Hacker Monthly #6 is out - <AUTHOR> http://www.magcloud.com/browse/Issue/126186

<comment><USER2> I was asked some time ago for my permission to include comments that I made, and I gave that permission freely. At the time, though, Hacker Monthly was free, as I recall, and I'm now wondering about re-thinking that stance.

If my comments are used, how would I know? Should I now? Should I care?

Perhaps those whose comments are used should be offered a free copy, even if only of the pages containing their words.

I'm not sure.

What do you think?

<comment><USER3> I was wondering the same thing. I also gave my permission, but have no idea if it was exercised. We shouldn't have to wonder.

All comments should be free to all, on the website, retroactively to the first issue. This was implied when permission was solicited.

<comment><USER4> It's my slip. I'm truly sorry about that.

When I was using the comment I never thought the authors (graciously) gave me the permission _while_ the issues were still free for digital download.

I will personally contact the comment authors that appeared in the paid issues (#4 - #6) who given me the permission the their comments in the free issues (#1 - #4) to see how we could resolve this.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> If you just want to read the articles online, if you go to the magazine homepage the table of contents has clickable links:

<http://hackermonthly.com/>

<comment><USER4> Thanks. I've also created a HN thread for the latest issue: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1856111>

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I'm very impressed by the design and layout. Great work, guys!

</comment><comment><USER7> $120/yr for recycled content from HN/other sites seems very pricey...do you think you are really creating more value than the Wall Street Journal that costs $119/yr?

<comment><USER4> We couldn't charge any lower than that. If you do the math, we actually don't make any money from the print subscription plan.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I hate advertisements just as much as the next person [1], but; with those prices you should seriously get more ads.

[1] I have no complaints about interesting, relevant ads that don't get in the way.

<comment><USER9> You could give yc startups a discount.

<comment><USER4> We did (and we are doing it now).</comment></comment></comment>


VMware backs down, changes vSphere 5 pricing - <AUTHOR> http://gigaom.com/cloud/vmware-backs-down-changes-vsphere-5-pricing/

<comment><USER2> Ram prices recently fell dramatically. (the really dramatic drop is that 8GiB modules are now priced reasonably; it used to be you'd pay 2x or more per gigabyte for higher-density modules, and now the price per gigabyte drops slightly as density increases, I mean, until you get to the 16GiB modules, which are still ridiculous.) This change has triggered a surge in ram density in newer servers.

It looks like VMware is trying pretty hard to capture most of the surplus value created by the cheaper ram.

I mean, it's been long said that VMware will look at how much money you can save by virtualizing and consolidating your old hardware, then they try to charge just enough less than that number to make the project still worth doing; In the past, I think, this has been seen as more reasonable, as vmware is helping to create some of that value.

Moving to grab some of the surplus value created by cheap high-density ram, something VMware has nothing to do with, I think, has been seen as unjustified and greedy in the SysAdmin world; it remains to be seen if still charging by the gigabyte of ram but just charging less will be accepted.

</comment><comment><USER3> This is not a concession. For my essentials plus license I get 256gb RAM under 4, but now even under the amended new licensing I only get 32gb. Still not happy.

</comment><comment><USER4> VMware reminds me of Palm in 2000... They start something which will change the entire industry but somehow they are loosing their lead rapidly...

<comment><USER5> Lol. Can you explain how?

<comment><USER6> Hyper-V is gonna eat VMWare's lunch. 2008 Server is kicking ass and taking names, and is indeed a solid product from what I hear. MS's next iteration of server+virtualization will be the death knell for VMWare unless VMWare drastically reduces prices and comes up with remarkable innovative improvements in the next few years.

<comment><USER7> Hyper-V is a hail mary play, in case EMC/VMWare does something really stupid to screw up a good thing.

VMWare is an enterprise product. How many big enterprises are using Hyper-V? (A: Zero, officially anyway)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> They're still charging based on vRAM. I don't see this as much of a backdown, really.</comment>


How Corporate Partnerships Can Corrupt Public Universities - <AUTHOR> https://promarket.org/mercenary-science-corporate-partnership-corrupt-research-public-universities/ <comment><USER2> "They don't pay them to say nice things, they pay them to not say bad things."</comment>


Introducing YouTube Gaming - <AUTHOR> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrJczjVT0Xk

<comment><USER2> So why was this made? Can anyone tell me how this will in any form replace or even compete with TwitchTv, HitBox, and other streaming sites?

<comment><USER3> It was used for the TI DOTA tournament to a lot of success. Many people using it claimed to prefer it over Twitch.

It's more responsive, the video quality is higher (1080p on Twitch looks bad, 1080p on YT Gaming looks good), and takes up less bandwidth (I don't have a citation or %'age of this, heard it from my coworker this morning as he had brought it up).

We also discussed YT allowing broader visibility, easier tie-ins to a YT channel (e.g. SivHD also monetizes his YT channel and it may be more beneficial to stream on YT Gaming than streaming on an entirely difference service over at Twitch).

Not sure how compelling the above is - but you asked for "why" so I did my best to answer with what I know.

E:

Forgot this one, and this one is kinda big for some people.

You're able to pause the video and _resume playback from where you paused_ rather than being redirected to the live part of the livestream. You have to go back into the previous videos, load the videos, and miss out on the Twitch chat (some people/smaller stream communities care about that).

With Google I can pause the video, get the door for pizza, go back, and click "play". Can't do that on Twitch without missing gameplay, which for tournaments can be annoying.

There's also better notice for "streamer is now live" than on Twitch. Most people don't bother checking their email to see if a Twitch streamer is online. Many people are already browsing YT and can be notified. More notified users = more people watching your stream.

<comment><USER2> Thank you both for your replies. I admit I was thinking in terms of just general streaming, again sorry for my stumbling ignorance in the matter.</comment></comment></comment>


DNA - <AUTHOR> http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2011/06/29/dna.html

<comment><USER2> The difficulty I have with this article is that it's more about rebranding subordination than management. Managers have the power to do things like organize a "DNA" team, rewarding the best technical minds. Creating an elaborate organizational system with its own language is like deploying chaff.

Ultimately in any organization power originates from a legal source and fans outward via a network of trust relationships. The structure of the network is a hierarchy, with individuals closer to the source wielding more influence. It can be explicitly codified, or left implicit as is often the case in "flat" organizations. In either case, the best way to move up the ladder is to become trusted by people closer to the source of power. This requires social aptitude, there is no substitute.

I think the flat vs hierarchy debate is pointless. Instead the debate should be about what kinds of people should have influence in a company? What standards should be communicated to ensure that smart latecomers quickly ascend the company's social network? Values, such as obedience and conformity, tend to reinforce the social hierarchy. Values like dissent and diversity create a more fluid social environment where trust relationships can be forged across different social strata in a company.

I think this social fluidity should be emphasized over "flatness." I'd much rather work in a fluid company than a flat one where people are binned into overly formalized teams of influence. I suggest that if you want good people to rise to the top, make fluidity the DNA of your company.

<comment><USER3> It really misses the point in proposing a way to formalize non-hierarchical power. Hierarchy is the form of formalized power that is easiest to understand and the most efficient to work with, especially for technical people who have other things on their minds besides politics.

The power of influence and respect can't really be formalized anyway. If people think technical excellence and the company's technical success are important to their personal success, then the best technical people will wield power through their ability to inform and advise. If your best technical people have less power in the organization than they ought to, it's because other employees intuit, probably correctly, that technical quality has nothing to do with their personal success.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Sounds great but,

"There is no amount of training that would make up for the talent we'd extinguish by teaching them how to write annual reviews."

Leadership has nothing to do with writing annual reviews.

I heard that leadership means gathering people's power to accomplish a goal.

So while leadership may mean management, management is not inherently leadership.

<comment><USER5> Leadership and management are orthogonal. There are managers who couldn't lead their team out of a paper bag, and there are great leaders with "Intern" on their business cards.

More importantly, there are leaders who aren't even _good_ at management tasks. Just because everyone trusts your opinion on architectural design doesn't mean you should be assigning tasks, or prioritizing the backlog.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> so, you like flat, like Facebook's one ? :

<http://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-org-charts-2011-6>

:)

<comment><USER7> Joking aside, one of the places I worked tried to hire an ex-Google CTO, He basically wanted to be the CTO and then have 20-30 developers reporting directly to him. That to me is flat. And that did not fly well with the business people. "No! We must have 3-4 subordinates max under each role, reporting up the hierarchy!" I imagine you can't grow to a large size without hierarchy, but with 20-30 people it is possible to be flat.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: How to create a long lasting relationship? - <AUTHOR> Imagine being in hospital alone, at night, and the only one you can call is your mom. Yep, I now know how suck it is to be that nerd who only care about computer. I can talk to people and make friend. The problem is the friendship is not sticky enough.
How can people go out and make friendship last? The kind of friendship that you can call your friend and he/she will be by your side when you are in hospital alone, at night. <comment><USER2> I think the big thing is making yourself vulnerable to take that next leap.

There's a few people you probably know (at least a little bit) from work, or meetups, or maybe they live near you.

Ask them to get lunch or grab coffee. Start sending them texts or emails more often.

Some people might say no over and over again or they just might be busy.

Also - if someone asks you to do something - Just say yes. I learned that if you say no the first 1 or 2 times someone asks you to hang out or come to a party - the invitations will stop.

</comment><comment><USER3> By sharing experiences. Not just by talking about it, but sharing them like experiencing them together. I've looked back upon some uncommon friendships I've made that are now stronger than relationships by people I've just met at college or work.

1\. We went out and experienced stuff together. Makes us closer and gives us memories to reminisce upon.

2\. We've had points of mutual interest and that kind of gave us a push to be together more often and experience more. From music, to programming, to specific food.

3\. We made mutual connections. I plan something with friends, I invite them, they invite theirs sometimes, such stuff.

4\. We shared stuff about each other. Dreams, goals, relationship talk, stuff like that.

</comment><comment><USER4> I found "The Like Switch" to be an interesting and useful guide in building relationships. It's written by an ex-FBI agent that successfully built relationships with various, often hard to reach individuals using the techniques that he writes about in the book.

</comment><comment><USER5> I found this article a while ago: [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/fashion/the-challenge- of-m...](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/fashion/the-challenge-of-making- friends-as-an-adult.html)

Which distilled the typical requirements to making close friends:

>the three conditions that sociologists since the 1950s have considered crucial to making close friends: _proximity; repeated, unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down and confide in each other_

</comment><comment><USER6> i had the same problem as well and i just surrendered to the fact that i will simply initiate all the conversations myself. pick up the phone and call them even if they dont call you. then reveal the skeletons in your closet and be vulnerable.</comment>


Ask HN: Best books you've read in 2019? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER3> Couldn't recommend this enough; [https://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Are-Legion-Bob- Bobiverse/dp/1680...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Are-Legion-Bob- Bobiverse/dp/1680680587/ref=sr_1_1?crid=26IN35LIYPLFS&keywords=bobiverse&qid=1573549072&sprefix=bobiverse%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-1)

</comment><comment><USER4> Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

> [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37570546-maybe-you- > shoul...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37570546-maybe-you-should- > talk-to-someone)

</comment><comment><USER5> Mindfuck, Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America - <USER2> Wylie.

It went _so_ much deeper than what I learned from the media, and he explores the how (not too technically, as it's for a general audience) far more than I expected. Very glad I read it, and it's an easy read.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

18th century alternative history about two rivals restoring supernatural magic to the country, causing chaos, helping out in the wars with the French, and mostly hating each other. Very enjoyable, if rather silly read.

Merchants of Doubt - Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway.

If age hadn't brought enough cynism to my worldview, this tops it up nicely. Probably one of the most important books I've read. How some ex scientists, PR agencies and think tanks made a nice career selling doubt as a service to every dodgy industry going. Doubt and uncertainty on every important issue of the last 50 years. Tobacco and health, acid rain, fire retardants and climate heating among others. The same people giving the anti-science spin on multiple issues across decades, cropping up in papers and TV again and again.

Command and Control - Eric Schlosser

The misadventures, multiple accidents and cock-ups and safety - well lack of - surrounding nuclear weapons. After reading this you'll have no idea how one didn't go off over home or allied soil.

</comment><comment><USER6> In no particular order the best ones I've read this year(so far) are:

Children of the Nameless by Brandon Sanderson

Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor by Anthony Everitt

King Rat by James Clavell

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin

The Elric Saga Part 1 by Michael Moorcock

</comment><comment><USER7> Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

<comment><USER8> I will add his other books, Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for 21st century (reading now)

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

I'm a little embarrassed to say it's the only book I've had the motivation to finish this year. It's a fantastic book though, and during the age of the "war on facts" it's quite relevant.

</comment><comment><USER10> \- antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb (the guy is smart, but insufferable)

\- a short history of nearly everything, Bill Bryson

\- working: researching, interviewing, writing by Robert Caro (I love just about everything he puts out)

</comment><comment><USER11> I just discovered the farseer trilogies and the trilogies after them. Really great reading. I can only describe it as a mix of game of thrones, Harry Potter, white fang, and Thomas the engine.

<comment><USER12> Didn't see that last one coming.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" by Roz Chast comes to mind.

It's a humorous albeit poignant look at her parents aging. Mine are nearing that stage, yet there were multiple instances where it felt she was describing my own parents to a T.

> [https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Talk-about-Something- > Pleasant/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Talk-about-Something- > Pleasant/dp/1632861011)

</comment><comment><USER14> Influence: The Power of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

It was interesting to learn why certain techniques work.

</comment><comment><USER15> I've "read" 19 books this year (thanks Audible)

These were my faves:

"Wolf hall" by Hilary Mantell

"The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins

"Never Split the difference" by Chris Voss

"How to talk so kids will listen" by Joanna Faber & Julie King

</comment><comment> ciaran-ifelse \- Shoedog by Phil Knight \- Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe \- How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan \- Deep Work by Cal Newport

</comment><comment><USER16> \- Antifragile by Nassim Taleb

\- Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse.

\- The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin

</comment><comment><USER17> Refactoring 2nd Edition

Stormlight Archive

</comment><comment><USER18> Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch

</comment><comment><USER19> \- Pragmatic Programmer 2nd edition

\- Permanent Record

</comment><comment><USER20> Here is my list (from [https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/912138-alex- givant?rea...](https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/912138-alex- givant?read_at=2019)):

Memoirs:

\- Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Bourdain, Anthony, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33313.Kitchen_Confidenti...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33313.Kitchen_Confidential)

\- Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Land, Stephanie, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39218350-maid](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39218350-maid)

\- Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Bourdain, Anthony, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40409969-medium- raw](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40409969-medium-raw)

\- Confessions of a Tax Collector: One Man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS by Yancey, Rick, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196519.Confessions_of_a_...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196519.Confessions_of_a_Tax_Collector)

Politics:

\- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Desmond, Matthew, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25852784-evicted](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25852784-evicted)

\- Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Leovy, Jill, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13153693-ghettoside](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13153693-ghettoside)

\- American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Bauer, Shane, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38561954-american- prison](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38561954-american-prison)

\- Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom by Eban, Katherine, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42448266-bottle-of- lies](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42448266-bottle-of-lies)

\- A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America by Miller, T. Christian, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35805861-a-false- report](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35805861-a-false-report)

\- The New Silk Roads by Frankopan, Peter, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40921633-the-new-silk- ro...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40921633-the-new-silk-roads)

History:

\- Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956 by Applebaum, Anne, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13531848-iron- curtain](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13531848-iron-curtain)

\- The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Montefiore, Simon Sebag, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26109020-the- romanovs](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26109020-the-romanovs)

\- The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Johnson, Steven, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36086.The_Ghost_Map](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36086.The_Ghost_Map)

\- Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations by Bergman, Ronen, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33598223-rise-and- kill-f...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33598223-rise-and-kill-first)

\- Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler by Olson, Lynne, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41739312-madame- fourcade...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41739312-madame-fourcade-s- secret-war)

\- Argo: How the CIA & Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History by Méndez, Antonio J., [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13588425-argo](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13588425-argo)

Crime:

\- Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Selby, Scott Andrew, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7071759-flawless](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7071759-flawless)

\- American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Bilton, Nick, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31920777-american- kingpi...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31920777-american-kingpin)

\- Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by Carreyrou, John, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37976541-bad- blood](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37976541-bad-blood)

\- Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Wright, Tom, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38743564-billion- dollar-...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38743564-billion-dollar-whale)

\- The Mastermind: Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal. by Ratliff, Evan, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41181600-the- mastermind](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41181600-the-mastermind)

Technology:

\- Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon by Zetter, Kim, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18465875-countdown-to- ze...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18465875-countdown-to-zero-day)

\- Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World by Thompson, Clive, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40406806-coders](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40406806-coders)

Fiction:

\- Vengeful (Villains, #2) by Schwab, V.E., [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26856502-vengeful](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26856502-vengeful)

\- Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel, #1) by Bancroft, Josiah, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17554595-senlin- ascends](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17554595-senlin-ascends)

\- Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel, #2) by Bancroft, Josiah, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35959733-arm-of-the- sphi...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35959733-arm-of-the-sphinx)

\- The Hod King (The Books of Babel, #3) by Bancroft, Josiah, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32998292-the-hod- king](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32998292-the-hod-king)

\- Recursion by Crouch, Blake, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42046112-recursion](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42046112-recursion)

\- Foundryside (Founders, #1) by Bennett, Robert Jackson, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37173847-foundryside](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37173847-foundryside)

\- The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth's Past #1) by Liu, Cixin, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20518872-the-three- body-...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20518872-the-three-body-problem)

\- The Guardians by Grisham, John, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43701061-the- guardians](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43701061-the-guardians)</comment>


Kong 0.7.0 released - <AUTHOR> http://blog.mashape.com/kong-0-7-0-released/ <comment><USER2> I will be much more interested in trying Kong once PostgreSQL is supported:

[https://github.com/Mashape/kong/issues/331](https://github.com/Mashape/kong/issues/331)</comment>


Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro has a mysterious new 'lid angle sensor' - <AUTHOR> https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/19/20973135/apple-16-inch-macbook-pro-lid-angle-sensor <comment><USER2> This reminded me of "lid controlled volume" (from the reddit running joke of absurd volume controls): [https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/6fowct/lid...](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/6fowct/lid_controlled_volume_mac_edition/)

That one was implemented using the ambient light sensor to estimate angle.

</comment><comment><USER3> Something about the new microphones maybe? Safety measure?

EDIT: Found this [https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook- pro-16-micropho...](https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook- pro-16-microphone-in-clamshell.2212013/) , apparently the mic kept working even w/ lid closed on old models but not anymore.

</comment><comment><USER4> From the comments:

> I'm guessing the angle of the screen tells the software at what angle your > head probably is, and that data is use that as an input for tuning audio > spatially.

</comment><comment><USER5> I could have used something similar, when doing XR-ish laptop human interfaces. Assuming sufficient resolution. Knowing screen pose relative to eyes, from head tracking on the laptop webcam, it would have been nice to simply derive keyboard pose, without needing to track it separately (with an extra camera/mirror/kludgery).

</comment><comment> core-questions Maybe it's something to do with how people often carry around their machine partially open?</comment>


2020: Year of the Developer Doomsday - <AUTHOR> http://wisdomofthesayges.com/post/20040270424/2020-year-of-the-developer-doomsday

<comment><USER2> Just a wild shot in the dark here, but could it possibly be because of an increasing number of people have access to the internet?

"Programmers on the internet" has reached saturation, but the total number of people searching for things on google is increasing exponentially?

<comment><USER3> The chart doesn't compute the ratio of searches (for those keywords) against the total volume of Google searches; it shows the absolute query volume for each keyword. In other words, it's independent on the number of people _not_ searching for those terms.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Are all those languages' searches really going down since 2004?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah. It is hard to find a language that hasn't been going down since 2004.</comment></comment>


Show HN: Testing my first iOS App (Beta) – Cleaninder - <AUTHOR> https://forms.gle/fB1otApqQiwgA4R96 <comment><AUTHOR> Finally, after several years, I got to the point to develop my first iOS app! This is a house cleaning reminder app, which helps you manage your cleaning schedule and notify you before an upcoming cleaning. You can also see if there is a missing cleaning in your room. Currently it is in beta testing, and I would appreciate any feedback you could give to a beginner Swift developer. I'm sure there are still a lot to improve, but we have to start somewhere. If you could help me with testing, please fill the form with your e-mail address and I will add you to TestFlight. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!</comment>


Ask HN: Why Posterous ignores Posthaven - <AUTHOR>

Is there any particular reason why Posterous does not mention Posthaven as a migration route? [1]<p>I cannot think of any technical or legal reason, and prefer not to assume anything worse.<p>[1] http://blog.posterous.com/thanks-from-posterous <comment><USER2> IIRC PostHaven didn't exist/hadn't launched at the time that blog post was written.</comment>


Feuding neighbor turned Airbnb renter asserts renters' rights, refuses to leave - <AUTHOR> http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/most-bizarre-airbnb-feud-story-6824921.php?t=44c4e62221#photo-9357392 <comment><USER2> Silly little hipsters with nothing better to do ~ this is really newsworthy?

<comment><AUTHOR> I can take or leave the people's court story. I mostly found it interesting for this para:

"The situation also reveals a Catch-22 created by San Francisco's new laws regulating short-term rentals. Entire-home rentals are limited to 90 days a year and must be occupied by a permanent resident. Huang switched to rentals of 30 days or more since those are legal. That's a decision that other local landlords have also made. But by requiring longer stays, landlords run the risk of the temporary visitors gaining permanent renters' rights."

New businesses lead to new regulation. New regulations lead to unintended consequences. Unintended consequences lead businesses to look for new disruptive solutions...

Does that cycle repeat or is that overly simplistic?</comment></comment>


Crypto project founder says hiring a lawyer was a big mistake; now sells on eBay - <AUTHOR> https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-should-you-do-when-your-ico-is-dead-in-the-water-flog-it-on-ebay/ <comment><USER2> "We hired a lawyer and that was a big mistake for us," Komar said. "Because our lawyer basically told us that we should not launch any ICO before we built a real product that might have some users."

That was a mistake?</comment>


Mozilla shouldn't copy Chrome's permission prompt for extensions - <AUTHOR> https://palant.de/2016/07/02/why-mozilla-shouldn-t-copy-chrome-s-permission-prompt-for-extensions <comment><USER2> Having spent some time looking at the code of popular Chrome extensions recently I was left really shaken about whats happening under the hood.

Google's position seems to be, if a website can track you and monitor your behavior when you are on the page, then an extension should be able to do so too. But the extensions have a whole lot more capability. They can look at my history, bookmarks, all the fucking tabs I have open and whats happening in each one and send nice reports of to god knows who.

If I download a simple task list extension and every word typed, mouse move, click etc is being sent to Google Analytics I would like to know that! Cause my expectation is its a simple list being stored locally on my device not being shared with anyone. Same goes for history stats extensions. Or reddit\youtube filtering extensions. Every single extension I looked at was hooked up to some analytics framework/cloud backup/sync service or the other. If some third party dev sitting in his mom's basement is collecting all this data. I want to know!

The best was the history stats extension I had installed. Very useful/pretty reports/code on Github/nice backstory about a benevolent developer building something cool for the world in his free time etc. When I dig around the story changes to the dev disappearing after selling it off to shady characters, who then proceed to do things like randomly redirect pages to ad sites.

At install time there is no reason Google can't say this extension uses Google Analytics to track where you are clicking etc and what data and how much data is being sent off everyday to god knows who.

<comment><USER3> > At install time there is no reason Google can't say this extension uses > Google Analytics to track where you are clicking etc and what data and how > much data is being sent off everyday to god knows who.

Let's say Google started to do this in a way that causes people not to want to use such extensions. Why do you think extension authors would stop using analytics as opposed to use some other analytics provider (that is on average more fishy security-wise)?

Disclaimer: I work at Google, but not on anything Chrome-related.

<comment><USER4> Then the extension would have to similarly say, on install, that it sends analytics to <fishy provider>.

Which would make the user want to use them even less.

<comment><USER5> There are self-hosted analytics solutions, and worst case, you can always reverse-proxy to Google Analytics. So the extension will say "MyExtension needs to comunicate with MyExtension.com" and nobody will know why.

(Unless you have a manual review process, of course.)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It sounds like a case of overly broad permissions. Have they looked at other permissions models?

For one, extensions should be able to include an explanation why they need each permission.

Network access should be a separate permission like it is for iOS keyboards. It's safer for an ad blocker to read and modify a page if it has no method of exfiltrating the content. Blacklist updates can be done through the regular extension update mechanism.

Looking at the list of permissions in the documentation, a lot of these look like they should be asked for at the time of first use (location, clipboard, screenshots, etc). This would avoid the problem of asking for overly broad permissions upfront "just in case". Android had the same problem.

But in the end, not informing the user is the wrong choice, no matter how bullet-proof you think your vetting process is. You'll always have users who are paranoid (as developers of a camera app on iOS, we've had 1-star reviews left because our app "uploads all your photos to the internet" because we need photo library access) and it's their loss mainly, not yours.

<comment><USER7> > It's safer for an ad blocker to read and modify a page if it has no method > of exfiltrating the content.

The problem is that being able to modify the page _is_ a method of exfiltrating information - e.g. you can add an img tag triggering a GET to an arbitrary URL. I suspect it would be surprisingly tricky to try restricting page modification in such a way that information can't be sent anywhere the page wouldn't have sent it originally.

But +1 on deferring permissions prompts until the moment the app actually needs the privilege, though. It's worked pretty well on iOS, and it's finally coming to Android - maybe it'll come to Chrome or Firefox next.

<comment><USER8> couldn't we just give adblockers an api for filtering network requests, that they could just decide to allow or deny requests? And then give them no other internet access?

This seems like an API failure that common jobs for extensions can't be done without scary permissions.

<comment><USER9> The problem is, many adblockers also have a feature to disable certain DOM nodes inside websites, to avoid embedded ads or remove anti-adblockers. So you'd also need an API to filter out certain selectors... And the list of specialized APIs could continue on and on.

<comment><USER10> Apple kind of solved this problem with the Content Blocker API - all of this is defined in a 'static' list which is used by Safari to block certain things.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Maybe I'm the only one but I want "ask me every time unless I specify otherwise" permissions

A password manager doesn't need to read all my websites. It only needs to read/modify the moment I press "fill in my password". Same with a "screen capture and upload to cloud" extension, a "bookmark" extension, a "post to my feed" extension. Yes an ad blocker needs all permissions. The rest don't and I wish I could be asked or at least distinguish between the permission to read everything and the permission to read on click

</comment><comment><USER12> I think a permission model should have 3 choices for every question: allow, disallow, and pretend.

With the last option, app-makers cannot bribe the user into installing the app with unwanted permissions anyway.

For example, when the app wants file-system access, the "pretend" option would give the app a view of an empty or dummy (fake) file-system. When the app wants access to GPS coordinates, the "pretend" option would give the app dummy coordinates. Et cetera.

<comment><USER13> I don't see "pretend" as being productive. If you're dealing with an app that would otherwise refuse to run without a permission, even if it didn't truly need the permission to function, then it would simply escalate the arms race. It would be pretty easy to detect a fake filesystem (try to write a file, then read it back) and spoofed GPS (GeoIP, ping supposed nearby servers, etc). And, of course, these checks could be encapsulated in a convenient library for developers to easily use. Then you'd have the browser's response to this and we'd end up in the ad-blocker-blocker-blocker world in which we now live, only we're wasting the time of developers who would otherwise be doing productive things (more browswr bug fixes/features). At least with the current ad- blocking mess we're only wasting the time of adtech.

<comment><USER14> Yes, but at that point they've lost plausible deniability; they can no longer claim that they asked for permission because some obscure feature required it. People are much less likely to agree to "trade my filesystem for a game" than they are to agree to "play a game that uses the filesystem to save games".

<comment><USER15> They tend to just say "we need this permission for the application/extension to _work correctly_ ". And stop at this.

Seriously, a certain (quite famous, 5M installs) app got an update that requested a permission to install packages (!). It was actually harmless, as granting this won't work - the system won't allow this to non-system apps, but nonetheless it had just looked wrong.

I've emailed their support, asking why is it there. And - guess what? The reply was, essentially, "we need it because we do, it's required for the app to work, sorry but can't disclose the exact details". Well, polite, but essentially like this.

Long story short, I've accidentally mentioned this on a friend's blog, and my comment was noticed by his friend who had connections to the app's company (world's small, hah!) - so the ticket got elevated and took a proper review. Result is, this had just accidentally slipped from some dependency's development builds. Or something like that. Got apologies for the dubious response and a discount coupon, and the issue was fixed.

The thing is, it seems that a) I highly suspect, most users don't give a second thought about about accepting this permission (would there be more reports on this, I guess, the tier-1 support would know about the issue and the response would be different) and b) the initial attitude is "we know better".

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I don't agree with the article at all.

Chrome is being completely honest with the user. If a youtube extension asks permission to "read data from all websites" you must ask yourself and the developer why it needs access to all websites and not just youtube. A good extension must enumerate all the permissions it demands and give good reasons why it needs each of them. If an extension seeks new permissions, then consent must be sought from the user before update . This is obviously the correct approach(How it affects the extension developer's revenue\user-adoption is unimportant). Chrome's model is comparable to the security model of Android and iOS. Sure its not perfect, But its much better than the firefox model which is comparable to Windows 98.

Also i don't understand the whole shifting of responsibility jibe. Does Mozilla review every extension and every update in their store? Do they accept responsibility if malicious code is downloaded from their store?

To conclude , i would like firefox's stringent app review process _and_ chrome's fine-grained permissions and sandbox model.

Edit: I want to point out that this article is really looking after the interests of the developer, and not after the interests of the user.

Edit 2 : Also to add: Sandboxing is simply good security practice. Even if the author is not malicious, but in case an extension is exploited due to a bug, the damage done by a well-sandboxed extension is limited by the permissions granted. In firefox such an exploit could hoover all your data, credit card info & passwords from all your websites and data from you harddrive as well.

<comment><USER17> > Chrome is being completely honest with the user.

The article is not advocating otherwise.

A _lot_ of extensions need that permission, even though they only need it to do something much more specific. Adblock uses it to read (but not transmit) your webpages, and remove sections. Password managers use it to scan (but not transmit) webpage content, and fill certain form fields.

If there is a review process (which Firefox already has in place), then you can actually give out permissions like this. You can ensure that the data read from the webpage is never sent to the server, and useful things like that.

I believe the proposal for webextensions in Firefox is to have certain kinds of extensions get auto-approved, the ones which need simple, sandboxable permissions (not "read all my webpages"). Extensions that need more permissions will need review, and they can request semantic permissions instead of just "give me all your data and trust I don't do anything bad with it", which is bad and has already lead to issues in the past where a Chrome extension developer sells their extension which is then used to transmit malware.

> To conclude , i would like firefox's stringent app review process and > chrome's fine-grained permissions and sandbox model.

The article is proposing finer grained permissions than Chrome.

<comment><USER16> >A lot of extensions need that permission, even though they only need it to do something much more specific. Adblock uses it to read (but not transmit) your webpages, and remove sections. Password managers use it to scan (but not transmit) webpage content, and fill certain form fields.

Yes. But the user should be made aware of the consequence of their action. Do they realize that installing a password manager means granting access to all their data to a third party. Is this author reliable? What do other users think of the author? Has anyone reviewed the code for this? These are all questions potential users should ask.

>they can request semantic permissions instead of just "give me all your data and trust I don't do anything bad with it", which is bad and has already lead to issues in the past where a Chrome extension developer sells their extension which is then used to transmit malware.

A lot of things cannot be controlled either by review process or sandboxing. What if your extension has a web-component ( say your password manager backs up passwords to the cloud)? Mozilla cannot review your server code. A sandbox won't protect resources you have already given access to, but it will limit the damage done.

>The article is proposing finer grained permissions than Chrome.

I have reread the article and haven't found anything that backs this assertion. Indeed the author seems to say : Mozilla vouches for me, so you trust me with all your stuff too. From article :

'Wouldn't it be a better idea to keep doing that so that the installation prompt can simply say: "Hey, we made sure that this extension is doing what it says, want to install it?"'

Edit : I agree that some form of review is needed for extensions. Simple sandboxing alone is not enough. But article doesn't seem to support sandboxing.

<comment><USER17> > Yes. But the user should be made aware of the consequence of their action. > Do they realize that installing a password manager means granting access to > all their data to a third party. Is this author reliable? What do other > users think of the author? Has anyone reviewed the code for this? These are > all questions potential users should ask.

No. That is the point I and the article am making. If the addon store has a review process in place (again, Firefox has this), it is possible to verify that the password manager is not leaking data to the third party. The answer to "has anyone reviewed the code for this" is yes.

> What if your extension has a web-component ( say your password manager backs > up passwords to the cloud)? Mozilla cannot review your server code.

Yes, in which case they can say that it grants access to all your passwords. A password manager that encrypts it correctly won't need to. These are semantic permissions, so you can differentiate between the two.

> I have reread the article and haven't found anything that backs this > assertion. Indeed the author seems to say : Mozilla vouches for me, so you > trust me with all your stuff too. From article :

"For example, a reviewer could determine whether the extension is merely modifying webpage behavior or actually extracting data from it. " \-- this is _exactly_ more finer grained than "can access everything". Addons that don't need any sort of access permission can still be sandboxed to not be allowed to access them. It's not clearly spelt out in the article, but from what I've heard/read the system is planned to be something like "If you don't need any dangerous permissions, you don't need review and we will sandbox you. If you need something that can be abused, there will be a review component." This article proposes that the review component be used to further improve the UX of the permissions displayed to the user.

You bring up a valid point about trusting the reviewers. Remember that since this is more finer grained, Chrome's coarser machine-verifiable sandboxing permission levels will still exist underneath. It would be interesting to expose a mode where it shows the "if you don't trust the reviewers, these are the software-enforced permissions the app has".

> : Sandboxing is simply good security practice. Even if the author is not > malicious, but in case an extension is exploited due to a bug, the damage > done by a well-sandboxed extension is limited by the permissions granted. In > firefox such an exploit could hoover all your data, credit card info & > passwords from all your websites and data from you harddrive as well.

The article doesn't say it's going to avoid sandboxing. It's building a finer- grained semantic system on top of the existing review process and sandboxing system.

> Edit: I want to point out that this article is really looking after the > interests of the developer, and not after the interests of the user.

How? An addon review process is explicitly worse for developers. This article is all about exposing better UX for permissions, for the user. So that they don't get desensitized to overly broad permission requests.

I feel that you're lacking some context on the proposal here; but I'm not sure what.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> One concrete privacy improvement is to identify subsets of existing functionality that are widely used and can be mapped to a separate permission, or no permission. Then, most extension writers can request that specific permission.

An example is Safari's content blocker API. They've designed it so well that the content blocker doesn't know what it's blocking, or what sites you're visiting. Apple didn't merely reduce the amount of private information collected; they eliminated it.

Another example is iOS, where a permission is needed to access all contacts, but if you just want to pick a content (say to share a document), you can invoke the system picker without needing a permission.

The web needs to adopt such privacy-sensitive subsets of permissions in addition to a blank cheque "access all data on all sites".

Disclosure: I work for Google, but not on Chrome.

</comment><comment><USER19> Even if they copy the warnings verbatim, I'd like to at least suggest adapting some sort of icon set. Preferably with color coding: yellow for frequently requested permissions, red for infrequently requested permissions.

Anything really, that let's you know at glance what you're about to install, without having to read a bullet point list.

Colors are fine but unique icons would be even better. If it potentially affects user's privacy anything but a scary looking big brother eye would be inappropriate.

See for example Facebook's permission dialog from 2010: [https://hyuz.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/gsh-1427.jpg](https://hyuz.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/gsh-1427.jpg)

The article mentions that CWS's users rely on reputation. That is 100% true. You basically have to go into at least the Review section to see if there are any 'surprises' included inside. There was a time you couldn't install a mouse gesture extension without compromising your privacy.

The scary part is all your extensions are self-updating. If the author doesn't change the permissions they can include a backdoor at any time.

I don't suggest they review the extensions manually. Instead what I would like to see, personally, is just a simple setting to only show open source extensions.

At least with AMO it's very simple to check the source of any extension you like. It's right there on the extension's page. Disabling automatic updates and reviewing the source code is something I've done in the past.

If you combine an easily accessible source _and_ a comment section this alone will increase security by a significant margin.

<comment><USER3> > If it potentially affects user's privacy anything but a scary looking big > brother eye would be inappropriate.

Well, what permissions don't?

<comment><USER19> I meant anything that let's the extension leak any data. Contacting 3rd-party servers, modifying DOM etc. I suppose more granular permissions might be required here.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> As extension developer, it is easier to request "Access all web sites data" at the beginning. The alternative for using optional (host origin) permissions have to deal with complex UI workflows and often ask user to grant permission that is already granted - due to Chrome bug not fixes for years[1].

1\. [https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=310815](https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=310815)

</comment><comment><USER21> Chrome's permissions are not a panacea, but this article doesn't provide a convincingly better alternative.

"code review" doesn't scale, especially at the level of a nonprofit, when users are submitting their own add-ons. It may be that code review has a role (it's a compelling argument), but knowing exactly what an add-on is doing is really important.

One way in which it _could_ be better: instead of "internet access" as a unit, provide a whitelist of sites the app can access. And, if the privileges change in any way, flag it for human review and maybe even reset the review count.

<comment><USER22> Mozilla Corporation has over 1000 employees and the same kind of perks and accoutrements of other Bay Area tech companies. The amount of revenue they've received through business partnerships is measured in the billions of USD. They sponsor events at hip venues with open bars and party-like atmospheres.

The picture of an overworked and frail non-profit has been out of date for nearly a decade now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> > _In fact, lots of confused users asked why Adblock Plus needed this > permission and whether it was spying on them. And we explained that the > process of blocking ads is in fact what Chrome describes as changing data on > all websites._

Sounds to me that the permissions prompt is doing exactly what it should be doing, informing users what the extension can do.

Sure it would be fun if there was a qualified code review process which could gather all necessary permissions from the code, but with bigger extensions this would take days or weeks to get right and unless you can get money out of your extension that is a long wait. Like, I've made couple extensions I've wanted and when I get them done and uploaded I just want to show them off to few friends and install it myself. These are very much spur of a moment things, if I had to wait through rounds and rounds of codereview and questions about my code I probably couldn't be arsed to create extensions.

<comment><USER17> Note that Firefox has had this process for years, for addons with far more power than what Chrome gets you. Sure, it is tedious and could be improved, but the model works.

Also, I don't think you will have to go through review for extensions not requesting dangerous permissions. For some definition of dangerous :)

(I wonder if both models could be implemented simultaneously -- unreviewed extensions with "use at own risk" warnings, and reviewed ones with fine- grained semantic permissions)

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> I don't see much sense in a allow-or-it-doesn't run permission/capabilities model. If there is not a option for "make the app/extensions believe it has a capability, but it does not" I don't have more choices then before: Install or not install.

A extension could for example ask for a GPS location. I'd like to able to send to app some nonsense data and use it.

</comment><comment><USER25> The whole point about code review could change with the upcoming adoption of WebAssembly. A lot of add-on developers will definitely start to protect their source code. Especially for addons that do something shady, e.g. tracking users' behavior.

</comment><comment><USER26> Why? They shouldn't be copying chrome's extensions in the first place.

<comment><USER17> More like building a much more powerful, standardized, extensions API that is backwards compatible with chrome extensions (which offer relatively limited tools)

It isn't copying, all the browsers want a standardized extensions system and they have agreed on using Chrome as a starting point.

<comment><USER26> More powerful? I though chrome's API was stupidly limited which is why firefox had better extensions (all of which they want to throw out).

<comment><USER17> That is not the case. Chrome's API is just a base. The proposal is to be able to handle most of Firefox's add-on ecosystem IIRC. The code would have to change, but the functionality would be the same.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about Firefox's switch to web extensions. Existing add-ons aren't going to be obsoleted immediately ; rather new apis will be added first, and then they will be asked to switch.

Currently Firefox add-ons often hook directly into the browser, which is hard to keep secure and makes it hard to evolve the browser.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> > Also, Adblock Plus could also read data as a side-effect, but it doesn't do > anything like that of course. The latter isn't because the permission system > stops Adblock Plus from doing it, but simply because we are good people (and > we also formulated this very restrictive privacy policy).

Sure everyone believes you. Such an honest and genuine person.

<comment><USER28> > Sure everyone believes you. Such an honest and genuine person.

I think that this sarcastic tone is unproductive, but the downvotes are a shame, as it's true that there have been ethical issues with ABP in the past:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adblock_Plus#Controversy_over_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adblock_Plus#Controversy_over_ad_filtering_and_ad_whitelisting)

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> Mozilla copying chrome, and gnome copying osx: the two things that convinced me that software patents may not even be a bad thing.

enough with being a copycat of every dumb decision just because the author have market share.

and of course I joke on the software patents thing. but we need something that can stop this sabotage of popular projects from within. I may have had time to contribute in the past but nobody can policy or fork every project.

</comment><comment><USER30> I once asked a Mozilla developer why does Firefox display "Adobe Flash plugin blocked on this page" notification when the page apparently doesn't use Flash at all and choosing either option (allow/block) doesn't impede its functionality or change the appearance whatsoever.

The developer replied there are Flash cookies being set and it's possible an attack could come through them. When I asked if he knows about any such case happening, the answer was no. Then what is the purpose of bothering the user about an attack vector if the attack is merely theoretical?

My conclusion was that software products normally stimulate adoption by offering useful features but Firefox deviated from this attitude and adopted what I call "avoidance of annoyance" – the user has to upgrade to the latest version to avoid being annoyed by incessant popups and notifications that can only be delayed but never permanently removed.

The irony is that updating to the latest version of Firefox will get rid of the previous generation of notifications while bringing a new cycle, thus ensuring users are constantly kept in a state of anguish and frustration that will keep them updating for the sake of updating.

<comment><USER31> > When I asked if he knows about any such case happening, the answer was no. > Then what is the purpose of bothering the user about an attack vector if the > attack is merely theoretical?

I'm not OK with the philosophy of "let's not fix any security holes until we find someone actively exploiting them".

<comment><USER30> You are using quotation marks as if though I said those words.

quote (kwəut) verb 1\. to repeat the exact words of a person as they were said or written.

My point was about not giving the user enough information _to make an informed decision_ yet demanding a decision anyway.

<comment><USER32> It's still not clear to me. Are you suggesting that uses not be notified of a potential yet not verified security hole or not?

<comment><USER30> In short, I would like to see Firefox _empower and inform_ its users.

The current implementation of the Adobe Flash plugin warning does neither, and by the looks of it, add-on permissions mentioned in the OP will be the same.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


How a single, brilliant page can boost your conversions by 150-300% - <AUTHOR> http://threadling.com/

<comment><USER2> None of this means anything without advertising. Just because we live in a new era of digital content distribution doesn't change a centuries old rule of sales: get them in the door.

I read your article because I have a very non-traditional landing page. I drop you right into the main menu of my application. I do this mostly because I have users who I am supporting who _do_ already know what my app is about and I want to make it the best possible experience for them (which includes me). And that means my site takes you right to work, no waiting for my sales page to load when all you want to do is log in.

After having spent a little on advertising, the hits are coming in. It's a pretty clear, linear relationship: money out, visitors in. My bounce rate is pretty high, though my returning user count is slowly growing. I get it. My app is pretty niche and like I said, I have no meaningful landing page for a raw user.

But after reading your article, it reminded me of that sales axiom, and I am now sticking to my landing page. I might do some pop-up hints for new users, but I see my job now as getting them in the door and using the product as quickly as possible.

For other people reading this, I get as much traffic commenting on a relevant LifeHacker article or HN post with my link (which I'm not going to provide here, you can find it easily enough, this isn't about me right now) as I get out of $25 of Google AdWords. There you go, actionable information. If I want more clicks than said LifeHacker article, then I spend $25. If I don't feel like spending $25 today, then I go trawling the internet and find somewhere to foist my link. This tends to find me in the range of 100 to 150 visitors, with about 1% returning and spending significant time on the site.

I think that is important because it gives me a clear trade-off line. If I spent $75 - 100/day on Google AdWords, I wouldn't be able to match the effort with my own postings on social sites, not unless I did it full time. And it works while I sleep, I don't have to stay on top of pages and refresh it over and over again. I don't know how much that is in the grand scheme of things, and I don't yet have the ability to spend quite that much on advertising. But I have a benchmark now and I can work from it.

There, 25% as much as you wrote and at least 300% more information.</comment>


Ask HN: Anyone in New York City? - <AUTHOR>

Howdy all, Just moved back home to NYC and have been going to some of the tech and entrepreneur meet-ups, but would be eager to meet more people in the area! Anyone else in NYC? Josh <comment><USER2> I'm in New York! Search google for hacker news meetup nyc. We usually meet once a month!

Edit: not easy to find like that. <http://groups.google.com/group/nyyc>

<comment><USER3> Thought about moving this to something like meetup.com ?

<comment><USER2> It's not mine. I'm not sure if they have or not... All invites are sent out through Anyvite.com though.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Just moved to Boston, but check out the NY Tech Meetup:

<http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/>

</comment><comment><USER5> I'll be getting final details out this week, but there is going to be a mini- NoSQL event in NY October 5, in Chelsea.

</comment><comment><USER6> I'm in North Jersey, but in the city a few days a week with clients. I'd definitely be interested in meeting up for drinks with people.

</comment><comment><USER7> Hey Josh, I'm in NYC working on a startup and would be interested in talking to you. Feel free to hit me up at jason at awwthor.com

</comment><comment><USER8> Central NJ, but the trains make it very easy to get to NYC. PM me... wait, do we have PM on HN?

</comment><comment><USER9> I'm in NYC. Right by Shake Shack. There's a monthly HN meetup that's always good

</comment><comment><USER10> In Hartford, can easily head to both New York City or Boston.

</comment><comment><USER11> I live in the city. HN nyc drinks night anyone?

</comment><comment><USER12> I'm in Hoboken, NJ...not too far from NYC.

<comment><USER13> Yeah Hoboken...

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Out in post-industrial Bushwick.

</comment><comment><USER15> Office in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

</comment><comment><USER16> I live in Brooklyn.

</comment><comment><USER17> I'm in Queens.

</comment><comment><USER18> In Boston here, been looking for a meetup for a while! we should organize one

<comment><USER19> In Cambridge/Central Square. Perhaps we can coordinate something on meetup for Boston. rcmorin [at] gmail

<comment><USER18> sent an email</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: What do you think of our app? - <AUTHOR>

Looking for feedback on our app that migrates contacts (soon other data) between iPhone (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/migration+/id486135879?ls=1&mt=8) and Android (http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intuvio.migrationplus).  We just submitted a corresponding Blackberry app yesterday and it's pending release. <comment><USER2> I think that is a good idea. I did a switch not to long ago that was kinda hacky to get it to work. I went from iPhone to android then back to iPhone. I def. lost some data in the process and this was at least 1.5 years ago so we didn't have some of the things we have now to make it as easy to transfer contacts or other data.

When you say other data, what kind of data we talkin?</comment>


The Not-So-Universal Language of Laughter - anand-s https://research.facebook.com/blog/1605690073053884/the-not-so-universal-language-of-laughter/

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm surprised "lol" is so uncommon... only 1.9%. I see it more often than haha I think... Also no mention of rofl? Or lmao? Or kekeke? Odd...

And by emoji, do they mean the Japanese ones? Because smileys and emoticons existed long before emoji...

Maybe the facebook users are different than the internet crowd I know (mostly forums).

<comment><USER2> I'm sad they didn't show how many people use "teeheehee." I don't know when I started that habit but now I'm using it occasionally.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> I wonder about geographical and global (that is different countries and languages) effects. In my experience the 'hehe' or even 'eheh' is a much more common European statement than the 'haha' of the Anglophone world. I know Facebook restricted themselves to the US, but a global study would be very interesting...

</comment><comment><USER4> It doesn't say whether Private Messages were analysed, assuming not.

What's frustrating about PMs at the moment on FB is that only on the mobile apps is it easy to use emojis. The smiley-face link on the messenger.com interface & the facebook.com domains only provide a choice of "stickers" (which are awful). So unless you know the keyboard shortcuts off-heart you're stuck using plaintext.

<comment><USER2> It does say this as a footnote:

       "We limit this study to posts and comments and do not look at direct messages through Messenger."

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I'd love to know why Wyoming, of all places, appears to use _only_ emoji. Or is this just a lack of data issue in the least populous state?

<comment><USER6> Yeah, probably a job for De Moivre's equation. I heartily recommend this chapter on it, covers similar geographical effects: [http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s8863.pdf](http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s8863.pdf)

<comment><USER7> Stability is a great way to counter this effect. If a county goes up and down the cancer rate chart then it's probably statistical noise. However, if it's steadily at the top every decade for 50 years that's likely to have an cause. Even if it's just an older than normal population.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> "You might have noticed that we cut the plot at 20 letters, but as with any behavior on the Internet, there is a long tail of laughter lengths. Our automatic regular expression parser gave up after trying to get through a haha over 600 letters long! Computers have a long way to go before they can truly understand the human condition. We weren't laughing that day."

</comment><comment><USER9> The absence of usenet's "MTN" and "ROTFLMAO" made me wistful.

</comment><comment><USER10> Curious that the violin plot is most smooth for the least used expression (lol)

</comment><comment><USER11> Very funny. Hihi</comment>


Uber's Travis Kalanick punches back against the Benchmark lawsuit targeting him - <AUTHOR> http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-travis-kalanick-benchmark-20170818-story.html <comment><USER2> It's not just Shervin Pishevar that wants Benchmark off the board. Ron Burkle (Yucaipa Cos) and Adam Leber (Maverick) also penned the letter requesting that they divest.

<comment><USER3> They should sue Benchmark but use the same lawyers, as to not crowd the building. It's in the Tenderloin and it's kinda sketch outside, day or night.

<comment><USER4> Uber is certainly not in the Tenderloin, it's closer to Hayes Valley or Skid Row.

<comment><USER5> That's where the Wine Connoisseurs hang out on the sidewalks!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I have to wonder...

I've seen the inside of a court room a few times, it's really not my favourite past time. Maybe civil is more fun than criminal.

What I'm getting at is, wouldn't you rather go skiing, or hiking, or hanging out with friends or family. Or whatever your thing is.

Wouldn't you, at some point, just think "righteo, this ain't that fun, let's just agree to something already"? Or do these things take on a life of their own and sweep you away with them? Or are people really just that keen to prove how right they are?

Do you think anyone, on their death bed thinks "I wish I'd spent more time sueing the pants off everyone."

<comment><USER7> I think it's more of a sunk cost thing. Like gosh I've spent the last 8 waking years to get to this place. I'm not letting these investors screw me over. Even if he goes skiing or hiking, or hanging out with friends or family its going to gnaw at him for the rest of his life.

<comment><USER8> i get what your saying, but want to add some precision:

1) using the term "sunk cost" is not quite correct here - sunk cost implies that the future value doesn't justify continued investment. in this case, it's likely that further investment (in time and cost of this court case) results in billions of dollars in value to one or both of the litigants. it's in fact very rational to pursue this litigation because there is real monetary gain at stake (and not simply the face-saving variety).

2) there's a fairness issue at play: "i did the work so i should get the reward.", or "i provided the money, so i should get the reward." you have to balance these two impulses fairly, not just for this case, but for future iterations of the game (in the game theory sense). for future iterations, it is "worth" applying a punishment now (in the form of an expensive court case) so that future rewards are meted out fairly as well.

<comment><USER9> If we're going to have pedantry, lets make sure we have correct pedantry.

"sunk cost" just means that a cost has been paid, and it's non-recoverable. When it comes up, it's usually to point out that only the future cost and benefits matter when making a decision.

<comment><USER8> not seeing the disagreement... what's at odds here?

<comment><USER10> Perhaps this line? 'implies that the future value doesn't justify continued investment'

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Good for Travis and for founders in general.

He probably is the guy to run a business like Uber. In an industry rife with corruption that often resorts to bully tactics, you need someone who will not bend on vision and principles because of personal threats.

He could have sat back and avoided a public smear capaign and retire to nice life as a billionaire. Instead he choose to fight for what he believes is right.

One has to believe that given the options for him, the choice to resist is not about money for him. It maybe about ego and his desire to change the course of history, but the latter is probably good for Uber if he gets to stay on.

<comment><USER12> We're seeing some of his principles are what landed Uber in this situation in the first place. So I'd be more careful with idolizing him. This is not the first or last drama from Uber. There are many other companies having similar impact in the world (or better) without using illegal methods.

<comment><USER13> Who do you mean "we"?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> I can only imagine the morale of the Uber employees at the moment.

<comment><USER15> A few uber employees showed up in a thread yesterday and showed support for Kalanick. One employee comment i found interesting wrote:

 _Travis had a deep empathy for the challenges of building successful products, and would offer tremendous grace and thoughtful advice to his team solving problems in the trenches. When projects went sideways, and we presented numbers that were less than stellar, Travis was both empathetic and optimistic while offering actionable guidance and a path forward. "Bro culture" is a loaded term and the wrong one to describe the environment Travis cultivated. He had tremendous focus on the problems at hand and pushed his team to operate with a sense of urgency to solve them. If anything I think he cared too much about each individual problem, which propelled his teams forward but sometimes left him too deep in the details of his business rather than focusing on the big picture._

<comment><USER16> Interesting. For me the strange part is that it's written like a eulogy.

<comment><USER17> As in it leaves out any bad parts?

<comment><USER15> Well, I think most people are already aware of the bad parts (which was very apparent context of the original thread).</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Is Pulse.me Stealing Content With Backing And Support From Microsoft? - <AUTHOR> http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyclay/2012/08/09/is-pulse-me-stealing-content-with-backing-and-support-from-microsoft/

<comment><AUTHOR> Pulse just acknowledged in the comments they are actively scraping RSS feeds from publicly available content (in addition to partnerships with some publications) - which is usually a violation of copyright law.

<comment><USER2> If Pulse is in fact violating copyright law (not saying they are), how is it a violation when it's behind a password protected user account, but not when it's behind an app that requires authentication to access?

<comment><USER3> WSJ content for example was behind a pay wall. But the difference is really that before they were an "app" running as a browser. Now they are a Website republishing the content.

The user experience may be the same, but the difference is equivalent to the difference between cutting a picture out of a magazine an pasting it on your wall, and taking a picture out of a magazine, scanning, it and publishing it to your website.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Interesting read! Thanks for the info, Kelly!

</comment><comment><USER3> Pulse is gorgeous but, it is just Tiles.js with a readability scraper.</comment>


Latitudes not Attitudes: How Geography Explains History - <AUTHOR> http://www.historytoday.com/ian-morris/latitudes-not-attitudes-how-geography-explains-history?utm_source=History+Today&utm_campaign=bfc15ff197-November_Newsletter&utm_medium=email <comment><USER2> ___The past shows that, while geography shapes the development of societies,_ __

I wonder if Morris has read UC Davis economist Greg Clark's material?

"In my recent book, A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World I argue two things. First that all societies remained in a state I label the "Malthusian economy" up until the onset of the Industrial Revolution around 1800. In that state crucially the economic laws governing all human societies before 1800 were those that govern all animal societies. Second that was thus subject to natural selection throughout the Malthusian era, even after the arrival of settled agrarian societies with the Neolithic Revolution.

The Darwinian struggle that shaped human nature did not end with the Neolithic Revolution but continued right up until the Industrial Revolution. But the arrival of settled agriculture and stable property rights set natural selection on a very different course. It created an accelerated period of evolution, rewarding with reproductive success a new repertoire of human behaviors – patience, self-control, passivity, and hard work – which consequently spread widely.

And we see in England, from at least 1250, that the kind of people who succeeded in the economic system – who accumulated assets, got skills, got literacy – increased their representation in each generation. Through the long agrarian passage leading up to the Industrial Revolution man was becoming biologically more adapted to the modern economic world. Modern people are thus in part a creation of the market economies that emerged with the Neolithic Revolution. Just as people shaped economies, the pre-industrial economy shaped people. This has left the people of long settled agrarian societies substantially different now from our hunter gatherer ancestors, in terms of culture, and likely also in terms of biology. We are also presumably equivalently different from groups like Australian Aboriginals that never experience the Neolithic Revolution before the arrival of the English settlers in 1788."

The Domestication of Man: The Social Implications of Darwin

[http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2010/07/social- darwinism-21st-c...](http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2010/07/social- darwinism-21st-century-edition.html)</comment>


Ask YC: Those using PHP, what do you use for talking to your database (MySQL)? - <AUTHOR>

Say, for example, you're working with MySQL. Are you using the mysql/mysqli_* functions, PDO's drivers, ADOdb, etc? Or perhaps an ORM like Doctrine or Propel? I'm just curious to see what others are using, as there are a lot of choices out there. <comment><USER2> The regular mysql functions, except I made a wrapper for mysql_query to abort on an error, so I don't have to type that every time. But my wrapper explicitly allows you to use the regular mysql_query function if you want. I hate wrappers that hide the underlying system.

I don't wrap the mysql_fetch* functions because that slows them down (lots of string copying). Plus, they don't need it.

I also like:

      function ms($string) {
        return "'" . mysql_real_escape_string($string) . "'";
      }

Very helpful for preventing sql injections, it's so short to type that I always remember to use it. And by including the quote marks right in it I don't have to go nuts escaping the quotes in the outer query.

If you use mysqli you don't need this - use bind variables instead.

<comment><USER3> I use this to clean all my strings:

private function clean_string($string, $strip_tags = true) {

         if (!strlen($string)) return NULL;

         if (get_magic_quotes_gpc()) $string = stripslashes($string);

         if($strip_tags)
    	$string = strip_tags($string);

         if (!is_numeric($string)) {
             $string = mysql_escape_string($string);
         }

         return $string;

}

Edit: You only need to use mysql_real_escape_string if you are inserting binary data or need to use database character sets. mysql_real_escape_string also requires a mysql connection and link identifier.

<comment><USER4>
      private function clean_string($string, $strip_tags = true,$empty_null = true) {
        if (!strlen($string) and $empty_null) return NULL;
        if($strip_tags)
          $string = strip_tags($string);

        return get_magic_quotes_gpc() ? mysql_escape_string(stripslashes($string)) : mysql_escape_string($string);
      }

This is most likely faster because you're not changing the memory so frequently. In this is_numeric isn't needed because it'd just slow things down. It's really good practice to use mysql_real_escape_string, but I respect this way for simplicity's sake.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> ADODB. I've used PDO as well (which is slightly faster), but I found ADO to be a little more robust. Also supports memchached out of the box.

<comment><USER6> ADODB also has the excellent feature of a shorthand, generalized SQL format that's incredibly useful for specifying cross-platform schema.

We use this in the Mantis project to define a list of sequential schema definitions, which then gets applied one-by-one to generate or upgrade an installation's database, and it works on MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL, Oracle, and DB2.

<comment><USER7> nothing against adodb but if mantis is any clue it doesn't solve this problem. I've tried installing postgres in mantis and it was a no go due to known bugs, related to the area of schema definitions.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I used PDO a lot at my last job; it's one of the decisions I regret. Whenever I tried to do anything somewhat advanced, it had a tendency to segfault. Especially bothersome to track were segfaults due to leaving a statement open: at least through 5.1.6, PHP destroys objects at end-of-request in order by creation, and PDO doesn't like having the connection destroyed before its statements.

At my current place, I inherited a badly-designed wrapper class around OO- style mysqli (and stored procedures); the mysqli part seems to be pretty good.

</comment><comment><USER3> I use a custom object wrapper around the mysql functions

</comment><comment><USER9> Zend Framework's Zend_Db is nice - usually something like

       $select = $db->select();
       $select->from( 'T_Shirt' );
       $select->where( 'something = ?', $a );

And so on. You still have to write queries longhand if you're doing something more complex that a few joins, but Zend_Db is pretty handy.

</comment><comment><USER10> I have used the basic mysqli functions everyone uses in past projects but for my latest I started using mysqli prepared statements. I don't have benchmarks but they're supposed to be faster and more secure:

<http://devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/686>

</comment><comment><USER11> For me it depends entirely on the project. If it is a tiny little thing I'm going to be finished with in an hour I might use the mysql/mysqli functions. For larger projects I've used MDB2 until fairly recently. I've been playing around with ZF for the past few months though and have been using Zend_Db.

</comment><comment><USER12> In recent projects, PDO.

Prior, used a custom object wrapper around the mysql functions — and it would be really simple change to swap out a different DB platform as all DB calls are abstracted and located in one class file...

</comment><comment><USER13> I'm currently using DB_DataObject.

But am considering switching to Zend or CodeIgniter.

DB_DataObject is working fine for now (it's lightweight, and I had it working pretty quickly). Saves time without getting in the way.

</comment><comment><USER14> We're using the Symfony Framework, and connect using the Propel ORM. To be frank, I'm no longer happy with the Propel ORM - I find it quite inefficient. Sigh.

Anyone else using Propel?

<comment><USER15> We're using Symfony as well, and it's been quite wonderful. Fitting into the framework took some time, but its abstraction allowed us to move from mysql to posgresql for testing, and then back to mysql without much thought at all. Also, optimizing queries for a specific database is fairly simple.

Propel has been a bit of a kludge at times, but it does a decent job. We're experimenting with 1.3 and Doctrine to evaluate our migration path however.

Anything that's hit you as particularly inefficient?

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> I'm using CakePHP's ORM.

<comment><USER17> same here

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> When using plain PHP I just the mysqli functions. The project I am working on now is using Codeigniter, so I am using it's ORM.

</comment><comment><USER19> mysql/mysqli calls inside my model classes.

I would say it does depend on the size of the project, so far I've only written small/medium projects built from scratch. I haven't had any reason to regret that decision yet, the code is simple, easy to read, maintain, and optimize.

<comment><USER20> You will regret that decision when you have to move your app to a different database. The only reason that PDO, ADO, etc. stuff exists is because the built-in database functions are platform-specific and totally inconsistent with one another.

<comment><USER21> Why do people always assume that you will move your application to a different DBMS at some point?

<comment><USER22> Even if you've no plans to, be able to is a useful discipline and keeps your code clean. For years I worked on a Solaris project that we also maintained a build for that no-one used on NT. But when a customer wanted an AIX version, it took as long to produce one as it did to find an AIX box to compile it on.

Same is true of databases. There are things that people don't even think about if they've only ever used one database. What's your DB's lock escalation strategy? Are cursors cheap or expensive? What kinds of indexes _don't_ you have, and could any of them ever be useful? And so on...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> Active Record via CodeIgniter for me!

<comment><USER24> Likewise.

Their version of Active Record isn't the same as those from other frameworks, but we use the built-in one from Code Igniter. There's another floating around that's closer to the RoR style.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> I use Kohana's ORM, which fully supports its Active Record query builder system.

</comment><comment><USER26> check out the ORM in phreeze: <http://www.phreeze.com>

its excellent, and the framework itself is pretty snappy.

</comment><comment><USER27> typically through whichever active record type interface provided to me by the framework i'm using.

</comment><comment><USER28> PDO is good.

</comment><comment><USER29> PDO</comment>


Show HN: WhereTheyAt – Map of your friends based on shared Facebook data - <AUTHOR> http://www.wherethey.at

<comment><USER2> I wish I'd had this each and every time I've moved. It would have been helpful to know where my friends are living. What a cool map!

</comment><comment> wen-kai Great idea! I like the simplicity. This will be nice to connect with fellow travelers and rekindle friendships while traveling.

</comment><comment><USER3> This pretty neat. More useful to seeing who is where than the timeline.

</comment><comment><USER4> Whoa, I have a lot of friends traveling in Europe right now.</comment>


2D multiplayer game Soldat open sourced - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/Soldat/soldat <comment><USER2> So much fun on LAN:s haha! :D Only "negative" thing with good internet connection.</comment>


Command-line CSS spriting  - <AUTHOR> http://www.phpied.com/command-line-css-spriting/ <comment><USER2> The basic idea works, but note that

        cmd `ls`
        cmd `ls *png`

should be written as

        cmd *
        cmd *.png

</comment><comment><USER3> I'd been passively hoping for a command-line image spriting tool for a while, so this is great.

But I don't need it anymore. I've discovered @chriseppstein's fabulous Compass. Now you don't even need a command line — you can sprite directly in your (s)css!

[http://beta.compass- style.org/reference/compass/helpers/spri...](http://beta.compass- style.org/reference/compass/helpers/sprites/)

(This version isn't stable yet, so install with `gem install compass --pre`. Actually, not sure if this feature is stable yet or not, but the beta version of Compass rocks.)

<comment><USER4> Also worth checking out:

\- for flexibility, the CSS Sprite gem (<https://github.com/flyerhzm/css_sprite>)

\- for ease of use, the Lemonade gem (<https://github.com/hagenburger/lemonade>)

<comment><USER5> Lemonade has actually been rolled into compass in the beta. It is highly recommended to use the compass beta over the lemonade gem now.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> If you're going to use a tool to do your spriting, you might as well go all the way and data-uri inline your images. Spriting is a leaky abstraction that only exists today because the recipe for getting them working in old IE is complex enough that it needs to be automated.

</comment><comment><USER7> No love for ImageMagick "montage"?

<http://www.imagemagick.org/script/montage.php>

<http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/montage>

</comment><comment><USER8> I just made one of these in Python: <https://github.com/bradjasper/sprite/blob/master/sprite>

Currently it only does fixed-width sprites, but handles the generation of CSS for you.

</comment><comment><USER9> You may not have too much control over the positioning of the sprite parts, but that's minor.

Can't wait to use this!

<comment><USER10> Sure you do. Imagemagick can do almost anything.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> What browsers do support this? Do it break when the user changes font size, as I've read somewhere?

</comment><comment><USER12> <http://spriteme.org/></comment>


Ask HN: Is there demand for super wide generalists? - <AUTHOR> As a web developer I feel like I get paid probably unreasonably well for a specific skill while I have a whole bucket of skills off to the side which languish. It's starting to feel more and more unfulfilling to me as I go on yet its hard for me to imagine who would really be able to benefit from such a super wide skill set.
Quick history: I graduated with a degree in economics during the great recession but taught myself ruby and Javascript based web dev because I perceived it to be a more lucrative career and have been working as a developer for 10 years ever since . So I feel pretty in tune with a large range of tech after programming for 10 years but on the other hand, I've always stayed well versed in macro economics, especially international trade and monetary policy.
Off to the side of that I have a decent understanding of how financial markets work to the point where I can hold reasonably deep conversations with friends in finance and have some personal experience trading.
Off to the side of that, I started flipping houses in my spare time and learned not only about plumbing, electrical and carpentry but also about sales, accounting project management, architecture and interior design.
So to sum it up I've picked up a mix of
-programming and technical product development
- understanding of financial markets and many macro econ topics
- light but non trivial knowledge of several different trades
- the hard and soft skill picked up on the real estate transactions
- all sorts of other little skill all over the place
Im not trying to be cocky here, my skills in each of these areas are each drastically worse than the people who focus on them full time (hopefully with the exception of the tech stuff) but I was wondering if anyone has found ways to use super broad skill sets like these. The only thing that comes to mind is maybe niche areas of finance but I wouldn't even be sure where to look and I wouldnt be sure how to pitch my experience.
Any thoughts or similar experiences would be appreciated. <comment><USER2> Have a look at "T shaped" skills and see where that takes you. I know Microsoft looks at this when team building so they have wide breadth in addition to specific depth.

Also, if you have time, there is a fantastic book on this subject "Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World", by David Epstein.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com.au/Range-Generalists-Triumph- Speciali...](https://www.amazon.com.au/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized- World/dp/0735214484)

</comment><comment><USER3> So what do you want to do with your life? If you want to be a contractor, or independent developer, then keep doing what you are doing. If you have dreams of management the keep up the generalist.</comment>


Ask HN: How would you monetize a reasonably popular free service? - <AUTHOR> I built and run Reqres - A hosted REST-API ready to respond to your AJAX requests (https://reqres.in/) - a free tool for developers. It receives millions of requests a month (this is the devs using the tool), and the homepage itself gets 20-30k unique visitors a month.
I run ads on the homepage which generates $200-300/month.
I'm looking to add a Pro tier to the service to start generating monthly income (through subscriptions) from it. I have a mailing list of ~200 people who clicked "I'm interested in the Pro tier" button, and sent them a survey to try and dig into exactly what devs would want from a Pro tier. I got 4 responses back.
What would you do to find out what people want from a Pro tier? Would you even add a Pro tier? How would you monetize this free service?
Would love to hear your thoughts: email@example.com
(I have this PDF linked to on the homepage: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2w7gaeydx02qs40/Reqres_Advertising_Proposal.pdf?dl=0, which I had a company trial it for one month, but decided the fee wasn't worth the CPA they got from clickthroughs) <comment><USER2> Developer-focused, non-tracking advertising, directly negotiated with software companies. You could even have the "fake" data returned be ads for companies, as long as it complies with the response format (so name could be the brand's name, URL can be the link to the advertised product, etc).

</comment><comment><USER3> I would offer custom endpoint.

I would have a free tier with registration.

basically it maps matches X to Y.

if I post/get etc. X you return Y.

They can add 10 examples for free with registration.

with XYZ request per month

Then add a paid tier which offer more and then an enterpise tier.

Maybe also add a feature request button

<comment><USER3> paid tier could have multiple projects/more request.

And the ability to add wild cards.

{ "name": *, "job": "leader" }</comment></comment>


Hacker Foods: Hard Boiled Eggs - <AUTHOR> http://johnhostile.github.com/2013-01-27/hacker-foods-hard-boiled-eggs/

<comment><USER2> Getting it done right is the easy part. Any foodhackers have a technique to get the shell off easily?

<comment><USER3> Dunk the eggs into cold water after they're done and still hot. I'm not exactly sure what the physics is, but this separated the shell from the egg white for me sufficiently.

<comment><USER4> This. I've also heard a little bit of baking soda in the water helps separate the egg from it's shell but I haven't much luck with it.

I cook at least a dozen eggs a week with this thing

[http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-64802-Microwave- Boiler/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-64802-Microwave- Boiler/dp/B0007M2BN0)

Getting the timing right with your microwave is key, but there is no clean up and they cook perfect every time.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Some good information for the geek at home.</comment>


Why Don't We Just Kill All the Mosquitoes? - <AUTHOR> http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/07/why-dont-we-just-kill-all-the-mosquitoes/277859/

<comment><USER2> A good way to reduce the population is get rid of stagnant water. Anything that can collect water and is just lying around uncovered is a mosquito farm.</comment>