-Cyclocross- Bike/PR3...](http://www.eriksbikeshop.com/2013-Furley-Cyclocross- Bike/PR3C10985/Product)

<comment><USER3> I also used to work for Erik's (dinkytown location).

That was the gross margin on bikes, which I'm pretty sure means (sale price - purchase price)/(purchase price). Correct me if I'm wrong about the formula.

Not included in this is 36% number is the shops cost in selling the bike, which includes,

* Assembling the bike (unpacking, assembling, getting rid of packing materials, which are substantial).

* Tuning and Selling the bike.

* Post sale service.

At least for Erik's, a big part of the post sale service was to get people back into the shop and try to sell them accessories. I don't mean un-necessary parts or work, but things like clothes, bike computers, etc..

For many shops I suspect there is not much profit per bike left after these other expenses.

Erik's stream-lined much of this process, for example most bikes were assembled at the central warehouse by a dedicated crew.

<comment><USER4> Gross margin is the dollar profit divided by sell price. So, (sale price - purchase price)/(sale price).

You may be thinking of markup, which is the profit dollars as percentage of cost, and is often used in retail.

A 100% markup results in a 50% gross margin.

<comment><USER5> Dollar profit is a bit misleading. Gross margin is the formula you give, but not taking into account operating costs.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> While this article was noncommittal in offering up the reasons for HB's success, the pleasant sales experience was reiterated throughout the article. THIS IS HUGE IN RETAIL.

As of this coming Saturday, I'll be a year into operating a coffee shop I opened with two friends. Like HB, my shop has exceeded my expectations in the first year. FWIW, here are my observations on success: If you have the best sales experience in town coupled with a great, consistent product, people will talk about you. I monitor every mention of keywords related to our shop on twitter, Facebook, yelp, instagram, tumblr, etc and after a year in operation, it's pretty clear that people value the attitude [or lack thereof] of my employees, our approachability, the quality and consistency of our product, and the beauty of our shop. In combination, these things help create and maintain a lot of positive buzz about the shop. Buzz begets buzz too. We've never once paid for advertising and instead let word of mouth and good product do the talking. First there were just tweets, Facebook mentions, and word of mouth. Then bloggers started writing about us. Then we had local press do a few stories on us. With time, all this turned into positive reputation and people outside of the city began to mention us. Recently we've received national press. We also just climbed atop the #1 ranking in yelp for coffee in Charleston, SC. Over the past year, I've made a concerted effort to keep people talking and it seems to have worked.

TLDR: If people see integrity in the ownership, quality in the product, and a pleasant sales environment, they will tell someone and they will be loyal to the brand. If you've done your job so well that you can inspire your customers to talk about you, you will grow, even if you aren't in a prime location.

<comment><USER7> A timely comment, as I've got a friend about to dive into this very enterprise (Coffeshop/craft beer combo) here in Atlanta.

Do you mind sharing what you felt were the key traffic drivers in the pre social media mention days? IOW, what drove people in your door the first 90 days of operation?

<comment><USER6> Actually, we tried to create some buzz on social media even before opening, but I'm unsure how much this actually drove traffic in those first days. I think your friend will figure out pretty quickly that at first, opening a brick and mortar [without any previous brand history] is very much about the location. The early adopters will be folks from the neighborhood. In some respects, predicting early traffic for a coffee shop is what I would imagine it to be like if you were looking at good locations for a gas station. Since there's nothing too novel about the _concept_ of a coffee shop, before people try you out, they're going to judge you by what part of town you're in, how easy it is to park, and other logistical factors. Once you get people in the door, that's where you need to start differentiating yourself. If you can impress your first customers, get them talking, and stay consistent, the draw of the shop will expand outside of the neighborhood. Once you have a reputation, people will overcome logistical hurdles to try you out. From there, it's all about continuing to create positive experiences for your customers and they will keep talking about you.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> This is a great reminder of how good we have it in the Software world.

Look at their biggest expenses: Real Estate, Inventory, Staffing. For a little one-man SaaS, those are all zero. And their margins: 35%, as opposed to the ~99% margins for selling software.

The only expense we have in the software world is the cost of building the product in the first place and the time away from other paying work spent doing support and maintenance. (And at most a few hundred bucks a month for hosting). Considering the you can realistically launch a working MVP with 3 weeks work behind it, and iterate out new features while in "maintenance" mode, it's really amazing how cheap and easy it is to get a profitable business going in our world.

I mean, sure, you can certainly build a software business with high expenses and low margins (take funding, staff up big, spend a year building your thing before shipping, acquire tens of millions of users with no revenue model). But the "mom & pop" model for software just blows the doors off the mom & pop model for retail.

<comment> nappy-doo I like to tell my friends that software is like prostitution. It's the only product that once you sell, you still own it.

<comment><USER9> To be fair, that also applies to the whole music industry

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> What is this? I hate to be rude, but it reads something like "Hey, we wanted to know how to start a bike shop, and had some friends that did. ... Here's their renovations ... 1 year later, they rock, and they don't know why ... oh, and there's 1 or 2 BILLION dollar ideas in here, have fun!"

Have they done surveys? Have they asked their customers "how did you hear about us?" Did they bring on each of those employees with sales experience? What was their onboarding process? Did they just get lucky? How far away WAS that other bike shop?

It was a fine article, but I felt it lacked real details.

<comment><USER11> I think the lack of a detail is a big part of the article's point: it remains hard to know why retail businesses succeed or fail today. That's pretty significant in and of itself.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Preface: I've been an avid cyclist since 1986 and worked as a mechanic at shops for over ten years.

The article seems to have been written by an outsider that has absolutely no idea how bike shops work. Bicycles themselves are loss leaders -- they make very little profit there. Their money is made from upsell, service, and repeat customers. The margins stated in that article do not reflect my experience. Not by a long shot.

Of the many shops I worked at, very few things made them truly successful:

1) Love, Time, and Knowledge: Easy peasy. know your shit. The best shop I worked at was owned and run by a guy that started the store at the age of eight. Yes, EIGHT. He sold chains and tubes out of his parent's wallpaper store. I live 3000 miles away and still recommend that shop.

2) Location: The worst shop I worked at was on the richest street in a popular tourist destination. It didn't matter how bad the service was or that there was another better shop a mile away. Foot traffic was the only thing that kept (and keeps) them in business.

3) Niche: This only works if your expertise is in a specific type of cycling. The biggest source of failure is that (a) you didn't know as much as you thought or (b) there was another specialty shop that's too close.

4) Outside interest: Someone (usually a company) gives you boatloads of money no matter how bad you do. One shop I was employed at was a _BRAND_ landmark. That shop lost money every month for decades, but it didn't matter; they still sold more _BRAND_ s than any other brand in that city combined. It was a brand recognition issue that was probably considered a marketing cost.

In the end, there's a common industry joke I heard many times: Q: How do you make a million dollars? A: Take two million dollars and start a bike shop.

</comment><comment><USER13> _"it's impossible to measure what part of their marketing is driving new customers and what part is wasted spending."_

The article, which I enjoyed, uses the word "impossible" 2-3 times in this context. I do not think that word means what you think it means - it's not impossible to ask at point of sale "How did you hear about us?" and record that. Or even have short survey forms for people to complete while they wait (you'd rather people didn't wait; but to the extent that they are they'd rather fill in info to enter a competition or similar than be bored.)

I disagreed with pg's distinction about startups v real world businesses at the time, and this is part of the reason why - assuming the different types of new businesses are worlds apart because one needed $250k to launch and another didn't.

<comment><USER14> The size of initial capital investment isn't what separates startups from bicycle shops.

It's the size of the possible exits which does. Huckleberry Bikes cannot scale to a billion dollar exit in seven years. The sorts of businesses which PG considers startups can. That's why they are attractive to investors.

<comment><USER13> Oh there's definitely a distinction to be made. I feel playing semantics with "startups = technology" v "a start-up business = everything else" means founders on both sides of that distinction may feel they have little or nothing to learn from 'the other side'.

<comment><USER15> If you think a start up is about technology, you are missing the point. A "start up" is a seed for a big company. Lyfe Kitchen in Palo Alto is a startup because it's a single restaurant to get product market fit before opening a chain through raising massive capital and/or franchising. A web development shop is a normal small business because it's not developing a product that's going to scale

<comment><USER13> So normal small businesses don't grow? Where do you draw the arbitrary limit between seed and normal? Can Lyfe Kitchen learn anything from a single-site restaurant? And vice-versa?

My contention is that a startup is _any_ early stage business that intends to grow. And that they all have things in common, regardless of whether their vision is billions or thousands. They may move through that stage at different speeds - eg, in particular relation to your raising capital point. But drawing a day one distinction based on vision - not reality - increases risk of failure.

<comment><USER14> I agree that business is business and there are common elements between all business. An example from my small business experience is the 46-46-8 equity split - I was the 8 - at MB Architects in the mid 90's. The suggestion of a buyout offer was made by another firm in passing. Relationships went to shit because any two of us could have sold out from under the other.

The difference between it and a startup is that my equity stake could never have made me Fuck You Money rich. Sure the company was growing - I was employee #3. Less than two years later when I left there were six and the value of the company was about double. That's the way small businesses grow.

If we had raised $1,000,000 there would have been few good ways to spend it. The differences between small businesses and startups are important if one's goal is to have a startup. It's a distinctly different goal than owning a business.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> "Talking to Huckleberry, it also seems clear that the most important software tools for small business haven't been invented yet. There is no "google analytics" for a shop or measurable ways they can promote themselves offline or online. "

Hmmm, I guess there's already people working on systems using cameras, face detection and recognition, and linking them to records of faces previously in the store (pr eben passing by), and to cash register sales (and credit card identities)?

I find the idea bth fascinating and creepy.

And I'm now wondering how many stores I walk into are doing it already? What're the chances that most big casinos don't already have something like this automatically alerting customer service when whales arrive (and security when card counters arrive)?

<comment><USER17> Big venues like football stadiums can contact your mobile phone company and get contact information for all the people who brought a cell phone to the event.

Big casinos have crazy video surveillance but I think there's still a lot of humans in the loop. They've got the budget for it, after all.

Of course, the easiest way to track people and their purchases is to sign them up for the store loyalty program and offer them nominal discounts. Works for grocery stores, at least. Bike stores are trickier. Fewer repeat customers.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> I'm not from San Francisco, but is 7th/Market really "a bad neighborhood"? I mean, maybe it's not Midtown Manhattan nice, but I also doubt it's East New York bad.

(I used to work at the University of Chicago, and took the Red Line to the 55th St. bus. I only had my shoes stolen on the Red Line once, and only watched a high speed chase come to an end with guns-a-blazin' while waiting for the bus once... but I'd still consider _that_ a sketchy neighborhood.)

<comment><USER19> I've lived in NYC and SF. SF doesn't have bad neighborhoods, just annoying ones. Crackheads are a nuisance but they aren't very dangerous. Oakland might have some bad neighborhoods. Honestly the burbs scare me the most. I'm probably more likely to be shot by a high schooler in Fremont than SF.

<comment><USER20> SF has more murders than San Jose, despite having fewer people. I'm not trying to argue where you should or shouldn't live, just stating a fact.

source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_r...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate)

<comment><USER19> Thanks for the data link. I'd consider the difference of 6.1 vs. 4.1 per 100k comparable. I was right about Oakland, though, at 26.3. Even Stockton is higher than SF at 19.7. I'll use that one to back up my fear of bored kids in isolated towns.

<comment><USER20> The problem in Oakland is gang activity. So your chances of getting randomly killed there are a lot less than the numbers might suggest. However, it does happen that people get caught in the crossfire. Oakland also covers a pretty wide area and there are some better and worse parts.

I have never been to Stockton, but you are right that the crime rate there seems surprisingly high. The cops blame it on the drug cartels. The city is fairly poor (median income 35k) and filed for bankruptcy last year. I'm not sure what the problems are there, but I'm fairly sure bored kids are not near the top of the list.

Incidentally, there is something distasteful about criticizing a city you've never even visited. Especially when you live in a much whiter and richer area. I grew up in a poor area that I'm sure many here would have looked down on. You can have pride in where you live without tearing other people down.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> "There is no "google analytics" for a shop or measurable ways they can promote themselves offline or online. Somewhere in all of this, there is probably a billion dollar startup idea or two."

Startup idea or two? Don't mind if I do.

\- <http://www.ekahau.com/solutions/retail.html>

\- [http://www.nearbuysystems.com/solutions/in-store- analytics.h...](http://www.nearbuysystems.com/solutions/in-store- analytics.html)

And here's some additional coverage of that space in the media, with regards to car dealerships:

\- [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732478440457814...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324784404578143144132736214.html) (google URL and click for HTTP Referer if you get paywalled, but I don't think you will)

<comment><USER21> There are a couple of startups already looking at tracking customer behaviour in the real world based on MAC address[1] but hands down the best way of tracking the success of a marketing campaign is with coupons. If you're running Google ads for a bricks and mortar business, don't send people to your home page, send them to a landing page which has a special offer on it, or some other identifiable thing so that when people come in and ask about the XYZ you know where they came from.

[1][http://www.fastcompany.com/3004781/google-analytics-real- lif...](http://www.fastcompany.com/3004781/google-analytics-real-life- tracking-retail-customers-through-smartphones)

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> There is an underserved niche in the biking industry and that is "urban chic" bike clothing from multiple vendors. Clothing is one area where brick and morter retail wins out over online retail because nothing beats trying clothes on. In SF, I've tried clothing on from Chrome, Mission Workshop, SWRVE, Rapha, etc.

Sizing between the brands is notoriously fickle and it's impossible to know if one brand will fit just right while another brand you can't even fit your thighs into the pants. For example, Chrome fits me really well, while Rapha doesn't fit at all. SWRVE on the other hand is only sold at 4 stores in the city (Huckleberry Bikes is one of them, the other three are MissionBike, BoxDog and PushBike). While I haven't been to HB, I have been to PushBike and MissionBike Co, and both have a very very limited selection and sizes of SWRVE clothing. The only non-cycling company that has decent stuff is Lululemon. I'm shocked that in a city like SF that has lots of cyclists, that it is so hard to find good biking clothing.

Given the growth of urban cycling, I'm honestly surprised no one has noticed that you could create just a store that has an excellent selection of fashionable everyday cycling clothing.

I hope the guys at HB are reading this, because I plan on going by there to see if their clothing selection is any better than PushBike and MissionBike Co.

</comment><comment><USER23> Did anyone else follow the google maps link only to find they were not looking at Huckleberry Bikes?

[https://www.google.com/maps?q=&layer=c&z=17&iwlo...](https://www.google.com/maps?q=&layer=c&z=17&iwloc=A&sll=37.780906,-122.411722&cid=3195596951110064643&cbp=13,110.8,1.2,0,0&panoid=T7OuMoYSugSY4DwLJ0Qcow&q=huckleberry+bicycles&sa=X&ei=67sKUeOUKMm7iwL- wYCgCA&ved=0CIEBEKcf)

Looks like Midtown rags to me.

<comment><AUTHOR> Huckleberry is where Midtown Rags used to be. Google just hasn't updated it's streetview image I guess.

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> That neighborhood is not even close to one of the "worst areas" in America. Makes me wonder what the quote is from.

<comment><USER25> Yeah it is only a couple blocks away from some the most expensive real estate in the country.

<comment><USER26> That doesn't mean it's a nice area. In many cities, including North American cities, the rich and poor are a block or two apart.

In Vancouver it's a short stroll from Tiffany's to East Hastings. Rocks are bought openly in both places.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Eastside>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> Interesting read as usual from the folks at priceonomics but it seems like a lot of the problems about pinpointing how people found them have solutions that work to some degree including:

\- Provide a nominal discount with a coupon code "goog" so you know users came from Google. Or you can do a printed coupon with a tracking code embedded. I see coupons all the time for bike shops like Valenica and American Cyclery.

\- Just ask how people heard about you. Most people will tell you because making up a story is harder and it'll be natural since your sales associates are so personable.

In terms of why the location works, my best guess would be because the mid- Market area is becoming gentrified as more and more startups move in and rents rise and young professionals with disposal income will pass by the store on their way to work.

</comment><comment><USER25> It was a smart move to open at that location on Market, especially with the perks that the city was offering. It is right on a major bike commuter route, and I suspect hundreds of bike commuters ride by each day.

There are some other great shops in town, Box Dog for instance, but their access to commuters is probably better than any other shop in town.

</comment><comment><USER28> I am desperately disappointed that there is no discussion on the best practices for deciding which color to paint the shed.

</comment><comment><USER29> all the bike shops in my city are also repair places which is where they make all their money charging crazy hourly rates to change a tire or for tuning, and from triple marked up accessories. they all know each other too and will collectively bulk buy everything to get a cheaper wholesale price

</comment><comment><USER30> There's an related thread on Slowtwitch about this:

[http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;pos...](http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4348771;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25);</comment>


Ask HN: Most effective way to provide feedback on Google instant search? - <AUTHOR>

I've previously attempted various means for providing feedback on Google's search interface and it seems to fall on deaf ears. One bad sign is that they don't have any feedback link on the page. But I just found out that if you enter a query into the instant search, and give it a few seconds, it retains that search query in the title of the page and tab, even if you erase the query and there are no results. This seems like unwanted functionality (a bug), but I would really like to use the proper channel to provide this feedback. Does anyone know the best way to get Google to pay attention about issues with their main search web interface? <comment><USER3> Use it like you normally do. Google's definitely looking at user data - <USER2> wouldn't they? - so just keep doing what you're doing and it'll get better.</comment>


Microsoft inks mystery Linux licensing deal - <AUTHOR> http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/the-frontline-blog/2194270/microsoft-inks-mystery-linux-licensing-deal?utm_campaign=V3_co_uk&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Twitterfeed <comment><USER2> The deal has been signed so many times, how on earth have the contents not been leaked yet? Or do they never show the patents to the companies they extort money from and just threaten them with legal action?</comment>


Ask HN: When did people start paying for your SaaS and why? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER2> My SaaS is a 1:1 meeting note-taking web app: [https://www.oneononemeeting.com](https://www.oneononemeeting.com)

My first paying customer came from a launch post on Reddit (after ~8 months of building it). Talking to her, I realized that her use case was not what I imagined (manage 1:1 meetings notes with their team) but to document the tasks of a particular employee that she wanted to fire. She complimented my app a lot and requested relevant and interesting features. But, unsurprisingly, canceled her subscription after 3 months, after having fired said employee.

My second paying customer was a colleague from my day-job employer (the SaaS is a side-project). I offered an unlimited free trial for all my colleagues here, expecting to sell an enterprise plan to the company. Other 3 managers in the company use it. But he insisted that he wanted to pay to be able to act as a real customer, demand features, etc.

He loves the product and still uses it a lot, but I redesigned the free plan to be even more generous and start feeling bad that he was paying it. The new free plan allows up to 3 managers per company with unlimited features. So I canceled his subscriptions and refunded the last month (he still uses the product). Now I have a meeting with the company's VP of HR to try to sell the enterprise plan.

<comment><USER3> If I may ask: on what subreddit(s) did you post? Was it a normal post where they allow self-promotion, or sponsored/ad one?

<comment><USER2> Almost none of them allow self-promotion. Exception are those like /side- projects where it's kind of its purpose, but very unlikely to attract real users.

I believe that customer came from /leadership. Smaller one, but well targeted for me.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> We are not a SaaS product but a productized service - [http://draftss.com](http://draftss.com) where we crossed $50,000+ in revenue till date.

We started 11 months ago as a side project and validated if there was a requirement for such a service. We got our initial customers by launching ourselves on different communities. We launched ourselves on Reddit, IH, HackerNews where we got our first 10 customers. Some of these initial customers wanted to try a smaller package before moving on with the superior ones. Till date we are still retaining some of these customers.

Initially, we assumed it was the price point that let the customers subscribe for our product. But after speaking to our customers, we came to an understanding that most of our customers were founders who did not have the resources to hire a full-time graphic designer. The best part they liked about our service was designing on the go and video conferencing discussions.

</comment><comment><USER5> My friend owns a cosmetic clinic and he needed an easy way to manage his signage. I built a small web platform over the weekend so he could do that. He started paying right away ($7/month). There are other businesses using it right now, not a big business but completely automated!

<comment><USER6> It this for digital signage?

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I worked in a startup that made HR and recruitment software as SaaS. We really had to prove that our product really was on par or better than what people already had, sometimes going through great lengths offering 6months free trial periods, rushing new features just to keep one customer etc. It was hell, but in the end it turned out okay when we got some brand names and government contracts. The product price was based on amount of users, jobpostings etc and was free for the absolute lowest tier.</comment>


E-Defense, World's Largest Earthquake Seismic Testing Table - <AUTHOR> http://www.alatown.com/testing-buildings-destruction/

<comment><USER2> This is probably not feasible, but I wonder if they could put one of these under buildings in earthquake-prone areas. It would be like a giant shock absorber for the building.

<comment><USER3> They do this, sort of. It's called base isolation, and essentially, they put the whole structure on sliding bearings. (They don't do the vertical component, but that's typically not as big of a deal as the shear forces.) It takes some care dealing with utilities and connections to non-base isolated things, but it's quite effective.

It's done for high value structures that have to be functioning through emergencies, like emergency management centers and hospitals.

[edit I can't find documentation for this: I believe that the Bay Bridge has some of the biggest ones ever made, at roughly 9 feet of travel. (Though that was 20 years ago, and may not be current)]</comment></comment>


Edward Snowden Ask Putin About Russia's Internet Surveillance - <AUTHOR> http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ed-snowden-asks-putin-about-russian-surveillance

<comment><USER2> The powers of HN don't seem to be giving this any airtime. It's been posted dozens of time already.

It's a huge story. Snowden is being manipulated as a propaganda vehicle by Putin. Snowden is important to a lot of the ideals which I think are core to the hacker culture.

Let's discuss!

<comment><AUTHOR> I was always curious about Snowden's initial feint regarding asylum in Ecuador, and why that never materialized?

Like, did the gesture toward Ecuador, as a possible final destination from Hong Kong, actually accomplish anything in the way of interference? Was it ever an actual intended destination? (at this point I assume not)

If it was a real potential end point, was it abandoned due to risk (transit- related or residence-related), or was it simply cultural preferences and convenience?</comment></comment>


Interview with Lawyer turned Software CEO - <AUTHOR> http://www.bitterlawyer.com/index.php/interviews/robert_williams_ceo_conversive_inc

<comment><USER2> The thing that interests me is whether he's committed himself to becoming a hacker too. That's the connection (for me) that's missing from the interview – how did he end up leading a software company? Did he have a hacker epiphany? And can you lead a team of hackers if you aren't one yourself?

</comment><comment><USER3> _Sounds fancy, but what do you really do?

I run a software company. Most of the time, that means I'm the den mother for a bunch of people trying to accom....._

This dude is still a lawyer. If you have to explain what your company does in 8 sentences then something is not right. I would not feel comfortable buying a piece of software from a lawyer anyways. The guy can come back in x years and show me terms and conditions noone bothers to read and slap me with a 470k bill that I will either pay for or go to jail. "Pass me that orange suit".</comment>


Show HN: BonFive – A Reddit Like Community Supporter for Content Creators - <AUTHOR> https://bonfive.com/ <comment><AUTHOR> Hello HN,

I originally designed BonFive as another possible revenue stream for Content Creators, and a more centralized way to discover new content and creators across the different platforms. A DB for Content Creators if you will.

If you have any questions or suggestions please don't hesitate to reach out! Appreciate any feedback and thanks for checking it out.

<comment><USER2> Where is the link to the site?

<comment><AUTHOR> Sorry about that, I updated the body of the post with the URL - [https://bonfive.com/](https://bonfive.com/)</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: What was your first day at work like? - <AUTHOR> What were the good or bad experiences you had taking on a new job? <comment><USER2> This is my best 'first day at work' story.

There was this company that really badly needed some ops help as they had some major projects on the go and really needed some help. Alas, my girlfriend was extremely pregnant, so I kept pushing my start date back and back. Meanwhile, my child just flat out refused to be born. We went to the hospital several times, but whenever we got there, the contractions would flat out stop.

Eventually, I had to start. A couple of hours in, I was setting up my dev environment with some serious first day jitters, and I got a phone call. I remember standing up, putting my hands over my mouth and not being able to move.

I was completely screwed and couldn't figure out what the heck to do. My boss had to tell me to go, get in my car and go. And, I drove at speeds so obscene that they likely would have lead to my arrest.

Eighteen hours later, my daughter was born.

</comment><comment><USER3> People forgot I was about to start. No desk prepared, no computer, HR person was new (replaced) recently and asked for a copy of my contract because she couldn't find hers in the office.

First task of the day was receiving the master domain password and create my own account. Full administrative rights on all servers before I even had a chair to sit on.

A couple of weeks later another engineer quit and I got a substantial promotion because they worried I might look around having extra work load (I wasn't).

</comment><comment><USER4> I was left to my own devices, which didn't change for the four years I worked there.

Actually looking back over my career I think the first day for each job was pretty representative of what was to come. At my worst job I got a desk with moldy sandwiches in the drawer and a company car with bullet holes in it. The best had a spotless desk, new computer and welcome card along with plenty of attention to get me up and running.

</comment><comment><USER5> No workstation, no desk, no administrative rights to anything. They handled me several thousand pages of documentation to read about telco stuff until my pc arrives. It arrived after 3 days. I had desk after 1 week. I received permissions after 3 week. I did not have real work to do for the first 2 months.

As a first workplace where I wanted to prove myself it sure killed the mood.

</comment><comment><USER6> Got asked to test certain feature. Being fresh out of the university, I wanted to make good first impression and asked if they want me to write some unit tests for it or what. Their answer: "nah, just click around, see if it works".

<comment><USER7> The worst part is the same companies will stress and quiz you on testing during the interview as if they take testing so seriously in their company.

It's mostly because shit is so neglected and broken and they are so deep in tech debt in their environment they think they need to get someone who is "really good with testing" to help them.

"testing" for these companies forever remains a "right now we cant but wouldn't be nice if one day ...".

I'd be more appreciative if these companies just owned the reality of their priorities.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Switched about a month ago. Mostly ignored by the people in a relatively small office although they weren't on my direct team. Could use my own laptop and all desks are hot desks as people can choose where they work on a daily basis. Guy on the team eventually arrived and got up and running with dev work in half a day.

Laptop had been ordered 6 weeks before but didn't arrive for a further 2 weeks and then had ridiculously restricted Windows on it. A month later I've convinced them to let me wipe Windows for Ubuntu, with some luck of finding a senior IT support guy who likes Linux.</comment>


Simple mental math tricks - <AUTHOR> http://oddline.blogspot.com/2008/09/9-mental-math-tricks.html <comment><USER2> The most useful trick I've used is writing out numbers or calculations algebraically (in my head). For instance, if you're squaring a number near some round number, say 52, one can write.

(52)^2 = (50 + 2)^2 = 50^2 + 2 * 50 * 2 + 2^2 = 2500 + 100 * 2 + 4 = 2704.

Also really helpful: you can do powers by memorizing a few precomputed logarithms, knowing extrapolation and knowing how to convert bases.

My favorite method for doing logarithms tends to be a mix between a 'guess and check' Newton's method, and Feynman's algorithm:

Consider the problem of finding the logarithm of a fractional number between 1.0 and 2.0 (the algorithm can be generalized without too much difficulty). Feynman observed that any such number can be uniquely represented as a product of numbers of the form 1 + 2^-k, where k is an integer. Testing each of these factors in a binary number representation is simply a matter of a shift and a subtraction. Once the factors are determined, the logarithm can be computed by adding together the precomputed logarithms of the factors. The algorithm fit especially well on the Connection Machine, since the small table of the logarithms of 1 + 2^-k could be shared by all the processors. The entire computation took less time than division.

<http://www.longnow.org/views/essays/articles/ArtFeynman.php>

<comment><USER3> Yep. Most of those "tricks" are just applications of very basic algebraic principles (mostly the distributive property). It's sort of sad that math is in such a state that this kind of thing becomes novel.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> There's a great chapter in "Surely your joking Mr. Feynman" about mental arithmetic.

Here's an excerpt, from when Feynman was eating at a cafe and an abacus salesman walked in and challenged Feynman to an arithmetic contest:

"He writes down a number on some paper— any old number— and I still remember it: 1729.03. He starts working on it, mumbling and grumbling: "Mmmmmmagmmmmbrrr"— he's working like a demon! He's poring away, doing this cube root.

Meanwhile I'm just sitting there.

One of the waiters says, "What are you doing?".

I point to my head. "Thinking!" I say. I write down 12 on the paper. After a little while I've got 12.002.

The man with the abacus wipes the sweat off his forehead: "Twelve!" he says.

"Oh, no!" I say. "More digits! More digits!" I know that in taking a cube root by arithmetic, each new digit is even more work that the one before. It's a hard job.

He buries himself again, grunting "Rrrrgrrrrmmmmmm ...," while I add on two more digits. He finally lifts his head to say, "12.01!"

The waiter are all excited and happy. They tell the man, "Look! He does it only by thinking, and you need an abacus! He's got more digits!"

He was completely washed out, and left, humiliated. The waiters congratulated each other.

How did the customer beat the abacus?

The number was 1729.03. I happened to know that a cubic foot contains 1728 cubic inches, so the answer is a tiny bit more than 12. The excess, 1.03 is only one part in nearly 2000, and I had learned in calculus that for small fractions, the cube root's excess is one-third of the number's excess. So all I had to do is find the fraction 1/1728, and multiply by 4 (divide by 3 and multiply by 12). So I was able to pull out a whole lot of digits that way. "</comment>


Donald Trump meets with tech leaders - <AUTHOR> https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/14/donald-trump-meets-with-tech-leaders/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=FaceBook&sr_share=facebook <comment><USER2> Strangely how this is not top news on HN - however you put it , I guess everyone understands that this is a turning point in our industry.

</comment><comment><USER3> The emoji issue with Twitter...</comment>


What keeps Light Table from being your primary editor? - <AUTHOR> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BVWA744iCQOHWD2m-lGHHinf37RTY-EfQy3Jjvh1s6s/viewform

<comment><USER2> A) It's still in alpha.

B) It's not Vim.

C) The questionnaire asks "which other editors do you use" and uses radio buttons.

</comment><comment><USER3> There's no "there" there.</comment>


Show HN: Mem& – remember what you learn, forever - <AUTHOR> https://www.memand.com/?ref=hn <comment><USER2> That site does bad things to my browser's back button.

Also, for people looking for flashcards, check out Anki. It's free!</comment>


Google I/O 2012 extended to 3 days, moved to June 27-29 - <AUTHOR> http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2011/11/google-io-2012-extended-to-three-days.html

<comment><USER2> "In the meantime, be sure to brush up on your coding skills. They'll come in handy when the new application process opens in February."

Perhaps tickets will be sold or prioritised by some coding problems?

<comment><USER3> Last year a lot of non-developers bought tickets just to scoop up the free goodies that Google gives out. My guess is yes, they will use a code problem or similar to filter out developers from carpet-baggers.

<comment><USER4> yeah, a buddy of mine who is a lawyer working in real estate said he wanted to register the next year because of the free phones.

I just figured they should create a registration category for "no freebies." Seriously, I don't need the phone. Just wanted to attend the conference.

<comment><USER5> But you are the target demographic for the phone distribution - someone who is actually interested in and developing with the tech is a better development placement for a freebie phone than someone who wants a freebie phone.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Silly question, but: "Continue following us at our Google Developers page on Google+ to be the first to get #io12 updates!" which links off to here: <https://plus.google.com/111395306401981598462/posts>

How do you follow something on G+?

Do you have to add the page to your circles? If so, that's plain old weird... I follow people, not pages or abstract things.

Or is just to +1 it? If so, that's plain old weird... +1 is just a "Hear hear!" or implicit share, but it's not a "Send me updates, keep me informed.".

I could well be wrong on both of those assumptions, but I don't get it, the sentence didn't even make sense. What are you supposed to "do" with a G+ page?

edit: I think they mean "Add to Circles"... but I've just scrolled down and with tens of updates today alone, they just come over as spamming, flooding jerks and aren't being added to any circle of mine any time soon.

Why can't a company just provide a low-noise, "just the facts ma'am" info list.

<comment><USER7> You add it to a circle. Why should you only have people in your circles?

<comment><USER8> I care what people think. I don't care what inanimate objects or marketing abstractions think.

<comment><USER9> If you don't care about what inanimate objects or marketing abstractions think, isn't that equivalent to saying you don't want to follow them?

<comment><USER8> It's different levels. I care about marketing in a check-the-rss-feed-once-a- month way, but not in a omg-what-is-pg-having-for-breakfast way.

<comment><USER9> So, you do care. You just don't want to check it as often. Put it in a circle for things you care about but don't want to check as often.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> If I had to guess, I'd say that they moved the date _so they could closely follow Apple's WWDC conference_ instead of happening a month before it as it has in the past.

That way a) they can get the last-word press-wise and b) the can make last minute decisions about what to announce depending on what Apple announces at WWDC -- perhaps even pre-announce vaporware to counter Apple's surprise announcement. :-) It looks like IO will follow WWDC by 12 days this year if the WWDC date speculation is correct.

</comment><comment><USER11> There should really be an explanation posted. I also wonder how they will deal with those people who already booked travel and now have to pay high fees to change their travel bookings.

<comment><USER12> who books travel 6 months in advance? You haven't even gotten your tickets yet.

<comment><USER13> I'm a student and I need to make sure I'm not missing any summer classes I may be taking. Also, some people work and may have to notify their supers early.

<comment><USER14> If you have to notify your "super" six months in advance to get 3 days off, it's long past time to find a new job!</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Consolidation in the EBook Market: Amazon Acquires Stanza - <AUTHOR> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/consolidation_in_the_ebook_market_amazon_acquires.php <comment><USER2> Amazon is trying very hard to be to ebooks what Google is to search today. This acquisition improves their chances of building a monopoly, but the ebook market (reader hardware & software, ebook formats, DRM, publishing, retailing etc.) is still very immature and fluid. So it's too early to declare winners, though Amazon is clearly leading. But all the activity makes the ebook space very exciting to witness and be part of right now.

</comment><comment><USER3> I love Stanza. I'm just finishing Candide on my iPhone right now. It has a great interface, so hopefully Amazon keeps their promise not to mess with it.

Although I have to admit the possibility of a combined app with the Kindle's selection of new books and Stanza's selection of free books is appealing.</comment>


BusKill: A kill cord for your laptop - <AUTHOR> https://tech.michaelaltfield.net/2020/01/02/buskill-laptop-kill-cord-dead-man-switch/ <comment><USER3> Archive link because the website is down: [http://web.archive.org/web/20200102140351/https://tech.micha...](http://web.archive.org/web/20200102140351/https://tech.michaelaltfield.net/2020/01/02/buskill- laptop-kill-cord-dead-man-switch/)

I was expecting a "kill switch" destroying the computer, but that's just a thing that switch off your laptop when unplugged. I guess you could also do this with bluetooth, for example.

<comment><USER4> If you are doing proper OpSec, you would have whole disk encryption anyway, in which case destroying the computer is largely unnecessary, I think.

That said, the caveat of XKCD 538 ([https://www.xkcd.com/538/](https://www.xkcd.com/538/)) still applies.

<comment><USER5> In theory an adversary could deep-freeze the computer the moment the kill cord activates. Sufficiently cold RAM doesn't loose data immediately when it loses power, allowing the adversary to make a copy and read the decryption keys from RAM.

Though if this is part of your threat model you should be much more concerned about a thousand more mundane problems, like adversaries reconstructing keystrokes from keyboard vibrations that are easily measured with a laser, or reconstructing screen content from reflections on a spoon.

<comment><USER6> If your attack vector is adversaries ready to deep freeze your laptop, perhaps you should do your computing in a more secure location :)

<comment><USER7> It's pretty common for law enforcement to quickly freeze RAM when busting hackers. I've definitely read of cases where suspects encryption keys were pulled from RAM using exactly this method.

The killcord would have been useful for Ross Ulbricht (Silk Road) who was busted by the FBI after using his laptop in public - they grabbed it while he had it unlocked and didn't have time to put it in suspend.

<comment><USER8> > It's pretty common for law enforcement to quickly freeze RAM when busting > hackers

I'd really love a citation on this, especially since "quickly" seems to imply that they'd do this out in the field.

<comment><USER9> If you can't prevent the device from powering down, you have less than a minute to freeze the RAM before the contents become useless. This can be done with a can of cold spray.

No idea how long you have to power it back on afterwards, tens of minutes to a couple of hours probably.

That said, the proper "kill switch" operation would be to explicitly wipe the key from memory before powering off (if you want to power off instead of just locking).

<comment><USER10> > _you have less than a minute to freeze the RAM before the contents become > useless. This can be done with a can of cold spray._

I wonder what their approach to a laptop with poor serviceability would be. I think it would take me more than a minute to get physical access to the ram of some modern computers.

<comment><USER11> > I think it would take me more than a minute to get physical access to the > ram of some modern computers.

RAM is still one of the most accessible parts for most laptops & desktops.

Tablets and phones on the other hand make it much much harder.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I used to have my laptop setup to require my specific Yubikey to be inserted to allow waking from sleep and booting, and when you pulled it out it locked the machine, logged you out, suspended, or shutdown depending on which modifier key you were holding down when you removed it.

Worked pretty well as a "kill switch" when getting up from my desk.

I probably have the udev scripts laying around somewhere.

<comment><USER13> Sounds like a good way to hit the 10k usb-c lifespan

<comment><USER14> Lets see. Say you work 5 days a week. That's about 260 days a year (without vacations etc). Say you unlock your device 4 times a day when you work. That is 1040 times a year. Does your device even last 9-10 years? Well, if it is a MacBook, Apple ditched support for all <= 2012 MBPs. Not sure when they did, but this was true at start of last year for sure.

<comment><USER15> I have a Macbook Air 2012 which is still supported by Apple (I get new OSes and OS updates every year).

<comment><USER14> Try to get the screen or battery replaced. To be fair, they're easier user serviceable than newer MB(A/P)s. For example, me with my MBP 2015 will have a harder time to service it once it gets EOL (hardware-wise) than you have now with your MBA 2012.

<comment><USER15> I've replaced the battery twice, last time in september 2019, and this last time it costed me 60 EUR, and the battery life is much better than the original one.

I might want to replace the battery again in the next 3-4 years if I still have this laptop, and you might be right in that this might not be possible, but at least today it is.

<comment><USER14> Oh it is likely possible via iFixit or other aftermarket. Just not officially via Apple.

<comment><USER15> Yep, I just googled my model + battery, and ordered a new battery from iFixit. Took like 15 min to swap the battery myself.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Windows users may want to try the built-in Bluetooth proximity locking feature:

Lock your Windows 10 PC automatically when you step away from it [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028111/windows- loc...](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028111/windows-lock-your- windows-10-pc-automatically-when-you-step-away-from)

While macOS doesn't include such a feature out of the box, apps like Near Lock [https://nearlock.me](https://nearlock.me) exist.

EDIT: Just found Rohos Logon Key for Windows and macOS:

[https://www.rohos.com/products/rohos-logon-key-for- mac/](https://www.rohos.com/products/rohos-logon-key-for-mac/)

It "converts any USB drive into a security token for your computer" and can "automatically lock your Mac screen when the key is unplugged".

</comment><comment><USER17> Ross Ulbricht had his laptop snatched by an undercover FBI agent while he was using it.

This kill cord might have saved him some grief.

<comment><USER18> Better opsec would have saved him some grief as well.

Before even touching on his habitual use of coffee shops near his residence to run the Silk Road...

> The connection was made by linking the username "altoid", used during Silk > Road's early days to announce the website, and a forum post in which > Ulbricht, posting under the nickname "altoid", asked for programming help > and gave his email address, which contained his full name.

By the time the FBI was watching him and had connected his name to I don't think there's a lot that he could have done to avoid arrest.

<comment><USER19> He would still have gone to prison no matter what (the government can make up evidence), but they may not have been able to seize his Bitcoin without stealing his laptop.

<comment><USER20> Does that matter with a double life sentence.

<comment><USER21> No clue how prison works? Do watch a few documentaries. Money's important inside.

<comment><USER22> Bitcoin on the outside is hardly "money"

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> I will sometimes go to the university library to do some work and I'm always amazed at people who will go to the restroom or something and leave their laptop sitting there without a lock or even logged out.

I always use a kensington lock and lock my screen whenever I have to leave my laptop. If I had a macbook I would be taking it with me. I know the locks won't stop someone who really wants to steal it but with so many unattended laptops sitting around it makes it less likely they will go for mine.

<comment><USER24> What do you attach the other end of the kensington lock to?

<comment><USER25> The desk?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> The article keeps saying "self-destruct" but that's not what happens.

But if your hard drive is encrypted, this is a pretty good solution for most people.

Maybe if you can get BusKill to activate a mini thermite explosive under your hard drive.

<comment><USER27> I remember watching a Defcon conference where they tested different methods for destroying a hard drive in place. And they found that thermite actually doesn't damage the platters (well at least not enough for data to be unrecoverable).

Hard drive platters are surprisingly heat/chemical resistant. I think they found that the best method was to physically destroy the platters.

<comment><USER28> I remember watching that talk years ago. I was disappointed in the lack of rigor of their conclusions.

The whole point of thermite-based HDD destruction is to get the platens over the Curie temperature so the magnetic field is gone, not to physically destroy them. They point this out in the start, but then never talk about whether this was achieved or not in their experiment (assumably so they could go on to the actual explosives).

It was entertainment, and I'd take any results with a grain of salt.

<comment><USER29> The guy worked on it further. He eventually solved the original challenge.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> It appears breakaway mag USB-A connectors are pretty cheap: [https://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Breaksafe-Magnetic- Breakaway-...](https://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Breaksafe-Magnetic-Breakaway- Disconnects/dp/B0759FKCK8)

From tidbits in this thread, it sounds like a Veracrypt hidden volume with a distress passphrase, plus a fairly simple dead-man script wouldn't be hard to set up. Something like: kill sensitive processes, drop caches, wipe memory, then panic the kernel.

<comment><USER31> I checked amazon earlier, and it looks like this thread may have put those things out of stock. Guess a lot of people like the idea!

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> If all the killcord does is turn off the machine, just use a laptop with no battery.

<comment><USER33> That's somewhat less convenient, don't you think? This works if you're at the park typing a paper up, or at a Starbucks where all the outlets are in use, for instance.

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> A man just died in Oakland today trying to recover his laptop that was snatched from him in a Starbucks.

[http://nypost.com/2020/01/02/man-dies-after-trying-to- stop-t...](http://nypost.com/2020/01/02/man-dies-after-trying-to-stop-thief- who-stole-his-laptop-at-starbucks/)

Definitely don't go running after your stolen laptop, let it go.

<comment><USER35> I'd definitely give chase. To me, it _is_ worth dying for. Not because of the laptop, but out of principle for vigorously fighting these ridiculous crimes. We all need to collectively fight back against crime or it will be normal (as it is now).

<comment><USER36> That'll be a lonely hill to die on. We in California collectively decided that theft under $950 is not a big deal and should be fought less vigorously: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_California_Proposition_47](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_California_Proposition_47)

<comment><USER37> That was a mistake. Criminals now very purposely run off with just shy of $950. Theft is way up in California.

Meanwhile, in Texas you'd just shoot the laptop thief, either as soon as aware of the imminent theft or as the thief flees. It's fully supported by the law:

[https://lawofselfdefense.com/statute/texas- sec-9-42-deadly-f...](https://lawofselfdefense.com/statute/texas- sec-9-42-deadly-force-to-protect-property/)

Law enforcement in many communities would congratulate you for a job well done.

<comment><USER25> Controversial opinion maybe, but I personally don't think anyone deserves to _lose their life_ for stealing a laptop.

<comment><USER38> I don't think that's controversial, I think most of the world shared that opinion.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER39> A gentle warning: different Linux distros handle UDEV "remove" differently, and incompatibly, so few people actually use this message it's not well tested (try shipping code for a device that DOES need it!).

Debian was a particular problem until they switched to SystemD (which I think is possibly the only udevdaemon that gets it right) - even so some distros (Ubuntu I'm looking at you) screwed up starting the udevdaemon before they mounted root writable meaning that scripts run from it couldn't really do anything useful

Fortunately most distros are switching to SystemD so this will likely work in most places

<comment><USER39> BTW - a clue for budding writers of UDEV scripts - you can't run daemons directly (udevdaemon will kill them when the scripts that started them exit) - you can use "at now" (after you install at of course) to start a secondary script that will be allowed to start your daemon for you

(that way you can write code that works with all init systems, largely by avoiding them)

<comment><USER40> I maintain a fork of Upstart that I call startup. It integrates with udev (or busybox's uevent, or any other event source) so you can start daemons based on device events and then supervise those daemons. systemd has something similar where you can place a SYSTEMD_WANTS stanza in a udev rule and it will pull in a systemd unit, but I really dislike that model because it is hard to discover the policy that led to a unit being activated. With startup/Upstart, the policy is in the job configuration itself.

Source for startup: [https://gitlab.com/chinstrap/startup](https://gitlab.com/chinstrap/startup)

Example of the udev events in action: [https://gitlab.com/chinstrap/pinebook- pro/blob/master/etc/st...](https://gitlab.com/chinstrap/pinebook- pro/blob/master/etc/startup/setfont.conf)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER41> I guess I'll share in this thread.

\---1---

I have a OnePlus 6T with the stock ROM exclusively for my British phone number. On the 25th of December, someone from Canada logged into the GMail account used on that phone, from a OnePlus 3T.

The password was one randomly generated in KeePass (all of them are except for useless websites). They managed to change the password to the account, but seemingly nothing else, so that's just weird.

I received the notification on my other email, and recovered the account, reset the password, replaced with a new one.

\---2---

Last week, I opened up a laptop I use for storage (3 drives fit inside, perfect for backups) and noticed a network drive with a Chinese name. It disappeared when I clicked on it. The laptop is always on connected to my router and to a VPN server.

Now I need to completely wipe the phone, root and use a custom ROM, as well as wipe the laptop (and two other computers?), upgrade OpenWRT on the router and change all of the passwords I guess. Yes, I still haven't done it heh.

\---

\</comment><comment>-----> _I am curious about your comments on this._ <\</comment><comment>-----

\---

Never had anything really suspicious like this actually happen to me.

I don't even have anything good/useful on my devices, except a Keepass database with passwords to all bank accounts/emails/etc. If that's been opened, I'm a bit fucked, but I'd be receiving notifications on my phone and other emails.

<comment><USER42> Sounds like maybe a SIM swap attack? In addition to password changes I would look into Google's advanced protection program ([https://landing.google.com/advancedprotection/](https://landing.google.com/advancedprotection/)) and get U2F or FIDO2 setup on your account.

</comment></comment><comment><USER43> FYI, you could also do this with your charger. (It sends udev events.) It's a lot less likely to get weird looks.

<comment><USER44> So this project is already dead.

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> Another solution would be to just remove the battery and plug the laptop in. While this removes the portability, it is still an alternative solution.

<comment><USER46> Maybe a decade or so ago this would be a good answer. But unless you're one of those ThinkPad people who are still pulling for the X220 to make a come back.... A majority of modern laptops don't have user removable batteries.

Yes, they could still be removed in _some_ cases, but its often not for the feint of heart and not something many people would want to undertake.

<comment><USER47> Is it really the majority? Or just on macbooks and the high end lines like that? I didn't think my laptops were that old (3-5 years) and they all have removable batteries.

<comment><USER48> I hadn't thought about it, but I have a newish business class Dell and I don't think it does have a removable battery. On the other hand, I have a Dell laptop from circa 2011 and it does; in fact I got the extra large one that sticks out awkwardly.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER49>
      echo o > /proc/sysrq-trigger

(read linux/Documentation/admin-guide/sysrq.rst before you try this)

<comment><USER50> shutdown -h now or the more recent incantation (from memory) systemctl shutdown would be less violent. AFAIK it can't be stopped either, and at least it sync's and umount's filesystems properly.

<comment><USER49> Violent is the point-- shutdown might be prohibitively slow. Or it'll get stuck waiting to umount a network share. Or maybe, you want the DRAMs to go dark and start losing ASAP, I don't know. If you must, simply precede 'o' with some sequence of 's', 'e', 'u' so it'll go down hard and fast, but still a bit controlled. I find that 'u' succeeds more often if done after 'e'.

FWIW, this is just what I do with the keyboard (but more slowly) when something went wrong enough that I can't even switch to a text VT and recover. Sometimes even 'b' won't hard reset it-- which indicates everything was already hosed, or maybe just the keyboard. Presumably the umount didn't work either, but I gave it a chance.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER51> SilkRoad guy would of loved this :D

<comment><USER52> Ross Ulbricht, who was apprehended at a public library while logged in to various accounts. As I recall a plain clothes agent distracted him while others then tackled him.

("would've", not "would of")

<comment><USER53> Other English speakers I know complain about our orthography: bought, caught, draught, etc. But, yet, here we are with a "word" pronounced "of" and spelled "'ve"! Now _that's_ awful orthography!

<comment><USER54> It's not pronounced "of", it's more like "ev", exactly like the contraction of words it's made up of. Would have.

<comment><USER55> In my household I'm the English nerd, although I have no degree behind it. I'd correct my wife when she wrote "would of" but then I listened closer when she talked: She wasn't saying "would've" she was _saying_ "would of".

That's when I gave up. There are a million other reasons to love my wife, and her proper use of 'would've' wasn't one of them to begin with :)

<comment><USER56> Does your wife actually pronounce these differently? Small sample size but as far as I can tell I pronounce these identically. (CA - native speaker)

<comment><USER55> She does not. They are the same to her. We're also native speakers from the Reno NV area, which is heavily influenced by Sacramento and San Francisco language.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER57> What if someone plugs in a rubber ducky or some other kind of sophisticated USB while you turn your head for just a second?

There are USB devices that are so small, you can barely even see them in the port when plugged in.

Perhaps a hard-to-remove USB plug? (like child-proof plugs you might see in an electrical outlet)

<comment> amiga-workbench There are udev rules to defeat this kind of thing, law enforcement use USB mouse jigglers to keep computers awake for example, these can be filtered out and ignored.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> > You could just have a usb thumb drive on a retractable lanyard (think RFID > badges or DoD Common Access Cards), but what if that thin retractable cord > just snaps–leaving the USB drive snugly in-place in the laptop?

You could also just use a thicker cord.

The project, no offense to the author, could be renamed: long USB cable with a magnetic usb attachment.

> As of yesterday, that's [stolen laptop] a hard attack to defend against.

Which is just wrong; the author did not invent anything here - anyone I've known that's ever been worried about this scenario has implemented it already with <yubikey/access card/arbitrary usb>.

* extra PSA: if you're worried about this but somehow haven't already required 2FA for all your accounts and admin access on your laptop, then you should re-evaluate your threat scenarios.

<comment><USER58> 2FA doesn't matter if you're already logged in.

<comment><USER18> > extra PSA: if you're worried about this but _somehow haven't already_ > required 2FA...

I'm aware - I'm pointing out that it's extremely likely you already have a physical device you can attach to a cord/chain/braided-steel-cable and use for the "snatch and grab" scenario. And that a snatch and grab is just so unlikely compared to any other security threat imo.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER59> Er, why not just attach the laptop itself to your body? Low tech > high tech

</comment><comment><USER60> > We do what we can to increase our OpSec when using our laptops in public. > But even then, there's always a risk that someone could just steal your > laptop..."

Don't leave the house if you want to be safe.

</comment><comment><USER61> Couldn't you just pair your computer with your phone (or something that you keep on you) via blue tooth, detect the loss of signal, and then trigger whatever action you'd like to trigger?

<comment><USER44> Phone too deep in your pocket means destruction of your computer? No, thanks.

</comment></comment><comment><USER62> I'd like to see a more practical solution for removing disk encryption keys from RAM.

For example, wipe the disk encryption key from RAM, but then pause all disk IO and present some kind of UI to re-enter the encryption key to continue using the system.

Encrypting all of system RAM can also quickly be done - perhaps a kernel module which in the case of a panic encrypts all of system ram with a key derived from your disk encryption key would be handy. Then when the key is available again, ram can be decrypted and processes resumed.

<comment><USER63> That what systemd homed is supposed to enable

</comment></comment><comment><USER64> Can someone explain to me in laymen's terms what this does? It renders the motherboard inoperable? Kills the display? How do you recover from this if you ACCIDENTALLY unplug it?

<comment><USER65> It can do whatever you want it to do. The examples in the article were:

• whenever any USB drive is removed, trigger xscreensaver to lock the screen:

> _ACTION== "remove", SUBSYSTEM=="usb", RUN+="DISPLAY=:0 xscreensaver-command > -lock"_

• whenever a specific USB drive is removed, shut down the computer:

> _ACTION== "remove", SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ENV{ID_MODEL}=="Micromax_A74", > RUN+="shutdown -h now"_

<comment><USER66> Nitpick, it can do whatever you want it to do that's possible in software. You'll be disappointed if you want to have it drill a hole in your hard drive ;)

<comment><USER67> Just build a USB-powered hard-drive drill, duh.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER68> Saw a demo 20 years ago at Infosec(UK) of a company selling a dongle which with corresponding pass, acted as a proximity authentication and locking when you walked away.

Today, most laptops have cameras which can offer the same level of proximity detection if you away from the laptop. That would make this type of solution doable via software that way, albeit a bit more of a software load overhead.

But for some killcord, I'd also have an alarm.

<comment><USER69> > most laptops have cameras which can offer the same level of proximity > detection

Most people who would want a kill cord probably have the camera blocked :P

<comment><USER68> If that kill cord actually killed the laptop/drive over just shutting it down, I'd tend to agree.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER70> This is a really neat project but it's also not really a solution to anything.

First, it doesn't solve for the scenario of person pointing a gun at you and telling you to access your top secret files for them. That will defeat most forms of security and so if physical access is a concern you probably shouldn't be logging in at your local coffee shop.

Second, a thief who wants your computer for its monetary value isn't interested in its contents. Your normal drive encryption and screen timeout restrictions have you covered there. They're gonna wipe your computer, sell it, and move on.

Institutionally purchased hardware is often equipped with zero-touch provisioning (such as Apple Device Enrollment). These products can be bricked at the hardware level they moment they touch the Internet. They'll need a new logic board, i.e. new soldered on storage, i.e. they're not even necessarily worth stealing.

Third, the idea of a magnetic connector's removal locking or bricking your computer seems awfully inconvenient. That's gonna be constant false positives without a gain in security.

If you've got someone who is after you to obtain your secret company info and knows enough to cause mayhem, you've got much bigger problems than whether or not your screen is going to lock. They're also probably going to use social engineering, targeted malware and spyware, not brute force physical access.

<comment><USER71> _> it's also not really a solution to anything_

It's a solution to situations like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht#Silk_Road,_arres...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht#Silk_Road,_arrest_and_trial) , where the laptop is taken by people who (a) can legally seize it, (b) can legally search it, but (c) probably can't legally compel you to produce passwords.

(Not endorsing this usage!)

<comment><USER72> Cases like this in countries that do not have due process laws makes the use- case even more compelling.

<comment><USER70> If they don't have due process laws they can throw you in jail until you produce the decryption password, and if they turn on the computer and it's wiped they'll throw away the key.

If there is no due process, all bets are off and your best defense is to be uninteresting to authorities.

<comment><USER73> Things are not always black and / or white. The rule of law, in reality, is rather a continuous variable then a binary one.

And even if: A kill switch can simply hide / erase some things and present some weak evidence..

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER74> It reminds me of USBkill [https://github.com/hephaest0s/usbkill](https://github.com/hephaest0s/usbkill)

Its primary use is to thwart machine fuzzing and debugging using USB devices. The moment there's a change in USB state, down the machine goes.

</comment><comment><USER75> If you're using a macbook, isn't "Find my mac" enough to erase remotely?, I understand this is a faster disabling mechanism but also a bit inconvenient. I wish there was something even easier, like a tiny usb drive with a remote control

<comment><USER76> With FindMy I can erase or mark as lost my Macbook in under 20 seconds from unlocking my iPhone if needed.

<comment><USER77> Assuming the laptop is still online / comes back online to receive the wipe command...

<comment><USER78> ... and you are conscious and have your hands free :)

<comment><USER25> Where the hell do you people live!?

<comment><USER78> Used to live in Ukraine.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER79> Would this have stopped the FBI getting the Silk Road laptop? I wonder if they're looking out for these things. I know when they take computers that are running, they keep them running and powered on with a portable power supply

</comment><comment><USER80> Wow, a solution for a problem we never have to worry about in Asia. Why can't your government just crack down on theft so that people can be allowed to use their laptop wherever they want without fear?

</comment><comment><USER81> > In less than 60 seconds and with the help of a rubber ducky, the thief could > literally cause millions of dollars in damages to your organization.

Kudos for the imagination, but in real life for most developers not vendorizing and auditing their dependencies (+ downloading them all from production) is most likely to cause such havoc (regardless if dozen thousands or millions of damage)...

I imagine this might likely happen in places like security and programming language conferences, especially when you leave your belongings around unattended for a minute or two.

The ideal scenario IMHO would be to have to authorize/reject devices from connecting to your machine (and limiting the scope). I don't know much about USB-C and know it is hard, but I see Apple coming up with something like this in the future (maybe along with Apple Watch detection for quick logout - <USER2> can already use it for logging in).

</comment><comment><USER82> On systemd enabled systems, try "loginctl lock-sessions" as udev cmd. It should work on common desktop environments. If you have something custom try xss-lock to react on the lock-sessions signal.

</comment><comment><USER83> I was expecting something more like the Etherkiller: [http://www.fiftythree.org/etherkiller/](http://www.fiftythree.org/etherkiller/)

<comment><USER84> Or this [https://usbkill.com/](https://usbkill.com/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER85> Maybe a smartwatch reading the heart rate of the owner and noticing stimulation could trigger the same functionality as well.

<comment><USER4> The connection between the smartwatch and the computer would, in practice, be wireless, which is something the author wants to avoid because it's easier to hack without the victim noticing.

<comment><USER85> I'm sure with encryption there shouldn't be much worry. I think currently apple watches allow users to unlock their computers when returning.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER86> I think it should be possible to program an MCU to bruteforce the USB ids. Or buy the same usb drive.

</comment><comment><USER87> Smart. Author should productize and sell this. Small market, but almost no competition so far.

<comment><USER88> I created the exact same thing 3 years ago.

Main difference is that you don't need to configure anything with mine :P

</comment></comment><comment><USER89> ummm... ever heard of bit locker?

</comment><comment><USER19> Ross Ulbricht needed this.

</comment><comment><USER90> @OP sorry for lame question:

Does the dis connection of USB formats the laptop or just shuts it down?

</comment><comment><USER91> reminds me of a tragic death the other day where someone in a Starbucks was killed getting flung off a car while he was trying to save his laptop from robbers who grabbed his computer.

<comment><USER91> [https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/01/03/suspects-in- fat...](https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/01/03/suspects-in-fatal-laptop- theft-from-oakland-starbucks-face-murder-manslaughter-charges/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER92> There was a story not long ago about an old man who rigged up his front door to trigger a gun of some sort on unexpected entry, and ended up getting killed by it.

This really just sounds like a way to inadvertently brick your computer 999 times out of 1000. Seems like something to secure it to your person would be mostly adequate.

<comment><USER93> This specific implementation doesn't brick it. It just locks the screen (or you could make it shutdown).

<comment><USER92> or, if you actually read the article:

"As of today, we have BusKill. The BusKill solution described in this article can trigger your laptop to self-destruct if it's physically separated from you."</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: I think my company might be selling. What should I be doing to prepare? - <AUTHOR> Some recent events have led me to believe my employer is pitching the sale of our small startup. I have a small amount of equity in the company that is nearly fully vested. I know that its a long process and nothing is inevitable, but is there anything I can be doing now to be prepared for the exit in relation to my equity? I'm not concerned with being out of a job and prepping for my next gig but I'm sure others who find themselves in the same position might be.<p>I'd also love to hear anecdotal stories of sales from an employee with equity. <comment><USER2> I've worked now for three separate startup/small companies in which I had some measure of equity. In all three cases, they did some legal sleight-of-hand to reduce that value to nothing. The first time it happened, I was outraged, and researched my options to fight back (I had none). The second time, I was hopeful but unsurprised when it turned out the same as it had before. The third time, I rolled my eyes when they even mentioned "equity" and paid close attention to the salary because I knew that was the only actual real money I was ever going to get (I was right).

<comment><USER3> I have had this happen to me several times as well. This should be illegal

<comment><USER2> I think technically it is, but they count on the fact that it would cost twice as much to fight them in court than you could ever hope to get back.

<comment><USER4> If those actions constituted a tort, the court can award punitive or treble (i.e., "triple") damages (depending on the jurisdiction), plus legal fees.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Posting from a throw away account - I've recently exited a company after an acquisition. Employee payout was laughable: gourmet burgers cost more. There were tears and terminations.

If you still think that you are in a small company, you are most likely going to be screwed (imaginary valuation would come crashing down). Things to consider:

1\. Verify if you have options on equity or actual equity. If you do not have equity and you only have options, you need to look at your agreement to see what happens to non-vested or vested but non-exercised options during the liquidity event (It is possible that they get wiped out or they get bought back by the company at some very low valuation). It is possible that you would need to exercise your options ASAP.

2\. If you have equity and there's a sale in the works and you have voting rights (not all equity has voting rights ) then you will get to see and vote on the terms of the deal.

3\. If you have equity and voting rights and the terms look terrible to you ( but you think the other party _really wants for transaction to close_ and you are OK burning bridges, it is possible for you to get better terms for your shares than the general deal - a company may be willing to buy back your shares even at a premium just to make you go away )

4\. You should presume that you will be terminated by the new company. Start looking for another job now.

5\. Good luck.

<comment><USER6> > If you have equity and voting rights and the terms look terrible to you ( > but you think the other party really wants for transaction to close and you > are OK burning bridges, it is possible for you to get better terms for your > shares than the general deal - a company may be willing to buy back your > shares even at a premium just to make you go away )

This is great advice. Investors wouldn't heasitate to do this. If you own equity, you ARE an investor and shouldn't heasitate either.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I worked for a tech startup for about 18 months before we were acquired. Things weren't looking too well and a larger company in a similar industry was looking to expand. Instead of building their own, they opted to acquire our IP and five person team. We had several meetings with the senior leadership of the acquiring company and from what they told us their company was a wonderful place to work with huge prospects of success in the short term. They offered each of us on the team a meager raise and large signing bonus, payable over 18 months. Fast forward a few months and I find myself working for a more bureaucratic and mismanagement company that I thought could exist. Our small team continued to operate as a stand alone unit for a while and were the only team meeting our deadlines consistently. Eventually employees on other teams started seeing that we were doing good work, had autonomy, etc and our team doubled and then tripled in size in the span of just a few weeks. Managers that had been with the company for a long time were brought in. New team members brought there own inefficient processes from other parts of the company and before long our team was missing deadlines and generally not being productive. Once our products had been succesfully integrated into their existing suite, I left. It was hard to watch such a productive team (which we truly were) get destroyed by people who thought they knew best just because they had a few years of middle management experience behind them. I feel like next time a company is interested in acquiring something I'm working on I'll have a much better sense of the type of questions to ask, e.g., what are your current and historical retention rates? Will be be able to continue working as we have and for how long? We were also told that the company had great remote work options, and they did. Our team just wasn't allowed to use them. All in all it was a interesting experience and I certainly learned a lot.

<comment><USER8> Any chance you could cut us in on some of those questions? :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Be prepared to get a bullet any moment. When it comes to company sales, no technical person is untouchable. Even if you "know" things couldn't be done w/o you, they don't. That equity that is 'nearly fully vested' would do much better in the pockets of founders who are fully vested and don't need to share another crumb with a fungible resource. I'm not exaggerating, and not joking. Anecdotal, yes: but layoffs to keep equity out of underlings hands do happen.

</comment><comment><USER10> If I had to do it over again, to better my chances of increasing my retention bonus, I would have stayed at the job as close to the signing day as possible and then threatened to walk a week prior.

During the acquisition that I went through, we were promised that everyone was going to get great retention packages and salaries. At the end of the day, it was stock that amounted to several thousand (lol, vested over 4 years!) and my salary offer was the same. Completely laughable compared to the hype we were fed.

I was living in SF at the time. The additional amount I was offered I could have hustled part-time consulting and saved it within a few months.

I should have left.

</comment><comment><USER11> I worked for a moderately successful startup that got acquired and I had both options and grants. All vested options and existing shares were paid out as cash. Unvested options and grants were then paid out as a cash bonus on the vest dates if you were still working there.

Options were valued at sale price - exercise price. I had grants at different prices, but on average the cash value was about double the original grant values. I had been working there about 3 years. Also got a two year retention bonus worth 60% of my salary at the time of acquisition. Didn't make me rich, but it was a nice chunk of change. People who had been there longer had lower grant prices and made a LOT or money.

There isn't really anything you can do besides exercise early to try to get long term cap gains, but that's more risky than it's worth IMO, because the shares could end up valueless and you're screwed.

</comment><comment><USER12> Figure out what percentage of the company you own. Saying you have something like 50,000 options is meaningless unless you know what others own. 50,000 options could be .001% of the company or it could be 10%. You have no idea.

They'll probably hate you if you ask to see the CAP table, but that's the info you want. Don't be shocked if your options end up being less than 1% of the company even if you were one of the first 10 employees.

Personally, I was part of a 15 person angel-funded startup that sold to a private company for 30mm at the direction of a VC firm. They bought out all of my options at full value.

I had less than 1% equity. I didn't get much money but got about enough to make my salary what it would have been if I'd been working for a bigger company. That's it, but it was about what I expected and seemed fair given how my salary/options were presented to me when I was hired.

Once sold, the new company will either fire you pretty quickly (within 6 months), or will create some silly incentive plan to try to get you to stay. I stayed on with about a 20% salary increase, which brought my salary up to the market rate for a big company. I was happy with this agreement.

Be prepared for a lot of office politics and difficulty integrating with the acquiring company. This will be the hardest part. It's substantially more complicated than the financial part of the sale.

</comment><comment><USER13> You probably won't get anything much. Start looking for another job.

<comment><USER14> Indeed. The one close friend I have who participated in a successful sale of a startup said it made him a "thousandaire", so best to adjust expectations accordingly.

<comment><USER15> I have been a participant in 3 liquidity events. Each time amounted to 3-6 months of my then-salary. A nice bit of cash but hardly life-changing. And far from the promises any founders ever made... and the first one was less than I got in severance from that company a year later...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> There aren't very many concrete things you can do at this point. All I can come up with is:

\- Find a good CPA if you don't already know one, just in case your equity turns out to be worth something

\- Consider carefully whether you would stay (and for how long) if you were offered some kind of "golden handcuff" deal

\- Start thinking about what you would like to do next

</comment><comment><USER17> Shareholder/liquidity preference is very important... for example if you are VC backed and there are multiple classes of stock, eg. common vs preferred, you will probably find that preferred stock holders have payout preference. Even if you own a large chunk of common stock the purchase price might not be high enough to take care of preferred stock holders with any significant amount of money left for common shareholders. Generally, at a certain acquisition price preferred stock is converted to common and all shareholders treated equally.

Best thing is to have someone review all your stock agreements and such.

Anecdotally, the last company I worked for was eventually acquired (long after I left) for low 9 figures. Turned out the price was just enough to pay back investors and other shareholders got nothing... I imagine that felt pretty shity for folks who spent years building "equity."

</comment><comment><USER18> I went from full time to contract and failed to exercise vested options shortly before a startup I worked at exited. However, as usual the upside wouldn't have been very lucrative anyway after dilution and preference. I was hired and stayed at the acquirer where we have been given great autonomy to grow into a much larger organization, as well as good pay.

In most cases I suspect your upside as a higher ranking employee at the acquirer will be far more important than your upside from the exit itself. If you are interested in the acquirer you would do well to position yourself to get a good role there.

</comment><comment><USER19> I would suggest prepare for the interview. It could be internal interview on presale of your company. Or they could fire you and you will have to find a new job.

</comment><comment><USER20> Legal advice would be useful, at least in conjunction with any other advice.

Some lawyers charge a flat fee for a one-off consultation about questions such as yours in connection with a potential separation employment, including the "small amount" of equity you've got, any potential agreements or restrictions you may be under, etc.

</comment><comment><USER21> Seems like every comment at this stage is about getting shafted when your startup gets an exit. Other than supposed the lack of politics and more bleeding edge tech - what is the point of working at a startup if you aren't looking for an exit? (Especially for early hires)

<comment><USER22> This is the unfortunate reality. I work for startup for the fast pace, everybody-gets-to-do-a-bit-of-everything environment, but I surrendered my hopes of making an exit a while back (after being burnt, like many here).

For most intent and purpose, the Exit is mostly a legend to get very cheap and motivated labor to join in, it's important to see beyond it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> Cash is king. Get cash. Don't sign over your equity without a lawyer and or accountant reviewing to see how you're fucking yourself.

I had many friends in the Bay Area get screwed on shit like this. Good luck, your'e screwed! :-)</comment>


How Many of Your Memories Are Fake? - <AUTHOR> https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/11/how-many-of-your-memories-are-fake/281558/#?single_page=true <comment><USER2> I'm certain a lot of my memories are fake. My dad was a big slideshow guy when I was very little. He used to take a lot of photos and never made prints, he always got slides, so he could put on the slideshow and spin yarns. Any number of my memories I think were planted during these slide shows of various vacations.

<comment><AUTHOR> Right. And even very reliable honest people might get some facts very wrong after, say, 35 years. Of course, you can't even suggest this anymore.</comment></comment>


The Upshot: Where The New York Times Is Redesigning News - <AUTHOR> http://www.fastcodesign.com/3040817/the-upshot-where-the-new-york-times-is-redesigning-news

<comment><USER2> interesting that he cites the rent/own calculator as the product of the Upshot team...that calculator was published several years ago.</comment>