A Deepness In The Sky - <AUTHOR> http://hn-books.com/Books/A-Deepness-In-The-Sky.htm <comment><USER2> There's a great scene where young Pham, a kid from a medieval world, learns to maintain a 5000-year-old legacy code base on a starship:

[http://books.google.com/books?id=GUUvxumMf6kC&lpg=PA226&...](http://books.google.com/books?id=GUUvxumMf6kC&lpg=PA226&ots=8pIM_7Rc9e&pg=PA225#v=onepage&q&f=false)

 _Sura gave up on her debugging for the moment. "The word for all this is 'mature programming environment.' Basically, when hardware performance has been pushed to its final limit, and programmmers have had several centuries to code, you reach a point where there is far more signicant code than can be rationalized. The best you can do is understand the overall layering, and know how to search for the oddball tool that may come in handy—take the situation I have here." She waved at the dependency chart she had been working on. "We are low on working fluid for the coffins. Like a million other things, there was none for sale on dear old Canberra. Well, the obvious thing is to move the coffins near the aft hull, and cool by direct radiation. We don't have the proper equipment to support this—so lately, I've been doing my share of archeology. It seems that five hundred years ago, a similar thing happened after an in-system war at Torma. They hacked together a temperature maintenance package that is precisely what we need."_

 _"Almost precisely." Bret was grinning again. "With some minor revisions."_

<comment><USER3> I love the terms "programmer-at-arms" and "programmer archeologist." I wish more people read this book, so I could use the term and not have people look at me with a blank look in their eyes.

<comment><USER4> The above excerpt is actually an accurate description of what I do at my day job! ("program archeology") My coworker, who's been working on and off with this code base for over 12 years, never fails to point out if any of my ideas was already implemented once before. So far, everything I've suggested since starting this job 3 months ago has already been done in the past.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> The first time I read this, the middle of the book tried my patience and I wanted it to just get to the conclusion; I started skimming a bit more until I got to the end.

The second time I read the book, I had planned on just skimming the middle again, but this time without the drive to know the resolution (since I remembered it from last time), I discovered that the middle of the book is really the best part. It's very detailed and well-thought-out, and the second time I didn't even have a problem with the pacing. It's just a very big book, in a good way.

The only other book I know of that I have had this reaction to was the Lord of the Rings series. The final denouement feels like it's taking forever the first time, but subsequently, the only thing I routinely skip over is the foot chase through Rohan. (Which I remembered as being 50-60 pages long but turns out to actually be only about 12. Still manages to _feel_ 50 pages long to me. YMMV.)

Strongly recommend, and despite being listed as a "prequel" you do not need to have read A Fire Upon the Deep first; only a handful of throwaway details will be mysterious as a result and none of them matter much to you. Vinge does not fall into any of the usual "prequel" issues that for instance the Dune prequels did ("Remember that expansive universe you loved that so carefully managed to feel like just a small part of the totality? No, it was the entire totality and the only people in the universe up to that point were the direct ancestors of the people you loved.") or other things. This is truly a prequel, a story that took place before a later story, and temporal ordering is honored.

<comment><USER3> > The final denouement feels like it's taking forever the first time

Final denouement? Man, I gave up trying to read it after what felt like seventeen chapters of "they walked through a field."

<comment><USER6> In Tolkien's defense, the man had some of the finest field-describing skills I have ever seen.

<comment><USER7> I believe he came closest any author ever has to walking someone else through their imagination.

Tolkien only wrote a story incidentally. What he did was show us the _real_ Middle earth, the one in his mind.

Most authors are the Lonely Planet Guide to their fantasy worlds. Tolkien... Tolkien was David Attenborough.

<comment><USER6> As someone whose imagination was shaped in large part by reading Tolkien's vivid descriptions of Middle Earth as a child, I couldn't agree more. You put it beautifully.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Vinge is, in my opinion, the preeminent hacker SF writer. He was a CS professor at SDSU and both the two ZoT novels and Rainbows End show that he really grasps the end-to-end nature of technology and how hackers interact with the world. I also thought that Rainbows End was a great story about how hackers age, and it's just as well worth reading as Deepness.

</comment><comment><USER9> > At one point I think Vinge showed his manuscript to somebody else, because > after that he spends a bit of time defending his description of some of the > aliens The author protests a bit too much. Because it's a prequel, there is > just a bit too much detail.

Almost surely. He had a number of consultants and others go through _A Fire Upon the Deep_ (which I liked better), as one can see from the annotated edition: [http://news.slashdot.org/story/03/09/18/0411259/Review-A- Fir...](http://news.slashdot.org/story/03/09/18/0411259/Review-A-Fire-Upon- the-Deep-Special-Edition)

</comment><comment><USER10> I'm really curious what draws people to these two books (and I've read both books and the review). I found them both to be somewhat slow and about half- wasted with all the stuff about the "Tines". While I love Vinge's writings on the future of technology, his books (including Rainbows End and The Peace War) have never worked for me.

I have a pet theory that people who really like Stross' Accelerando (super- fast, super-speculative buzz-wordy, hard science fiction), Banks' Culture books or Morgan's Market Forces would have a harder time with A Fire Upon The Deep or A Deepness In The Sky. Yes/No?

<comment><USER11> A definite No I'm afraid - I love most of Stross' work (particularly Accelerando, which has an insane idea density), the Culture books in all of their socialistic contrarian splendour but I also love all of Vinge's work - particularly A Fire Upon the Deep (for its sheer sensawunda) and Deepness.

<comment><USER12> Another counterexample here. I've loved everything of Vinge's to date, and even like the stuff Charlie wrote before he got published (it's pretty damn freaky stuff for idea density). Don't like _all_ the Culture books, but I do like many of them.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Just want to point out, that the reason he cites is NOT, at all, the reason why most sci-fi sucks.

The real reason that most sci-fi (and fantasy and romance and most 'genre' novels) suck is that they focus too much on the "stuff", and not on the things which actually matter in narrative fiction writing.

The things that really matter in a story are characters, strong motivations, good dialogue, plot, conflict, etc... techniques of the writing craft. These are what make a book good or not, but they are kind of an afterthought to all the "STUFF" in Sci Fi books.

</comment><comment><USER4> I also recommend _A Fire Upon the Deep_ which is "space opera" written as intelligently as possible by "someone who should know better." (Vernor's words)

<comment><USER14> You might find this interesting. An alternate fan-fic ending of _A Fire upon the Deep_ (and what comes after for the direct participants) by Eliezer Yudkowsky.

[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5389450/1/The_Finale_of_the_Ulti...](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5389450/1/The_Finale_of_the_Ultimate_Meta_Mega_Crossover)

<comment><USER15> That's fundamentally fanfic of Permutation City rather than AFutD.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> It may be a different medium, but I was impressed with the technobabble in Mass Effect. It actually made sense.

Every single detail, from astrobiology to weapon systems and shields, had a plausible explanation if you cared enough to visit the Codex. The whole game seemed like it was expanded from a giant "what-if element zero".

Maybe I'm deeply wrong about all this, but I think the game is not receiving enough praise for this side.

<comment><USER7> I think the entire game was a labor of intense depth. The internal fantasy was watertight, from the technology, to the politics, to the way the story changed dynamically depending on your choices.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> What most impressed me about ADITS was how I was brought to feel great empathy and even affection for the spiders, not till the end do we see just how truly alien they and their environment are.

<comment><USER18> I agree, the 'golden age' narration was a great inversion, where the spiders seemed more human than the humans did.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> So, what do people think of "focus"? (A drug treatment regime used by the "emergents" to turn people into monomaniacs.)

Vinge goes out of his way to show how it could be abused --- but I sometimes get the feeling that people crunching in early-startup mode would willingly use it, at least for a time, if they had it...

<comment><USER20> What I thought was extremely interesting was the way the way the some focused were used... as components behaving as the intelligence behind computational tasks. The creator of Mechanical Turk undoubtedly read this book... I sure thought about creating something like that after I read it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> It's kind of interesting that the review (and the other comments here so far) doesn't even mention the book's political themes - the pro-market forces vs the evil socialistic Emergency. Is that view just so ingrained that it's not even worth mentioning?

<comment><USER22> _the book's political themes - the pro-market forces vs the evil socialistic Emergency_

I enjoyed that in the books, but I'll point out that his _Realtime_ books are much more explicitly anarcho-capitalist.

As an aside, I think you're wrong to characterize the economics as politics. It's very common to assume that such as "minimum wages increase unemployment at the margin" as a direct condemnation of minimum wage policies. But that presupposes a given set of values. It's quite quite possible to make a political statement in favor of minimum wages (for example), while acknowledging the economics of it.

Economics and politics are two separate things. They are related, they inform each other, but there's always a case to be made for things like "I accept that doing X would have a negative effect on total economic efficiency, but we have a moral obligation to pay that price."

<comment><USER23> For some evidence that your point "it's quite possible" isn't merely some idle hypothetical, search for "Webb" and "Seager" in

<http://www.princeton.edu/~tleonard/papers/retrospectives.pdf>

The same author (Leonard) also published a paper in _History of Political Economy_, "More Merciful and Not Less Effective." I remember it as similar, but I'm not finding an ungated version online.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> The author has a sequel to _A Fire Upon the Deep_ coming out in the fall -- Children of the Sky. Set in the same universe.

<comment><USER25> I've read all of Vinge's work and it really is phenomenal. It's been years since I read it and can only remember vague concepts now... the singularities, the 'focus' drug that makes his programmers super-human.

I really must read them again. Quite excited to hear a new book is coming out.

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> I found it really really hard to gather with it and never finished it. Same was with "A Fire Upon Te Deep", but after the first quater it was okay for me, and I finished and liked it.

What I really found hard was, that this takes all place in it's own Universe with it's own Rules. And no where is described/explained what the these things or rules are. Just like you would dive into e.g. Star Trek TV Show for the first time and see someone beam. The person would disapear and repear somewhere. Due to the fact that you see it, you understand what this beaming thing is. Not so in Vinges Universe. Same applies to Gibson and the Sprawl. It's hard to mess around with it, when no where things are explained. Mabye this is due to the translation of these books (I am a german reader). Any others experienced the same/similar ?

</comment><comment><USER27> Daniel, you've really fleshed out the site since last time I looked at it -- I think when you first posted it here. It's looking really good. Any update as to how the project as a whole is going for you?

</comment><comment><USER28> F- yeah! This (don't forget to read the other book first - a fire upon the deep) is my third favorite sci fi novel series of all time. Right after foundation series and dune collection.

A must read for all hn readers.

</comment><comment><USER29> Blabber is a short story, Vinge's first foray into the Zones of Thought Universe, and features several cameos from A Fire Upon the Deep:

[http://books.google.com/books?id=txBNZiQw2GUC&pg=PA78...](http://books.google.com/books?id=txBNZiQw2GUC&pg=PA78&dq=blabber+vinge&hl=en&ei=8N5JTePkJIqcsQOR-4XwCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=blabber%20vinge&f=false)

</comment><comment><USER30> Ah, the Kindle version is not available in Europe.

</comment><comment><USER31> > Your search "A Deepness In The Sky" did not match any products in: Kindle > Store

Oh come on. I'm thinking about selling my kindle. Not one of the books that really interest me are available for it :/

<comment><USER32> ?? It's there, and also on the B&N nook:

<http://www.amazon.com/Deepness-Sky-ebook/dp/B002H8ORKM/>

[http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Deepness-in-the- Sky/Vernor-...](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Deepness-in-the-Sky/Vernor- Vinge/e/9781429915090/)

<comment><USER31> Oh, yes. You're right.

But when I click on your like I get:

> This title is not available for customers from your location in: > Europe

:/</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Are new grads expected to exaggerate their skills on resume? - <AUTHOR> I'm a masters student graduating next May, so I have been looking for full-time jobs for a time now. I consider myself a above-average programmer, however I've had a very low return rate, especially compared to my friends who have similar (or maybe even worse) technical aptitude as me.
I observed a pattern about companies that called me back: 1) Small companies where my resume was screened by CTO/Software Development Manager 2) Huge companies that can afford to interview a lot of candidates
Naturally, My conclusion was my resume (or linkedin profile?) wasn't attractive to HR. I compared my resume with my friends to see how I could make myself more attractive to HR who did the initial screening. Unfortunately, what I've seen was incredibly troubling, as I realized I was being 'too' honest (if that's even possible).
Wording the project descriptions to hide it was a group project, taking credit for things they didn't do, exaggerating their responsibilities for previous work, writing down technologies they just read about are just a few that comes to my mind.
Funny thing is, during the interviews they are mostly asked about regular algorithms/data structure questions, so they actually can get away with it.
I wanted to ask if this is the norm in the industry? Are we expected to 'lie' on our resume to level the playing field? <comment><USER2> So, I graduated last December (2014) from a small accredited University in Texas with a BS in CS. I applied to 137 companies before I accepted at Capital One. I had many friends of friends who were HR and recruiting at other companies and during my arduous process I picked up many things that I felt helped me (and hopefully they'll help you). I ended up getting 43 offers, and at least a ~80% return on contact back (I forgot the actual statistic).

If you choose the shotgun approach, as I did, Keep a spreadsheet, or something, to help organize all the information.

Always Customize your resume by using the words that they put on their job hire post. (This will get you past electronic screenings and non-technical HR people who just look for keywords). This is really annoying (writing your resume each time) but I felt it helped me.

I always researched the company the night before resumes and try to find a technical blog that a company may produce, or some niche thing that the company does. (Capital One and it's AutoNavigator is what I focused on when I was interviewing).

Lastly, I did embellish the truth a little in any of my stories. Not to the point of a lie (... sort of ...) but I made my past technical experience an enjoyable story to listen to. There was a quote I read in 'Iterating Grace', paraphrasing it: Great Stories are better than Great Facts. Don't lie in the facts, but like statistics, you can bend the truth and still let it be truth.

Another piece of advice is make sure you are confident when you walk in. Even for technical roles, confidence is key. Being able to talk and have the interviewer like the interviewee is one of the many keys I found to being successful.

If you don't mind lying, most companies will never check your GPA past the transcript you hand over (if you do that at all). So you want to embellish that 3.2 GPA to be a 3.5+ go ahead. Most companies never check. (Come to find out I didn't have the correct GPA on my resume when I changed semesters even though I had an updated Transcript I was sending out. No one ever bothered me about it). I did _not_ ask the HR at my company this question as well and they did _not_ confirm this fact.

I hope that helps you some :D

<comment><USER3> > If you don't mind lying, most companies will never check your GPA past the > transcript you hand over (if you do that at all). So you want to embellish > that 3.2 GPA to be a 3.5+ go ahead.

That's potentially a criminal offence in the UK, and probably the US.

(Fraud act 2006 in UK)

[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3bbd58ec-6df3-11e1-b98d-00144feab4...](http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3bbd58ec-6df3-11e1-b98d-00144feab49a.html#axzz3u35vVK7r)

[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10941476/...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10941476/Students- threatened-with-jail-for-telling-white-lies-on-CVs.html)

<comment><USER4> From the US, and am a hiring manager, can confirm. I'd suggest people just leave their GPA off their resume/CV. It won't hurt you to do so, and if the company wants it you can give it later (or not and run away from that company).

Such outsized importance is placed on projects these days, and the state of most CS programs is so bad, that I would only care about GPA if you graduated from a very good school or I was an academic admissions person.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> As someone who sits in or runs technical interviews fairly often, we will try to determine if someone is lying on their resume. If a skill is on your resume, you are expected to be able to utilize it in a professional context. For entry level folks that bar is pretty much "did you touch the language in a class" or "have you committed code to a FOSS library" (to use two example).

That being said, if the extent of the lie is that a group project is sold as an individual project, as long as the person can talk intelligently about all aspects of the project it's nearly impossible to find something like that out. New graduates are expected to have few skills and produce largely academic (read: bad) code.

But you are correct that technical aptitude by itself has very little to do with getting an interview. You said you are getting your Master's, have you had a programming job in the past? What is your field? We take a pretty skeptical stance with candidates who have advanced degrees and no experience, because nothing we work with requires that sort of knowledge. That may be part of your problem.

</comment><comment><USER6> When I was reviewing CV's recently (not specifically for new grads) I notice that some people list about more than ten languages and frameworks. For me that was slightly offputting as it shows shallow knowledge on lots of them, rtaher than deep knowledge in any of them.

<comment><USER7> That's why when I list languages I have experience with, i try to put a self assessment in proficiency as well. so instead of just saying "C#, C++, Ruby, PHP" i'll put "Expert proficiency of C#, advanced proficiency of Ruby, and PHP, and working knowledge of python, and TCL"

so if someone is doing a keyword search, i'll still show up, but when someone is actually reading the resume they can say "oh he's a C# and Ruby guy" I'll also mention the language once in the experience section to demonstrate how i used it.

Generally speaking though, as i've searched for more senior positions I've toned down the specifics of the technology, and concentrated more on the results I've achieved.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> You probably just have a weak resume / cover letter. Post a link to your LinkedIn, I'd be happy to give some constructive criticism. I'm sure your school also has a career center which can help you polish them up.

</comment><comment><USER9> What are the actual numbers? Like, how many resumes have you sent out, and how many return calls have you gotten? And that of your friends?

A big fact about the field is that a large number of companies aren't in a place where they can hire new graduates or junior programmers. I have a suspicion that most of the difference in number of responses is that your friends are simply hustling harder and sending out more applications than you are.

</comment><comment><USER10> Don't hide that a project was a group project - that's a good thing. Use it to your advantage. You worked well with people, you took ownership, you distributed tasks and managed the workflow.

Don't put down technologies you don't know but lets say you can write something in javascript.. like an anagram generator. In that case you can put javascript even if you don't know node, angular, react, etc.

</comment><comment><USER11> If you're a new grad, getting a callback is probably more defined by where you're going to school and whether you have internships in the past than any of the fuzzy stuff like "skills list" on the resume. Where did you go to school, and do you have any internships?

</comment><comment><USER12> I wouldn't lie, but I would exaggerate my skills. I know plenty of very talented people who don't know how to sell themselves. The quicker you learn how to balance selling yourself without being unethical, the better your career will be.

<comment><USER5> Selling yourself <> exaggerating your skills (AKA lying).

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I wouldn't lie, but I would exaggerate my skills. I know plenty of very talented people who don't know how to sell themselves. The quicker you learn how to balance selling yourself without being unethical, the better your career will me.

</comment><comment><USER13> No, I think it's dishonest. However it is an honest mistake to underestimate the skill of people with a decade or more of experience and oversell yourself simply because you don't know how good good can be.

</comment><comment><USER14> Yes. You know the game whether or not you play our cards that's up to you.</comment>


Why Microsoft should (and will) buy Slack - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/the-mission/why-microsoft-should-and-will-buy-slack-6ec08278e2e0#.77rsa41fg <comment><USER2> I don't love Skype, but Slack voice calls are so terrible, drop so often, are so laggy that they do need to be replaced with something that works consistently. And with all the NSA transcription services Microsoft is running, maybe we'll get an automated meeting note taker if this takeover were to actually go through.</comment>


It's time for Google to kill the Nexus One - <AUTHOR> http://www.businessinsider.com/its-time-for-google-to-kill-the-failed-nexus-one-2010-5

<comment><USER2> _That is, you can only get a Nexus One for $179 if you want to sign a new two- year contract with T-Mobile. Your only other option is to spend $529 out of pocket -- much more than most people would ever spend on a cellphone -- and use it with AT &T._

Ummm...I bought it out of pocket, signed up with t-Mobile, and now I get a fixed-rate monthly service for about $65. OK, I'm not really the typical consumer, but this article is full of equally nonsensical or inaccurate statements, and resembles 'spiderman < batman, Marvel _needs_ to do XYZ' arguments.

</comment><comment><USER3> I don't think they really understand the N1 angle, it's the phone Google demos their apps and products on, it's the phone featured in their YouTube videos, it's not meant to cannibalize the sales of the other android phones.

<comment><USER4> It's also (unofficially) their latest Android Developer Phone, since it's the only recent Android phone that can be rooted or re-flashed without exploiting a software vulnerability.</comment></comment>


Google: No support for Android 4.2 on Nexus S and Xoom - <AUTHOR> https://groups.google.com/forum/?pli=1#!topic/android-building/-ymcoMuDAbA

<comment><USER2> Not really surprised here. Androids methodology seems to be get the newest version on the newest device. Older devices are disposable. I would like to see them value older devices.</comment>


Show HN: Larus is a simplified Gunicorn clone - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/wong2/larus

<comment><USER2> How is performances compared to gunicorn?

<comment><AUTHOR> I have a simple test on my laptop using `ab`, larus is faster than gunicorn(rps: 4000+ vs 2000+), I'll add that in README</comment></comment>


The Tesla Pentagon Papers: Huge Q2 Shortfall - <AUTHOR> https://seekingalpha.com/article/4183052-tesla-pentagon-papers-huge-q2-shortfall <comment><USER2> As usual someone that clearly has no clue what they are talking about.

I have made a decent chunk buying and selling TSLA the last couple of years but recently I have just committed to holding long because there is just too much nonsense going on with disinformation flying everywhere on both sides.

I might sell if there is a short squeeze and go back in again afterwards but boy does all of these articles by ridiculously misinformed people make trading TSLA intelligently a real pain in the ass.

Disclaimer: Currently holding a bunch of TSLA

</comment><comment><USER3> ... this site has a huge short on Tesla, FYI.

<comment><USER4> But Business Insider isn't.

 _Basically, Linette Lopez of Business Insider somehow got her hands on Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) internal documents regarding Model 3 production. They would appear to indicate that what the company has said publicly about Model 3 production is, at a minimum, highly misleading._

Probably one of the documents referred to in the recent lawsuit filed against one of its employees...</comment></comment>


My case against contracts in Go - <AUTHOR> https://ericgreer.info/post/my-case-against-go-contracts/ <comment><USER2> I agree 100%. As I have already stated in another comment I cannot fully express the frustration I deeply feel with people constantly proposing changes to Go that will turn it into something that is no longer Go!

I know where this specific proposal is coming from, but I feel that Robert and Ian are being pushed by the constant noise made by people coming from other languages, people who like those who made the horrible "try" proposal, seem to be trying really hard to ruin Go by turning it into yet another complex monster.

Not a day goes by without someone making a new proposal that is trying to change the very thing that made Go so unique and lovable!

All the proposals that has been made so far exists in several of the other popular programming languages. Use one of those if you really want the added complexity - leave Go just the way it is!

<comment><AUTHOR> I share the same sentiment and made this so that more people could see the non-vocal user point of view. The language is fine!

I think the proposal is very smart and the people who wrote it are very smart. I appreciate the passion and hard work that goes into it. I just don't agree with the proposal at all.</comment></comment>


Google Kills Daydream VR - <AUTHOR> https://www.engadget.com/2019/10/15/google-daydream-view-smartphone-vr-pixel-4/ <comment><USER2> So I'm starting a betting pool. What will they kill first - Android or Fuchsia?

</comment><comment><USER3> This poor VR headset didn't stand a chance commercially and unlike the Oculus the lack of devs on the Daydream VR platform already sealed its fate for failure.

It has been known for a long time that mobile VR on the consumer level wasn't really going to work out given the limitations Google explained in their statement. Apart from 'training' applications or very niche games, I'd be surprised if this became an instant hit on mobile.

I think Google must have been dreaming a bit on this, but it looks like this is the reality for others attempting to enter the mobile VR headset market.

<comment><USER4> This is basically the same trap they're falling for with Stadia. It's been proven that streaming games is not really worth it. OnLive failed for the same reason's Stadia will. The number of people with fast enough Internet but cannot afford a full-scale gaming machine is very small.

<comment><USER5> Sony's already gunning for Stadia ahead of time by lowering the cost of the PlayStation Now streaming service, and last I checked, PS Now already wasn't all too popular in its own right for many of the same reasons the Stadia is close to DOA (IMO). Sentiment amongst the gaming communities I'm a part of is downright negative on the idea of using Stadia.

As you called out, then you have the problem with marketing a streaming service to people that can't afford a gaming console or PC rig, yet assumes their internet speeds are fast enough to handle it (and without busting whatever data caps are in place).

I think it's one of the most bizarre moves I've seen yet from Google in terms of products. Smacks of spray and pray productization tactics.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Looks like it has already made the list: [https://killedbygoogle.com/](https://killedbygoogle.com/).

Makes me wary about buying any Google products as the lifespan of their products tend to be cut short (and of course privacy concerns).

</comment><comment><USER7> It lasted about 3 years before getting shut down. That's better than most of their chat apps at least.

</comment><comment><USER8> Shit, no more VR porn w/ Skybox then?</comment>


Rickover Compares Academic and Practical Nuclear Reactors - <AUTHOR> http://www.ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_english/Rickover.pdf

<comment><AUTHOR> This comparison of academic reactors to practical reactors is pretty old, being written by Hyman G. Rickover in 1953. Rickover was a primary force behind the U.S. Nuclear Navy. It makes an interesting read and compares academically created technology versus practical engineering. Your milage may vary, but I enjoyed the paper a great deal.</comment>


Show HN: Placemat, pretty nice placeholder images - <AUTHOR> https://placem.at <comment><AUTHOR> I put this together the other night. It's a placeholder service with a bunch of pretty nouns (people, places, things). Powered by imgix, with lots of photos from Unsplash.

</comment><comment><USER2> What about a "seed" option? Perhaps someone wants a different image for two identical sized places, but don't want that the image change with each reload.

<comment><AUTHOR> Ah, that's an interesting idea! I'll definitely think about adding something like that.</comment></comment>


Fake ballot generator for Turkish elections (June 24) - <AUTHOR> https://midorikocak.github.io/pusula/ <comment><AUTHOR> The governing party supporting employers are asking for ballot photos voted for governing party. This little HTML5 / Canvas app made for the people who are asked to prove that they voted for governing party.

<comment><USER2> As a matter of programming, it is very hard to actually put the stamp in the circle. The northwest arc ends up lining up with the tail of the mouse pointer.

While uploading an ID card is optional, anyone doing that ought to be concerned that now their use of this site is documented along with their ID in addition to their IP address.

Especially since making copies of the ballot without a sample watermark might be illegal (I would expect it to be, but I haven't checked.)

In Turkey, your vote is private. If our employer is asking for a photo of your ballot so as to coerce you to vote a certain way to protect your job, you might want to consider reporting them to the prosecutor's office, police, or the elections council.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you for your comment. Stamps are positioned manually because there is no electronic voting system in Turkey. The source code is open and the app is hosted on the github. So there is no persistence.

1\. The prosecutor's and Judges council consists of members assigned by President. Currently, in Turkey, there is rule of law, due to this. For the same crime or allegation, two people get totally different treatment based on their connection to the ruling party. This was the first one.

2\. The illegality of voting ballots is another issue. Facsimile ballots were not counted as legal votes in the previous election. (Referendum) They were counted as invalid votes. But during the referendum day of April 16, 2017, when votes were counted, more pro-government yes votes without local ballot council started to appear from everywhere. (Normally local ballot box council members stamp all votes in their box with their official stamp.)

It turns out that many boxes were filled or replaced with votes that did not have local ballot box council. Also, governing party officials asked for votes with local ballot box council stamp from the people to prove that they voted for governing party. (To give them work, money, help etc.) So they gave prestamped facsimile votes to their voters in advance. During the counting process, opposition members objected to this situation but YSK, highest council of election approved a scandal decision to accept facsimile votes as legal.

So, in Turkey, there is no watermark or any other thing to prevent government officials to do Nazi party tactics to be elected.</comment></comment></comment>


Robert Parry: What Did US Spy Satellites See in Ukraine? - <AUTHOR> http://consortiumnews.com/2014/07/20/what-did-us-spy-satellites-see-in-ukraine/

<comment><AUTHOR> TLDR:

> _What I've been told by one source, who has provided accurate information on > similar matters in the past, is that U.S. intelligence agencies do have > detailed satellite images of the likely missile battery that launched the > fateful missile, but the battery appears to have been under the control of > Ukrainian government troops dressed in what look like Ukrainian uniforms. > ... There also was the suggestion that the soldiers involved were > undisciplined and possibly drunk, since the imagery showed what looked like > beer bottles scattered around the site, the source said._

Who is Robert Parry?

[http://consortiumnews.com/about/](http://consortiumnews.com/about/)

> _" Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the > Associated Press and Newsweek. He founded Consortiumnews.com in 1995 as the > Internet's first investigative magazine. He saw it as a way to combine > modern technology and old-fashioned journalism to counter the increasing > triviality of the mainstream U.S. news media."_</comment>


The B-52 Just Keeps on Flying - <AUTHOR> http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/b-52-just-keeps-flying-180953933/ <comment><USER2> Once you have control of the airspace over your opponent then stealth takes a back seat and what you want is a (relatively) low cost way to delivery large amounts of ordinance over a long distance.

A Bomb Truck.

The B-52 does that better than anything else out there.

Throw in that much of the design was built with 50's technology originally which meant when it was ripped out and modernised you had massive amounts of space to play with which made upgrading them easier as well.

What is fascinating is that the law of diminishing returns was hit so quickly after the introduction of the jet engines for sub-sonic bombers.

<comment><USER3> As far as I know there is no such things as stealth in aircrafts. If you are using modern radar then you can spot any aircraft, even those new stealth jet fighters that the US is about to start cranking out.

<comment><USER4> Sure there is.

Stealth capability isn't a boolean property. Intermittent detection isn't enough to target an aircraft. Being able to track from the ground, with numerous antennas and supercomputers, is much easier than tracking from the limited-diameter head of a radar-guided missile.

<comment><USER3> Really?

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_F-117A_shootdown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_F-117A_shootdown)

<comment><USER5> as the joke goes, these missiles were very old - they were produced when there were no stealth planes, and thus they didn't know that that plane was supposed to be invisible to them.

<comment><USER6> Some IRCM systems have historically encountered this same problem in their development. Modern missiles were defeated, but very old missiles were actually _attracted_.

It isn't really a joke so much as a humorous way to describe a nasty reality.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> So they're trying to pay for them with PFIs. That didn't work out well in the UK for hospitals, schools, police stations or anything else they were applied to. PFIs are perfect, though, if you want to let an external body decide what you need and make you pay for more than 6 times the value of something that doesn't solve your original problem.

<comment><USER8> Are you in the wrong thread?

<comment><USER9> no, he isn't:

> "To go out and buy new engines for the B-52, you'd have a really hard time > fitting that into our program, but that's why we're interested in a public- > private partnership, which would be a different way to amortize those > engines over time and pay for them in the savings that they actually > generate, instead of paying for them out of savings that you hope for.

This sounds like a Private Finance Initiative as the GP mentioned

<comment><USER10> So basically, asking GE or Pratt & Whitney to fit modern turbofan engines upfront for free, and getting paid out of the fuel and/or maintenance savings over time?

<comment><USER7> That's the idea, but it's a profit making exercise for these companies. In all, they charge far, far more than the up front cost.

Not to mention, they'll charge based on an annual fee for every year the engines are in service. And if there's anything the original B52 taught us, it's that avionic hardware is in service for far, far longer than we estimate when we buy it.

<comment><USER10> I suppose, not knowing what "far, far more" actually is, that could be appropriate. Typically, whether it's a loan or some kind of "partnership" when you ask someone else to front the expenses for your project/purchase you end up paying a lot more over time than if you had the cash in hand.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Meanwhile new metal just does not cut it.

[http://www.jqpublicblog.com/the-little-fighter-that- couldnt-...](http://www.jqpublicblog.com/the-little-fighter-that-couldnt- moral-hazard-and-the-f-35/)

Among the crippling problems highlighted in the DOT&E report:

\- Software glitches disrupting enemy identification and weapon employment.

\- A redesigned fuel tank that continues to demonstrate unacceptable vulnerability to explosion from lightning or enemy fire.

\- Departures from controlled flight during high-speed maneuvering, a six- year-old problem that apparently will not be solved without sacrificing stealth or combat capability.

\- Helmet issues fundamentally degrading pilot situational awareness.

\- Engine problems so severe they're limiting sortie rates, impeding the test schedule, and generating risky operational decisions.

\- Nightmarish maintainability issues leading to over-reliance on contractor support.

<comment><USER12> I don't really know of too many sophisticated military weapons that don't require contractor support. The military doesn't really hire professional engineers. The involved enlisted serve as maintenance crew and understand basics and know how to read manuals and use tools, officers fly and command things. Even the vocational schools for the enlisted that learn to do the maintenance on such equipment are often taught by civilians. Engineering takes a lot of schooling which would be on the level of an officer, but officers are commanders. Officers are management, not usually individual contributors except for maybe in the medical field where nurses are officers.

<comment><USER13> Adding to my sibling post, the USAF hires a ton of professional engineers. Many officers are engineers by education, though higher ranks are rarely engineers by trade. Many LTs and Captains do engineering work, but career progression is harder if they want to stay in it so they either switch or get out and continue as a contractor or civilian after 4-10 years. On the civilian side, there are many thousands of civilian engineers employed at the depots and other locations, but not as often at the operating locations.

<comment><USER14> Yeah, the Air Force wants all its officers to be "leaders of men" and not technicians. They really ought to bring back the warrant officer track for people with critical technical skills and no interest in management.

<comment><USER6> The world needs more of a "warrant officer track" in general, IMO.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> The USAF is looking to re-engine the fleet. It will be interesting to see how this affects fuel and range.

[http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/once-again-the-usaf-is- look...](http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/once-again-the-usaf-is-looking-to- re-engine-its-b-52-fl-1685747978)

<comment><USER16> Why is there the emphasis on keeping the B52 an eight engine aircraft?

Edit: A increase in minimum runway length and a decrease in payload capacity don't seem like the right answers in light of past four engine proposals that improved both specifications (the replacements had over double the thrust) while delivering even more fuel efficiency.

<comment><USER17> I would guess they want the ability to take off and land on relatively short runways, and, as indicated, they want to reuse existing engines.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> They might not be the most economical choice, but for nostalgia's sake: I love the fact that these dinosaurs are still in service. A service history this long is not totally unheard of: the U-2 spy plane was introduced in the same year as the B-52, and is still in active service today.

Fun fact: the Russian counterpart of the B-52, the TU-95 'Bear' (1956) is also still in service today.

This does make me wonder why they cancelled the service of planes like the A-10 warthog. There's simply no replacement, and unlike strategic long-range bombers there is still a need for planes like this on a 21st century battlefield.

</comment><comment><USER19> I thought B-52 will be replaced by F-35 :-}

<comment><USER20> Definitely! The B52 is way obsolete and the F35 can do everything it can do, only faster and better, and stealthier! /s

<comment><USER21> How did you manage a blank username???

<comment><USER20> It's not blank, you just can't see it yet.

<comment><USER22> i don't understand. i can totally see the username. does that mean i can see the ... whoa.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> When I was in Tech school we used to play in the training Buffs at lunch time. They are so big and clunky looking. When they taxi down the flightline, it looks like they couldn't manage anything. Until they get up there; then they're beautiful.

<comment><USER24> I remember reading a story where some engineers calculated that the B-52 should not be able to fly.

<comment><USER25> Perhaps it's powered by bumblebees.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> The B-52's were built by people who had experience building and tweaking the bombers of WWII. The practicality of the B-52 stands as a shining example of the scary efficiency of war when people put their minds to it.

<comment><USER27> Because Boeing's engineers had experience in production-oriented bomber building (Ford gave them that at Willow Run, where they were building a completed B-24 each hour¹), they knew not to gold-plate their design. Create the minimum that will do the mission, and make it easy to service & repair.

¹ [http://www.strategosinc.com/willow_run.htm](http://www.strategosinc.com/willow_run.htm)

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Makes me want to dig out my copy of _Flight of the Old Dog_ .

</comment><comment><USER29> There were a lot of weird errors in the article.

> tur- boprop-powered XB-52 > missilessiles

<comment><USER30> Conversion artifacts from an original typeset article

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> > _This reasoning was based on the assessment that the cost of fuel wasn't > that high, but the service forgot that B-52s are voracious users of air-to- > air refuel- ing. By the time the gas comes out of a KC-135 tanker's boom, > the delivery cost has increased by a factor of 15_

How is this kind of oversight even possible?

Also, this is the crap that got copied onto my clipboard when I tried to copy that quote:

        Read more: http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/b-52-just-keeps-flying-180953933/#ixzz3V90kF6sx

        Read more: http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/b-52-just-keeps-flying-180953933/#2mI866OqRKfEWivD.99

        Save 47% when you subscribe to Air & Space magazine http://bit.ly/NaSX4X Follow us: @AirSpaceMag on Twitter

Fucking obnoxious.

<comment><USER32> "How is this even possible?"

It doesn't seem at all implausible to me. Running a KC-135 and a crew of 4-8 to deliver the fuel at altitude isn't going to be cheap.

JP-8 fuel appears to cost around $3.00/gallon at ground level, so a factor of 15 would be $45/gallon delivered.

JP-8 has a density of about 0.8 kg/l, or about 6 lb/gallon.

Civilian airline fares are somewhere in the neighborhood of $0.20/seat-mile. If you SWAG the weight of a passenger at 200 pounds, that's about $0.001/pound-mile. Now figure that the fuel might have to be flown 5,000 miles (possibly in multiple trips) That's $5.00/pound, times 6 pounds per gallon would give $30.00/gallon delivered (at commercial airline rates).

Now figure that this is all military and $45/gallon actually starts to look pretty cheap.

Edit: I think you edited your post. I assumed you were wondering how the cost could go up by a factor of 15. Now it looks like you're asking how this kind of mistake could happen. That's a different issue. :-)</comment></comment>


Brain Enhancement Is Wrong, Right?  - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/weekinreview/09carey.html?ex=1362718800&en=753abf3a269f71c3&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

<comment><USER2> Academia is different from sports. Despite what many people may think, academia and science are not a game. Your goal is not to be better than someone, but to do good research. If you feel the need to take drugs and you're willing to take its risks, then by all means do. It's not cheating.

Now, requiring people to use substances that might be bad for them is not a good idea. People have to have the freedom to choose if they will take those substances or not. Neither should be mandatory. The reason for this is that we want people to be able to make their own decisions and do whatever pleases them the most; may it be using drugs or not.

<comment> daniel-cussen Good point. Academia is not a zero-sum game.

<comment><USER3> Knowledge is not a zero-sum game. Academia, not so much.

<comment> daniel-cussen Very true. That's a lot more accurate.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I offer no judgement, but note that if performance-enhancing drugs become the norm in academia and industry, those who opt not to chemically alter (and perhaps harm) themselves are obviously going to be marginalized.

That's why steroids are a problem in sports. It's not that kids "look up" to Barry Bonds. It's that they're not stupid, and they quickly realize the only way to succeed is to dope.

Staying up all night coding sounds awesome to me. Having 2x focus sounds awesome. When research assures me I'm not going to be clinically depressed for the remainder of my life as a result of medicating, I might even consider taking pills for work. But I'll feel guilty about the future I'm creating for my kids.

<comment><USER5> I would accept a world where you need enhancement to get ahead, for the same reason I accept a world where you need a phone and a car to get ahead. Some people may grumble, but everyone is better off.

<comment><USER4> We'd all get a little bit further if child labor were allowed, too.

<comment><USER5> Personally I'd allow it. There's no huge sector of starving families as in the 19th century. Parents would let their kids take jobs - as work experience and character formation. Plus it would divert the unteachables from an education they merely disrupt.

I know, off topic, just tweaking your nose for such a primly self-righteous response.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> I'm surprised no one's said it yet: Who says you're enhanced?

As far I know, few studies have shown actual improvement in mental or physical performance without serious side effects. I think even the military, which has studied both amphetamines and steroids, has found that the side effects far outweigh the benefits.

As a big baseball fan, I think the current PED controversy is illustrative. Many folks think they're getting a benefit and are willing to go to great lengths for that edge. But it's not clear they're getting anything other than an confidence boost. You wouldn't take the pill if you didn't think it would work or is working. So you keep taking it.

I think the same is true of neurocosmetics. It easier to believe they work. Still, I'd rather take a nap than a pill. And I'm more worried about neuroimplants - in fifty years.

<comment><USER6> I always ask myself: if substance X is supposedly so beneficial, why doesn't the body manufacture it by itself? Or just creates the effect the drug is supposed to create to begin with?

<comment><USER7> Perhaps it used to, and is broken now. Putting the chemical back is fixing it, like a diabetic with insulin.

<comment><AUTHOR> No doubt this is true to an extent - some folks need the assist. But this article is about much more than that. A diabetic doesn't take insulin to get an edge in business or sports or academics.

<comment><USER7> If all the world were diabetic, the edge would be to the one with the insulin, no?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Dr. Chatterjee: "The way this is likely to be framed is: 'Look, we want smart people to be as productive as possible to make everybody's lives better. We want people performing at the max, and if that means using these medicines, then great, then we should be free to choose what we want as long as we're not harming someone.' I'm not taking that position, but we have this winner-take- all culture and that is the way it is likely to go."

Huh? "Winner-take-all culture"? This seems like a moral issue.

I suspect that a lot of human suffering -- or at least missed potential -- is due to our cognitive biases and other mental shortcomings. I suspect there are many leaders, inventors, and researchers who would improve the human condition far more if they could think faster, remember better, and get tired less. Fighting against a drug that could unleash this potential energy and save huge numbers of lives seems immoral.

</comment><comment><USER9> It's worth noting that caffeine, in proper doses, enhances both physical and mental performance. So be careful of the slippery slope: slide far enough down and you'll kill your cappuccino.

<comment><USER10> I've heard food can have the similar effects, let's ban that too.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> I think the effects must be weighed. Is it wrong for a molecular biologist to take drugs if it means he can invent a cure for cancer in 5 years instead of 20? I believe one person should be allowed to do whatever they want with their body as long as it doesn't negatively effect other people, and in said example he might die younger but he'll have saved around 114 million people from death.

We're not talking about handing someone over to some evil aliens or they'll murder 114 million innocents. We're talking about someone saying, "My death will be worth saving 114 million people from an early death." I can't fault someone choosing to do that.

</comment><comment><USER12> Reminds that marijuana is classified as a performance-enhancing drug by many national (NBA) and multi-national sport governing boards

<comment><AUTHOR> I once had a Carribean taxi driver tell me that marijuana is the only drug (there are some he probably hasn't tried) that you don't have to process or change in any way. You can ingest it directly from the ground for the same effects. Try that with caffeine, chocolate, tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, etc. And of course, the psychotropics that "enhance" takes that processing to a whole new level.

<comment><USER13> Heroin is processed opium. Opium comes from poppy seeds, and the processing for that is minimal.

Cocaine is made from the coca plant; the leaves of which can be chewed raw for a similar, but markedly weaker, effect.

I doubt tobacco has to be processed to be smoked.

Psilocybin mushrooms require no processing.

Peyote requires no processing.

Alcohol be found naturally from rotting, fermented fruit fallen from trees. There's a video on Youtube of animals getting drunk from eating it.

I'm sure there are several other plants that will get you high that I'm unaware of. Just thought I'd throw a little knowledge out there for anyone who might be interested.

<comment><AUTHOR> I didn't say he was right! But it is an interesting observation, to me, because he's mostly right, based on quantities.

Good luck collecting enough poppy seeds. Same deal on the coca leaves, but try eating a mouthful. Same deal there on tobacco. The same logic applies to caffeine, chocolate, and alcohol. The drug is extremely weak in it's natural form so it requires a decent amount of work to get something really psychoactive.

To him, you can simply pull a marijuana bud off a plant, like an apple from a tree, and eat it for the full effect. That's quite a contrast.

Psilocybin and peyote apply but I don't think he's ever had the opportunity, especially since they don't grow like a weed.

His point: Nature has done a pretty remarkable job providing for our physical and mental health. Why muck with that?

<comment><USER14> Actually plain Coca leaves have been chewed for (insert very long time frame) by people in its native areas for a variety of medicinal and performance enhancing effects.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Of course it isn't. What a silly idea. Enhancement is always good, that's why it's enhancement and not harm.

<comment><USER15> Dude your profile is interesting. I have similar interests and similar singularitarian ideas :-)

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> If you read that article, you'd think that drugs are the only way to enhancing brain performance... I enhance my brain all the time, but with exercise instead of drugs.

The article seems to be based on the premise that unless you take drugs you can't do anything about the performance of your brain, when there's a wealth of research indicating otherwise. Maybe if people didn't have the misconception that intelligence is something fixed and innate, they would actually try to train their brain instead of taking drugs?

</comment><comment><USER17> Surprised no one has mentioned Erdos yet.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erdős></comment>


Ask HN: How can I make a good screencast? - <AUTHOR>

I'm thinking of making a video screen cast (as opposed to a written tutorial) to show off my SDK and embedding it on the front page of my site. But I'm pretty clueless of the tools out there for OS X. What are the good ones to use?
Any tips as well? I'm thinking I'll record myself using the SDK, then adding my voice on top in a second recorded track. I would like the video to be 5-10 minutes, or just enough to show the developers (my target) what makes my SDK useful and productive. But this is just a complete guess at what defines "a good screencast".
Lastly, my voice is not the greatest to listen to. If there are any audio recording/editing technique to make it sound better please let me know. <comment><USER2> _> tools out there for OS X_

See <http://railscasts.com/about> under the "Software and Hardware Used" section.

> _Tips_

Just put down on paper what you want to show. For example, a storyboard [1], I use boxes about 2 inch squared and put a stick figure or what I intended to review with a title or overview of the idea. This will help you work on the flow of the screencast. I find writing the script first (very rough as you will refine after you start recording) helps to frame what video I want to record. I would focus on key pieces of the SDK rather than recording one long video so you can make each piece, short and to the point.

You should also read "How to Spread The Word About Your Code" [2]. This speaks to your exact issue at hand!

[1] <https://www.google.ca/search?q=storyboard>

[2] [https://hacks.mozilla.org/2013/05/how-to-spread-the-word- abo...](https://hacks.mozilla.org/2013/05/how-to-spread-the-word-about-your- code/)

<comment><AUTHOR> thanks for the tips, especially the story boarding</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Is it worth getting a job at Google? - <AUTHOR>

I am a pretty good software engineer and have implemented many impressive softwares during last 12 years from implementing parts of JVM to distributed systems. However I am not good with memorizing language syntaxes and algorithms. To prepare for interviews at Google or similar companies means significant training in becoming a great "interview programmer". Is it all worth the trouble of learning something that I never directly use day to day in my life ? <comment><USER2> Do it. I'm not an engineer but I just went through the interview process for an analytics/strategy role at google. I was successful is getting the role. I found the process fun and challenging. You do use those skills in every day work at Google, maybe not directly but its valuable to be able to learn to be efficient and think outside of the box

</comment><comment><USER3> I'd be curious to hear about where interviews _don't_ work this way.

</comment><comment><USER4> if you try and fail at least you know. if you never try you'll always wonder if you could of done it</comment>


Vassal: Engine for building and playing online board games and card games - <AUTHOR> http://www.vassalengine.org/

<comment><USER2> Vassal seems like more of a staple of the hardcore wargaming community (For the most part, not making an absolute statement here). If you want to play boardgames with less learning curve (both the interface and the games themselves) I recommend boardgamearena.com for web-based (but with a smaller library) or Tabletop Simulator for native (bigger library through Steam's workshop thing)

EDIT: and of course actual physical copies of the games are probably the best way to go if possible.

<comment><USER3> > EDIT: and of course actual physical copies of the games are probably the > best way to go if possible.

In terms of logistics, physical copies are the worst possible way to play. They have benefits if you're playing as a bonding activity, since everyone has to be there. They have absolutely no benefits, and enormous drawbacks, if you're playing to play.

<comment><USER4> > absolutely no benefits

Digital games do have their advantages, but that's going a bit too far.

Is it possible for someone can't programming to create a digital game? Could they implement "house rules" on an existing game? In games that have trading, how about non-standard trading? (Eg I've played Settlers with futures) How about granting a younger player an advantage to compensate (eg, give them an extra $1000 to start)?

How immune to cheating is Vassal? If the digital copy runs on Windows, a bunch of my friends already have a copy of ollydbg installed. Is there also a feasible to detect if there's a Excel spreadsheet or Google Doc open that tallying all thes cards used and other information about the game state, and spitting out the odds that my next card is going to be the one I'm looking for?

Meanwhile, playing a game locally means playing with others humans with similarly limited memory and processing power, which means my naive gameplay, which doesn't have the odds of every possible combination of cards memorized, isn't a game of Humans vs. Cylons. (Not that I understand the attraction to online poker either.) Is there any guarantee that the person on the other end isn't grepping /usr/share/dict/words in our digital Boggle game?

Teaching people how to play ("customized live interactive tutorial") is far better with a (patient) real person rather than a recorded tutorial, especially when the game hasn't been translated.

Are you going to be able to dig up a digital copy in 30 years and play that on the latest computer?

Can you give your digital copy to a friend?

How many copies of the game do you need to buy for everyone to play? Most online games require each person to buy their own copy, but aside from Magic and other CCG, the box and some friends is all you need.

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure you can come up with other advantages that physical copies of the game have.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I use Vassal to play and spectate Twilight Struggle -- hell of a lot easier than trying to find people in my area who are willing and able to play :)

Side note: interesting example of how not to manage a delayed Kickstarter: [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559431060/twilight- stru...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559431060/twilight-struggle- digital-edition/comments) \-- the vitriol in this thread is pretty ridiculous.

<comment><USER6> Gosh, can I join you? I bought this game ages ago and have never been able to play it.

(OMFG, there's a Sekigahara module!!! Another great game I own and can't get players for )

<comment><USER7> Count me in three? HN Twilight Struggle FTW! Email's in my profile.

//edit actually I confused Twilight Imperium for Twilight Struggle. Still, either would be great.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Ew. Sourceforge.

I was excited to try it but I'm afraid of what crapware I'll get if I do.

<comment> guard-of-terra Checkout sources & build your own binaries.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> This reminds me a lot of [http://www.brettspielwelt.de/Spiele/](http://www.brettspielwelt.de/Spiele/) which has been around for over a decade. The game list isn't as big as Vassal, but the client and interface for the games has been pretty reliable.

</comment><comment><USER10> Tabletop Simulator seems to have gained much more traction than this ever did.

<comment><USER11> Is there a good spot to see available mods, similar to vassals? [http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Category:Modules](http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Category:Modules)

I'd be interested in picking up tabletop simulator depending on what's available.

<comment><USER9> here: [http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse/?appid=286160](http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse/?appid=286160)

<comment><USER11> Excellent, thanks.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I've installed Vassal and tried it but I haven't actually played multiplayer with it.

My main point of confusion is--- it's really odd that it doesn't have rules enforcement. I know that it makes it infinitely more complex to code a module, but for some games (like A Distant Plain and Twilight Imperium) rules enforcement would be fantastic.

<comment><USER12> I always assumed it was an intentional design decision ...

1) these are board games, and for many people working through the mechanics is a big part of the fun

2) it's an attempt to make it clear the tool isn't a replacement for games but a supplement (i.e. a hedge against confrontations over copyright)

<comment><USER13> I figured it was a holdover from starting as a wargaming simulator. The rules on those are somewhat varied (x inches in one system, hexes in another, squares in a third, or y inches in a fourth) so the ability to shift things around (flexibly) allows games to be simulated with greater ease.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Would be interesting to try to build a IA to play Advanced Civilization. If the original DOS game adaptation had a very competent IA, what could archive now ?

</comment><comment><USER15> Vassal seems to be the best way to stream board games over twitch. Love it.

</comment><comment><USER16> At first I was "Oooh, I like board games!" but then I was "aww, Sorceforge" and then later I was "Aww, Java". I'll stick with Tabletop Simulator for now, but you'd think something like this could be implemented in plugin-free HTML5 by now.

<comment><USER17> Java for desktop isn't at all bad.

<comment><USER16> I'll assume you're on Mac. I roll windows here and haven't had Java installed in almost 3 years. Couldn't be happier.

Can't wait until I can do the same to Flash.

<comment><USER17> Nope, I'm on Windows and Ubuntu. I don't have any Java in the browser, on ubuntu I apt-get the openjdk and on Windows I use ninite.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


New create your own subreddit site -- seeking feedback - <AUTHOR>

We've been working on a site to let you create your own subreddit: http://www.linkherd.com/
There are quite a number of rough edges, but since reddit's announcement yesterday, we want to get feedback as soon as possible.
Here are some features:
* customize your network's appearance by uploading a stylesheet
* subscribe your network to an RSS feed -- all links from the feed will automatically get submitted
* subscribe your subreddit to another subreddit -- for example, 'python' could subscribe to 'django'
* restrict commenting/voting/submitting to approved users
Any critiques will be appreciated. <comment><USER3> Not sure if you were aware, but reddit has recently unveiled their new sub- reddit feature, and it's in private testing.

Good effort, though. Might want to have a live feed of all the new stories coming in on the front page, so I'm enticed to join some communities and contribute by finding interesting stories on the front page.

Congrats.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you! We heard about reddit's plans, that's why we launched today. Great idea for the front page.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Having links like /django/78/up/ is a CSRF attack just waiting to happen - <USER2> should turn them in to POST forms (preferably with some unobtrusive Ajax) and add a form key to prevent people from tricking other logged in users in to up- voting stories.

<comment><AUTHOR> We check the HTTP_REFERER to make sure it's coming from linkherd.com.

<comment><USER4> Form tokens are more robust - some people strip referrers (sometimes even at the firewall level) to prevent information leakage from their corporate intranets.

<comment><AUTHOR> Weird. Anyways, we changed to form tokens.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Are you going to submit this to Reddit?

</comment><comment><USER6> I created a site for Refactor Phoenix. Once created, I saw that the URL kept the space in the words, but it's encoded as %20.

In retrospect I wish I had entered the name differently so that I could have avoid that space.

Really, I want to have it both ways: a title of Refactor Phoenix, but a url with no gaps (/refactorphoenix).

I saw no way to edit this, or to delete the network.

<comment><USER7> I just updated linkherd.com and urls are now stripped of spaces and underlines. Please let us know if you spot any problems.

<comment><USER6> Sweet. Thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I'll give you a dollar if you please change the site to use Verdana or some other font than the default you use now. (Please, please!)

<comment><USER9> Me too. _holds out dollar_

<comment><AUTHOR> Great, I've PMed both of you with our paypal info. Could this be a new business model?

<comment><USER10> Imagine 2+ users, each wanting say, Verdana or not-Verdana, and each giving you a dollar each time you change it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Looks nice. Dumb feature request: how about custom subdomains? <http://subject.linkherd.com/> suggests more of a standalone community than linkherd.com/subject . I've used wildcard DNS for this kind of thing in the past (e.g. simon.idproxy.net )

<comment><USER7> Yeah, not dumb at all. It's on the to-do list, thanks.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> can you allow users to create subreddits with their own adsense or other ads shown?

that could be a killer feature over reddit

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, the idea to have some kind of revenue-sharing model with networks that want to show ads. Wasn't sure if this plan was worth mentioning at this early stage, but since you asked.

Of course, no one will be forced to show ads -- we can't, since network owners control their own stylesheet.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> OpenID support would be nice too ;)

<comment><AUTHOR> Will look into it -- saw the link you posted on linkherd.com/django

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Is this just using a modified version of <http://topspot.dk/> ?

</comment><comment><USER8> Please make the + - buttons larger, I found them hard to click on directly.</comment>


On a distributed microblogging network - <AUTHOR> http://taylorheffernan.squarespace.com/journal/2009/8/12/on-a-distributed-microblogging-network.html

<comment><USER2> This is beginning to sound like a gradual reinvention of Usenet.

<comment><USER3> "Those who do not understand Usenet are doomed to reinvent it... poorly."

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Let's do this...without the micro part!

</comment><comment><USER5> identi.ca / laconica

<comment><USER6> Possibly the openmicroblogging protocol behind laconia or pubsubhubbub. Hopefully we can move away from platforms and instead have easy interoperability for a variety of apps.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Open a wordpress blog. (or any other blog service)

Write short posts (less than 500 chars)

Use your reader of choice (Google Reader is the best)

There you have it, a microblogging network.

PS. use Atom feeds for a better experience.

<comment><USER7> If I was Matt Mullenweg I would be having a meeting right now to implement Wordpress Lite ASAP.

That, my friends, is the twitter killer. With all the themes, plugins, widgets and all the ecosystem.

At the same time, Google should be updating their Reader with an Instant Update feature for selected feeds.

I know Wave will have some of this, but why wait?

<comment><USER8> The P2 theme is Wordpress's best answer to Twitter. It's pretty cool: <http://ma.tt/2009/05/how-p2-changed-automattic/>

Brad Fitzpatrick (LiveJournal founder) is at Google working on PubSubHubbub, which is a distributed push system for RSS. The Google Reader team is already experimenting with it (as a provider currently, not a consumer): [http://googlereader.blogspot.com/2009/08/pubsubhubbub- suppor...](http://googlereader.blogspot.com/2009/08/pubsubhubbub-support-for- reader-shared.html)

<comment><USER7> P2 is the answer. I know beauty when I see it.

<comment><USER7> Now, implement collapse/expand comments and new comment notifiers (red bubble/white number) and you have a twitter, friendfeed and facebook killer.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Should Google be scrubbing servers to prepare for President Trump? - <AUTHOR> http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/10/13581314/trump-google-facebook-data-collection-nsa-encryption <comment><USER2> Why was it fine to collect this data in the first place?

<comment><USER3> This question comes up with dismaying frequency. What is the purpose of asking it? We can't go back in time to undo the damage, all we can do is try to work together to make things better in the time we have.

Everyone feels frustrated right now, but calling new arrivals out for not doing more earlier is not a helpful way to get us started.</comment></comment>


Is not drinking an unspoken taboo? - <AUTHOR> http://ovikbanerjee.com/2013/03/17/not-drinking-the-unspoken-taboo/

<comment><USER2> I have it slightly worse than the OP. I don't drink, smoke or eat non- vegetarian food. Which basically means no partying and almost no socializing beyond saying hello.

Which also means I have a lot more time to do the things I really want to do. My parents drink, by the way, and I've seen their behavior after a couple. No way I'd go down that lane.</comment>


Continuous – Professional C# and F# IDE for the iPad - <AUTHOR> http://continuous.codes <comment><USER2> Just ran into this and was about to post it - Wow. Looks really good. It seems like he embedded an IL interpreter to get around the AppStore limitations. Amazing work.

</comment><comment><USER3> I have been using Pythonista and Codea, but now I can do F# on my iPad Pro. I originally bought it for drawing, but it is slowly acquiring all of my attention.

Great work on Continuous! MS/Xamarin opensource enriching an Apple product...

<comment><USER2> Not just enriching, people are blowing Apple out of the water in regards to adding new capabilities to the iPad. This app makes the swift "playgrounds" look even more laughable.</comment></comment>


Modern Web App Development in JavaScript - <AUTHOR> https://twitter.com/dhh/status/1258074299337826304 <comment><USER2> I would guess his complaint is with the lack of loosely typed and largely useless html generation front end against an unneeded backend based on a noobs concept of an application and a controller model dead end framework.

 _sigh_ what are we doing???</comment>


40 Yr Stanford Study Found People with Delayed Gratification More Likely Succeed - <AUTHOR> https://jamesclear.com/delayed-gratification <comment><USER2> This is something I've been thinking about lately; so much recent pop culture centers about 'genius' figures who seem to always know what to do and how, but I don't believe that most big discoveries and innovations are a result of 'eureka' moments or some sort of savant who just Knows Everything.

What I think matters, besides good old-fashioned luck, is having a person or group of people that is willing to bang its head against a brick wall for hours on end, day after day, week after week, until the cracks finally start to show. That sort of perseverance requires a lot of things, but the ability to put off a payday until you've gotten a few more metaphorical concussions is probably a big part of it.

<comment><USER3> > person or group of people that is willing to bang its head against a brick > wall for hours on end, day after day, week after week, until the cracks > finally start to show

This is what getting a PhD is like (at least in STEM). I mean, you _do_ have to be smart, but you _also_ have to be willing to work on a specific, technical, narrowly defined problem for years. It's great.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I love research like this. Our psyches are so complex and we are so filled with biases and errors in a plethora of ways that the only way IMHO we can compensate for it long term is to understand how those structures work and build social systems and structures that auto-correct it.

It looks like this area turns out to be one of the lucky ones that we can at least attempt to improve ourselves, unfortunately when it comes to cognition and particularly cognitive biases and errors to much of it seems not to work like muscles or have simple "do X" solutions.

</comment><comment><USER5> Just a reminder that this result doesn't imply that practicing delaying gratification will improve your success. It may well be that a third factor causes both ability to delay gratification, and success.

It's remarkable that there is data about the outcomes of billions of lives, but we still have only vague indications about which behaviors lead to which outcomes.

<comment><USER6> There are some relevant follow-up studies, e.g.:

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3730121/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3730121/)

> We demonstrated that children's sustained decisions to wait for a greater > reward rather than quickly taking a lesser reward are strongly influenced by > the reliability of the environment (in this case, the reliability of the > researcher's verbal assurances). More broadly, we have shown that young > children's performance on delay-of-gratification tasks can be strongly > influenced by an implicit rational decision-making process.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Sometimes I think there's a perfect balance these people have between the ability to put off reward and the ability to enjoy reward.

Because I can put off rewards but what I end up doing is saying "I can live without that reward forever" and it turns into asceticism, not success.

I feel like if I could combine my ability to put off rewards with an enhanced sense of "winning" when I do finally pull something off, I could motivate myself to "succeed" better.

But then again, what is "success?"

</comment><comment><USER8> Also, the more wealthy you are, the better you'd be at delaying gratification, even if you are very young. If you never know hunger or want and you know that the "marshmellow" will always be there, then you can more easily delay gratification. But if you are poor and you know that the marshmellow might not be there tomorrow, you are less likely to delay gratification.

</comment><comment><USER9> Haven't read the study, but I bet this has a high correlation with the big five trait conscientiousness. That and IQ are great predictors of success.

</comment><comment><USER10> People who can delay gratification are likely those who have the means to do so to begin with. I know it's not the point of research, but it would really be nice if this stuff was more prescriptive (to the article's defense they do touch on this a bit in the end).

Discipline and willpower and what not are great things, but for the average person simply creating an environment to which discipline is unnecessary is easier.

Some more thoughts for anyone who's bored out there: \</comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment>----

1) Website usage: many people check websites religiously, just to see if anything is new. Most of the time nothing is new. A means to prevent the actual visiting of the website (which will lead to more wasted time) would be nice.

Example, you refresh the page right now, perhaps there are some new comments, maybe there aren't. Either way, _maybe_ it's only worth it if there are X amount of new comments. A way to prevent "pointless" checks would be nice.

2) Soft reminder: it's worth thinking about a potential way to get someone back on track without explicitly reminding them to do so. I'm not quite sure how would do this (redirect to a website that was being worked on, maximizing the window that was important) as figuring out important itself is difficult, but it's worth a thought.

EDIT: grammar

<comment><USER11> > People who can delay gratification are likely those who have the means to do > so to begin with.

You're saying this after reading that researchers gave 5-year-olds _marshmallows_ and told them they would get a second one if they waited for 15 mins instead of eating it? Because the kids who delayed their marshmallow gratification "are likely those who have the means to begin with"?

<comment><USER10> Indeed I am. Clearly there must be some factor that resulted in the difference in the ability to delay -- whatever that factor is called, it has to be the "means."

Why should you wait 15 minutes to get another one instead of eating the one you have now? Imagine two kids, one with abundance and another with nothing. Intelligence and other temperamental traits aside, do you think there'd be any difference in their inclination to wait?

I obviously can't say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised. There are also other things that others have criticized about the experiment:

1\. Desire for sweets -- maybe one doesn't like sweets

2\. Preexisting hunger

3\. The premise that 2 marshmallows are superior to 1.

etc.

I still think it was a good experiment, but it's hardly the end-all-be-all.

<comment><USER12> Yea, kid's who grow up with food scarcity probably wouldn't believe they would even get the second marshmallow. These are the type of kids who hoard food even when it becomes completely unnecessary later in life due to their childhood experiences.

I imagine a better way to control for this is to have separate groups for different socioeconomic classes.

<comment><USER13> I've been listening to the audiobook "Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence" by Daniel Goleman, and in one of the chapters, he brought up this experiment, along with many others (I think there was an Australian experiment that followed about 16,000 kids throughout their life).

He actually concluded that focus and discipline have far more explanatory power in predicting future success than race, class, socioeconomic factors, or any other variable.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Some failing people are just delaying their gratification even more.

What form of gratification could be more delayed than being unknown and struggling all your life, and then having your works achieve posthumous renown?</comment>


Haskus – A Haskell Framework for Systems Programming - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/haskus/haskus-system <comment><USER2> Interesting, I was thinking about something like this, at least for exposing the raw Linux syscalls. I'm really happy this exists. Although I still have no clue what it's useful for, beyond my vague plans to speed up base file I/O and re-implement the RTS in Haskell, which never seemed that important so I never got around to...

I've read [https://github.com/haskus/haskus- system/blob/27bc422fccff455...](https://github.com/haskus/haskus- system/blob/27bc422fccff4550af0a7f4bb9458a484b163d2c/src/lib/Haskus/Arch/X86_64/Linux/Syscall.hs#L72-L80) and it still seems pretty weird to store the syscalls at type-level instead of defining them function-by-function. You don't have to define functions one-by- one, just use Template Haskell to generate them... and Syscall.read is much clearer than syscall @"read".

<comment><USER3> It used to be one function per syscall: [https://github.com/haskus/haskus- system/blob/ee3e0a69a263aaf...](https://github.com/haskus/haskus- system/blob/ee3e0a69a263aaf74554e6a18098812d8fc0d415/src/lib/ViperVM/Arch/X86_64/Linux/Syscalls.hs)

I did this to remove the boilerplate code, to make it easier to select the method (foreign primops or safe FFI foreign calls) and to make the conversion from the kernel tables simpler.

However I may have to switch to a Template Haskell solution because the type- level approach with type classes and type families has increased the compilation time and forces me to use `-freduction-depth=0`.

<comment><USER4> > the type-level approach with type classes and type families has increased > the compilation time and forces me to use `-freduction-depth=0`.

Are you on OSX by any chance? I have some similar issues but they don't seem to happen on Linux.

<comment><USER3> No I develop on Linux.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Invited them here plus sent them these semi-related links in case prior work on systems programming in Haskell helps them:

[http://programatica.cs.pdx.edu/House/](http://programatica.cs.pdx.edu/House/)

[http://programatica.cs.pdx.edu/papers.html](http://programatica.cs.pdx.edu/papers.html)

<comment><USER3> Thanks for the invitation. I've read a little bit about House a few years ago, but maybe I should give another look.

My project, however, is more high-level in that I don't plan to write a kernel (device drivers, etc.) as they have done for House.

<comment><USER5> Ahh. Oh well. I figured it would be fun to look at in worst case. ;)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> How world this compare to using inline-C?

</comment><comment><USER7> tldr: A framework to implement the Linux userspace in Haskell. Different design goals than HalVM.

Not sure from the code on github: If you want to replace the userspace including libc, then what do the RTS parts that need libc do?

<comment><USER3> Hi, the RTS continues to use the libc as usual. Maybe in some far future we could use a stripped down libc but for now I want to use GHC and Linux unmodified so that the system stays easy to test.

<comment><USER5> I get hints on GitHub and the website but what is this project exactly? What are you trying to do with it and compared to what?

<comment><USER3> It's mostly an experiment into providing an integrated interface leveraging Haskell features (type-safety, STM, etc.) for the whole system: input, display, sound, network, etc. There is still a lot of work to do...

Then in a probably far future I would like to use it to try different (crazy) things. For instance configuring the whole system with type-checked Haskell code (similar to XMonad configuration but for the whole system); provide a better terminal-like interface/protocol replacing stdin/stdout/stderr/term ioctls; generalize Linux sandboxing to all applications (filter syscalls, use namespaces, disk quota, etc.) and manage per-application permissions; etc.

The closest approach is Android which also uses the Linux kernel but doesn't provide a Unix interface to applications.

<comment><USER5> Makes sense. Esp with the Android example.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


The Killer App for OpenID  - <AUTHOR> http://www.markevanstech.com/2008/02/15/the-killer-app-for-openid/ <comment><USER2> Somebody is wildly confused: a site which needs to aggregate login information for several dozen other sites, each of which give it permission to use only _some_ features and not others, is a killer app for _OAuth_ , not OpenID.

OpenID might play a role in the OAuth-enabled World of the Future, but I kind of doubt it. I think OpenID will continue on its current trajectory to the bottom of the sea. I'm still waiting for evidence to the contrary.

This suggested use case is not the evidence I'm looking for. It it touchingly naive. It is a little _too_ retro. Like telnet and rlogin, this use case is designed for the primordial world of the 1970s, when all users were brothers, and the snake had not yet visited Eden, and Delirium was still Delight. You're encouraged to put all your keys in one basket, and _then_ you're encouraged to share that basket freely with sites like PageOnce. Presumably you should also drop acid.

The funniest thing about this "killer app" is the implicit notion that financial sites like banks will implement OpenID within the next decade. That will be a cold day in hell. Even sites like _Blogger_ don't really support OpenID logins yet, and who is trying to rob _Blogger_?

<comment><USER3> You're probably right that this killer app isn't, but I don't think OpenID's future is as bleak as you're making it out to be.

Your email address is already a single basket for all your keys, or at least all the keys to locks with "I forgot my password" mechanisms.

That Blogger doesn't support OpenID suggests nothing about its security.

<comment><USER2> _Your email address is already a single basket for all your keys..._

Yes, painfully true, and if OpenID _solved_ this problem I would be marginally more excited about it. However, "OpenID is no less secure than what we do now" is an excuse, not a selling point.

 _That Blogger doesn't support OpenID suggests nothing about its security._

Well, I don't know why Blogger doesn't support it. But I have a guess. I don't think it's merely about security; it's more fundamental than that. It's about _control_.

Once you implement OpenID logins, the security, reliability, and confidentiality of your site's authentication procedure is out of your hands. You can't improve your login security: the provider controls that. You can't improve your site's reliability beyond a certain point: when a provider goes down, a certain percentage of your users go down, too. You can't protect your traffic data: the OpenID providers are inevitably collecting samples of who logs in to your site and when.

If the administrator of an OpenID provider goes rogue and sells the password file to the Romanian mafia, you can't fire the guy. You probably can't even sue him. You'll probably never even know there was a security breach. You probably don't even know that your site depends on his. But when a user's login on your system is compromised, who do you think is going to get the phone calls, to say nothing of the lawsuits? Do you really think that you're going to tell your angry users "I'm sorry; security is out of my hands; talk to your OpenID provider" and expect them to go away happy?

And what's the payoff? You're adding moving parts to your system, decreasing your reliability and increasing your tech-support costs, and for what? The alternative -- using usernames and passwords -- is well understood, and well established, and is something that you'll have to support _anyway_ for the foreseeable future. How much additional money is OpenID _really_ going to bring in?

If OpenID does become widespread I predict that it will be in the form of a handful of "trusted" providers whose IDs are universally supported. On most sites, you'll get to choose between using your Facebook ID, your Google ID, your Microsoft ID, your Verisign ID, and an ID from the site's trusted network of partners. (Of course, there will be dozens or hundreds of these partner networks -- so much for "one universal ID"). In other words, it will be Microsoft Passport 2.0, only with extra market confusion and the nice reassuring word "Open" in the name.

<comment><USER3> That it's no less secure than what we do now is not a mark against it, though.

Giving up control can be a good thing. I don't need to keep up to date on password hashing techniques, or worry about sending passwords in the clear.

As a user, I can improve my login security unilaterally; I can use a hardware token without every site I use needing to implement support for it. As a user, sites that want as much control as you seem to scare me.

I think it's too early to say what the marketing/tech support/social effects will be. Clearly nobody is going to use OpenID for Really Important Stuff in the near future, but there are a lot of use cases between toys and RIS.

Your last paragraph coming true is a very real risk, and it would disappoint me tremendously. In the meantime, I think that OpenID shows a lot of promise.

edit: We're coming at this from different angles. OpenID will first be adopted by (is being adopted by) small sites that don't care about the things that you do. Bug trackers, wikis, forums, blogs, sites like this one. Once it's well established there, then we can start talking about the kind of sites you're talking about.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> There is no killer app for OpenID, it's a tech looking for an audience, and the audience doesn't care. The browser is your OpenID, you tell it to save your logins and it keeps them all for you safely on your computer, not up on some server owned by a company you don't know.

<comment><USER3> The browser can be your SSO, but OpenID is more than that.

And if you're not comfortable using an OP run by somebody else, you can run your own.</comment></comment>


DOJ antitrust investigation in to cable companies in progress - <AUTHOR> http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57452077-93/justice-department-probes-internet-video-data-caps/

<comment><USER2> "With that shift, cable companies that have spent billions of dollars building their networks are seeing an uptick in consumer's "cutting the cord" -- essentially making the cable companies a conduit to other content providers."

That makes it sound as if the Internet video companies are doing something wrong, and "taking advantage" of the cable companies. The cable companies should've known from the beginning what they are getting into as "ISP's". Offering an ISP service is quite different than a cable service. They shouldn't be trying to cripple their own ISP service in favor of the cable service. If that's happening, then maybe the companies should be broken up.

<comment><USER3> > The cable companies should've known from the beginning what they are getting > into as "ISP's"

I'm a strong proponent of net neutrality and I would like very much for the cable companies to become dumb pipes, but remember that many of these companies predate even the _idea_ of the internet as a entertainment platform. Road Runner came along in 1995!</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Salary Allocation by Task Attractiveness? - <AUTHOR>

This is a bit of a weird question, but recently, talking to other developers a lot about it, we came to the conclusion that it's fun to work on new things and it often sucks to work on maintenance type of tasks.
This is also why hiring developers during a prototyping phase seems often easier than to keep them on board later down the road (a year or two in), when most tasks shift over to 'keeping the product running and adding fixes and small features'.
So, I was wondering whether anyone had experience with or heard about schemes where you would allot a developer budget for the month, but distribute payments (within ranges) on how 'popular' a certain task/implementation/work-package is.
For instance:
20% of developer budget is allocated to the necessary new things, like trying out a different DB system, infrastructure experiments, iOS prototypes, bayesian sentiment algorithm, crawler, etc.
80% of developer budget is allocated to fixing the admin panel, writing a report-generator for traffic/ads/sales reports, fixing DB issues, rewriting/revisiting code that keeps causing troubles, etc.
And then have developers self-assign (where possible) to which work they'd like to focus on/contribute to. When you want to make a bit more money that month, maybe accept helping out with 'more boring tasks', if you feel like you need a bit of a break and just want to experiment with new things, accept that this month you might be making a bit less.
Basically, looking at it from a different perspective, how do you make sure that the very core thing most of us devs love the most, i.e. 'trying out new shit until we've figured it out' stays a solid part of your daily job while at the same time, making sure all those maintenance things get taken care of responsibly?
just an odd idea, would love to hear your thoughts. <comment><USER2> If the payments are big enough to make a difference, people will crawl over bodies to earn the bonuses and feud viciously if/when they don't get assigned the bonus-bearing tasks. People will become reluctant to work on the low/no- bonus assignments.

If the payments aren't big enough, then no one will care and nothing will change. You'll pay money for nothing, and workers will be even unhappier to work on some tasks, since the real stinkers will be identified by the attached bonuses.

Fundamentally, in the professional world, we rely on employees' intrinsic motivation to get jobs done. It's well understood that reward systems that tie money too closely to work damage intrinsic motivation, so there has to be a really, really good reason to attempt it.

<comment><AUTHOR> in a situation where salaries are somewhat fair and necessary funding for this is a given, I'd say you're absolutely right, people will understand there's fun and not so fun work to do, but at least you're being paid well for all of it.

but in situations where regular salary financing is tense (especially startups who are bootstrapping, or use private funds, or very little seed money), I feel people are more willing to accept less-than-industry-standard pay if the work is fun at least (of which there is only so much in a project). this is why I was trying to figure out whether someone ever transformed this into a salary distribution model.

<comment><USER2> I misinterpreted your proposal because distributing SALARY this way was too plainly insane.

No one with a brain in their head would work for you on that basis. The feuding would start immediately and never end.

You cannot make software development into piecework.</comment></comment></comment>


The Mars and Venus question - <AUTHOR> http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21609535-variation-cognitive-abilities-two-sexes-may-be-more-about-social

<comment><USER2> Feel a little baited and switched--I was hoping for an astronomy article!</comment>