PixelPals – Collaborative pixel art canvas - <AUTHOR> https://eternalthinker.github.io/pixelpals

<comment><USER2> Ok that was fun.

       var socket = new Firebase("https://pixelpals-server.firebaseio.com/public");
       var w = 150;
       var h = 120;
       var randColor = function(){
       	return '#'+Math.floor(Math.random()*16777215).toString(16);
       };
       for(var i = 0 ; i < h; i++){
       	for(var j = 0 ; j < w ; j++){
       		socket.child(i*w + j).set(i%2 ? randColor() : '#000');
       	}
       }

.. sorry

<comment><USER3> You can even draw the Mona Lisa on it : [http://pastebin.com/TUsqeMWT](http://pastebin.com/TUsqeMWT)

(You need to expose the pixelCanvas globally first using a break point or something)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> The demo page is quite anarchic but it's a fun concept. Given a goal there would probably be more incentive for random users to work together on something.

</comment><comment><USER5> A metaphor of the tragedy of the commons. Try to draw something and it's quite quickly overwritten by some wild person just spinning the cursor.

</comment><comment><USER6> Awesome! I already have a couple of ideas on how to use this as a teambuilding tool. Thanks for open-sourcing it!

</comment><comment><USER7> Right now it says "Penis Bro," "Shitcock," and also has a picture of a penis.

I'm shocked!

<comment><USER8> Still penises four hours later. As soon as I saw the link, I just _knew_ that's what I was going to see. Humans are very predictable.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Interesting, Chromium's network inspector does not show me how this transmits.

<comment><USER10> Yes, it does.

From the network inspector, click the one that says "web sockets"

Then select the entry from the list, looks something like ".ws?v=5&ns=pixelpals-server"

Then select frames from the 3 options "Headers Frames Cookies"

Should see the json data

<comment><USER9> Thanks! Even that does not update live though, I have to switch between the tabs to see the latest messages.</comment></comment></comment>


The names of the congress members who voted to sell your data - <AUTHOR> http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/29/15100620/congress-fcc-isp-web-browsing-privacy-fire-sale <comment><USER2> Good to see my great senator, Marco Rubio, is supporting the people's view. Then again I doubt the majority of Florida even knows about this...

</comment><comment><USER3> Hmm, notice how aria-sort isn't working for the TOTALS column? Anyone know how to get it to work properly?</comment>


Ask HN: Desktop push notifications - <AUTHOR> I have been looking to implement a private desktop push notification system. I have used signalR for a proof of concept, but I have read about long lived socket connections. Can anyone point me to resources on how to build such a notification system? I don't think signalR will scale, but the biggest problem is IIS app pool recycles and I loose all my connections. <comment><USER2> If using .net stack, why not self-host signalR in OWIN + windows service instead of IIS?

Although, you did not specify the type of traffic. So not sure if you'll have scaling issues. I've used SignalR as a self-hosted service for couple of in- house applications and it worked fine. Usually about 10-20 concurrent connections.

<comment><AUTHOR> I don't know much about windows services vs web applications. I will look into it thanks! Right now the traffic is minimal less than 10 connections, but it is an iot project so I want to know how to handle this at scale if the product catches on. It likely wont catch on but I would still like to know how to scale anyway to thousands of connections if not tens of thousands.

<comment><USER2> Window services are easy to build these days. There are quite a few excellent libraries that can make building a windows service very easy. Look at TopShelf. It's one of the best and one of the most popular libaries out there. Basically take your existing console app code and just drop it into a few methods. Easy to debug as well, since you can the same windows service as a console app while debugging.

Once you build out your service, it will act as a SignalR backend that will then communicate to a Signalr client code in a browser.

You can use .NET core to make all the above run cross-platform. In your case, for IOT devices powered by things like the RaspberryPi.</comment></comment></comment>


South Africa's Nelson Mandela dies - <AUTHOR> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25249520 <comment><USER2> Mandela reminds us that it's possible for a single man to create peace amidst a huge push for war. Forgiveness is the first step in changing a society, without it we are doomed to repeat the failures of our ancestors.

He continues to be an inspiration, particularly us Africans. Rest in peace Madiba.

<comment><USER3> Do not allow liberals to sanitise history. Mandela was a symbol of non- peaceful resistance and of the progress that it can bring.

<comment><USER4> > Mandela was a symbol of non-peaceful resistance

Yes, and:

"Umkhonto we Sizwe (translated as "Spear of the Nation") was the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), co-founded by _Nelson Mandela_ , fought against the South African government....

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe)

Indeed, let's not allow anyone to sanitise history. It's a fact that Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and PW Botha all called him a terrorist.

<comment><USER5> _It 's a fact that Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and PW Botha all called him a terrorist._

Is a bit like being called a wanker by Onan.

edit - pekk, it won't let me reply at the moment, but in answer to your comment, Thatcher was no idiot by any stretch of the imagination, but she did send the SAS to train Pol-Pot led forces, while Reagan put up the money, so I think she definitely had more than a little blood on her hands. - [http://www.newstatesman.com/node/137397](http://www.newstatesman.com/node/137397)

<comment><USER6> Margaret Thatcher's rule started in May 1979, the genocide in Cambodia ended in 1979, the Khmer Rouge were defeated in January 1979 by the Vietnamese army. Blaming the genocide on Thatcher is one of the most ridiculous and intellectually dishonest anti-Thatcher argument I've read yet.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge_rule_of_Cambodia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge_rule_of_Cambodia)

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher)

Also, if you're going to judge statesmen by the regimes they supported, then you should know that Mandela was a big supporter of Cuba's Castro, Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi and North Korea. Does that make Mandela a horrible man or statesman? Probably not, you'd be hard put to find a single statesman in history who never supported at least one evil regime.

<comment><USER5> I didn't say that Thatcher was responsible for Cambodia's Year Zero. As you rightly say, she gave Pol-Pot support _after_ Year Zero. At least the folk who gave him support before that have the excuse that they didn't know how he was going to turn out.

<comment><USER6> Year Zero corresponds to 1975, starts of the genocide, saying that she helped Pol Pot after Year Zero is disingenuous. She went into power in May 1979, when the genocide was over and the Khmer Rouge overthrown. So she had nothing to do with the killings. Also, the newstatesmen is highly leftist and the article very messy. I couldn't find any other source verifying all of these claims or to what extend did she personally help anything.

<comment><USER5> _Also, the newstatesmen is highly leftist and the article very messy. I couldn 't find any other source_

from that article -

 _Until 1989, the British role in Cambodia remained secret. The first reports appeared in the Sunday Telegraph, written by Simon O 'Dwyer-Russell, a diplomatic and defence correspondent with close professional and family contacts with the SAS. He revealed that the SAS was training the Pol Pot-led force. Soon afterwards, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that the British training for the "non-communist" members of the "coalition" had been going on "at secret bases in Thailand for more than four years". The instructors were from the SAS, "all serving military personnel, all veterans of the Falklands conflict, led by a captain"._

Or is The Telegraph and Jane's Defence Weekly still too left wing for you?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Just until July 2008 Nelson Mandela was on the USA TERRORIST list (link).

Do you know who the Nelson Mandelas of our time are? Do you support them?

[https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela_taken_off_US_ter...](https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela_taken_off_US_terrorist_list)

<comment><USER4> Margaret Thatcher too, called him a terrorist. They (Thatcher and her party) were on the wrong side of history then.

<comment><USER8> But he was involved in terrorist activities. He was a terrorist.

<comment><USER9> Would you call the French Resistance terrorists?

They certainly performed acts that _could_ justify the label, but _would_ you call them terrorists?

<comment><USER10> I'm sure the Germans would have. Which is the point really; terrorism vs freedom fighter, war vs cou, revolution vs insurgency.

It all depends which side your on.

<comment><USER9> I get that, which makes me wonder about somebody who claims that Mandela was a terrorist. What does choosing that terminology say about them? What side they are on?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

                     - William Ernest Henley

Rest in Peace Nelson Mandela

<comment><USER12> "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

"Nelson Mandela gave a copy of this speech to François Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team, before the start of the 1995 Rugby World Cup"

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic)

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> I have great respect for Mandela, but I have flagged this story because it's causing so much political flaming.

"Please avoid introducing classic flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say about them."

"The worst thing to post or upvote is something that's intensely but shallowly interesting. Gossip about famous people, funny or cute pictures or videos, partisan political articles, etc. If you let that sort of thing onto a news site, it will push aside the deeply interesting stuff, which tends to be quieter."

(with reference to the comments here, not the story itself)

<comment><USER14> He's one of the most important world figures of the second half of the 20th century. Pretty legitimate news topic given the other non-tech topics that get plugged into this feed nowadays.

<comment><USER15> Can you explain why he was one of the most important _world_ figures, not jus African? I am start to suspect there is some white guilt involved :(

<comment><USER14> if that's what you suspect then you're grossly ignorant of world affairs for the second half of the 20th century

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Goodbye to a hero in forgiveness who demonstrated truly magnificent character during the post-apartheid transition in South Africa.

More world leaders should strive to follow in his footsteps.

<comment><USER17> We only took him off the terrorist list, nearly a sort of minor apartheid of its own, a few years ago.

<comment><USER18> Correct. I came here to remind people that as recently as FIVE years ago he was considered a terrorist in the United States of America.

[http://blogs.dailynews.com/friendlyfire/2013/06/30/americas-...](http://blogs.dailynews.com/friendlyfire/2013/06/30/americas- shameful-treatment-mandela-lingers/)

[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-30-watchli...](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-30-watchlist_N.htm)

<comment><USER19> yeah but the US thinks almost anyone with dark skin or a different political opinion to them is a terrorist.

<comment><USER20> Not completely fair. Sinn Fein members are typically denied visas, and they're as pale as they come.

<comment><USER14> because typically they were coming here to raise money spent on placing bombs in parades of WWII veterans and in hospitals

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> I would recommend anyone interested in his life to read his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. [http://www.amazon.ca/Long-Walk-Freedom-Autobiography- Mandela...](http://www.amazon.ca/Long-Walk-Freedom-Autobiography- Mandela/dp/0316548189)

<comment><USER22> The thing that struck me about Nelson Mandela as he wanted to be seen in that book is that he tried very hard to see the good in people.

Perhaps it's to be expected that he's forgiving about former sworn enemies who ended up releasing him and stepping aside so he could dismantle the apartheid regime they'd spent upholding, and sidesteps any qualms he might have had about some of the region's truly obnoxious dictators who backed the ANC when they were outlaws. But he also takes the time to note when some of his less pleasant jailers displayed unexpected courtesy.

Some of the exchanges from his original trial are quite remarkable too, especially those involving the prosecutions "expert witness" on the subject of communism

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> Does anyone have any materials about Nelson Mandela's life that's accessible to a youngster like me? I know he was hugely important for ending something called "apartheid" in South Africa which sounds pretty horrible, I just don't know what it is.

Rest in peace.

<comment><USER24> "Apartheid" (literally: "the state of being apart") was a forced doctrine of legal racial separation, nominally "equal" but in reality anything but, with the black majority being hugely opressed, lasting from 1948 to 1990 / 1994 (officially at the former date, popularly when universal national elections were held on the latter).

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_in_South_Africa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_in_South_Africa)

Mandela fought this system along with many others through the ANC, the African National Congress. Some of its actions were violent, and the organization and its members were labeled as terrorists, though Mandela later disavowed violence.

He was freed in 1990, elected president of South Africa in 1994, and served until 1999. A man who went from spending 28 years in jail to leading the peaceful transition of his nation. His is one of the greatest stories of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

Listening to Obama speakin right now. "I'm not a saint, unless you consider a saint to be a sinner who keeps on trying."

NB: Obama himself was hugely guided and influenced by Nelson Mandela.

<comment><USER25> I don't think Obama can even be mentioned in the same breath as Mandela, tbh.

<comment><USER4> Yeah they can: They are both the first black elected leader of their respective countries.

<comment><USER26> _Yeah they can: They are both the first black elected leader of their respective countries._

Not in terms of worthiness. If Obama was exactly the same in every way but was 100% white, he never would have even made congressman let alone either term of presidency. He was pushed through on racism (non-white people voting blindly for him because the other guy was white), political correctness, the power of persuasive marketing (of lies) and the attitude of affirmative action.

Obama is no leader or unifier. Every other word out of his mouth is a lie. Mandela is worthy of credit for the skills he possessed. Obama is a giant social and traditional media, speech writers and teleprompters induced fraud.

<comment><USER4> > Not in terms of worthiness. Obama ... was pushed through on racism ... non- > white people voting blindly

Subjective opinion is subjective, bordering on offensive.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> _"It always seems impossible until it's done."_

Looking through a list of Mandela's quotes [1], there is an uncanny parallel between his viewpoint and those of an entrepreneur. RIP Nelson.

 _"I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death."_

 _"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."_

[1] [http://newsone.com/1397375/nelson-mandela-quotes-93rd- birthd...](http://newsone.com/1397375/nelson-mandela-quotes-93rd-birthday/)

<comment><USER28> >Looking through a list of Mandela's quotes [1], there is an uncanny parallel between his viewpoint and those of an entrepreneur

Except the startup entrepreneur is talking about a photo-sharing app.

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> Before you read other politicians' platitudes on his death, you should read Mandela's speech on his release from jail:

[http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=4520](http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=4520)

</comment><comment><USER24> Those who were around in the 1980s might remember and appreciate The Specials AKA:

[http://fixyt.com/watch?v=AgcTvoWjZJU](http://fixyt.com/watch?v=AgcTvoWjZJU)

For those who weren't: this song protesting Mandela's incarceration got widespread airplay around the world. I'm not sure I can recall a similar case of popular music taking on a case of protesting for the freedom of a single individual, and suspect it played a large part in waking consciousness to the inequity of Apartheid and much of the pressure which was brought to bear in the late 1980s against South Africa.

<comment><USER30> Bob Dylan's "The Hurricane": [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr8Wn1Mwwwk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr8Wn1Mwwwk)

<comment><USER31> Bob Dylan's song is about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_Carter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_Carter)

<comment><USER24> My read was that Dylan's song was of a similar nature, not on the same topic.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER32> RIP Madiba. As a South African this is a helluva sad day, but we knew it was coming. I think I was 10 when he was released, but I had never heard of him before, partly because of my age, partly because of the media gagging.

I remember all the adults being worried that retribution and revenge was coming. But it never did, all he ever did was preach reconciliation. My best memory of him must him presenting Francois Pienaar with the '95 rugby world cup trophy, it sounds lame but it was such a unifying moment for the country.

</comment><comment><USER33> After reading the Wikipedia article on Umkhonto we Sizwe[0], I found out he did a lot of wrong [1], but his peaceful efforts should be praised.

[0] - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe)

[1] - "South African police statistics indicate that, in the period 1976 to 1986, approximately 130 people were killed by what the source calls 'terrorists'. Of these, about thirty were members of various security forces and one hundred were civilians."

<comment><USER34> _in the period 1976 to 1986, approximately 130 people were killed by what the source calls 'terrorists'_

FWIW, Mandela was in prison at the time. From the 60s to 1990.

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> I hope he has been heartened to see the shift towards greater equality and justice in the world, to which he was a strong voice and since my childhood he's remained one of the most relevant world leaders.

</comment><comment><USER36> "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die" Mandela

</comment><comment><USER14> I still remember sitting in front of the tv for hours, the day he was released. The long, extended coverage of his exit from prison, delayed as he spent his time saying goodbye to inmates and captors alike.

</comment><comment><USER37> For those interested about the relation between Nelson Mandela and Glasgow, good reads. 1\. [http://www.scotsman.com/news/comment-glasgow-s-backing-of- ma...](http://www.scotsman.com/news/comment-glasgow-s-backing-of-mandela- vindicated-1-2976906) 2\. [http://news.stv.tv/scotland/30271-nelson-mandelas- memorable-...](http://news.stv.tv/scotland/30271-nelson-mandelas- memorable-1993-visit-to-scotland/)

</comment><comment><USER38> _We felt that without violence there would be no way open to the [African] people to succeed in their struggle against the principle of [white supremacy]. All lawful modes of expressing opposition to this principle had been closed by legislation, and we were placed in a position in which we had either to accept a permanent state of inferiority, or to defy the Government. We chose to defy the law. We first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence; when this form was legislated against, and then the Government resorted to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we decide to answer violence with violence. But the violence which we chose to adopt was not terrorism. We who formed [Umkhonto] were all members of the [African National Congress], and had behind us the [ANC] tradition of non-violence and negotiation as a means of solving political disputes. We believe that [South Africa] belongs to all the people who live in it, and not to one group... "_[1]

Interesting, and as always, relevant words.

[1] [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nelson- mandel...](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nelson-mandela-life- story--the-speeches-an-ideal-for-which-i-am-prepared-to-die-8406469.html)

</comment><comment><USER39> A life well lived. Fought very hard but helped millions of people to get their basic human right.

For to be thought of to be lower because of your race just because of where you were accidentally born is perhaps the worst form of discrimination possible.

</comment><comment><USER29> [https://twitter.com/sarahlicity/status/408717299097403393/ph...](https://twitter.com/sarahlicity/status/408717299097403393/photo/1)

<comment><USER24> Are you positive of the accuracy of that? There's some dispute in the Twitter thread.

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> Here's to hoping that his death will at least galvanize a more unified approach to politics in SA to honor his memory.

</comment><comment><USER41> Nelson Mandela was one of the few people to win both India's and Pakistan's highest civilian awards. A testament to his work on world peace.

</comment><comment><USER42> Amandla!

       Awethu!

</comment><comment><USER43> I'm a little sad to see that there's not a black bar across the top of HN due to this story.

<comment><USER44> Is it really sad when a person who has lived a long, full life dies of old age?

<comment><USER45> It is a great loss no matter how old Mandela was or how peacefully he died.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER46> We moved back to SA a week after Mandela was released. My thoughts on SA as someone who saw this goal of transformation fail. Mandela was an incredible humanist, more so than people realise. his government was run on charm, persuasion and super bright people completely unqualified for their roles. The outcome of that was that technocrats (given the failings) and the movement of technocrats took over post (Mbeki). The vacuum (of burocratic skill and knowledge [i go uggh]) which was running a system that big could not (and never can) be built in a resistance movement. So arise the technocrats. Technocrats cannot understand/appease the person living in a shack not having any money or future 20 years post apartheid. So now the deal they negotiated in 90+ 96 + 99 (and yes it was a good deal in many ways (Chicago school) bad in so many as well) has only created a greater imbalance. Now we have entered the era of populists. figure that one out yourself.

Mandela's death will do more for SA and a fair bit of southern africa than most occurrences will, and era of memberance, reading reflection, humanism will come about. for a while. My greatest grievence with Mandela simply lies in that he did not break up the tri party alliance early (trade unions, communist party and the anc which is extremely right wing in contrast) allowing them to get 60%+ votes which effectively means it is a new dictatorship. (i am sorry if 80% of the votes are prone to gerrymandering + an extremely uneducated populace i won't call it a true democracy - then again first past the post - hah!).

a great human. the meaning and writing and so indefinitely misused from now.

</comment><comment><USER47> He was a true communist and a good man. He lived up to his ideals.

I'm sad he is gone.

[http://i.imgur.com/CwLZLY5.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/CwLZLY5.jpg) / [http://s1.lemde.fr/image/2013/12/05/644x322/3526517_6_2605_n...](http://s1.lemde.fr/image/2013/12/05/644x322/3526517_6_2605_nelson- mandela_4089385eb0defe8392726b0ca985e7fb.jpg)

</comment><comment><USER48> Few men lead such a full, adventurous and meaningful life. An inspiration to all.

<comment><USER49> Inspired me to put a tire around someone's neck, fill it with gas and light it up.

</comment></comment><comment><USER50> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1SWKumsKNo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1SWKumsKNo)

</comment><comment><USER51> "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom."

Thank you Madiba. May your peace rest in all.

</comment><comment><USER52> I wonder if political scientists on their polisci message boards have debates about programming languages and tech startups

</comment><comment><USER53> A terrorist is a freedom fighter who isn't on your side.

</comment><comment><USER54> Mandela has had such an impact on the world, this is sad.

</comment><comment><USER55> Is Paul going to put the black bar up on Hacker News?

</comment><comment><USER56> The Onion puts it nicely: [http://www.theonion.com/articles/nelson-mandela- becomes-firs...](http://www.theonion.com/articles/nelson-mandela-becomes- first-politician-to-be-miss,34755/)

</comment><comment><USER57> His lasting legacy is South Africa's constitution.

[http://www.info.gov.za/documents/constitution/1996/a108-96.p...](http://www.info.gov.za/documents/constitution/1996/a108-96.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER58> The perfect farewell: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAl5jucOgro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAl5jucOgro)

</comment><comment><USER59> A sad day for the world. Many who did not live through the period 93-94 do not realise how on a Knife Edge South Africa was at the time, it could have gone either way. The country could have descended into civil war, but my personal opinion is it didn't, in large part due to Madiba. The iconic moment of him at the 97 world cup, his constant speeches on establishing restraint.

</comment><comment><USER60> Very Sad News. Death of a truly great man.

</comment><comment><USER61>
      "It always seems impossible until it's done."

       - Nelson Mandela

</comment><comment><USER62> [http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2002&dat=19981011&id=-...](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2002&dat=19981011&id=-KZUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XzsNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5864,2664027)

<comment><USER55> did you actually read that article, i did?

<comment><USER62> yes

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER63> Rest in peace Mr. Mandela, most of us can't imagine devoting ourselves to a cause for 27 years, for others. Your startup was freedom for all, no technology can compare.

</comment><comment><USER64> The ultimate hacker

</comment><comment><USER65> Goodbye Bafana.

<comment><USER66> That just means 'boys'. I expect that you're looking for 'Madiba', his clan name.

<comment><USER65> I know nothing of Afrikaans, I was just quoting Goodbye Bafana (2007) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0438859](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0438859) (worth watching if you haven't already).

<comment><USER4> You mean Xhosa, not Afrikaans.

<comment><USER65> That one.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER67> I wish there was an easier and more sincere way to pay our gratitudes... RIP great man

</comment><comment><USER29> Well, damn.

</comment><comment><USER68> Truly his legacy will provide inspiration for generations.

</comment><comment><USER69> RIP Madiba.

</comment><comment><USER70> Great man

</comment><comment><USER71> R.I.P

</comment><comment><USER72> RIP. :(

</comment><comment><USER73> R.I.P.

</comment><comment><USER74> Sigh. Before anyone goes off harking how Mandela almost single-handedly brought down Apartheid, think of the following:

\- SA has vast mineral resources...

\- ...that the banksters wanted

\- ...which SA didn't want to share (give away for almost nothing)

\- CIA starts orchestrating a fall of apartheid. Their tool are the liberals: "Apartheid is terrible for the poor blacks"

\- De Klerk gets told by Those In Charge to release Mandela, or else

\- Mandela released, ANC take over with a majority of the vote

\- ANC are corrupt like a motherfucker, privatize the government mines

\- Mines are bought for cheap by foreign multinationals

\- Mine workers still treated like shit, shot by police if they protest

\- The situation has gotten so bad that the police mix statistics to make it look better than it is[1]

\- How about the Free State spending 140 million rand on a site that costs a few thousands in reality? How's that for corruption. [2]

\- Black people are showing up in interviews here and there saying that it was better during apartheid [3]

\- CIA have gotten what they wanted, liberals have forgotten about SA

[1] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsFOkUY_vkE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsFOkUY_vkE)

[2] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKfemruhnC0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKfemruhnC0)

[3] Here is some "better during apartheid": [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ_7JbTZXng](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ_7JbTZXng) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NydY9WLbCwc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NydY9WLbCwc)

Other things I haven't mentioned: The jewish-led South African Communist Party working together with the ANC to promote violent uprising, Mandela approved Church Street bombing, killing civilians, Winnie Mandels pastime of burning non-ANC voters alive (necklacing). Etc.

However bad it was during Apartheid, it's even worse now.

<comment><USER75> An economic angle, summarised in: Lowenberg, Anton D. "Why South Africa's Apartheid Economy Failed", 1997

[http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Contemporary- Econom...](http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Contemporary-Economic- Policy/19964177.html)

TLDR:-

1\. Decades of intensifying international isolation over RSA's political climate.

2\. RSA's growing reliance on international short-term loans in 1980s, leading to balance of payments crisis.

3\. Threat and introduction of economic sanctions by international community.

4\. ... Leading to increasing economic costs to industry and individuals, which reduced internal support for Apartheid amongst South Africa's elite.

5\. Coincidental fall of the Soviet Union, leading to the West's reduced support of RSA against revolutionary front-line states.

(Not to discount the struggle for equality amongst non-white South Africans, embodied by Mandela and others.)

EDIT: Clarity

</comment></comment><comment><USER76> I honor this man and his principles.. Rest in peace..

</comment><comment><USER77> Well, lots of celebrities have died lately. Paul Walker and now Nelson Mandellion.

<comment><USER35> Mandela isn't a 'celebrity': he's one of the few people in recent times who changed the world we live in for the better. His life's work allows millions of us to have hope.

<comment><USER78> I think it's more a commentary on the inane comments that are being made on the issue by people who seriously have no idea on who he was and what he did but want to jump on the bandwagon of his 'celebrity' status.

<comment><USER79> >I think it's more a commentary on the inane comments that are being made on the issue by people who seriously have no idea on who he was and what he did but want to jump on the bandwagon of his 'celebrity' status.

This was all I could think reading this thread.

Mandela, and his undertakings, probably never crossed the minds of 90% of the participants in this thread. I know very little about him myself, outside of his celebrity. But suddenly everyone has an opinion.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: Adjourn – A meeting minutes app to organize your meetings - <AUTHOR> https://adjourn.io <comment><AUTHOR> Hello everyone,

I created Adjourn when I started to take on product coordination in addition to my software development activities at work. With at least 30 minutes per day (sometimes up to 5 hours per day!) of meetings, I struggled with remembering everything. I tried handwritten notes, regular note apps, dedicated meeting apps, Trello, and mindmaps.

I liked the handwritten notes for their durable storage. I liked Trello for the ease of separating and grouping content. I liked mindmaps for the ability to make infinite branches of information. But none of them really worked for me for long.

Adjourn set out to combine all the good points of the note-taking methods I liked while keeping everything as simple as possible. Some of the other meeting apps I tried just felt like another note-taking app with special functionality and that didn't really cut it.

Let me know what you think!

</comment><comment><USER2> I like the idea, and the interface looks good so far. However—and I know this may not be a popular opinion—if I can't self-host it, it's a non-starter. The sorts of stuff that get discussed in our internal meetings would be the stuff of nightmares if it were dumped from an online service: project planning, root cause analysis, vendor comparisons, code reviews, you name it. It'd be a very tough sell to put that in the hands of a third party.</comment>


Question answering on the Facebook bAbi dataset using RNN - <AUTHOR> http://smerity.com/articles/2015/keras_qa.html

<comment><USER2> Minor note for anyone wanting to re-run all the experiments, there's a one line change that needs to be done such that it will run on QA19[1]. I'll be pushing the updated code to Keras mainline soon.

Otherwise, all experiments run out of the box, with many of the experiments doing the full training and testing in under a minute. Play around! :)

[1] [https://github.com/Smerity/keras/commit/63284a47ffc83e485500...](https://github.com/Smerity/keras/commit/63284a47ffc83e4855004929daa42621e275a1e8)</comment>


Google Caffeine: What it really is - <AUTHOR> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/14/google_caffeine_truth/

<comment><USER2> Did anyone else get the feeling that Matt Cutts sounded like some P.R. guy here? I have never heard about him, but his blog does say he's a software engineer and has at least a B.S. in computer science.

On the other hand, most of his quotes in the article are about "revampng/rewriting" the entire "infrastructure" that Google uses to support all of its "platforms". To be more detailed, it's a new version of Google File System (GFS). Other things Cutts says is give an elementary explanation of map-reduce while not being able to say whether this "overhaul" will actually affect Google's MapReduce implementation, or its BigTable one for that matter. Heck, apparently everything Google uses, from MapReduce to actual tools and services, are just categorized under "platforms".

<comment><USER3> From his website: "Before Google, I worked on my Ph.D. in computer graphics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I have an M.S. from UNC- Chapel Hill, and B.S. degrees in both mathematics and computer science from the University of Kentucky."

The fact that he gave PR like answers doesnt mean he isnt qualified to answer technical questions, only that he is not allowed to reveal too many details of internal Google projects.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> I've been looking into this to see if it will have any positive/negative affects for my employer. Came across this useful tool for comparing results side-by-side: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=766281>

Additional analysis by some well-known SEO's:

<http://www.seobook.com/google-caffeine>

<http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk/google-caffeine-and-seo.html>

[http://www.vizioninteractive.com/google-caffeine-a- comprehen...](http://www.vizioninteractive.com/google-caffeine-a- comprehensive-analysis/)</comment>


Contracting out an API - comments on the spec, or even a bid? - <AUTHOR> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-OQrDRvoHk-fX0Yc9NJ_Os9y9wbxK_W2-jMXAKbFCRg/edit?hl=en_US

<comment><USER2> So basically only one user can login per UUID? There are no means of unregistering the device? A user can log in on multiple devices but can't logout. Also store the APNS key @ device_register you might wan't to sent pushes in the future. Put password in basic auth and use ssl (at minumum)..

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, one user per UDID for now. If you want to unregister a device, you can email me, and if we get multiple requests, we'll code a solution.

Storing APNS sounds like a good idea.

As for security, I am ok that this would be susceptible to a wifi sniffer. We will note that it is insecure for users, but they won't care. If we get a bid that implements security, we'll consider it, but I'd rather have it work than be secure.

<comment><USER3> > We will note that it is insecure for users, but they won't care. ... I'd > rather have it work than be secure.

I would have an easier yet more profitable life if I could manage to adopt that attitude for my projects.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> You might be better off having 2 people, one to make your web API and 1 to handle the 'backup' portion of it. One is programming and 1 is systems work, and it can be difficult to find 1 person that does both well, and it affordable.

</comment><comment><USER5> First you have to tell us your budget! You should always have a budget. But also be prepared to stretch that budget

Otherwise, the spec is pretty well written. Some of the finer details will probably come out as the project progresses, but this is a good starting point :)

<comment><AUTHOR> I think you should always have a budget, but that it is probably unwise to reveal that budget.

I certainly don't expect to pay a few hundred bucks for this. The spec is clear, and I'll accept a reasonable bid, either for the project or at an hourly rate with an estimate.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I can't find the link or remember the name of the service, but a few days ago I saw a website for a company that allows you to easily create a "cloud backend" for your mobile application.

I've tried every search term I can think of but can't find it. Maybe someone else has seen it?

<comment><USER7> There have been two mentioned on HN recently: zStack and StackMob (the latter is run by a friend and former coworker of mine.)

Ironically, zStack has the OP listed as their only reference customer. Er, guess that's not working out so well?

<comment><USER6> HA! Yes zStack was it. I only know now because I just received an invite to zStack (now called Parse) - then I returned here to see if I could still tell the OP about it, I guess they already know ;)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> * Use KML or other existing standards.

* You get what you pay for.

<comment><AUTHOR> The track files will be stored in the flat file format we use within the app. The server won't really do anything with them besides ferry them around.

We do have client code that converts those files to GPX though, because we do data exports.</comment></comment>


Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage - <AUTHOR> http://www.surgicalneurologyint.com/article.asp?issn=2152-7806;year=2013;volume=4;issue=2;spage=335;epage=342;aulast=Canavero

<comment><USER2> If there ever was a time to wait for version 1.1 of something, this would be it.

<comment><USER3> Couldn't agree more. I'd hate to be the guy stuck with the buggy beta.

<comment><USER4> Well, presumably the alternative is to die...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Interesting, though mostly because of our gut reactions, not because there's anything terribly complicated or new about the moral repercussions, etc.. It's not much different from normal organ donation in most respects.

From the article:

I have not addressed the ethical aspects of HEAVEN. In Thomas Mann's "'The Transposed Heads," two friends, the intellectual Shridaman and the earthy Nanda, behead themselves. Magically, their severed heads are restored - but to the wrong body, and Shridaman's wife, Sita, is unable to decide which combination represents her real husband. The story is further complicated by the fact that Sita happens to be in love with both men. This short story highlights the ethical dilemma that must be faced: The HEAVEN created "chimera" would carry the mind of the recipient but, should he or she reproduce, the offspring would carry the genetic inheritance of the donor.

However, it is equally clear that horrible conditions without a hint of hope of improvement cannot be relegated to the dark corner of medicine. This paper lays out the groundwork for the first successful human head transplant.

</comment><comment><USER6> There's some research that shows our body "chooses" to do something before our mind tells it to.

So, swapping the body seems like it could be exciting for this kind of stuff.

I think it's fascinating that we can't keep a head alive on a machine (I wonder how much body can be removed and still, using machines, have a living brain / head?) but that we can transplant a head.

The paper isn't loading for me at the moment, but what do they mean by "spinal linkage"? If we can transplant a head why can't we fix broken back injuries? (Or can we, and I just don't know?)

<comment><USER7> "During the GEMINI procedure, the surgeons will cut the cooled spinal cords with an ultra-sharp blade: This is of course totally different from what happens in clinical spinal cord injury, where gross damage and scarring hinder regeneration. It is this "clean cut" the key to spinal cord fusion, in that it allows proximally severed axons to be "fused" with their distal counterparts. This fusion exploits so-called fusogens/sealants."

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Considering that a face transplant currently requires a lifetime regimine of immunosuppressives ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_transplant#Ethics.2C_Surge...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_transplant#Ethics.2C_Surgery_and_Post- Operation_treatment)) in order to have post-op acceptance of the transplant by the host, I would expect nothing less in this more extreme form of surgery.

I would hate to be the recipient of this procedure; then fin my body (their body?) rejecting the transplant!

<comment><USER9> Would it be the body or the head that rejects the transplant? And what would actually happen if it is rejected? Sudden death? Slow death?

<comment><USER10> Both.

However, in this scenario, the body would have a distinct advantage (if you can call it that), given the disparity in mass and organ distribution. The body would have far more immune system capacity than the head in this case. White blood cells, for example, are produced in the bone marrow.

I'm no doctor, but given the importance of the brain and your spinal cord to even just the nervous system, I'd imagine that death would come rather quickly in an all out rejection.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I'm interested to know how does the anaesthetic work in this case. It wasn't mentioned in details (or maybe I missed it), but since most substances are transferred in blood stream how would they go about it? Wouldn't reconnection to another body completely mess up the process? Or maybe the temperature drop would be enough to keep the current state.

Either way - in happy to hear how close we are to the world of yesterday's science fiction.

<comment><USER12> The head is technically dead for a short time and kept refrigerated. Also keep in mind there is no signal to be received by the brain in the first place since the spinal chord has been severed.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I'm not sure I see the point. It's already extremly difficult to transplant one organ and make it last, so a whole body?

Maybe as temporary measure while massive (deadly?) treatments are performed on the original body?

Last but not least, if you transplant a head on a new body and this new body has children, whose children are they? Is our identity only in the head?

<comment><USER13> You are not transplanting a whole body, you are transplanting a head. If this paper is to be believed, there is a smaller risk of a hyperallergenic reaction for some reason. IANAD, but maybe it's because the head has no organs in the sense that it doesn't contribute to the production/purification of blood.

There's all kinds of afflictions that might threaten your life but not your head, from cancer that's spread to a critical organ to blunt trauma to any critical trauma. If something destroys your body, this might be the last and only solution.

The children will be biologically of the new body you have. I don't think anyone has written a law on this yet, but I suppose the children will be legally yours, and yours to raise and culture :)

Most of our identities is in our heads, though some things linked to your character are linked with things in your body. Perhaps your appetite is, and perhaps your preference for sporting/outdoor/indoor activities. I bet a lot of this is not yet well known or researched, and the world would be very intrigued by how you feel about things after the surgery!

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> "Want to lose ~150 lbs fast?"

<comment><USER15> That's not very imaginative. "Tired of having a man's body? Get a woman's!"

<comment><USER16> _I Will Fear No Evil_ was one of Heinlein's odder novels.

<comment><USER15> Hmm, I'm not familiar with it. Is it good?

<comment><USER16> If you like late-period Heinlein, it's good. Or at least fun. If you feel his work declined after or starting with Stranger, then this novel will fulfill your expectations.

There's nothing really ground-breaking in it (at least, from the standpoint of the late 1980s, when I read it).

<comment><USER15> Ah, thank you, I'll read a bit of it and see if I like it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Page tells me required url params are missing, but the url is shown and no required params are missing. Maybe a different error that hasn't been handled correctly?

</comment><comment><USER18> The modern Prometheus, indeed.

</comment><comment><USER19> Does anyone have a copy of the text? All I'm getting is a blank page.

<comment><USER20> Removing the "o" from "Canavero" in the URL did the job for me. Don't know why, but there you go.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> It would be a great, fast way to get the body you always wanted :D.

<comment><USER22> Except it'll feel like someone else's body ...

<comment><USER21> I'd fear more that with a continuation of my life style the new body would eventually turn into the old one ;)</comment></comment></comment>


Normalize.css: An alternative to CSS resets - <AUTHOR> http://necolas.github.com/normalize.css/

<comment><USER2> Philosophically, I think I prefer this approach to resetting everything.

I'm not sure, however, I'm on board with the idea that you tweak this for every project you work. That would make merging future evolutions of these styles (e.g. when new browser versions are released) a real pain.

It's also a bit disconcerting that the project authors went their separate ways and there are now two projects? Hm.

<comment><AUTHOR> We both collaborate on this repo and much of it was pulled into Jonathan's original repo (which also contains some of his personal preferences and an additional metrics file).

<comment><USER2> Different people forking it for their own preferences is one thing, but not having a canonical resource for the project is -- well, like I said, disconcerting. But maybe it's just me.

Don't mean for this minor nitpick to overshadow the rest of the work you guys have put into this, by the way. It's good stuff.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> I think a combination of CSS reset[1] and CSS base[2] is the best way to go. Use CSS reset to remove all styles, and then use a standard CSS base to set a new set of defaults. That way you can easily distinguish between what styles are used for resetting, and which are actually meant for styling.

YUI does a really good job with this.

[1]<http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/3/cssreset/> [2]<http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/3/cssbase/>

</comment><comment><USER4> Random question: I was looking at [1], linked by Normalize. How come the element HTML element "A" has no default values? It sure seems to always be blue/purple and underlined...

Thanks in advance.

[1] [http://css-class.com/test/css/defaults/UA-style-sheet- defaul...](http://css-class.com/test/css/defaults/UA-style-sheet-defaults.htm)

</comment><comment><USER5> "The normalize.css file is not intended to be a mysterious "black box" that is included in a project and then ignored."

Is there anything that is? I think I'd prefer to use that, if it existed.

<comment><USER6> I think this was in referrence to adding "reset.css"[1] as your first css file. It is very "black box," as it is something that you add but never modify.

[1] <http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/css/reset/>

<comment><USER7> Wellll.... Meyer says right there "In other words, this is a starting point, not a self-contained black box of no-touchiness.".

I understand a lot of people treat it like that, though. I modify the reset to set defaults for each layout myself.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Why? Write your CSS. Test it in browsers. If something doesn't look right, fix it. Resets are bloat.

<comment><USER9> "Test it in browsers"

That's the reason for resets. Because "browsers" could mean one of a million different browsers and it would take forever to tweak each of them, since CSS isn't the same across the board. I'd like to see some CSS that isn't using a reset that looks perfect across IE 6, 7, 8, 9, Opera X-Z, Chrome X-Z, Firefox X-Z, and Safari. Additionally, I'm guessing such CSS could probably be done faster with a reset.

<comment><USER10> Any competently written CSS will give you that without the resets and normalizers nonsense. Just normalize elements you want to normalize, without polluting your inheritance chain and making yourself pain to debug it. I've been writing CSS for god-knows-how-many years and never ever saw the need for it. And yes, I do cross-browser sites (and that even includes Opera).

<comment><USER11> > Just normalize elements you want to normalize

In other words, manually do a reset. You can't say reset is unnecessary and then say first thing, just do a reset.

<comment><USER10> "Manually doing reset" means that you do "reset" only on needed elements (and you target them by id or class).

<comment><USER11> That's just too much manual work that's the same over and over again. We already know what elements are different between browsers, and reset fixes that, without requiring manual labor; it's a better approach.

<comment><USER10> Not sure who those "we" are, but reseting every damn element is far from demonstrating knowledge. Especially if it is separate stylesheet. There is nothing better in that approach at all.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Awesome approach. Whenever I start out a project, I always reset, then normalize it back up to a common standard, then apply the additional style. It's good to accelerate the first two steps with this.

</comment><comment><USER13> Can anyone explain how this differs at all from resets? The only difference I see on the page is:

> Preserves useful defaults

and I don't know what a "user default" is.

<comment><USER14> when a user has a different default font and/or size selected in their browser?

<comment><USER15> Not user defaults, useful defaults.

Some css resets strip out bullet styles for lists, or focus styles on selected text boxes. I assume this keeps things like that intact instead of nuking everything.

<comment><USER13> Yeah, sorry, obviously I can't read. I would like to downvote myself right now.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> This is very similar to what I've been doing since 2008 with <http://sencss.kilianvalkhof.com>, except I also provide a good vertical rhythmn. I should probably start promoting it more again ;)

That said, the form stuff in normalise.css takes a very different approach that I'm definitely gonna try out.

</comment><comment><USER17> They've taken some liberties in correcting (arguable) flaws in standard stylesheets, ex. setting cursor:pointer on form buttons, but I like all that they've chosen to include. Never been a fan of full reset stylesheets, but there's a really good chance I'll take advantage of this, and the research they put in, for future projects.

</comment><comment><USER18> Any particular reason you linked to your fork instead of the original?

</comment><comment><USER19> I like that it preserves some normals but either way almost always there will be some overrides so staying with reset.

<comment><USER20> Looking through it I don't see it as a replacement for reset except in a few cases. In particular, most of the stuff in there (great documentation, btw) seems to be oriented toward fixing strange browser quirks not covered by reset. For example, things like "Remove Android and iOS tap highlight color [from html-tag] to prevent entire container being highlighted..." Seems like a very natural add-on to reset to me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> > Chrome, Firefox 3+, Safari 4+, Opera 10+, Internet Explorer 6+

No version for Chrome?

<comment><USER22> Since Chrome auto-updates all its users every 6 weeks, specifying the version number isn't necessary most of the time.

<comment><USER23> And version 1 of Chrome already had most of the things people consider as modern anyway.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Looks nice and clean but is github needed for a 3k text file?

(plain text) [https://raw.github.com/necolas/normalize.css/master/normaliz...](https://raw.github.com/necolas/normalize.css/master/normalize.css)

<comment><USER25> I don't see why not; it's the goto place for open source code nowadays, no matter how larger or small the project may be.</comment></comment>


SiFive: Design and produce custom RISC‑V CPUs and SoCs - <AUTHOR> https://www.sifive.com <comment><USER2> This looks interesting, but curious what sort of ball park the price is in for final production, and what sort of minimum runs?

I'm not clear what 'fabless' means - is it like 'serverless', whereby it really just means 'not your server'. I.e. 'not your fab'.

<comment><USER3> That's what "fabless" about means. I think using it as an attribute to the chip it's a misapplication of the term. Many companies today don't own chip fabrication plants, so that's kind of the norm, apart from IBM, Samsung and Intel. For instance the new Ampere ARM processor is manufactured by TSMC.

<comment><USER4> IBM relies on Global Foundries today IIRC.

Edit: maybe still have older generation fabs for military contracts.

<comment><USER3> Ah, I think you are right. They "sold" the fabs to Global Foundries.

<comment><USER5> I think GF is former AMD used to be. I think TSMC is former IBM. But I might have my history wrong.

<comment><USER6> Accorsing to wikipedia, GF is former AMD, which then later aquired IBM's fab business. TSMC has always been independent.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: what if it's not a tablet - <AUTHOR>

Let's say for the sake of argument, it's not a tablet...what else could Apple announce.
iRead? (e-reader)
iProd? (spy camera)
etc... <comment><USER2> At this point I'm reasonably sure it's going to take the form of a tablet. But we still don't know what their target use cases will be... I'll throw one out that I haven't yet seen:

The tablet will be the perfect remote for apple tv. Infact, apple tv could become moot as people simply plug a regular PC to their TV (which has now become a glorified monitor). With the ability to move a pointer and type freely, the notion of a set top box is now a thing of the past. You're free to surf the web, watch online tv, use iTunes, use bittorrent, etc... anything you can do on a PC is now available in the living room. What we currently call the desktop/PC is now the main form of video consumption. (I'm looking a few years down the road of course, these changes won't be instant).

</comment><comment><USER3> * iProd? (cattle roundup tool)

I wonder if they'd go for iSpy for a spy camera. They've got a slogan already: "with my little eye".

<comment><AUTHOR> iCaramba? (time travel device that moves you back 1 minute)

<comment><USER3> I like it... an "oh shit" button to complement my "easy" button.</comment></comment></comment>


What to do when your game is too easy and too hard? - <AUTHOR> http://blog.lostdecadegames.com/what-to-do-when-your-game-is-too-easy-and-too

<comment><USER2> My instinct is that one of the following two things is actually the problem:

1) There is a particular method of play that essentially trivializes the game (i.e. "If I walk into the corner and hold down this button, I win automatically.")

2) You're going for too broad a player base. Not everyone is going to be equally good at your game. From the perspective of the player, your game actually has different difficulty levels depending on the player. This is normal and expected. Nothing wrong with trying to tune the difficulty to where the most people are happy, but you're not going to make everyone happy.

<comment><USER3> It really sounds like it's (1) from one of the descriptions: "lol it was easy just spam the space bar with the 3 way swords shooting at every door"

So what you need to do is remove the too-easy strategies while maybe dropping the difficulty of the overall game. Sounds like this three-way sword is too powerful, or the doorways need to be arranged differently. There may well be other holes in the strategy too.

Balance is probably the hardest part of game design.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> My first impulse is that this means your game is just boring. See this chart:

        ^   \good/
        |    \  /
     int|  too\/too
     ere| easy/\hard
      st|    /  \
        |   /    \
        |  /boring\
        |
        +--difficulty-->

The games above the NE-SW line are rewarding. The games above the NW-SE line are challenging. Perhaps your game doesn't offer enough reward for the challenge or enough challenge for the reward.

<comment><USER5> Csíkszentmihályi puts difficulty (challenge) and skill on the axes to map mental state (encapsulating interest).

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)#Conditions_fo...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_\(psychology\)#Conditions_for_flow)

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> The first thing I'd do is boo you for using Google Analytics. But I forgive you since I don't have a JS api yet. Here's how I handle balancing for my games:

<http://playtomic.com/blog/post/9-trickochet-launched-today>

<http://playtomic.com/blog/post/10-an-update-on-trickochet>

</comment><comment><USER7> Fix the balancing issues.</comment>


What's the real Federal Deficit? - <AUTHOR> http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-08-02-deficit-usat_x.htm

<comment><USER2> I'm curious why no one is asking if this is hacker related news? An article like this seems very similar to the article posted about Obama winning the Democratic nomination and that posting received a significant amount of criticism.

Is it that the effort expended ranting in the comments of the Obama article has exhausted you? Is it that you haven't seen this news covered by as many news sources? Or, do you genuinely find this information different than that of Obama's nomination?

<comment><AUTHOR> To be perfectly honest, the primary reason I posted this was that I found it interesting. It's just fun to know how things really are - even if there is no direct applicability to my current circumstances. I didn't see this covered much in the mainstream news, so I posted it here in the hopes others would also find it interesting.

For a more tangible reason, I'd say it's important for would be entrepreneurs to understand the state of the US (and world) economy. The fact is that America is borrowing vast sums of money, which is going to have a direct impact on us.

In the short term, it's likely to increase inflation, telling us that maybe we shouldn't be hording cash right now (and maybe it's a good time to borrow money ;-)). In the long run, it may deepen the credit crunch and cut many consumer's effective discretionary spending power.

But mostly I just posted it cause I found it interesting ;-)

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> > _"Congress has written its own accounting rules — which would be illegal for > a corporation to use"_

It stupid to treat a Federal Government (of any nation with it's own sovereign currency) like a business when it comes to accounting. The nature of being the entity that creates a lot of the money (in the form of Treasury bills, banks create the rest via loans) means that doing this type of single entry accounting just doesn't make sense. Unfortunately this kind of article plays great for USA Today, where anything that terrifies the readership is great for business, like any other mass media outlet.

To see what I am talking about, check out this peice.[1] I'll even quote the relevant part:

> _"When government spends and runs deficits, it credits private bank accounts > more than it debits them, thereby increasing the savings of [dollar > denominated] US financial assets of the non-government sector. In fact, non- > government savings [...] can only increase if the government runs deficits, > and they increase by that exact amount. The reverse is true of surpluses. > Government surpluses necessarily reduce non-government savings by that exact > amount as well.

Therefore, the projection of a $5.6 trillion government surplus a few years back was also in fact necessarily projecting a $5.6 trillion drop in non government savings! For all practical purposes, this was a ludicrous projection, as there is no way private savings can be reduced by that amount without virtually eliminating everyone's retirement accounts and in the process eliminating private spending, employment, and income."_

[1] <http://www.cfeps.org/pubs/sr/sr0402/sr0402.html>

The rest of the policy proposals and case studies: <http://www.cfeps.org/pubs>

By definition, running government surpluses means sucking more money out of the economy in tax revenue than it puts back in. At first this would be done by buying back all those treasury bills that make up the debt, taking trillions of savings away from private holders of said bills. Then, with nothing else to do with the excess tax revenue, the government would have to start buying assets, which would remove said assets from the private market, effectively sapping wealth from the private sector. In the end, all assets would be owned by the government. Of course, there isn't any real danger of this actually happening, but I'm trying to point out that the government will never _get it's act together_ or _be profitable like a business_ like so many people seem to desire. It just doesn't work that way.

What matters is that the government has enough tax revenue to pay interest on the money it creates (treasury bills), which it does. In fact, interest payments as a percentage of tax revenue are at the lowest point in the last 15 years.

On the other hand, I totally agree with the guy from Harvard:

> _"Accounting matters, the deficit number affects how politicians act."_

If it takes a big scary (and meaningless) number like the National Debt to keep them from going hog wild on the pork, then so be it I guess.

As for Social Security and Medicare: <http://www.cfeps.org/pubs/sr/sr0501/sr0501.html>

</comment><comment><USER4> USA fiscal policy is to adjust taxes to match spending, not adjust spending to reflect taxes.

<comment><USER5> The only problem is that when they raise taxes they do not have the Laffer Curve in mind. I won't explain it because there are better explanations out there.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> It's also amazing how few people understand the difference between deficit and debt.

<comment><USER7> I'm still unclear about the difference between defecit and deficit.

<comment><USER8> The deficit is the annual shortfall...it is the amount added to the national debt in a given year, and that debt is the total amount owed.

<comment><USER6> I used to teach at a college, and a lot of my students didn't realize that. Just yesterday I was talking with a vendor, and somehow the talk (mostly his) turned to politics, and he didn't realize it. I think if articles like the one here explained it, more people would have the chance to understand that we're behind that much more every year, and the accumulation now is startling.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> No wonder they can't control spending - no one is being honest about how excessive the spending actually is!

I hope Obama can help clean up this mess..

<comment><USER10> Does the new spending that he has proposed exceed the cuts that he's proposed plus the expected revenue from any tax increases? (He's on record supporting a rate increase that he admits leads to lower revenues.)</comment></comment>


Are Income Share Agreements the Future of Higher Ed? This Startup Says Yes - <AUTHOR> https://www.forbes.com/sites/theodorecasey/2019/10/25/are-income-share-agreements-the-future-of-higher-education-this-startup-says-yes/ <comment><USER2> I have been advocating for this sort of thing for about 15 years -- but, there will be some legal challenges eventually, when highly-profitable companies invest in students that end up feeling screwed.

But overall I think this is a great thing. In theory, a competitive marketplace bidding to invest in talented but broke students, to teach them how to reach their fullest potential would be a huge force for good in the world.

But I don't envy the first private firms the nasty legal fights they're going to have with students who feel screwed.</comment>


Google News turns 10 - <AUTHOR> http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/google-news-turns-10.html <comment><USER2> It's a nice summary of news and they've added a few UI tricks, but I can't help but feel like after 10 years it could be much better than it is. The thing still doesn't know who the hell I am. There's no sense that it's clustering me by interest, or news click history. It might be, but I'm still seeing articles on e.g. ATM charges when I don't live in the US. The election stuff is cool since it affects us all, but I really don't need _that_ much daily analysis of it. It's certainly not reflecting my web search history (or Google reader feed list), which should at least be some kind of option.

E.g. put the Curiosity rover stuff near the top. Info about the Patriot's coach...somewhere else. Same with "Aaron Paul Gushes About Fiancee Lauren Parsekian And His Upcoming Wedding." Is there an algo that thought that was vaguely interesting to me, or is Google just shotgunning articles at us all?

</comment><comment><USER3> Google is older than it feels

<comment><USER4> Hmm? It feels like Google's been around _forever_ ... the pre-Google past seems almost mythical...

<comment><USER5> Nah. In fact, AltaVista was fine until they stopped supporting exact phrase searches.

<comment><USER6> Not for everybody. I remember it being bloated and easily tricked. SEO in those days was just jamming keywords into the page repeatedly. I also don't remember exact pharase searches.

If AltaVista had been fine, Google wouldn't have grown so easily.

<comment><USER7> Honestly, the only reason I switched was the interface.

A blank webpage was preferable to all that clutter:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Altavista-1999.png>

<comment><USER8> Very true. I don't remember the exact date I switched to Google [1.] but I permanently switched after a single search. It was simply that much better, even at the beginning.

1\. I first found out about Google way down deep in a /. thread, probably between hot grits and GNAA troll posts.

<comment><USER9> I first learnt about google from this post in tasty bits from the technology front: <http://tbtf.com/archive/1998-05-11.html#s08>

Hard to believe they only had 25 million documents indexed then.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I think google news needs a really easy way to report sites that don't work. I'd say 10% of the time I'll click through to an article and it will throw a paywall up, or simply redirect me, or tell me the article doesn't exist.

Also I'd love the ability to block certain sources e.g., the wall street journal since I'm not interested in reading the just the first four sentences of the article.

<comment><USER11> You can block any source you want. I have many sources blocked (ie TechCrunch) and others favorited (ie Verge). Just go to settings.

<comment><USER10> Where? I clicked the gear icon and there's a section called "adjust sources" but it just has a text box with a plus icon next to it. I tried "adding" wsj.com in the hope I could block it after adding but nothing happens after I click the plus button.

It's a pretty confounding UI really. It makes me feel lost and confused and bad about my life in general ... :-(

<comment><USER11> When you click the plus button to add a source, it should show a bar bellow it with a slider of how much you want from that source. So you just slide it to the minus side if you never wanna see that, or to the plus side if you wanna see it more often.

If you're not seeing that, maybe something is wrong with your browser, try changing browsers or stopping extensions.

<comment><USER10> It actually worked today. I guess there was something broken that they fixed. Things are looking up!</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: When did you can consider yourself as senior software engineer? - <AUTHOR> Every job opening mostly says 'Hiring Senior Software Engineer', when you consider yourself qualified with this title? <comment><USER2> My bar for a senior engineer is someone who can independently drive a large (1 quarter-ish) project to completion with high quality, acting primarily as an IC. They're someone I can throw at a problem and get it solved. They'll by and large get themselves unblocked when stuck - asking questions, talking to stakeholders, etc. They can decompose problems so that other less senior engineers on the team can execute on different parts of them efficiently.

<comment><USER3> Hmm so who is a tech lead?

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Forget titles - if you [more or less] qualify for the job description, i.e. think you're able to handle the duties mentioned, apply.

</comment><comment><USER5> I don't know about other companies, but here's a generalised description of officially what a senior software engineer does.

\- Relevant tertiary qualification \- min 5 years experience \- long list of proficiency relevant to particular area of work \- Proven ability to take a lead role in the design and development of a feature from start to completion \- Establish technical feasibility of assigned projects \- Uses diagramming appropriately to convey technical details and features \- Create, Document, Maintain technical design approaches \- Mentor other developers \- Lead debugging investigations and report results \- Present results of research and investigation, to team meetings, or at conferences, etc.

\+ Everything a normal/jr dev does

I think it's a pretty good/comprehensive definition, and it seems clear enough to me in my work environment.

</comment><comment><USER6> I think it's after developing and running a few real world large systems over the course of years. I was an extremely technical "junior" engineer, and I often knew things that "senior" engineers didn't, but there really is no substitute for real world experience over time.

It's a bit like how life works in general. You "level up" every 7-10 years and look back at how "dumb" you were previously. After a few cycles of this you get to a point where you're an "adult" in most of the ways that matter.

A relevant quote from @KentBeck really nails the value of experience:

 _" first you learn the value of abstraction, then you learn the cost of abstraction, then you're ready to engineer"_

</comment><comment><USER7> Never. It doesn't belong to me. It's an HR and job market paradigm word. I avoid that like the plague as it's a beauty contest.

</comment><comment><USER8> I would say a minimum of 3 years.

I'd find it hard to believe you were senior if you had less than that.

<comment><USER9> I'd consider seniors with a minimum 5 years

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> when people you consider senior come to you for advice

</comment><comment><USER11> When you solve their bugs for them, instead of them helping you with yours.

</comment><comment><USER12> Generally in large enterprise businesses Senior engineers are normally individual contributors that can independently architect, design, secure, scale, deploy, maintain and close out individual small to medium size programs normally in the thousand to possible low double digit million dollar value range. They will normally interact with other employees, vendors and stake holders in their business unit to achieve goals. Their documentation, CI/CD are normally very in-depth and high quality (95% code documented, user, developer, admin manuals, product slides, etc). Mistakes made by the Senior Engineer may cause loss of revenue due to individual program failures or loss of employees on the team, normally these issues can be recovered from within a short period of time. These engineers may serve as a tech lead and report to a Principal/Senior Principal or Managers for their program. They will also normally help with interviews and some current program planning and proposals for new programs. You may also be in meetings related to your program or office.

Principal/Senior Principal software engineers are also individual contributors that normally do what senior engineers do, but are normally trusted to deal with engineering and technical management of the larger multi-high double to hundred million or billion dollar enterprise national and international scale programs due to having a large history of successful programs experience (e.g. 10 years minimum normally that are critical core business programs). If they make mistakes it can normally causes grave problems to the entire organization that may not be recoverable, multiple closures or high revenue losses across multiple programs. These engineers normally report to C-Suite Executives, and Senior Management, they may also have managers under them. They will normally also provide general and in-depth documentation and training for multiple programs and mentor senior and junior engineers. They will normally write proposals, presentations, BoMs and write job descriptions for multiple program staffing requirements for the company and may serve as program(s) managers or in a supervisory capacity. You will normally be in meetings about multiple programs under you for multiple offices and working on future business programs in the 5 to 10 year range.

There are also normally Fellows grade employees in companies and these individual contributors may service as strictly long term technical business development or program review and sustainment types. They normally have the around 5 to 10 years working as a Principal or Senior Principal engineers but focus more on the technical business side (think more program management with technical skills for future programs). They may also help with the larger enterprise wide programs and normally report to C-Suite Executives or Senior Leadership. You will normally be in meetings helping gather information about programs under your for multiple offices and very long term future business endeavors 10 to 20 years.</comment>


Compressed sensing and single-pixel cameras (2007) - <AUTHOR> http://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/compressed-sensing-and-single-pixel-cameras

<comment><USER2> Here is an article linked from the above text:

<http://dsp.rice.edu/cscamera>

That shows how the single pixel camera works, it is sensing with only a single element, but it make many sequential (randomized) scans to form the image.

Just like the drum scanners of old, only non-linear.</comment>


Show HN: Introducing pppulp - <AUTHOR> http://www.pppulp.com <comment><USER2> Nice.

Some feedback: I had some problems with the auto-complete on the front page search. I typed and hit enter expecting to go to a search results page, but instead it must've selected the top result in the autocomplete and took me to that page instead.

When i got to a results page (Jasper Fforde in this case) and selected one of the books it too me to a "finding prices" page, but the page title is Page Not Found. Back button didn't seem to work after getting there either... had to manually go back to search results

The search results page didn't seem to be in any particular order. Again, looking at Jasper Fforde, was hard to know if there is a new book available here especially as there are a couple of different series he's written.

When i did find a book, was surprised there was only a listing from book depository, and then a message saying "oops ebay error". No amazon?

In all it's a nice interface/app, but I'm not entirely sure why I wouldn't just use goodreads (which you seem to be leveraging anyway).

Happy to have a chat if you want to catch up at some point, it's been a while :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the feedback!

We're at the mercy of some pretty bad APIs.

\- The autocomplete API is powered by Google Books, which returns some pretty iffy results at times. It's also rate limited, but not as bad as the others

\- Goodreads API doesn't support auto complete and has no plans to. I guess it's too chatty.

\- Ebay ISBN search only works for some books. There's no clear indication as to what will and what won't return a result list. Here's an example bug raised in 2012 with no action. [https://forums.developer.ebay.com/questions/1079/finditemsby...](https://forums.developer.ebay.com/questions/1079/finditemsbyproduct- only-works-with-some-ean.html)

EDIT: Re: Amazon, I turned it off for AU given they don't _really_ ship here. If it's desired, I can turn it back on.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Hey guys, creator of pppulp here. After helping a lot of friends and clients to success with their startups I figured it was about time I had a turn. pppulp is an Angular + Node + Heroku stack, and my first big undertaking as a full stack dev/designer.

Following the launching adage, there are plenty of parts I'm embarrassed by. Hopefully getting your feedback can inspire me to keep building on this further as there are some great new features and integrations I'm looking to add.</comment>


NewsGator RSS Reader Down - New Alternative - <AUTHOR> http://readmix.com

<comment><USER2> It seems to work well, but the design and layout could use some work. Some parts seem lifted right from Reader, while others seem like they were stuck in as an afterthought, like the article content being underneath the article list. Some trivial things also make me not want to use it, like the tabs being misaligned by a few pixels, and the little inconsistencies in the design.</comment>