Adobe Photoshop Touch hits iPad 2 for $9.99 - <AUTHOR> http://9to5mac.com/2012/02/25/adobe-launches-photoshop-touch-on-ipad-2-for-just-9-99/ <comment><USER2> Man, this is gonna be a really tough sell.

The computer is where people do their real work.

The iPad is where people do casual consumption, games, or yes, perhaps some photography, but mostly instagram-level, meant for casual sharing. Instagram is perfect for this device. Quick, easy, looks good, simple to share.

This tablet version of Photoshop is both wayyyyyyy more complicated than instagram and wayyyyyyy less useful than the full Photoshop application.

As a power Photoshop user, I have no need nor desire for this product. I simply cannot imagine my wife, who has no image-editing skills, using this over instagram or an instagram-type app. So who is this for exactly?

</comment><comment><USER3> I guess this won't work on my "old" iPad 1? I hope Apple is going to announce the 3 in a couple of weeks. I'm holding myself to upgrading every other generation for both the tablets and phones. Does anyone else find it strange that these technologies are essentially obsolete in 24 months?

<comment><USER4> It's not that strange if you take into account the law of accelerated returns, that suggests that _change_ itself happens at an ever faster pace. PC's used to be changed at 3-5 years, laptops at 2-3 years, and now smartphones and tablets at 1-2 years.

<comment><USER5> _The singularity is near_ says this, but it seems that the _rate_ of Moore's Law has been pretty constant (cost version: _x2 performance/price every 18 months_ ). When Ray extends this back to discrete transistors, vacuum tubes, relays, and mechanics, there's a case for an acceleration in rate - but not within silicon.

If hardware is updated at different rates in different categories, I think it's due to factors specific to that category. Counter-example: the update rate for game consoles is much slower now than it was previously.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I quite like the touchlight feature where you could shine light on your iPad camera at different angles to adjust lighting. 9.99 was a steal really, though I'm not getting it.

</comment><comment><USER7> Looks like it was just a mistake to launch. We have to wait until Monday for the real launch. Why do we see so many developers accidentally launching apps early for iOS?

<comment><USER8> I think this is a general problem in the app release process because you have cannot be certain when your app will be approved and your app is released at different times in different international app stores.

<comment><USER9> You can set the date you want your app to be available, independently of the review date (of course the later one wins).

<comment><USER10> At some point that was suddenly not possible, deliberately or accidental. After that incident I am always a little wary of setting a future date and not having the ability to change it to launch.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I still prefer it on my Eee Pad Slider. I can plug-in my Canon 60D on it and easily edit the photos I just took. Anyway, I'll give the iPad version a chance...

</comment><comment><USER12> Wow. Adobe devaluating their product by setting such a low price. I don't think this is a good idea.

<comment><USER13> 1\. Read The Innovator's Dilemma.

2\. Tablets are the future. If Adobe doesn't make a photoshop for the iPad, someone else will and Adobe will go out of business.

<comment><USER14> Tablets are not the future for all types of computing. Someone else can make Photoshop for the iPad but it doesn't mean that it will be a success nor that Adobe will go out of business.

I don't think Adobe has much to gain OR lose by doing this as they have the capital to develop a side mobile app.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> If only the desktop version was sold at a reasonable cost, I think they would make more money.

<comment><USER16> The desktop version is pretty reasonably priced given it's aimed at professional users. $50/month is less than 1% of the salary of a designer, and it definitely increases productivity by much more than 1%.

In comparison it's cheaper than SEOMoz or a Business Plus account on Linkedin.

<comment><USER17> Web designers may make more than 5000/month, but most graphic designers, artists, and photographers make about half of that (if they can even find a job.) To make matters worse, the fact that they frequently deal with printed materials means that Photoshop Elements probably won't cut it for many of them.

Then there's the massive amounts of student loans that they will be paying off for a decade, due to insanely high art school tuition rates.

$50 may not sound like much to a web developer, but for a large percentage of Adobe's target demographic, it is hard to afford.

<comment><USER18> There are a lot of photo manipulation tools out there that cost a great deal less than Photoshop goes for. Much of their market consists of people who find Photoshop too expensive. Alternatively, one can purchase a new version every three-four years - bringing the cost down to something like $10-$15/month. I've got a several-years old version of CS3 running on my MacBook Air. Works just as well as it did when it was considered the latest-and-greatest. I suspect, as a non-professional graphics designer, I'll do fine purchasing a new copy every 8-10 years or so.

I'd rather Adobe make a decent profit on their tools from their high-end commercial clients so they can continue to invest, do research, and improve the product. The rest of us can get by with an "Academic Version", slightly outdated version, or cage a heavily discounted copy off of a friend-of-friend who works for Adobe. If you are working in the graphic design industry, Linkedin probably has you two or three hops away from an Adobe employee, and I guarantee that if you are "in the biz" and impoverished to the point of having a tough time paying for a new retail copy of CS5, someone will have a employee credit that they can give you. Heck, there's a good chance that if you write (and design) an impassioned plea to Adobe Marketing, Adobe will comp you a discounted copy.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Which hosting provider do you use and why? - <AUTHOR>

I been seeing various hosting services like Digital Ocean, Linode, etc. But I am confused which one should I go with for the start. The app I am working on is in PHP and MySQL.<p>Can you share which hosting do you use and why? <comment><USER2> I have been using webfaction[1] for the past 8 years. Happy with their fast customer service. They have one-click install for most of the apps you would need. If you are starting with web-hosting, check them out since getting started will be easy with them. [1]: [https://www.webfaction.com/](https://www.webfaction.com/)</comment>


Google Has My Dead Grandpa's Data and He Never Used the Internet - <AUTHOR> https://www.forbes.com/sites/joetoscano1/2019/09/03/google-has-my-dead-grandpas-data-and-he-never-used-the-internet/#5735aad32b0c <comment><USER2> Your browser acting as a browser isn't a conspiracy.</comment>


Paul Graham and Y Combinator are on the cover of June's Inc Magazine - <AUTHOR> http://garry.posterous.com/paul-graham-and-y-combinator-are-on-the-cover <comment><USER3> I'm sure this is the magazine's fault, but the headline could easily be misconstrued: "Paul Graham has launched 145 companies. His formula? Smaller Cheaper Faster"

I guess it depends on what you mean by "launched", but if I didn't know about this stuff already, I'd think they were trying to tell me PG literally started 145 companies as a founder.

Again this is a knock on the magazine and not PG. They're probably just trying to sell more copies.

<comment><USER4> I agree. "Paul Graham gave 3 months of rent to some people" doesn't sound quite as nice.

<comment><USER5> I'm pretty sure YC does more than that...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Congrats PG!

And what a suave picture :-)

<comment><USER7> Thanks. The guys who took those pictures were really impressive. They had a monitor displaying pictures as they were taking them, and the quality was amazing.

<comment><USER8> Reminder: children pictures by a professional photographer are really worth the money ...

(Personal experience opinion department, not even personally acquainted with one, used sparingly, not a 10k camera owner.)

<comment><USER8> Would you please not be so gutter-minded - I have two young ones, and the professional pics I have of them are worth every penny. The reminder is for those in the same boat that may want to spend the money instead of relying on their own N megapixel camera ...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Hopefully "Smaller Cheaper Faster" resounds in the minds of Inc's readership. Perhaps they will even take the time to read some of his essays where he expands on this perspective.

</comment><comment><USER10> the description is pretty link bait, he didn't launch 145 companies, YC just invested in them.

<comment><USER11> Ever hear of "the face that launched a thousand ships"?

Well, she didn't push the ships off, either. In fact, she was far away and didn't even know they were launching!

Figurative speech -- which is fair to use on a magazine cover -- needn't be judged on a literal basis.

<comment><USER12> Journalism isn't meant to be epic poetry.

<comment><USER13> Headlines aren't journalism, particularly on a magazine.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Congratulations Paul. It will be nice to have a prominent page on ycombinator.com that links to all launched startups. Edit: Found the link -- <http://ycombinator.com/faq.html>

</comment><comment><USER15> It was a pretty good article, too. Too bad it's not on the website yet. It's worth picking up in dead tree form if you're interested.

</comment><comment><USER16> I read the thing cover to cover a few days ago, and I never think to post - <USER2> think Inc set me mine early. It's a good article.

</comment><comment><USER17> Congrats! Looks fantastic.

</comment><comment><USER18> Wow Paul Graham Looks quite American. Not far off from what I imagined he looked like tho, quite a father figure :)

<comment><USER19> 268 days on this site and you don't know what he looks like? btw, the buttoned-up, black-sweater look is not "American", but straight up San Francisco. The man sold out; his earlier MIT/Boston/East-Coast look was the traditional "Lisper" look (i.e. wife-beater and bandanna)

<comment><USER20> What sort of surprised me was hearing pg talk in some video. I'd been reading his stuff for years, and the voice is completely unlike what I'd imagined.

<comment><USER19> Yeah, he sounds normal doesn't he? Previously, all my contacts with "business gurus" have been hyper-agitated, super-excited sales guys, motivational speakers and the like; think Jack Welch.

<comment><USER20> I hope he won't take offense at my dissecting it, but he sounds more ... hrm, I'm not sure what the accent is... it reminds me a bit of Dave Sifry, actually. You could really hear it when he said "so" in this video, which tended to be a bit drawn out: "seeeewwww". I expected something a little bit more clipped and neutral.

Perhaps the difference is that he spends a lot of time getting his essays 'just right' whereas speaking is a bit more of an off-the-cuff affair.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Very nice!

</comment><comment><USER22> Bravo!

PG and YC need more of those cover stories to spread their message.

One step at a time :-)

And the picture really look good.

<comment><USER23> Please note that YC is a company, not a cult. I don't see the need to "spread the message". WTF is the "message"? Whoever has the "right stuff", will find YC or similar companies. It's that simple. PG's essays are all the marketing that YC needs. Your "fanboyism" makes you look like you're 12 years old...

<comment><USER24> more mainstream publicity should be a good thing. it's not a cult, and it's not like only the "anointed ones" with the "right stuff" should know about YC. spreading the startup "message" -- that you can start your own company, instead of slaving away at a BigCo -- should be a good thing, so i'm a bit confused as to where your animosity comes from.

<comment><USER23> I remember that Marc Andreessen was on the cover of _Time_ or _Newsweek_ back in 1996. The internet was starting to take off, and a bunch of really young guys became instant millionaires thanks to mega-hyped IPOs. Seriosly, does one need publicity more mainstream than this? Everyone knows Gates, Ellison, Andreessen, etc.

Everyone can dream of starting a company, few can do it. I lost the count of how many smart guys I met who talked about big ideas and "thinking outside the box" (whatever that is), and being entrepreneurial and how taking risks was sooo cool... only to join a safe, cushy job at a management consulting firm as soon as they graduated. They may have the smarts, but they could not face the constant emotional terror of running a startup. Dreaming and talking is the easy part. The difficult part is to walk the walk, the commitment and persevering on the face of hardships. Some will succeed, most will fail.

I am sorry if I sound bitter. I have worked at a couple of startups which failed. You know... you think you can beat the odds, but the odds end up beating you. I get upset when I see these young kids thinking that the startup world is a "movement" and that there's preaching to be done. I used to be exactly like that, and it's a waste of time. The startup world is brutal. There's a tiny chance you will succeed, and a huge chance you'll grow old, bitter and burnt-out. Pick your battles carefully. Sometimes your dreams cost you too much.

<comment><USER24> fair enough. but in my book, success or failure, quality of life is so much higher at a startup (whether your own or not) than at a BigCo that if you're qualified, i'm honestly not sure why you wouldn't.

sure, there are perhaps only so many years of your life that you can live on "ramen noodles", but even after that, working at a funded, 20-50 person company sure beats the alternatives, and you still get to be involved in the "creation" part, even if you didn't start it.

to each his own, i suppose. after a bunch of bad experiences, i can understand how you'd be burnt out.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Kitoko Studio fills 8sqm Parisian apartment with hidden amenities (2014) - <AUTHOR> http://www.designboom.com/architecture/kitoko-studio-8-sqm-tiny-apartment-paris-10-28-2014/ <comment><USER2> It could be further optimized

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd4nKJPmWGA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd4nKJPmWGA) (80s Italian movie)

</comment><comment><USER3> I'm wondering why luxury apartments are built instead of affordable housing. Is it perhaps because the developers are trying to sell them to foreign investors?

<comment><USER4> It's a 7-floor climb to an 8 square meter room. I'm not sure anyone's calling it a luxury apartment.

Look at the before&after pictures on the original [http://kitoko- studio.com/projects/interior/maids-room-renova...](http://kitoko- studio.com/projects/interior/maids-room-renovation-cdb.php?lang=en) \- you'll see it's more an exercise in trying to sell every last bit of space in existing buildings.

<comment><USER5> Yikes. Reminds me of this [https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/29/london- renters...](https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/29/london-renters- trapped-1000-month-rabbit-hutch-studio-flat)

I guess in this case "luxury" => "doesn't contain second-hand furniture".

Also [http://www.independent.co.uk/property/studio-flat-with- bedro...](http://www.independent.co.uk/property/studio-flat-with-bedroom- kitchen-and-shower-in-one-room-for-737pcm-rented-in-half-a-day-9481136.html) (clearly they should of opted for a single bed too _facepalm_ )

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I live in a tiny apartment and I can't recommend it for anyone. I desperately need some space for living and storage. At least I have my own front door so I can step outside if I need to stretch my legs.

I find it strange that small houses are being promoted to somehow solve the housing shortages in cities while they're really space inefficient. I guess renovating "maid's apartments" and attics is somewhat reasonable, given that these are in coveted areas and targetted at young people with a vivid social life in the city.

Everything points at urbanization being a ongoing trend, but affordable housing seems to be a problem worldwide.

I'd gladly move out of the city to have some space for myself but unfortunately the jobs tend to be in cities and remote work is still relatively rare.

<comment><USER7> I don't understand why we can't build up? I wish building regulations for cities were the opposite from what they are right now and only permit buildings over a certain height (20+ stories as a starting point?) so that we aren't wasting space. In SF I often times hear earthquakes as the reason (not fully buying that because there are many tall buildings in earthquake areas including SF). It probably all comes down to NIMBYs.

<comment><USER8> > It probably all comes down to NIMBYs.

It comes down to housing being the primary _investment vehicle_ for most Americans; downward pressures on housing prices are fought by everyone possible.

<comment><USER9> Not only Americans. London is bursting at it's seams even worse.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> At 2 mtrs tall no thank you. While I like the idea of small focused space this is just an exercise in how ridiculous can you build out a closet.

</comment><comment><USER11> I'd worry about CO2 build-up in a bed shelf with that sliding door.

</comment><comment><USER12> I dont like it:

\- Storage and bathroom occupy half of the space.

\- Closet for 3 shirts and a pillow?

\- Stairs are weak and will break eventually.

\- There is no cooker or even a microwave.

\- No chair to watch a tv, bed usually serves as coach.

I have seen plenty of tiny apartments. Basic idea is to minimize space occupied by furniture, not to bring gigantic wardrobe which occupies most of it.</comment>


See all colors and fonts a site uses - <AUTHOR> http://unpack.site <comment><USER2> Didn't work for some sites and couldn't report it in the site (didn't find where to submit bugs).</comment>


Simple genetic models for autism spectrum disorder - <AUTHOR> http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2015/03/30/017301

<comment><USER2> _" Our model makes two very strong predictions. The first is that the rate of de novo mutations in affected children from multiplex families will be barely above that of an unaffected control population. On this point, the literature presently has conflicting reports [3,6,22]. The samples needed to resolve this question properly, namely blood derived DNAs from multiplex families, has either not yet been collected or sequenced. The second prediction made by our model is that there will be a high rate of transmission of strong alleles in multiplex families, typically from the mother, and in the same genes targeted by de novo mutation in simplex autism. While there is some indirect support for a female carrier effect based on half-sibs [23], a genetic study of transmission based on the targets of de novo mutation is only now possible [21]."_

This seems like a succinct summary for the paper. Or at least, it's the part that stuck out to me.

</comment><comment><USER3> _" This model makes strong and as yet not fully tested predictions, namely that females are the primary carriers in cases of genetic transmission"_

No kidding. Quite interesting though, especially when combined with _" The high reproductive costs of autism ensure that most strongly associated genetic mutations are short-lived"_ and ASD showing a gender bias toward males.</comment>


NewsBlur (hosted feed reader) - <AUTHOR> http://www.newsblur.com/

<comment><USER2> I like this a lot. I'm a lil too cheap to buy, but I'll at least throw in a word of appreciation :)

This is almost an essential service; it's what Google Reader should be; it's slicker, tasteful and fast.

Some suggested improvements: The toolbar buttons are cryptic, and takes time to find out. I was hunting for the prefs button.

I wish there was an offline option too. Still then, great job! One less Google service to use :)

</comment><comment><USER3> Comments last time this came up: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1834305>

<comment><USER4> A ton has happened in the past year since I launched NewsBlur. River of News, iPhone app, Android app, an official API, major speed improvements on both the backend and frontend, a public user-support forum, and many, many user- customizations.

Heck, just check out the activity graph on GitHub: <http://github.com/samuelclay> (and follow me there... I live on props and need your love).

The next year is going to be full of improvements: search, major upgrades to the [free] iPhone app, and more social features that you can shake a stick at. My stomach-butterflies are tingling just at the thought of the cool shit I get to build next.

<comment><USER5> Wait, what the hell? This is open source? How do you make money? This is amazing! I'm switching over to it right now.

<comment><USER4> Open-source doesn't have to mean non-profit. I make money with premium accounts -- accounts are free up until 64 feeds. Also, feeds are updated more often for premium users (but only for feeds that they are the sole subscriber, otherwise they get the collective benefit of multiple subscribers).

Sure, folks can host their own copy of NewsBlur and keep it up to date. But it's a PitA, and I have 7 servers happily chugging away fetching, parsing, storing, and retrieving feeds for you. Hosting is worth is a lot.

The main idea behind open-sourcing the code is so that a community can develop around the API, new features, and user-contributed code. I've had a number of pull requests and issues found in the code thanks to NewsBlur's many talented developer users.

<comment><USER5> Oh, sure, the two questions were actually sort of unrelated. The "I can't be arsed" factor is pretty high on this, so I'd probably get an account rather than set my own thing up, but it's nice to know that I can if I need to. To clarify, the open source version has everything the premium account has, correct?

<comment><USER4> Yes, it does, but setting up a premium account for yourself is not automatic. You need to know how to read code to do it. Here are the relevant Python commands:

        >>> u = User.objects.get(username='StavrosK')
        >>> u.profile.active_premium()

That will flip the premium bit on your account. Perhaps I should add that to the self-hosting documentation.

<comment><USER5> Also, this is driving me crazy, but how do you mark something as unread? The UI is a bit frustrating, I spent a minute looking for the logout link :/ How can I remove feeds completely? How can I reimport things from Google Reader if I've registered already? How can I see a stream of everything, rather than only one feed?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I remember the first time I saw your site and thought, interesting name. Simply for the fact that I'm the founder of fotoblur.com and wireblur.com. It was easy to find domain names after attaching 'blur' to the name (a 3 month search for fotoblur) :)! For photography it kind of made sense.

@conesus: However I'm curious. How did you decide on the name? I'm not claiming any inspiration, however, according to whois the newsblur.com was registered on 18-feb-2009 whereas fotoblur was on 28-sep-2007 ;)!

Motorola also got in on the act: <https://portal-moto.svcmot.com/moto-web- portal/>

<comment><USER4> At one point I changed the name to Protoread, meaning Read the Original [site]. It took about 24 hours before I switched to Protopub. And then 3 days later, right back to NewsBlur.

To be honest, I used the word blur because when following dozens, if not hundreds of sites, they all start to blur together. So I hooked on to that mental picture and embraced the dilemma. Might as well know what you're getting into--NewsBlur.

The S. Jobs recommendation on the subject of naming businesses was to find a good word within the domain, then make it sexy. I'm struggling to think of the examples that would complete this anecdote, but NewsBlur is about as sexy a name as a feed reader gets.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> @conesus: how cool that this is also open source. How is using SQL + NoSQL working for you? Also, Django: most folks say you hit a wall and its hard to swap components... but you seem to be doing fine with it?

</comment><comment><USER7> Very nice but it seems to me that you are proxying only the top page off blogs and not the resources referenced by that page, including scripts, which is a security issue.

</comment><comment><USER8> Ah, I started using this last year but havent checked it out in a while. It looks great and works really well, but I just tend to forget about these things sometimes.

</comment><comment><USER9> NewsBlur is great - thanks conesus! Bought a subscription a few months ago and it's worked great for me.

</comment><comment><USER10> I don't see a way of sharing items as a feed (like the shared items in Google Reader), is this possible? If I can do this I would be happy to use NewsBlur! Because I gave a try to Tiny Tiny RSS and it just don't do it for me. I still have to try RSSLounge, but I like NewsBlur.

</comment><comment><USER11> Is this still a one-man operation? I'm very impressed with it (and even more so if it's just you) and have showed some of my coworkers.

How much time do you dedicate to developing and maintaining NewsBlur? Do you do this full time now?

<comment><USER4> Hardly full-time. I have 45 minutes in the morning on Caltrain, and 45 minutes back. I work 3-4 hours on one of the weekend days, and occasionally an hour or two on weekday nights. For 28 months now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I tried this about a year ago. At the time, it was not so good. Looks like they improved it a lot! I like it!

</comment><comment><USER13> Dude. This is pretty cool. The stats on the front page are interesting. 104 playing users already

<comment><USER4> Actually, I'm nearing 500 premium users. That's the number of premium users using NewsBlur in the past _24 hours_. In fact, all of those stats are aggregate for the past 24 hours.

It's the kind of transparency that I think goes hand-in-hand with being open- source. Why bother hiding it? I'm constantly watching those stats, so maybe other folks may also be interested. It also helps to know when there's a ton of activity, in case the site feels slow. Although it's been a long time that having a huge spike in traffic has made the site slow. Check that average load time graph. Notice how even though the number of feeds loaded has spiked in the past 3 hours, the average load time has actually gone _down_. Stats, for those who care, are endlessly fascinating.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> This was built while riding NYC subway lines.

<comment><USER4> Specifically the A train. But I have since moved to San Francisco, so now much of it is built on MUNI (N train) and Caltrain. But boy do I miss the focus that being on a crowded and uncomfortable subway car brings you.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> This site is overwhelmingly busy. I can't tell what's going on. I can't tell what it's supposed to do, so I can't tell if it's doing it well. One thing is clear though: it's an eyesore.

<comment><USER16> Agreed, functionally it seems to work pretty well, but with so much going on, it was very difficult to make sense of.

Keep your backend, but look to Reeder or other similar feed readers for inspiration to improve your UI/UX and this will become a great product.</comment></comment>


Google is punking Microsoft with Chrome 32 on Windows 8 - <AUTHOR>

I've never used Windows 8. From what I've heard, there are 2 built-in browsers, an IE "Metro" version, and an IE "desktop" version. Apparently they have different capabilities. And apparently IE "desktop" and IE "Metro" don't sync bookmarks even on the same Windows 8 PC. (Hard to believe, but apparently that's how it is.)
Supposedly Chrome 32 on Windows 8 is basically a layer of Chrome OS on Windows 8, with its own app environment, app launcher, and windowing logic. And apparently it's a same version of Chrome whether you launch it from "Metro" or the "desktop."
Fun, fun, fun. <comment><USER2> I think URLs help explain this

Internet Explorer on Windows 8.1: One browser, two experiences:

[http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ie/hh771832.aspx](http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ie/hh771832.aspx)

CNET Reporting on Multiple IEs:

[http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57405765-75/ie10-in- window...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57405765-75/ie10-in- windows-8-metro-style-vs-desktop-style/)

Google brings Chrome OS straight into Windows 8 in latest update:

[http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/14/5309326/google-chrome- wind...](http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/14/5309326/google-chrome-windows- update-chrome-os-interface)

The TL:DR; is that Chrome in Metro will launch a Chrome OSish layer.

</comment><comment><USER3> It's worth noting that Microsoft provided the ability to do this stuff in a special mode for web browsers. I'm confused about the not syncing bookmarks though, that's cloud based - are you logged into the same Google account on both?

<comment><AUTHOR> I was talking about IE. As far as I know, you can't sync bookmarks between IE "desktop" and IE "Metro," even on the same Windows 8 PC.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: What happened to "Save"? - <AUTHOR>

As the title says. I often come across threads full of useful information and links, and I wish I could save them for future reference. I don't see the "save" option anywhere, despite there still being a "Saved Stories" link in my profile settings. <comment><USER2> Saved stories is anything you've upvoted.

<comment><AUTHOR> Aah - makes a lot of sense now. Does this mean there never _was_ a "save" link and I'm just mis-remembering?

In any case, thank you!</comment></comment>


Apple Still Eyes Intel's Modem Business - <AUTHOR> https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334807 <comment><USER2> Even if Intel can't make decent modems they probably own patents that can make it harder for others to make modems.

<comment><USER3> The patents related to 5G are mostly under FRAND since they are required as part of the 5G standard and Qualcomm owns most of them.

Who besides Qualcomm even has to technical know how and the scale to create chips at a profit besides Qualcomm and in the future Apple?

<comment><USER4> Mediatek and Huawei (RIP)

<comment><USER5> I'm going to be honest, at this point, after blatantly stealing tech from both Cisco and Samsung, how can you even claim Huawei developed the technical know how and didn't just steal it?

<comment><USER6> Have you ever noticed how similar GM, Ford, and Chrysler's 4-stroke engines are to the original Daimler engines?

Would you then accept a claim that said their was zero invention and innovatation in the USA car industry for a century?

Please get over yourselves.

<comment><USER7> A more appropriate example would be if every engine was the same right down to the Daimler logo still plastered on the engine blocks. That company has no shame.

<comment><USER6> May I assume then that you consider Bell helicopter corporation to be equally sleazy?

They leased a Eurocopter for 'evalaution purposes' and then built their own helo with the same patented (CA 2207787) landing gear.

The Canadian court even awarded punitive damages in civil case 2012 FC 113.

Note that there a) is a claimant with an actual localised patent number, and b) who cared enough to open a case.

I'v yet to see both in a complaint against Chinese companies.

Which is not to say it doesn't exist, but where are the chinese patent numbers, and where are the case numbers?

Let's have the data.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: Hunt for CryptoKitty bargains with CryptoKittyHunter - <AUTHOR> https://cryptokittyhunter.com <comment><AUTHOR> While waiting for the ETH network to come to its senses again so I can actually buy a kitten I decided to pass the time building a little tool that find bargains :)

Enjoy, and i you have any suggestions let me know!</comment>


Hacking fitness and health for programmers - <AUTHOR>

Hi guys. I've been experimenting with my health and physical performance for about 5-6 years, on various diets and with various training regimens. I was considering writing a few blog posts on that and structuring what I did and what effects I had. Would anyone be interested in reading something that's not about startups/programming? <comment><USER2> You're not hacking.

<comment><AUTHOR> Frankly, I am since many things I do are considered "hacks". E.g. using nicotine gum :)

<comment><USER3> Maybe so, but don't use the word "hack", it's overused, it's a turn off, and it has lost meaning.

That said, just post your stuff, it might be worth reading. Someone will read it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Write it but please stop using "hack" for anything, this is ridiculous.

<comment><USER5> _> >> stop using "hack" for anything_

I totally agree. Everything is sold as a "quick fix", add this and your life will be 10x better, do this quick hack...et.al.

The most important thing I found about life in general (or diets/health) is to be specific is _habit_. Don't sway to a different diet if it doesn't work after X weeks. And don't do silly diets that encourage too much of one thing and too little of another.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> People post about stuff like this all the time; somebody will read anything.

</comment><comment><USER7> I wrote this one 4 years ago.

[http://sarkies.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/dieting-for- programmer...](http://sarkies.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/dieting-for- programmer.html)

</comment><comment><USER8> I'd be interested in reading that. Reply with your blog and I'll check it out.</comment>


Closing the Digital Frontier - <AUTHOR> http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/closing-the-digital-frontier/8131

<comment><AUTHOR> My gut reaction to this article is that it mistakes a short-term trend for a long-term one. It seems to me that apps are a response to two factors: 1) Current browsers are not able to make use of all the added hardware going into mobile devices (though this is slowly changing). 2) Apple has been able to succeed with the App Store because they have an established relationship with customers through iTunes. It's almost frictionless to buy apps as if one is buying a cup of coffee. Nobody has managed to crack this nut in the general sense for web applications through the browser. You might pay a dollar for a game in the App Store, but most people are not going to enter their credit card info and address into some random flash game website for the exact same game. That's too much friction for something that has such a low value, and there's too much downside that they will do something sneaky with your info. Anyone who solves that issue in the general sense for web apps (if it's solvable) will make a killing.</comment>


Dear startup CEOs - <AUTHOR> http://firstround.com/article/Dear-startup-CEOs

<comment><USER2> I was more interested in the First Round than the actual article. I read the website and was curious how exactly does one get involved in a group like the First Round? Mentorship and being able to ask other founders questions would be a huge help.</comment>


We want your old T-shirts - <AUTHOR> http://blog.archive.org/2014/01/25/tshirt_cushions/

<comment><USER2> Heh, anyone that worked at Apple or SGI in the 90's could probably cover their entire request :-) Friends there used to joke that first thing a project did was design the t-shirt and print them, if it was a "cool" t-shirt, only then could the engineering begin :-)

</comment><comment><USER3> My local goodwill has received hundreds of swag shirts from me over the years. I like to think the local poor in Miami are benefiting from the dot com boom at least indirectly.

<comment><USER4> I have huge questions about Goodwill. 1. Why are your district managers paid so much money? 2. Why don't you prosecute store managers who have stolen, embezzled thousands of dollars? 3. I heard your Marin Store has fired at least three managers(in 12 years)for theft. One was hired back? 4. Why don't you tell prospective donators that their donated items won't stay at the donated store? 5\. Why do you only keep convicts on for one year? 6. Why don't you wash all donated clothes? Your employees are telling the public everything is washed. 7. I really question your nonprofit, and just who benefits.

<comment><USER5> Inflammatory off-topic.

<comment><USER6> Are we trying to suppress any critical sub-comments? I've never heard these complaints, and it doesn't look as though it's the only thing the user is posting. Seems interesting to me.

<comment><USER5> I rarely ever make such criticism, but that post seemed unusually detailed and unusually disconnected for a tangent. The post is also directed at a "you" who has nothing to do with this thread or source link. Fine as a dedicated thread or relevant tangent, but this thread is about giving shirts to a museum and he's listing prolific grievances with and directed to the leadership of an unrelated charity.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> And here I thought they were starting an archive of historical t-shirt designs.

<comment><USER5> My reaction too.

I have some classics: "This Shirt Is A Munition / RSA in 4 lines of PERL", "RSA It's Just An Algorithm", "DOOM II", "Matrix Special Effects Crew", "World of Goo" (Shirt Got Game), and others. I know they're worth something both $$$ and history. Wish I knew how to find a buyer or museum.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Isn't T-shirt fabric too fragile for seat cushions?

<comment><USER9> From the sound of it, it's not going to get a huge amount of use. Movie nights, events, etc. And, they look easy to make. So, if they have a lot of T-shirts, and if the interior foam holds up OK, they can just rewrap them in new T-shirts as they wear out. I'm sure it'll be fine. Cotton is pretty resilient. I have T-shirts that are more than ten years old and still mostly intact.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Given they're holding conferences etc. I imagine companies would be willing to make a decent donation to the IA if they used their branded cushions? At the very least I'm sure people like Mozilla and the Wikimedia Foundation would send t-shirts.

<comment><USER11> woah. Getting (the awesome) Mozilla t-shirts is hard enough as is. It takes _effort_ even when working there. :P

/me is sitting in my living room rocking a Rust T-shirt right now.

<comment><USER9> I'm currently wearing the Firefox shirt I got from donating $100 to the NYT ad campaign. It's looking pretty rough...I guess it's been eight or nine years. I've been meaning to order up a new one. It's always been a favorite.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> If anyone wants to organise a bulk send from Australia, get in touch - I've got a few shirts I could send over and the local LUG might, too.

</comment><comment><USER13> Cushions will help a little bit. But pews are simply awful for sitting in for long periods of time no matter what.

<comment><USER14> Sitting for long periods of time is awful, no matter what.

This is why church services typically have people alternate between sitting, standing, kneeling, etc.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> I just bagged up a ton of old t-shirts to donate. I'll have to stop by this weekend and drop them off.

</comment><comment><USER16> Is there a calendar of the events? It could be an occasion to physically bring T-shirts.

</comment><comment><USER17> We did a few clothing drive parties and had folks send us old startup swag to give to goodwill (and a Jamaican orphanage). Can definitely contribute to this also!

</comment><comment><USER18> Really cool! A pity that I live in Spain. I guess it is just the same price sending as actual buying those tshirts in the states.

</comment><comment><USER19> Great idea!</comment>


The mysterious powers of Microsoft Excel - <AUTHOR> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22213219

<comment><USER2> There is a similar article published in a notable bioinformatics journal explaining how errors were introduced when Excel was used and altered gene names irreversibly.

<http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2105/5/80>

</comment><comment><USER3> A nice rebuttal to some of the other articles going around. I am reminded that it is a poor workman who blames their tools.

(And that covers choosong the wrong tool for the job.)

<comment><USER4> I object to excel for quantitative analysis on the grounds that it is impossible to demonstrate anything that might give one confidence in an analysis. There's no record of the steps taken to transform data. By contrast, in R, you can start all the way at the beginning and trace everything that is done to your data, right up to your final answers. You can explore the data without wondering if you've accidentally performed the Sort of Ulimate Corruption.

It's like algebra class: no credit unless you show your work. And in excel, there really isn't a good way to show your work.

<comment><USER5> You can trace your work in excel. What ever tool you use, you need to verify your results in another tool.</comment></comment></comment>


Introducing Arquero, a JavaScript library for processing data tables - <AUTHOR> https://observablehq.com/@uwdata/introducing-arquero <comment><USER2> This looks fantastic. In the past I've often used bits and pieces from lodash and d3 to do these sort of data manipulations.

Anyone know if there are any performance comparisons anywhere? I know that in the past Mike Bostock has suggested array processing may be a lot faster[0], and on the Github [1] it mentions it's designed to be fast.

I really think this, in combination with other parts of the ecosystem like vega can be a game changers for how people use open data. One obstacle to get government to start publishing high quality machine readable open data has been that relatively few users want it - most seem stuck in the world of Excel.

With tools like this and Observable, the task of loading it in and charting it become a few simple commands that work even with large datasets. This in turn makes the case for publishing it much stronger. I talk about this a little more here [2].

[0] [https://observablehq.com/@mbostock/manipulating-flat- arrays](https://observablehq.com/@mbostock/manipulating-flat-arrays) [1] [https://github.com/uwdata/arquero](https://github.com/uwdata/arquero) [2] [https://email@example.com/first-impressions-of- the-o...](https://email@example.com/first-impressions-of-the-onss-new- beta-data-services-9e52ace1b141)

</comment><comment><USER3> The Github repo, for anyone who's interested:

[https://github.com/uwdata/arquero](https://github.com/uwdata/arquero)</comment>


All the US presidents except one are related to each other - <AUTHOR> http://www.quora.com/Are-all-the-US-Presidents-related-to-each-other/answer/Brian-Roemmele?srid=8kQ

<comment><USER2> Sure - read: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_royal_candidate_theory> and then I guess you know better what this story is all about.

I'm almost certain if you go back a few more dozen generations they are all related to that black couple who lived in that small village near the Kilimanjaro ;-)

Even more impressive is often DNA analysis based ancestry research when it uses characteristics e.g. certain strands/strains that are only present / dominant with certain "races" / areas from where people came.

This research is so precise that you then get results like pharaoh Tutankhamun was 99.6% anglo-saxon or - my favorite one - research done with supporters / right wing neo-nazis in the UK - they are all related to one black roman slave who came to England with the Roman troops.</comment>


Ask HN: Nested Virtualization / NAT Supported VPS - <AUTHOR> I need to run vagrant and launch vms using VirtualBox as hypervisor.(No Hyper-V). If I launch a EC2/google compute instance, these doesnot support VT-X. Is there a way to do this?
Looking at OVH.com and hetzner.de but they are without NAT support.
I want to: 1. have a Server(Virtual) to launch VMs and try ansible.
2. Have a server(virtual) to launch 3 VMS and setup a multi-node OpenStack installation.
Any suggestions on how I could get through.?
Thanks :) <comment><USER2> Some cloud providers provide bare metal machines (eg. SoftLayer).</comment>


Show HN: Ulysses–a writing tool that helps you enter a state of flow - <AUTHOR> https://ulysses.sonnet.io/ <comment><AUTHOR> Hi All, author here.

More info about the project/background can be found here:

[https://sonnet.io/posts/ulysses/](https://sonnet.io/posts/ulysses/)</comment>


In-Depth Look at the Failures of IoT (in)Security - <AUTHOR> https://osenetwork.com/2017/06/23/iot-security-a-distributed-product-failure-for-the-ages/ <comment><AUTHOR> Features in-depth reporting on consumer and enterprise IoT, with quotes from Mark Shuttleworth, Bruce Schneier, Philip DesAutels and many more</comment>


Show HN: An Open crypto exchange and a stable coin - <AUTHOR> I am running a startup to Launch
1. An open source and decentralised coin pegged to CPI and global economy to fight devaluations, manipulations, news and demand/supply effect on currency value.
2. OPEx, a crypto exchange where experienced trader can share their recipe and beginners can use it by paying fee or sharing profit.
Looking form HN community to discuss and guide me on this. If you feel passionate and want to play your role, you are more than welcome. You can visit http://www.shield.support and validate idea for yourself being trader, developer or investor.
You can send your suggestions on twitter @shieldspprt or can email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
tags: bitcoin, cryptocurrency, exchange, CPI, global economy, decentralised, DeFi, startups, YC2020, <comment><USER2> Not a YC company, a startupschool participant

[https://www.startupschool.org/companies/1-6uM5NohJbTOg](https://www.startupschool.org/companies/1-6uM5NohJbTOg)</comment>


Scaleway New Cloud Servers for Intensive Workloads - <AUTHOR> https://blog.online.net/2017/02/07/scaleway-new-cloud-servers-for-intensive-workloads/ <comment><USER2> For comparison:

[https://www.online.net/en/dedicated-server/dedibox- md](https://www.online.net/en/dedicated-server/dedibox-md)

[https://www.online.net/en/dedicated-server/dedibox- ent](https://www.online.net/en/dedicated-server/dedibox-ent)

These boxes are better options if you plan to run such nodes for 3+ months.

</comment><comment><USER3> If anyone interested, I've checked the CPU, it's Xeon D-1531 2.2 GHz.

</comment><comment><USER4> > _To improve readability of our product range, we 're changing the naming > convention of our cloud servers. Our new servers are called X64-60GB and > X64-120GB. The starter cloud servers, the VC1, will be renamed at the end of > the preview to follow the new convention._

I'm all for this, the names have never made sense to me.

But `X64-60GB` has 10 cores, and `X64-120GB` 12. I think it's certainly conceivable that someone pick whichever for the core count; not (just) the amount of RAM.

Why not `10X64-60GB` and `12X64-120GB`?

Then there won't be problems again if a future type, `10X64-120GB` under this scheme say, is offered.

</comment><comment><USER5> Fascinating. My 2014 2.5 GHz i7 MbPro is just 10-15% faster in 7z benchmark.

<comment><USER4> When you say 'just', would you expect it to be even faster? Does the 7z benchmark not favour multicore machines or vast RAM?

10-15% corresponds pretty directly to the GHz difference - according to @lossolo [0] these are 2.2GHz; your 2.5GHz is about 14% faster.

[0] - [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13591040](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13591040)

<comment><USER5> I expected it to be even slower than that - usually happens with discount dedicated hardware. Not this time, apparently.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Just need these servers in the US with the same pricing, and I'd jump all over it.

<comment><USER7> OVH in Canada is close

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I am buffled by the relatively low prices. Much, much lower than DigitalOcean. Is this service stable? How can I be sure that they won't go out of business in a few months...?

<comment><USER9> Scaleway is owned and operated by Online.net[0], part of Iliad[1].

It's probably a safe assumption that DigitalOcean is in more danger of "going out of business in a few months" than Scaleway is.

0\. [https://online.net](https://online.net) 1\. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad_SA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad_SA)

<comment><USER10> Exactly, came here to say that. The only problem is that Scaleway can't satisfy all of the demand, so you won't be able to order some things at some point in time.

<comment><USER11> The only problem? What about their garbage storage system, only 1 IPv4 per server, the object storage which isn't useable for over a year because they have to scale up resources. As much as I like Online, the system is not really useable for most projects in production. Also the network in Amsterdam is quite unstable.

<comment><USER12> Wow you actually got somewhere! I crashed at verifying credit card.

Since they are Europe-based they require "secure 3d". My Amex with $65,000 limit that I use personally and for business works flawlessly in USA and outside for last 7 years. But not with those guys.

After back and forth battle with their ticketing system, I was advised by engineer to "finally get a secure 3d card". :) Scaleway should send said engineer for a trip to USA to see we don't use much of Secure 3d here. In fact, my personal account rep said Amex will never implement it because it only adds unnecessary layer and actually doesn't make things safer.

Until Scaleway fix their broken payment system, I will stick with DigitalOcean and few other mature and reliable hosting companies, because how the heck am I supposed to trust them with my mission-critical systems, when they cannot even figure their own payment page.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Wonder why the smaller plans don't have the Xeon D as well. The single thread performance of those Atoms suck so much that it's not worth using it for any web app.</comment>


Show HN: Open sourcing uRacer, a GLES2 top-down racer made with libgdx - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/manuelbua/uracer-kotd <comment><USER2> This looks great! Albeit unmaintained, it's rare to find a game/simulation of this high graphical caliber anywhere in the open source arena. The readme also shows one just what they'd need to know to get started with your project.

</comment><comment><USER3> Please add screenshots or a description to your Readme file.

I've never heard of this game - a quick Google didn't seem to return any screenshots or info, and I certainly don't want to have to download and compile code just to see what it is.

All of this sounds like a lot of criticism - I'm really glad you tried to OSS this but please at least show us what it is.

<comment><AUTHOR> Are you sure you loaded the README.md fine? It contains descriptions and screenshots as well.</comment></comment>


The New Starbucks Trenta Cup Is Bigger Than Your Stomach - <AUTHOR> http://gizmodo.com/5735822/the-new-starbucks-trenta-cup-is-bigger-than-your-stomach

<comment><USER2> _It's not much—if any—different from a Big Gulp or any movie theater's large beverage container. But for some reason coffee's just that much more insidious._

The Trenta cup is only for iced beverages. Regular coffee would go cold long before the customer could finish a drink that big.</comment>


New book "Hacking Secret Ciphers with Python" released. Free to download. - <AUTHOR> http://inventwithpython.com/blog/2013/04/15/hacking-secret-ciphers-with-python-released/

<comment><AUTHOR> Hi, I'm the author of the book. While the ebook is free to download under a Creative Commons license, there are hard copies for sale on Amazon. 100% of proceeds go to the EFF, Creative Commons, and Tor Project.

</comment><comment><USER2> This looks neat, I just got through the first chapter and already have learned so much! Thanks for putting this online for free.</comment>


Check that file exists (different programming languages) - <AUTHOR> https://www.rosettacode.org/wiki/Check_that_file_exists <comment><USER2> In terms of being concise, Scheme wins by a mile, honorable mention for Clojure (one-liner)

<comment><USER3> The examples in different languages are not really comparable, because they do different things.

For example, the Java code has 18 lines. Ha-ha, sure, we all know the popular stereotype. But when you look at the actual code...

Lines 3-6 are just a wrapper that allows you to write 'isFileExists("input.txt")' instead of 'new File("input.txt").exists()'. Note that the latter is the correct answer, and surprisingly also happens to be a one-liner! The entire exercise could have ended right here, why write a wrapper? Look at the Groovy solution, and replace 'println ...' with 'System.out.println(...)'.

The unnecessary wrapper also happens to be unnecessarily long. You don't have to assign the result of a function call into a boolean variable, and then return it in a separate statement. You can return the result of the function call directly. It would even result in a shorter line!

(Also, why would anyone call a function 'isFileExists' instead of shortly and more simply 'fileExists'? Starting function names with "is" is a Java convention for getters, but this is not the case here; this function could not be a getter, because it is static.)

Lines 7-11 print a formatted result on standard output. Examples in many languages simply return the value.

An idiomatic Java solution comparable to solutions in other languages would be something like this, including all the boilerplate code:

        package example;
        import java.nio.file.*;
        class Example {
            public static void main(String arguments...) {
                Stream.of("input.txt", "/input.txt", "docs", "/docs").forEach(s ->
                  System.out.println("" + s + Files.exists(Paths.get(s)) ? " exists" : " does not exist"));
            }
        }</comment></comment>


A matter of style in C# - <AUTHOR>

Hello I am a c# developer. I am currently close to being hired by avid HNer but I have a couple of things with my coding style that I need to correct. I did not take any college courses on computer science and everything I know about c# and the .Net framework I have taught myself. I was wondering if anybody had any good articles or advice on writing clean and understandable code. I have been working professionally as a c# developer for almost 2 years and everything I have done has been solo. Learning how to write clear and concise code is a must and I would greatly appreciate any advice offered. <comment><USER2> Can you understand the code you wrote a month ago? Also, do you use meaningful class names, method names and variable names? Beyond this maybe you want to post some of your code here and see what feedback you get.

<comment><AUTHOR> I have no problem understanding my code, even the stuff I wrote a year ago. I may not agree with the way I coded some of what I wrote before but it is easy to follow my own logic.

When naming variables I try to give them meaningful names but sometimes within the scope of a method I will assign single letter names to variables just used within the scope.

I am peticular about not posting code that I have done for my employer but perhaps I can solve a generic problem and post the code for that. My biggest problem is that I have not had to work with another coder before and I need to learn how to properly communicate my logic and ensure that the logic is the most efficient possible.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Well, if you're not idiomatic with C# yet, that would be the very first place I'd start (by that I mean you know why you'd use StringBuilder vs. string concatenation, etc).

After that, make sure you're good about commenting code that isn't immediately obvious.

From that point, I'm afraid we'd probably need some samples to see where you might be going wrong or right.

<comment><AUTHOR> I definately know some of the inner workings of.Net, such as using StringBuilder compared to string concatenation. Some of the things I need to know is what is an acceptible name for a variable based on its scope. For instance currently to describe a private variable belonging to a class I will prefix it with an underscore. Is there a universal way of denoting varibles by scope?

<comment><USER3> I'd try taking a look at _"IDesign C# Coding Standard, for development guidelines and best practices"_ from here:

<http://idesign.net/idesign/DesktopDefault.aspx>

(This is the direct download link: [http://idesign.net/idesign/download/IDesign%20CSharp%20Codin...](http://idesign.net/idesign/download/IDesign%20CSharp%20Coding%20Standard.zip))

<comment><AUTHOR> This is an excellent article. I follow alot of the guidlines already but there is some important ones that I am missing. Thank you.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I would highly recommend reading Code Complete 2 by Steve McConnell.

<comment><AUTHOR> Awesome suggestion, thank you.

From scanning through the Chapter on design I got this quote: "This paradox implies, essentially, that you have to 'solve' the problem once in order to clearly define it and then solve it again to create a solution that works."

It reminds me of advice I have gotten from someone before, write code to solve a problem then scrape it and rewrite it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I like the book "Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C#" - it has a lot of good tips in quick, easy-to-implement-in-36-hours-or-less format. ISBN: 0321245660</comment>


Tesla Is Planning To Make A Pickup Truck - <AUTHOR> http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-pickup-truck-2013-11

<comment><USER2> It seems like it would fit Tesla much better to make a competitor for the Ford Connect[1] or Ford Transit Connect than the Ford F-150. The commercial trucks fit a lot nicer with the recharge time needed / range of an electric vehicle than the F-150 which has a much more unpredictable schedule.

1) [http://www.ford.com/commercial- trucks/transit/](http://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/transit/)</comment>


On Managing Developers - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/06/on-managing-developers/ <comment><USER2> > Testing is really important, but few developers like to write tests. That > means it's your job.

As a leader of an engineering team (and an engineer), I think the is this is entirely the wrong approach. It's a leader's job to get the team to understand _why_ writing tests is important and have them write them. Sometimes an individual isn't a great fit on the team and you need to figure out how to handle it (i.e., they refuse to write tests but the rest of the team is).

There are few points in this article that resonate - but there are many that are complete off base such as

> Managers translate the project's Big Picture into individual tasks for > developers, with their details and interactions specified in minute detail

I agree that leaders/managers translate the big picture to developers (provide vision) - but the team should figure out the minute detail - otherwise you're removing autonomy, the ability to fail, and are yourself falling into the pit of micromanagement.

<comment><USER3> > few developers like to write tests

I like how this statement completely skips the reason why developers don't like to write tests. The majority of managers refuse to allocate any time to write any tests. Hell, when we come up with a 6-week estimate for a project, they then tell us we must do it in 4. At 4 weeks, the complaints and blame game begins over why the project isn't completed. Why? Because it was a 6 week project, morons.

I've only had one company with management that wanted unit tests written for code. Yet there was no official time dedicated to this process. That 6-week project that would be estimated without unit tests? Still 4 weeks. Huh? What magical world do you live in?

Quality requires time. That 6 week project now needs 8-9 weeks. Not 4. Not 5. Find me management that understands this and actually cares about quality instead of impossible deadlines that fit their fantasy plan for the current quarter, and we'll talk.

To be clear, I love writing tests. I would always have them if the decisions for project deadlines were left to me. Such decisions are out of my control, so the company gets what they are willing to pay for.

<comment><USER4> That's not the only reason. Writing tests is _hard_.

Writing tests that are not highly coupled to implementation is hard. That means that every time you change the system, you have one or many test changes to make too.

How do you know what to test and what not to test? How many tests do you write? One line of code can, if you think about it exhaustively, require 3 or even more tests.

A lot of time you'll write code that facilitates testing. Do you test this code? What happens if the code silently fails and now you don't have proper test coverage of all the code paths said code is supporting? This is particularly true if you are mocking objects.

Learning how to test, properly, is almost as hard as learning how to code. My advice is, if what you're doing is boring, like most Rails apps, lean on the library as much as possible, break up anything that goes against the grain into unitary features, and test them each in turn. You don't need to test that ActiveRecord.belongs_to works.

It doesn't surprise me that there's developer reticence towards testing. I tried powering through that reticence, believing there's some "magical world" as you put it, where testing actually helps you code faster and more accurately, but I found even myself a TDD apostate, I don't even do it for my own projects anymore.

<comment><USER3> Technically these issues are solved with what I indicated is always missing: time. What you outlined is accurate: proper testing also requires proper _planning_ for tests. For more complicate projects, you don't just start writing them without mapping out everything that needs to be done - and how to go about it. And yes, when code changes, more time must be invested into refactoring the tests.

This disastrous ecosystem exists with QA too (which is again, a form of testing). A lot of companies - usually the smaller ones - don't invest any resources at all for QA. Others just do point-and-click smokescreen tests that'll discover bugs that are blatantly obvious (also typically the ones the developer should never have committed to begin with). Real, proper QA? That requires investing serious time into test cases - completely figuring out every possible interaction and scenario that can take place. All before a single actual test is run. And similar to unit/functional tests, QA test cases need to be reviewed whenever the smallest bit of functionality changes.

The reality is that most employers who "want test cases" want there to be a magical solution that gives all the benefits, without any effort.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Good article.

> Few developers like to write documentation. That means it's your job.

OMFG. Most traditionally-trained devs I've met in person are next to illiterate. Bizarrely incompetent at docs. Unsurprisingly their code quality stinks too.

They'd probably ridicule you for mentioning "programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute". (Unless you say you're quoting "the Wizard Book", because they defer to argument from authority.) Read my sourcecode, they say, as if that doesn't mean "Go fuck yourself".

And they simply never want to proactively improve. That would require introspection and self-critique. Pulling teeth.

<comment><USER4> You have to work within people's limitations, that is, if you can't pick the people you work with. A team is only as good as it's most competent member's willingness to pull everything together and inspire the less-motivated to perform at a higher level. That's leadership, and there's precious little of it anywhere, even (especially!) in the products we use every day.

If there's no real leadership, then you're stuck in the backwaters of being managed. My advice is if you find yourself in this situation, either use it as an opportunity to work on your leadership skills or check out and throw your passion into side projects.

<comment><USER5> Excellent points! Maybe anyone who decides to "check out" should consider getting physically away from the team, if possible. Find those who proactively help others and apply healthy self-critical thinking.

Kathy Sierra in "Badass: Making Users Awesome" said: _" An important, unconscious way to develop expertise is being around high-quality, high- quantity examples of expertise."_ The flipside is apparently true: exposure to mediocre examples begets mediocrity.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I agree with a lot of this. One thing I would add - it's your job to integrate development into the rest of the organisation. UX, design, marketing, sales. Failure to do so leads to animosity between development and the rest of the organisation. Animosity undermines the goals of the organisation. In my experience, the biggest issue to deal with when managing developers is that they feel like they're tasked with implementing stupid ideas created by idiots. its never that simple, and developers are generally rational people who, given all the facts, know when to digg I. And resist something, and when to swallow a bitter pill for the greater good.

</comment><comment><USER7> Managing developers is easy. Managing the rest of the company so the developers can do their job is the hard part.

<comment><USER8> Then you've never managed developers. Speaking as one, developers are not always right, and as human beings they are subject to emotion. Emotions make people hard to manage. Period.

<comment><USER9> Seeing the difference between effective and ineffective management, and the frequency of the latter, I'm not convinced it's easy either.

Some developers aren't great at gathering requirements, estimating costs, triaging requests, saying no, or any number of other things... if only because they'd rather be coding. And that's not even getting into what they can mess up when it comes to the actual development portion.

A good technical manager can help cover for their shortcomings, and let them focus on their interests - what they're good at. They're not just an ablative meat shield.

<comment><USER10> > Some developers aren't great at gathering requirements, estimating costs, > triaging requests, saying no, or any number of other things...

To be fair, nobody is great at those first two.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> > Not a coder yourself? Learn enough to at least write tests.

No, please.

<comment><USER12> Not a doctor yourself? Learn enough to at least diagnose.

<comment><USER13> For a hospital manager, that's actually not bad advice.

<comment><USER14> Is it? I'd be interested in any numbers surrounding the idea.

<comment><USER13> You shouldn't need numbers to evaluate a proposition with a premise that is self-evident.

I mean, correct diagnosis is one of the first and most fundamental things a hospital does when admitting patients. Failure at this stage cascades through every step that follows, possibly with fatal consequence.

If you're "managing" a place that handles this work without a working understanding of the process involved, there's a very good chance that failures can be traced - in large part - back to your desk.

<comment><USER14> I have grown to not believe in anything as self evident, anymore.

Directly to this premise. Correct diagnosis is a _difficult_ and often _error prone_ things that a hospital can do. To think you can train someone to be a manager and be good at diagnosis is putting a lot of trust on someone.

Should they be able to help? Certainly. But, at some level, I would expect the manager to be better at knowing which doctor to get you in touch with moreso than how to do the diagnosis themselves.

<comment><USER13> I think there's an important difference between knowing how to do something well (i.e., on a professional basis), and having a basic working understanding of what the process involves; its inputs and outputs, the most significant enablers of success, the most pernicious sources of failure.

When it comes to the people I manage, I don't need to be able to do their job, but I do need to be able to speak their language and understand their concerns well enough to see the task from their perspective.

I should add that this has always been self-evident to me. And it's always worked very well. But I should also note that it's not the norm, and when people I work with discover how much I know about what they actually do, they're almost always pleasantly surprised. "Oh", they say "you really get it."

Nearly everything about management gets easier if you're starting from there.

<comment><USER14> Ok, so the misunderstanding was that I took your statement to mean they should be able to diagnose.

So, yes, we are in agreement. :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> It is a good point that being a manager one would have more influence, but that's only true if you are technically and socially respected by your fellows/peers/workers. Sometimes this means you have to really do your homework and work maybe twice as hard as your developers so you don't just ask questions and assume they are right. You have to be a hard ass, keep asking, demand clarity, and always be a hard ass to get things done properly.

</comment><comment><USER16> I came to the project only a few months ago. The project was "90% finished" but full of bugs too. We recently went live anyway. In the meanwhile, I have asked the manager/client for finding help with QA, because it is quite hard to maintain overall consistency in the system. The smallest changes create big bugs elsewhere. It is not enough that he or me do the testing. We never test enough anyway, and we still regularly hit the live servers with bad bugs that cost money. The system is meant to process money, actually. That is its core task. The problem is that my request for having QA people helping out, would cost resources, and that the recruitment process for QA profiles does not seem particularly easy either. Then, there's also the situation with the graphical designer who seems to hate programmers, and never shows up when he said he would. I think that a good manager will find a way to put the right people in the right place at the right time.

</comment><comment><USER17> The problem with this kind of article is the author rarely considers/explains the context.

E.g. Managing a team of 10 developers at a company with 30% turnover is very different to managing a team of 3 developers at a company with 5% turnover. Approaches and techniques vary drastically based on context.

</comment><comment><USER18> Let's try to use the classic analogy with painters.)

Suppose "your team" have to paint a cathedral for a king and you are the "manager". Of course you cannot paint yourself and hence holding an opinion that the paints and brushes are the most important things in this business.

Nevertheless, you have noticed, that some guys, like Leonardo, are much better at painting of the ceilings and in order not to disappoint the king you have to hire him and all the second best guys. Of course, you are sure that these guys are just lucky and overrated.

What you ougth to do, in order to not be beheaded by the king, is to be sure that Leonardo and the other painters has everything they need, of best possible quality and there is not a single obstacle on the horizon.

Now imagine that instead you have decided to hold daily meetings to discuss how to mix the paints properly, about responsibility to the whole team, and importance of writing daily reports about elements finished so far, together with detailed statistics of materials spent on each element.

To be sure that everything is going well, you have to climb to the ceiling few times a day and ask smart, psychological questions in orfer to avoid any possible lapse in productivity by exercising employee's morale and dedication to the project. For that reason you have short meetings in the morning.

Because you have no idea why the masterpieces of these guys are so highly acclaimed, you are constantly trying to improve their decisions by introducing new elements and changing colors, which are, you have been told, are industry standard best practices, and forcing them to use not the paints they used to, but guaranteed, safe, battle-tested priducts they used to paint the walls of the king's palace and stables.

</comment><comment><USER19> Stop with the management already.

If you look at a company of say 100,000 employees, and a generous span of 1 manager to 10 subordinates, there are 33,333 managers - and as they usually are paid better than their subordinates, the cost is typically over 50% of salaries. And it's a rare industry that is not mostly salary as cost.

And we now have an amazing set of technologies and examples of new organisational forms (Linux?) that say "hey, you can eliminate a huge cost base _and_ be more productive.

Wanna bet how the next decade is going to go for those called "managers"?

<comment><USER20> I have never understood why managers need to be paid higher than the people they manage..

That is the single reason for many orgs screwing up their system as this forces excellant developers/workers to abandon their core skills and move into management..

<comment><USER21> It does not force techies into management unless it's an 'up-or-out' kind of organization. It provides a financial incentive (and often a status symbol).

<comment><USER22> the manager's salary becomes a ceiling for the staff they manage, if managers are always paid more than the staff they manage (and I've heard some managers seriously suggest that they would not be able to manage people who got paid more than them).

It becomes a problem when tech salaries are on the rise, because at some point the company either has to start paying coders more than managers, or has to implement pay rises throughout the management hierarchy in order to retain good technical staff.

At this point its really tempting to promote good coders into management to keep them.

<comment><USER23> > I've heard some managers seriously suggest that they would not be able to > manage people who got paid more than them

This is just greed/pride. As a manager, the only person who knows that an engineer makes more than you is you. And it's pretty common these days for companies to have an engineering track that has a VP-equivalent top position, so it's pretty common that the most senior engineers will make more than most of the managers at the company.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Is the dev-manager dynamic something like:

In school, most people don't get the project done unless there's a deadline imposed upon them by someone else. And in the professional world that someone else here is the manager..?

<comment><USER14> School is unique in that most of the questions/projects you will be faced with have a pretty solid answer. Often times a definitive one. Work... not so much.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> > _Managers translate the project's Big Picture into individual tasks for > developers ... As any professional translator will tell you, this means you > need to understand the work more intimately than the author._

Such manager doesn't exist in the current development biotope.

<comment><USER26> Nor should it.

As a manager, I try to let the team and the PM work out the individual tasks, and ensure there is consensus and follow through by individuals. Handling external pressures, clearing roadblocks, and resolving team conflicts are where I feel that my time is best utilized.

<comment><USER27> Yes exactly. Developer and Manager is two completely different jobs. Developer to manager promoting is a brain drain. A good developer does not have to be a good manager. A good manager does not have to be a good developer.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Best GNU/Linux laptop as of March 2014? - <AUTHOR> Starting a new job, on the lookout for a new laptop.
Ideally it runs with Intel graphics and Atheros wireless, with no firmware required. It'll run Debian.
I'm leaning towards buying another ThinkPad. <comment><USER2> I can tell you which one _not_ to buy. System76. Horrible keyboard and even though they recently re-designed the entire keyboard, the mousepad is still so large that it moves the cursor while you type because your palm touches the wide mousepad while typing. And Yes, that even when you have enabled the option "disable mousepad while typing". Horrible customer service. They will not refund the laptop for any reason. That is their policy. I did not know that. Really disappointed with them.

I will look at thinkpad or even a Dell XPS to be honest.

<comment><USER3> One of system 76's employees was on reedit a while back telling people that their ultrabook's touchpad was 'hands down' better than Apple's.

From what I've observed, the only people who can use sys76's keyboards are those of us that can't type more than 40wpm.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I have a Dell XPS15, running Linux Mint (never even booted the stock Windows OS) and have had nothing but good things to say thus far. It's light, it runs quickly (playing a good bit of Kerbal Space Program with my daughter) and it was relatively cheap (I got mine for $1100 last year). I'd recommend it to absolutely anyone.

Newegg link: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834300...](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834300087)

<comment><USER5> I've got a Dell XPS L502X too, running CentOS. I bought it from Dell's outlet over 2 years ago for £583 while the same spec was listed brand new for £1100.

Overall it's a great machine: really like the keyboard, multi-touch mousepad, screen size and resolution.

The only downside is that now I play a lot less Microsoft Flight Simulator since it keeps crashing under wine.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I have a thinkpad t430s that I love. I got an ssd, and traded the DVD drive for a bay battery. I run ubuntu 12.04, and the only issue I have is that sleep stops working every 10-20 days. I restart it about that often anyways, so I haven't even tried to diagnose the issue.

I had read complaints about the screen, but I do mostly web development and I like the screen as well as any other laptop I've had. I am not a gamer at all, if that affects people's evaluation of screen quality. I like the trackpad just fine, and don't have any issues with the keypad.

<comment><AUTHOR> My worry about the T series is that its a bit of a heavy machine to lug around.

How did you swap out the DVD for a battery? Did you buy it like that from Lenovo?

<comment><USER7> I too have a T430, and love it. Can't imagine that a lighter laptop would be able to achieve 8-9 hours(largest battery 9 cell i think) in a text editor with a 14 inch screen. I also swapped out the HDD for an SSD and removed the DVD and put the HDD in it(they make special caddies for HDD in DVD drive) which I take out sometimes because I like to thow my laptop around and dont want to worry about breaking the HDD. Myne was $820 from lenovo. Edit: also runs Linux Mint like a champ, all hot keys keys(FN) work, but I too get the problem with putting my computer in sleep mode for more then a month.

<comment><USER8> I'm running an old Viao X that gets 10-12 hours on the big battery and weighs in at a couple of lbs. Running ubuntu, but the processor is too slow for me to recommend today.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Lenovo G series. i5-3230M + 8GB. No extra graphics. Bought it without any OS. Installed Ubuntu 13.04, everything worked without tweaking, including the Skype client for Linux. Great value for money.

<comment><USER10> I have a thinkpad x230 that I like a lot. Very small and light but fast enough for hard core C development.

I use it plugged into an external screen/keyboard most of the time but I do work on it directly when traveling.

I've got a larger thinkpad with 2x the cores/ram and I rarely use it. The light factor is compelling for me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Thinkpad, W series preferably. My W350 is running Wheezy without any issues.</comment>


Simple Deployment using Git (or Mercurial) and DropBox - <AUTHOR> http://blog.wekeroad.com/danger-danger/git-and-dropbox-sitting-in-a-tree <comment><USER2> Kewl - might wanna try that</comment>


Flipping Typical (Fonts) - <AUTHOR> http://flippingtypical.com/

<comment><USER2> I'm liking this a lot. My only suggestion would be to have some sort of indicator for web-safe fonts. Maybe a 1px box around the font name/text?

</comment><comment><USER3> Nice execution. I drew up a site exactly like this about a year and a half ago, but never got around to building it. One less thing I have to build. :)

<comment><USER4> When this happens part of me goes "Nooo!! I could have done that!" and another part goes "Sweet!! Now I don't have to build it!" It's hard to get the two parts to settled back down though.

<comment><USER5> I _love_ that feeling. I want success, but I'm more motivated by the prospect of making something that I want. When I see something I could have made, I write the guy who made it, congratulate him, and talk with him a bit, because I've just found somebody who might make a good friend. Then I get on to working on another madcap adventure.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I like how he called it WTF instead of FAQ.

</comment><comment><USER7> This is very neat. It lacks three things to be perfect -

(a) point size selection

(b) ability to select (and remember) which fonts to render

(c) support for _all_ installed fonts the way <http://typetester.org> does it

This would basically allow previewing how specific text would look like in a variety of types and sizes .. which is a bit more practical than "A way to explore the popular typefaces you have on your computer" as stated in FAQ.

</comment><comment><USER8> One suggestion - let me change the default text from the URL. Maybe something like <http://flippingtypical.com#MyText>.

</comment><comment><USER9> I spent about an hour doing this manually in Photoshop yesterday. Great tool to have in my bookmarks.

</comment><comment><USER10> Very cool. Try clicking on one of the fonts, it'll replace the one you are using on top!

</comment><comment><USER11> Seems much easier to use Flash to detect installed fonts… [http://www.maratz.com/blog/archives/2006/08/18/detect- visito...](http://www.maratz.com/blog/archives/2006/08/18/detect-visitors- fonts-with-flash/)

<comment><USER12> Yeah, that works great on platforms that don't support Flash.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> How does it choose to organize the fonts? I don't know enough about how the fonts are stored on the system to figure it out.

</comment><comment><USER14> Very well done. Bravo!</comment>