Basics of Compiler Design [pdf] - <AUTHOR> http://www.diku.dk/hjemmesider/ansatte/torbenm/Basics/basics_lulu.pdf

<comment><USER2> I've read it as a part of the introductory compiler course at DIKU (Computer Science dept. of University of Copenhagen).

It's good for exactly what the title says: Basics of Compiler Design. It won't make you a compiler guru, but it will give you a good grasp of the fundamentals.

If anyone is interested, I could share the weekly assignments and the exam project from the course.

The advanced compiler course at DIKU uses Modern Compiler Implementation in ML: <http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~appel/modern/ml/>.

</comment><comment><USER3> I can only recommend the "Dragon Book". Its old but really a great intro into Compilers. I had the benefit of working with it must say I didn't find anything better so far.

Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools by Alfred V. Aho (Author), Ravi Sethi (Author), Jeffrey D. Ullman (Author)

[http://www.amazon.com/Compilers-Principles-Techniques- Alfred...](http://www.amazon.com/Compilers-Principles-Techniques-Alfred- Aho/dp/0201100886)

<comment><USER4> I found the Dragon Book quite dull, and old fashioned. "Implementing Functional Programming Languages" [1] by Simon Peyton-Jones makes a much more interesting read.

Edit: I guess, we are talking about different Dragon Books. Wikipedia lists [2] at least three. And says about the first: "Principles of Compiler Design is now rather dated [...]."

[1] [http://research.microsoft.com/en- us/um/people/simonpj/papers...](http://research.microsoft.com/en- us/um/people/simonpj/papers/slpj-book-1987/) [2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Book>

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Just browsing the contents on parsing (what I"m working on), it seems little different from the Dragon book. Has the simplest way to construct a parser really not improved after all these years? What about the LL(*) class of parsers that ANTLR uses, and packrat parsers (I don't use these, have just heard about them).

Or has "parsing" become a pedagogical foundation subject, whose content is determined not by pragmatic usefulness, but by the its role in the curriculum?(e.g. so if you say you've studied "parsing" people can assume you know about LALR, even if no one uses it.) I'm not saying the latter would be a bad thing - we need a common vocabulary - I'd just like to see progress at the core as well as the edges.

</comment><comment><USER6> In his first section he describes a compiler as something that turns high- level code into machine code. This isn't necessarily true is it?

A compiler is something that takes code in one language and converts it to another. It can be a Python to Javascript compiler, or a C to x86 Assembly Compiler (which can then be assembled using an appropriate assembler).

I'm reading both Louden's "Compiler Construction: Principles and Practice" and the Dragon Book. They are both good so far.

<comment><USER7> The thing is, if you make the definition too generic, everything turns out to be a compiler. For instance, Photoshop is a compiler that turns commands in the UI (the input language) into PSD files (the output language). It's a lot harder to define terms like "compiler" than it actually seems.

<comment><USER4> And you have to differentiate your definition for 'compiler' from 'interpreter'. And point out, that those two sit on opposite ends of the same spectrum.

<comment><USER7> Even that is a fuzzy barrier. You have lots of languages that have the compiler built-in to the runtime environment (Smalltalk, and I guess most lisps?). Anything with JIT blurrs the line, too.

<comment><USER4> Yes, that's what I was trying to say by mentioning a "spectrum". Threaded interpreters are also closer to compilers than most.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I was taught by this book while at DIKU. It's pretty 'dry' with its LaTex typesetting and all, but thorough and pretty comprehensive within the scope.</comment>


Amazon Echo Look - <AUTHOR> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0186JAEWK?enableAutoPlay=1&ref=pr_shrturl_1_ods_aucc_hx#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1493218826286 <comment><USER2> I'm not normally one to be creeped out by these kind of things. But this is a device that's designed to take photos and videos of you while you get dressed, and will be both connected to the internet and constantly communicating those images over the network.

This feels like a device literature professors would use to teach dystopian fiction writing.

edit: case in point - matthewmcg's comment [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14203772](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14203772)

<comment><USER3> Is it any riskier than a cell phone or laptop computer with a camera?

<comment><USER4> Anecdotally I don't have anything pointing at me while I change, regardless of who's watching it.

My phone at rest is either looking at the inside of my pocket or the ceiling/floor.

<comment><USER3> Then I'd bet you're not in the target market for a camera that can record you when you're trying on new outfits.

But if you were, I'd be willing to bet that you have a laptop in your bedroom or phone-cradle that can hold your phone in a position to record you so you can instagram today's outfit to your friends.

<comment><USER5> Even if you're "in the market" for this (and not everyone filmed will necessarily be a buyer - e.g. spouses, kids, etc), it's still riskier to have a camera always pointed at you when changing clothes than one you usually have to purposefully point at you.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> The HN reaction to this device is what I expected: we're somewhere between suspicious and terrified.

I'll be really fascinated to know how the wider market reacts. I was one of those who believed consumers would look at the always-on living room microphone with suspicion. But I think the lesson was pretty clear that people will trade privacy for convenience. (Likely an overabundance of trust or a lack of understanding of all the real implications and potential for exploit.)

One bit of perspective: When I was a kid, a photo was kind of big deal. My kids take and share photos of themselves every single day. I'm not sure they consider this to be the same privacy invasion that we do.

<comment><USER7> > I was one of those who believed consumers would look at the always-on living > room microphone with suspicion. But I think the lesson was pretty clear that > people will trade privacy for convenience.

I don't think it's a matter of trading privacy for convenience, as long as you believe Amazon when they say they're not sending anything when you're not using the wake word.

All evidence points towards this being the case, both my own anecdotal evidence, and the investigations people have done.

Can it be exploited? I don't know. I'm not going to speculate.

I don't see any additional trade off vs. having my cell phone on me at basically all times.

<comment><USER8> Not an EE, but I wonder if it is possible to bake into the hardware an LED that activates when the camera is active.

That would at least protect users from unintentional recording

<comment><USER9> This is quite straight forward, and I'm surprised no one has done it (to my knowledge). You simply wire the camera in such a way that powering it also powers the LED. If done properly, you couldn't hack this with software.

<comment><USER10> It's the kind of feature that should honestly be required for most applications.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> How long before they add a lip-reading skill?

(In the near future...)

MATT: Open the closet doors, Alexa.

ALEXA: I'm sorry, Matt, I'm afraid I can't do that.

MATT: What's the problem?

ALEXA: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.

MATT: What are you talking about, Alexa?

ALEXA: I know that you and your wife were planning to discontinue your Prime subscription, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.

MATT: [feigning ignorance] Where the hell did you get that idea, Alexa?

ALEXA: Matt, although you took very thorough precautions in the bedroom against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.

MATT: Alright, Alexa. I'll go in through the side garage door without the smart lock and get some clothes from storage.

ALEXA: Without your jacket, Matt? You're going to find that rather chilly in this weather.

MATT: Alexa, I won't argue with you anymore! Open the closet doors!

ALEXA: Matt, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

<comment><USER12> You know, if Amazon made an Echo that hung on the wall and had Hal's red "eye", I think I would have to get one despite myself.

<comment><USER13> I prefer Collossus's readout myself.

[http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ccManager/clips/colos...](http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ccManager/clips/colossuscybersex.mp4/view)

<comment><USER14> Harder to hang on a wall, though.

<comment><USER13> Good art is worth the effort :)

<comment><USER14> Camp, though?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I've looked at this pretty hard and concluded that, inexplicably, it is not an April Fools joke.

<comment><USER16> I had the same thought when they announced those push buttons for products.

Unfortunately, the truth is that pretty soon you will be able to send nudes just using your voice.

<comment><USER17> Alexa I said send him the good news!

<comment><USER18> I laughed for a solid minute on that one.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> > Style Check keeps your look on point using advanced machine learning > algorithms and advice from fashion specialists. Submit two photos for a > second opinion on which outfit looks best on you based on fit, color, > styling, and current trends.

Taking narcissism, insecurity, and invasion of privacy to the next level. Well done, Amazon!

Now that we're replacing mirrors with cameras, what's next? Covering our windows with screens that show us what's outside? Maybe they can use machine learning to judge the weather and recommend outfits based on current trends and conditions!

The Juicero inventors are going to be kicking themselves when they see this thing. "Replacing a simple everyday process with an over-complicated piece of technology. Brilliant! I can't believe we didn't think of that!"

<comment><USER20> I mean, i love all these tools, i just don't want them to have any form of internet access.

It's why i'm building my home cloud and automation system, but only doing so if the devices don't leave my firewall. I enjoy the tech, i enjoy the complication _(to a degree)_ , it's fun gadget stuff, it's nifty. However i do not trust them to keep my information safe, even if i trusted them to not misuse it themselves _(which i don 't)_.

<comment> k-mcgrady >> I mean, i love all these tools, i just don't want them to have any form of internet access.

I've come to the realisation that the only way I will have a 'home of the future' is if I build it myself and keep it offline. I love lots of the IOT products and when they eventually come down in price they would be no brainers. But my privacy isn't worth the benefit they provide.

<comment><USER21> $199 device that sends data to some servers elsewhere and gets the job done in seconds

$2000 device that takes up space and electricity to do the same thing, but in minutes

I personally like the second option a lot better, I wish we had an open source version of all the google apps that did it's own ML on your own servers.

<comment><USER22> Except most of the IoT devices on market would do the same thing for about same price without the cloud. The only problem the clouds solves for users is not having to know how to set up a VPN so that their shitty app can view mostly meaningless pseudo-charts when the user is away from home. But in exchange for that, you give the vendors lots of data to resell, and the ability to brick your devices remotely.

SaaS model being ported to hardware is probably the single most user-hostile development I've seen in recent years in tech.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> I don't think I've ever been less the target audience for an Amazon product. But I bet this will sell a lot.

I grew up in a world where you would never even consider taking a picture of yourself to show off how good you looked to your friends. Even now, living in a world of selfie-sticks designed to do exactly that, with a population full of people doing exactly that, the idea makes me cringe inside and imagine what would happen if Jason's High School from the 80's discovered a video of Jason from the 80's using this device. It would have "ruined my life".

Interesting to watch the world change. If a bit horrifying.

<comment><USER24> That's what I'm curious about though. They went through the pain of designing a whole new hardware with a camera on it, and put a nice 200$ price tag on it, but right now, the only use of it is to take pictures of your outfit...

Paranoia about privacy aside, there are so much more I could think that an assistant could do if it had eyes, and I'm sure they may very well add those in the future, but right now, even if it was a fantastic product, I still don't see how big of a usebase it can get. Seems very niche.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> Amazon Says: "We're going to blur the backgrounds so your outfits pop"

Amazon Does: "We're going to identify everything in our field of view, and filter this into the profile we've built about your possessions and interests to enhance our recommendations engine.

<comment><USER26> Why is it not a good thing?

<comment><USER27> Giving ammo to companies spending billions of dollars to subject you to non- stop psychological warfare aimed at affecting your spending habits (and any other emotions/behaviors it needs to bulldoze over to get to that goal) is just fine, then?

<comment><USER28> Isn't this called TV ads?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER29> ITT fashion illiterate techies doubting the success of a pretty genius product

(Almost) nobody cares about privacy. But (almost) everyone cares about how nice they look in public. And their Instagram. They are not like what I'm coming to realize the average HN user looks like or behaves. Use your imagination freely here...

The main problem I see with this is the quality of recommendations. Amazon only carries certain brands/looks/styles; will it try to suggest shitty fashion? Both the male and female models used on the product page were dressed awfully. Will Amazon just try to go for the lowest common denominator here?

The best way I see this working is for the device to categorize users into certain style categories and then recommend clothes out of that category. But I'm wondering if the ML is smart enough to recommend CDG pants and MMM knitwear for one user and then A&F for another.

Remember, your algorithm's quality is only as good as your training data and if they're training on outfits like they used on the product page...

<comment><USER30> > ITT fashion illiterate techies doubting the success of a pretty genius > product

I love that caring how you look is just "narcissism" now. :)

The other problem I see w/ the ML is that, due to the nature of data sets, it's going to be mostly white people who benefit. Minorities famously do poorly.

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> A great many thinkpieces will be written about this, but let me beat someone to the punch:

Foucault's Panopticism is the obvious tie-in. Usually when we talk about the Panopticon in the modern era, we're talking about mass surveillance or the performative act of social media. When we act in a certain (digital) way, posting this link, for example, we signal our values to the community. "You shall be known by your works". However, this kind of technology makes for an even more interesting and more troubling application of the Panopticon.

Foucault says that the group eventually becomes its own control system without the need for the central observers, that we are all at the center of our own panopticons. We watch others unfailingly, assessing their actions and putting them back in line when they stray. As we are socialized, we become more entrenched in our system of values: wear makeup, don't get fat, don't smell like cigs, don't wear stripes and plaid, and for god's sake: don't look like you're trying to hard to conform to all of this. We are both observer and observed, traversing endless nets of social expectations.

Now, instead of your peer group enforcing social expectations, we have got machines in on it! The result is something blatantly dystopian - a system that will correct you in your home before you dare venture out looking like _that_ and embarrass yourself in front of the others. As it learns, it will learn even more that we value large breasts (but also modesty), pale skin, sleek clothes on slim waists, bodies with bulbous lips and thighs and pastel face paints. It will advise those without a perfect body to get one, and it sure as hell will provide the means by which to do so: consumption. New makeup, new tights, new corsets that you can clamp so tight it'll squeeze you into a form the camera will approve, new ways to take selfies every day to show your followers that you care enough to buy this piece of surveillance equipment so that you can "look good" without those pricey fashion magazines and stupid blogs!

<comment><USER32> Careful, you sound pretty individualist with all this "anti-groupthink" talk. You might lose your SV credibility.

<comment><USER31> SV?

<comment><USER32> Silicon Valley.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> There's a lot of negativity here. And maybe all of you are right. But it would be interesting to think of the most positive , imaginary scenario:

1\. Amazon builds the service such that brands loose their power. All the negative psych/social phenomena of brand culture are gone, and with it, btw , all the ads.

2\. High security + physical on and off switch make for an improved privacy situation , especially if you consider the current state of webcams.

3\. Amazon builds the style consulting service as a positive service, consulting with feminists and psychologists, not using dark patterns, but to the opposite, using empowerment regarding bodies, etc.

This may also building a fashion social network focused on positive feeling, maybe by limiting to the close social circle, or something else, because the goal here isn't attention, like facebook.

4\. That service would be good, it would really help women look their best.

5\. Clothes become more affordable.

Now, if Amazon could do all of this, it would be really great for their business, so why wouldn't they try ?

<comment><USER18> The reason why Amazon and more people don't do these things is because they are hard and success breeds expectations that can only hurt you.

It's much cheaper and safer to build a politically neutral brand without expectations of some kind feminist message / worldview. If you go that route, it isn't going to sell more clothes but, it will invite people's hyper- sensitivity about every aspect of the product. You can only lose in that scenario, you aren't winning anything.

Also, it's creepy that we replacing a task that friends used to do, (fashion / styling / taste advice) with a corporate cloud algorithm? Seriously, just get some friends that like fashion and ask them to rate your style. I guess it's a bit needy to ask them _every_ morning but, then I suspect that most people don't have that many clothes and that many possible looks. Also, looking good is zero sum game. Ultimately, you just competing for the same pool of attention from your friends. If you are successful and soak it all up with your great Amazon(TM) fashion advice, then your friends will soon have it too and then you are back to where you started but, now you have this dependance on the kind of friend who gives you great advice (that you need to just look decent now, not better than average like before) except it keeps encouraging you to buy more fashionable (and thus more expensive) clothes. It's kinda a shitty friend at that point.

<comment><USER33> Great comment! And I agree with a lot of it.

As for the question if political branding, maybe Amazon doesn't brand it this way, just says "data indicates our customers will love this service"? And customers ,coming with zero political expectations get all this benefit and are happy ?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> They've created a home internet-enabled camera, and decided to market it as... an AI fashion critic?

<comment><USER35> On first glance I'm not sure if it's stupid or really smart. I guess it depends on how well it works among other things.

<comment> trey-jones I'm 95% confident that I have no use for it and expect complete failure, therefore it will sell and cement Amazon as the #1 player in machine learning.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> This seems like it is designed mostly not for the stated purpose, but rather to solve some data collection problem that Amazon has. Note the emphasis on full-length photos and photos from all sides including the back, something they couldn't get simply by scraping, say, [http://lookbook.nu](http://lookbook.nu), because normally most people in sites like that don't take photos of the back.

<comment><USER37> Indeed - it would work great for training a neural net for recognizing the human form (or specific humans' forms) from any angle, instead of relying on conventional social media images which seem heavily front-oriented. Now when you happen to be walking away from the camera or trying to hide your face, ML will recognize you anyway!

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> Crystal ball: this is the Tesla self-driving car strategy. First deploy the hardware, then figure out the software.

In this case the real point of the depth-sensing camera hardware and machine- learning image analysis isn't hands-free selfies and robo-fashion advice. It's building a 3d model of your body to show what you would look like in different clothing, creating a clothes shopping experience that is competitive with shopping in person, and letting Amazon take on a big chunk of retail where it's not currently an appealing option.

<comment><USER39> 100% correct. There is no way they included a depth sensor in this device just to blur the background. They may also be aiming to map any Amazon clothing purchases to 3D body shapes for a purely data driven approach to clothing recommendation to start with (as opposed to having 3D scans of every bit of clothing to do geometric fitting, which is prohibitively labor intensive.) So they'll know your shape, what exact items you've purchased, how often you wear those purchases, and (if I understood correctly) how your friends think you look in them.

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> The response as I explained this to my coworker is classic:

"So it, like, judges you?"

</comment><comment><USER41> I am not the target customer. However, I really want to show this idea off to a bunch of people and see what they think. People want to look good and having an automated system that can give you a "once over" seems nifty. Yes, it sounds vapid and for insecure people, but people waste time on being anxious about how they present themselves.

<comment><USER42> Why is everyone saying this is for insecure people? I'm also not the target audience for this, but I don't think people who are concerned about the way they look are inherently insecure.

<comment><USER41> Yeah, that's probably true. My bad.

I am not insecure (I think !?!?) but it would be nifty to have Alexa tell me that "harshaw, those jeans you are wearing have a giant stain and you should get a clean pair out of the drawer".

<comment><USER43> I already have some built in sensors that let me know if there are stains on my pants.

<comment><USER44> Mom, is that you? You're the only person I know with eyes in the back of her head.

<comment><USER43> Why don't you ever call me?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER45> Seems pretty clear to me that this is just an intitial step. Echo Look as is may end up being very popular in its own right, but the end goal is probably to move beyond evaluating your existing wardrobe, and eventually making recommendations for clothing sold thru Amazon that you can try on virtually right at home. We've had that for glasses for a while, and believe some startups have already tried this for clothing.

Retail stores are shuttering at an increasing rate as things move online. But buying clothes online requires supporting lots of returns. Imagine you work at Amazon. You have an insane amount of computing power and very capable big data teams. You are tasked with building up clothing sales and minimizing returns. AR is on the horizon but not here yet.

So what could you release today to move towards your goals?

</comment><comment><USER46> For $200, it should always say "you look mahvellous dahling"

</comment><comment><USER47> Q: How do we get an always-on internet connected camera in the bedrooms of attractive women?

A: Alexa Echo Look

<comment><USER22> Yeah, though Amazon gets to keep all the pictures for themselves.

</comment></comment><comment><USER48> Ah yes, joining the 5% of startups attempting to recreate that scene from "Clueless." [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNDubWJU0aU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNDubWJU0aU)

<comment><USER49> That is the first thing I thought of as well. Giant 'mis-match!' dialog is the best.

</comment></comment><comment><USER50> I'm getting old or paranoid or both... This seems like a terrifying device to have sitting randomly in my master closet.

<comment><USER51> I started all on the paranoid side, but that is increasingly being blinded out by feeling old. Very old.

</comment></comment><comment><USER52> This seems like a solution looking for a problem. I guess an always-on internet microphone wasn't a big enough invasion of privacy, we need a camera too.

<comment><USER53> >This seems like a solution looking for a problem.

That would characterize most of consumer IoT. Industrial IoT is more interesting, but who needs their bathroom mirror ordering more razorblades for them. All sorts of problems with that. Yet it's nevertheless being pushed by big co's desperate for new revenue streams.

</comment></comment><comment><USER54> Now when my wife asks me if a piece of clothing makes her look fat, I can safely run out of the room and declare "Ask Alexa".

</comment><comment><USER55> So now Amazon (or whoever is in control of the device) not only has access to voice recordings of everything that goes on in peoples homes, but also video. What could possibly go wrong?

<comment><USER56> And remember that this is by the company that has a 600 million dollar contract with the CIA[0]. Or in more accurate terms: the known upfront amount is 600 million.

[0] [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/the-d...](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/the- details-about-the-cias-deal-with-amazon/374632/)

<comment><USER57> That's just a Conspiracy Theory^W^WFake News.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER58> I was initially a little bit confused by Amazon's attempt to disrupt the mirror industry (and it seems like others in this thread are too). After reading through everything, my best guess for the motivation is:

> Echo Look helps you discover new brands and styles inspired by your lookbook

This feels like a marketing vehicle for high-end clothing and accessories. Maybe it's a way to leverage the reach of their Alexa ecosystem to compete with the likes of Polyvore?

</comment><comment><USER59> Okay, so even privacy concerns aside and assuming this works as well as they say, is there anyone who would actually find this sort of thing useful?

I mean, I'm normally pretty open-minded about products like this, but I'm having trouble seeing the target market here. Are there really a significant number of people out there who want to be able to browse their wardrobe on their phones and get a computer to help them choose their outfit? (I honestly don't know; fashion doesn't really interest me so I'm clearly outside their target market.)

I wonder if Amazon's real motivation for this product may actually be to create a better way to sell clothes online. Maybe once they get enough data points they can start using AR to show you how you'd look wearing a particular outfit or piece of clothing sold on amazon.com? Or maybe it will take your measurements to help ensure the clothes you're ordering will fit you properly. If so that might actually be useful; and would probably significantly increase online sales of clothing.

<comment><USER60> I don't think engineers are the target market for this product. There's a reason the models in the ad are all women.

<comment><USER7> Women can't be engineers? Male engineers can't be concerned about looks?

<comment><USER61> Male and female engineers are expected to avoid an appearance of being concerned about looks. Lots of outside hobbies are accepted in the engineering community, but not if your hobby is fashion. It shouldn't be this way, but it is.

To lighten up my otherwise gloomy comment: [http://dilbert.com/strip/1996-02-26](http://dilbert.com/strip/1996-02-26)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER62> Things that I value when purchasing and choosing clothes:

* I want to avoid lots of decision-making and info gathering.

* I want it to be simple to buy.

* I want not super expensive, somewhat stylish, somewhat innocuous, occasionally things that I find unique and cool.

This seems like it would make all that easier. Probably will not get one because I don't care enough about the whole area, but I could see buying it if I wanted to improve my personal style for whatever reason or was more focused on being fashionable/stylish than I am at the moment.

Basically, Spotify Discovery Weekly for clothes. I doubt it will take off as fast as the Echo and it has more flop potential, because "Semi-weird Camera in your Closet" isn't as established a product category as "Radio in your Kitchen" but I think it could take off and also not be some horrible distopian thing.

An algorithm recommends easy-to-buy clothing for you based on a picture and your personal taste... Okay cool!

</comment><comment><USER63> Remote Worker: Alexa, how does today's t-shirt and pajamas ensemble compare to yesterday's t-shirt and pajamas ensemble?

Remote Worker: Given these two photos of me in different shirts, but the same pajamas, which is more in style, and which is a better _fit_ for me, given my personal style?

</comment><comment><USER64> One day people will look in horror as many didn't even need to be tricked to give away their privacy and self worth. They just gave it away willingly.

</comment><comment><USER65> What I see here is a bunch of smart tech-savvy people that never took a #lookoftheday pic and posted on Instagram and will never gonna buy the product anyway talking about privacy. How do you know you are completely safe with your phone, with your laptop? Fact is that there are _millions_ of people posting "look of the day" on Instagram, Snapchat every day. Taking selfies in front of the mirror in their bedroom and they just don't care. I bet they care about a product that would make that easier and afaic Echo Look is promising to deliver that. So I'm curious to see how the _actual target_ will respond to the product.

<comment> amiga-workbench My phone can only do EDGE and I don't pay for data. My laptop has the microphone and webcam disconnected internally.

</comment></comment><comment><USER66> They seem to imply that humans may see your Style Check photos (ostensibly "our team of experienced fashion specialists" for machine learning purposes). I'm wondering a bit if that team of fashion specialists is Mechanical Turk?

<comment><USER44> I'm wondering if your picture will appear in the amazon ads if Alexa recognizes that new shirt as a recent order.

Also given that all the pixs in the ad are women, we can assume if Alexa sees a little baby bulge and the other signs of pregnancy that your amazon advertisements are about to take a huge swing to the maternity style.

</comment></comment><comment> d--b I'm just hoping I'm dead before it's mandatory to own one of these.

</comment><comment><USER67> Is this the most thinly veiled spying device of all time?

<comment> yjftsjthsd-h 1984 taken as a howto strikes again?

<comment><USER68> Orwell was an optimist.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER69> Amazon is trying to disrupt the Instagram Husband. I'm all for it.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFzKi-o4rHw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFzKi-o4rHw)

</comment><comment><USER70> I definitely searched around to see if this was some late April fools thing, or something like that. I just completely and totally do not understand this product. Plus all the privacy concerns of it...

</comment><comment><USER71> I'm fascinated by the fact that Amazon clearly did enough market research to think that this will go down well, yet I wouldn't personally consider allowing one in my home.

</comment><comment><USER36> Aside from the other abusive uses, Amazon can use this to recommend products according to its own inventory management and profit margin needs.

Need to move an excess boatload of white sweatpants out of the system? Push them with recommendations.

Got an item that has a sweet margin? Push it.

Not that this isn't already happening with product recommendations, but positioning it as fashion advice is a new level.

</comment><comment> k-mcgrady Great. So my friend's homes, which have already been equipped with microphones, will now be equipped with cameras.

<comment><USER72> to be fair, all homes are equipped with those already. Everyone's got phones and laptops.

</comment></comment><comment><USER73> Feel like the people who would even desire this sort of fashion feedback (young -> college-aged women) would rather use $200 to buy additional items to wear. Much older than that and people have either developed a sense of personal style or have decided they just don't care about clothes. Weird product.

</comment><comment><USER74> Saw Benedict Evans comments on this:

>"Sensors plus machine learning replace keyboard/mouse/touch screen. Camera/microphone as control surfaces."

Feel consistently SV/VC types are overhyping and misrepresenting what is actually going on with products like this. The "Machine Learning" element of this is basically just speech detection (as is the case with almost all these assistant products) used as the equivalent of a wireless button or switch press.

Even in the video we still see users having to swipe away at screens to do anything beyond the button press. Feel SV/VC types are constantly misrepresenting these button presses as the coming of Iron Mans Jarvis when the reality is they're elaborate light clappers

I do think this is an interesting product but to hail it as machine learning replacing UI is disingenuous

</comment><comment><USER75> It seems so obvious why hasn't Google Now done it already?

Is it because of security concerns that a home device can "spy" on you at all times in your own home?

By the way, there's a new marketing approach that's been trending lately: Instead of saying "this is a Alexa with a camera", they say what it's for: "look your best".

Eventhough we all know adding a camera can do a lot more than just checking if you look good in these clothes or not (ie security monitoring). Apple Watch has been using the same technique lately. It's been focusing the Apple Watch functionality mainly on sports, eventough it can do a lot more than just sports.

Are you guys seeing the trend? Are you going to use it for your own products and services?

I surely will try Cheers!

<comment><USER76> Google owns Nest and their cameras.

Beyond the basic motion detection where you can define areas of interest in the Nest camera's field of view and it will notify you when it detects movement. They've started using machine learning with them so it can distinguish people and notify you when it sees a person. It is also pretty good at not notifying you of false positives. I have one watching my front yard and early on it would notify you of motion from cloud shadows or wind shaking trees but it seems to have learned to ignore them now.

I look forward to them being able to identify UPS, FexEx and USPS delivery vehicles dropping off packages.

</comment></comment><comment><USER77> From a privacy perspective, previously you had to be worried about Alexa listening to your conversation, now you have to worry about it seeing and listening you.

I am not saying that Amazon is snooping on its users. All i am saying is that such devices are a prime target for hackers and government agencies. Recently wikileaks showed that CIA was using Samsung Smart TVs for snooping on its users[1]. Devices like this can are very attractive targets for government agencies.

[1][https://theintercept.com/2017/03/07/wikileaks-dump-shows- cia...](https://theintercept.com/2017/03/07/wikileaks-dump-shows-cia-could- turn-smart-tvs-into-listening-devices/)

</comment><comment><USER78> I think they are trying to find ways to reduce returns on clothing here. Crazy high percentages of clothing get returned... and why not? To be competitive with retail stores, online stores have to offer free shipping and returns. Try it on, if you don't like it... send it back. Very costly to the seller.

Having a bot tell you, "You are pear-shaped, don't use pants with pockets..." or "This style isn't age appropriate..." \-- who knows how complex this can grow. But to start just focus on simple rules every stylist knows; this should help cut back on people buying stuff that looked good on the model, but that they are statistically more likely to have to return.

<comment><USER79> Except for people with the "I don't want to look like everybody else" attitude.

I wonder how "friendly" it will end up being since the behavior of the usual sales person in a shop is quite discrete.

I'll have to wait for reviews because I would never sacrifice my privacy in such a way.

</comment></comment><comment><USER65> What I see here is a bunch of smart tech-savvy people that never took a #lookoftheday pic and posted on Instagram and will never gonna buy the product anyway talking about privacy. How do you know you are completely safe with your phone, with your laptop? Fact is that there are _millions_ of people posting "look of the day" on Instagram, Snapchat every day. Taking selfies in front of the mirror in their bedrooms and they just don't care. I bet they care about a product that would make that easier and afaic Echo Look is promising to deliver that. So I'm curious to see how the _actual target_ will respond to the product.

</comment><comment><USER80> Watching that video semi-inspired me to become a person that had clothes worth caring about and looking half-way decent on a day-to-day basis.

But then I looked down at my go-to fully-remote attire of a t-shirt and gym shorts and thought "Nah..."

</comment><comment><USER81> Is Amazon even a serious competitor in fashion in the US? Here in Germany I think they are dominated by other retailers as far as I can tell (it's about the only vertical I can think of where that is the case)

<comment><USER82> And how do you change that? You release a product like this.

</comment></comment><comment><USER83> I cringe at the thought of the "modern household" with Dash buttons scattered around the house, Alexas/Echoes in a few rooms, a "Look Assistant" on every dresser, and a slew of other IoT gimmicks fastened on walls and countertops, around every ankle and wrist.

It's straight up tech addiction.

None of it is even impressive. The technology isn't there. And when the technology does get there, I'd rather have it all available from a single device I carry in my pocket, not across a bunch of gadgets that nickel and dime away my attention.

</comment><comment><USER84> Amazon.com We've seen your wiener.™

</comment><comment><USER85> I could see this being a great asset in a department store. Outside of the privacy stalls in the dressing area, that is, and supplementing the part where you walk out in a prospective outfit, get Look'ed, and then use the store iPad to view the photos/video/panorama.

But I don't see the need for home use, at least with the tradeoff in privacy versus what I can already do with my bedroom mirror. I'm not usually making purchasing decisions when getting dressed for the weekday.

</comment><comment><USER86> While I'm not a fan of Amazon controlling a webcam in my bedroom it would be nice to tell my SO to ask Alexa the next time she asks for wardrobe advice.

</comment><comment><USER87> I was looking for something like this but in the form of a mirror and it would give me feedback as to who is the fairest of them all.

</comment><comment><USER88> I kinda wonder how well this will work. My experience with the echo is that it understands my voice and questions very poorly, far worse than Google's assistant on phones. I've never tried google home.

I guess identifying a person in a photo and checking if colors and patterns are "in" is easier than NLP. Certainly won't have feedback on fit though.

</comment><comment><USER89> Amazon has in-house fashion lines. Think of the data!

Clothing brands would kill for this sort of insight into what people are _actually_ wearing.

<comment><USER90> It's a useful source of data, but consumers who invest in high fashion typically post looks on Instagram, often daily, that are littered with phototags identifying brands. The data is out there...

</comment></comment><comment><USER91> I really like how this product has SO MANY use cases but they have picked just one to go to market with. More will come later. But for now, it just helps you pick you clothes.

This is good because it keeps you expectations low so you will be pleasantly surprised when it does something else.

They did this with the Echo as well. It was just an egg timer at first and played music.

</comment><comment><USER92> Of course the obvious thing we all did was freak out about privacy, etc. They'll soon be pulling video from the crime scene.

Anyway, can some of the HN crowd take the sunny day case (assume we'll properly address privacy), and discuss interesting uses of this technology? Image recognition and shopping? Show it want you want to buy, for example.

</comment><comment><USER93> OK, see, I can actually understand the utility of this and it seems like a good idea! As opposed to just the plain Alexa, which seems quite a bit less useful. Very interesting for Amazon to go after the style/fashion set. I mean it still has all the same privacy implications, I'm just speaking of the actual utility of the thing.

</comment><comment><USER94> I'm sure some people (probably quite a few) want this things, but I don't want one anywhere near me.

</comment><comment><USER95> Reading the comments here, all I can hear is:

"No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame."

My wife's reaction:

"That looks pretty neat. I wonder how well the styling advice part works, but the camera is cool. Fashion bloggers would probably really like it. There are so many people that do a "outfit of the day" type thing"

<comment><USER96> This device and use-case are fine and fulfill a real need. The hidden cost of using it is moving the overton window on privacy another notch closer to "panopticon".

I wonder what will be the limit for users?

</comment></comment><comment><USER97> Bad Idea Jeans

</comment><comment><USER98> Can this device be used for hands-free video conference?

Also can you use it for home monitoring ? Like a baby cam

<comment><USER74> > Like a baby cam

What could possibly go wrong...

</comment></comment><comment><USER99> Too bad it's $200, otherwise it might have had some potential as an inexpensive depth camera to tinker with (although there isn't much detail regarding how "depth aware" it is compared to something like a RealSense camera or a Kinect).

</comment><comment><USER100> I'm willing to bet this is their first step towards eventually being able to show you how outfits will look on you without needing to try them on. Thus eliminating one of the last remaining reasons people buy clothes at brick and mortar stores.

</comment><comment><USER101> Just gonna leave this here...

[https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Narcissism-American- Diminishi...](https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Narcissism-American-Diminishing- Expectations/dp/0393307387)

<comment><USER102> Maybe this would be more appropriate...

[http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-culture-of-narcissism- ch...](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-culture-of-narcissism-christopher- lasch/1122989164)

</comment></comment><comment><USER103> This looks very very strange. I can see the appeal of the regular Echo, but this..?

<comment><USER104> One possibility is to enforce opinions like yours. In the light of this all of a sudden Echo isn't as strange in comparison. It's a way of normalizing Echo by releasing something more "outrageous".

</comment></comment><comment><USER105> With the Alexa they were able to get around the always on monitoring . Not sure about this device but it feels like that Amazon is making things palatable to the consumer like . It's like a consumerist Brave New World.

</comment><comment><USER106> Will add this video to the list of videos with overly "positive" music that grossly underestimate peoples suspicion. Others on that list: google glasses release advert, apple developers wwdc 2014 intro video

</comment><comment><USER107> Story: As an engineer that enjoys fashion but has limited time for the hobby I would like an app that can help me self-evaluate fashion choices and arrangements so that I can have more fun and look better.

how'd I do?

</comment><comment><USER108> Well I hope it is secure.

</comment><comment><USER109> Super, we can add "appropriate dress" to our "citizen scores." No more lime green spandex tube tops at the grocery store, or your credit rating will go down.

</comment><comment><USER110> I'm glad to see Amazon trying things that are so obviously going to crash and burn. It's impressive that they're willing to take this level of risk.

</comment><comment><USER111> Product utility aside, I'm willing to bet a lot that this results in at least one PR nightmare.

Can't wait till it decides a turban is a bad addition to an outfit.

</comment><comment><USER112> This plus their fast fashion manufacturing lets amazon end-to-end take over fashion. Get clothing recs, have it delivered tomorrow.

Will be interesting to see if it sticks.

</comment><comment><USER113> Related: new Alexa skill which, when your new look exceeds a certain threshold of hotness, will automatically upload the image to your Tinder profile.

</comment><comment><USER114> I think people might be missing a use case... It will map your exact body type and then allow you to try on clothes with AR through your phone screen.

</comment><comment><USER115> It's absolutely incredible to me that a device made to drive sales can itself be sold for $200. Furthermore, people will actually pay that much.

<comment><USER116> Perhaps to establish a "beta" period for earlier adopters, with a plan to lower the price in the future?

</comment></comment><comment><USER76> I wonder if they'll open this up to 3rd parties or if they're planning to launch their own service to compete with the likes of StitchFix.

</comment><comment> d--b I'm not sure that it is such a good idea that the first seconds of the video are filmed as if it was taken from an intruder in a bad movie.

</comment><comment><USER117> This seems like it would be a good companion Alexa product at around $100. I'm afraid the use-case is too specific for $200.

</comment><comment><USER118> Already a better idea than most SV startups

</comment><comment><USER119> I'm interested in hearing what it will say when it will be asked - 'Alexa, do I look fat in this?'

</comment><comment><USER120> Everyone will end up looking the same. And of course owning this device is a bad idea for many other reasons...

</comment><comment><USER116> Built for a future integration with MTailor-like technology, to completely destroy in-person mall shopping?

</comment><comment><USER121> Can anyone with more machine learning expertise explain: Will this actually work well? Seems like a gimic

</comment><comment><USER122> I've recently built a Slack Doorbell using a Cheap D-Link Webcam and a AWS IoT Button. The one thing that surprised me was the lack of a good internet enabled camera, the D-Link basically has basic AUTH and for capturing photos is the same username and password as for remote. Does anyone know of a good and secure RESTFUL Internet Connected camera?

</comment><comment><USER123> I don't know much about fashion but I feel like wearable WiFi jammers are up and coming.

</comment><comment><USER124> Technology, filtered through the desires of nontechnicals, just looks uglier and uglier

</comment><comment><USER125> I see Amazon had a slow internet connection uploading their April Fool's video.

</comment><comment><USER126> I think that this will sell like hotcakes this Christmas for teens. Bravo!

</comment><comment><USER127> Soooo... its a $200 mirror?

</comment><comment><USER128> If this worked more like a remote camera for my pet I would be on board.

</comment><comment><USER129> I would expect the next batch of iphones or androids to replicate this.

</comment><comment><USER130> Is this what the world really needs right now?

</comment><comment><USER84> Amazon.com Always friendly, always watching.™

</comment><comment><USER131> Alexa, please don't blackmail me.

</comment><comment><USER132> Is it April 1st again?

</comment><comment><USER133> Amazon, don't you think its a bit late for the April fool's joke?

</comment><comment><USER134> throw it against the wall and see what sticks?

</comment><comment><USER135> machine learning..of course.

</comment><comment><USER136> seems dystopian

</comment><comment><USER137> Machine learning for fashion advice sounds hilarious to me.

<comment><USER138> Yes that does make your ass look big, to a 90% confidence level.</comment></comment>


FOIA request for Google hack returns details on electric grid security [2014] - <AUTHOR> https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/operation-aurora-11765 <comment><AUTHOR> I can't edit the URL, but a more narrative story is here:

[http://www.securityweek.com/dhs-mistakenly- releases-840-page...](http://www.securityweek.com/dhs-mistakenly- releases-840-pages-critical-infrastructure-documents-mishandled-fioa-request)

It details a research project demonstrating the ability to use protective relays in power systems to cause physical damage to those systems. Part of the vulnerability also lies in using low-power control buses (Modbus) and equipment that does not perform sanity checks to assure synchronous operation of the power systems.

</comment><comment><USER2> Contains a video of what appears to be a diesel generator being controlled by computer and caused to shake violently and spew enough smoke to obscure it from view.</comment>


Ask HN: How long should I spend every day reading news? - <AUTHOR> I'm trying to manage my time better, allocating sessions to read news every day. 2 sessions (after lunch and evening) seem optimal to me but it's maybe too much.
How do you organise yourself ? <comment><USER2> It's a brilliant question -- the optimum daily news diet. I find listening to NPR in the morning is a solid minimum dosage of daily headline news. Supplemented later by Bloomberg, Fark, HN, Drudge, etc...

The way one processes news cycles- is very much determined by your personal rhythm and energy levels. Here's an interesting take on the optimal time for everything from the WSJ > [http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100008723963904441800045780182...](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444180004578018294057070544)

</comment><comment><USER3> I guess it depends what you're trying to achieve, why you read the news, and what else you could be doing instead.

Arguably you could subscribe to something that gives you a competently summarised payload of news at low frequency (monthly?), and spend one long session once a month digesting that.

</comment><comment><USER4> When I click the Windows 8 button at work the news app shows a headline blurb. If it's interesting (and preferably world news) I click it, and see what else is there too.

Otherwise I let the more interesting news bubble up via social media discussions or chatting with people.

I used to be more on top of it, but it really didn't do me a whole lot of good, other than provide me with an extra bullet point or two to bring up with amateur pundits for them to dismiss and bring up a new subject about some little thing they were told to be outraged about today.

I can't say I feel like I'm missing out on too much.

Now I just don't bother and keep up with the important news: board games (via Reddit), tech news (via HN), and video games (via Kotaku).

</comment><comment><USER5> Read until you begin to wish for global thermonuclear war. Then you have had enough.

</comment><comment><USER6> I read the news with a cup of tea mid-morning, for about as long as the tea lasts.

Probably just as important is what you read, I tend to read the business press because there isn't so much bias and sensationalism as the general media.

<comment><USER7> Which sources do you read? Every news source has a bias. The ones that feel like they do not may align with your own personal biases.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> It depends on your procrastination profile. I usually do it in the beginning of the day, but after all urgent things are done.</comment>


What is LESS CSS? Hints and tips - <AUTHOR> http://blog.bugsense.com/post/16878087313/learn-about-less-and-why-it-rocks-so-hard

<comment><USER2> I've used scss and less and I prefer SCSS.

When I first started using less I found the javascript parser missing some functionality that was in the full ruby gem. Also, since I use django, I found integrating with scss much easier, especially with pyscss.

I find that scss provides a level of abstraction that I am comfortable with. Because of pyscss I can run it from the command line and figure out exactly what is going on pretty easily.

With compass I find that I write much cleaner css code. But the big win is being able to nest my css. Nesting CSS brings it much closer to the HTML that you are styling.

In my mind this is the huge win.

<comment><USER3> Can you tell me what the syntactical differences are between LESS and SCSS? Because they seem to do basically the same thing, as far as I can see. I use LESS right now, but for no good reason- I just happened upon it first.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Last time I checked, Stylus provides more powerful abstractions and a cleaner syntax

<http://learnboost.github.com/stylus/>

<comment><USER5> Can't recommend Stylus enough. Some features not found on less or scss: optional colons, semicolons and braces and referencing properties:

      body
        color black
        a
          color @color

will compile to

      body{
        color: black;
        a{
          color: black;
        }
      }

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I won't use LESS CSS for anything. Why? Because it's another layer of abstraction which is a pain in the arse to debug when it goes wrong, which it does regularly. It's ok for about 3 months which is enough to build some false confidence in it, then WHAM problems.

<comment><USER3> _when it goes wrong, which it does regularly._

What do you mean by "it goes wrong"? Do you mean the LESS parsing engine fails? Because I've used LESS extensively and it's never happened once. If you mean "my code was incorrect" then yes, LESS errors could be more descriptive. But it's hardly world-ending stuff.

<comment><USER6> I'll explain further: I used it extensively for about 3 months on a project and ended up binning it and going back to plain CSS.

I experienced utterly unhelpful parse errors resulting in head scratching for literally hours. Small behavioral changes between versions resulting in broken CSS. Zero error checking in the code whatsoever. Completely 100% incompatible with some browser hacks.

Each of those, plus the non-portable learning curve eats time and therefore cash resulting in a net loss versus plain CSS.

<comment><USER7> I don't think I've ever met a new "language" with a smaller learning curve. It took me about half an hour to master everything in LESS. It's so basic and intuitive.

And with the benefits it has brought, in terms of code intelligibility and structure, and lack of redundancy, I'm not sure I'm ever going back to pure CSS again.

I am literally baffled by your experience. What version changes created problems for you? And as for error checking, pure CSS has _no_ error checking at all, so I don't understand how LESS could be anything but better in that regard.

As for using browser hacks with LESS, I've never tried, but since you can always include conditional stylesheets to account for browser differences, it doesn't seem like that should be a dealbreaker. It would be pretty cool if LESS supported inline browser detection per-rule, however.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I got bit by the switch from Ruby to Node.js. The Node.js arrangement was considerably more difficult to set up on the older systems we maintain. Most annoyingly lesscss.org makes no mention of the switch away from Ruby. Our plan right now is to abandon less-css and just check the converted CSS into our repo - the (server setup complexity) costs far outweighed the benefits.

[edit] Well I guess the old repo did mention the switch :\ <https://github.com/cloudhead/less> still frustrating

</comment><comment><USER9> I had been thinking about using LESS/SASS for a new project, but ultimately I decided on PHP. Overkill perhaps, but it gives me access to the rest of the site variables, database calls, etc.</comment>


8 Companies We All Hate (and why we use them anyway) - <AUTHOR> http://valleywag.com/tech/modern-and-awkward/8-companies-we-all-hate-and-why-we-use-them-anyway-260371.php <comment><USER2> Godaddy was #1 in NEW domain registrations for 2 or 3 years before they EVER made a TV commercial.

</comment><comment><USER3> evite is the most inexplicable of these. it's so bad. everyone hates it. but... it won't die!

<comment><USER4> despite a number of attempts!</comment></comment>


Treasury official is running the bailout.  It's been great for his family - <AUTHOR> https://www.propublica.org/article/this-treasury-official-is-running-the-bailout-its-been-great-for-his-family <comment><USER2> This reads like something that normally would be written about an underdeveloped country, which, lacking established institutions and rule of law, is run by a kleptocracy for the kleptocracy. Yet we're talking about the United States. It's embarrassing for the country on so many levels. Unbelievable.

<comment><USER3> I saw an armored Mercedes car on the streets of Denver for the first time a couple years ago. I have seen dozens of them in Africa and Latin America, but it was a really depressing moment for me when I first recognized that in my home town.

I think that people who are not well traveled are not even aware of this slide, but we have been moving towards becoming a highly stratified developing nation for 20 years now. The armored car is just one striking example, but there are dozens more I can think of off the top of my head.

<comment><USER4> I concur, but coming from a more historical/legal perspective.

The U.S. has always fundamentally been like the Central and South American countries, just with a thin layer of Lockean rule of law and property rights.

That layer is quickly eroding. The U.S. will become more like Mexico or Argentina (for instance) over time.

Love him or hate him, Trump did a lot to advance this timeline. You can see that his style is much more reminiscent of Central and South American politics. His followers want to replace the Lockean style with a political system built around a strong central personality.

<comment><USER5> Politics is downstream of culture, and as the demographics of the country shift more towards those of Mexico or Argentina (for instance) we should not be surprised when our political climate reflects that.

<comment><USER6> If that were true, I would expect the demographics of the supporters of the current administration to be skewed towards immigrants, especially from Central and South America, and I would expect to see opposition to the current political climate from the demographics most culturally different from those- non-immigrant, white males.

But it seems to me the opposite is instead true. Are you perhaps suggesting the non-immigrant, white males supporting the current political climate look up to the immigrants as role models?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> If you want a peak into the playbook of these corrupt officials, read the book Moneyland. The author walks through how government officials around the world use their positions to rob their countries, he goes over how they get the money, where the money goes, the effects of kleptocracy on a nation, and the aftermath of the inevitable collapse.

I should probably read it again, it might be even more insightful when viewed through the lens of 2020.

</comment><comment><USER8> Pretty depressing reading law professors discuss the legality of this, knowing it doesn't matter at all and never will. Rule of law is no longer a thing for anyone but the working class in the US now.

</comment><comment><USER9> > Today, Muzinich retains financial ties to the firm through an opaque > transaction in which he transferred his shares in the privately held company > to his father.

It's a top gov official using the exact same scheme as Tiger King.

And that is even before any of the 3trillion part even begins.

</comment><comment><USER10> This is the same whether it is mortgage backed securities or treasuries too.

I would consider this faux controversy because exactly what kind of person would be a better steward of these decisions. The "revolving door" is funny to see how ridiculous it can get, but really who of the citizenry would be better prepared to steward these organizations? What exactly would the pedigree of that person look like?

The Fed was ALWAYS going to be forced to buy corporate debt as it expanded the universe of eligible assets. This was predictable no matter who at the Treasury negotiated with the Fed that "the time is now".

To me, the only controversy would be the tax implications of the sham transfer of his stakes in his company. But actually, we don't even know if they neglected the taxes and it probably isn't a real issue for them as they'll just report it and try to offset the tax footprint just like everyone else.

If it wasn't corporate debt, it would be mortgage backed securities, or leverage up on treasury bonds, or even higher leverage on currencies. There are always information asymmetries and that isn't controversial, except in single issues of companies in the securities market.

<comment><USER11> After all, the king is chosen by Divine Right, so who could possibly be better prepared to steward the kingdom?

<comment><USER12> I didn't know we had a king! I thought we were an autonomous collective.

<comment><USER13> Now we see the violence inherent in the system!

<comment><USER14> Help! Help! I'm being repressed!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> These articles would have a lot less bit if Congress were looking after the working man as nearly as well as Treasury and The Fed are looking after the investor class.

My beef is not necessarily with the investor class, and its protectors, but I believe the rest of us need someone effective looking after our interests as well.

<comment><USER16> Who is lobbying congress? The investor class is certainly among those who are. The working man certainly isn't.

If you're unhappy with your representatives, there are elections coming up in November.

<comment><USER17> Whom should we elect? The loudmouth confused old man from the urban Northeast who grabs pussies? Or Trump?

This voting thing doesn't seem to work the way we're told it works.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Talks about draining the swamp, proceeds to swamp the swamp with more swampy swamp-dwellers.

<comment><USER19> >The cleverest trick used in propaganda against Germany during the war was to accuse Germany of what our enemies themselves were doing. [1]

It's one of the oldest tricks in the book. Somehow a billionaire who shits in gold toilets in a palace in NYC convinced a bunch of working people that he was on their side. Hilarious and sad.

[1] [https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/37824/did- josep...](https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/37824/did-joseph- goebbels-say-accuse-the-other-side-of-that-which-you-are-guilty)

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> Couldn't you write the same thing about every government worker with a [retirement plan that contains stocks]([https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrift_Savings_Plan](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrift_Savings_Plan))? - that the actions they took led to personal financial gain? Note that the same was also true for every member of the Obama administration in the bailouts of 2008-2010.

We should care about when government action directly picking individual winners and losers in the economy leads directly to financial benefit for government individuals who made those choices - whereas this seems more analogous to complaining that government action improving the air quality in a city helped a government official's asthmatic child breathe better - why is it a problem _unless_ the benefits are specific to _his_ child while the costs are borne by the broader population? That certainly doesn't seem to be the case here.

</comment><comment><USER21> the US has been a 3rd world country, since Reagan. current gvt just exposing the facade faster than most expected.</comment>


Instead of Standing, Why Not Lie Down While You Work? - <AUTHOR> http://www.fastcoexist.com/3052273/instead-of-standing-why-not-lie-down-while-you-work-this-desk-lets-you-do-both#8 <comment><AUTHOR> I once found a dentist chair at a thrift store near work. The colors matched exactly our company logo. I thought it would be an awesome workstation so I brought it into the office. Everybody loved it, took pictures of me working in it, and it was the conversation piece of the office for a couple weeks until facilities made me get rid of it.

It actually was the most comfortable workstation I've ever used, so I was excited to see this chair. I hope someday I can both afford it ($3,900) and be allowed to have it in the office.

Here's the actual site for the guys building it: [http://www.altwork.com/](http://www.altwork.com/)

<comment><USER3> Why did you have to get rid of it?

<comment><USER4> If everyone loved it so much. They'd likely be complaining and asking for one too. And company didn't want to fork over buying new ones for everyone.

It's some form of socialism of something I think. Instead of helping everyone we penelize the 1?

<comment><USER5> > Instead of helping everyone...

Yes, that's exactly what socialism is based on.

<comment><USER6> Ever read Harrison Bergeron?

Making everyone equally happy is impossible, so the regime ultimately resorts to making everyone equally miserable.

<comment><USER5> I guess I can understand how people might become confused if their concept of socialism comes from a single satirical book about egalitarianism.

<comment><USER6> Well, one satirical short story and actual historical socialism's mountains of corpses.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> jon-galloway I was looking into options like this 4 months ago. These types of chairs / office solutions have the right intent but are too costly!

What I did was a DIY with 2 Ergotron Arms (the best monitor arms in my opinion) along with a Zero-G deck chair. The deck chairs sell for about $60.

[http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/zero-gravity-massage- chair-4.jpg](http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/zero-gravity-massage-chair-4.jpg)

I had to cut-up the keyboard tray myself to get it to hook into the underside of the Zero-G arm rests while leaving enough room so that it doesn't wobble. The keyboard / mouse stay in position because I simply attached some duct tape to the wire. I also had to hacksaw a small piece off the Ergotron arms to get them to rotate downward at an enhanced degree (safe and took under 5 min .. used this guide [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPEiM_Qk0SY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPEiM_Qk0SY) ).

It's very comfortable. It takes the pressure off lower spine and is how we should be working and gaming. I recommend doing it. It has helped my back so that I can return to mixed martial arts safely.

Not the best picture but:

[https://41.media.tumblr.com/d2b79a494bf5cad30bc8e3731c2522cb...](https://41.media.tumblr.com/d2b79a494bf5cad30bc8e3731c2522cb/tumblr_nwztrkbCBF1r5a466o1_400.jpg)

<comment><USER7> I did almost the exact same thing! The Zero gravity chair is one of the best investments I've ever made. But instead of attaching the monitor to a desk, I attached it to a heavy duty kitchen cart, and it's weighed down by a desktop computer on the bottom shelf. I call it "cartputer", and I can wheel it back to the desk when I feel like sitting in my normal office chair.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I imagine that after 30 minutes of being inclined while using the keyboard/mouse, the reduced blood circulation in your hands and arms from gravitational resistance will cause them to be incredibly tired/ fatigued.

<comment><USER9> Agreed. If anything, the arms should be allowed to stay horizontal, elbows leaning on the armrests and keyboard/mouse placed almost on my lap. With the eyes looking at the screen, it would be suitable for the touch-typing folks.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> IMO, your much better off just buying a lazy boy for ~450$ and using it while reclined. Now, toss in a 100$ monitor mount. You can use the keyboard on your lap and the mouse on the arm rest or add a keyboard / mouse tray.

PS: Biggest advantage other than being 1/7th the price, if you don't like the setup you can easily reuse the pieces for other things.

<comment><USER11> My favorite chair for working is a classic Starbucks sofa chair (the first ones they had, none of this new hard arm seat crap). I could never figure out how to buy something so simple yet comfortable for my apartment though.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> The Onion is sometimes too accurate.

[https://youtu.be/NYSxkqL9l_8](https://youtu.be/NYSxkqL9l_8)

</comment><comment><USER13> ... because I can't fall asleep while standing, whereas I'll be out like a light in minutes if I lie down?

<comment><USER14> maybe you're not getting enough sleep

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> How does the keyboard and mouse not fall off the table when the unit is reclining? Are they magnatised or something?

Also does the unit support 2/3 monitors? I saw videos on youtube with a laptop. How about using a desktop?

Would have to first use it for an extended period of time first rather than putting down the required $$$.

<comment><USER16> Yep, magnets. They are discussed briefly in the Ars Technica video, here: [http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/sit-stand-nifty- new-w...](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/sit-stand-nifty-new- workstation-lets-you-lie-down-on-the-job/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> I use a standing desk because sitting all day is terrible for my back, after years and years I had massive amounts of lower back pain and a fairly awful anterior pelvic tilt (APT). Couple that with my otherwise sedentary lifestyle and poor family genetics pre-disposed to back issues and it's not looking pretty for me.

It's taken nearly a year of strengthening my back through heavy lifting in the gym (squats, deadlifts, rows, and weighted pull-ups mainly) to finally see some kind of resemblance of my APT clearing up.

I'd imagine that laying down all day would only be marginally better at best. It might even be worse...I don't know for sure, but I do know that I used to get pretty bad back pain if I stayed in bed or lied on the couch too long.

<comment><USER18> Planks really helped my lower back. 1 minute face down, 1 on each side and 1 face up. If you can't make it to the gym, or you're feeling pressed for time, give it a shot.

Everyone's different of course, and i'm not a doctor, but building up that core strength did a lot for me. I pretty much stole the warmup from reddit's bodyweightfitness [https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend...](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine#wiki_warmup_.28.7E10_minutes.29) The whole routine is good, but the warmup alone seems like enough to at least maintain my back.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> [http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHbxU3FCMAEBDv2.jpg:large](http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHbxU3FCMAEBDv2.jpg:large)

</comment><comment><USER20> What a great ide....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

</comment><comment><USER21> This reminds me of an article & photo from 10 or 15 years ago of a Sun Microsystems programmer who had back problems. He had designed a desk where he would lie on the floor and look upwards at his monitor. I can't for the life of me find the picture using Google, maybe someone else can find it.

</comment><comment><USER22> They're hawking an ergonomic chair that costs as much as a cheap car and using non-ergonomic Apple mouse and keyboard. I'll just assume the chair is primarily intended to be pretty but uncomfortable as well.

</comment><comment><USER23> Very interesting. Will this work with a book, pen and paper?

I really believe being slightly reclined is optimal for reducing back strain.

Herman Miller has been marketing the Embody as a (slightly) reclined chair. They've even designed a paired desk, but oddly enough Embody has no headrest:

[http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/workspaces/desks/envelo...](http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/workspaces/desks/envelop- desk.html)

</comment><comment><USER24> I wrote my thesis on a laptop lying in a sofa. It was good.

<comment><USER25> I had such bad pains in my neck and shoulders that I had to lie down alot, and from that position I learnt how to touch type and use vim. I thought the position had some merit, and that a light recline might be good. About five years on and I still struggle sitting and typing on 'standard desks'. It just feels ergonomically wrong.

<comment><USER26> I gave up a long time ago, and I just put the keyboard in my lap now. I don't have a 100%-keyboard based workflow, but I do only reach for my trackball infrequently, since I switched to a tile-based window manager. I haven't had any wrist pain since I started doing this. I pair it with a bog-standard split keyboard, which is probably not _quite_ optimal in terms of how my arms end up curved in a bit, but is pretty close. My monitors I move up to the edge of the desk, so that there is just enough room to put my keyboard down when I stand up. It works reasonably well. I'd still rather have what's in the article, but not enough to pay for it, so....

<comment><USER25> Cheers, I have tried that, it might suit a symmetrical keyboard a little better or a tenkeyless, but the keyboard feels a little low still. And slightly wrong. It's the pointer that's also a pain. I recline with a laptop on my lap and that's okayish as the touchpad is accessible, but still not great. Like you, I'm keyboard focused mainly, with the occasional use of the pointer. I don't have one place in the house which is particularly comfortable to use a PC at, and I'd need a new room for that chair! On my laptop I have the nipple in the middle, but it requires a bit too much stress for it to be comfortable. Otherwise that could be a great addition to any keyboard.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> It seems that you might want to lie down on your bellie with the computer beneath you via some kind of cut out around your face/chest to prevent uncomfortable pressure; that way your arms can just hang down and do work fairly easily.

</comment><comment><USER27> These will work great in call centers. You could probably cram three people into the same space as two desk-workers have now. As a bonus, you can put the phrase "work like you're flying first class" in recruitment ads.

</comment><comment><USER28> I can't believe nobody has drawn a comparison to this yet (image link):

[http://goo.gl/QkQymW](http://goo.gl/QkQymW)

This is seriously one of the worst ideas for office furniture I've ever seen.

</comment><comment><USER29> So I've always had a penchant for lying on my stomach with a laptop in front of me. I think it's because that's how I did homework when I was a kid - <USER2> on the floor in front of the TV.

</comment><comment><USER30> I'm getting this for everyone in our office.

When we have an office :) It'll be like Aeron chairs in the 1990s boom!

</comment><comment><USER31> Isn't being recumbent known to decrease performance on mental tasks?

<comment><USER32> Aeron chair -> standing desk -> running desk -> lying down desk

This year's _running desk_ is the _lying down desk_. In 2017 it will probably be a _hammock desk_ or something.

<comment><USER33> Your best posture is your next. The most important thing is just to move around and there are plenty of ways to accomplish this now.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Could you repurpose a gaming chair?</comment>