How we build an MVP on a budget with BizSpark and Azure - <AUTHOR> http://www.apirise.com/4-reasons-why-we-love-bizspark/ <comment><USER2> BizSpark is really great. In the article's case, they're not using Microsoft technologies, but in my case, I use Microsoft at work and I'm very comfortable with their tools.

For a side project, we'd started out with an unfamiliar stack (Grails + Postgre hosted on Amazon AWS), and kept running into roadblocks (not the tech stack's fault), but we missed some very nice enabling technologies with Microsoft software.

So, when we signed up with BizSpark, we started using Azure, and we're now leveraging the SQL geolocation capabilities (which Postgre also has), and our knowledge of .NET.

As the article says, you don't need to use the Microsoft stack, but if you're used to it, it's a HUGE enabler (we had discarded using Microsoft at first due to the perceived cost).

I'm a believer that, for an MVP, you have to keep to whichever technology you're comfortable with. In my case, it was the Microsoft stack.

<comment><USER3> Just be careful down the line. Those costs you are talking about are still there, they are only delayed because of BizSpark.

Having BizSpark did wonders to the company I'm in, but when the 3 years ended, there was a lot of hard work and even more tears because of it. BizSpark's entire reason for existence is to lock you into Microsoft products, especially their SQL server.

<comment><USER4> What were the problems you encountered?

As a potential BizSpark user my impression was that:

\- after 3 years I get to keep using the licenses I acquired, leaving only hosting costs to be concerned about

\- if I don't have enough capital/revenue to cover my hosting costs at that point it's highly likely my business is not worthwhile pursuing further anyway

\- for my particular solution I don't envision needing much server power (and what's provided is pretty powerful) so additional licensing costs are not a problem (I can see this being an issue for other businesses)

<comment><USER5> The problem is that there is always going to be a new Windows Server release, plus a new SQL Server release. Even if you keep your licenses, are you going to stay on that version for the lifespan of the system? Likely not. Then you start to pay. For the database, the OS plus SQL Server Standard is still going to be around $15K (this was around 4-5 years ago when I was involved with this). Now this is just one instance. Multiple that by multiple servers and instances and you will reach upwards of 6 figures for your costs.

I guess the numbers work out differently for cloud but I don't imagine they would be that far off. For example, if my Azure costs are $10K a month, from that cost is likely $2K-$3K the Microsoft tax. Keep scaling your VMs and servers and that margin starts to look a bit less palatable.

If you know the limits of your business, then it's probably not an issue. I think the sweet spot would be to use Postgresql for the database and Microsoft for the rest, as most of the cost is SQL Server for systems that aren't in the full Microsoft eco-system (BizTalk, SharePoint,etc.)

<comment><USER6> Licensing costs are not really an issue when you're on Azure. If your app ran fine under the BizSpark program subsidy of $150/month of azure credit then when you're out of the program you'd just have to pick up the $150/month hosting cost, not suddenly have to pay $15k+ for a MSSQL or Windows Server license.

<comment><USER5> I know that. I didn't make it explicit in my comment. The Microsoft tax I mentioned with Azure is the licensing costs. Microsoft isn't just going to give out SQL Server for free and just charge for the VMs and bandwidth. There is premium pricing for SQL Server and BizTalk and custom licensing pricing for SharePoint and Oracle software.

Being on Azure doesn't mean you get a break on the licensing costs. They just amortize the cost over the hour the VM is up.

EDIT: Fair point on the hosting cost being known and acceptable right from the start. I also don't mean to imply that you are not aware of the licensing costs, just wanted to make it clear. For real businesses, at some point it makes more sense to build their own "private cloud" and at this point these issues become relevant but for most start-ups, it's likely just not going to be an issue.

<comment><USER7> While SQL Server has and will continue to be an excellent technical option, the costs can be a drag.

That said, the work various .net-related people have out or are working on have the very real availability or promise to lift that dependency, if not provide portability, with DB choice. See RavenDB (document DB) & biggy (Postgres 1st class). Supporting this for more traditional takes on relational store is that there is increasing experience in the .net world for applying coding patterns that can help projects pivot/abstract out the data tool dependencies.

If you have a sensitivity in this area, there are options which, when calculated with the ancillary benefits of applying existing .net experience and the great MS free + cloud tools, would pan out very well for many problem spaces.

Obviously, YMMV, but if you are doing a wide spectrum of cloud + mobile, Azure is very compelling and Xamarin can become nearly as large a burden cost-wise. That total burden still can be extremely competitive and the ramp for existing .net shops a pretty clear winner. But being a C# developer has never been so promising - and it wasn't ever that awful to begin with.

If anything, the problem of coming from the old MS-dev platform-planning and having to understand the range of options and optimizing for costs around those is the weak spot.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Hey guys, Felix from Microsoft here. Some of you may know me as the guy who's working with YC companies. A quick PSA:

We sponsor YC companies with $60,000 in free Azure usage.

Get in touch with me at email@example.com if you have any questions!

</comment><comment><USER9> We used BizSpark and a MSFT stack for our first iteration of the MVP (C#, ASP.NET MVC3, ServiceStack, etc.). It always raised eye-brows in a negative way when taking meetings with VCs and Angel investors. I'm not sure why, but they almost always asked a question "why MSFT? stack" and not XYZ that all their other companies were building in. I always felt like we should leave the tech stack off our slides... And they almostnever liked the answer I gave which was something along the lines "because I could build it fastest this way"

We've since transitioned into a Python/Java/Postrgres stack. With no real complaints.

I wonder, though, if there's any stats on companies not liking to aquire tech built on MSFT vs companies built with Java. I did a project once for one of the biggest names in enterprise software security, mostly a Java shop, and they had acquired a C#-based product, and I heard nothing but gripes from the tech team about that...

At the time, one thing annoying was licensing Bizspark to run SQL server on AWS. From what I understand, this is fixed now, but back then we had to pay for a SQL Server instance, despite being part of Bizspark plan.

Another thing that I wonder, if anti-MSFT bias is a regional thing. LIke if we were based in Seattle, would it be beneficial?

For the record, I still like a lot of the MSFT stack, and it's great to see them embracing some other technologies, like say Node.JS on Azure and feel they'll do a lot to promote some of these newer OSS technologies into the enterprise world.

EDIT: one other thing, we didn't have access to Azure at the time (it was just starting out, and I don't think it was part of the program). But Azure as a hosting option for managing the MSFT server licenses and such is a pretty enticing option.

</comment><comment><USER10> Thanks for writing this. A small feedback: "The power of transformation over APIs... without the hassle." does not really convey what you do to a potential customer. People have very short attention spans and you have only a few seconds at most to convey what your service does. Most people will not scroll down to read more otherwise.

<comment><USER11> I agree. No idea what they do based on that description.

<comment><AUTHOR> Same here. Thank you for the feedback. We will try to make it clearer! :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I'm also using Bizspark and the fact that you can do everything with a 115 € (Europe) monthly budget is probably not well-known :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Yep this was my original thought. Thank you for the reply :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> That's cool, but you could also build an MVP using PHP and MySQL on cheap shared hosting or a cheap $5/month Digital Ocean instance. Unless you are on the Microsoft stack, you probably aren't saving a ton of money that you couldn't save by making different decisions.

Probably the more valuable opportunity in BizSpark would be to get any extra marketing out of the relationship with Microsoft. Being a "success story" can get you press, links, etc. which is very much more valuable than saving money on hosting.

<comment><USER6> You'd still be saving money, you can run PHP and MySQL on Azure and get enough server power to host your production app for free instead of paying a shared hosting company $5 for something only sufficient for development.

<comment><AUTHOR> yes I agree

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> A bit of topic but I can't seem access apirise.com from Turkey. Connecting via VPN works.

<comment><USER15> this is strange, we'll have a look at it although you should not have any problems accessing it from anywhere. Thanks for letting us know though.</comment></comment>


Ethicality of automatic contributions - <AUTHOR> https://habr.com/en/post/439896/ <comment><USER2> I've thought about automating my Facebook "Happy Birthday!" messages, but that seemed like the act of a evildoer.</comment>


Apple Will Never Replace Darwin With Linux - <AUTHOR> http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2009/6/26/134033/785

<comment><USER2> Why would anyone even ask such a question? I know no such Linux user.

If Apple did use Linux or any other GPL'ed kernel, they would probably have to publish enough source code to enable people to run all of OSX on generic hardware.

</comment><comment><USER3> Linux seems to be a kernel optimized for performance at almost any cost. This is a reasonable goal, it just means that my window manager at work (or any other interactive thing) comes to a crawl if I'm not careful with what I run.

This simply doesn't happen on Mac OS X, _although_ a given application can still bring _itself_ to its knees. And technically throughput per processor may be less optimal than Linux, but it's not obvious to me that this is a problem that needs solving. For one thing, firing off a bunch of compile runs with GCC on my Intel Mac is perfectly smooth, and I can still click on things; whereas, at work, I may have to go for coffee before I can click on my next E-mail message when doing a similar compile.

Apple's multi-core strategy is also among the clearest and most successful that I've seen to date. They may actually meet the challenges of interactive responsiveness and total throughput with _one_ system design.

<comment><USER4> Are you certain it's the Linux kernel crippling your window manager and not a lack of ram or proper driver support?</comment></comment>


Receiving NOAA Weather Images with SDR (2013) - <AUTHOR> http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-receiving-noaa-weather-satellite-images/ <comment><USER2> I did the same thing, but wrote considerably less on the topic, back in 2012.

Definitely fun little devices to play with.

[http://robotrising.org/2012/10/capturing-weather- satellite-i...](http://robotrising.org/2012/10/capturing-weather-satellite- images-using-a-homebrew-antenna/)

</comment><comment><USER3> Is this still possible? I remember reading somewhere that now it is encrypted or something like that, but can't find any sources right now?

</comment><comment><USER4> Anyone is interested/capable/willing in porting SDR Sharp to Linux (and developing an open source version of this tool?)

<comment><USER5> SDR Sharp recently removed access to their source. I'm not sure of the source license of previous releases.

<comment><USER6> The source used to even work under Mono [http://rtlsdr.org/softwarelinux](http://rtlsdr.org/softwarelinux)</comment></comment></comment>


Aaron Cheung Explains His FlyMaids Connection - <AUTHOR> http://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-cheung-brings-homejoy-customers-to-fly-maids-2015-10 <comment><USER2> I find it odd that there still hasn't been any comment on this from YC partners. Or if there has, can someone link?</comment>


Apple uses water damaged boards in Apple refurbished devices - <AUTHOR> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TZ_ZGCLaiA <comment><USER2> If water-damaged boards are not worthy of rework and repair, then what is? Crushed or shattered PCBs? Torched battery units?

I buy exclusively refurbished stuff from Apple. Never had to use the 1-year warranty (which comes free with every refurb), but I sleep better knowing it's there.

If a reworked unit doesn't crap out at Apple's bench test, and it doesn't crap out after a year of use, and you save 10-20% off retail, what exactly is the issue?

</comment><comment><USER3> Water on a circuit board does not equal damage. Long ago I repaired two-way radios that where submerged in a flood. Clean up and they worked fine for years.

<comment><USER4> Water on a board while it is running so components are deformed due to heat from shorts does equal damage. Also removing material to replace a component and then not replacing the material means the device is not 'as new'.

Also, damage does not preclude repairs. If you merely cleaned radios after a flood and then they worked fine for years, you did not repair them, you cleaned them.

These problems can happen to any company but as Apple is doing its best to hinder the work of 'unauthorized' repair services they better be sure their authorized repair services is up to it.

<comment><USER3> Depends on who makes them. Motorola's are some tough radios. Only thing needed replacing were some diodes, then tuned up and out the door.

No Apple fan here (actually the opposite), but I'm with them on this.</comment></comment></comment>


Climate Change and the Integrity of Science - <AUTHOR> http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5979/689

<comment><USER2> >The good news is that smart and effective actions are possible

I'm not sure how relevant this is but my impression is that many or most environmentalists oppose both nuclear power and research into geo-engineering.

</comment><comment><USER3> I for one welcome our new scientific overlords

</comment><comment><USER4> _...Many recent assaults on climate science and, more disturbingly, on climate scientists by climate change deniers are typically driven by special interests or dogma..._

Applied generally, this is called discounting the competition -- whatever he says he has his own reasons for saying it.

Applied specifically, this is called an ad hominem attack - we do not need to listen to him because his is some bad label.

Sure, there are cases where the competition is lying and the man is paid off by the industry. But the point is that if you can't reason out their arguments for yourself -- if you need somebody labeling people before you ever hear them -- then either the subject is not worthy -- or you aren't.</comment>


Ask HN: Self-Study or Take a Class in Programming? - <AUTHOR>

I'm a college student pursuing liberal arts studies (econ/political science).  I know the basics of CSS and HTML but I want to eventually be able to work on web applications.  I've read a lot here about various different learning methods with past Ask HN posts and I'm curious if any of you have opinions on what's better for a new programmer, the classroom environment or self-studying.
The introductory courses at my university are taught with Java.  As my academic aims lie outside of CS (and may change depending on my future programming experience), I thought it might be advantageous to learn programming extracurricularly through OpenCourseWare.  Have any of you had experience with both?  What did you find to be better?  If you had the opportunity to take a classroom course, would you?
Thanks to all of you. <comment><USER2> I was on the same route as you (in arts) however, recently I switched to Computer Science and math and took arts as extracurricular instead. If you really want to be good at programming it is probably best to take programming classes because it forces you to focus and learn faster. Hacking by yourself might be fun with no pressure, but you will need to fill a lot of gaps all by yourself (unless you have been hacking for a long time, you probably don't even need a cs degree). Then again, since you want to do web application, it doesn't need a lot of the theory that a cs degree demands. So you might want to see if your school offers programming intensive classes and try those. The reason I switched is because my school restrict arts students from taking math and cs courses (plus I didn't enjoy arts courses very much). If your school has no such restriction you can probably consider taking lots of programming classes.</comment>


Strictly analogue: Polaroid's past, present and future - <AUTHOR> https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/18/strictly-analogue-polaroids-past-present-and-future-a-photo-essay <comment><USER3> Strictly analogue?

"Strictly analogue" talk for instant photography is needless fetishism.

I've owned a Polaroid SNAP* camera for over two years, and made hundreds of shots with it. It _never_ fails to impress.

The pictures come out right away, and when you tell people "And by the way, it's a sticker, put it on a postcard", their eyes _invariably_ light up.

Yes, it's a digital camera with a thermal printer inside (like one that prints receipts, but in color). No, nobody gives a damn about it being digital, the only thing that matters is that you press a button - a picture comes out. And it doesn't have a screen because _it doesn 't need one_.

For all that, it's half the size and half the cost per print of a Fuji Instax Mini, which means I just throw it in my shoulder bag and forget about it until I need it.

Yes, it can save the JPEG as well. But on my last trip, I didn't put a memory card in. Several people appreciated that when I explained it to them.

In the end, "analogue" is not the thing that people _love_ about instant photography. It's the _instant_ part, (regarding the paper print that comes out), the lack of screens to glare at, maybe the anticipation aspect, and not thinking about pictures going to Facebook right away. For

And - in case of ZINK-based cameras - the fact that they're stickers.

My point is that the Impossible Project, however beloved (and yes, I've shot that as well), is not the _future_. And I won't speak of the future, but a decent chunk of _present_ instant photography - Polaroid in particular - <USER2> _digital_.

And this digital present is great. Someone should tell the article authors about it.

* Kodak Printomatic is, essentially, the same camera (which I also own), made by the same company, and compatible with Polaroid ZINK paper.</comment>


Finding or Keeping a Tech Job - <AUTHOR> http://on-ruby.blogspot.com/2009/07/finding-or-keeping-tech-job-interview.html <comment><USER2> Chad is right when he said that "it's scarier to tackle the big stuff."

The urge to work is the answer. Another thing is freeing your self into focusing for another software.

One cool post. I have learned a lot from it.</comment>


GTD guru David Allen goes digital - <AUTHOR> http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/16/smallbusiness/getting_things_done_goes_digital.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2009071704 <comment><USER2> This article should be called "Some cool new GTD apps". David Allen was "digital" when he published his book. He purposely made GTD implementation- agnostic, and personally used a Palm pilot. He sold (maybe still sells) a plugin for Outlook to make it more GTD-friendly.</comment>


The definition of explicit among software developers - <AUTHOR> http://jbtherookie.wordpress.com/

<comment><USER2> Expected process flow should _never_ be handled by exceptions. They're slow, ugly, and often non-deterministic.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, it makes sense!

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> A single-post blog where a 'rookie' tries to give a seasoned developer advice?

I'm with the "other developer" all the way on this.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for your response, although I expected some guidance.</comment></comment>


Freelancing - One Year In - <AUTHOR> http://fullstack360.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/freelancing-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/

<comment><USER2> Great article. I'm on the end of the bootstrapped startup, not the freelancer, but I've read so many blogs and heard many podcasts with freelancers. I'm trying to be the best client possible because I want to work with top-knotch talent on a repeated basis. It's very hard to find great developers and designers because they're often booked solid (because they can pick and choose their clients).

</comment><comment><USER3> Thanks for this, I'm gearing up to move into freelancing myself either this year or next, so I'm glad to read about other people's experiences wherever I can!</comment>


The Founder's Guide to Emotions - <AUTHOR> https://www.atrium.co/blog/founders-guide-emotions/ <comment><USER2> We all know about vanity metrics. Sometimes startups consume themselves with vanity goals when things aren't going well. Why? Maybe to feel some sense of accomplishment? It's harder to admit failure. Maybe the CEO saying I'm bored is a forcing function that will work as well as saying we have a month of cash left?</comment>


New Video of F-117s Flying Out of Tonopah Despite Their Fates Being Sealed - <AUTHOR> http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/22487/new-video-of-f-117s-flying-out-of-tonopah-emerges-despite-their-fates-being-sealed <comment><USER2> One of the closest experiences to flying this thing came in 1991, in the form of "F-117A Stealth Fighter" PC game, made by MicroProse. It was a masterpiece for its time in terms of the detailed console one had to learn to fly this. If you never play the game, you should just consider flipping through the incredible manual: [http://www.abandonia.com/files/extras/25631_game_extra_1.pdf](http://www.abandonia.com/files/extras/25631_game_extra_1.pdf)

The game and the manual had a ton of jargon that one had to learn to play the game, adding to the feeling of being in a real sim :) The section on evasion and defense systems was especially charming (Basically, this game was a dream for a kid who was into PC games and flying sims). The paper version that came with the box explained tons of small details about the plane e.g. how radar absorption paint works (I learned later from a documentary that F-117 had to be repainted after every mission, making maintenance very expensive).

Two highlights of the gameplay were: a) landing on an aircraft carrier and b) learning capabilities of different types of missiles and how to deploy them (i.e. one was forced to read the manual!).

When I hear about F-117, I can't help remember this hidden-gem PC game.

Relevant links:

1) Steam: [https://store.steampowered.com/app/328920/F117A_Nighthawk_St...](https://store.steampowered.com/app/328920/F117A_Nighthawk_Stealth_Fighter_20/)

2) Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-117A_Nighthawk_Stealth_Fight...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-117A_Nighthawk_Stealth_Fighter_2.0)

<comment><USER3> There was a similar game with the F/A-18. It had a 250 page manual. I read that whole thing. It was probably the most I read when I was 14.

<comment><USER4> If you still interested in that kind of thing. Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) recently released the F/A-18C Hornet: [https://www.airdailyx.net/article/f-a-18c-hornet-released- fo...](https://www.airdailyx.net/article/f-a-18c-hornet-released-for-digital- combat-simulator-world/)

Here is a video of a tutorial on CASE 1 carrier landings in the Hornet: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuigBLhtAH8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuigBLhtAH8)

Some of the DCS planes are study sim level (The A-10C Warhog, The KA-50 BlackShark, Mirage 2000, Viggten etc.) and the Hornet is going to join them (It is currently in beta and not complete).

"Study Sim" here means that you could learn the game using the real life documentation for the real aircraft. (Although they do have game specific guides).

A cheap'ish HOTAS (EDIT: See llimllib's comment below, the last link has examples. A Thrustmaster T-16000M is about 100 bucks ) is all you need harware wise.

<comment><USER5> I played DCS A-10C a few years ago. It's such an incredibly detailed sim that I barely managed to do anything more than get the plane started and in the air.

It would've been much easier if I had a couple of touch screens to simulate the cockpit controls. Trying to click on all the buttons or remember the keyboard shortcuts was impossible.

<comment><USER4> Most of us just use the mouse and click around the cockpit (Along with a HOTAS Joystick / Throttle setup).

When it comes to keyboard shortcuts I think the only one I use is the G key to raise / lower the landing gear.

There are simple aircraft (Known as FC3) that don't have clickable cockpits and can be started up with like 5 keyboard buttons.

I would still say you need a Joystick and Throttle though.

<comment><USER5> I did have a joystick and throttle at the time from playing FSX, MS Combat Flight Simulator, and Battlefield 3. I just found it a bit overwhelming to try and fly and click on all the cockpit buttons at the same time.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Got to see one in person at an airshow with my dad back in the late 90s. It was in an random hanger we were checking out. The main door was opened maybe five feet with a gate in front of it and guards were supervising people looking in. We had no idea what to expect. I will never forget looking around the door and there it was, gave me chills. It was the coolest thing I have ever, or will ever see.

As is hackernews tradition, I will now recommend "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich, fantastic book.

<comment><USER7> I saw one at EAA Airventure 1991. It was flanked by armed guards and, if I recall properly, portions were covered with tarps. It was quite a thing to see. The guard detial definitely made for a vivid memory.

<comment><USER8> I was at the big RIAT air show in England earlier this month and the pair of USAF F-15s had armed guards whereas the Special Operations Wing Herk, Osprey and Pave Hawk were open for public viewing. That seemed somewhat back-to- front.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> A bloke I was talking to had an interesting theory as to why it was labeled the F-117, despite being a ground attack aircraft rather than a fighter, and the number being out of sequence (everyone was expecting an F-19.

Around the same time as the F-117 aircraft was being developed, Pratt & Whitney PW2000 engine was being developed, which went on to be used in the C-17. The PW2000 was designated by the USAF as the F117 engine. By labelling the F-117 aircraft with the same designation, they were able to hide the development in plain sight. If anyone heard or saw anything about the F-117, they'd assume it was related to the engine, rather than the secret stealth aircraft.

I've never read anything on the internet regarding this theory, but it's an interesting theory nonetheless.

<comment><USER4> I remember seeing a documentary that had an interview with someone involved in the development who said it was designated F (Fighter) instead of B (Bomber) because it handled more like a fighter than a bomber so they wanted fighter pilots rather than bomber pilots.

No fighter pilot would have applied for the B-117 so F it was.

Don't really believe it but it is a funny thought.

<comment><USER5> It is an interesting thought, with some precedence. The F-111 Aardvark and the F-105 Thunderchief were labelled as fighter aircraft, but only ever used as bombers.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Fun fact: The F-117 looks like a low-poly model on an underpowered computer because that's exactly what it is. Optimizing the shape to minimize radar cross-section took a whole lot of math, and it got too complex for '70s-era supercomputers unless you stuck with flat surfaces.

The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber was curvier because they had better computers by then.

</comment><comment><USER10> If anyone is interested, F-117's are on display at Blackbird Park at Palmdale, CA, Nellis Air Force Base north of Las Vegas, Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, and Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Serbia (only portions of aircraft).

<comment><USER11> >(only portions of aircraft)

The joke being that it was shot down

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk#Comba...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk#Combat_loss)

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> The Chinese got something amazing out of the junk they bought from the F-117 shot down in Bosnia. This has to be something at least a little like when the U2 went down in USSR. Whatever they got, and reverse engineered, and are putting into their F-35 knock-offs, it has "us" worried, and we have to have tried-and-true countermeasures in place for when China uses those against our assets, or our allies in the next few years.

Politics and "sealed fates" are strange bedfellows.

</comment><comment><USER13> Why is it so difficult to put them in museums?

<comment><USER14> Well, mostly the process of stripping their low-RCS paint.

[http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/4729/the-toxic-death- pa...](http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/4729/the-toxic-death-paint-scheme- was-the-f-117-nighthawks-most-outrageous)

<comment><USER15> Soda blasting? That's a ubiquitous process being performed literally all the time.

Yeah, blasting, grinding, cutting, forging, and dozens of other industrial processes are nasty and messy, but that isn't the hassle. The problem here is secrecy and finding shops with a large enough blasting bay (there are thousands of auto body shops with bays for blasting full size trucks and other large vehicles - literally 15 on Google Maps within half an hour of me) and having laborers with top-secret clearance to do the work. All so 1970s tech can stay a secret.

<comment><USER16> I didn't realize full size trucks had gotten over 60 feet long and 40 feet wide.

<comment><USER17> They're not but the point was that the size isn't all that special. A shop that blasts and paints bulldozers could do it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> For those who haven't heard of them before, people might find the Janet flights interesting:

[https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=jan...](https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=janet+flights&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8)

DoD commuter flights between Las Vegas and Groom Lake.

</comment><comment><USER19> The web page you were trying to visit is not accessible in your country. What a shame. I live in Bulgaria, Europe.

<comment><USER20> That's curious, loads fine in my EU country, there's only a GDPR interstitial.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> geoblocked here :( getting redirected to [https://geoscripts.meredith.services/public/html/no- access.h...](https://geoscripts.meredith.services/public/html/no-access.html)

</comment><comment><USER22> As a child of the 80s and 90s, I sort of miss the public unveiling of secret aircraft. It seems like there hasn't been anything matching the mystery of the B-2 or F-117 in a long time.

<comment><USER23> Yeah today it's PRISM and Stuxnet.

But less sarcastically, there was that stealth helicopter destroyed during the Bin Laden raid, but I haven't seen much talk about it since.

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> So, what's with the retirement of proven older aircraft in spite of the F35?

<comment><USER25> I would guess that anti-stealth technology has also developed since it first flew. I wonder if the recovery of the wreckage of the F117 shot down over Bosnia can be assumed to have revealed ways to counter its technology?

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> My guess is that they are still a useful platform to tear new radars against.

<comment><USER27> That is the thesis explicitly put forth in the middle of the article.

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Have these planes ever been used in real combat?

<comment><USER29> Desert Storm, Bosnia, and Panama IIRC.</comment></comment>


The technology behind Convore - <AUTHOR> http://eflorenzano.com/blog/post/technology-behind-convore/

<comment><USER2> Interesting that tornado wasn't mentioned along with node.js. Any reasons why?

<comment><AUTHOR> That is exactly what I am curious about. Also later I figured that the Hacker news thread for this already exists: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2228137>

Sorry for duplicating this.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> funny how the screenshot has an image title of "Sign Up Fooooool!" <https://convore.com/></comment>


Janitor Monkey from NetFlix zu delete unused cloud instances - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/Netflix/SimianArmy/wiki/Janitor-Home

<comment><AUTHOR> The tool shall clean up unused cloud instances, e.g. AWS.

To me this sounds like a really bad idea: If you don't log in after 3 days, Janitor Monkey will delete that EC2 instance.

But Janitor Monkey would be a great companion to Chaos Monkey I guess...</comment>


You are the representative of an alien high civilization... - <AUTHOR>

... who want to buy the planet earth to exploit its resources - who would you talk - or who do you think owns the earth <comment><USER4> I would just send nanomachines to disassemble and process the materials and dismantle the planet according to my needs.

If I were a member of a space faring civilization many million years older than mankind, there is a huge chance I would regard humans as high as humans regard bacteria. Or insects.

You don't think twice before cleaning your floor with disinfectant, do you?

<comment><AUTHOR> \--I would regard humans as high as humans regard bacteria--

but this is the question - you are assuming that -humans- own the earth - <USER2> is not clear - as another poster mentioned - he would deal with china - <USER3> state - or a corporation -bp- and even perhaps the -bacteria- that humans have a hard time controlling

<comment><USER4> They wouldn't deal with humans the same way we wouldn't deal with bacteria.

From a very advanced - and very alien - civilization's point of view, we are nothing more than nice sources of complex carbon chemistry.

Our only chance would be if we, somehow, reminded them of what they were eons ago so as to elicit some empathy.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This is a trick question, right? Presumably a _high civilization_ wouldn't be simply buying up rich, sustainable, highly bio-diverse planets and just consuming them; and if it were, it's hard to see what point there would be in having a conversation with one of the soon-to-be-doomed (or at least orphaned) inhabitants beforehand.

<comment><AUTHOR> Good point. But no, not a trick question. You are sent by an alien civilization to find out the contact "person" as defined in legal documents =person=corporation=a natural person or a state= to contact to buy the earth.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> You could look to China as an example; a country that has re-entered the world economy fairly abruptly and is looking to acquire raw materials.

They might follow their lead and do deals with countries like Australia, Canada and Russia or they could just acquire stock in corps like BHP Billiton or BP.

So it would boil down to stock trades and board meetings.</comment>


Kickstarter: Control your sprinklers with your smart phone - <AUTHOR> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/173231925/lono-sprinkler-controller

<comment><USER2> Is this really worth investing though?

I've been working on an Arduino based garden automator for the past few months and one of the things I'd like to see is some higher-level automation. There are soil moisture sensors that can be added so now you no longer need to 'schedule' it, it will just happen. Add a real time clock and you can make sure watering only occurs in the morning to avoid unnecessary evaporation.

My initial opinion of this will be that of HarvestGeek (Which I'm a backer of) and other irrigation systems from Kickstarter: they fail to deliver or are never funded. ([http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1408853060/a-cloud- compu...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1408853060/a-cloud-computing- based-sprinkler-controller), [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/22seeds/greenbox- smart-i...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/22seeds/greenbox-smart- irrigation-for-everyone/), [http://harvestgeek.com/forums/forums/ask-your- questions/topi...](http://harvestgeek.com/forums/forums/ask-your- questions/topics/when-where-will-harvestgeek-be-available)).

That being said, I need to hurry up with my project before the market becomes saturated.

</comment><comment><USER3> I'm still waiting for xeriscape landscaping to take off outside the American Southwest. Hopefully it won't be as a necessity when we run out of water, period.

 _Xeriscaping and xerogardening refer to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation_. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping)

<comment><USER4> Here in the Midwest, you can't stop the lawn from growing beautifully on its own, at least in May thru July.

You can take an abandoned field and mow it once and it will look good. Maybe not great, but nice.

Watering only gets you from 75% nice to 100% gorgeous.

<comment><USER5> Yeah, a bed of rocks will grow weeds in anywhere with a reasonable climate, which means your xeriscape is not low effort anymore.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> > _Lono includes bluetooth 4.0 (LE) so the Lono app will be able to recognize > the device by proximity (no pairing required). This will make setup of the > device a snap– especially on iOS 7 which has an API to automatically setup > wifi access._

Does anyone have any additional information on this? I would think if you're going to send over your wifi credentials, there should be some pairing involved.

</comment><comment><USER6> This seems like overkill. [http://www.amazon.com/Orbit-91213-One-Dial-Garden- Digital/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/Orbit-91213-One-Dial-Garden- Digital/dp/B001RCTWZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381424016&sr=8-1&keywords=sprinkler+timer) works phenomenally for 99% percent of cases IMO.

<comment> jack-r-abbit None of the 6 or 7 watering zones I have are attached to a hose. It is all underground with valves and what not. That you linked to isn't really going to work with most underground sprinkler systems... which I am going to suspect account for more than 1% of the cases. I've used those types on one off watering zones and they do work. But I don't think that covers 99% of the watering people do.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Being from Utah, I love seeing useful technologies come out of our oft forgotten tech center.</comment>


A Presentation Without Stories Is a Lecture - <AUTHOR> http://mindfulpresenter.com/mindful-blog/a-presentation-without-stories-is-a-lecture

<comment><USER2> This title is worth its weight in gold! So true!

I no longer present with words - but just with photos, images to help me tell my story. I also use props - great for pitching.

The guys at Instagram never had a pitch deck - they just dragged in a prototype that told a story....</comment>


Open Letter to Hacker News Community - <AUTHOR> http://www.volcanicmarketing.com/hacker-news.php

<comment><USER2> Definitely a nice try, your enthusiasm is appreciated but this is the wrong audience for your widget. My home page is about:blank, I imagine this, custom pages, and netvibes/google are the popular homepages and I can't see why anyone would switch to your thing..

Honestly I suspect you've been ripped off. The idea of a mediocre homepage being seen as a gift just seems incredibly fake to me and would only work on very computer unsavvy people. You're paying money to promote someone else's widget? Are you doing this just for pagerank? Or do you get a cut of the advertising money?

<comment><AUTHOR> Kevin, I hear your concerns. However, if you take a closer look, you'll find this is not what you think it is. In any case, thanks for responding. ~ mel

>> Definitely a nice try, your enthusiasm is appreciated but this is the wrong audience for your widget.

I couldn't disagree more. Ponder Pearls has a content library that is very useful for the HN community, many of whom I've noticed are entrepreneurs like myself. Sales & success tips from Brian Tracy can be valuable in closing deals. Positive thoughts from successful innovators can help motivate someone who might be going through a bit of a financial roller coaster in launching their startup. I could go on and on.

>> My home page is about:blank, I imagine this, custom pages, and netvibes/google are the popular homepages and I can't see why anyone would switch to your thing.

Blank home pages work for some people. I personally used to use Google.com. I switched because you can't really get a lot of the positive content such as sales & success tips from Brian Tracy's book, quotes from The Peaceful Warrior, etc. This is like iGoogle/Netvibes/etc without ADD. It offers small bits of wisdom from some very positive people.

>> Honestly I suspect you've been ripped off. The idea of a mediocre homepage being seen as a gift just seems incredibly fake to me and would only work on very computer unsavvy people.

A lot of my clients use this and they like it. I figured you all would like it too. Take a quick peak. If you don't like it, no biggie. Just offering a gift which I think you'll find valuable. Chances are you'll love it if you try it.

>> You're paying money to promote someone else's widget? Are you doing this just for pagerank? Or do you get a cut of the advertising money?

There are no ads on the site or the desktop version. I pay for this so I can do something nice for my clients and stay in front of them in a positive way. My clients get positive thoughts. I get their loyalty. Ponder Pearls gets money from me. Win-win-win.

Think of it this way, it's like getting daily coaching from wise people.

Why am I "promoting" it on HN? I like the community. I hope it's not too hard to believe? lol No hidden agenda Kevin, promise. Anyway, I'm going to go knock out. It's 4am here in Cali.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: OSS library to "apizize" your app? - <AUTHOR>

I'm building an open source library that can apizize any function in your backend just by writing an XML element in a configuration file. It will handle not only the response, but also dispatch the requests. You don't have to deal with formats, authentication and client libraries: it's all handled by the library.
Any thoughts?
Thx. <comment><USER2> Yeah actually It would make me save some time when integrating different backend parts together. When it comes to integration it's definitely a mess dealing with different services and an intermediate layer, if well written, could be the right solution.

</comment><comment><USER3> -1 for XML configuration, +1 for automation. There are some ripe candidates for shared libraries; auth, routing requests, and serialization chief among them.

I'm also curious about integration--what's the binding to the backend?

<comment><AUTHOR> I was thinking of implementing first a PHP library, and annotations are not so popular among the PHP community. The binding is achieved through reflection on the functions configured. Different http methods can be configured for every function, and custom complex objects (like a model class) are supported in the response. I plan to add Ruby support with an annotation based configuration as a next step.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> what?</comment>


Go Experience Report for Generics: Google Metrics API - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@sameer_74231/go-experience-report-for-generics-google-metrics-api-b019d597aaa4 <comment><USER2> This is the kind of report Russ Cox asked for, for evaluating the use cases for generics. I'm glad they're being produced.

</comment><comment><USER3> I think it is worth noting that Sameer Ajmani is the manager for the Go team. While some people like to throw around strawman arguments about the Go team not liking / not seeing the point of generics, they do have first-hand experience that the difficulties from their decision to (at least so far) exclude generics from the language. And if you have a similar experience report; please share it. I think the team wants to get generics "right", but it's a difficult design problem (compiler complexity, compiler speed, binary size, ease of use, fitting in with the language, being simple enough) so feedback will help them understand the problem better.

</comment><comment><USER4> I reported - in reasonable detail - a similar case study, in Jan 2014: [http://oneofmanyworlds.blogspot.in/2014/01/another-go-at- go-...](http://oneofmanyworlds.blogspot.in/2014/01/another-go-at-go- failed.html).

It was similar in that the combinations of types quickly led to a ballooning of concrete types that had to be implemented. And, not having those concrete types led to an unacceptably high number of type assertions!

Generics would have solved the problem succinctly, while preserving programmer intent.

</comment><comment> goodbye- Or create a struct that holds all anticipated values as pointers. Create setters. Yes the api will be different from the other languages involved but the other languages have generics.

In other words there is a solution to the problem that doesn't require generics at all.</comment>


The Popularity of the 4.7″ iPhone - <AUTHOR> https://david-smith.org/blog/2019/06/24/the-popularity-of-the-4-dot-7-inch-iphone/ <comment><USER2> >iOS 13 drops support for the iPhone 5S, 6 and 6+. These iPhones currently account for 17% of my userbase.

A shame to see. I like my SE and will own one for as long as Apple allows, but designers are already forgetting to account for the 320 screen width. I see it with increasing regularity, in apps and on the web. I'd imagine that this will only accelerate once the SE is the only 4" screen left.

I don't get it! My hands are probably bigger than 95% of all humans, and I don't think a phone needs to be much bigger than the SE.

<comment><USER3> The 4.7" screen is _not_ the SE. The 4" screen is what's on the SE, 5C, 5S, and 5, and makes up just 11% of these users.

Yes, 17% of these users are using the 4.7" screen, which is what's in the 6, 6S, 7, and 8.

The iPhone X and XS have a larger screen dimension in inches but the physical size of the phone is roughly the same thanks to a better screen to body ratio.

When we see 5 and 6 inch phones, but with higher screen to body ratio, some of us seem to mistake this with a phone that is too large to hold.

So what I'm saying is, no, Apple isn't deprecating the 4.7" screen size. Not in any way shape or form. The iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and 5S are being dropped for architectural and performance reasons. The iPod touch just received a refresh and should indicate that Apple will still support the 4" screen size for at least some amount of time.

My final piece of advice is to just get a PopSocket, it makes your phone way easier for single hand usage. There's no need to be stuck using a phone as tiny as the iPhone SE. Customers do not prefer it, it was not popular, otherwise we would still see that form factor.

<comment><USER4> > Customers do not prefer it, it was not popular, otherwise we would still see > that form factor.

Customers loved iPhone SE, both because it was cheap and because of its size.

<comment><USER3> Customers who bought it loved it. It's an excellent phone.

But it was not popular in terms of volume. If you need any evidence of this, just look for Android phones with a screen under 4.5" containing a Qualcomm 825 CPU or better.

Actually, try and find any Android phone sold by any US cellular carrier under 5", never mind 4.5". This is not just an Apple-style opinionated decision, the whole market has spoken on this.

My honest belief is that people stopped buying small phones when the screen size trade-off didn't save them any significant money. I also believe that some portion of people who are vocal about the inevitable, eventual disappearance of the 4" screen aren't necessarily even using these small phones, but aren't happy about their disappearance out of some kind of principal or nostalgia.

I don't know that any of us would agree to use a 15" 1024x768 display again, even if it was free. I think it's the same concept.

<comment><USER5> If "the market has spoken", it seems like its words were dictated by the manufacturers.

As a consumer I don't remember even being given the _option_ of buying any small phones (besides the now discontinued iPhone SE) for the last handful of years.

> I also believe that some portion of people who are vocal about the > inevitable, eventual disappearance of the 4" screen aren't necessarily even > using these small phones

I'm using my SEs as much as possible, but due to the limitations of iOS it's not feasible for me to use them as my primary work phone. This means I can choose between carrying two phones, carrying one that's too large, or significantly reducing my access to work resources on the go.

<comment><USER6> For me it's a feature combo that's missing. Make a new SE, bump the price up $100, but give it a camera close to as good as the Plus phones, and that's my next phone, for sure. I _only_ got the 7+ over the 7 for the camera, and if there'd been an SE-sized phone with the same camera I'd have bought that instead of either bigger option.

[EDIT] actually I suspect this is a common reason for purchasing larger phones and the phone makers know this, and are using the large-size-better-camera pairing to charge me $300-500 more for the better camera, instead of $100.

<comment><USER7> FWIW the 4" iPhone 5s and SE are the last iPhones without a camera bump. Clean look.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> From the initial comments here it seems like some of us are mistaking the 4.7" iPhone screen size as one found in the iPhone SE.

That is not the case. The 4.7" screen refers to the iPhone 6, 6s, 7, and 8.

The iPhone 5, 5S 5C, and SE have the 4" screen and represents 11% of these users.

The 4.7" screen most definitely lives on and is essentially the same general dimensions as the iPhone X and XS, with extra inches attributed to increased screen to body ratio.

</comment><comment><USER8> Prices is a big deal these days. Most iPhones X derivitives are hitting $1000 real fast. For those of us that don't want to pay $29.99/mo just to rent a phone for 2 years and would prefer to buy outright that's cost prohibitive.

Also all the big phones barely fit in pants pockets. For males, maybe, but for females, forget about it - 50% of the phone sticks out of the back pocket.

5.5" and more phones are too big to be a phone, and too small to be a useable tablet.

<comment><USER9> Women more often have hand bags to carry the phones in. If I carried a purse I'd probably like a bigger phone too.

<comment><USER10> Why don't you carry a purse? They've been making "man purses" for a while now... and fanny packs are fashionable again.

<comment><USER11> I carry what could be called a purse (I call it a purse). Its pretty sweet. Bring on the pizzabox sized phones, I am ready!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I own 2 iPhone SE, that I rotate whenever I break a screen. Yesterday I also had the battery replaced on both of them. I don't do this for cost reasons, I do it because I much prefer that size device and Apple won't sell it to me anymore.

This strategy will work but will eventually require me to stop receiving os/security updates which is a real problem.

<comment><USER13> I have the iPhone 7. At work, everyday, there comes a point when I can't listen to and charge the phone at the same time. And I curse Apple for it everyday.

I finally got my mom an iPhone 7 and took her iPhone SE. I use the iPhone SE with a hotspot off the iPhone 7 and listen and charge it at the same time. I pick up the phone and I admire it every time. Its just the perfect machine. Almost reminds me of the last non-touchbar MacBook Pro. It's like beating a dead horse at this point, but looking at how they went from the SE form factor to the 7, I always say to myself "what were they thinking?". Maybe we've come to expect too much from Apple. They have been making life easy for a while but when they go the other way, I think the criticism is warranted.

<comment><USER14> Go hold a 4S.

Pinnacle of industrial design. Even the bottom speaker holes are symmetrical.

<comment><USER13> Oh I have. I used to sell those. I was anti-iPhone back then but I admired the design. Sigh. I hope they release something that cool again. Imagine a 4s expanded to a SE. dreams.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I don't doubt that some portion of the iPhone user base really loves the 4.7" iPhone, but I think the author's premise is based on the assumption that the device that people use is the device that people love/want. Note that if this assumption is incorrect, it could be wrong in either direction: there may be a lot of people who are using 5.5" devices and would prefer a 4.7" device, but there could easily be more people who own/use a 4.7" device and would prefer a 5.5" device and simply haven't upgraded yet.

</comment><comment><USER16> We could segment it into

( Note: The iPhone SE is _4 "_, not _4.7 "_ )

4"               - 11%

4.7"            - 47%

5.8 / 6.1 "   - 18%

6.5"            - 23%

But it it important to note this is iPhone distribution for Pedometer++ [1]

If we look at other source of Data, Such as MixPanel [2] which has a much wider collection of Data. Their Size Distribution.

4"               - 6%

4.7"            - 39%

5.8 / 6.1 "   - 25%

6.5"            - 30%

And unless the App or Mixpanel is extremely popular in Asia ( Excluding Japan which we are known for preferring iPhone 4.7" Size ), this is excluding vast amount of people in that region where Sales Data suggest they vastly prefer iPhone 5.8"\+ Size.

And given the 3+ years lengthy iPhone replacement circle, the data doesn't really shows or suggest whether the 4.7" user are holding out because they have no newer 4.7" iPhone to choose from, waiting to make the jump into 5.8/6.1" iPhone, or my guess would be iOS 12 with i6s up are good enough for vast majority of our daily task, and they are holding it for even longer.

Note: Apple currently has 900M Active iPhone User base, and is trending towards 1 B sometime in 2020. Even a 10% usage base prefer 4" is an 100M unit opportunity. Of course that is assuming those users really want a SE Size phone and not buying it because of its price.

[1] [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pedometer/id712286167](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pedometer/id712286167)

[2] [https://mixpanel.com/trends/#report/iphone_models/from_date:...](https://mixpanel.com/trends/#report/iphone_models/from_date:-1395,report_unit:month,to_date:0)

<comment><USER17> The MixPanel stats reveal the disconnect between the SE fans who always flood these threads and the rest of the world.

David Smith is a well known dev in tech circles and his audience would skew more toward "tech nerds". Look at the wider stats and suddenly you see the 4" audience sliced in half.

<comment><USER14> Also noting the significant increase in 'big screen' phones, perhaps the majority of the people want a better camera?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> As someone who very recently went from an iPhone SE - which I treasured since it came out (and which I nursed through one battery replacement and two screen replacements) - to an iPhone XR (triggered by a another digitiser failure), I can honestly say that I'm loving the performance boost, the massive battery life, the better camera and the brighter screen. However it's taking some time to adjust to the size (150.9mm x 75.7mm x 8.3mm, versus the SE's 123.8mm x 58.6mm x 7.6mm).

I used to be able to slip my SE comfortably into the front pocket of my pants or jeans, and it's size coupled with its rigidity meant I never worried that sitting or bending would damage it or discomfort me. I could even put it in a shirt pocket, where it's relatively light weight (113g vs the XR's 196gm), wouldn't cause undue sag in my shirt.

For me it's definitely been a trade off. Having gotten mostly used to it though, (meaning I now carry my phone in my hands much more than I ever did), I don't think I would go back unless I could get significantly better specs than the original SE (performance, batter, brightness, camer) in the smaller form factor.

EDIT: correction to first para.

</comment><comment><USER19> I'm still using my trusty 6s. About a month ago I took my phone in to get the battery replaced. Curious, I asked the Apple rep about a 10s and after some hemming and getting $200 trade-in for my 6s I made the switch.

I regretted it immediately. I was stuck in the Apple store for over an hour trying to setup the new phone while it slowly downloaded an update before I could even finish getting it into a minimal user state, meaning I couldn't go home and continue setting up later.

The faceid was interesting at first but really annoying pretty quickly. TouchID is really useful since I don't always want to have to look into the phone.

ApplePay as a convenience is ruined by the lack of a TouchID sensor. With FaceId you have to look at the phone and then double press a button on the side of the phone. My brain boggled at how they've ruined the entire ApplePay usage process.

Final straw was the lack of a headphone jack, which has been my primary holdout reason. Turns out, the dongle is just annoying.

Combined with my immediate experience and second thoughts, I went back into the store (since I was still stuck there setting up the new one) and got my old phone back and paid the difference. It was a bit unusual for the Apple staff but they were super nice and got my 6s back.

At that point I left with both phones since I wanted to try the new one over night to give it a shot. Next day, I had enough and went back to the store and returned the 10.

I'm still quite happy with my 6s and honestly may have to consider an Android phone when this one dies.

I've been a loyal Apple customer for over 30 years and have just been disappointed with them for the choices they've been making in the last few years. At work I returned the 2018 MacBook Pro and got a 2015 one because of the terrible oversized trackpad and useless Touch Bar.

I hope they change some things soon.

</comment><comment><USER20> It is very hard to find small and powerful Android phones nowadays. Post new phones are at least 5.5" which I consider already too big.

I eventually bought an old Galaxy A5 2017, which is slow, but has a confortable small screen.

<comment><USER21> Samsung S10e and others from: [https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2018&nHeightM...](https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2018&nHeightMax=150&nWidthMax=72&nThicknessMax=8&fDisplayInchesMin=5.1&chkUSBC=selected&sOSes=2)

<comment><USER22> The S10e is the same size as an iPhone X. Not small at all.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> 4" iPhones are 11%, according to this chart, and those are models that haven't been updated in three years. That's pretty substantial, too.

<comment><USER17> David Smith's apps have a very particular audience. MixPanel is more reliable to get a better view of the entire market.

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> I suspect that's largely from age of phones and price rather than true screen size preference. The bigger iPhone are hideously expensive if you're not in a high CoL 1st world place

</comment><comment><USER25> I upgraded to the latest iphone XS this year after my iphone 7s had a cellular antenna failure which Apple would not fix even with my apple care plan. After about 4 months with this new phone I still prefer the older phone. I do not really notice better clarity or colors in this OLED screen and I miss the home button. Wouldn't mind that headphone jack back either. :) I also do not like the location of the "utility menu" now. I have to swipe down from the upper right-hand corner which is a big stretch for me, I often use 2 hands. This is an action I have to do often and I am not sure why apple moved it to that location. In the end, I will stay with this phone as I like the faster processor and more RAM but the design and execution seems to have been a step back. I've owned a 5s, 6s, 7s and Xs and I would choose the 4.7" as my preferred form factor.

</comment><comment><USER26> Every time I increase the size of my phone screen, I experience a large step up in the extent to which I am addicted to my phone.

It might just be the increased responsiveness of a new phone, but I also think there is a direct relation between personal attachment to a screen-object and the field-of-vision % occupied by that screen object.

Squinting might give you eye wrinkles, but I think it is an important check on how much overall screen time you spend in a day.

4S 4 life!

</comment><comment><USER27> I've had iPhones exclusively since the 3G, buying basically every other year.

My happiness peaked with the 5. The 6 was "fine", the 7 was a downgrade, and I then I didn't like any of its replacements and finally got an XR, which I don't like nearly as much as the 7 or 6.

</comment><comment><USER28> I recently bought iPhone 8 after using 4S for many years. That screen is too huge! I would switch it to SE if not for better tech inside (better fingerprint reader is the main selling point for me, but better CPU is nice too). I'm using iPhone 8 for almost a year now and I can't get accustomed to it. I loved when I could use phone with one hand. Also my hands are huge, so I have no idea how could one use it with one hand (without that gimmick with double-tapping home button).

Now recent iPhone models are just not appealing to me at all. I don't want to use face recognition and they no longer use fingerprint readers.

Honestly, give me tiny iPhone with 3'5" display, put latest tech inside and you'll have my $300 immediately.

<comment><USER29> Apple has very little interest in your $300. They want to make big, premium, high-margin devices that sell for $800+.

It's the same reason they will never make a modular, upgradable desktop (no, the new MacPro does not count), the margins just aren't there. Apple only competes in spaces where they can make a lot of profit

It's funny because I am usually not interested in those types of products, but I still admire their commitment to their strategy.

<comment><USER30> Give me tiny iphone with 3.5" display and I'll give you my $1000. There is literally no competition in this space and enough people hanging on to SEs and complaining about pocketability that I'm positive it would still sell well. When I pull out my SE when hanging out with someone new, the most common reaction is "wow! I wish my phone was still that small" and a lot of complaints about big phones.

There is a huge untapped market here. I'm not suggesting it's bigger than the market for the XS Plus Max 7" behemoth... but it's certainly not negligible. There is a reason the iPod Nano and the iPod Classic were both popular.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> iPhone 6 and 6s still make 21% of the pie chart. I wonder how many of these people are still holding on to the phone due to the headphone jack and the charger.

<comment><USER31> I hold onto my SE and 6s plus for that reason. I do own AirPods, and I like them... but they don't have quite enough battery life for a whole day worth of conference calls, audiobooks and podcasts. And they definitely cannot compete with standard headphones for music. A headphone jack easily accommodates any headset device I want to use, and I'm not willing to regress back to using an adapter dongle.

<comment><USER13> Same here. I have a good set of headphone that are not wireless. I use an SE at work as an iPod touch (hotspot with my 7). I like being able to charge the phone and still be able to listen to stuff on my headphones. I like my AirPods at the gym and gym only.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER32> Since these always-on pedometers are built into newer models it seems to make the statistics less relevant, you don't need an app to tell you exactly what Health is able to tell you.

That said, you see a lot of Uber drivers using the iPhone SE, while rocking some Android phone for other things. I'm guessing it has something to do with compatibility of the Uber app, or that they're driving for more than just Uber.

<comment><USER33> Pedometer++ has a nice interface and it lets you set goals etc. You don't need it to get the raw stats but it's a more pleasant experience than delving through the health app.

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> I gave up on the SE this year. I bought it when I was new. I switched back to a pixel 3a, but I hate it. I'll probably switch back to a flip phone. I just want a headphone jack, decent battery, and a working phone

</comment><comment><USER35> I am on my 3rd iPhone SE and I have a 'new' one for when this one dies or becomes unrepairable.

I've been pretty vocal in my praise for it that my daughter choose it as her first phone despite the other options.

</comment><comment><USER36> It's not really just about size, not many people want to pay $1000 for a smartphone, when you can get nearly all the features for half or thrid that price. I guess analyzing this data for Android would yield better results about size preference.

</comment><comment><USER4> > People really, really like the 4.7″ iPhone.

I think this is just that Apple's flagship devices were sold in this size for more than four years?

</comment><comment><USER37> I'm in the 0% of users still holding on to their iPhone 5. Yeah, I know, I should get a new phone, but I was really hoping 5G would be sorted before I did that. And when I do, I'll buy the smallest phone I can get.

<comment><USER38> 5G is the reason I'm hoping my iPhone 6 holds out until next year, which is when the iPhones with 5G are rumored to be released.

</comment></comment><comment><USER39> i too love my SE.

I used to have a 7, but was always too awkwardly big to hold or to put in my pocket. SE is the perfect size. It also has the benefit of helping me manage screen time -- i don't really wanna get sucked into long content on this screen-size, and can save it to consume later on the laptop (or never, which is most often just fine).

</comment><comment><USER40> Well, isn't the reason simply the timelag? The iPhone 6–8 are mid-lifecycle, the larger ones are relatively new, and the smaller ones rather at the end of their life cycle? After all iPhones seem to have a 5+ year lifespan [0]. Also the larger X phones come with a crazy price tag.

[0] [https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12806](https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12806)

</comment><comment><USER41> I would bet that corporate customers are a huge purchaser of the iPhone SE.

I am aware of several huge companies exclusively purchase that device.

</comment><comment><USER42> It's hilarious to think that, barely more than 10 years ago, having the smallest possible phone was a status symbol.

<comment><USER43> I imagine it will be again. Once the huge phone cycle wanes (and it may already be doing so), we'll start seeing smaller phones pitched as a hot new development. Then again, with Apple beefing up the functionality of their watch, it may be that watch + AirPods takes the place of the tiny phone. Shrug.

<comment><USER3> What makes you think the trend will reverse or that this is part of a cycle?

Small phones were popular when all they could do was make calls and even texting was sort of cumbersome and rare. Of course you'd want that sort of single use device to be as small as possible.

I fail to see how YouTube, Fornite, and Instagram users (to name a few) will want a smaller screen.

I also think the market has settled on rather standard _phone body_ sizes that have not changed significantly since 2014 or so.

<comment><USER43> >I fail to see how YouTube, Fornite, and Instagram users (to name a few) will want a smaller screen.

I can't comment on what those users want; I don't use any of those things on my phone. I'm not claiming that large phones will cease to exist; I'm guessing that there will be a new trend promoting smaller phones. Some folks will jump on the bandwagon, some will stick with their phablets. Apple in particular will probably make a big marketing push that tries to portray small phones as some kind of cutting-edge innovation.

<comment><USER3> It certainly doesn't have to be Fortnite in particular, which has over 80 million monthly logins, but if you are on a bus or subway count the number of people who _aren't_ reading, playing, or watching content on their phone during the journey.

As another example, Nintendo completely discontinued the non-XL 3DS models in the USA.

I think you aren't wrong, there are enough people somewhere to buy a small screen smartphone, but apparently that number is small enough to not even open up a single assembly line for.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER44> I was last looking for a new phone around the time the iPhone X came out, but I decided on an iPhone 8 instead of an X. The X was not only more expensive, but also felt _heavy_ and _chunky_ in a way that I hadn't experienced since the original iPhone. It put me off. I decided that I'd wait until my next phone upgrade to get on the screen-to-body-ratio bandwagon.

I'm guessing a lot of people are in the same boat. It normally takes at least four generations before an old model of phone starts feeling slow running modern versions of apps, so we're not yet at the point where anyone who had to make that decision (small-screen light cheap phone, or big-screen expensive heavy phone) has felt the need to upgrade again, and so had the chance to re- evaluate the landscape.

</comment><comment><USER45> The author's app is Pedometer++. My guess is that smaller phones are over represented in his data because people who value step counters probably also value less cumbersome phones to run/walk with. I, for one, chose an SE because I can carry it in my hand comfortably while running.

<comment><USER46> Reading through this thread I keep encountering more reasons to hang onto my SE, such as this (I run with it) and weight as it affects the possibility of RSI. I really hope there's an SE 2 with the same form factor. I'm optimistic because of the recent 4" iPod Touch.

</comment></comment><comment><USER47> I suspect this has a lot to do with older phones becoming available on MVNOs in the <$300 range.

</comment><comment><USER48> I recently upgraded from an iPhone 6 to an iPhone XR. I love the new phone, however I still miss the size of the 6. I was able to hold and operate the phone in one hand. Using two hands for the XR is a pain in the ass, but using one hand feels like I could drop it at any moment.

I think one factor that caused this phenomenon is the lack of innovative growth in the mobile device industry. Phone companies need to sell more units... however there are no industry-shaking improvements to be made. Therefore they default to upgrading the most obvious ones, namely screen size/resolution and camera quality. Therefore our phones get bigger for the sake of advancement.

</comment><comment><USER49> Hoping for Sony to release the ACE for international markets: Sony Mobile recently announced the Xperia Ace (SO-02L) for the Japanese market. This is Sony's smallest handset released in 2019, with a 5-inch FHD+ display, a water resistant body, Snapdragon 630 chipset, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. [https://www.xperiablog.net/2019/06/20/xperia-ace-is-an- inter...](https://www.xperiablog.net/2019/06/20/xperia-ace-is-an- international-release-now-more-likely/)

</comment><comment><USER50> I should have stockpiled a few of those refurbished iPhone SEs apple had restocked just to hold out and be happy as long as possible.

</comment><comment><USER51> Love to use a SE as an second (third sim) to my max. Sad to see that form factor to go. Did get a new iPod of that form factor.

</comment><comment><USER52> I'm I reading this right? A person who sells an app called "Pedometer" (which tracks your steps) sees iPhones that fit easily in your pocket as the most common size for people who buy the App? If so I'd guess people who measure their steps correlates strongly with people who don't like to carry extra carry bags.

</comment><comment><USER53> I have a Pixel 2 XL, and I like its width, but its length is totally pointless. I don't get why they don't make phones with less enongated aspect ratio. 9:16 is ought to be enough for everyone, why would anyone want a vertical screen that is taller than that.

</comment><comment><USER54> Interesting--and I carry a 4.7" iPhone, and I do like the form factor. But I suspect it's thrown off a bit by the rise in ASP across the line recently--the newer phones are quite a bit more expensive, and I know I'm not the only one who's delayed the upgrade a bit.

</comment><comment><USER55> There are at least two other variables which will lead to the same pattern - the weight of the phone and its price. Larger phones are heavier and more expensive. Thus, saying 4.7" phones are popular is like saying:

1) Lighter phones are more popular

2) Cheaper phones are more popular

<comment><USER56> It's anecdotal, but I've never seen someone care about the weight of a phone as a decisive factor.

<comment><USER57> Hi, I care significantly about the weight.

I find all the new X series iPhones to be too heavy.

<comment><USER58> 100% agree. I went into an Apple Store for the first time in a long while just a few weeks ago, and I couldn't believe how heavy the phones have gotten I have an iPhone 6 now and just don't see a good reason to upgrade. Even if I can't upgrade to iOS 13, I'll probably wait another year or two.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER59> I absolutely love my 5s mostly for the form factor - will be a sad day when it finally dies

<comment><USER60> You can still buy an iPhone SE, they have the exact same form factor.

</comment></comment><comment><USER61> Rumor has it Apple will put a 5.4 inch screen in a iPhone 8 size body. I hope it's true because the Android manufacturers will definitely copy them and I'll be able to get a phone under 68mm wide again.

</comment><comment><USER62> Welcome to the Asian century? They like big phones, phablets. We get what they like...

</comment><comment><USER63> Is this information biased by app? Are people more likely to strap a smaller phone to their arm? I'd be curious to know if this device distribution is similar for different apps.

</comment><comment><USER64> > People really, really like the 4.7″ iPhone.

It would be more accurate to say that a lot people _have_ 4.7" iPhones. It's been on sale for a long time and iPhones last a while.

</comment><comment><USER65> I get this. My Plus let's me do art and work more effectively, but I must be constantly vigilant of RSI due to its weight.

</comment><comment><USER66> my only reason for upgrade to 6s plus and then 7 plus was better camera - optical image stabilization on 6s plus and dual camera with portrait mode on iphone 7 plus.

small iphones (6S and 7) do not have the best cameras.

</comment><comment><USER67> this guy has mostly developers as users, developers use smaller phones

</comment><comment><USER68> iOS 13 supports the 6s and the SE.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

<comment><USER69> The article does not claim otherwise.

<comment><USER68> Haha. I must have been hallucinating.</comment></comment></comment>


Paige Thompson, Capital One Hacking Suspect, Left a Trail Online - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/business/paige-thompson-capital-one-hack.html <comment><USER2> Check out #freeshane on Twitter or fb. Been getting turned into gibberish or blocked. I know the mastermind is almost blind so screenshots work tho they even used my own cousin against me

She was only transwoman allowed in the ZCLUB per mgt. She got drugged and used as scapegoat. I woke up in Swedish Edmonds. Idiots let me go once they realized my comps were at my hotel. I screamed I'm gonnna be pissed if I miss my hotel brunch. It was 2a not afternoon. Claim I assaulted 4 shorelines PD. Never hit anyone in my life. I lack fight or flight, no stimuli hence was great at piecing this together and my partner and I dodged a ton of traps ourself. Palantir is here folks and it starts with the gays for monied daddies

Frightenly involves my partner who went Mia from his probation in a coerced LEAD program participant by his "daddy landlord who encouraged employement at z though it would expose to drugs. Conviently probation revoked and a month in Valentines got my first STD because we were being sober, but he was too tired to entertain zClub's "John" James Booth of barebackrts video and hookup Discovered too much underground for me tho porn stars were a thrill, but tech is here folks i am lucky I have money and funding but others are very verenable like Paige and my partner Shane. I've seen 1999 citations close in 2009. It's the poor being rats to each other for the rich's vigilante. Hope to hear her out, bc when I talk to my partner he has a hard time too--we all have antibiotic allergy that seizures and we forget. They tried to in Swedish, but i was not a product of Seattle "LEAD" program where they force you an intensive CDAT to find your deep lvl 3 panic triggers, conveniently paid by the LEAD fundraisers. See #freeshane Twitter fb is showing blocked by DOS

</comment><comment><USER3> Krebs has a good write up on this [1]. The part I found most interesting is there appears to be a couple dozen companies compromised by Paige, Cap One is the only one I have seen in the news.

1: [https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/07/capital-one-data- theft-i...](https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/07/capital-one-data-theft- impacts-106m-people/)

</comment><comment><USER4> A fine example of why the push for encryption backdoors is wrong-footed: we can reliably trust people to be idiots online, regardless of intent or skill level.

good opsec is hard; middling opsec is reasonably easy; "not bragging about your mad sploits on twitter" is nothing we can trust humans to reasonably do, apparently!

<comment><USER5> I agree: there is no such thing as "the perfect crime" and the use of end-to- end encryption does not make it so. What there is a however is a lack of good, old-fashioned police-work in criminal cases where the police run up against end-to-end encryption.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I was confused by this line in the affidavit (page 9):

> _An April 19, 2019, post in the Github account of "paige•••••thompson" > includes a "Server List" of IP addresses associated with the account._

What Github "post" could this be referring to? A README.md/issue/comment in which she for some reason posted the IP addresses she uses with that account?

[https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/press- release/file/1188626...](https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/press- release/file/1188626/download)

<comment><USER7> The first thing that comes to mind is a gist.

<comment><USER8> Correct. Some gists were still up yesterday when I looked (her github was down, though), and it seems she had a habit of posting logs of stuff, text snippets, etc. there.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> "Honestly if I were president I would give her an immediate pardon. Either she is innocent and is being rather unsubtly framed, or she is guilty and no punishment can compare to the embarrassment of being caught like this: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-30/tipster-s...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-30/tipster- s-email-led-to-arrest-in-massive-capital-one-data-breach)

[https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-07-30/beyond...](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-07-30/beyond- meat-comes-back-for-seconds)

</comment><comment><USER10> It seems like she had mental problems. Hopefully she gets help instead of the gov't seeking retribution.

</comment><comment><USER11> its like she wanted to get caught

</comment><comment><USER12> So this guy is a crazy braggart. This isn't the first time this has happened. Some other guy was taunting the FBI and left metadata in one of his images when he posted to Twitter.

It's best to not be loud in the first place.

<comment><USER13> > So this guy is a crazy braggart.

Clearly not a guy

<comment><USER8> Guy can be used in a gender-neutral sense, though it's not really good grammar. Most romance languages use male for a collective group; people often replicate this in English (though not always, as not all our words for groups carry gender). Some people then extend this back to the singular, i.e. "hey (many) guys" -> "hey (one) guy".

Edit: Down-votes care to comment why?

<comment><USER14> Plural 'guys' is increasingly gender neutral but that hasn't extended to the singular 'guy' at all.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I don't understand why he would brag about it online. Isn't that just asking to be caught??

<comment><USER16> Don't underestimate the power of ego. For most people it's their most powerful driving force. I cannot speak to her motivations. There is more than one plausible reason someone would expose themselves IF she in fact did and wasn't set up. But people "own" themselves all the time despite how intuitively ridiculous it sounds from the armchair.

<comment><USER17> Is it not meant damnable in us to be trumpeters of our unlawful intents?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I used to feel what you likely feel about paying for news—why would i pay for this when some other site will have it up for free or with ads, capitalism at work, competition driving the price down to reasonable levels, etc...

Then I realized after seeing what has happened as the masses all came online, while many of us here can probably distinguish between a reliable news source and a hack site or a propaganda outlet—a disturbingly large segment of the population can not.

And to make matters worse, there seems to be a huge number of people who don't realize they don't have what it takes to do reliable research to write a story and they don't have what it takes to understand nuanced subjects in order to explain the subject to readers. Or even worse, they fully realize how ill- equipped they are but don't care because vulnerable people will still click their ads.

Long story short, I now have just short of 20 subscriptions. Including a few that I rarely read but to me it's worth it. The collective We really need to increase the signal levels in order to hear over the noise.

Journalism is definitely one of those cases where The Market can easily lead to a race to the bottom situation. Hopefully we'll see it correct and good journalism will overtake trash, but wow what a rough spot.

<comment><USER19> In the context of HN, I don't think that solves the problem. What are the odds that your 20 subscriptions and my 20 subscriptions will overlap? (To say nothing about excluding people who can't afford 20 subscriptions.) In order to have a meaningful discussion about a topic, we needn't necessarily have the same subscriptions. But to have a meaningful discussion about the article, we certainly both need access to the article.

Pay-per-article might make some sense, but every time I've seen that they've charged more than I think it's worth. They generally want about a dollar, and I'm thinking pennies. And, of course, I have to decide whether it's worth purchasing _before_ I've read it; at which point it comes down to trusting the publisher - and then maybe I should just get a subscription.

<comment><USER8> > What are the odds that your 20 subscriptions and my 20 subscriptions will > overlap?

The odds that they will completely overlap are low. However, most people don't have 20. Even those who do mostly read a number of prominent sources: nyt, wapo, wsj are the big three for news these days. Most people subscribe to one, maybe two and read that. This is arguably bad for competition and bad for "indie journalism".

Also, I take issue with some of the points of view espoused by the nyt. Their news content is fairly good (if biased), but my subscription would also go to pay their editorial board. I don't want to purchase that news, because I don't want to fund its production. I wish I could buy a news-only subscription: no "lifestyle", no "fashion", no "editorial", etc. I don't want that stuff. Just news.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> How are we getting past the NYT PayWall now?

<comment><USER6> If you're on desktop, isn't it trivial enough to remove/reset cookies from the nytimes.com domain?

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Miss Thompson wins the Darwin Award for black hats. Seriously, she did a horrible job. Clearly a supremely over-confident script kiddie who went around talking about being such a 1337 h4x0r... until the cops showed up.

Serves her right, any way. You've got to be a pretty bad person to put the information of that many people at risk.

</comment><comment><USER21> If we assume that Ms. Thompson is generally terrible at opsec, then presumably she is also terrible at offensive security, which leads to one of two conclusions:

Either:

A: She is being framed.

or

B: Capital One's security was (and probably still is) laughable.

She doesn't seem to be being framed. If Capital One's security is horrendous, they are unlikely to be exceptional... so we will see much more of this.

<comment><USER22> This tweet alone seems to indicate she definitely did it...

[https://twitter.com/0xA3A97B6C/status/1151901325598187521](https://twitter.com/0xA3A97B6C/status/1151901325598187521)

<comment><USER23> Isn't all of that anyway in AWS docs ? Would something like this stand as an evidence to implicate her in US courts?</comment></comment></comment>