Ask HN: What is your Golang web-dev tech stack? - <AUTHOR> I picked up Golang recently and I am curious about how people use it to develop web applications. How does your tech stack look like? <comment><USER2> I've started using Echo[1] and it seems to provide most of what I'm looking for (routing, context, sessions, CSRF protection, form/json binding, etc). For templating, I'm using QuickTemplate[2] which creates statically generated templates, but Pongo2[3] and Jet[4] also look reasonable. sqlx[5], gorm[6], and sqlboiler[7] all seem reasonable for database access, depending on what your style is (sqlx being oriented toward manual statements, gorm being reflection-based orm-ish, and sqlboiler using go generate's code generation to make statically generated access for you).

If you don't want to piece things together yourself (and want a more Rails- like experience), Buffalo[8] is probably your best bet.

[1] [https://echo.labstack.com/](https://echo.labstack.com/)

[2] [https://github.com/valyala/quicktemplate](https://github.com/valyala/quicktemplate)

[3] [https://github.com/flosch/pongo2](https://github.com/flosch/pongo2)

[4] [https://github.com/CloudyKit/jet](https://github.com/CloudyKit/jet)

[5] [https://github.com/jmoiron/sqlx](https://github.com/jmoiron/sqlx)

[6] [https://github.com/jinzhu/gorm](https://github.com/jinzhu/gorm)

[7] [https://github.com/volatiletech/sqlboiler](https://github.com/volatiletech/sqlboiler)

[8] [https://github.com/gobuffalo/buffalo](https://github.com/gobuffalo/buffalo)

<comment><AUTHOR> Sweet! Buffalo looks really interesting. I was playing with Sails the other day, which is a Rails-like framework for nodejs, I will try Buffalo and try to compare the experience. Would you recommend Buffalo for a JSON Web API mobile backend project or would it be an overkill?

<comment><USER3> I don't know how relevant it is, but the creator of Buffalo has a video explaining how to hook up Vue to the framework: [https://blog.gobuffalo.io/using-vue-js-with-buffalo-video- ee...](https://blog.gobuffalo.io/using-vue-js-with-buffalo-video-eefa58bf9bed)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Even though I know they're well-designed, I find Go's web templates hard to work in. So I avoid them.

My stack is basically:

\- Postgres, using pq and sqlx

\- A codegen ORM I wrote that scrapes schemas and generates CRUD and lookup functions for all my database types. I don't think dynamic ORMs like gorm are the way to go for Go.

\- A session library I wrote a year ago, and simple Go wrapper handlers to require sessions, enforce authentication, &c, passing things like "current user" and "current session" down to standard net/http Handlers through Context.

\- 10-or-so JSON utility functions I take with me from project to project.

\- React, via create-react-app, so I all my templating is done in JSX.

\- net/http/httptest for testing.

<comment><AUTHOR> Any chance you have that ORM of yours open-sourced somewhere?

<comment><USER4> No, but (1) sqlboiler is a much better ORM, and (2) it is surprisingly easy to build these things yourself; mine's just a bunch of text/template templates and ~100 lines of Go code to scrape a Postgres schema.

(I mean: this code will be open sourced pretty soon, since it's part of a bigger open source thingy I'm releasing, but the ORM isn't very good, just as good as I needed it to be; nobody should ever use it for another project.)

<comment><AUTHOR> Go it. Sounds like a fun educational project to build, an ORM tgat scrapes a PostgreSQL database and provides primitives to query it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> My 2 cents

At Globality[1], we use microcosm [2], an internally built framework for crafting applications. We have 45+ microservices, all built on top of it, and it's a joy.

I was looking for a framework that will give me similar benefits with Golang. Something that I can take out of the box with some convention-over- configuration.

I found micro [3] and gizmo [4]. (There are more)

It seems to me that a full-blown web app doesn't come very natural to Golang yet. There isn't a framework that will give you what you are used for from other languages/frameworks.

I have a lot of experience with Golang and built many tools, and it always felt more natural to me when there is no database/models involved.

[1] [https://www.globality.com/en-us/](https://www.globality.com/en-us/)

[2] [https://github.com/globality- corp/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=microcos...](https://github.com/globality- corp/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=microcosm&type=&language=)

[3] [https://github.com/micro/go-micro](https://github.com/micro/go-micro)

[4] [https://github.com/NYTimes/gizmo](https://github.com/NYTimes/gizmo)

</comment><comment><USER6> Gophers tend to roll their own and forego larger frameworks.

Piecing together libraries can absolutely be daunting, but once you get a starter app built your productivity will go way, way up.

I'd really recommend this (paid) course at [https://www.usegolang.com](https://www.usegolang.com)

It walks you through pulling in different libraries (Gorilla Mux, GORM, etc), gluing them together, and structuring your code in a maintainable way.

A couple of other folks have mentioned Buffalo. It's a great ecosystem for building applications quickly, but I would strongly urge you to go through gluing the packages together yourself first to really understand what is going on underneath the magic.

<comment><AUTHOR> Solid advice. I will take a look at the course, looks interesting. Thanks for sharing.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> For APIs, I've used net/http and httprouter with great success. I've recently discovered Buffalo ([https://github.com/gobuffalo/buffalo](https://github.com/gobuffalo/buffalo)) which looks great for full-stack development but I have not used it for a production app.

</comment><comment><USER8> Also check out Træfik. A fast reverse proxy. With support for kubernetes, prometheus, let's encrypt, grpc, websockets and more. It may change the way you design your web backend ;)

[https://traefik.io/](https://traefik.io/)

Am also looking forward to trying the new GoLand IDE from the JetBrains team. Currently using Atom but would be interested in dedicated integrations with gcloud sdk.

[https://www.jetbrains.com/go/](https://www.jetbrains.com/go/)

</comment><comment><USER9> Go with sqlite DB using net/http, httprouter, and gorm. The goal is maintainability and easy deployment over scalability.

</comment><comment><USER10> Plain Go, no frameworks (may be a little Gorilla toolkit components such as their mux), Postgres with sqlx and React on the front end. I describe it in detail here:

[https://grisha.org/blog/2017/04/27/simplistic-go-web- app/](https://grisha.org/blog/2017/04/27/simplistic-go-web-app/)

</comment><comment><USER11> We rolled our own, nice benefit is everything registers events with the same logging subsystem and lets us define central hooks for common things like errors (to send to reporters).

Web: [https://github.com/blendlabs/go-web](https://github.com/blendlabs/go- web)

DB: [https://github.com/blendlabs/spiffy](https://github.com/blendlabs/spiffy)

Migrations: [https://github.com/blendlabs/spiffy/migration](https://github.com/blendlabs/spiffy/migration)

Logger: [https://github.com/blendlabs/go- logger](https://github.com/blendlabs/go-logger)

CRON: [https://github.com/blendlabs/go- chronometer](https://github.com/blendlabs/go-chronometer)

</comment><comment><USER12> * Standard library for a lot of things.

* [https://github.com/go-chi/chi](https://github.com/go-chi/chi) is pretty good. I have a need for a lot of custom middlewares, so I need something more fleshed out than net/http.

* All config files are written in TOML: [https://github.com/BurntSushi/toml](https://github.com/BurntSushi/toml)

* [https://github.com/gocql/gocql](https://github.com/gocql/gocql) for all Cassandra needs.

* Development work is done in Docker so everyone has a consistent env.

That's all, I tend to dislike overarching frameworks. Smaller libraries work better for me.

<comment><AUTHOR> Just took a look at Chi's RESTful API example, I like it. I also like the benchmarks. Judging by most of the comments on this thread, it looks like the community favors modular small tools over big fat frameworks, is that true?

<comment><USER12> I'd say so.

Big framework comes at big cost when trying to upgrade to a new version because it's surface area is big.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Gin/React. I was using templates but decided to offload some display logic on the frontend instead of creating more API endpoints. So I switched to React. I dig writing decoupled front/backends

</comment><comment><USER14> I've been using a starter kit[1] to build our API.For database access using Modl[2] similar to gorp but uses sqlx internally. Much of the data access code is generated as I'm of opinion reflection based ORM doesn't lend itself well in Go.

[1][https://github.com/qiangxue/golang-restful-starter- kit](https://github.com/qiangxue/golang-restful-starter-kit)

[2][https://github.com/jmoiron/modl](https://github.com/jmoiron/modl)

</comment><comment><USER15> If you are creating an SPA application and you just need an API in Go, the standard library or one of the microframeworks like Gin work fine. If you are doing full-stack development, you'll be more productive with a framework even though the Go community tends to shy away from large frameworks. If I were to use Go for a web app today, I'd use Buffalo which is relatively Rails-like while still being very modular: [https://gobuffalo.io/](https://gobuffalo.io/)

</comment><comment><USER16> I use it as a RESTful API for a single page app. I use some extra packages beyond those that come standard, but they don't really have a huge day-to-day impact on the code that I write.

Gorilla will probably make your life easier. I rely on the mux package quite a bit for routing purposes.

I also use Google's jsonapi package to maintain a semblance of orderliness when it comes to request and response data, but I wouldn't be hurting too much without it.

</comment><comment><USER17> HTTP: \- gRPC for microservices \- graphql for combining microservices for the frontend

DB: \- dynamodb/psql depending on features. aws-sdk or base go sql package. \- redis for caching. go-redis package.

Stats/logging: \- statsd/graphite/grafana \- sirupsen/logrus for logging

I usually write a wrapper for packages that will automatically report stats + logging.

</comment><comment><USER18> I've used Echo in the past along with sqlx and Gorm.

I've found myself enjoying rolling/being more explicit about what it is that I need, so I now build out small web APIs just using a combination of Gorilla Mux + net/http.

</comment><comment><USER19> I'm curious. I've used GoLang's simple web server before, but I'm interested in what GoLang provides over Node. To me, it seems Go is especially well suited for microservices and tasks requiring a lot of CPU intensive processes while Node is better when working with small requests over the wire.

In other words, what is Go's main selling point in competing with Node in terms of its http server, TCP sockets, etc...

Can Go's awesome concurrency patterns be used to optimize server requests? Can it be well utilized as a proxy?

</comment><comment><USER20> gRPC, gRPC-Gateway, pgx, memcached, gorilla secure cookie, gorilla CSRF, gRPC- opentracing with Google Stackdriver integration, Uber-zap logging

<comment><AUTHOR> Interesting. What do you use gRPC for?

<comment><USER20> To document and generate the api client and server stubs. Server is implemented in Go, clients are either Android, iOS or a Browser.

Android uses grpc-java iOS uses grpc-objc Browser uses gRPC-Gateway and the JSON equivalent of the protobuf3 spec.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> [https://github.com/go-chi/chi](https://github.com/go-chi/chi)

</comment><comment><USER22> Buffalo - [https://gobuffalo.io/](https://gobuffalo.io/)

</comment><comment><USER23> routing/binding/cors: chi / echo

database: sqlx, upper, sqlboiler

log: zap, zerolog

dependency management: dep

config: viper

cli: cobra

lint: gometalinter

Trying [https://github.com/improbable-eng/grpc- web](https://github.com/improbable-eng/grpc-web) and [http://rest- layer.io](http://rest-layer.io)

</comment><comment><USER24> go-kit [https://gokit.io/](https://gokit.io/)

</comment><comment><USER25> I have used gin / libpq / sqlx for my food side project.

At my day job I use the standard library.

</comment><comment><USER26> We use Gin-Gonic with sqlx for our REST API. We also use Gorilla for Websockets.

</comment><comment><USER3> I use Buffalo for an API and Vue.js with TypeScript as a frontend.

<comment><AUTHOR> Cool. How do you serve your frontend app? Do you do it via Buffalo or nodejs?

<comment><USER3> Currently? I run them on separate ports and use axios[0] to make requests against Buffalo routes. I had to use the github.com/rs/cors[1] package with Buffalo for CORS so that Vue doesn't yell at me. So I run `buffalo dev` in one tmux pane and `yarn dev` in another.

Here is what the inside of the <script> portion of a component may look like: [https://gist.github.com/howdoicomputer/cdadba6e47021ba90b7f7...](https://gist.github.com/howdoicomputer/cdadba6e47021ba90b7f753ff72772dd)

And here is the code for adding cors to Buffalo: [https://gist.github.com/howdoicomputer/17366df6cd7b8208a22a8...](https://gist.github.com/howdoicomputer/17366df6cd7b8208a22a879111be9784) I got that from a PR for pre-app handlers. [2]

Eventually, I'll hook everything up to Nginx for deployment.

[0] [https://github.com/axios/axios](https://github.com/axios/axios) [1] [https://github.com/rs/cors](https://github.com/rs/cors) [2] [https://github.com/gobuffalo/buffalo/issues/609](https://github.com/gobuffalo/buffalo/issues/609)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> spf13/cobra spf13/viper joho/godotenv mattes/migrate postgres go-pg/pg gorilla/mux gorilla/sessions net/http html/template

</comment><comment><USER28> IMO this space is a pain point for Go compared to other languages. If you have a single page app talking to APIs it's less of an issue though.

<comment><AUTHOR> What about JSON API that is hooked up with a relational database, say PostgreSQL, no frontend?

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> net/http

</comment><comment><USER30> Go, Polymer, Redux.

</comment><comment><USER31> Gorilla + Vue.js</comment>


Fired SendGrid Developer Evangelist Adria Richards Speaks Out - <AUTHOR> http://allthingsd.com/20130327/fired-sendgrid-developer-evangelist-adria-richards-speaks-out/?mod=atdtweet <comment><USER2> > What happened at PyCon has cast a spotlight on a range of deep issues and > problems in the developer world.

What happened _at_ PyCon was nerds making nerd jokes. People talk to each other at public events, even with people on stage, and the appropriate thing to do is turn around and ask them politely to keep it down. That is all there is to say on that matter.

What happened _because_ of what happened _at_ PyCon was the result of people who have nothing better to do than form at-the-minute internet mobs of hate. While we have a lot of growing to do as a community, it continues to disappoint me that the Greater Internet Dickwad Theory as it relates to this situation keeps being strictly applied to developers who I would wager were actually a very small percentage of the actual trolls involved in harassing her. Trolls that have been actively harassing anyone they so please for years.

The best thing about situations like this is that they give you a good excuse to disconnect. To go off-the-grid to try to find yourself again. I would love the opportunity to do such a thing myself and I think we all should; the internet is a quickly moving rapids and it is easy to get sucked under. And while I agree that maybe there should be a group that acts as a safe place for people to shed light on their experiences and try to figure out how to combat them, I don't think now is the time for her to try to say that she should be an "integral part" of such a group. Especially because she used what could have been a perfect opportunity for her to officially apologize to state how hard of a week it has been for her, personally, and not for the man who lost his job and the countless females for whom she claimed to be acting on behalf of.

<comment><USER3> > and the appropriate thing to do is turn around and ask them politely to keep > it down

there's been a rebuttal to this concept in the form of the #iaskedpolitely tag on twitter. Not everyone is comfortable with direct confrontation in situations like these.

<comment><USER2> Without going to get into the specifics on how to handle situations that make you uncomfortable, there is always someone you can go to, whether it be event staff, venue staff or higher authorities if you really feel it warrants it. That said, if your anxiety prevents you from standing up for yourself in the first place, then that problem exists outside of the realm of this individual situation and perhaps it is in your best interest to figure out why that is the case and what you can do about it because this will not be the first, last or worst of what life will deal you. Living in fear is the worst way to live, something I am aware of first-hand. It should not hold you captive in your own life. I wish the best to all of those struggling and hope they can find the courage within themselves (and this is not to say there aren't some situations where you're truly better off not saying anything to the accused at all).

 _That said_ , PyCon had specifically appropriated their CoC to ensure that people had avenues to communicate problems they were having. The argument was then "But _I'm_ the victim, why should _I_ have to get up and do something about it when I did nothing wrong?" which just kind of boggles my mind. Do you or don't you want to make the effort to report this? You will inevitably have to spend time going over it face-to-face with event staff anyway, digging into time you wanted to spend doing something else, so you might as well just get it over with. Fortunately at events, someone will probably have recorded the talk and you can just watch it later.

Hopefully next year there will be a way to report via SMS, although I suspect that the ease-of-use that provides will bring about its own set of problems.

<comment><USER3> > Without going to get into the specifics on how to handle situations that > make you uncomfortable, there is always someone you can go to, whether it be > event staff, venue staff or higher authorities if you really feel it > warrants it.

correct, talking to event staff is absolutely what someone should do if they feel uncomfortable directly confronting someone. I just hope that people feel comfortable doing this at next years Pycon, without fear of being ostracized for "not asking directly first". I'm disturbed at the level of anger over the idea of someone not being comfortable with direct confrontation.

Before you bring out the pitchforks, taking a photo and tweeting is _entirely_ the wrong move and I am not defending that action in any way. I'm only referring to the concept that a safe conference place should be OK with people talking directly to event staff.

> That said, if your anxiety prevents you from standing up for yourself in the > first place, then that problem exists outside of the realm of this > individual situation and perhaps it is in your best interest to figure out > why that is the case and what you can do about it because this will not be > the first, last or worst of what life will deal you. Living in fear is the > worst way to live, something I am aware of first-hand. It should not hold > you captive in your own life. I wish the best to all of those struggling and > hope they can find the courage within themselves.

I have a lot of background in this area as well, and while it's always great if people can learn to overcome all their issues and glide through all social situations in an impressively adept style in all cases, it's not very realistic. Everyone is only capable of being exactly where they are at in their lives, and that should not be a reason to avoid conferences. (Edit: nor is it realistic to assume that someone who is afraid to confront someone _even has a problem_ \- fear is not intrinsically a disease, it is a mechanism that very necessarily exists to protect the species from harm - it is only excessive and unfounded fear that is a pathology. Direct confrontation is absolutely not advised in many, many cases, and I'm sure you've had your own experiences where this approach goes terribly wrong.)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Not a single line of apology to a man's career she ruined, his family's welfare, and damaging influence she's had on female developers and developers in general. This reads like she's making martyr out of herself fighting for some greater cause. I cringe of deceit and sheer lack of conscientiousness.

<comment><USER5> She was just trying to increase her branding, something to blog about, something to attract page views, create a name for herself (and by proxy for Sendgrid). She doesn't care whose (or is it who's?) toes she steps on.

That was her goal from the beginning, people like that don't really care, for them it's a hustle.

This person was jaded to begin with. With her blog domain "butyoureagirl". She's gonna cash in heavy on the whole ordeal of sexism in our field. She was prepared.

It's odd, though, as a developer evangelist you'd assume she would have her Github on "Connect with me" widget on the site.

LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and even Youtube. But no Github.

"... she work to promote inclusivity within the developer community"

Yeah people like that aren't here for the code, they're here to cash in. Branding baby.

The term conference hoe' comes to mind, you know, all gender neutral and shit.

<comment><USER5> Seriously though, I can't find her Github even if I try.

<comment><USER6> Here you go(first result for "adria richards github")

<https://github.com/adriarichards>

<comment><USER5> Thank you. My mistake was adria got autocompleted to adrian. I own that mistake :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> > I cannot comment at this time on the specifics of what occurred at PyCon on > March 17, and the subsequent events of the following days, but I can offer > some general thoughts.

This sounds a bit like a lawsuit brewing.

<comment><USER8> It definitely sounds like she is either in the early stages of a lawsuit or in the process of bringing one against SendGrid. With her argument being that 'conference spaces are work places' and that she was fired because she reported something that happened while at work.

This statement seems very pruned compared to her previous writing and blog posts.

Although I'm kind of happy that this fiasco has shed some light on sexism in technology, I'm glad to see that it has stopped snowballing into a circus.

<comment><USER9> The conference spaces are work places is an interesting angle, but would it hold in her favor? Had she informed pycon sans tweets and blog posts I think it'd be an easy win in her favor, but unfortunately that's not really all she did.

Consider a workplace scenario:

Employee A is unhappy about coworker B. Instead of discretely talking to management about it, Employee A publicly shames B. B is fired. There's a big hoopla about it outside the company. Employer fires A stating that A can no longer perform their job due to the way A handled B.

<comment><USER10> I would hope that a wrongful termination suit fails for the reasons you mentioned, that doesn't mean it will though. I also don't think the conference spaces are work places comment holds any water. If tickets to the conference are open to the public then it is a public event. If your employer purchases your ticket to a public event you may still be bound by workplace conduct rules but should also have no expectation that other attendees will.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I'm tired of reading about Adria. She messed up at PyCon by publicly shaming the same people that she was supposed to be attracting to her company.

Was she fired for reporting sexual harassment? No. She was fired for making it into a failed personal publicity stunt at the expense of her employer.

In an office environment, if you are the recipient to sexual harassment and you don't feel comfortable confronting the individual, you go to HR or your boss and discuss it. You do not send a company wide email telling everyone what occurred.

<comment><USER12> Also, in an office environment, a single offensive remark, or even asking a co-worker out on a date, generally doesn't qualify as sexual harassment; the offender would have to repeat his or her behavior _after being asked to stop_. (The exception would be someone's manager asking them on a date, which would probably be against company policy from the beginning.)

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> As a woman working in the tech industry (though I am not a developer), I really agree with Amanda Blum's take on this situation. We are all damaged by events like this.

It's a prime example of what happens when we defend and escalate an uncomfortable situation rather than face it. Adria is definitely guilty of that, having taken the issue public so quickly. But I am very confident that the two men whose verbal comments prompted her response also allowed the situation to escalate before changing their behavior.

I'm pleased to see those involved address the situation directly, honestly and maturely. That's the only rational way to handle this sort of thing.

<comment><USER5> How did the men allow this to escalate? What did they do other than joke privately between each other?

Maybe you mean them posing for shot she took without asking permission? Is that it?

This was all In Adrians head, the woman is disturbed and lacks some serious self awareness.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> "Those who know me well in the the developer and tech community recognize that I have always tried to conduct myself in a way that builds bridges for everyone."

I couldn't get through the first sentence without laughing. How does shaming two men by posting their picture on Twitter qualify as "building bridges for everyone"? I think she is lacking in self-awareness.

<comment><USER5> For her it's all about branding and cashing in. Even her blog domain suggest that she's not here to code, but to create a name for herself in terms of "sexism at workplace".

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> The length of the statement is impressive considering that it does not contain any information.

<comment><USER16> It has probably been written by a lawyer.

The real question is what she thinks suing sendgrid is going to get her. What's she going to try to do, bring a sexism case against them?

<comment><USER17> If she is not employable now I don't see how she'll be more employable after launching law suits against her employers.

Now a speaking or media career maybe...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> "What happened at PyCon has cast a spotlight on a range of deep issues and problems in the developer world."

Read: Adria has been fired from her day job at Sendgrid but will continue to be fine on the feminist lecture circuit.

</comment><comment><USER19> Title should read: Fired SendGrid Developer Evangelist Adria Richard's Lawyer Speaks Out

</comment><comment><USER20> Can't disagree with the statement as such, but some self-reflection would have been nice.

Especially since we have multiple verified examples (not just PyCon) where she chose destructive escalation over constructive dialogue.

</comment><comment><USER21> Everyone needs to take this to heart right now: <http://www.thatvideosite.com/v/2822>

Anyone else feel like this is going beyond political correctness? The article, and her statement, are oozing with spineless statements. What happens when you get offended? Nothing.

</comment><comment><USER22> I'm impressed by this statement.

Regardless of what you think of Adria's actions, it's not hard to imagine that the last two weeks must have been hellish for her.

I think it's brave and noble for her to make (what seems to me) to be an attempt at civil dialogue.

In effect she's saying: I want to keep talking about this, and including everyone in the conversation. After all she's been through. That's an impressive thing to say. Regardless of how many lawyers it got filtered through.

<comment><USER6> > I think it's brave and noble for her to make (what seems to me) to be an > attempt at civil dialogue.

> In effect she's saying: I want to keep talking about this,

To me, it looks like a statement prepared by a legal team.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> Is it just me, or is her statement _not saying anything at all_ ?

</comment><comment><USER24> wow. She is the political beast! plays the color, minority and gender card, prepares a lawsuit and plants the seed for a next career move. I don't know anything about sendgrid, but the fact that they put up with someone like this is much more of a turn off for me than the fact they mob fired her

</comment><comment> mkr-hn That is a remarkably level-headed statement considering all that's gone on. I can already see the rage brigade firing up the oven, but maybe some good discussion can happen here.

</comment><comment><USER25> I'm glad she didn't do a point-by-point rebuttal. At this point, most people either agree, disagree, don't care or are sick of it all - or some combination thereof. (I must admit, I do like the way she worked in "conference spaces are work places".) Now I'm going back to my place _almost_ on top of the fence. . .

</comment><comment><USER26> Another reason I'm happy to be self-employed. It's just as likely to be me making those dongle jokes, and I certainly won't be firing myself for doing it.

</comment><comment><USER6> Meta: What happened with this thread? I am pretty sure when I submitted my first comment, it showed me [DEAD], and now it's undead again.

</comment><comment><USER27> this obviously smells like a lawsuit. talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

i can already see the massive proliferation of female/minority hiring that will overtake the tech industry once this episode is over.

who wouldn't want a week of massively negative PR, a crippling DDOS attack, and then a lovely lawsuit? sounds like every executive's dream scenario.

</comment><comment><USER28> The outpouring of misogynist hatred may or may not have been triggered by internet trolls, but the tech community has demonstrated a decided imbalance in its allocation of outrage:

<http://i.imgur.com/9Jg2brL.png>

<comment><USER29> I think it's not as simple as you make out. There's little to say about the abuse. Once you've said it was terrible, you've pretty well said all you can say.

As for the incident itself, however, it's clearly possible to have different opinions, which is why you see a lot more conversation about it. It's actually the more interesting topic of the two.

<comment><USER30> Most of the conversation hasn't been very interesting though. I'd rather see discussion of what people think is appropriate behavior in a public setting like a conference.

When is it O.K. to at least make someone else aware that they are making you uncomfortable? Is it a good idea to create situations where bringing in a third party is an acceptable response to a situation? What is a constructive way to handle situations where someone feels aggrieved but few people agree with them? And so on.

Instead, we get lots of picking at the details of this incident, or uninteresting analysis of what motivates Adria Richards (most of us are flawed enough that we are not fully aware of our own motivations, never mind those of a stranger).

I suppose there is at least some contingent that would point at the legal system and say "There's your guide to behavior, right there." I also suspect that there would be a majority that disagreed with them.

<comment><USER29> I think this is an interesting comment, because I find the opposite. I've seen a great deal of debate about what people think is appropriate behaviour at a conference.

The debate I've seen includes, amongst other positions:

a) It's work, so needs a professional attitude

b) It's just a joke, so should be forgiven

c) It lowers the tone

d) It makes a hostile atmosphere for women

e) It was a private conversation

f) It was a public space

g) It's against the conference policy

h) The problem wasn't the policy, but the public outing

i) Twitter isn't public

j) Is it sexist to use sexual imagery?

k) Have the companies responded correctly?

... etc. Lots of debate from what I've seen

<comment><USER30> You're right, there has been quite a lot of discussion along those lines. I do think statements like "It's just a joke" fall under picking at the details of the incident, I'd like to see the debated hoisted up a bit from there. Meaning, do the people who think such a joke isn't a big deal think there is any verbalization that would be inappropriate in that setting? How far would the people who claim the conversation was private extend that context? Stuff like that, where the details are set aside and people look for where the interesting lines are.

<comment><USER29> I think it's pretty clear that there are some things that would be inappropriate. The interesting thing here is that you wouldn't ordinarily expect two people to lose their jobs over a crap joke and a twitter photo.

it appears to be a perfect storm, where the deviations from what might be acceptable are minor, but the results are huge. One thing I take away is that if something isn't done* to deal with the tendency of the internet to make something viral, everyone will be walking on eggshells ... whether making a joke or posting something on twitter.

* I have no idea what that could be, though.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: UChicago admissions asked me to find Waldo. I did. - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/jacobsevart/waldo_uchicago <comment><USER2> This is neat! Best of luck to you!

Here is a thought: one of your goals with this essay is to write it as a "counselor-friendly essay". Do you feel like it is as friendly as it could be?

I think there is tremendous value in being able to explain technical concepts to non-technical people, and a skill that is worth practicing. Iterate on this essay! Or write more of them! How would you "tell a story" while conveying this information? Is that even possible? Or even worthwhile? Tinker with it.

The one thing I really liked about your essay was the end: "To reliably solve this sort of problem, I'm told, I'd want to [use fancy computer science terminology]. So, UChicago, shall we revisit this question in CMSC 35400 (Machine Learning) or CMSC 35500 (Computer Vision)?" It ties this back to your own personal goals and how they mesh with the university.

Great stuff.

<comment><USER3> I'd say this is counsellor friendly. One of the most impressive things was that he was willing to acknowledge sources - basically he gave credit where it was due. This doesn't take away from his essay, instead it shows that he can use existing ideas in an original way.

I hope he gets accepted! I tip my hat to the author.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'm a UoC comp sci alumnus working at silicon valley startups since graduation in '08. Though a fantastic place in many ways, it's not one to encourage actually building stuff. If you're a hacker who loves to see code run and solve real world problems you may be frustrated at the UoC. I was :) on the other hand, if you go through with their BS degree in CS then you will have learnt a lot of fascinating theory.

Best of luck my friend! And ping me at email@example.com to say hi or if you have any questions. Cheers :)

<comment><AUTHOR> I "prospied" last weekend and the professor I met at Hack Night said that the systems side of the department has a stronger focus in that area, though he may be in the minority there. The theory side is interesting as well, though I don't want to get _too_ far away from reality.

Thanks so much! This is why I love HN. I will definitely be in touch.

<comment><USER5> Now I regret missing hack night last week! I hope you got to meet some of our outstanding crew. Sounds like you talked to Borja. I had the good fortune to meet him when I visited and probably wouldn't have even bothered with a 4 year college if I hadn't. Here's hoping your essay does the trick! Shoot me an email if you want to discuss UChicago: email@example.com

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Awesome. And I feel for this guy, knowing what the next four years is going to be like for him. Sitting in classes listening to an instructor spend a whole week explaining how a "for" loop works to students who for the most part won't be able to successfully write their own "for" loop by the time they graduate (with a 3.5 GPA in CS).

I wish there was a degree path in "software" rather than "computer science", since that's what a kid like this needs. Turning algorithms into code is clearly solved for him. But I bet a few years of turning "nothing" into "shipping software" would be a lot more useful (or at least a lot less of a waste of time).

<comment><USER7> I'm in the UK and did a degree in software engineering which was pretty light on comp sci theory, but still had the similar pain of sitting through basic programming structure lectures for almost 2 years before hitting any kind of complicated software problems.

<comment><USER8> I can relate. I'm also from the UK and in the final year of my comp-sci based degree took a module titled 'Web Application Development'. Cool - we're going to be building a web app, I thought. Wrong - it was an introduction to HTML, CSS, and javascript. We didn't even have to make anything, just write snippets. In the final year for fuck's sake. What a waste of £20k.

<comment><USER7> Ah, mine wasn't so bad, my second year 'browser based applications' module involved creating open data mashups with jQuery, and a third year module in 'architectures and frameworks' used Groovy on Grails, so we did get into some pretty good modern stuff eventually.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> This is very impressive. However, I think the essay was poorly written. The point of the essay is not just to highlight your talents, but also to present yourself in a coherent manner. I feel like you focused a lot on the coding aspect and half-cooked the writing, which happens all too often in this industry. Nevertheless, good job on the project; you got an early start on a bright future.

<comment><USER10> I disagree. I'd estimate his writing skills are in the 95%+ percentile for 17/18 year olds.

In the last 5-7 years, the English curriculum in US schools has changed significantly in an effort to improve NCLB reading scores. One part of the curriculum that had to get trimmed down was writing composition.

These days, unless you were home schooled or attended grades 9-12 at a quality private school, you probably won't be taught how to write a proper essay until college.

<comment><USER11> Keep in mind that the University of Chicago is considered roughly a top 10 university (tied for 4th, if US News is to be trusted, which of course it should not). The 25th percentile of admitted students is at the 95th percentile of SAT scores. Rest assured, 80%+ of people who are admitted into the University of Chicago know how to write a decent essay (the other 20% allowing for athletes and development cases).

That being said, I don't find anything wrong with his writing, especially since he is writing a short technical explanation rather than a reflective memoir.

<comment><USER12> >the other 20% allowing for athletes and development cases

Chicago is not known for letting people in because they are athletes...

>80%+ of people who are admitted into the University of Chicago know how to write a decent essay

Actually, as an '06 U of C grad, I was a little bit shocked at how poorly the majority of the first years wrote. I say this without praising my own writing abilities as necessarily better. If the students represent some of the best in the country (they probably do), it doesn't say anything positive about writing eduction in the country.

<comment><USER11> True that UoC does not give very much of a boost to recruited athletes. Nonetheless, that 20% estimate would account for borderline legacies, development cases (parents donated), and possibly affirmative action admits (the data is mixed on this).

As for the second point, obviously your experience is purely anecdotal, which is hard to refute (other than dismissing it as anecdotal). I suspect that this opinion might be biased by our tendency to view things relatively rather than objectively - someone in the 75th percentile would see that most first years write poorly _compared to him/herself_ , and thus might conclude that most first years are poor writers in general, when objectively that is not the case.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Best o luck. I tried something similar with Stanford, submitting some APL code and a detailed explanation... didn't work that well.

I love the U of C, great school but not necessarily an easy place to go to school. The CS people are one of the few bastions of SML among CS depts.

</comment><comment><USER14> Bump for the _balls_ to do this AND for opening it up for everyone to review (usually good preconditions for a good foss developer).

</comment><comment><USER15> Good job! Piece of advice from someone already at uni, you should write your reports in LaTeX.

I've been doing it for a couple of years now and I'm amazed how often professors complement the layout, structure and readability. Of course, the actual content matters to... But in fact, for a report written using LaTeX vs. Microsoft Word, in my experience the LaTeX version would certainly receive a higher grade.

</comment><comment><USER16> Question, can essays contain pictures and diagrams? This seems like one of those pitfalls like using profanity to stress your awesomeness in a job application cover letter while everything else tells you not to.

<comment><AUTHOR> It was explicitly allowed by a question last year, though this year's supplement is silent on that issue. So _maybe_ not, and I wouldn't pull that at an institution with a different culture, but all 6 questions are curveballs and clearly designed to encourage creativity. I don't think they'll mind.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> If you don't get a full ride at school I'd recommend that you go straight into industry. It seems that you've already got enough skill to get hired, and once you do that you'll get paid to learn on the job.

<comment><USER18> I'd recommend taking this advice with a grain of salt. OP is clearly talented, and a U of C degree will pay huge dividends down the line. There are lots of great jobs closed to people without a top-notch degree on their resume. Though balancing debt for college is always something that should be kept in mind.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> Waitaminute, _Supplement to the Common Application_? Oh, Chicago, how you have strayed!

<comment><USER20> i'm sure many enterprising young applicants used the same essay for both the common and (un)common apps.

<comment><USER21> Parent was lamenting Chicago's decline into "common" status.

<comment><USER22> As a parent of a kid who is currently undergoing this "torture" of the admissions process [1], I beg to differ. The Common Application is definitely one of the ways the pain is alleviated. I wouldn't want to imagine the times when _every_ college/university had their own application format.

Every institution that uses the Common App also has their own supplement and I have seen them very varied in complexity: from simple one-page form with no additional essays to much more involved ones with three essays. The supplement is now the place where the institution can show how "special" they are and how rigorous their admissions process is.

I wish all colleges went the Common App route.

[1] I didn't go to college in the United States, so I didn't really have any idea how complex this process is until now.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Very cool, and something that probably will impress admissions officers, though I think it's generally not a good idea to publicly publish admissions essays until after the deadline.

<comment><AUTHOR> I applied early action before publishing, and the deadline will pass in a few minutes.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> FYI: your essay is giving me an access denied error:

        <Error>
          AccessDenied
          <Message>Access Denied</Message>
          <RequestId>A5B17F2AF38ADC02</RequestId>
          <HostId>
            3nvDN913QSL0zKSFhKcMZfhtVLAER4DU45ZNNP3K+cbtuNWze9IKOwDpovxl0Foz
          </HostId>
        </Error>

<comment><AUTHOR> Fixed, thanks.

<comment><USER24> Not fixed for me. And presumably for anyone else, either.

<comment><AUTHOR> Would you mind trying again? I did "Grantee: Everyone" but forget to check the Open/Download box in the S3 console. Looks like it's working now, but famous last words, etc.

<comment><USER25> It works for me, so it's publicly accessible now.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> Went to U of C ... Interviewed prospective students ... all that.

And, frankly: this essay knocks it out of the park. My essay (which, I'm convinced, got me into the school) was similarly off the wall.

Remember that the point of a response like this ... in addition to being well- reasoned, thought-out, and written ... is to leave a unique impression in the reader's mind ... one where, after they've read a gazillion apps that day, makes them say "admit the waldo programming kid!"

</comment><comment><USER27> FYI, you made typo on "Boltzmann" in the essay.

Edit: looks like you already submitted the essay. Oh well. Good luck :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Yep, thanks. Nothing I can do about it now :(. Actually caught that one while editing, but "fixed" it incorrectly. The public version is correct now, though.

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Please keep us posted with whether you're successful, superuser2! The essay is fairly transparent but points to an interesting tradeoff between counselor and professor when it comes to the question of whether it is accepted.

</comment><comment><USER29> The admissions counselors should be very impressed with what you've done. I know I'm impressed.

Of course, someone with your amount of skill and drive will be successful no matter where you go to school.

</comment><comment><USER30> Good job! Wish I'd thought of this when I was applying for college

</comment><comment><USER31> Congrats!

Related video: Werner Herzog reads "Where's Waldo", it's a really chilling story! <http://youtu.be/EvWh6PMi9Ek>

</comment><comment><USER32> So you wrote the Waldo essay, eh? I wrote the present essay. Good luck to you, and good luck to us all.

</comment><comment><USER33> Well now my essay feels inadequate...

But seriously though, good job, and best of luck!

</comment><comment><USER34> I wish I was this competent at that age.

</comment><comment><USER35> Correction: I have.</comment>


Proposed New York State Virtual Currency Regulations [pdf] - <AUTHOR> http://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/press2014/pr1407171-vc.pdf <comment><USER2> Here is a Reddit comment breaking down the proposal:

[http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2aycxs/hi_this_is_b...](http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2aycxs/hi_this_is_ben_lawsky_at_nydfs_here_are_the/cizyqyz)

<comment><USER3> This line saddened me, "In fact, Satoshi would have commited a crime creating Bitcoin without registration. (200.2n5)"

<comment><USER4> Well, Orville Wright didn't have a pilot's license :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Wow, this is down in the weeds. E.g.

      (4)  include procedures for the maintenance of back-up facilities, systems,
           and infrastructure as well as alternative staffing and other resources
           to enable the timely recovery of data and documentation and to resume
           operations as soon as reasonably possible following a disruption to
           normal business activities;

        ...

      (3)  Source code reviews.  Each Licensee shall have an independent,
           qualified third party conduct a source code review of any internally
           developed proprietary software used in the Licensee's business
           operations, at least annually.

A lot of these regs may have started out as Best Practices, but shouldn't regulations focus on the What, not the How? Also, the right place for these regs, if we must have them, are under FinCEN at the Federal level. If you watch some of their presentations, some smart people working there whom I'm sure would love to tackle this in a way that doesn't create an quagmire of conflicting and overlapping state regs.

A little passage in some old document about interstate commerce comes to mind.

The great thing about Bitcoin is this only applies to 3rd party companies wanting to assist you in transferring bitcoin, it doesn't apply at all to individual transfers between private entities. So this will do a lot to encourage private wallet software over centralized points of failure and intelligence gathering. For that, at least, you can thank NY.

</comment><comment><USER6> > Retained earnings and profits of in invested in US dollars. They may not > keep any profit in Bitcoin. (200.8b)

Bitcoin businesses cannot keep profits in Bitcoin? This is just too ridiculous to be true...

</comment><comment><USER7> Rrriiight. Good luck making it past the Commerce Clause, trying to thieve what is an enshrined Federal power ("To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes").

Who are these chumps that so enjoy playing with themselves in the public forum? Why do they think they're not stepping all over the constitution by imposing burdens on commercial activities that happen to intersect with NY?

<comment><USER8> They'll have no problem making it past of the commerce clause. The law doesn't matter, politics do.

The rule of law is not a self-enforcing principle, it's a political equilibrium built around a consensus. Checks and balances mean that it's somewhat detrimental to depart from this consensus, which is why it's stable.

However, it's not a very tight equilibrium. The restoring forces are weak, and they keep weakening over time.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I understand the state's fear after the Mt. Gox fallout but their effort seems too overreaching. How could they possibly enforce _all_ citizens and businesses involved in cryptocurrencies to have licenses, hold 10 years of records, etc.?

OTOH, would there be a way to hold currency exchanges legally accountable without breaking cryptocurrencies?

There are too many stupid exchanges that scam peoples' coins and this seems like a barrier to adoption for lots of people. It would be nice to just push $100 from a bank account into a bitcoin account (like paypal does).

<comment><USER10> > It would be nice to just push $100 from a bank account into a bitcoin > account (like paypal does).

Literally coinbase

<comment><USER11> Which may become literally illegal under these new regulations.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Ben Lawsky posts on Reddit: [http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2aycxs/hi_this_is_b...](http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2aycxs/hi_this_is_ben_lawsky_at_nydfs_here_are_the/)

</comment><comment><USER13> Matt Levine has excellent commentary on this: [http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-17/bitcoin- ban...](http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-17/bitcoin-banking-will- be-boring)

</comment><comment><USER14> Erik Voorhees's response, at length:

[http://moneyandstate.com/reflections-right-privacy- response-...](http://moneyandstate.com/reflections-right-privacy-response- nydfs-bitcoin-proposal/)

</comment><comment><USER3> What happens if the entities aren't based in NY?

<comment><USER11> If they have any customers in NY they need to follow NY laws. This is one of the problems with money transfer laws in the US.

<comment><USER15> This is an interesting question and answer. I personally believe that legislation will be forced to change so that de jure can more closely resemble de facto... But this will not happen (anytime soon) while NY lawmakers think they can tax or regulate something.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Desperation... haha, Bless their hearts for trying. 18th century paper proclamations/thinking only go so far as technology progresses...

</comment><comment><USER17> If you thing the State will ever do the right thing then you're wrong.

</comment><comment><USER18> This is absolutely ridiculous.

That some part of "The Government" thinks they can regulate something that is _not theirs_ is laughable.

They've done (and continue to do) enough harm regulating their fiat currency. Who gives them the right, and more importantly, how can they be so delusional to think they can actually regulate something that is built in such a way as to be regulation-proof?

Where's the torrent regulation PDF? These folks are clowns.

<comment><USER19> > They've done (and continue to do) enough harm regulating their fiat > currency.

It is extraordinarily easy to point out how shitty a job the Fed has been doing from a society that completely depends on it. When you compare how the American financial system has been doing compared to the rest of the world the results are astoundingly in our favor.

I find it difficult to understand how Bitcoin enthusiasts can so thoroughly discount how well our current system actually functions. There are no questions that there are deficiencies in the current system, but the Btc community hasn't seemed to even identify what they actually are, much less propose solutions in any reasonable way.

Propose, for instance, how HSBC would be prevented from laundering money for literal international terrorists and drug dealers. Or remittances, another Btc enthusiast favorite: do you really think the fees you are paying Western Union are related to flipping bits and not to keeping massive stores of cash, securely, in remote locations? Maybe some day cash wont be necessary, but we are extremely far from that point, and until we are there Btc remittances are essentially useless.

> That some part of "The Government" thinks they can regulate something that > is not theirs is laughable.

That some part of our culture thinks it is reasonable to create a new currency and _not_ have the government regulate it is laughable.

<comment><USER20> >I find it difficult to understand how Bitcoin enthusiasts can so thoroughly discount how well our current system actually functions. There are no questions that there are deficiencies in the current system, but the Btc community hasn't seemed to even identify what they actually are, much less propose solutions in any reasonable way.

A large percentage of the Bitcoin community's view on this front appears to be "past regulations have occasionally failed, therefore we shouldn't have any regulations." This makes no sense. It would be like your home being broken into and so you decide that you are better of leaving your door unlocked.

<comment><USER19> > It would be like your home being broken into and so you decide that you are > better of leaving your door unlocked.

Couldn't agree more. TLDR: bring back Glass Steagall.

<comment><USER8> Please, explain to me what difference the Glass Steagall act will make when commercial banks can issue paper that will be bought by deposit banks?

Oh, were you just repeating an Occupy Wall Street meme?

<comment><USER19> I'm not exactly sure what you mean by commercial banks issuing paper, and deposit banks buying. I think you mean investment banks issuing securities and commercial banks buying?

The reason Glass Steagall is important is because it stops commercial banks from needing to behave like an investment bank. Especially with publicly traded banks, you have entirely different types of investors with different expectations investing in investment banks vs. commercial banks, and that puts a huge amount of pressure on the commercial side of a merged bank to behave with similar risk profile to its ibank sibling. When they aren't merged there is significantly less pressure to buy higher risk securities. I think there's huge value in having both an aggressive ibanking system and a separate, stable commercial banking system, so yeah, I think we should bring back Glass Steagall.

The occupy wall street quip is unnecessary, don't do that stuff.

<comment><USER8> I did mean investment bank, thanks for correcting.

How are investors putting pressure on a bank? Investors are the owners of the bank, they don't "put pressure", they manage their property. Investors will want their property to grow and issue dividends as much as possible - investment bank or not. Calling it a deposit bank isn't going to change that.

The risk profile of investors is also not a consideration. More risk aggressive investors can simply leverage themselves. Investors want the risk level that's appropriate for the business. They may disagree on what that level is, but that disagreement will stem from different strategic outlooks and not from personal preferences.

An again: so ibanks cannot fund investments from deposits? That becomes entirely irrelevant the minute you have a liquid commercial paper market. Instead of investing deposits, the ibank will simply borrow money short term from a bank that has deposits. This is what happened in practice. It even happened with companies like GE which became de faco ibanks thanks to their high credit rating.

And yes, this means the deposit bank will be exposed to the risks the ibank is taking. If you want to regulate that out, you'll have to require banks be entirely in cash or treasuries. Glass-Steagall won't do.

<comment><USER19> The goal is not to make it so commercial banks cannot buy certain securities. The goal is to make it so they don't feel like they have to just to keep up with the Joneses. If they decide independently that they want to run their banks by investing in higher risk securities I'm fine with that, because in the history of banking that's just not what's happened (until, of course, the major parts of Glass Steagall were repealed). Commercial banks tend to have very different customer bases than investment banks, and they have investors* that they _can_ keep happy without investing in higher risk securities.

*Edit: /s/customers/investors

> Investors want the risk level that's appropriate for the business.

How do you determine the appropriate risk level for a business half of whom's goal is to provide explosive growth and half to provide long term, stable, lending?

> They may disagree on what that level is, but that disagreement will stem > from different strategic outlooks and not from personal preferences.

I agree entirely. Don't you agree the strategic outlook of an investment bank is entirely different than that of a commercial bank?

<comment><USER8> >Don't you agree the strategic outlook of an investment bank is entirely different than that of a commercial bank?

I do which is why banks will specialize in different niches regardless of regulation.

No law prevents a cement making company from leveraging itself like crazy and invest it all in high risk / high reward biotech research. And yet you don't see that happening.

Also, you fail to address the argument that a liquid commercial paper market gives ibanks de facto access to deposits.

<comment><USER19> > No law prevents a cement making company from leveraging itself like crazy > and invest it all in high risk / high reward biotech research. And yet you > don't see that happening.

And yet we did see commercial banks taking massive risk and going bankrupt because of it. Maybe that's ok though, I could certainly buy the argument that that's just the market.

> Also, you fail to address the argument that a liquid commercial paper market > gives ibanks de facto access to deposits.

I don't know what you mean by that. Do you mean ibanks can buy publicly traded commercial bank stocks?

Edit: And let's bring this back around: if this is not the appropriate regulation, what is? Open to hearing something better for sure.

<comment><USER8> >And yet we did see commercial banks taking massive risk and going bankrupt because of it

The depositors were insured, so the depositors didn't care. The bank shareholders had a free call option from the federal government in the form of an an implicit bailout guarantee, so they were incentivised to take as much risk as possible.

> I don't know what you mean by that. Do you mean ibanks can buy publicly > traded commercial bank stocks?

Without Glass-Steagall: commercial bank takes 90$ from Joe's 100$ deposit and invests it in leveraged CDO^2 on Bhutanese real estate.

With Glass-Steagall: commercial bank takes 90$ from Joe's 100$ deposit and buys 30-day debt from an ibank. The ibank use the money to invest in leveraged CDO^2 on Bhutanese real estate.

<comment><USER19> Yeah that all makes sense, but if we aren't going to prevent commercial banks from buying high risk securities, it also seems like the FDIC shouldn't be insuring them.

<comment><USER8> The whole point is that _even_ if you prevent them from buying high risk securities, they will buy AAA rated commercial paper from ibanks that will.

And surely you're not going to prevent a bank from making loans, that's their whole raison d'etre (safekeeping of money is incidental).

Short of getting rid of central banking, I don't think you can do anything about this.

<comment><USER19> Yeah, I am convinced. Thanks for a great conversation.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> This is old.

The guy did an AMA a while back.

[http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ygcil/as_requested_im...](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ygcil/as_requested_im_ben_lawsky_superintendent_of_the)

<comment><USER22> This is not old. The proposed regulations were released today.</comment></comment>


One New Piece of Technology Might Make Submarines Completely Obsolete - <AUTHOR> https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/one-new-piece-technology-might-make-submarines-completely-obsolete-58357 <comment><USER2> Had to look up AIP (air independent propulsion)

[https://defencyclopedia.com/2016/07/06/explained-how-air- ind...](https://defencyclopedia.com/2016/07/06/explained-how-air-independent- propulsion-aip-works/)

<comment><USER3> This is one of the better descriptions of a Stirling engine that I've seen. The section on limitations is really good.</comment></comment>


Vice Media Acquires Refinery29 in a $400M Deal - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/business/vice-media-refinery29.html <comment><USER2> My first reaction was sticker-shock Vice spent _that much money_ on Refinery29 given both companies are struggling with profitability.

Then, as I read it's mostly an all-stock deal and zoomed out to the investors it added a lot more perspective.

Vice and Refinery29 are both more like media pawns than media pillars. Vice's major equity owners include Disney, TPG (a private equity company from Texas that owns McAfee), and A&E (owned by Disney) - so Disney and TPG. Refinery29's major equity owners include WarnerMedia (owned by AT&T), the Discovery Channel, and a random private equity company.

At a high level, this acquisition is like a few financier and mega-corporation kids in the same sandbox playing a game of toy soldiers.

This doesn't really mean anything about Vice's or Refinery29's editorials or whatever, it's just a total mindfuck to look at these "behind the scenes" ownership structures and think about how that relates/juxtaposes with the companies that are owned.

</comment><comment><USER3> One way to make sense of this is that WarnerMedia and Disney had some assets that needed a bit of rehabilitation, and Nancy Dubuc is taking a varied set of assets & backers and trying to build something out of it.

</comment><comment><USER4> > Vice Media, the insurgent media brand known for its arch take on youth > culture and entertainment

Arch? In what way is Vice's coverage of youth culture playful or teasing? They seem to take themselves quite seriously.

</comment><comment><USER5> How come they never mention that Vice and Proud Boys were founded by the same person?

<comment><USER6> For the same reasons nobody brings up actual Nazis when there's an article about Volkswagen.</comment></comment>


Show HN: Powerful, Declarative SQL User Management - <AUTHOR> https://www.egt.run/~egtann/sql-user-management <comment><AUTHOR> I wrote this tool to help us manage many users in MySQL v5.7. We can whitelist and blacklist specific tables and columns in a declarative way across many users and have those privileges automatically update after migrations. Thought it might be useful for others. Happy to answer any questions!</comment>


Snabbdom – A Simple, Modular, Powerful, and Fast Virtual DOM Library - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/paldepind/snabbdom <comment><USER2> This is the library vuejs 2 virtual dom is based off of.

<comment><USER3> CycleJS recently switch to Snabbdom as well.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I really like this library. I've used it to implement a minimal React+Redux toy "framework" when I was spending hours in cranky trains in India.

It turns out in 200 lines of TypeScript I can have a view library which has everything I like from React/Redux/mithril/Elm:

* reactive (hopefully fast, I haven't benchmark anything but I trust snabbdom benchmarks)

* simple API (basically 2 functions) and simple workflow (event -> update -> render)

* hot-reloadable (thanks to Webpack HMR)

* time-travelable (inspirated by Elm Reactor)

* type safe-ish (I wish I could do more here but I think TS is limiting it - a const keyword would be awesome)

Disclaimer: I wrote that during my Asia backpacking so the code is ugly and not even named consistenly but as I'm looking for a job I will try to make it more presentable/usable soon. [https://github.com/maattdd/AuberJS](https://github.com/maattdd/AuberJS) for those interested

Random interesting bits:

      function draw() {
        if (m && node) {
            const new_node = ballastView(r,m)
            patch(node,new_node)
            node = new_node
        } else {
            console.error("Unable to draw")
        }
      }

</comment><comment><USER5> What's with the weird Vdom syntax. I'd really like if authors used something that can be used as jsx.

I want to copy my html snippet and only chance the dynamic bits.

There should be portability from other frameworks.

React's API Base is small. If we think react is slow, then there should be a lighter more performant version offering a descent migration path.

<comment><USER6> The readme explicitly mentions [https://github.com/yelouafi/snabbdom- jsx](https://github.com/yelouafi/snabbdom-jsx) which allows the use of JSX syntax. While there are trade offs with choosing any virtual DOM library, syntax is not a limiting factor for this one.

</comment></comment><comment> awinter-py Is this unrelated to snabbswitch? Is 'snabb' a word I don't know? I thought it was someone's name.

<comment><USER7> "Quick" in Swedish, probably the same in Danish as the author is Dane.

<comment><USER8> Nope, it's "hurtig".

<comment><USER9> Wait, "Hurtigruten" just means "fast route"?

<comment><USER8> Yep :) Or more precisely "the fast route".

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I'm kinda out of the loop with Javascript nowdays, but how would one react to changing data on some input element and receive it in Javascript, integrating elegantly with this library?

<comment><USER11> easy, using vanilla.js !

you attach event-handlers to each virtual-dom the same way you would do with a normal-dom.

and those event-handlers can react to change the way you want.

If you mean how to do auto-data binding

oldDom = patch (document.body,newDom)

newDom = h ('div','hello world')

patch (oldDom,newDom)

patch is the function that does the dom diffing.

The amazing thing is most web components do not need auto-diffing.

Sometimes you want fine grained control where you write your own update functions - making imperative changes to the dom based on your needs.

And for other web components where you want more auto-updates you can patch accordingly.

The thing that is amazing is that you can dial it up and down based on your individual needs.

A good example is table components with a lot of data.

You really do not want to incrementally update the table.

So for the divs with the data you patch

but other components that have a lot of interactivity you can simply not patch and do updates by hand.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Its surreal watching snabbdom on HN.

Snabbdom is a gem of a library, it makes microsoft ( angular) and facebook ( react ) look like idiots.

Whoever came up with dom diffing in Facebook is clever, but facebook took that idea and made it into a weird beast, which doesn't integrate well with the rest of the open web ecosystem ( I guess facebook has way too many downstream engineers )

Snabbdom implements the core dom-diffing algorithm and leave the architecturing to you and that is where its power lies.

Snabbdom is really powerful when you mix it with the rest of the small libraries that are written in the UNIX way.

<comment><USER12> So... Angular comes out of Google, Microsoft's key JS contribution is TypeScript.

<comment><USER3> RxJS is also from Microsoft and a huge contribution.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> This, like React, is an inferior reimplementation D3. Whereas React is both slower, less expressive, and less compositional, Snabbdom seems to have settled for just being less expressive and less compositional.

<comment><USER14> I'm not very familiar with D3, but the website doesn't really emphasize building reusable components and putting them together into an application.

What is the standard way of doing this in D3?

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> I'm thoroughly convinced anyone writing a virtual dom library doesn't know how the DOM, nor a renderer for it, actually works internally.

<comment><USER16> There are a number of performance advantages to a virtual DOM. That's why React uses a virtual DOM - unless you're also thoroughly convinced you know more than Facebook's engineers. Google the subject a little.

<comment><USER15> But there aren't, there are performance advantages to reusing Nodes due to the specific way that browsers implement render reflow. If those implementations ever change, or you use React on a browser that doesn't suffer from implementation specific perf issues, you've introduced unnecessary complexity.

This is the type of rhetoric that is repeated without personal knowledge of internals or without understanding why the issue exists to begin with. You're basically saying that tree-based structures are inherently expensive.

Read implementing a browser a little. Read specs a little.</comment></comment></comment>


Warning Don't Go Agile - <AUTHOR> http://www.salvantra.com/blogs/post/warning-dont-go-agile/ <comment><USER2> _There are a host of problems that could go wrong with projects (and, in my experience, the largest problem being a lack of communication.)_

THIS - the lack of communication - is the biggest problem Agile solves. No, you don't have to use Agile to solve the communication problem, but I wager the solution you come up with will look a lot like Agile. And yes, Agile is no panacea and has its own downsides, but solving the communication problem is such a tremendous benefit that the downsides are often marginal.

If you don't have a communication problem or a communication problem isn't the biggest obstacle to your successful delivery then perhaps Agile may offer little benefit or take you on a tangent introducing other problems while not solving your main problem. The worst thing you can do is adopt processes because everyone else is doing it.

</comment><comment><USER3> Good devs may leave your shop and go somewhere new. I would rather work for an agile shop any day. Better quality of life.</comment>


Cheap web hosting is cheap for a reason. - <AUTHOR> http://y2kemo.com/2012/01/justhost-sucks/ <comment><USER3> Time and time again I see these articles, and time and time again, people just don't listen.

If you are technically inclined enough to run a website, take a day (I promise that's how long it will take) to learn to configure a Linode instance (they have extensive scripts that will do most everything for you). I know you think your time is more valuable, but learning how to configure a simple LAMP Ubuntu server will pay dividends in the future.

You can host all of your sites on there for $20 a month, they're absolutely great to work with, and you won't be dealing with an oversold shared server.

And how can you take this article seriously when it's plastered with ads for Hostgator?

<comment><USER4> I'd much rather have these people stay with cheap shared hosting. There are too many poorly secured and poorly optimized VPSs "managed" by people who think they know how to run a server because they copied and pasted some Ubuntu tutorials. Sooner or later, they cause their Linodes to thrash, their sites gets exploited, or they botch up an upgrade and their sites are down anyway.

Some people will learn from these experiences and become better sysadmins. But most people who just want to run a WordPress blog with cutesy plugins are not interested in troubleshooting an unmanaged VPS. Someone who can't be bothered to enable error logs in php.ini to see what's causing all the 500 errors isn't the kind of person who will learn from a VPS malfunction. They'll just bash their host for being unmanaged, move to another host, wash, rinse, repeat.

HostGator is about as good as "cheap" shared hosts can get, not only because they're more competent than the majority of shared hosts, but also because they seem to be willing to deal with these kinds of customers. They understand that their typical customer is utterly uninterested in troubleshooting any issue whatsoever. (GoDaddy caters to the same clientele, but they're far less competent and a lot more shady.) If the same customer went with NearlyFreeSpeech.net, they'd just end up writing another blog post ranting about how their host charges money for support tickets and expects the customer to participate in the troubleshooting process. How dare the host ask the customer to chmod a file!? NearlyFreeSpeech and Linode are too good for these folks.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> How is the title of this link "Cheap web hosting is cheap for a reason." yet the author promotes HostGator which have plans starting from $3.96 a month?

<comment><USER6> I can't read the article because the author's cheap hosting can't handle the load. I see that it's hosted on HostGator now.

<comment><USER5> Haha, touche! I thought the same thing, I thought it was just my internet connection take a while to connect though

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I transferred my site to justhost about 8 months ago. I paid for the 4 year hosting plan. Personally I have never experienced any issues.

Although the only fault I have with them is the way they have awstats set up. You can't configure it to resolve IPs, 'Update Now' isn't available etc - <USER2> they overwrite the config file every day and there's no way around this.

Also, if people do want to purchase hosting from justhost you can use 50OFF as the coupon code.

<comment><USER8> I've been with them for a few years now and I've had so many problems with them. They are by far the worst 'cheap host' I've been with.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Webhosting is funny because everything is ok until it's not. It's easy to have isolated incidents which look really bad versus overall trends and knowing the difference.</comment>


Why Apple Should Not Buy Nintendo - <AUTHOR> http://www.oddevan.com/2013/why-apple-should-not-buy-nintendo.html

<comment><USER2> What's missing is any explanation of why the author considers the precursor question of "Why _would_ Apple even _think_ of buying Nintendo?" What prompted the article in the first place? Sure, the games are good, but there's enough games for iOS & OS X out there; remember, Apple only creates software as a reason to persuade people to buy more hardware, and there's certainly enough compatible games out there to make that happen.

Next, it keeps comparing the non-sequitur of Apple buying Nintendo with the absolutely unique Apple purchase of NeXT, which was unlike any conceivable purchase because it amounted to Jobs taking a sabbatical to, having experienced creating Apple, see what he could do with a complete ground-up reboot of the process, and then folding that work back into Apple as a means to better advance the company without the consternation of wrenching the original company in that direction before figuring out where the target was. It amounted to branching the vision, doing independent work, then merging that branch back into the mainline.

Apple should not buy Maker's Mark either. Purchasing a flash storage fabrication facility was a much better decision.

<comment><USER3> The only huge benefit to Apple would be exclusive Nintendo games. Especially when they launch the Apple TV, if they alone have Mario on that first it would be massive. I don't think Apple would be interested in a merger, they essentially recreated their handheld business the right way. They would only want the exclusive games and Nintendo still makes some of the best games that are perfect for the casual market. i.e. Apple TV, tablets, pods, minis, the new consoles and handhelds.

Apple iOS 7 also allows external gamepads to this it an opportunity for nintendo as well to put out some nice gamepads and maybe other interesting motion controls.

Apple also recently bought PrimeSense and the Apple TV console is still on the way. It could be a perfect storm if that launches with Mario and Zelda.

<comment><USER4> The Mario and Zelda franchises alone would probably smash App Store download records. The time would seem to be ripe too, as the value of this kind of nostalgia is probably at its peak point.

It would be interesting, thats for sure.

<comment><USER5> Why does Apple need to own the company behind that IP in order to win? If Nintendo releases the games for iOS, Apple gets a cut anyhow.

I could possibly see the argument for locking them up as an iOS exclusive -- but Apple doesn't need to buy the cow, so to speak, to get that milk.

<comment><USER6> > _Why does Apple need to own the company behind that IP in order to win? If > Nintendo releases the games for iOS, Apple gets a cut anyhow._

That seems exceedingly unlikely without Apple doing something equivalent to a takeover. Nintendo does not release its games outside of its platforms. Nintendo wants the 3DS to be your mobile gaming platform, not iOS.

<comment><USER5> A lot of the theory behind "Apple should buy Nintendo" is premised on the idea that Nintendo would release its games on iOS -- something it is under a lot of pressure to do, regardless of whether Apple were ever to buy it.

Nintendo, being a hardware company like Apple, would much rather you buy its games on 3DS (or whatever future system) than on iOS devices. But it may not have that choice indefinitely. Its hardware sales (Wii U and 3DS) have been in freefall. Its software is the one bright spot in its portfolio right now. Its overall financial health is tenuous.

Regardless, I don't really have a position on whether or not Nintendo should make iOS games. I'm addressing the "Should Apple buy Nintendo?" argument, to which my position is "Why?" Absent some sort of fire-sale opportunity to scoop up Nintendo if/when it approaches collapse, or to buy it on the cheap in a defensive move against Android, I don't see the pressing need.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I think the opposite of this article and would be happy to argue it... First, I would like to point out the failure that was the nintendo bandai experiment was from an Apple that was failing at everything. Their stock price was in the gutter, the outlook was bleak, and that was a shot in the dark. This was not the Apple that would make OS X, iPod, iOS, and iPhone.

I think assuming that the lack luster online services from both companies is the reason to avoid the merger is pretty absurd. Apple knows how to do online servies iTunes, AppStore, iCloud all serve massive audiences. And are just that, connected services.

Microsoft is also not a threat, their empire is slowly dwindling and I'm very literally, willing to bet, that it's going to get the nail in it's coffin with SteamOS pounding the head of it. Hardcore gamer's are what drive Microsofts platforms currently because your average consumer is voting with their dollars for Android and iOS (not Desktops/Laptops and not Microsoft products). SteamOS is the chance to remove one of the biggest arguments for Windows, that has existed my entire life, "it plays games, and your Mac or Linux box can't!" ... if a Battlefield or Call of Duty is releaed for the SteamBox I think it's game over (BOOM, PUN!).

The Xbox One falls flat for that market, as well-- out the door the PS4 is just better. Sony knows this is it's chance to rally, and that Microsoft is weak, and I think they've taken the opportunity to it's max by making a console that's just dollar for dollar unmistakbly better.

For one, Apple and Nintendo do one brilliant thing well, and it's the one thing that matters, they enchant their users. They provide an almost whimsical experience with their products that sets them far from the rest of the pack. They both drive innovation.

If Apple and Nintendo were to merge, we would finally see real first party titles showing up on the Mac, iOS, and most presumably the AppleTV (Wii-U tech would do wonders here since their airplay gaming sucks [latency]). Apple would begin to have a foothold in the one industry it has typically done so poorly in-- gaming.

Culturally, they both strive for excellence. It's better to not release something at all than release it, if it's not perfect (grain of salt with that one, but most will follow me on it). Apple knows how to make great software, and hardware, nintendo knows how to translate these into story telling-- to enhance and enchat the viewer into a stouper not well known on other platforms.

Finally, in regards to "what customers actually want" I'd like to point out that one very famous person said quite the contrary. Customers don't know what they want, it's their job to tell them. Because their customers are not the innovators, they're the consumers. I forget the guy's name, he ran some big fruit company or something...

[edit] For those who are like, WTF prompted this article, I think this is just a nerd fantasy that makes its rounds every few months (it's one of mine!).

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the feedback. I think the point I was trying to make at the end (with mixed results, obviously) was that both companies are still learning about online services. Apple would be the leader in this case if only because their store structure (same account across all stores, redownloads to same account whenever legal) is exactly where Nintendo is trying to get to. My concern is that Apple's still not an expert, and it's hard to learn and move out of a comfort zone when there's a merger in progress.

I am also excited to see what happens with SteamOS and SteamBox; if it does what Valve wants it to it will be a real... (sigh) game changer.

Again, thanks for reading!

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Agreed, a merger is probably a bad idea, but if Nintendo was to exclusive all Nintendo games to Apple and coincide with the Apple TV apps/game SDK/console they would sell a ton more on Apple devices.

They are already exclusive and this wouldn't change their business model much but it might mean less hardware from Nintendo, they haven't really been the best at hardware even though I loved the original NES that was better hardware.

I am positive developers would love this because developing for the Wii and Nintendo hardware nowadays means developing for a very small target, weak hardware and limits what can be done. Makes modern day ports a nightmare and we live in a multi-platform world for most games, starting with mobile (the new handheld) now.

Nintendo has made the best of that but kids all play tablets now. If they want to reach the kids they'll have to do something like this soon so they don't skip a large part of this generation. They were everywhere in the 90s, and a spike again with the Wii before mobile but their hardware just isn't as attractive now with all purpose devices like tablets and minis.

They are rolling on some nostalgia fumes still, but the Wii U might be a sign of things to come. Of course you could also say they didn't differentiate the Wii U enough, most people don't even know it is a new device, they think it is an add-on to the Wii. Horrible branding. They should have called it the Nintendo Revolution as is brought in their first tablet like device. (Nintendo Revolution was the code name for Wii during early dev).

<comment><USER8> >> they would sell a ton more on Apple devices.

But would they be more profitable? Pokemon X/Y's market price in retail ~$35 right now. Pokemon X/Y sold 4M units over the course of their first weekend [1]. And that's not counting console sales related to X/Y.

I imagine 2DS holiday sales are going be pretty healthy because of Pokemon X/Y by parents who bought into the FUD about the 3D in the 3DSes turning their kids' brains into mush.

My niece, who has access to both Android and iOS tablets is getting a 3DS just for Animal Crossing. If the software is compelling -- and one can make the argument that it is -- people will continue to support Nintendo.

1: [http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/15/4840738/pokemon-x-y- sales](http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/15/4840738/pokemon-x-y-sales)

<comment><USER3> I do hope more kids get Nintendos and the handheld stays strong but also I hope it doesn't relegate them to the back and fade away. I got all Nintendo's through Wii for my son but they end up on the computer or tablets for other things.

They might be immensely more profitable and they would be good to remake mobile games a little more fun. Super Smash Brothers would sell alot and with very smart in-apps or f2p like Halfbrick style would probably dwarf Angry Birds, many of Nintendo titles would. They are just not reaching tons of fans and sales.

Nintendo sells 4M units because that is a small set of good games on a small market like console 10-20million users (across all three bigs it is only 150 million). Mobile is billions of users, pretty much everyone would buy Nintendo games on mobile, they could also change premium pricing and sell easily at 5-10-15 even 20 maybe. In-apps would keep them alive in profitability and they could change mobile gaming in big ways even down to controller accessories.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Is Apple even considering buying Nintendo? Did I miss something?

<comment><USER10> It's a commonly suggested thought from people that like both companies. In a happy-go-lucky sort of way it is a fun thought experiment, but I've never heard anyone seriously suggest it.

<comment><AUTHOR> That's it right there. :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Why not? Both Apple and Nintendo have shown puritanism and obsession with content control.

</comment><comment><USER12> What? This is an insane idea to begin with. It's right up there with Compaq buying Digital and HP buying Compaq. Companies with too much money and no clue do things like this. Apple has too much money but absolutely no lack of critical thinkers who would realise this is a dumb idea.

Right now Apple makes platforms. Developers develop for those platforms and make lots of money. No shortage of good games on iOS, in case you haven't looked. And while I haven't seen anyone playing a Nintendo portable in a year or so, I see Android/iOS games everywhere. Nintendo haven't even got a worthy console in this generation. What does Nintendo even have that Apple would want?

Should Apple want Nintendo's IP (characters etc. - and I don't think that is Apple's style at all, just the only vaguely valuable thing there) they just have to wait a bit longer. If they did want Nintendo, the only risk to waiting would be that some other company would snap them up first. Nintendo certainly isn't going to worth _more_ in a year.

<comment><USER13> I just bought a 3DS XL.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> I just want nintendo to release their grasp on Pokémon and release that for iOS/Android. Touch screens are IMO the best input device for JRPGs (Pokémon, Final Fantasy, etc.) or Turn-based Strategy games (XCom, Disgea, FFT, etc.)

</comment><comment><USER15> The two companies seem to have certain similarities: A willingness to think different in pursuit of their own hardware standards and form factors (remember how the Gamecube used mini-discs and had a handle for carrying?), huge success from pursuing the Blue Ocean Strategy, the capability to inspire consumer cults (possibly because they are seen as somewhat "purer" than their competitors), and even similar aesthetics (clean off-white plastic-porcelain hardware, the lower-case letter 'i', very family-friendly content, minimalist form over high-performance function).

</comment><comment><USER16> It's worth noting that Apple has a sordid history with video game hardware: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pippin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pippin)

<comment><AUTHOR> It's noted in the article. :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> For anyone wondering why the author felt compelled to write this article, there is no answer.

This should hopefully save some Googling. There is no official talk of an Apple purchase of Nintendo.

</comment><comment><USER18> One minor, but important point. Apple has already made 2 very successful "game consoles" \- the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad.

Pretty much everything a game console has going for it Apple has - standardized hardware and software, reasonably powerful hardware, and a large audience hungry to play games. That is in fact why a lot of large companies make mobile games - because iOS and Android have a lot in common with game consoles. Heck, with Airplay + controllers or devices like OUYA, iOS and Android are nearly indistinguishable from other game platforms.

I am a gamer so I understand how gamers might bristle at the notion of this, but Neil Young, former exec at EA and founder of ngmoco started ngmoco based on the premise that the iPhone was a game console and he went to build a very successful game company doing it.

Apple could very much make the Apple TV into a game console if they wanted, but I'm not so much sure that the product designers care that much about games as part of the core product concept.

<comment><AUTHOR> I agree; iOS devices are AMAZING game consoles. The problem I'm worried about is the one mentioned in [Ben Thompson's article][1]: that easily portable casual games don't differentiate platforms. If you can get Fruit Ninja on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, then it's one less reason for you to choose iOS over any other platform.

Game consoles have always had their big-ticket exclusives; I'm concerned that iOS doesn't have enough.

[1]: [http://stratechery.com/2013/casual-gaming-is-a- sustainable-b...](http://stratechery.com/2013/casual-gaming-is-a-sustainable- business-but-not-a-platform-differentiator/)</comment></comment>


Twitch plays Go - <AUTHOR> http://www.usgo.org/news/2018/04/twitch-plays-go-this-saturday/ <comment><USER2> For those new to the game of Go, one aspect of the game that makes it so much fun for me is the way that a good commentator or author can tell an entire story around the game (and Will Lockhart is one of the better commentators). Attacks, counterattacks, being bold vs being cautious, going for territory or strengthening defenses...a good game commentary can be more enthralling than many novels.

This also means that an individual's personalty shows through in a game of Go more than it would for, say, Chess. I know I'll never be a top-tier player, but I also know that by improving my Go game I can improve my performance in other aspects of my life. I am often impetuous and overly-optimistic. In Go, this means that I tend to attack when I should defend, and when I do defend I tend to do so imperfectly. In life, it means that I often start more projects than I can finish. So, in a way, Go is my own personal meditation strategy.

Finally, for those who want to get into the game but may not have time to play a full game in one sitting, I highly recommend Dragon Go Server ([http://www.dragongoserver.net/](http://www.dragongoserver.net/)). Games are played out in "correspondence" style. This means that a game may take a long time to play, but it also means that the play tends to be very strong. I'm personally only 14kyu on DGS, whereas I was 11kyu on KGS 3 or so years ago (back when I had time for it).

<comment><USER3> What gave you the misapprehension that chess doesn't have bold and cautious attacks and defenses, and dramatic games? It certainly does.

<comment><USER2> Oh, I realize that personality plays some roll in chess, but I think the degree to which is shines through in Go is on a whole other level. There is only so much you can do in chess that is still considered sound play. For example, you keep your queen back if you're a cautious player or bring it out early if you're not, but doing something like sacrificing your queen early in the game to take a pawn would just be regarded as stupid.

There are many fewer truly "stupid" plays in Go, especially early in the game. In fact, if you look at a lot of the commentary around the games that Alpha Go played, one thing said time and again was how Alpha Go made moves that seemed "amateurish" only to follow up later with connecting moves that seemed almost prescient.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Promotion for "The Surrounding Game", which looks like a gorgeous documentary. As Lee Sedol claims in the trailer: "It's the most difficult game ever devised by humans"

Watching highlights of Fortnite 100-player battle royale matches where Ninja is racking up multiple kills per second really makes you wonder if a bot with visual recognition, building strategy skills is achievable in this generation. It's a _lot_ of information. Resulting in a massive decision tree. Bot AI used to be pretty decent back in the UT days. I wonder if Epic is thinking about employing them now to pad the games and increase engagement?

Does EPIC add bots to fill in the 100 for BR?

[https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/forums/battle- royale/roya...](https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/forums/battle- royale/royale-with-cheese/149568-does-epic-add-bots-to-fill-in-the-100-for-br)

<comment><USER5> > really makes you wonder if a bot with visual recognition, building strategy > skills is achievable in this generation. It's a lot of information. > Resulting in a massive decision tree.

It really depends on how the bot accesses the game, especially the controls. A bot with direct access to the motion of their character will have 100% accuracy and precision. One that has to use physical controls is far less likely to outpace humans so easily.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I didn't know about the Twitch game platform, but I have been playing Go for over 50 years - glad to see potentially many new people getting introduced to the game!!

<comment><USER7> I learned it as a kid and played until my professor died.

I don't play either much but prefer it to chess.

I'd say the sudden traction comes from the tv show Counterpart: the opening credits feature a board of Go.

 __* spoiler alert __*

If the show is definitely worth watching, it doesn't show much of the game itself. I would say this is a good way to tease gamers into (re)discovering it.

As to why it is featured, the game philosophy is about the uncertainty of a win, capturing your adversary is never a definite thing.

I think the show actually needed to introduce Go to explain it's depth.

 __ __

Hoping you will enjoy both :)

<comment><USER8> There has been a big resurgence in Go interest after AlphaGo beat the world champion last year. That made a lot of headlines, and brought in a lot of interest.

The AlphaGo documentary on Netflix is worth watching, if you have an interest in Go, or AI.

<comment><USER3> And that's ironic because AlphaGo's achievement was proving/making Go too easy for a computer / hard for a human to play well enough to be worth investing resources in making a human good.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Can we get Twitch Vs AlphaGo? I would pay to watch that.

<comment><USER10> twitch vs twitch would be more insteresting

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Is this going to have the crowd voting on moves, like Twitch Plays Pokemon? If so I think the game might go on for a long time (or a very short time if people spam "pass"). If Go doesn't end by mutual consent then it tends to go on for a very long time before the board fills up and it becomes literally impossible to play.

<comment><USER12> You could run the board position through a Go engine and only pass once the engine decided it was time to pass.

<comment><USER11> Yeah, I think that would work well.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> That's great, please post a link here when it starts :)

<comment><USER14> Its on the main channel: [https://www.twitch.tv/twitch](https://www.twitch.tv/twitch)</comment></comment>