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GE switches off light bulb business after almost 130 years - caution
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/05/ge-switches-off-light-bulb-business-after-almost-130-years/
======
terracatta
GE is literally selling the metaphor for innovation and ideas for $250
million. It's also the last Edison original business.
Curious what others think, but I think they undervalue the brand value they
are eroding by divesting from all of these low growth business that were the
building blocks of their once great brand?
~~~
mlinhares
I don't think there's many people out there other than Boomers that look at GE
as an important brand name. I definitely don't have anything from them nor do
I plan to buy anything any time soon.
~~~
jjeaff
I would think it might carry some weight in the trades though. If I have some
electrical component and it says GE on it, I am going to trust it a lot more
than a "happy smile electronics" part. Whether that trust is misplaced or not
is a different conversation, though.
------
viknod
GE lighting(for consumers) died a slow death starting with the elimination
incandescent bulbs. The twisty florescent were made in China on non-exclusive
contract, Walmart and whoever else wanted, bought the exact same bulb. What it
did achieve was elimination of a US workforce that was a growing financial
burden with retirement and medical benefits. Make no mistake, they architected
legislation to eliminate the incandescent. The price of the 60w equivalent CF
was four times it's incandescent counterpart, and bulbs that still failed on a
regular basis due to power supply design. This was the transformation to a
marketing/design company, similar to most companies that put their mark on
products today. With no differentiation, or passionate brand loyalty(for light
bulbs!?), it's a race to the bottom..
~~~
xkapastel
I'm a little confused, because I'm typing this underneath a GE incandescent
bulb, which is also the only type of bulb I use. Has this "elimination" not
happened yet?
~~~
SisypheanLife
See
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_lighting_energ...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_lighting_energy_policy#Energy_Independence_and_Security_Act_of_2007)
The phaseout was defunded.
------
iancmceachern
So GE doesn't make light bulbs, HP doesn't make test equipment, IBM doesn't
make computers, and AT&T doesn't have any phone lines. What a strange new
world we find ourselves inhabiting.
~~~
Aeolun
But look at all that shareholder value!
------
wenc
I'm surprised GE stuck around in a commodity business for so long. Lighting is
something we'll always need but the prices are so low these days that I wonder
what their margins are.
Also, not sure what's next after LEDs.
~~~
musicale
> Also, not sure what's next after LEDs.
The latest and greatest LED lighting still looks awful to me - it seems fuzzy
and unpleasant even though it appears yellowish rather than the harsh blue or
weird glowing violet of earlier LED bulbs.
The spectrum from an incandescent bulb seems so much better.
I greatly prefer the low power, low heat, and long life of LED bulbs, but I
just can't get past the awful light that comes from them.
~~~
chiefgeek
Totally agree. I'm not a fan of the residential LED light bulbs that I have.
Even though they are supposed to be 3200ºK there's weird color fringing at the
penumbra and they cause a lot of metamerism on certain materials. And these
bulbs were around $20/ea.
~~~
vram22
Clothes' colors look quite different from the original under (what I think is)
an LED light at night. That's clothes on a clothesline in a corridor outside
my house.
------
madengr
Back in high school, in 1989, we got a tour of a GE light bulb factory (closed
now since 2010 when they outsourced to China). It was interesting as the
machinery looked to be early 20th century, but retrofitted as needed with
modern PLC. They had 18 parallel lines cranking out bulbs. The automated
warehouse was neat. Robotic pallet fetchers controlled by a VAX.
------
kylek
_That should have been impossible. It was protected. I thought they made it
protected._
_I 'm looking ..._
_Can they save it? Keep all the pieces together, maybe they can save it._
_There 's nothing to save. Look for yourself. It's just ... gone. There's
nothing left._
~~~
analognoise
[https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football/livermore-
californ...](https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football/livermore-california)
...what the fuck is this?
~~~
ckozlowski
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17776](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17776)
Just found this now myself. Amazing what you come across in an HN discussion.
Fascinating!
------
chiefalchemist
I recently finished reading "Imagine It Forward" by Beth Comstock. It was
story-based lessons from her time at GE and NBC. She discusses the perils of
this division. Evidently, per the book, this was been a long time coming.
As a side note, the book is good. I don't want to oversell it but it reminded
me of "Creativity, Inc." And while the context is corporate/enterprise, there
were plenty of valuable takeaways for any company where people matter and
change is a given.
------
MintelIE
I use incandescents at my home because the alternatives are very RF-noisy.
GE's incandescents are (were?) among the worst for life. Thankfully there are
American companies making quality incandescents right here at home now.
~~~
jjeaff
Interesting. Are you trying to reduce rf noise because it interferes with
something? How do you measure the RF noise? I have several high quality
Bluetooth devices and keep getting occasionally spotty service. I'm thinking
it is rf interference.
~~~
MintelIE
I listen to short wave radio, and my radio itself is an excellent RFI
detector. I just wandered around the house with it holding it up to things
until I identified the problem. The only things really emitting lots of RF
were LED and CFI bulbs, and a couple cheap power supplies for Netgear info-
appliances.
~~~
ryanobjc
There are LED bulb requirements in California, and people have mocked them,
but as I understand it they are supposed to help address this issue, as well
as color quality and audible noise issues.
In other words, California says no to cheap shitty bulbs.
------
someonehere
Does this mean they’re ending the C by GE bulb line? They’re the IoT connected
bulbs.
------
coliveira
GE is practically a bankrupt company. They are planning to survive by selling
assets and using the practically guaranteed bonds provided by the Fed. Nobody
knows how long this will work out for them.
~~~
nogabebop23
They have almost 300 billion in assets, including 35+ billion in cash. They've
cut debt in 1/2 in the past 5 years.
Not exactly "practically bankrupt" but hey, random internet comment...
~~~
coliveira
That's not the issue. GE has a lot of liabilities in the future, not only
loans, but also including billions they will need to cover for their failed
insurance business. They under insured long term care and now these costs are
skyrocketing. In the past they promised to sell business units to pay these
future liabilities, however it seems that their businesses are shrinking, not
increasing. If they cannot turn around and improve their business, they won't
have enough to sell to cover the growing liabilities.
Insurance liabilities were valued at $38Bi in 2018, and these costs are only
going up:
[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-insurance/exclusive-
ge...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-insurance/exclusive-ge-seeking-
to-shed-troubled-insurance-business-sources-idUSKCN1IN2NA)
------
Simulacra
After crushing the Incandescent bulb to prop up Theke nascent fluorescent/LED
bulb market, Like a Walmart in a small town, they leave and let the rest of us
pickup the pieces.
------
downerending
Was expecting this to have something to do with the shift away from
incandescent bulbs, but apparently not.
(Is it just me, or do the newer, environmentally friendly bulbs seem not to
last nearly as long?)
~~~
ubercore
My LED bulbs last forever. As in, I've never had one fail since I started
using them.
~~~
Exmoor
What kind of bulbs are you using? I've had a similar experience the OP with
LED bulbs using the Feit ones sold at Costco. At some point I read about a
design issue where manufacturers are using cheap components which die much
faster than the actual LED's wear out, so even though the LED's are rated for
50,000 hours, the bulb itself will stop working after 10,000 hours (made up
numbers). I would will to spend a bit more if I could be confident that I was
going to get a bulb that actually lasted the lifespan of the LEDs.
~~~
ubercore
Philips Hue, and the original warm-light bulbs that Philips had a long time
ago (the ones with the yellow plastic). Also a few cheap-o ones from the
electric company (CREE I think?). None have failed
~~~
mjcl
Yeah, I have about 15 of the old yellow/silver Phillips LED lights and they've
been fantastic. The only one that has died overheated because it was in a
globe fixture without enough airflow to cool the bulb.
------
ihuman
Does anyone here use their zigbee or z-wave switches? I was considering
getting them, but if they're leaving the lighting business then I might not.
~~~
dnr
If you look at reviews of Z-Wave dimmers and switches, as I did recently, GE
seems to be not very well regarded, and on the expensive side. Some of the
newer brands like Zooz and Inovelli have a lot more features and are cheaper
too. I narrowed it down to those two and then recently replaced a bunch of
switches with Zooz products. Happy so far. (Can't speak for zigbee.)
------
pstrateman
That's sad the GE bulbs were high quality.
~~~
kjaftaedi
I think you might have missed their ridiculous 'smart' bulbs
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BB6wj6RyKo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BB6wj6RyKo)
~~~
gundmc
I have to do this every month or two to reset my bricked lights. This video
made me involuntarily twitch. Awful, awful experience.
------
unnouinceput
250M USD only for an entire division? That's pocket change. I wonder why such
a low price.
~~~
Kihashi
Most of GE's consumer lighting business had already been sold off. Also,
Lighting was never a super large part of GE by revenue or profit.
------
microcolonel
Link is broken, actual link is [https://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2020/05/ge-sw...](https://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2020/05/ge-switches-off-light-bulb-business-after-
almost-130-years/)
~~~
floatingatoll
I emailed the mods about this using the contact link in the footer.
~~~
dang
So you did. Thanks!
------
emmelaich
Visiting the USA, I was surprised at how much advertising there was for GEICO.
Multiple ads per hour on various channels.
GE has been a finance and insurance company for some time.
~~~
dennyabraham
Though they have similar names, GEICO and GE are unrelated businesses. The
former is an acronymn for Government Employees Insurance Company, the latter
stands for General Electric
~~~
nogabebop23
If you remember 30 Rock, It's just "G" now - they sold the "E" to "Samesung"
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Network monitor with REST endpoint project - bsmit
https://github.com/benhsmith/netwhere
======
bsmit
I made a little packet capture/monitor process in modernish C++ that serves
the results over a REST endpoint. It comes with a demo site that shows the
data it's collecting. It's been tested on Ubuntu and OpenWRT.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Robot Journalism Is Great for Journalists - fraqed
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/07/why-robot-journalism-is-great-for-journalists.html
======
danso
"Robot journalism" is good for journalism in the same way that outsourcing is
good for programmers and engineers: drudge code entry that needs to be done
can be identified and contracted out at a much lower rate, therefore saving
the in-house programmers to do innovative, business-expanding work.
However, that reality doesn't always follow, depending on the dynamics of the
business and the forward-thinkingness of management. And this is in
engineering/technical companies that are making viable amounts of money. Will
the managers who run cratering news companies have the same foresight? Not
going to hold my breath.
(note: I fully support the automation of writing/observation of digital
feeds...I'm just skeptical that the journalism industry will apply it either
efficiently or in a way that benefits their human workers)
~~~
keithpeter
_> > "Journalism is becoming a more highly skilled job,” Doctor said. “Simply
showing up, in the Woody Allen sense — being able to read a press release or
interview a single person, and write up a story that is understandable in 750
words — that's not going to be enough."_
Just wondering where these higher skilled journalists are going to learn their
trade? Longer in j-school? So more debt?
The OA was I suspect given routine business reports to write as a cub reporter
to get him used to deadlines, structures, systems, house style &c. Same with
minor league sports reports in provincial newspapers in the UK.
------
paletoy
The next attack on journalism might be great curation, not robots. Why ?
because no single human has the capability to write the best story in any
given case.Add to that the capabilities of unpaid bloggers, industry insiders
and the like, you get a serious threat to journalism.
Alas ,there are no great content curation tools AFAIK.But when there will
be...
~~~
lemma
Can you expand on this? What would great curation/curation tools look like? I
feel like I agree with this insight, but don't know much about the field.
~~~
paletoy
Giving you articles that are fun,strongly insightful and 100% right almost
every time, on your exact interests is the goal of a great curation.Bonus
points for short an to the point writeup when appropriate.
How do you do it ? not sure yet. The best that i can do today to do is
constantly weeding out my blogs/twitter subscriptions. But i'm far from that
goal.
~~~
TelmoMenezes
> ... on your exact interests is the goal of a great curation
I am not so sure this is a good idea. It will trap people in bubbles, where
they will find only an echo chamber for their existing opinions and never have
them challenged. It will insulates them from serendipity and it will prevent
them from exploring, acquiring new interests and perspectives and so on.
~~~
chris_va
People keep worrying about filter bubbles, which is a rational but misguided
fear. Having written some of these systems (Google News), it really does not
happen the way people imagine it would.
At the end of the day, the factors that define a good curation framework do
not actually create a filter bubble. People love serendipitously discovering
new content, and the optimizing for the "best article" does not actually
optimize for a singular viewpoint. As a result, any curation system that
produces a filter bubble will not actually feel as good of a system to the end
user, and will not get as much adoption.
~~~
TelmoMenezes
Chris, in my view the problem with this reasoning is that you are assuming
that people are good at noticing that they are inside a filter bubble.
I have a less optimistic perspective: I suspect people want to feel like they
are being exposed to diverse information while not having their beliefs or
preferences challenged. This makes sense, considering that our cognitive
resources are limited and being exposed to information that contradicts our
beliefs is a psychologically painful experience.
So I claim that this is a cultural problem that companies have no incentive to
solve. I am not claiming that I have a solution, nor do I endorse regulation
or (shudder) government intervention on cultural dynamics.
I suspect that we more and more belong to tribes that are divided across
intelectual instead of geographical lines. Surely I have more in common with
you than most of my neighbours (just going by the fact that we are both
participating in the same niche forum). The problem is that nation states are
still geographical and have to arrive at some democratic consensus to avoid
tyranny. The avenues by which such consensus can be achieved are getting
narrower. Maybe we will transcend nations, maybe we will devolve into tyranny.
I am hoping for the former, but become worried when I see people believing
that the problem doesn't exist.
I try do as I preach, so I am open to having my opinion challenged :)
------
jusben1369
On a totally different note this startup, Automated Insights, is based in
Durham NC (where my startup Spreedly is also based). There are all the
elements of a great startup scene; a clustering of talent, a decent incubator
that does two sessions per year at around $150K per startup, cheap real
estate, excellent food and affordable living. The greater area has 3 good
schools. There are numerous other startups here but I can't help but give a
plug for what's happening as I know many developers here wrestle with
work/life balance. Right now it's very good in Durham. Biggest drawback is
lack of local seed funding but things like AngelList are making that less of
an issue than a few years ago.
------
benologist
Robot journalism isn't going to be great for journalists. Publications will
quickly gravitate towards the content farm model where every article will be
accompanied by 20 - 30 keyword permutations and no overhead for articles that
don't pull social media traffic/shares/links. You can already see companies
like Mashable pushing the limits of doing this by hand.
I wonder if/how Google will differentiate between automated news vs machine-
generated spam?
~~~
xorcist
> I wonder if/how Google will differentiate between automated news vs machine-
> generated spam?
If history is any guide, I think this line will be more and more difficult to
draw.
~~~
chris_va
It's easier than you might think. Machines are, if nothing else, good at
identifying things other machines have created.
People also often forget that Google doesn't just have to look at the page
content to analyze something. Reader behavior, for example, can tell you a
lot.
~~~
xorcist
I'm not so sure about that. Machine curated news could easily be used as base
for spam, for example.
------
Houshalter
I don't see how this is useful. It's just converting some short table of
statistics into an unnecessarily long paragraph in natural language.
~~~
hvs
Some people see tables of statistics and think, "AUGH! MATH!" Whereas the same
information presented in natural language does not generate the same response.
I'm also assuming that the software can provide a little more context than
just that sort of opening paragraph. If not, I agree with you that this isn't
exactly earth-shattering software (then again, what is these days?).
~~~
mckoss
Also a better format for text to speech.
------
EGreg
Whatever a robot can do, they can do a million times an hour.
Next we'll have robot comments on robot blogs. We already have impersonal
birthday wishes on fb -- where you can make an app that automatically wishes
happy birthday. And the recipient can install an app to automatically thank
everyone. It's as I was half joking in the past -- guys will outsource their
robots to have sex with their wives' robots.
------
Houshalter
I wonder if you got a large dataset of these short human written articles, and
trained a generative model to produce them character by character. This was
done on wikipedia:
[https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~ilya/fourth.cgi](https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~ilya/fourth.cgi)
------
mkhpalm
Yes, but what about robot sensationalism? Do we have the technology to make
something great for sensationalists?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Government shutdown: TLS certificates not renewed, many websites are down - jmsflknr
https://www.zdnet.com/article/government-shutdown-tls-certificates-not-renewed-many-websites-are-down/
======
smitop
HSTS errors can be bypassed on Chrome by entering "thisisunsafe", if anyone
wants to bypass these HSTS errors. Of course you probably shouldn't have to
this: it _is_ unsafe.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World's Exit from Fossil Fuels - cpeterso
http://fortune.com/2015/12/02/elon-musk-carbon-tax-paris/
======
valvar
Not that I disagree (in fact I strongly agree), but is Musk really the person
we should be taking this from? It's a bit like taking investment advice from
your bank, meseems. Not necessarily a bad idea, but you might want to hear
with people who don't have an active interest in the placement of your money
first.
~~~
jdc
Aren't there significant carbon emissions released during the production of a
Tesla car and its components?
~~~
samcheng
After accounting for emissions during manufacturing, even if you powered an
electric car with coal power only, carbon emissions of an electric car are
roughly a 25-30 MPG car equivalent.
However, those numbers get much better as the electric power generation mix
improves (at both the car factory and your garage). In California, now, an
electric car is about equivalent to a 70 MPG car.
Note that significant efforts are underway to reduce the carbon-intensiveness
of our electricity generation, so these numbers will get better over time.
[http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-
green](http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-green)
~~~
brianclements
I think it's a bootstrapping issue. What does one do first when they want an
entirely new power ecosystem? I would argue it's wiser to start with the sexy
public facing segment on the demand side (awesome looking electric sports
cars) and have the public start this exact conversation and demand the
infrastructure changes. Because it seems like a pretty steep climb for one to
try to make this huge change simply by supply side first.
------
3pt14159
Not just a carbon tax, but a system of well thought out taxes that cover the
negative externalities of _every_ part of pollution so that the market can
efficiently allocate investments. For example, most people don't know that
coal causes more radiation damage to humans than nuclear. Why is this? Because
coal gets released right into the atmosphere, while spent fuel rods get stored
away from human contact.
I know that there are political realities that prevent all of the taxes that
should be in effect from coming into effect, but those political realities can
change once the issue is reframed. Every dollar of pollution tax could, for
example, be directed at lowering the income tax rate. This can make the
proposal much more tenable to voters and the more right wing side of the
intelligentsia that pushes for changes in government policy.
~~~
sukulaku
> _well thought out taxes that cover the negative externalities of every part
> of pollution so that the market can efficiently allocate investments_
But it's not "the market" that decides how electricity is produced in a
country, right? It's the government.
~~~
alerkay
Good point
------
danieltillett
I used to think that carbon taxes were the way to go, but I have seen how
effective the fossil fuel industry is at creating FUD. When you consider an
effective carbon tax makes all their assets worthless it is not surprising
that they will do whatever it takes to block anything other than a nominal
carbon tax.
There really is only one way to get past the fossil fuel industry and that is
to buy them out. Given the benefit from stopping global warming is spread over
the whole community it is actually fairer if we did this rather than push a
disproportionally share onto the owners of fossil fuel. Lets get serious and
just pay off Exxon and their buddies.
~~~
pzone
This is a point which gets overlooked pretty often.
It's the same as the value of taxi medallions in the Uber debate. Allowing
Uber to operate in a city where technically only medallion owners were
supposed to drive is actually really shitty to the owners of those medallions.
You open it up, suddenly tell them that their investment is worthless because
of a change in regulations. It's really unfair to them. Perhaps the way to
quiet the medallion owners would be to pay them like 25% or 50% of what they
were worth earlier in compromise bill allowing Uber in. They don't feel so
slighted, everyone else gets Uber. That's win-win.
How it would work in this case: pass a compromise bill which involves paying
these companies some amount of cash so their shareholders won't feel so
slighted. They will give up their fight against carbon taxes, and we avert
global catastrophe.
~~~
reitzensteinm
It's not "really shitty" to the owners of the medallions, the risk of a loss
of the artificial monopoly should have been baked into the price from the
start.
That the prices got as high as they did indicates the confidence the owners
had over the stability of their political situation, which I have no sympathy
for.
~~~
pzone
In that case, then the medallions _also_ include the value of owners being
able to maintain their monopoly through lobbying efforts.
Whether or not you have any sympathy for them, striking a deal is the best
solution.
(Other question: do you have any sympathy for poor people who are hurt a bit
by a carbon tax? Elsewhere in this discussion people are arguing against the
tax because it hurts the poor. I think it would be a bit weird to be
sympathetic to poor people who are hurt a little by a policy decision, but
unsympathetic to slightly less poor people who are hurt a lot by a policy
decision.)
~~~
reitzensteinm
I don't have sympathy for losses sustained via poor investment decisions. I
have lost a small fortune in my life because of mistakes I've made, and I
don't want or deserve sympathy for any of it. Losing is part of playing the
game.
Poor people just trying to get by (and this included me at many points in my
life) are who we should be saving our empathy for. Not wannabe businessmen.
------
Synaesthesia
Another thing that would help is to stop subsidizing the fossil-fuel industry!
The IMF estimates that about $5.3 trillion is spent annually subsidizing
fossil fuel energy.
[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2015/NEW070215...](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2015/NEW070215A.htm)
~~~
danieltillett
This is certainly the low hanging fruit.
------
ghouse
A phased-in revenue-neutral carbon tax of $30/ton would increase electricity
rates in (most of) the US by < 10%. And could lower income taxes (or if not
revenue neutral) reduce the debt. What's not to like?
~~~
eru
If it's revenue neutral and lowering income taxes, where would the big
`victims' be?
~~~
bigiain
The answer used to be "aluminum smelters" (aluminum, aka "frozen
electricity").
Interestingly, the aluminum smelters in the mountains behind Portland closed
down when the datacenters moved in and bought all the cheap hydro electricity
they used to use.
My guess is that a tax increase on electricity will hit the
Google/Facebook/Amazon/Apple/Microsoft and other "cloud businesses" pretty
hard...
~~~
crdoconnor
Aluminium smelters in Germany are actually getting a big subsidy. They're
varying their electricity usage based upon the output of Germany's solar/wind
farms and getting paid a hefty sum to do so (possibly too much).
This is having a negative impact on other smelters across the world.
Effectively they're doing the same job we were always told batteries would do.
~~~
greglindahl
If they're paying a fair amount for electricity, it's not a subsidy. And it's
probably not a minute-timescale change like batteries. Energy storage and
batteries are quite different things.
------
TheWoodsy
Carbon tax in Australia. All extra expenses were passed along down the chain
to the consumer. We got rid of the tax. Prices stayed the same. _sigh_
Implementation and/or regulation is key.
~~~
crdoconnor
>Carbon tax in Australia. All extra expenses were passed along down the chain
to the consumer. We got rid of the tax. Prices stayed the same.
In general if a corporate think tank said something happened or something is
going to happen and it impinges upon their profits, there's a better than even
chance they're lying through their teeth.
See also: minimum wage, regulation of the financial sector, anything to do
with debt, etc.
------
friendzis
Carbon tax becomes a peculiar piece of legislation when viewed from Pirate
Party's perspective (not necessarily that I agree with it, no _ad hominem_
please). According to Rick Falkvinge [1] legislation must:
* Be targeted at a problem
* Solve the problem
* Not create other problems in best case, worse problems in worst case
* Be evidence based
Carbon emission is considered a problem because it contributes to climate
change. For carbon tax to be considered targeting a problem we must accept
that climate change is a problem.
Does it solve a problem? At least not directly. Taxes on tobacco and alcohol
do not eliminate consumption, prohibition in US created a Mafia, jail-time for
drug possession does not eliminate consumption, we have hard evidence
confirming that.
Such tax hinders accessibility, though. Since at least transportation is
fossil fuel dependant, more or less everything (commodities including: food,
public transportation) will get more expensive, thus less accessible.
Do we have hard evidence (numbers, not general economic speculation) that x
level carbon tax will lower carbon emissions by y?
[1]: [http://falkvinge.net/pirate-wheel/principles/quality-
legisla...](http://falkvinge.net/pirate-wheel/principles/quality-legislation/)
~~~
pzone
You don't have to reduce carbon emissions to zero to solve global warming, you
just have to discourage emissions to some degree. That is exactly what a
carbon tax does. It directly solves the problem.
Revenue-neutral tax is the key to dismissing the point about accessibility.
You can take the tax revenue and mostly give it to poor people who are hurt
the most by the tax.
------
walsh-cloonagh
Spending is a lot easier than taxing.
A country could just offer to buy a increasing amount of zero emission
electricity and sell it on the free market until electricity was no longer
generated from sources that yielded carbon.
The same approach could work for battery cells that could be used in cars
until non-electric vehicles were no longer competitive.
This could be funded by that country's current (probably) progressive tax
system.
This doesn't cover air, sea, heating and agriculture emissions. But a carbon
tax may not be an adequate incentive to develop electric aircraft or cargo
vessels in any case.
~~~
pzone
what?
~~~
adventured
The parent is arguing for extreme subsidization to alter the market for
electricity and vehicles (etc).
They effectively want the government to spend a lot of money to bankrupt the
fossil fuels industry and fossil fuel vehicles, with subsidies toward the
generation of renewables and producing electric vehicles.
They're wrong that spending is easier however. Republicans control Congress
and the US made a massive mistake in taking on ~$15 trillion in new public
debt between 2000 and 2015. Simply put, the US doesn't have vast excess
spending room (which means it would require tax increases or new taxes). It
would cost trillions over a few decades to pull off the parent's plan.
~~~
pzone
I agree that a subsidy is infeasible policy. But it wouldn't be effective even
if it were feasible to pull off.
Suppose the government gives out free Priuses. Well, then people are going to
drive more. Even though some people may be driving more fuel efficient cars,
it's not clear that total carbon emissions decrease.
Suppose the government provides free solar cells for everyone. Then people
will use a lot more electricity. But solar cells require some carbon emissions
to produce, and since people use so much more electricity overall, it's not
clear whether carbon emissions decrease or increase.
Either way it's just a totally goofy thought experiment, since a carbon tax is
exactly the right answer, and this subsidy idea is so misguided that it could
possibly even _increase_ carbon emissions
------
piokoch
The question is who will pay that tax? In Musk vision governments should lower
other taxes (which one?) and introduce carbon tax.
I am afraid that the devil is in the details and it may turn out that this tax
will be paid mostly by car owners (rising delivery costs, so food prices would
grow) or people in rural areas who use coal heaters. The poor will suffer most
in such case.
I am also afraid that governments wouldn't do anything else to lower carbon
emission - doing that would be stupid, they get more money thanks to large
carbon emission.
I think it is time to figure out honestly, without any eco/anti-eco bullshit
what it the best (clear, cheap and practical) way to produce energy.
I suspect this will never be done, as eco people would have to admit that
nuclear energy is a viable option to go (I don't believe we can base modern
economy on energy sources that depend on weather). Anti-eco people would have
to admit that fresh air is something more important than coal mine owners
interest (and coal mine workers interest too).
I really regret nuclear energy had such a bad press and, as a result, there
weren't any significant innovation in that area (in particular how to reuse
nuclear wastes).
~~~
pzone
Well, lower taxes on poor people. Increase welfare, subsidize public
transportation and other things that help transfer money to people who are
hurt by the tax.
"Figure out the best way to produce energy" is not something we can figure out
posting on HN, or even in a presidential debate. It is a complex and very
uncertain question, but since it is a question of innovation, it is the kind
of question that markets are very good at answering. A carbon tax directs the
market toward finding out the solution efficiently.
------
funkyy
You cannot just introduce tax and hope for best when the whole tax system and
tax recovery is a joke that hurts mainly SMBs. Its not like big corporations
will pay them anyway.
If you want to introduce a tax on something so intangible as emissions, you
would need to build easy to track and easy to use tax system.
~~~
pzone
??
You just tax sales of oil, natural gas, etc. and a few other specific
activities, like raising livestock, it's super easy
If Congress can implement something as complex as the Dodd-Frank act, I'm sure
it can measure and tax something as basic as carbon emissions
~~~
dagw
If only a few countries introduces/enforces this tax it will simply drive the
huge carbon emitters to move their emissions to other countries. The only
people that will be hurt are those that are too small to move.
~~~
pzone
Yes, and that's why 160+ world leaders are gathering in Paris to take steps
toward a global carbon emissions agreement
~~~
funkyy
US and China are unlikely to go with it or they will end up playing the rules.
The same as it is now.
Also - you are right, taxing will work. Its not like corporations and huge
manufacturers will play the system and avoid paying taxes or getting them back
through loopholes.
Only ones affected will be mostly SMBs and regular folks - as always.
------
transfire
Or a new battery that holds twice the power, charges twice as fast and costs
half as much. Yeah, or that.
------
whazor
In my opinion a carbon tax is also interesting for oil and gas companies. As
the carbon tax would enable them to compete on technologies that minimize the
carbon output of their machines. It would enable them to differentiate from
each other.
------
tmaly
how would another tax benefit the current economy? How would this tax be
spent?
------
netcan
When it comes to carbon reduction using tax, tradable, caps or any other
instrument that tries to use the price system to alter consumption levels… I
think you need a very sober economic estimate of efficiency and cost. A tax is
not very different economically from other price increases in carbon fuels.
These prices vary a lot over time. We also already have fairly variable taxes
between countries on the use of carbon fuels for (eg) cars.
Here's oil: [http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil-
brent.aspx?timeframe...](http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil-
brent.aspx?timeframe=10y)
The price varies a lot. Consumption does not vary that much or that fast. This
is called price inelasticity of demand. Demand does not drop much for
incremental increases in price. This means that to decrease consumption we'd
need a very high carbon tax. In Europe, petrol has been taxed heavily for a
long time and prices are higher than in the US. The long term effect has been
somewhat smaller cars, not a completely different transportation market.
There are also the realpolitik problems. When the public is concerned about
something (say water), it's not impossible to convince the public (consumers)
to bear a burden. But, entrenched economic interest are harder to sway or
wrangle. This leads to weird regulation. An area where water use is
distributed 15/35/50 between households/industry/agriculture will successfully
enact water restrictions of some sort on _households,_ the minor participant.
There are equivalents in energy.
I'm not saying do nothing, but I am saying be smart. Some plans are winers
from a public debate perspective but do not solve the problem. I am against a
plan that acts a a regressive tax affecting the middle and lower classes
harshly unless it is going to have a big impact.
If a household with $4,000 annual fuel costs (heating and transport) is to pay
$7,000, the overall expected result better be big steps towards carbon goals.
I have a hard time seeing this happen.
Lets do a back of the envelope: take that $5.3 trillion externality at face
value. Lets assume the world's 2 billion top consumers pay the majority of it.
Call it 4 trillion, $2k each, $8k for a family of 4. How much of a reduction
will we see? 10%? 25%?
I'm not completely down on the idea. Elon Musk suggests lowering taxes
elsewhere, being revenue neutral. This is a realistic politics problem again.
Lets say we can do that though, globally. Reduce bottom level income tax and
value added taxes by this much, people would be less harmed. Still, transport
& heating make up a large part of poorer people's income so it's hard to think
of a way this would not be regressive. I'm sure it is theoretically possible,
but very hard.
At the end of this ramble, I'm not sure where I am. I'd like to see a
realistic estimate of actual reductions in emissions. This is too big a deal
not to fix the problem.
~~~
mac01021
The best solution I've seen is a "fee and dividend" system, where a carbon fee
is collected and the proceeds are rebated in equal amounts to every legal
resident of the nation.
This means that, when gas prices go up, a lower-class person whose carbon
footprint is exactly that of the average citizen will be reimbursed for the
extra gas money by exactly the right amount. And the tax ends up being not
regressive.
Compare the carbon footprint of a well-to-do businessman who flies coast-to-
coast on a monthly basis with that of a working-class guy who drives ten miles
a day and heats his house with oil. The former is greater then the latter by
several times. The working-class guy contributes a relatively small share to
global warming, but bears an equal share of the public cost induced by the
changing climate. Under the fee-and-dividend system, every man reimburses the
public for the cost that he is imposing on them through his CO2 emissions, and
is reimbursed by everyone else for the cost they impose on him.
Because of this I argue that a carbon fee and dividend is the right policy
from a social justice perspective, and should be enacted _even_ if it is not
going to be sufficient to push us as a society off of fossil fuels.
Google "carbon fee and dividend" or see this
([http://www.skepticalscience.com/CCL-pushing-for-US-fee-
and-d...](http://www.skepticalscience.com/CCL-pushing-for-US-fee-and-
dividend.html)) for more.
------
sukulaku
Elon might want to investigate the issue he's talking about:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQqPQ0i_fl0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQqPQ0i_fl0)
>> _Don 't you hate when Fox News and the other MSM spin-meisters use simple
tricks to skew and misrepresent data and statistics? How about when the World
Meteorological Organization does it? Or NASA? Or the Journal of Climate? Or
GISS? Join James for today's thought for the day as he shows you some of the
grade school level parlour tricks the global warming alarmists use to
misrepresent their data and bamboozle the public._
~~~
tempestn
His quibble with the bar graphs there doesn't make a lot of sense given that a
Y-axis starting at 0 degrees is just as arbitrary as starting it at 13.4
degrees.
~~~
sukulaku
The point was that starting the Y-axis "suitably high" makes it look like the
relative differences in the values are greater than they actually are.
In this case, it was done to make "climate change" look like a _vastly_ bigger
problem than it actually is.
It wasn't just "his quibble" \- it's a very real problem with the way the
(actual non-)issue is presented to the masses.
------
ulfw
also can be read as "Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate Sales of My Extremely
Expensive Vehicles"
------
jbb555
Yeah I was a big fan of Elon Musk, and then he says this. Ugh. Tax never
solved anything except letting politicians take your money for their own uses.
He's fallen for it.
~~~
pzone
Are you joking? It is harder to find a tighter consensus among experts than
the conclusion that a tax is the best policy to curb carbon emissions.
[http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/03/12-taxing...](http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/03/12-taxing-
carbon-gale)
------
dclowd9901
Would this mean my company would charge me for using the break room microwave?
~~~
madeofpalk
Yes, I'm sure it does.
In practice though, I'm sure it will just get added to the electricity bill
your employer sends you every month.
------
EGreg
I am worried. Even if we switch to other forms of energy, aren't we heating up
the planet? Or do we expect it all to be radiated faster to space over time?
[http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2012/04/economist-
meets-...](http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2012/04/economist-meets-
physicist/)
~~~
pzone
Oh god, that article, classic /r/badeconomics
No, we don't have to worry about heating up the planet from our energy use,
the only major factor is the degree to which the atmosphere traps heat
------
DAddYE
I don't think will ever work. There are countries where taxes are way higher
than US. For example in Italy [1] we are around 50% (including VAT and local
taxes) and other than decreasing the productivity of companies it never had a
"mind" impact. In fact Italy is one of the countries with most cars (per
citizen) and that invest less/nothing in alternative energies.
[1] [https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/services/tax/tax-tools-
and-...](https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/services/tax/tax-tools-and-
resources/tax-rates-online/corporate-tax-rates-table.html)
~~~
cma
That's just a generic across the board tax you are talking about and linking
to isn't it? Rather than a specific incentive/disincentive in one area (carbon
emissions).
------
karmacondon
_> "This approach already occurs, Musk said, citing how taxes are higher on
cigarettes and alcohol than fruits and vegetables"_
This is a good point, but generally discouraging the use of cigarettes or
alcohol through taxation only effects people who consume those products. If
you raise the tax on carbon, that cost could be passed on by businesses in
unexpected ways. If the cost of me shipping vegetables across the country goes
up by 2%, I'm just going to increase what I charge for shipping by at least 2%
and the cost could well be passed on directly to consumers. Eventually I might
be outcompeted by someone who has a fleet of electric trucks. Maybe, at some
point. But until that happens, people could end up paying slightly more than
they do now for essentials.
Maybe this effect is covered in the policy details or by the term "revenue
neutral". Either way a carbon tax is probably a good idea, but the chain of
cause and effect isn't so clear.
~~~
jowiar
It's absolutely covered by "revenue neutral".
We tax things, but then distribute the tax revenue among the citizenry. The
cost absolutely will get passed on, but that is accounted for in the end when
you receive a check for ~1/300,000,000th of the net tax paid. The increased
cost of essentials would be a total wash, as presumably everyone is paying
roughly the same -- except to the extent that by pricing the externality,
there might be space to undercut the market with a non-polluting option where
one didn't exist before, encouraging R&D.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Nftables – A new packet classification framework - bandrami
http://developers.redhat.com/blog/2016/10/28/what-comes-after-iptables-its-successor-of-course-nftables/
======
SwellJoe
I'll take what seems to be the contrarian view and say I really like the looks
of this. There's nothing about this implementation that isn't at least as good
as what came before, and almost every aspect of it is better (sometimes
dramatically so, as in the case where you have a lot of rules).
I'm not easy to please on firewall management questions, and consider
FirewallD a step backward from plain old iptables on most fronts (though I
understand it has value in laptops and other devices that have frequently
changing networks). FirewallD is a different class of tool, of course, but it
has some overlap...many of our customers demanded FirewallD support (our
projects have a GUI for several firewall tools across Linux and the BSDs),
even though it doesn't really make a lot of sense on a server. It seems clear
that people don't love iptables unless they've been using it for years. I
don't find iptables difficult (coming from ipchains, it was a breath of fresh
air), but I understand folks who do, and this provides a clear improvement
over iptables. So, even though I don't find iptables hard, I think I'll find
this easier in a short time.
Maybe the simplification of the "standard" firewall tool will help reduce the
propagation of big firewall scripts and rule generators; I find them
distasteful in that they generate huge lists of rules, most of which have no
relevance to the deployment. So, it's often difficult to troubleshoot problems
with the firewall because there's so much crap in there.
Anyway, as others note, it does remind me of pf, which is a good thing. pf is
quite elegant and coherent (though, AFAIK, it doesn't cover all of the use
cases of iptables).
~~~
e12e
> pf is quite elegant and coherent (though, AFAIK, it doesn't cover all of the
> use cases of iptables).
Having just set up opensmtpd on Linux, and seeing how integrated pf is in such
simple tasks on openbsd - what usecases do you have in mind that iptables is
suitable for, but not pf?
Honestly curious - I generally try to stay away from iptables as I mostly run
small, private Linux servers - and I prefer just turning off services rather
than fighting the duality of listen on port X on ip n _and_ open firewall for
service y on port X for ip n. I realize å lot of complex setups does need a
bit of filtering though.
~~~
SwellJoe
I am, by no means, an expert on pf, but I strongly suspect that many of the
iptables extensions have no comparable capability in pf. Specifically, I don't
know of any deep packet inspection extensions for pf, ipsec headers (such as
authentication info) can be used for filtering decisions in iptables, iptables
has some cluster capabilities built in, iptables has DCCP congestion control
rules, and so on. iptables, like Linux itself, just has so many people working
on it, that almost anything you can think to do with it has already been done
by someone and they've created a module for it.
If you haven't run into the missing capabilities, they probably don't matter.
I'm not suggesting people who are happy with their pf firewalls should replace
them with iptables because iptables is somehow "better". It just has a lot
more users and a lot broader ecosystem because of it. To be more clear: I
don't generally use any of those features that iptables has that pf doesn't,
and I don't think most other people to either; at least no such features come
to mind. I think I have once or twice used things like the user extension in
nearly two decades of system administration.
I'm always surprised at how strong people's aversion to iptables is. It's
really not that complicated. I mean, most of the people here are writing
software in far more complex languages daily and don't consider it a huge
endeavor. iptables is a very simple declarative language, with only a few
syntactical elements, in most cases. But, I guess it doesn't look like what
folks are used to, and networking is its own category of complexity that many
people never dive into.
------
gravypod
This seems extremely complicated. I'm glad I've got ufw to fall back on.
I have no doubt that this sort of control is needed by sysadmins and such but
we need to remember: the easier you make it to break a security tool the
inherently less effective it will be. IPTables is extremely complicated from
my experience (making sure you have everything setup correctly, saving/loading
correctly, and pulling apart the lingo to see how to actually express
something you want to do). Most of the things most people want to do with a
networking tool aren't that complicated and as such I think like tools such as
ufw (and nftables) should focus on easier user interface as well as exposing
the nitty-gritty to those who need it.
~~~
JdeBP
The article has not, then, done its job of conveying to you the important
differences between the old and the new systems, such as
* the change from data structures and algorithms that are O(N) with respect to the number of individual rules to ones that are O(log N)
* elimination of a gross race condition where multiple concurrent ruleset updates by different subsystems (as can happen at, say, system bootstrap) can end up with updates simply getting silently lost
This is not user interface changes. This is actual difference in fundamental
design and implementation.
It would be interesting to see a comparison of the nftables instruction set
with other related instruction sets. It would be interesting to see how close
it is to RISC, whether it includes things like branch registers or multiple
width registers, if there is lowering to native machine code (and where that
is), and what it does and does not take from real processor ISAs including
VLIW ones.
~~~
gravypod
You shouldn't need to retcon an entire stack just because the implementation
behind some things weren't optimal. Why could this not have been done under
IPTables while maintaining compatibility with the old, already known,
command/rule set?
~~~
aseipp
> You shouldn't need to retcon an entire stack just because the implementation
> behind some things weren't optimal.
Apparently, you should. This is what the designers of iptables considered, and
did -- because, you know, they also implemented nftables.
I'm sure you are capable of lecturing them on the right way to do it, however.
> Why could this not have been done under IPTables while maintaining
> compatibility with the old, already known, command/rule set?
You should re-read the article. Almost every change adds up to a completely
different UI in the aggregate. E.g. nftables supports concepts like maps and
sets, things like rule deletion becomes simpler for users, you can have
multiple actions in rules, the kernel/userland interface is different (which
fundamentally will change how applications use it), and you have features like
rule monitoring. Why would you go through the effort of retrofitting this
stuff onto iptables UI? If anything it just adds tons of complexity to the
iptables userland implementation, which really isn't necessary at all.
There's a fairly reasonable argument to both not rock the iptables boat too
much (it's stable and well tested), and that abandoning its interface for
something more powerful and coherent, a clean slate, is the right way forward.
Furthermore, why would you do this retrofit nonsense _when iptables still
exists_? They're different stacks. If you don't want to use nftables, iptables
will still exist for a long time. It isn't going anywhere, and its
deficiencies are well known and understood. That's its own advantage, in its
own right.
------
nwmcsween
I never understood why firewall rules weren't simply a fs like procfs as most
if not all rules are tree based.
------
Hello71
It seems to me that the downside of this is that it (at least the default
output) is even harder to read than iptables.
~~~
Alupis
I think it does make a stab at making the rules a bit more "human friendly".
iptables -A FORWARD -p tcp --dport 22 -j LOG
iptables -A FORWARD -p tcp --dport 22 -j DROP
vs:
nft add rule filter forward tcp dport 22 log drop
Less random-looking flags/switches, and more meaning to a human.
~~~
loeg
The hyphens gave a nice visual separation before.
~~~
bandrami
Agreed; I assume it would be more or less trivial to write an input filter so
you can keep your old rules.
~~~
Alupis
nftables has a built-in compatibility layer for iptables and ipv6tables rules.
------
minitech
My pointless complaint of the day: that’s a terrible title, even after you fix
the “it’s”. Just use “nftables: a successor to iptables” and stop trying to…
well, I don’t know what they were going for there.
~~~
deno
Reading your title I expect to see a dry academic article. Their title sounds
like, well… a blog post.
I would propose this title instead:
> What comes after iptables? Meet nftables.
~~~
minitech
Sure, anything that’s not “What comes after iptables? The thing that comes
after iptables that I won’t name”.
~~~
angry_octet
Obviously nothing should come after iptables because the last rule should be
drop all.
------
jonathonf
Surely it should be `jqtables` ?
(Yes, it's netfilter...)
------
api
Sooner or later they'll get around to integrating this into systemd.
/jk
...hopefully...
~~~
Alupis
It's actually well integrated into the kernel (just like iptables).
Any userland applications that manage nftables could, I suppose, integrate
with systemd. However, I don't see how that's really a downside.
~~~
bandrami
The downside will be if the only interface the kernel exposes for it is some
dbus thing because that's all systemd needs.
~~~
Alupis
I guess I just don't see why it would be any different than current-day
iptables.
nftables is made by the same people as iptables, and both are heavily
integrated into the kernel (this is what prevented nftables from becoming the
defacto linux firewall before; was waiting on kernel integration, I think it
first made it in sometime around 3.18 if memory is serving well).
~~~
bandrami
Let's just say after the past few years I'm not brimming with eagerness to
give the benefit of the doubt. That said in this case I actually do see the
problem the new system is trying to solve, and think it's got a lot of cool
stuff to offer.
------
JdeBP
There are _lots_ of errors in this, starting with the incorrect "it's" in its
title and things like "a wel!l" instead of "as well!", the mis-spelling
"propert", missing definite and indefinite articles, and disagreement in
number between subjects and verbs. Some errors are far more major than those.
The "Inet family" section has entire pieces missing. It discusses examples
that aren't there, and at one point stops in the middle of a sentence.
The bulleted list in the "Getting started" section confusingly splits things
in the wrong places and several bulleted items read as gibberish as a
consequence.
This article is in sore need of some proof reading and editing.
~~~
angry_octet
For those not aware, this is satire.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Vest in peace or leave? - throwaway_emily
Hi everyone,<p>I am the founder of a startup which was acquired by big G last year. We were trying hard for two years and things were going OK; not great. I wanted to persist but our investors decided to sell us. Monetarily, the deal was good for me, other employees and the investors. Or at least, that's what it felt on the paper. While the investors got their money, we got golden handcuffs for four years. Our product was shut down and now, we are part of different teams here. Some are happy, some are sad, and I am burnt out.<p>I have vested 25% of my equity and that's more than I could have imagined before coming to the valley. Every day work drains me, I don't enjoy being here. I can change teams but I don't think that will solve the problem. I want to take a break and then do another startup or join a smaller company.<p>My current compensation translates to about half-a-million a year. While I can try getting a smaller company to match that, I don't think I would be able to perform well, given the burn out I had here in past one year. Am I too short-sighted to wait? Should I leave?<p>Note: I don't mind posting all the details here since my manager already knows my current state of mind.
======
im_down_w_otp
Define "smaller company". Because half-a-million a year is not likely to
resemble anything you'll get from anywhere outside the companies who are known
to pay comparatively very, very high IC and mid-tier management salaries
(Google, LinkedIn, Netflix, VMWare, etc.).
I know a lot of people working at a lot of very successful "smaller companies"
(for my definition of smaller), and none of them make as much as that. This
includes many VP's, SVP's, and the like.
------
pbarnes_1
I don't know a single small company that pays out anywhere _near_ 500k/year,
so... no. That's 3-4 dev salaries -- unlikely you're worth that to a small
company. This level of compensation is only provided by massive companies.
IMHO you're looking at this kind of all wrong. I.e.:
Are you happy with the amount of money your have now? If so, you can leave
early.
Otherwise:
Just wait it out?
What are your other options, really?
------
jlg23
Sounds like all you need is a one-way ticket to some beautiful place without
internet for a while. Since you say your manager knows your "current state of
mind", s(he) should be fine with a sabbatical...
~~~
throwaway_emily
I tried with two week long leaves but the effect was ephemeral.
~~~
jlg23
Yes, two weeks don't help at all. You are halfway through and already can
count the days until stress begins again.
I had two burnouts and both took me 2 to 3 months of doing nothing to recover
from. I did nothing but have breakfast, watch TV, sleep, have lunch, watch TV,
sleep, have dinner, watch TV, sleep. I was not back to normal after these 2 to
3 months, I was only at a level where I could go out and see friends again and
think about a real holiday.
I barely avoided burnout 3 by leaving the continent and diving into a
completely different culture for more than a year. But here also, the first 2
months were just relaxing. Sitting on rooftops in Fez' medina, at Moroccan
beaches or in the desert - always doing nothing more than watching the day
pass by.
~~~
throwaway_emily
Thanks. I think I am in same boat as you.
------
zer00eyz
You define yourself as "burnt out" and that you "want to take a break", and
your manager is aware. Before you make ANY decision you need to follow your
own advice and "take a break".
I highly recommend that you take some time off, and go do something
altruistic. Build houses for habitat for humanity, go work in a soup kitchen,
dig wells in Africa, what ever you can find that is out side your comfort
zone, and more physical than mental.
If you don't have the vacation time to do it (or don't want to use it) then
ask for a leave of absence. Your boss is going to probably say NO, and thats
an off the cuff answer, but it isn't an accurate one. The cost of replacing
you is higher (in actual dollars and intangibles, like productivity of new
employees) than letting you take a month off (unpaid/ leave of absence). You
may get the "it sets a bad precedent", the best response is to ask for actual
numbers to replace you rather than a "feeling" about what might happen. If all
else fails give notice.
If you do get the break, put a date on the calendar 2 years out. You can do 2
years standing on your head if you have to. Save as much money as you can and
found something else!
As others have said your not going to make any where close to what your making
at google at a "smaller company". Unless your ready to found another start up
right away, it will be a LONG time before you see that kind of money again.
------
himlion
I'd tough it out for a while if I were you. That's 'fuck you' money anywhere
outside of the valley and NY. You have a whole lifetime to do whatever you
want after this.
~~~
throwaway_emily
That's what I want to but everyday feels like a burden.
~~~
msdos
Everyday feeling like a burden for 3 years
is better than
everyday feeling like a burder for 30 years.
------
mod
I get it, the money isn't everything. It's hard to go into work. Every task
feels like you can't get started on it.
I don't agree much with doing the things you don't want to do. But for that
kind of money, you have to do it. Suck it up, do what you can to make it
better, and when you have the fuck-you-money, well--tell 'em "fuck you" and do
whatever you want, forever.
Vest in peace.
------
rajacombinator
Just do what most BigCo employees do. Half ass it and work on something
interesting on the side while collecting a nice paycheck. (And in this case
enjoying the delicious Google food.) It seems foolish to not stay at least
through the end of year 2. 500k after tax is 2x 250k after tax. After year 2
you can leave in peace.
------
tedmiston
Can you elaborate on how you only have 25% of your equity despite being a
founder? Don't you fully vest on acquisition? It sounds like your vesting
schedule restarted from scratch.
~~~
throwaway_emily
Yes. Since we were sold and not bought. It was effectively an acqui-
hiring/soft-landing.
------
baccredited
You have a 3rd option: start hacking towards happiness. At a giant company
like G there are dozens of interesting projects. Take a positive attitude and
get yourself assigned to one of them. Find the projects that interest you and
take team members to lunch, find out what they are working on, what they need,
etc. This may take months but may change your whole outlook on each day.
PS Don't walk away from that money unless you can replace a huge percentage of
it elsewhere.
------
quickie69
Out of interest does the 500k include the vesting from the sold company? Sorry
if that's a dumb question I'm not from USA
~~~
throwaway_emily
Yeah, major component is the RSU grant.
~~~
quickie69
Hard to advise but I'd err on the side of stick it out unless this job is
taking it's toll on your health. Save hard and you can retire in 4. Which is
10% of 40 :-)
------
msdos
Vest in peace.
In 3 years you'd have made a total of $2mil and can retire and do whatever you
want.
It's not only ok but also healthy to post this question, because you're full
of ideas and want to work on other things. It's not very ok to blow your
earnings off. I'd stick it out if I were you and would be happy to trade
places.
------
saluki
y, like others have said relax and take in $500k while you can the next two or
three years till you are at 100%.
Start planning your next startup now to occupy your mind.
Relax enjoy life . . . take as much leave, flex time, working remote as you
can, take cool trips, visit friends have friends over/in town.
Maybe change teams to learn something new.
Learn to play an instrument.
Do things you've always wanted to do but haven't yet that you can do in the
evenings.
Bank the money while you can. Not many people can pull in $500k/yr.
Try to enjoy the ride and occupy your mind with other things.
Lots of people have to grind it out at a job they hate just to make ends meet.
If you do start thinking about your next startup don't work on it at work, on
work devices of course and be mindful of any IP agreements you have . . .
Good luck, enjoy the ride.
------
msdos
This is also a GREAT opportunity to work on something you typically wouldn't,
hacking at night and weekends.
If you were forbidden from launching something for 3 years, what's the biggest
thing you could be working on?
~~~
throwaway_emily
I thought about the same. But the soul sucking day implies that I am doing
brain-dead activities at night and on the weekends.
------
tedmiston
> Every day work drains me, I don't enjoy being here.
Most of us don't do startups for the money... obviously it's hard to walk from
$500k annually, but if your hearts not in it, that seems justification enough
to leave.
~~~
freestockoption
There was a person at work who was clearly not enjoying their job. My
colleague looks at me and asks, "why doesn't he just quit?" I almost
responded, "well, I would want the unemployment!" Personally, I was kind of
shocked at how he thought that was just a matter of fact of what people do. :)
And this was coming from a guy who would disappear for weeks and weeks of
vacation to go play team beach volleyball. He got laid off and the guy who
wasn't enjoying their job left for a new job.
Due to impending funding issues, bizarre founder decisions, and lack of team
work, I recently passed the stage of my startup job from "this feels like my
baby" to "this feels like a job". What's been helping me a lot is building
something on the side. It's helped me gain new skills, give me ideas of what I
want to do, blow off steam, etc.
It's also helped me realize that if I find something I want to do I should do
it, but there's also nothing wrong with just having a job as long as I have
other things to make up for that. Plus organizations can change too. Sometimes
for the better.
Sorry for this nonsense. :)
------
lambdafunc
Just go for the money and try having a peaceful state of mind. Wherever you go
you will probably have other issues.
~~~
throwaway_emily
Thanks. After changing three teams here that's my fear as well.
------
ianpurton
You only gave two alternatives wait or leave. What other alternatives are
there ?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
In Google Earth, a Service for Scanning the Heavens - pg
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/22/technology/22sky.html?ex=1345435200&en=54c20b9d89f2e2df&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
======
limeade
totally flippin sweet, a copernican revolution if you will, vive la
revolution, companeros!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Kanban project management: What to look for in a tool - ohjeez
https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/low-cost-tips-for-project-management-success-1712.html
======
unixhero
I use taiga.io self hosted.
Works really really well.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Consumer Webcams finally begin to break 1080p 30fps barrier - anw
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/02/finally-a-webcam-that-offers-better-than-1080p30
======
cvwright
Interesting that it's taken so long for web cams to increase their resolution.
Especially when you can find several different brands of cheap IP security
cameras on Amazon/Ebay that do 4K and/or 60 Hz.
Also, the article reads like a thinly disguised ad for a single vendor.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Using Machine Learning and Node.js to detect the gender of Instagram Users - spolu
http://totems.co/?p=11084
======
idunning
Neural networks have their place, but are probably the most complicated and
opaque machine learning tool. They are also hard to set up: so many
parameters! Given that, I found it really strange that they went straight for
a neural network (and then implemented one themselves!). Surely the place to
start would be Naive Bayes, followed up with regularized logistic regression
(through something like glmnet). Heck, even random forests would do quite well
on this task I imagine, although thats getting closer to on the complexity and
opaqueness spectrum towards NN.
There is also no evidence of doing cross-validation, and in another comment
they say they used entire data set to do variable selection - a pretty bad
mistake. They justify by saying they aren't in an academic environment, but
thats kind of a bad excuse, as given the way they've done it I'm very unsure
whether they actually are getting the accuracy they think they are.
I also worry that they sunk two man-months into this when they could probably
have achieved similar if not better results with off-the-shelf and battled-
tested tools. Sets off a lot of warning bells.
~~~
hexhex
I am not sure whether I understood everything right, but I think they computed
just with the data they got from the links to Facebook-Profiles.
Although their computing is very smart, the output cant be better than the
input they used. Just determining the gender by looking up a related Facebook-
Profile should therefore be a better solution in my opinion.
------
adelevie
This is a great example of how privacy is not optional, even in "opt-in"
systems such as Instagram and FB. That Instagram does not _require_ you to
have a Facebook profile, and Facebook does not _require_ you to list gender
means very little in terms of your own privacy.
Merely choosing to withhold information about yourself does not insulate you
from a breach of privacy. That others do disclose such information allows 3rd
parties to make really good guesses and inferences about you.
There's a strange morality here: at what point is it unethical to voluntarily
disclose data about oneself, if it could be used in a way to harm someone
else's privacy? Short of drawing a moral boundary (it could very well be
impossible), we might do well to at least acknowledge the cost to these
methods, alongside their benefits.
~~~
spolu
> There's a strange morality here: at what point is it unethical to voluntary
> disclose data about oneself
That's an interesting question. Especially since the data you disclose may
triggers inappropriate inference of characteristics on someone else, maybe
eventually causing some form of harm (anytime the demo fails to classify
someone, we do cause some harm to him/her in a way). In the case where the
misclassification is more harmful than the privacy disclosure, one is better
off disclosing the information... weird equilibrium.
~~~
flashman
In other words: how am I affected by the fact that many of my Facebook friends
like drug-related pages?
------
gstar
It's unusual to see a coherent, from-first-principles explanation of a neural
network. Especially one that's commercially valuable (i presume) to Totems.
Mildly alarmed to learn I'm only .039 probability male, though - better bloke
it up on Instagram.
~~~
needacig
What's so alarming about being thought female?
~~~
barsonme
Personally, being male, I'd rather be thought of as male. Not as a slight
towards females, but just because it's who I am.
That said, I did get 0.998 female and 0.996 male. Oh well.
------
dn5
Thanks for sharing your experience! Couple of questions
Why implement the training in NodeJS and not use an existing library in R or
Python (scikit-learn) and just implement the scoring (feedforward network) in
Node?
Did you just use a single test/train split? What is the variation in Res if
you run cross validation?
Your article suggests that you used MI to select the 10k best features. Did
you perform this MI feature selection before your test/train split? If so, you
would already be "using" your class labels, and the results will be biased. It
is likely your true generalisation error will be lower.
~~~
spolu
> Why implement the training in NodeJS and not use an existing library in R or
> Python (scikit-learn) and just implement the scoring (feedforward network)
> in Node?
We wanted to contribute to the nodeJS ecosystem and build whatever tool was
missing to use neural network directly from NodeJS or at least as an add-on.
We also wanted to come up with a simple an straightforward implementation to
serve as an educational example rather than just bind into an existing library
(even though the results might have been better of course)
> Did you just use a single test/train split? What is the variation in Res if
> you run cross validation?
We didn't use cross-validation but rather simple train/test split (though our
test set was quite large ~100k / 570k). As explained in the intro we wanted to
stay very practical and were ok with dirty shortcuts as long as the result
looked OK.
> Did you perform this MI feature selection before your test/train split? If
> so, you would already be "using" your class labels, and the results will be
> biased. It is likely your true generalisation error will be lower.
Yes MI selection was made on the overall data set before training. You totally
are right that this is a bias against the test set. Nice catch.
------
im3w1l
Your implementation of momentum seems off, you just add a multiple of last
error, instead of adding exponentially declining contributions from the past.
I think you want
double dW = alpha_ * val_[l][j] * D_[l+1][i] + beta_ * dW_[l+1][i][j];
W_[l+1][i][j] += dW;
If you want to get an output class probability, softmax is the standard way.
Minimize KL-divergence instead of squared error.
You don't seem to be doing any regularization. It could maybe give you better
generalization.
I think you could get a speedup by doing your linalg with blas, I guess this
would complicate the code though, making it a tradeof.
Training on multiple threads and averaging is a nice touch. It would be
interesting to hear if (how much) it improved your results.
~~~
spolu
> Your implementation of momentum seems off
I think we used what is described in Artificial Intelligence: A Modern
Approach... But I have to check because what you propose seems better.
> If you want to get an output class probability, softmax is the standard way.
> Minimize KL-divergence instead of squared error.
Thanks! We'll totally try that.
> You don't seem to be doing any regularization. It could maybe give you
> better generalization.
Thanks again. Someone mentioned that before as well. We'll have to experiment
with that as well.
> Training on multiple threads and averaging is a nice touch. It would be
> interesting to hear if (how much) it improved your results.
Training was much faster and therefore tractable on a much larger set but we
didn't manage to get our best results using this multi-threaded approach
unfortunately as described in the post.
Maybe with a bigger training set we could have reach better results using
multi-threaded training. That being said, the averaging phase disrupts a lot
the overall backpropagation process, so I don't know how efficient it can
be... Some advanced experimentation would probably be interesting here.
~~~
im3w1l
>Thanks! We'll totally try that.
oops maybe I spoke too soon, allow me to backpedal a little. I still recommend
minimizing KL-divergence.
------
antihero
Giving it a go with most of my friends and I'd say the success rate was
definitely below .5, and it was pretty sure about it.
What seems odd is that the "test tool" allows you to _tweet_ whether it's
wrong or right. Why not just have it make a call to your API or something to
tell you directly, so you can look at the profiles and figure out what's gone
wrong?
~~~
friendzis
2 more epicly failing profiles: @friendzis @algimantas69
------
franciscop
Having used /harthur/brain before and being deeply interested in Neural
Networks, I have to say that this is one of the most interesting articles
about the topic I've ever seen.
Thank you for sharing the C version, I'll use it for sure.
------
tzs
This was submitted 4 days ago [1], and then was deleted. Anyone know what was
up with that?
[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8368186](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8368186)
~~~
spolu
I deleted it shortly after submitting it, because the demo crashed and we
didn't want to waste such a great opportunity on HN on a failed demo.
I know it's not perfect... But heh. Hope it's ok.
~~~
arthurcolle
The "post if WRONG" twitter link failed on my iPhone 5.
My instagram name is the same as my HN user id, and you classified me with
99.3% as female... Needs work!
~~~
NathanKP
It looks like very few of your photos have captions, meaning that the
algorithm doesn't have a lot of text to work with, and among those that do
have text there are a few there which contain keywords that are probably
heavily waited toward female such as "pink".
The algorithm could probably be improved to also take the instagram name into
consideration. Someone named "arthur" is very unlikely to be female.
------
minimaxir
> _Our platform retrieves or refreshes around 400 user profiles per second
> (this is managed using 4 high-bandwidth servers co-located with instagram’s
> API servers on AWS)._
Interesting, since Instagram's API only allows 5,000 requests per hour,
([http://instagram.com/developer/limits/](http://instagram.com/developer/limits/))
and does not support bulk requests of user data. How does this application
bypass this limit?
~~~
spolu
Hi minimaxir. We have a large number of tokens from our clients and people
doing oauth to access our free demo. Since the data is public, we can use any
of these tokens to access hashtags and account followers, etc...
Actually, Instagram API limit is pretty high when compared to other platform.
Today we have something like 100k tokens available to us, which means we can
make 12bn+ calls everyday. Almost like having a firehose. We don't use all of
them but we're one of the top users. Though there are at least 10 bigger users
than us on the API (according to them of course). Hope it helps!
~~~
tracker1
Interesting, when I was at GoDaddy (Website Builder), it seems Facebook had
implemented not only a per token limit, but application limits as well that we
hit pretty easily. Does Instagram not have the same kind of limits?
For those curious, IIRC it took a while to get our account's limits raised,
and we had to implement some request caching to stay under the limits as much
as possible. All around, it was interesting.
~~~
spolu
Nope they don't... at least not for now :)
------
_up
Wouldn't Bayesian filter be better suited? There must be a reason Spam Filter
use them instead of Neural Networks.
~~~
spolu
_up we evaluated thoroughly perceptron which are somewhat close to Bayesian
networks. Basically a perceptron is a one layer NN and is therefore quite
similar to a bayesian network in the fact that it encodes a linear regression.
That being said... studying bayesian networks more thoroughly might raise
better results indeed. Don't know though if Gmail is using bayesian networks
or deep learning?
~~~
tensor
My guess is that gmail is using a linear classifier. Both because of the scale
of the data, and because up until very recently linear classifiers have been
state of the art on text classification.
In the few cases where NN have achieved new state of the art on text, the
stanford sentiment analysis work and a few more recent works, a full sentence
parse is needed. Sentence parses do achieve 95% accuracy, but only on well
structured text in a given domain. Plus, they are hugely time intensive
compared to the large scale linear classifiers like vowpal wabbit or sophia-
ml.
Regarding perceptrons, a basic perceptron, although it is a linear classifier,
will not achieve state of the art. Averaged perceptrons get you closer, but
what you really want is a discriminatively trained linear classifier with
regularization.
If I had to bet, gmail is probably using something closer to
[https://code.google.com/p/sofia-ml/](https://code.google.com/p/sofia-ml/)
than a NN. Maybe a Googler will surprise me though!
~~~
wamatt
_> My guess is that gmail is using a linear classifier._
Yup, the Google "Priority Inbox" feature does indeed use a linear classifier,
in particular logistic regression [1] for the reason of scale as you point
out.
Also, IIRC Gmail's original spam detection used naive bayes. It may have
evolved since then.
_[1][http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/research.google.co...](http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/research.google.com/en/us/pubs/archive/36955.pdf)
_
------
syldor
It's true that it seems to be a lot of work in implementation. NN have a
complexity/performance ratio much higher than other algorithms. But hey ! la
fin justifie les moyens, I'm quite impressed with the result and had a lot of
fun with the demo and the article. Keep it up guys !
~~~
spolu
:+1:
------
m0nastic
It doesn't predict my account correctly:
PROBABILITY FEMALE: 0.997
PROBABILITY MALE: 0.569
I wonder if the fact that I mostly just post pictures with no text
accompanying them skews things.
------
mts_
My account (@matiassingers) got some very interesting numbers, and most of my
photos definitely do have a caption and hashtags.
PROBABILITY FEMALE: 0.003
PROBABILITY MALE: 0.001
------
turbostyler
1.000 probability of being a man. Thank you for affirming my masculinity.
However, my business has a 0.885 probability of being a woman, which is odd
for a men's brand.
~~~
franciscop
Not really odd, if your brand is looking to _seduce_ men into buying (;
------
hnriot
Interesting blog, interesting ideas, but completely bogus results. It's very
inaccurate. Just using simple NB you'll get much better than this.
------
lpgauth
PROBABILITY FEMALE: 0.003 PROBABILITY MALE: 0.999
Errr, so it's out of 1.002?
~~~
SapphireSun
On many machine learning algorithms, the pattern matcher doesn't return
probabilities, rather confidences on a range of 0 to 1. The higher confidence
wins.
------
plg
@teganandsara
PROBABILITY FEMALE: 0.003
PROBABILITY MALE: 0.996
I would say this doesn't work very well.
~~~
muglug
Well, one datapoint means nothing. Also, if this is aimed at advertisers, it's
more useful to identify people whose _interests_ skew (stereotypically) male
or female.
Also, Tegan and Sara are great singers and artists, but neither of them is an
exemplification of what our culture considers stereotypically female.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
What do piracy and porn have in common? - smileplease
http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4255.html
======
physcab
Scaling websites incredibly fast.
Check out this thread: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=565152>
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Patent Application: Full body teleportation system (2006) - gee_totes
https://www.google.co.uk/patents/US20060071122?dq=John+St.+Clair&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjn5-n32ffTAhVhKMAKHYwWCAMQ6AEIPDAD
======
colept
Teleportation is one of those technologies I would never use even if it was
bullet proof.
There would be no way to determine if your consciousness persists - such that
the same "you" is the same connection on both sides. Even if it looks like
you, acts like you - it would shatter the foundation for what it means to be
conscious.
~~~
trsohmers
I really don't understand why people get hung up on this (with the assumption
of the impossible guarantee that it is 100% safe, or "bullet proof" as you put
it). I am perfectly fine with a Prestige/Star Trek transporter, as long as it
is a perfect copy, I don't really care if it is the "original" meatsack or the
100th... all I would want is to make sure the original dies quickly and
painlessly (preferably after it is confirmed the copy was transported safely).
~~~
eduren
I've seen similar arguments to yours (against the deconstruct-reconstruct
matter teleporter), and they never seem to understand the real dilemma:
It kills "you". Not the objective "you" of course, that lives on in the copy.
It kills the subjective "you".
By terminating the stream of consciousness, the person going into the matter
teleporter dies. There's no way for the stream of consciousness to continue
after that point.
It's not ---------------X------------------
It's
\-------------------XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX---------------------------
If you're comfortable dying so that a copy of you can live the rest of your
life, that's your business. But most people don't have that sort of
objectivity.
~~~
parenthephobia
> There's no way for the stream of consciousness to continue after that point.
How can you know that? How can you even know what that means? :)
What is a stream of consciousness? Why wouldn't it be replicated along with
the physical body? If it's separate from the physical body, why doesn't it
move from the original body to the new one? If you know the answers to these
questions: how do you know them?
~~~
mcbruiser3
consciousness is not a "thing" it is a careful arrangement of matter and
energy that is unique to you. replicating that arrangement does not move your
consciousness, it creates a new one.
------
dmix
Instead of giving him a patent, the patent office should be referring him to a
doctor given the fact he is temporarily blacking out while walking down
streets:
> In the next instance, he (G) found himself down the street near the corner
> of the next block. Realizing that he had passed the bus stop, he turned
> around to see the iron grating approximately 50 meters up the street in back
> of him. Because there was no recollection of having jumped across the iron
> grating nor of having passed the bus stop's yellow marker line, he realized
> that he had been teleported a distance of 100 meters while moving along with
> the traveling wave.
Although you have to give him credit for mixing physics, geometry, with new
age pseudo-science babble:
> The question is how does this amplified gravitational wave created by the
> rotating propellers and turbines get into hyperspace from our dimension?
> The answer comes from experiments done using the ancient Chinese form of
> breathing known as Chi Kung. Using this breathing technique, we have been
> able to levitate the human body over six feet in the air. The internal
> temperature of the stomach is around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. By
> simultaneously squeezing the diaphragm to bring hot air up through the
> lungs, and breathing through the nose to bring cold air down, rotating
> vortices are generated in the lung passages when these two air masses meet
> and twist around each other as depicted in the famous Yin-Yang diagram.
> Because the lung has variable diameter passages from the large diameter at
> the throat to the final small air sacs, there is a spectrum of rotating
> frequencies.
From which he jumps to this sentence:
> From quantum physics it is known that if there is a temperature fluctuation
> occurring among a group of harmonic oscillators in the environment, then
> Planck's reduced constant Figure US20060071122A1-20060406-P00900 is
> increased by the cotangent of the constant times the frequency ω of the
> oscillator divided by twice Boltzmann's constant k times the temperature T ℏ
> = ℏ coth ( ℏω n 2 kT )
But really, who needs black holes when you have breathing?
~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
>> Instead of giving him a patent, the patent office should be referring him
to a doctor given the fact he is temporarily blacking out while walking down
streets:
That's probably because of all the, um, "blowing smoke into hyperspace".
------
kenny87
This guy is perhaps the 21st Century's most important inventor,
[http://zapatopi.net/blog/?post=200604284330.st_clair_hyperin...](http://zapatopi.net/blog/?post=200604284330.st_clair_hyperinventor)
~~~
ChuckMcM
Heh, quite the record of applications.
------
6d6b73
While I suspect that the device in question does not work as advertised, I
think this patent application has more merit than 99% of software patents
nowadays.
~~~
techman9
What on earth would make you suspect that the device does not work as
described?
~~~
s0rce
I'm sure it works, just need to get the gravity wave generator working right
:)
"generating a pulsed gravitational wave which propagates through a magnetic
vortex wormhole generator; and generating a wormhole with the magnetic vortex
generator whereby the pulsed gravitational wave traverses through the wormhole
and enters into hyperspace where the wave is enormously magnified due to the
lower speed of light in that dimension"
------
boolint
"Using this generator, it was found that smoke blown through one side of the
coil does not appear on the other side of cylindrical coil. The smoke flows
through the wormhole and appears in a hyperspace co-dimension. It was this
experiment that resulted in making first contact with the androids of the Grey
aliens who told me, in a remote viewing session, that 'We saw you blowing
smoke into hyperspace.'"
~~~
dmix
Well he is quite the expert:
> It took a number of days in order to understand this sequence of events. The
> explanation involves knowledge of a wide range of subjects such as
> gravitation physics, hyperspace physics, wormhole electromagnetic theory and
> experimentation, quantum physics, and the nature of the human energy field.
------
azeemsola
This might sound crazy, but one time, I met a shirtless homeless man in denver
that purported to be John Quincy St. Clair. He had quite the ability to talk
about the patents.
------
PatrickAuld
If you put "It was/is obvious" in a patent application, regardless if it
involves hyperspace or not, the USPO should reject it outright.
------
cbisnett
A friend of my wife's worked at the USPTO for a few years as a mechanical
engineer reviewing patent applications. He said they would regularly get
applications for time travel machines and perpetual motion machines and they
would have to spend a bunch of time writing up why it was rejected. It was a
right of passage usually reserved for the new guy ;)
------
nkrisc
You teleport by breathing. Can't tell if they believe it or it's all a joke.
~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
You _levitate_ by breathing. You teleport by pulsed gravitational wave.
~~~
nkrisc
Of course, silly me. I misunderstood the genius here.
------
andrewhubbs
This is a pretty great comic that deals with this exact debate.
[http://existentialcomics.com/comic/1](http://existentialcomics.com/comic/1)
------
edko
Honest question: this patent application mentions "hyperspace". Does such
thing exist, or is it just science fiction?
~~~
zardo
It's the 19th century term for spaces with dimension > 3\. But... its just
techno-babble now.
[http://news.psu.edu/story/141406/1995/12/01/research/deflati...](http://news.psu.edu/story/141406/1995/12/01/research/deflating-
hyperspace)
------
Aliyekta
2004!
------
pwg
Title needs to be changed. This is _not_ a patent. This is a publication of a
patent application.
Note the metadata field on the google patents page:
Publication type Application
~~~
Animats
Right, it's an application. You can send the USPTO anything you want, if you
pay the application fee.
In the USPTO's Public PAIR system, the detailed history of the application,
with images of all the documents, is available. The response from the USPTO
was a "non-final rejection". The rejection starts out with "An examination of
this application indicates that applicant is unfamiliar with patent
prosecution procedure", and then includes a FAQ the USPTO sends to the
clueless.
After that, the examiner writes "The invention is not supported by a credible
utility or well-established utility because the claims call for the generation
of gravitational waves and and the interacting of the waves with hyperspace
... The use of hyperspace and gravitational waves in the claims therefore must
be backed up with significant scientific and experimental data ... (applicant
must prove) ... that the applicant has the ability to harness such interaction
for a useful purpose and demonstrate it on demand."
The applicant never replied to that, so, six months later, the application was
rejected for failure to reply to an office action. The applicant does not get
his application fee of $770 back. Trolling the patent office is expensive.
The USPTO did exactly what they should have done. They took the application
seriously, and sent the applicant a non-final rejection requiring proof that
it worked. The applicant then gave up.
Nine years later, the applicant sent in a notice of assignment, reporting the
sale of the (nonexistent) patent rights to someone in Bakersfield, CA, for $5.
This was filed incorrectly, but the USPTO scanned it in and put it in the
database.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Why I Don't Want to Learn Go - dwwoelfel
http://arantaday.com/why-i-dont-want-to-learn-go
======
jrockway
Go is designed for large codebases, which is a problem that the author may not
have, and so he may not see the benefits.
One key feature is that the Go compiler itself is the style guide: it
automatically reformats your code to remove style guide violations. This makes
it easy to work on a codebase the size of Google's because everything looks
like it was written by the same person. We try to do the same thing for C++,
Java, and Python, but it doesn't work as well because the process is manual.
Similarly, compilation time and runtime for every component, no matter how
unimportant, is of utmost importance for Google's codebase. It may not matter
how long it takes to run one one-off script, and it may not matter to you how
long it takes to compile, but it does matter at Google because we compile
every project and run every test after every commit. (OK, builds and tests
that are obviously unaffected are skipped. But it's still a lot of code being
built and tested.) So your Python project that takes 5 seconds to run tests
instead of 1 second ends up wasting decades of CPU time throughout its life
time. Same for C++ projects that take many hours to compile. Go tries to be as
expressive as Python and run as fast as Java (and compile faster than anything
else), and this saves lots of time in aggregate. (Remember, when you break
someone's build, the delay between submitting your change and the system
knowing about the breakage can result in a lot of hair-pulling for the
developers on the project you broke. But if we can know the build is broken
before the change is even submitted, then many hours of developer productivity
are saved.)
Anyway, don't take this to mean that you're doing software wrong if you don't
see the value of Go. Google is a special case and just because we have some
problem doesn't mean you should have the same problems. One-man shops should
optimize for individual efficiency instead of aggregate efficiency like Google
does.
~~~
danieldk
_Go is designed for large codebases, which is a problem that the author may
not have, and so he may not see the benefits._
Aren't most serious languages designed for large code bases?
_(and compile faster than anything else),_
So, why not invest in incremental compilation for an existing language? E.g.
the ECJ compiler for Java has done wonders in terms of immediate feedback
while developing. clang aims to do the same for C code and slowly makes
editors and IDEs more effective.
_Anyway, don't take this to mean that you're doing software wrong if you
don't see the value of Go._
I fully agree with the author, on the one hand Go does not provide the
performance of C or C++, on the other hand it nearly no useful new
abstractions to manage complexity. Languages such as Haskell, OCaml, F# or
even D provide a better type system and have similar or better performance.
_Google is a special case_
Out of curiosity: how much is Go used in Google? What percentage of new
projects use Go compared to e.g. Java or C++?
~~~
wisty
SQL isn't, and if it's not a serious language, what is? Perl and PHP are what
the web app layer was originally built on, and they seem to be designed to
maximize developer efficiency for small projects.
Haskell is definitely interesting. If I wanted to build a large system that
was super-performant, I'd look at C, Haskell, and Go. I don't know enough to
make a great decision, but all three look good.
Go has the advantage of being designed for the kind of thing Google does -
massive concurrency. It's also like C, which make it easier to find good
programmers who are confortable with it. Actually, you'd be hard pressed to
find good programmers who are uncomfortable with a language that's nearly C.
I'm not saying Haskell programmers aren't good programmers, but Google
probably doesn't have enough of them, and they'd have to port their existing
code to a completely different base (bad idea).
The original article complains about Go's GC. For a single process
application, this could be murder. I don't think Google uses a single process.
~~~
danieldk
_SQL isn't, and if it's not a serious language, what is? Perl and PHP are what
the web app layer was originally built on, and they seem to be designed to
maximize developer efficiency for small projects._
I intentionally said _most_ , since, obviously there are serious domain-
specific languages. But stating that Go is designed for large code bases,
creates a false dichotomy.
_Go has the advantage of being designed for the kind of thing Google does -
massive concurrency._
So, claims the C fan since there's GCD, so claims the Erlang/Scala fan since
it has actors, so claims the Haskell fan since it has green threads, STM, and
purity.
Also, is Google interested in massive concurrency or parallelism?
_It's also like C, which make it easier to find good programmers who are
confortable with it. Actually, you'd be hard pressed to find good programmers
who are uncomfortable with a language that's nearly C._
That's a good point. But as a result it provides only a marginally better type
system, at the cost of performance compared to C. Why not make it a lot better
than C, with the same performance?
~~~
burgerbrain
Calling Perl domain specific? I think those would be considered fighting words
in some places. ;)
~~~
bane
I love a certain subset of Perl with a passion bordering on mania. While I
wouldn't call it domain specific, I _do_ think it's better defined by the
domains it's not well suited for. I wouldn't use Perl for GUI programming for
example.
It's kind of a domain anti-specific.
~~~
__david__
> I wouldn't use Perl for GUI programming for example.
I would. I used the gtk-perl bindings for a project and I thought they were
very well done. Previously I had only used the C bindings and taking the step
to a higher level language (and more importantly, one with closures) was a
_very_ nice step. It was a much better experience than doing Cocoa with
Objective-C, IMO, but that could have also been related to the specific
(smallish) project I was doing.
------
jgrahamc
This is addressed on the Go FAQ:
<http://tip.golang.org/doc/go_faq.html#garbage_collection>
The authors believe that they can make GC a low overhead operation in Go and
they believe that it's essential to take memory management out of the hands of
the programmer to save programmer effort. Lastly, they say that should you
need to you can always work around the GC by doing your own memory management
(linked example).
It feels like they are trying to honor Hoare's "premature optimization is the
root of all evil" by considering non-GC languages to have optimized the wrong
thing.
~~~
heretohelp
Nobody believes GC is a bad idea, it's a canard to suggest otherwise.
It's that it's a contradiction of terms to say that you are offering a
"systems" language but the language in question has non-optional GC.
Go isn't competing with C and C++, it's competing with Java and C#.
~~~
alexchamberlain
I believe GC is a bad idea. Programmers should know what their objects are
doing.
~~~
jlouis
You are severely mistaken about GC then. GC means to a large extent that
programmers should know what their objects are doing. Perhaps even more so
than in a non-GC'ed language.
The inherent problem with GC is when you put it into hands of people without
that knowledge. Then the GC will save them and reclaim their data, whereas it
would otherwise be a space leak and dead program. This means that you will
have programs that work, but they will run slowly. GC-fanatics like me say
that the program has bad _productivity_ since it spends all its time in the
garbage collector.
The advantage of GC though is this: If you know what you are doing, you don't
need to manage memory in about 90% of your program. It is often either good
enough or _way_ faster than doing it yourself. Both in raw performance and in
programmer time. A hint is that most modern parallelizing malloc routines use
garbage collection internally to make them run more concurrently and faster :)
For the last 10%, the solution is the same as in any other language. You
allocate large chunks of memory and then you handle that memory yourself. The
advantage is that you only have to do this for a small part of your program
and that means you can build software much faster.
The only place where GC is provably a bad idea is in hard real time systems.
------
babarock
Unfortunately, as much as I want to agree with it, the article seriously lacks
any credibility. Go claims to present high-level features (namely GC) for low-
level system programming. Obviously, this sounds new and ground-breaking.
Simply dismissing it on account that "GC is unacceptable [for low level
problems]" is nothing short of stating a disbelief: it doesn't prove anything.
If anyone wants to prove any shortcoming, than maybe they should come up with
a more technical analysis, or at least some sort of benchmarking.
~~~
smanek
Do you seriously doubt that the Go GC is significantly worse than the Oracle
JVM GC (by the metrics of pause times and throughput)? I don't think I've ever
heard anyone suggest that it isn't.
My point with this article is simply that, even if Go's GC catches up to the
JVMs (which would be an amazing accomplishment in itself), it would still be
too inefficient for serious systems work. I provided several real-world
examples to that effect.
If you want benchmarks, check out the numbers from moving some of the critical
allocations off heap (and out of the GCs reign) in the Java HBase project:
<http://www.slideshare.net/cloudera/hbase-hug-presentation>
~~~
flogic
In C, don't people just allocate a slab of memory for critical paths too?
~~~
nknight
Sometimes, perhaps, but simple malloc/free are much faster and more
predictable than what you see in GC'd languages, often mitigating the problem.
On top of that, many critical paths can avoid even those by confining their
memory allocation to the stack, something that effectively ceases to exist in
GC'd languages.
~~~
edwardw
> but simple malloc/free are much faster and more predictable than what you
> see in GC'd languages
_More predictable_ , very likely. _Much faster_ , this is simply not true.
E.g., quotes from an article by Brian Goetz[1]:
The common code path for new Object() in HotSpot 1.4.2 and later is
approximately 10 machine instructions, whereas the best performing
malloc implementations in C require on average between 60 and 100
instructions per call. ... "Garbage collection will never be as efficient
as direct memory management." And, in a way, those statements are right
-- dynamic memory management is not as fast -- it's often considerably faster.
> allocation to the stack, something that effectively ceases to exist in GC'd
> languages.*
Not true, either. With escape analysis, Hotspot JVM can do stack allocation.
The flag of doing escape analysis is actually turned on by default now.
[1]
[http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-jtp09275/in...](http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-jtp09275/index.html)
~~~
nknight
That writeup is certainly interesting, mostly with regard to escape analysis,
but it's entirely untrustworthy with regard to the comparison to malloc.
First, it appears to base its assumptions about malloc implementations on a
paper dating to 1993 (WTF?!), second is that it thinks "instructions" is a
meaningful metric for judging performance.
------
fauigerzigerk
Where Go fits in seems very clear to me. It is a less memory hungry and less
verbose replacement for Java, fit for the age of fine grained parallelism.
Go will never replace C/C++ for embedded systems and operating systems. Go
will never replace JavaScript in the browser. And Go will never replace
Haskell, Lisp, ML, Scheme, etc, for those who have a very deep interest in
programming languages themselves.
------
zoul
As for the GC speed, how do GC and manual memory management compare to the
Automatic Reference Counting system that was introduced recently into
Objective-C? It looks to me as ARC has the advantages of both worlds: it
relieves the programmer from managing memory by hand and has no overhead, as
the decisions are made during compilation. I'm a bit frustrated each time
people talk about GC and manual memory management and act like they were the
only options available.
~~~
stcredzero
Check out iGC. The claim is, by tailoring GC to the ObjC runtime in iOS, you
can beat ARC's performance with GC. (Look at how ObjC allocates heap and use
read/write barriers to reduce the number of roots that have to be traced.)
------
reirob
Thanks for the link! The author expresses exactly my thoughts.
In essence: Go is not a system-level language (GC) and for problems where
performance does not hurt so much there are other alternatives.
To add my personal opinion: I would not consider Go for another reason - I
will not invest in a language that is backed by one company. I did this once
with Java and I will not hurt myself again. Java's start was fantastic but
then came all the business crap like EJBs and tons of frameworks.
------
scanr
Why I have learned go:
The overlap between problems that I'd like to solve with node.js and go is
pretty large and I prefer being able to use a statically typed language with
coroutines and multicore support built in.
The libraries are great for server side programming.
Go optimises for both speed and memory usage. Folk who run benchmarks often
seem to ignore the latter but given how the cloud is priced, optimising for
memory usage can be a big win.
Go's GC is suboptimal at the moment. That said, I suspect that it'll improve
pretty quickly. Go benefits from all those lessons learned during the man
centuries spent building the Java GC.
------
stcredzero
_And before you tell me that the GC isn't that big a deal: it is. Literally
every big project I've worked on in a garbage collected language reserves a
bunch of memory off-heap at startup and uses that for allocations on the
critical path because the GC kills performance._
You could replace occurrences of GC with malloc, switch the language to C, and
it would be just as factual. Basically, what the author is saying is
equivalent to, "Real projects have to optimize." Well, yes. This isn't deep.
It certainly isn't surprising, and it doesn't strike me as a good reason for
not learning a language.
~~~
smanek
It's different, because I'm saying that much system level work has to optimize
by _not using a garbage collector_. I've literally implemented off-heap
malloc()/free() in Java because GC is so untenable.
I argue that makes a language with has a GC that you can't avoid (as far as I
know, it's impossible to allocate an 'object' off-heap in Go) a fairly poor
choice for much system level work.
Which means, if Go is to find a niche, it's got to be at a 'higher-level.' And
that requires competing more directly against Java or Python - a much higher
bar than trying to be better than C.
~~~
minimax
I don't think you're getting his point. I can still replace GC with malloc()
and we end up with the same criticisms of C that you have of Go and Java.
> I'm saying that much system level work has to optimize by not using
> malloc(). I've literally implemented off-heap malloc()/free() in C because
> malloc() is so untenable.
Anyone who has had to write fast C programs that make a lot of small objects
eventually ends up here. You end up incorporating some sort of pool based
allocator, which I'm sure you can come up with in Go just as you can in C (or
Java, or whatever).
~~~
pjscott
You could make the same _kind_ of criticisms, but not with the same strength.
there are real quantitative differences between the speed of explicit
malloc/free and even a really nice garbage collector. (Unless you have a very
special allocation pattern, like a whole lot of short-lived allocations and a
generational garbage collector that uses stop-and-copy for the nursery
generation. That's like the best possible case for GC.)
~~~
stcredzero
1 - a whole lot of OO and functional Lisp programs use your "very special"
pattern of short lived allocations.
2 - You can rig the game so generational GC beats malloc/free.
3 - It's not a criticism, it's a general principle. One always pays for
performance. If your performance requirements are low enough, you can even
take out a loan on them, so to speak, by using a more expressive language.
------
dhconnelly
I understand and recognize as valid all of the author's concerns. I am
personally using Go for things that I used to do in Java. I recognize that
this may not be realistic for people heavily invested in the JVM, but I'm
finding development with Go to be much more enjoyable than Java.
------
breckinloggins
I agree with the GC point. If I'm using a low-level language, my litmus test
is "could I write an OS Kernel in it".
I have a naive question: could GC in Go be replaced with something like
Apple's Automatic Reference Counting (ARC)? It could be an optional feature
backed by inserting real alloc(), retain(), release(), and destroy() calls, so
you'd still have full control if you wanted to turn it off.
------
jbooth
The thing with Go is, it's really easy to write your critical path in C and
then write the other 95% of the code in Go and not have to deal with crap like
null-terminated strings and a lack of built-in data structures.
Go has better integration with C than any other language I've seen.
~~~
pjmlp
Better than C++ and D? You must be joking.
~~~
jbooth
Ok, not better than C++ and I haven't used D. I should've said "other mid-to-
high-level langauge". But using C++ doesn't solve my complaints about the
clunkiness of the non-critical path stuff. Still have wacky string handling
and I'd rather write my own bintree or hashmap than have to use STL.
~~~
pjmlp
And throw away years of experience in optimization from the compiler
developers?
You surely have lots of free time available.
~~~
jbooth
In fact I don't, which was why I said "critical path in C, rest in Go".
Usually I do Java but if I need to use C, I'd like to just write the part that
needs to be fast, then drive it using something else. Python is also
acceptable when it comes to parsing command line options and the like, and
it's as slow as dogshit.
"Lots of free time" would be dicking around with cryptic STL error messages.
------
webjprgm
Why can't someone make a language where you can optionally use GC on one chunk
of memory and use automated reference counting on another chunk? Tell the
compiler which variables should be in which category, and then most of the
quick programming is done in GC while all the stuff that needs to be
performant will be in reference counting but automatically managed so you
shouldn't have to know outside of the one keyword to flag the variable and
occasionally breaking a cycle when you want to free a structure (or using weak
references like Obj-C allows).
~~~
jamesgeck0
I'm not very familiar with it, but doesn't C# or the CLR let you do something
like this with managed and unmanaged code?
------
digamber_kamat
I think a large portion of online life is already ruled by Google. I will
never use Go only because it comes from Google. A mobile with Google's OS, a
Google browser and Google for email and now we will also code in a language
controlled by Google?
I have nothing against Google, but as a community of web developers our
interest lies in diversifying and ensuring that no one gets more powerful than
us.
Also looking at the features of Go itself, it seems to me that the languages
caters to many needs of Google and not many of us may have those needs.
~~~
jff
I don't like giving over my life to Google either, but there's a big
difference between using Gmail for everything and writing programs in Go. Go
is an open source project. You can fork it _right now_ if you want, call it
Not-Evil-Go or whatever, and BAM it's no longer controlled by Google. They can
never make it just up and disappear, the worst they could manage is to do like
Oracle did with OpenSolaris and force the community to fork it.
------
phatbyte
I wonder why aren't they using something like ARC in ObjC instead of GC ?
------
drucken
Article summary: Go is a "better" Java. Why would it claim to be a systems
programming language?
It is a fair point. If anything it illustrates that Google have mis-marketed
the product rather than anything else.
------
zvrba
In light of C++11, I see Go as something rather obsolete. I see absolutely no
reason why I should spend my time on a language that's different just for the
sake of it, instead of studying new features of C++.
------
heretohelp
I concur with the concurrer and the author with my own more 'positive'
addendum:
I just want a cleaned/tarted up C. Something that doesn't make the critical
mistakes of Go and Obj-C (adding runtime overhead), but adds _optional_
compile and runtime semantics that can be very helpful and powerful.
Some ideas:
No GC. This is _NOT_ negotiable. I'm tired of belabouring that point.
Give me something nicer than the current C bitfield syntax.
Bounds-checked arrays...optionally. Make the distinction very obvious in the
code/type-signature.
Higher-order functions, optionally. I don't really want an object system, just
the ability to utilize callbacks in perhaps a nicer way than how function
pointers currently function. I'd actually be happy with a standardized syntax
sugar for function pointers.
Compile-time (only!) duck-typing and polymorphism. This part I think Go got
right, but its sins were too great and the problem it was solving too poorly
defined to make up for this.
Unicode-native from the ground up.
Clean up the string/array/pointer conflation, adopt the semantics of the
bstring library as the default string type for the language, but leave open
the door for 'raw-er' string implementations.
Don't reify language types without enabling people to implement their own data
structures at the nitty-gritty level.
Cross-OS green-threads might be nice. Let people define their own concurrency
models and semantics on top of what the language provides by default though.
Same problem as the language type reification, don't delude yourself into
thinking you've solved the world's problems with your subset of solutions. Let
people use things like ptrheads without punishing them for doing so.
But most profoundly of all:
Make a language that would make writing a library like libev or libevent less
bug-ridden and a lot more fun.
P.S. I sincerely hope someone writes a "pragmatist's" systems language like
this.
~~~
berntb
>>No GC.
Interesting that you disqualify Objective C? It use reference counting which
should have a more predictable memory handling behaviour.
Or is the dynamic stuff too much overhead for you? To me, it looks cheap (but
I'm a scripter since quite a few years).
(Not knowledgeable on this; I'm asking, not making an argument.)
~~~
heretohelp
It seems most people don't really understand the core of systems programming.
Let me try to summarize:
There can be _no_ limitations of any kind in terms of expressing to the
machine, precisely how the machine should behave.
Period. No ifs-ands-or-buts about it.
This means you must be able to define memory layout, management, instruction
behavior and semantics, and optimally, be able to predict cache locality
(arrays vs. linked-lists are the trivial but canonical example)
The moment the programming language, at any fundamental level, precludes me
from defining how the machine should behave with respect to memory, semantics,
or otherwise...it ceases to be a language that can be used for systems
programming.
Disintermediating the meddling of C compilers is hard enough, languages like
Go and Java are 'intractable' to say the least for actual systems programming.
Obj-C is only acceptable in the context of systems programming when you stop
using everything that makes it Obj-C and just write C code.
I outlined additions/improvements that could be made to C _and_ utilized in
the context of systems (rather than applications) programming.
In a single sentence, it's about fundamentally about _POWER_ and not "speed".
That's why the desert-island language is C.
~~~
batista
_It seems most people don't really understand the core of systems programming.
Let me try to summarize: There can be no limitations of any kind in terms of
expressing to the machine, precisely how the machine should behave. Period. No
ifs-ands-or-buts about it._
Actually it seems you don't understand that people mean different thing by
"system's programming".
Not all system programming is about no-compromise, i.e as it would if it was
only about driver or OS coding.
I'd trust Ken Thompson and Rob Pike to understand what system programming is
better than some random dude on HN.
~~~
jacquesm
Chances with these 'random dudes on HN' are that they actually know a thing or
two, I'd hate to make any assumptions there.
As for your 'what people mean by systems programming', how about you both
stick to the definition/description used here:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_programming>
That would make it much easier to communicate. From the looks of it systems
programming is all about no compromise, specifically for the reasons outlined
by the GP. Now I wouldn't know him from Adam but even outside the realm of
driver and OS programming there is plenty of room for software that is 100%
deterministic in terms of time and space consumed.
Note that the 'alternate usage' term in the page linked above was specifically
not what the GP was talking about if I understood it correctly.
~~~
heretohelp
You have it right and seems to understand systems programming and the
consequences of the necessities underlying it perfectly.
------
batista
For all the talk of the speed benefits of Go, and it being static et all, I
don't see much improvement over, say, Python.
A lot of the questions re speed bumps on the mailing list are answered with
"those are microbenchmarks, what matters is real cases" and generally a
"lalala hands in the ears approach", even when it's obvious that the problem
is deeper than some microbenchmark only case.
Like this example:
[https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/golang-
nu...](https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/golang-
nuts/HDz5KiG6oMY)
[Downvote? Something very controversial about hashmap O behavior?]
~~~
jacquesm
You could compare python with perl or php, you could compare Go with C, C++ or
Java.
But to compare Go to Python is a bit weird.
Of course, you _could_ do it, but why would you, almost every metric that
you'd want to use would be off. You're comparing a compiled language with
lightweight threads aimed at just-above-low-level programming backed by a
single vendor with an interpreted language that is mostly geared towards
single threads of execution with a very high level of expressiveness that is
developed by a bunch of open source gurus under the supervision of a
benevolent dictator.
~~~
dripton
I think it's fine to compare Go and Python. They're both general-purpose
programming languages. When choosing to write a new program, you can often
pick either of them. I can imagine problems where either might be a reasonable
choice. In fact, there are programs that I've written in both. (Granted, those
were Project Euler exercises, not code that someone was paying me to write.)
Don't get too caught up in the marketing.
~~~
jacquesm
> I can imagine problems where either might be a reasonable choice.
Yes, I can imagine that too. But there are also a very large number of
problems where either one is a (much) better fit, and it would seem to me that
that is the majority of problems, not of the 'toy' variety.
The biggest factor in picking a language for a specific project is (in my
opinion) availability of libraries and familiarity with the language by the
team. Python scores very high for a large number of people in both those
categories but it has been around for a while.
Go is backed by one of the largest software companies on the planet so it
stands a chance but google has a bad rep when it comes to cutting off projects
in mid stride.
The devil is always in the details with choices like these and without knowing
more about a specific problem and the people that you intend to do the work
with it is hard to say which one is the better fit beforehand.
------
Roybatty
The title is wrong. It should be "Why I Don't Want to Learn Go and You
Shouldn't Either"
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
A Fully Concurrent Garbage Collector for Functional Programs on Multicore CPUs - cm3
http://www.pllab.riec.tohoku.ac.jp/papers/icfp2016UenoOhori-preprint.pdf
======
cm3
Edited title to fit into character limit (Processors -> CPUs).
------
cm3
Implemented for SML# and the max pause times look great.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
"DRM is about political and economic subjugation." - asciilifeform
http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/node/3794#comment-55808
======
bediger
Indeed. Hard not to emphasize this point enough. Even calling the loathed
method "Digital _Rights_ Management" is disingenuous, because it's not your
rights, it's someone else's rights over what you can do.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Niklas Zennstrom on Entrepreneurship & Scratching Your Own Itch (and not having a business plan) - nickb
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2007/06/25/niklas_zennstro.html
======
davidw
Summary: "um, um, um"... argh!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Stories and lessons from working with Jeff Bezos on the original Kindle - prostoalex
https://twitter.com/drose_999/status/1287944667414196225
======
soapdog
I've spent 16 years working for major niche publisher and am a bit addicted to
eReaders. Every time threads like this appear here I see lots of people that
have no idea that there is a whole world of devices outside Kindle and Amazon.
Here are some of the more interesting devices current out there in the market:
Pocketbook Color: yes, a color e-ink device for about $200:
[https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/catalog/color/color-ch](https://pocketbook.ch/en-
ch/catalog/color/color-ch) You can see the Pocketbook color reading comics
here:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkufktAQC_E&t=0s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkufktAQC_E&t=0s)
which beautifully demonstrates its colour capabilities.
Onyx Boox Note 2: 10'' e-ink screen, Android 9.0, touch and wacom digitizer:
[https://onyxboox.com/boox_note2](https://onyxboox.com/boox_note2) It can be
used for school/uni/research. Its large screen and notetaking features pair
well with annotating fixed-layout formats such as PDFs.
I have some strong opinions about Amazon and its eBook business. I really like
their tech but their business practices are not aligned with what I want for
myself as an author. I have moved to Kobo for my personal eReader and am using
a Kobo Forma which is their answer to the Kindle Oasis. Even though the Oasis
hardware with its metal usage feels much more premium than the Forma with its
flexy plastic shell, the device is much more open than the Oasis and it is
easier for me to use it both as a reader and as an author. I live in the UK
and Kobo through its partner Overdrive -- which it owned up until not long ago
but I am not sure they still do -- allows me to borrow books from local
libraries. I have a couple library cards from different library consortiums
and that gives me a lot of catalogs to search and borrow from. Synchronizing
with Pocket is also a godsend, every time I see a nice article here on HN that
I think deserves more attention and care, I just send it to Pocket and read it
from the Kobo in a nice park.
Anyway, this is just some pointers to those here that never experienced ebooks
and ereaders outside Amazon. Yes, Amazon brings a lot of value to the table,
especially for the readers, books tend to be cheaper in Amazon but that is due
to its monopolistic practices and thug tactics. Kindle is not where the
innovation is happening, other devices have better hardware and better
software, other companies have healthier ecosystems.
~~~
chewxy
As much as the Boox is great, they have a lot of GPL issues. Plus the kernel
they are using is very very closed sourced. Sounds like FUD, but I am
generally quite wary of companies in China that do this
~~~
Icathian
Was just gearing up to type this. Onyx is a known GPL abuser and won't get a
cent from me unless and until they fix that. Chinese company or otherwise, the
FOSS community is clearly going to have to help support GPL when the courts
can't or won't.
------
arielm
I think you guys are missing the point of this Twitter thread.
Yes, the kindle itself is mediocre at best. Technically it’s got lot of
issues, and I personally still prefer a physical book over it any day. But...
The thread was about being inspired. You can be inspired even while working on
something that ultimately isn’t great. You can be inspired working with
someone who has the reputation of not being the best boss. You can be inspired
when you want to.
So while working on this mediocre device, which is pretty much the only way to
consume books digitally, this guy loved every minute.
To me, that’s the lesson here.
~~~
amelius
Yes, inspiration, that's how these so called technology leaders trick us
engineers in doing work for them, even, at times, to the detriment of society.
------
mdoms
I consider the Kindle one of the most underbaked products I have ever used,
and it staggers me that no one seems to care. Earlier iterations were truly
ground-breaking, so we gave them a break on the details. But we've been at
this for 12 years now, the product really should have matured more.
I'm not talking about the state of E-ink, but the usability of the Kindle
device itself. I current use a latest-gen Paperwhite but I've owned almost all
of them. The current one, in my opinion, is a huge step backwards in lots of
ways from earlier iterations. The touch screen is appalling and has no place
on an E-ink device. The software is incredibly bad. There's so much scope
there to surface useful information on the home screen but there's nothing of
value there - I can't even see more than a couple of books in progress, much
less find something I may want to read later. It's just astoundingly bad.
~~~
bluejellybean
The kindle could have been the best, no clue what happened but development
just seemed to completely stall. It's sad because the vast majority of
consumers don't even realize there are incredible advances being made to E-ink
displays, they never see it.
Last summer I was sitting in a library and had noticed the person across from
me was using an E-ink device I had never seen before. I showed the person my
kindle and asked if they like their device more or less than mine. I vividly
recall the woman's eyes light up with excitement as she handed me the device
and pen she was holding. Perfect written text on an e-ink device the size of a
paper notebook with what felt like an almost identical weight to my kindle.
Stunning! She told me how she had been using it exclusively for note taking
and the battery life was fairly comparable.
I wish I could recall the name of the device but I think it was something by
Sony. I couldn't help but be stunned though, Amazon is completely missing the
opportunity with these devices and I feel bad for the people who will continue
to purchase their obsolete products.
~~~
moomin
Same is true of goodreads. Amazon have their market lock now, it’s the IE6
phase now. (Except it was way easier to get people off IE6 than it will be to
get them off the platform with all of their books.)
~~~
natrik
I use goodreads as well and find the UI/UX very old fashioned. The lag is
astonishing as well. What are some issues you have with it?
~~~
efreak
The mobile app is horrible. It's a webview or something, and works like total
crap on old devices. If you open a notification for a group discussion post,
it tells you what the title of the discussion is--but not what group it's for.
As much as possible, I find myself interacting with Goodreads through calibre
plugins; I've got a library with zero actual book files that contains an entry
for every book in my library, and I mainly use that to browse my collection.
Since syncing that list takes so long, my actual calibre libraries are also
synced to Goodreads, as that's where I actually make my changes.
With Library thing's recent removal of library limits, I'm thinking more and
more about abandoning Goodreads--except I don't know if there's a calibre
plugin for PT, and I've spent so much time adding and updating book records
for items in my goodreads library, which would have to be redone for LT.
~~~
marvindanig
FYI the mobile opera browser uses the webview and is superfast, but the Kindle
app is all native code.
------
thaumasiotes
> We added a keyboard for search (this was a mistake, but it was worth a try).
I have a keyboard kindle. The keyboard is not a mistake; it's great. I wish
other kindles had kept it.
(The keyboard does _feature_ a glaring mistake -- it doesn't have any number
keys, despite the fact that its primary use is to type numbers. But the
solution is to have number keys, not to get rid of the keyboard.)
~~~
toast0
I've got a kindle keyboard too. Very nice to have buttons to type with for
search. What numbers are you entering, I can't recall doing that very often?
~~~
thaumasiotes
Location numbers, for "go to location".
------
quickthrower2
For me the ability to get the free cellular anywhere in the world was the
sizzle. I remember downloading a book in Tunisia in 2010!
------
alfiedotwtf
Survivorship Bias... please take this tweetstorm with a grain of salt unless
you have backing the size of Amazon’s income to play with
~~~
nojito
Amazon was not that big back in 2003.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/28/business/technology-
amazo...](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/28/business/technology-amazon-
reports-first-full-year-profit.html)
------
cblconfederate
I liked the keyboard kindle, it was the best. Touch really sucks and it's
makes one constantly anxious of not touching the wrong spot on the screen.
Having dedicated buttons for actions makes it more predictable
------
jariel
"Don't believe the institutional no" "Just because someone else has failed
does not mean it's not possible"
So here's the part where we ignore basically all legitimate advice and the
experience of others? Then are we using judgement, or hubris? If there is some
artefact of new technology that changes the nature of the opportunity, then
that's not so much 'ignoring' advice, it's contextualising it i.e. 'well it
failed before, but ink screens are now cheap'. Etc.
------
achow
> _3 / Cannibalize yourself. Steve Kessel was running Amazon’s media business
> in 2004 (books/music/DVD’s). Books alone generated more than 50% of Amazon’s
> cash flow. Jeff fired Steve from his job and reassigned him to build Kindle.
> Steve’s new mission: destroy his old business._
\- In 2015 Amazon's free cash flow was $529M [1], printed books contributed
~$250M to that
\- In 2019 total ebook revenue in the United States $983.3M (overall and not
only Amazon's). [2]
Was Kindle 'distraction' worth it? I love Kindle and eBooks but did Bezos
really make the right call when Amazon was just about beginning to recover
from the severe dotcom crash?
[1][https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/free-c...](https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/free-
cash-flow)
[2][https://goodereader.com/blog/digital-publishing/ebook-
revenu...](https://goodereader.com/blog/digital-publishing/ebook-revenue-
fell-4-2-in-2019-and-generated-983-3-million)
~~~
chillfox
It’s better to cannibalize your own business than wait for someone else to do
it.
~~~
switch11
yes
there is one other factor that people are missing
there are over a million self published authors. They are all sending people
to Amazon to buy books
Those book pages have ads for other stuff
The amount of money coming from that is not insignificant
To give you some idea. I know at least 4 people who were making $50,000+ a
month from affiliate sales
Of course, most of them got screwed like all other affiliates
However, 90% of the money was from stuff other than what they were sending
people to Amazon for
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __*
1 million authors, all desperate to get their books to readers, spending money
on Facebook Ads and newspapers and radios
sending readers to Amazon
------
grey-area
The touch screen could be improved, but probably hasn't been because it would
raise the cost and it is good enough. Most other things about the kindle are
pretty good, including wireless syncing the early use of an e-ink screen, both
of which were contrarian and ahead of their time.
The software is just good enough, like most Amazon software, but it does stay
out of the way if you stick to the happy path. I don't really want it to
change, I turn of most of the 'features' they've added over the years, like
highlighting or notes. I want it to do one thing well - present black text on
a white page, and it has done that well for years.
For me the value of a kindle is that it is a cheap single-function device
which performs that function very well. If I want to read, I read on the
kindle by choice, because the screen is a vastly better experience for reading
than an LCD. If it breaks, I buy another, because it's much better than any
other device (including paper) for reading.
------
Causality1
The Kindle 3 is still my preferred eReader. Dropping page turn buttons was
good marketing but horrible for usability.
------
quink
I agree. The original Kindle was revolutionary. But it's been completely
stagnant since then.
The level of innovation to drive forward doesn't have to be that large. After
a lot of time thinking about the problem, the sweet spot for me would be an
e-reader that combines:
* CBR/CBZ/EPUB support
* MicroSD slot for expandable storage (or 32 GB+)
* Yellow backlight
* Robust enough software
* No Android or web browser to speak of (I want a focused device without distractions) (but maybe Pocket Casts built in, with a 3.5mm port or Bluetooth)
* 300 dpi
* 7.8 inch display
And a price point of US$150. Which seems to be impossible with a 7.8 inch
e-ink display. If someone comes out with this device I will buy it instantly.
The Kobo Clara HD comes seriously close and I love mine but it is on the verge
of no longer being on sale.
I think I will just have to wait for the Android e-ink tablets to come down in
price and deal with an absolutely ancient version of Android, which they all
seem to have.
~~~
megablast
It has a web browser. It’s just so slow.
~~~
quink
I know, I love it. It's there, but it's so bad that it's not keeping me from
the eBooks for any appreciable amount of time, the actual intent behind the
device.
------
loriverkutya
The removal of the physical page turning button rendered one handed usage
impossible if you want hold the kindle in your left hand. It is massively
annoys me.
~~~
c1c2c3
You only need to be able to reach about a 1/3 of the way over the screen to
tap the part that changes to the next page. Takes a little time to get used to
but I read left handed all the time.
------
giomasce
I feel a lot of survivor bias here.
~~~
pizza234
Spot-on. While there is definitely a component of genius in Bezos'
personality, for this exact reason, most of the - let's call them -
guidelines, won't work for other people/projects.
Point in case:
> 7/ Set unrealistic expectations
This is a recipe for a disaster for the vast majority of the projects. One
field that pops into my mind is videogames development - this attitude is one
of the greatest and well-known problems.
------
TeMPOraL
The prototype design of Kindle has an eeirly Star Trek feel to it:
[https://twitter.com/abcerra/status/1288076705634988035](https://twitter.com/abcerra/status/1288076705634988035)
In particular, the shape and labels of those buttons on the sides make it look
like LCARS interface with physical parts.
~~~
morelisp
That's the first consumer model, not a prototype.
The keyboard might have been a mistake but the jogwheel was the best possible
input device for the two core tasks of menu navigation and text highlighting.
I miss it a lot.
------
biddlesby
I find the tone of this Twitter post exhausting. He talks as if his work
revolutionized the world and Jeff Bezos is a god among men.
They made a fairly useful gadget that sold well. Seriously, come back down to
earth.
~~~
chadcmulligan
> They made a fairly useful gadget that sold well.
Perhaps a little bit breathless, but it was an amazing thing at the time. I
remember buying one (a DX) from Malyasia, (because they weren't available in
Australia), through a reseller (some company who bought stacks of them and
resold them around the world). It was a talking point for a long time - people
would ask me about it on the train etc. I still have it and still marvel at
its amazingness occasionally.
Edit: remembered some more - laptops at the time had awful battery life, this
thing could carry thousands of books and last weeks from one charge. I could
download any book (mostly) instantly, before that I'd order books from the
states, they'd take weeks to arrive and cost a fortune. It was an amazing
thing.
~~~
esperent
Somebody would have created an ebook if not for Amazon. They were just well
placed to do so, but they didn't invent any of the technology or concepts.
Much like Apple and touchscreen phones, or Tesla and electric cars. The might
have advanced the tech by a couple of years but they were profiting off the
inevitable.
~~~
yomly
IIRC from the Everything Store there was some conjecture that the Amazon "read
the first chapter" feature paved the way to mass digitalization of books. So
they were well positioned to launch with decent selection and ramp up faster
than if they relied on the pace of distributors. If any amazonians from around
that time could confirm that would be cool...
There is art in execution too.
------
cosmodisk
I've read quite a few posts on the thread and all I got is "Jeff did this,Jeff
did that.Jeff is amazing,Jeff is cool. Jeff is brilliant.Jeff,Jeff,Jeff..". Of
course he was pushy and demanding to get the results,but come on,give some
credit to others too.
------
winter_blue
One key takeaway I have from this story is that the core skill of making a
business and making it work – is critical and different from the “business
idea” itself. It means that if you are a good “businessman”, you can start a
new business in a new field, and possibly succeed. That’s why we see so much
“pivoting” and forays into new ideas. Here Bezos and Amazon jumped into two
completely new things they hadn’t done before: the Kindle, and AWS. And they
succeeded! You don’t have to stick with what’s familiar, easy, or what’s your
“area of expertise”. You can jump into new stuff, new project, completely new
& innovative endeavors, and very well possibly succeed!! So HAVE HOPE!!!
That’s my takeaway from this!
------
jeffreyrogers
> He insisted on syncing over cellular, and he didn’t want to charge the
> customer for data. We told him it couldn’t be done, he did it anyway.
This is really interesting. I wish he went into more detail about this.
~~~
nevir
Some fun tidbits:
Every Kindle had a unique phone number.
By the time your Kindle shipped to you, it knew who its owner was, and had
already logged you in and downloaded all your books.
Any time we wanted to push updates to them, we'd SMS it (IIRC) and the Kindle
would connect back to figure out what needs doing.
Original Kindles had an (awful) web browser (and didn't charge for data). It
was not bad at Google maps
~~~
xyzzy_plugh
I recall shaving one or two bytes off one of the cell messages shaved
something like $7MM off the monthly AT&T bill...
------
ggm
The basic stuffups in the GUI are astronomical. Try author search. Sorry.. we
just do what we do. Yes you typed john le Carre but it suits us better to show
you authors LIKE John le Carre.
Whyyyyy
------
wwarner
The story is about a creative response to Apple's decimation of the music
industry's business model. It signalled the time had come to bring digital
distribution to books, and Bezos was one of the few in the business to realize
that. I'll agree that the hardware never satisfied, but while I'm sure it's
been a disappointment to many, it certainly has not stopped the trend nor has
it hurt the kindle project much.
------
ignoramous
> _Jeff fired Steve from his job and reassigned him to build Kindle. Steve’s
> new mission: destroy his old business._
Fun fact for trivia night: Steve, after he returned from his sabbatical, would
go on to head the _Amazon Go_ division. Some amazingly diverse set of
leadership roles over the years for him. His _Kindle_ portfolio was handed
over to Dave Limp, an ex-Apple executive.
------
NewEntryHN
\- Ebooks are the most important invention of the XXIth century.
\- Jeff Bezos is a God.
\- A bunch of weird corporate tactics worked for us at the time so they are
lessons on how to make a successful product.
~~~
dm319
Yes, there's definitely a bit of survivorship bias going on here. The lesson
isn't to compete with yourself, or ignore all of your advisors, or trying to
pivot your business model after a crash etc etc. There are plenty of
businesses who have failed doing all these things. I suspect that Jeff Bezos
had a vision, and these are more side effects rather than the reason for its
success.
~~~
switch11
Some of the stuff they say are completely inaccurate
He claims Kindle as the first ereader to use an eInk screen
Sony ereader launched a YEAR before and had an eink screen
Also this guy seems to be a worshipper rather than an unbiased or somewhat
objective observer
------
tomerbd
Which is the best for programming/math reading and for sketching notes while
reading them?
~~~
person_of_color
Remarkable
------
KKKKkkkk1
It's not clear from the thread what was Rose's role in developing the Kindle.
Is this common knowledge?
I tried to look him up and it looks like he's running a VC fund and is a
former VP of mergers and acquisitions at Facebook.
------
tryauuum
I loved how older paperwhite wasn't flat. I mean the border was risen-up.
Modern paperwhite and oasis have their screen hidden behind layer of think
transparent plastic. You don't feel like your are staring at actual paper
anymore
------
xyzzy_plugh
Fun fact: the original Amazon Echo has a significant amount of Kindle software
in it, developed by the same branch. The later releases switched to Android
for no particularly good reason...
~~~
nevir
I'm so sorry :(
------
saos
A man with a vision. Kudos to him
------
iamAtom
Based on radiocarbon dating researchers say GoodReads is built by Ancient
Aliens.
~~~
switch11
anyone who has used Good Reads loves your comment
------
gigatexal
the bit about 100k books at launch at 9.99 could have been dumping no? He
makes no mention of the publishers coming to an agreement on such a low price.
Usually e-books like that are 19.99 iirc.
~~~
morelisp
At the time, "e-books like that" did not exist.
The publishers were not happy, sued in combination wither other tech
companies, and introduced agency pricing as a response. A story with no heroes
or winners.
------
dutch3000
if only our system incentivized the geniuses to become obsessed with making
the world a better place...
------
rawoke083600
Just give me an affordable 8 inch !
~~~
rawoke083600
So tired, of 6inch everywhere
------
asah
Wait, kindle is a piece of hardware and not just an app?! /s
~~~
xtracto
I had a prs-900 (sony daily reader). I remember at the time comparing it with
the Amazon alternative and the Sony one being way better in both how open it
was, features and speed.
------
LeicaLatte
Bad storytelling.
------
braggaditchio
what's the story with bezos' helicopter crash?
~~~
xtracto
www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-helicopter-crash-2018-3
~~~
bouncycastle
The photo of the wreck [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/amazons-jeff-bezos-
helicop...](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/amazons-jeff-bezos-helicopter-
crash)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Silicon Valley is the Only Place for Startups (based on PG article) - transburgh
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/10/silicon-valley-is-the-only-place-for-startups.html
======
pg
Argh. I never said SV was the only place for startups, just that all other
things being equal it was the best.
~~~
brlewis
Not that it matters, but the first sentence of the article says "only
place...if you want to have the very best chance..."
"I don't care who writes the editorials if I get to write the headlines" is a
relevant quote I heard a long time ago. I've looked but haven't found a cite
for it.
~~~
dfranke
I haven't found a citation either, but the name of William Randolph Hearst
comes to mind.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
RedHat Dismisses CFO - bitmage
https://www.wraltechwire.com/2019/10/11/red-hat-cfo-dismissed-without-pay-in-connection-with-firms-workplace-standards/
======
Arbalest
Until we get more details about what these workplace standards are, the bigger
news is still that IBM bought them, and Red Hat is showing the picture of
being dismantled.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Drug made famous by Shkreli’s price hike is still $750 a pill - rbanffy
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/05/drug-made-famous-by-shkrelis-5000-price-hike-is-still-750-a-pill/
======
Clubber
Sure, while everyone was feeling smug about Shkreli being thrown in jail, we
ignored the actual problem. It was a huge distraction and I would guess
manufactured.
~~~
simula67
He was not convicted for raising prices
~~~
A2017U1
His punishment seems quite unique compared to similar corporate crimes.
~~~
lainga
He was convicted more as an example to other people who might be inclined to
disrespect the courts as he did.
~~~
gameswithgo
Yes, now white collar criminals will be reminded to be polite in court so they
can get their free pass in the future.
------
rb808
> It’s an off-patent, decades old drug ... It costs pennies to make and
> generates little profit. Only a few thousand patients need it each year.
Sounds like the old price of $13 was way too cheap. Given that its off patent
and still no one else wants to make it I'd think the new $750 prices is
probably not crazy.
~~~
chimeracoder
> Sounds like the old price of $13 was way too cheap. Given that its off
> patent and still no one else wants to make it I'd think the new $750 prices
> is probably not crazy.
On top of that, there was an investigative article a while back that tried to
measure the actual effects on patients.
Turns out, they weren't able to find any patients who themselves had to pay
anything close to $750/pill for the drug. It's not prescribed that commonly in
the US, and the only patients who needed it were all on insurance plans that
covered it, subject to standard copays and deductibles. Many of the patients
already meet their annual maximum deductible anyway, due to the other medical
care they already have to receive, so the marginal cost to them was $0. In
other words, raising the price of the drug literally did not increase the
price that those patients had to pay by one cent.
I'm aware that this has a complicated and implicit impact on prices elsewhere,
but that's the real problem: medical billing is _ridiculously_ convoluted, and
focusing on the price of a single drug - especially the price that isn't
actually paid by any consumer - is missing the real problem that needs to be
fixed.
~~~
monocasa
But they are still paying it, it's just obfuscated.
Since the ACA capped profit percentages, the insurance companies have been
looking for ways to increase pay outs, os they can increase total revenue, and
then total profit. That perverse incentive is one of the reasons why insurance
premiums have been going up so much the past few years.
~~~
hristov
Insurance premiums have been going up long before the ACA was passed into law.
~~~
chimeracoder
> Insurance premiums have been going up long before the ACA was passed into
> law.
They've gone up _much_ faster after the ACA has gone into effect.
~~~
zzzeek
please cite your sources.
Here's one that contradicts this directly:
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/robbmandelbaum/2017/02/24/no-
ob...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robbmandelbaum/2017/02/24/no-obamacare-
hasnt-jacked-up-your-companys-insurance-rates/#4f22443a3a01)
> Except that it doesn't seem to be true. Health insurance premiums have been
> rising for decades, almost (though not quite) as stubbornly reliable as an
> eastern sunrise. And it turns out that these increases actually slowed after
> the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010. That's according to data
> collected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which tracks
> a range of topics around spending on health care in its Medical Expenditure
> Panel Survey. The survey tracks the health insurance offered by private
> firms big and small, and in all cases, the average rate of premium growth
> from the time the law passed in 2010 through 2015 was actually lower than
> from 2004 to 2010. And premium growth was lowest for firms with fewer than
> 50 employees.
------
chollida1
Interesting side note, one of hte companies that Shkreli tried to buy was
KBIO. This became exhibit #1 for people to point to whenever someone ask them
why they don't short a stock if they are so sure of their convictions.
The stock went from $0.90/share to as high as $45/share overnight. If you were
short you were very screwed as your broker bought you in at h igh prices that
dropped pretty quickly after that.
Never hold a short overnight unless you are really really sure and even then
never hold a short overnight no matter what if its a penny stock. They are
just too volatile and can see 500% + price spikes.
[https://www.thestreet.com/story/13374131/1/kalobios-
pharmace...](https://www.thestreet.com/story/13374131/1/kalobios-
pharmaceuticals-kbio-stock-soars-after-naming-shkreli-ceo.html)
------
swarnie_
At this price point can't a company from India knock out a few million pills
for cents a unit and undercut the market?
~~~
pg_bot
This has already happened. Daraprim (Pyrimethamine) is available today in
India for pennies.[1] You can't import it into the United States without
breaking the law. The American public should be outraged at the FDA for
disallowing drug importation and their overwhelmingly onerous ANDA policy.
[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrimethamine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrimethamine)
[1] [https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/daraprim-like-drug-costs-
less-0-07...](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/daraprim-like-drug-costs-
less-0-07-india-1521144)
------
notyourday
> It costs pennies to make and generates little profit. Only a few thousand
> patients need it each year.
And it is covered by _insurance_. This is exactly how one leverages
inefficiencies of the insurance market place - insurance companies cover it
and they are charged that rate.
~~~
arcticbull
Not for the uninsured, or the underinsured (with enormous deductibles) -- and
that's the real problem. With a national socialized program, they could
negotiate the prices while ensuring everyone who needs it can get it.
~~~
notyourday
So far, all the investigations failed to find uninsured people who got hit
with this charge. They have found people lamenting that _if such people had no
insurance, then it would have been very expensive for them_
~~~
simonh
Of curse you can't find people who directly paid such an outrageous cost,
we're talking about people who by definition can't afford medical insurance.
What on earth makes you think any of them can afford $750 a pill? That's the
whole point of this issue, it's not that people get gouged which is bad
enough, it prices people out of getting the vital treatment they need even
though the true economic cost of the treatment is trivial.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Advanced Denanonymization through Strava - dsr12
http://steveloughran.blogspot.com/2018/01/advanced-denanonymization-through-strava.html
======
abcd_f
This is neither advanced nor denanonymization (sic).
They basically pluck an interesting route from the hotmap (as per other
people's recent discovery), pretend that they have also run/biked this route
and Strava will show them names of others who run/biked the same way. That's
clever, but that's not "advanced" by any means.
It's also not a deanonymization as there's really no option in Strava for
public _anonymous_ sharing to begin with.
~~~
dawhizkid
I wonder why Uber/Lyft/Waze don't have a feature like this for ridesharing.
Seems like it would be useful to find commuters going on the same commute each
day.
~~~
aw3c2
Announced just the other week:
[https://www.waze.com/carpool/](https://www.waze.com/carpool/)
~~~
kelnos
I think this is just a rebranding. Waze Rider (which is the same thing?) has
been around for a good year now.
------
thaumaturgy
Strava is the first social network I want to be a part of. It promises to help
me find activity partners that can help keep me motivated on the days where
I'm finding it more difficult than usual to get on the pedals or put on the
running shoes. Unlike most others, it might help me feel happier and
healthier. I have to accept some loss of privacy for the sake of crawling out
of a hole and having an automated system help me meet other folks.
And as he admits, you're far more likely to lose your bike to a combination of
a moment of carelessness and an opportunistic thief than someone that's
surveilling you through your social network activity.
It's a little ironic too that he's writing about the dangers of
deanonymization while providing enough information in his post to figure out
his Strava username and approximate location.
~~~
bringtheaction
I use Strava but I had no idea it's intended for meeting others.
Can you give more details on this? I can't find much in the app.
~~~
contender_x
find and join a running/cycling club in your area
------
taneq
This isn't even "deanonymization" in the sense of "performing statistical
inference to re-associate different pieces of data." It's "you ask the company
to give you personally identifiable data, and it does so."
~~~
loeg
Strava is a public-by-default social networking website that happens to focus
on athletics. Given that, it's no surprise some users happen to work in the
military (they're also on Facebook).
It seems like the various militaries need to do a better job of informing and
enforcing social media policy, including auditing websites like Strava. You
could also argue that Strava should be private by default, but I don't think
you'd have much success persuading them of that.
~~~
mxfh
The US did audits and actually issued 20000 + 2000 Fitbits at minimum in trial
programs.
Strava is the least of their problems. Despite all news articles in the last
day I didn't come a cross a single previously unknown site mentioned in any of
the stories. All those "experts" did, was showing known locations with a
novelty overlay.
The heatmap is the graphic and interactive part that makes the story
digestable, but there is no actual hard news in there. The story usually then
shifts to being able to track users across bases, which is nothing exclusive
to strava and mostly speculative when it comes to discovering actually secret
deployments.
In the case of HMNB Clyde, that place also exists on instagram, which I find
way more discerning, since by default geo-located pictures are even less
obvious than a share my GPS-Track of my sports activities as default setting.
[https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-
army/2015/07/27/20000-so...](https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-
army/2015/07/27/20000-soldiers-tapped-for-army-fitness-program-s-2nd-trial/)
~~~
gmueckl
Even the knowledge of exact guard patrol routes and possibly even timings
inside a known military base can be extremely helpful information for someone
planning an attack. Best part: you don't even have to place a scout in
physical proximity as preparation and risk discovery. So this is less than
ideal for military organizations.
~~~
stef25
You're totally right of course and I think it's pretty shocking that military
personnel aren't aware they are broadcasting their location out to the web.
Complete opsec failure.
~~~
fapjacks
They are, they just don't care. The State Dept will likely issue a ban on
their facilities which personnel will adhere to. Other military installations
like Special Forces bases or regular Army bases overseas probably will issue a
memorandum ("Be Vigilant!"), but I predict they won't stop using the devices.
State Department facilities are the only places that they try to hide from
others. Not that people and equipment are operating out of them (because
that's impossible), but that they are State Department facilities to begin
with.
------
jzzskijj
Strava has even a toggle "Include my anonymized public activity data in Strava
Metro and the Heatmaps" for controlling does location data from sport
activities end up into heatmaps or not.
Interesting, that in media this "news" has been mostly about Strava doing
something it openly says it does. There hasn't been much critique about
military not educating their personnel not to publish the exact locations of
military bases in Internet's sport services. If that is even a problem in
their perspective.
~~~
fapjacks
It is not seen as a problem by the regular military. Kinda hard to hide tanks
and artillery pieces and soldiers with iPads and C-130s flying into airfields
from locals in countries where having a car is a luxury. Locals can get better
information about the bases from people working on the bases, or from just
watching them. There is basically nothing you can get from this heatmap that
you couldn't get from really any local living near the place. It's the other
non-military facilities that would care about this.
~~~
jzzskijj
Yes, exactly. That's what I was referring to with "If that is even a problem
in their perspective."
------
ztjio
Strava has trivial to use controls to shut down this type of data gathering.
You simply define zones on the map as privacy zones and voila, any travel in
those areas will simply not appear publicly, and will not be part of public
heat maps or anything like that.
Of course, the original point of that is to avoid people knowing where you
live to come steal your expensive bike. But it's useful for other reasons too.
------
nradov
This is a total nothingburger. He hasn't found any security vulnerabilities;
Strava is working exactly as documented. And you could do the same thing in
Garmin Connect (probably other athletic social networks as well).
~~~
usrusr
And Garmin Connect still doesn't seem to offer anything like privacy zones,
it's all or nothing worth them. If anything, Strava is the beacon of privacy
on the field of social fitness tracking. Garmin's only redeeming quality is
that their failure to get Connect to really get off the ground in terms of
social (segments and the like) that there is little incentive to ever set
anything public there.
In fact, I believe that their lack of gradual privacy controls was an
important factor in the failure off Garmin's attempt to gobble up Strava's
market (back when they introduced their own competitive segments with the Edge
1000, now they are happily cooperating).
~~~
nradov
Garmin Connect added privacy zones in April 2017. They work exactly the same
way as in Strava.
[https://connect.garmin.com/modern/settings/privacySettings](https://connect.garmin.com/modern/settings/privacySettings)
I don't think Garmin Connect was really ever intended as a true Strava
competitor. It's limited to just users of Garmin devices and intended to drive
hardware sales through offering additional planning and analytics features.
------
korethr
> "Give us a list of secret sites you don't want us to cover".
This seems like a non-starter to me. If the gov't hands out an accurate list,
they've given out the secret and it's no longer under their control, negating
the whole point of having secret sites. If they pollute the list with random,
bogus (but plausible) data to reduce it's utility for discovering secret gov't
locations, it also reduces the utility for Strava as well, as now there's
random swaths of land where nothing is logged, despite there being nothing
there.
I have to say, part of this seems like an opsec failure on the part of the
various militaries and government agencies. I would hope that whomever is in
charge of security at a sensitive facility would recognize that modern phones
are general purpose computers that are, amongst other things, location aware.
If a facility's location or whom works there is sensitive info, the security
officer should probably be forbidding phones from being operated while on
site, or even being brought to the site in the first place.
------
throwawaystrava
I think it's really a shame that Strava is taking so much heat. The heatmap
was a really cool visualization and also useful to find out where people are
running and biking, generally. And, it was created from tracks that people
willing uploaded and made public, even if they didn't fully understand the
privacy implications.
But it's also frightening that this data, stored indefinitely, is effectively
a mass surveillance system. I was contacted by local law enforcement who had
gotten my email address from Strava via an "official legal process" because I
had ridden my bike in an area around the time a homicide occurred.
Chew on that. The police or the government have access to your whereabouts,
just because someone stored them.
~~~
dsfyu404ed
>I was contacted by local law enforcement who had gotten my email address from
Strava via an "official legal process" because I had ridden my bike in an area
around the time a homicide occurred.
If it makes you feel any better they probably filtered out all the "less
likely to murder people" demographics, went though everything they could dig
up on your and your friends/family looking for interesting things (e.g.
traumatic life events that could possibly give you a reason to murder someone)
before they bothered contacting you (and likely a handful other people). They
were only contacting you because you were one of their best leads based on
metadata and circumstantial evidence.
/s
~~~
contender_x
What's interesting is that they thought to look at Strava to see who had
ridden there during the time period of interest. You'd need to think "let's
see who cycled", and come up with a way of querying strava, such as demanding
the list of people who cycled there. If Strava gets checked, then except for
the special case of a witness saying "I saw someone suspicious on a bike",
they'd have already checked Waze, apple find friends, etc
------
adventist
Google and Apple and other map providers scrub some of their data by request
of the government. Will the government do something similar here? Kudos to
whomever found out that they could identify military stuff through this.
------
nmeofthestate
I find it hilarious that this guy outlines his cloak-and-dagger tactics to
avoid people tracking down his bike via Strava, and then as an aside he
mentions the time his bike actually got nicked was when a drug addict accessed
it through an unlocked door. That never happened to Jason Bourne.
~~~
contender_x
I was pretty unhappy about, I can tell you. And yes, I mentioned that fact to
make clear that physical security comes first, and because I cherish the irony
myself.
In Bristol, most mountain bikers do cross the Bristol Suspension bridge on
their way home, same for a lot of the roadies. There's been a fair few cases
of people being followed back by some teenagers and then having their bike
stolen that night, so rather than go straight home (main roads), I just hit
the back streets to see that it's clear. And now I make sure that we haven't
left a set of keys out in the garden, even when the door is locked. Which was
a fact on its own: it's an implicit metric of how often people try breaking in
to an urban house here.
~~~
nmeofthestate
OK. I take back my smirking.
------
oe
> Here are some things Strava may reveal ...
These are all things I want to share and use Strava to do that. (Well maybe
not "When you are away from your house" but you could not turn on the live
beacon if that's a concern.)
~~~
contender_x
> maybe not "When you are away from your house" but you could not turn on the
> live beacon if that's a concern
people have schedules, their commute timetables reveal them. If I start
appearing on the logs as riding in in a different part of the world then I'm
away for longer. That info is visible to anyone you are in the same "club" as,
even if you have enhanced privacy enabled.
~~~
dracoXT
Don't join clubs with people you cant't trust. Post your rides with week delay
or make them public when you are back home from your trip. It is called
"enhanced" privacy mode for a reason and combined with other privacy settings
it can give you very good results.
~~~
contender_x
I like your reasoning
------
aj7
Russians and Chinese especially interested in who will become field agents and
who will become analysts. Want to hazard a guess on which overlaps more with
Strava?
------
z3t4
> Then go to various governments and say "Give us a list of secret sites ...
Or better teach people to turn their devices off.
------
titzer
Interesting tips in this article for the paranoid. But it's way easier to do
it old school: don't use a service that gobbles your data up, no matter how
free it is.
It'd be great if there were better "really free"\--noncentralized--
alternatives built on open source. Maybe there are.
~~~
contender_x
> don't use a service that gobbles your data up, no matter how free it is
we've conceded that option by living in a world where phones add GPS location
data to cameras, you use pay-by-phone over cash, oystercards for public
transport. I felt I was in control until I discovered a paragraph in the
manual of the used BMW we'd bought about how to turn flash off.
Think about that: we are building cars with flash embedded in a browser wired
op to a 3G+ modem and a car network bus whose vehicle motor data would be
sufficient to identify where you are driving round Bristol (speed, time
sitting at junctions, hill climbs inferred by RPM:speed), where you live,
which school you drive you children to...
------
MikeFro
I wonder what happened before the smart phone era. Didn't the armed personnel
phone back to their loved one to let them know they were ok? I am sure they
did it in a controlled environment. When you set up a base, should you not
take into account the parameters responsible for your safety? For, example,
register all the smart phones and impose strict rules for sharing data. Who
ever get anything out, should get the shaft or get discharged from the
service. And finally why would anyone upload their personal details to an
unknown source? Are people so silly?
------
zython
On a related note: You don't need to anonymize yourself if you only ride on
zwift.
------
fapjacks
This technique has since been disabled by Strava.
------
cup-of-tea
You could also just run next to people and ask them what their name is.
~~~
macintux
Can you do that everywhere across the globe, simultaneously?
------
sitkack
At this point Strava should pull all of its public data. All of these location
based services are wide open to attack, correlating across pairs of them,
scary.
~~~
rplnt
At what point? There was no change in the last maybe 3~4 years. Heatmap wasn't
kept that up to date, but that's about it. There are privacy settings you can
set (and the app is nagging you to do so) to avoid these problems. If it is a
problem.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Parasite living inside fish eyeball controls its behaviour - Dim25
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2129880-parasite-living-inside-fish-eyeball-controls-its-behaviour
======
Dim25
I'm pretty sure that human's body may be filled with bunch of similar
parasites too.
Another example: [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/toxoplasma-
gondii-...](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/toxoplasma-gondii-
parasite-that-breeds-in-cats-could-affect-human-behaviour-when-it-infects-
people-a6861221.html)
[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-
you...](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-
making-you-crazy/308873/)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Bower is alive, looking for contributors - rickhanlonii
http://bower.io/blog/2015/bower-alive-looking-contributors/
======
rickhanlonii
This was Wednesday; on Thursday Dave says[1]:
> [A] noble death still requires people to manage a funeral. We're realistic —
> moving to npm is right thing to do. I want to get to a state where that's an
> easy transition.
[1]:
[https://twitter.com/desandro/status/667417324123774976](https://twitter.com/desandro/status/667417324123774976)
Mirror: [http://cl.ly/image/1a3K3N2u2Z3g](http://cl.ly/image/1a3K3N2u2Z3g)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Airpair Connects Startups With Expert Developers To Get Help With.. - rhufnagel
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/04/airpair-connects-startups-with-expert-developers-to-get-help-with-code-via-online-sessions/
======
lifeisstillgood
Seemed. Good idea
No submit button on the form. At least that iPhone found
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Training and onboarding software for teams - chrisbuttenham
http://tasytt.com
======
pech0rin
Looks like a great product! Hard to find good ways to onboard new employees.
Just an FYI your sign in button gets cut off about half way on chrome, mac
book pro 13". Looks like the ".container" width is hard coded which is causing
it to render off screen.
~~~
chrisbuttenham
Thank you pech0rin
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Percentage of employees working more than 50 hours per week, 2014 OECD area - bootload
https://utopiayouarestandinginit.com/2016/08/15/employees-working-more-than-50-hours-per-week-2014-opec-area/
======
adventured
Interesting to see New Zealand so high up on that list.
There was a lot of discussion a few years ago about their relatively poor
productivity. I suspect the key to lowering those hours worked, is exactly
that specific issue:
[http://www.productivity.govt.nz/working-paper/an-
internation...](http://www.productivity.govt.nz/working-paper/an-
international-perspective-on-the-new-zealand-productivity-paradox)
------
Joof
Why is it not coincidentally? I agree that it appears correlates, but why?
~~~
tgb
Presumably, people know that they will be making less after taxes per marginal
hour worked, and hence choose to spend their time with family, on hobbies,
etc. instead of at work. (Though I think this is reading too far into the data
given.)
~~~
wccrawford
I don't know that I can buy that. At least in the US, many people who work
that many hours are salaried, so the extra hours don't mean _any_ extra wages,
and they still work those hours. The pressures of the job force them into it,
not the economics.
------
maxxxxx
It's surprising to see Iceland, New Zealand and Australia that high on the
list. They don't have a reputation for being workaholic nations.
~~~
leohutson
I'd be interested to see a break down based on industry and location, salaried
vs hourly.
I could understand if self-employed people were included, as temporary
staffing shortages are often covered by business owners.
I also wonder what the hours for office workers are like. I'm sure that most
public sector employees work fairly regular hours.
Perhaps some people are temporary or "zero-hour" contractors with more than
one gig?
~~~
ehnto
Here in Australia, I suspect mining and construction will be the biggest
contributors.
Every office job I have worked has been 38 hours with no overtime save for a
handful of exceptions in 8 years of tech work.
Mining on the other hand can have consecutive 12 hour shifts be the norm, and
I am sure that it gets worse than that.
We have some fairly strict award rates/employment regulations that govern
things like that, but mining seems to be perhaps one of a few exceptions.
------
legulere
How was the data collected?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Internal FAA Review Saw High Risk of 737 Max Crashes - tompic823
https://www.wsj.com/articles/internal-faa-review-saw-high-risk-of-737-max-crashes-11576069202
======
forgingahead
_The MAX’s safety record when it was grounded, after two years in service,
roughly amounted to two catastrophic accidents for every one million flights,
according to estimates by industry officials relying on unofficial data. By
contrast, the model of 737 that came before the MAX has suffered one fatal
crash for every 10 million flights, according to data from Boeing._
Put another way, the 737 Max has a statistic of 1 catastrophe per 500k
flights, whilst the 737 was 1 per 10 million, _basically 20 times_ as much.
This is criminal behaviour, and people need to go to jail. The MAX should
never be allowed to fly again.
~~~
LeifCarrotson
On the other hand, generalizing from two incidents to a rate isn't great
statistics. The list of accidents and incidents with the previous generation
[1] shows some 9 fatal problems spread over more than a decade, which is
closer to a rate. But saying that the 737 Max is known to be 20 times worse
when the real value might be anywhere between 2 and 200 if it had been allowed
to continue flying is a little imprecise.
Put people in jail for negligence, sure. But we should be criminalizing based
on that negligence and not on its results.
[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incident...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_Boeing_737#737_Next_Generation_\(-600/-700/-800/-900\)_aircraft)
~~~
cameldrv
The FAA was not just using the fact of the first crash in the risk analysis.
This was the methodology they used:
[http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgPolicy....](http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgPolicy.nsf/0/4e5ae8707164674a862579510061f96b/$FILE/PS-
ANM-25-05%20TARAM%20Handbook.pdf)
They would have looked at the failure rate of the AoA sensor and the failure
rate of the recovery procedure and the fact that there had been one fatal
crash. That gave them a reasonable estimate of the risk. Based on that
analysis they should have grounded the plane, but Boeing apparently convinced
them that with pilot awareness of the problem that the recovery procedure
would be more effective. Unfortunately that was overly optimistic.
~~~
linuxftw
> Unfortunately that was overly optimistic.
No, it was fraudulent. Boeing didn't make even the slightest attempt to
identify all the potential failure modes, and it's still unclear if the plane
is even safe to fly with MCAS disabled.
~~~
cameldrv
The plane cannot be certified without MCAS or some other stability
augmentation. This is not unusual in itself, almost every jet aircraft has
some kind of instability. The problem was that MCAS is not reliable and
doesn’t fail safe. The fix they’re testing actually makes it less reliable,
but when it fails it will disable itself instead of making a smoking hole in
the ground.
------
mzs
We finally know fuller details* about the as proposed MCAS fix not-a-fix >
There are four main changes to the B737 MAX flight control system software
that have been developed to prevent future accidents like the ones that
happened with the Lion Air and Ethiopian Air flights. They include the
following:
1\. Angle of Attack (AoA) comparison – an addition to MCAS that will now
compare readings from both angle of attack sensors on the aircraft. If there
is a difference of more than 5.5 degrees the speed trim system will be
disabled. Also included in this change is something known as a “midvalue
select” which uses data from both sensors together to create a third input
that will help to filter out any AOA signal oscillatory failures or spurious
sensor failures. This modification will prevent MCAS from commanding nose down
trim when a single AoA sensor reports a false AoA as it happened in the two
accident flights.
2\. MCAS resynchronization – this change will account for manual electric trim
inputs made by the pilot while MCAS is activating. It will track whatever
input the pilot makes and return the pitch trim to that setting when MCAS
retrims back to normal.
3\. Stab trim command limit – is an addition that will limit the maximum nose
down trim that the automatic flight control system can command to prevent the
pitch trim from reaching an uncontrollable situation.
4\. FCC monitors – software monitors have been added to the flight control
computers that will cross check pitch trim commands against each other. If a
difference is detected by these monitors the automatic trim functions are
disabled. This protection helps prevent erroneous trim commands from a myriad
of causes that could occur in the automatic flight control system.
These design changes in the software that controls the automatic pitch trim
features including MCAS should prevent angle of attack sensor failures from
causing the pitch trim to operate when it should not. Further, they should
prevent the trim from activating erroneously for other reasons as well.
* [https://transportation.house.gov/download/kiefer-testimony](https://transportation.house.gov/download/kiefer-testimony)
~~~
linuxftw
Unfortunately, we don't know if flying the plane without MCAS is even safe.
MCAS was required for a reason, and disabling it at an inopportune time might
be disastrous.
~~~
Obi_Juan_Kenobi
MCAS was required to keep a linear relationship between the force applied to
the flight stick and the pitch-up control moment.
There is nothing magical about this linear relationship; it is an intuitive
configuration for pilots, but many other aircraft do not follow it. The
requirement makes sense for single-certification, but we must be clear in
understanding what is actually happening with this system.
The system counters the hazard of pilots experienced in 'regular' 737s getting
close to stalling without realizing, due to lighter stick inputs not having
the intended effect. Any MCAS malfunction would direct their attention to this
issue.
Actual anti-stall systems (MCAS is not anti-stall, nevermind some shoddy
reporting) would still function if a pilot were to approach this flight
envelope. This includes cabin alerts, stick shakers, etc.
The scenario where MCAS cuts out, _and_ it's in the envelope of conditions
where it actually functions, _and_ the pilots fail to notice this, _and_ the
MCAS inputs were needed to avoid approaching a stall, _and_ the pilots fail to
correct and avoid the stall .. it's a contrived hypothetical.
MCAS is not a system that activates on a normal flight. Only in relatively
extreme circumstances does it even function, and then it only seeks to make
intuitive pilot behavior less likely to approach stall conditions. A good
pilot monitoring airspeed, trim angle, AoA, etc. will be able to avoid a stall
just as well without the system.
~~~
mzs
Literally a take-off where one AOA sensor fails.
>The scenario where MCAS cuts out, and it's in the envelope of conditions
where it actually functions, and the pilots fail to notice this, and the MCAS
inputs were needed to avoid approaching a stall, and the pilots fail to
correct and avoid the stall .. it's a contrived hypothetical.
~~~
DuskStar
But MCAS is disabled when flaps are extended, such as on takeoff?
~~~
mzs
On a 737 they are retracted early in the climb, typically between 1000 and
1250 feet. If the slight stick movement the pilot is accustomed to to bring
the elevation down 2-3* fails to do so cause MCAS does not engage, there's not
a whole lot of distance to recover from a stall then.
~~~
DuskStar
> If the slight stick movement the pilot is accustomed to to bring the
> elevation down 2-3* fails to do so
This is completely unrelated to MCAS, though? Since the goal of MCAS wasn't
"bring the nose down" but instead "increase the pressure on the stick required
to maintain a certain nose-up attitude", I'd be really flabbergasted if it was
supposed to operate in a normal takeoff environment.
~~~
linuxftw
The goal was always bring the nose down, stick input not required.
------
jdsully
Its pretty clear reading the article that the public now has a much higher
safety standard than the FAA did internally.
Flying has become so safe that the public no longer considers it risky, but
the FAA never updated its targets. So when Boeing wanted to trade safety for
market share there was no basis to stop them.
To illustrate the change in attitude it used to be common for airports to sell
life insurance for the flight directly at the gate. This continued as late as
the 1980s.
[https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-
news/a...](https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/a-look-
back-whatever-happened-to-airport-insurance-vending-machines-22593.aspx)
~~~
ksdale
I feel your example just illustrates that the public has always thought flying
is more dangerous than it actually is. No one would be selling life insurance
if flying was as dangerous as the people buying the insurance thought it was.
The FAA set a standard that makes flying way safer than driving, a risk people
happily undertake all the time, but people still overestimate the risk of
flying and demand more safety improvements.
~~~
ncallaway
Yea, but the parent commenter was discussing the _public's_ risk tolerance for
flying.
The fact that life insurance was being sold, meant the flying public _thought_
they were taking significant risks (even if they weren't).
Now, such life insurance would be laughable, which means the public _does not_
think it's taking any risks. The general public's risk tolerance for flying
has dropped dramatically.
So, based on that, it seems the example perfectly demonstrates the point. The
public thinks flying is much less of a risk now than it used to.
~~~
ksdale
Your point is well taken, thank you.
Though, presumably the FAA's tolerance for risk has also dropped tremendously
over the past several decades, so I feel like the more relevant comparison is
the perceived risk to the actual risk.
Although the public thinks the risk it's taking is much smaller, it still
vastly overestimates the danger of flying.
I agree completely that the public thinks flying is a lot safer than they used
to, which is a change, but I think they also still really overestimate the
danger, which is not a change, and which I believe is borne out by the same
evidence provided by the parent, people buying life insurance when it was a
bad deal and people continuing to demand that the FAA make flying so much
safer than activities like driving that they engage in without a second
thought.
I'm also not so sure that a lot of people wouldn't still buy life insurance at
the gate if it was available.
~~~
jdsully
The FAA estimated the 737 Max would crash roughly once every 2-3 years. That
is 8x more often than the rest of Boeing’s fleet.
This apparently was still within FAA guidelines. I gurantee the flying
public’s risk tolerance is lower than that. I know mine is.
------
TooSmugToFail
This was a massive shot in the foot by the FAA. Not only they neglected red
flags after the first crash, remember that the idiots were also hesitating
after the second one, allowing other regulators to ground the Max before them.
FAA's credibility is in the dumps, along with the Boeing's.
~~~
mzs
not the only case: [https://transportation.house.gov/download/collins-
testimony](https://transportation.house.gov/download/collins-testimony)
edit: I found more. In particular Pierson's attachment included emails and
ends with a listing of 15 emergencies over 13 months and the Summary of
Subject Matter includes a quick run-down of various Boeing happening beyond
the MCAS.
[https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?Event...](https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=110296)
------
bookofjoe
[http://archive.is/JVWfg](http://archive.is/JVWfg)
~~~
tpmx
Who keeps downvoting these archive.is comments and why? They are clearly very
useful.
~~~
AnimalMuppet
They'd be a lot _more_ useful with some hint about what's being linked to. A
bare link, with an opaque URL, and with no comment, is basically saying "trust
me, this points to something relevant, but I won't tell you what". If I
disagree with the poster's definition of "relevant", I've wasted my time.
How about telling me _what_ you're linking to, not just giving me a raw,
opaque link?
------
tpmx
> The November 2018 internal Federal Aviation Administration analysis,
> expected to be released during a House committee hearing Wednesday
Is this document publicly available now? Did anyone find it?
~~~
mzs
I can't find the report itself but the submitted testimony and hearing is
here* In particular Collins' submission has this:
>787 Lithium-Ion Battery Containment:
>Before the AIR Safety Review Process was implemented in mid-2015, there were
other examples of FAA management accepting applicant’s positions over the
concerns of FAA technical specialists, the FAA’s aerospace safety engineers.
For example, during initial certification review of the new technology 787
lithium battery system design the certification of the 787, an FAA technical
specialist determined the lack of a fireproof enclosure could result in
catastrophic failure due to uncontrolled fire from the battery. He proposed to
FAA management that the special conditions design of for the airplane system
lithium-ion battery should include a requirement for a steel containment
structure that would be vented overboard. FAA management overruled the
specialist. The specialist worked to modify a new special condition that was
applied to the battery installation so a containment system would be required.
Unfortunately, FAA managers pushed to delegate 95 percent of the certification
to the applicant, including the high risk, new technology, battery
installation. Without FAA safety engineer oversight, the ODA found the design
without an enclosure to be compliant. Sadly, after certification, the airplane
system lithium-ion battery experienced two extremely dangerous fire events and
the FAA mandated the 787 fleet to be grounded. The design changes the FAA
mandated to allow the 787 to fly again included a steel battery containment
box that was vented overboard; as originally proposed by the FAA aerospace
engineer.
* [https://transportation.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings...](https://transportation.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/the-boeing-737-max-examining-the-federal-aviation-administrations-oversight-of-the-aircrafts-certification)
edit: better link
[https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?Event...](https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=110296)
~~~
redis_mlc
I saw the pictures of the 787 lithium-ion battery fire aftermath ... the
entire equipment rack was a charred mess. In other words, a raging fire
happened in the hold.
The only initial San Jose Terminal 3 ($1.2+ billion) international airline was
JAL, and they had to stop flying for about a year. This was a terrible blow to
the airport.
The engineer who advocated a battery box was not just correct, but following
basic principles - even the Cessna 172 has a metal battery box:
[https://www.knots2u.net/battery-box-cessna-172-stainless-
ste...](https://www.knots2u.net/battery-box-cessna-172-stainless-steel/)
Heck, I even tell IT departments to use a stainless-steel "bathtub" under
water-cooled computer systems. Each time I'm called a Cassandra, until it
starts leaking, then it's like, "Well of course. Anybody would do it that
way."
Source: commercially-licensed airplane pilot.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
What's new in Java 12, 13 and 14 - sindrebn
https://java.christmas/2019/17
======
pron
One thing I find a bit disappointing is the focus on language features. Most
of the effort in Java goes into the VM and libraries, while keeping the
language conservative. This is because VM/library features have a much bigger
impact on application quality, and more directly impact the application's
users; moreover, it's a strategy that's proven quite successful -- HN
notwithstanding, most developers don't like too much change in the language.
Still, many developers focus on language changes that affect _them_ , rather
than major changes than can affect their customers and their business. Recent
versions have seen major improvements to the GCs, startup time, and there's an
exciting new Java Flight Recorder (low-overhead, deep in-production profiling)
feature in 14 that allows streaming flight recorder events.
Also, the bit about LTS is problematic. While the multiple LTS update paths
have their place (although the widely in their offerings and intended
audiences), they are not less risky than the default path. The default path is
designed to be the cheapest and easiest, but requires a little bit more
agility. The effort required to update to a new feature release is not much
bigger than the effort required to update to a patch release, especially as
some of the LTS programs have major new features in their "patches." An LTS
program should be chosen only once it's been established that the default,
recommended update path is not right for your organization, and even then
you'll need to compare the different LTS programs, as they differ from one
another in about as much as LTS differs from the regular update path. LTS
should not be the default choice.
~~~
sreque
Language changes are super important when they enable you to program in a new
way, or in that way with significantly less boilerplate. For instance, Java 8
enabled new ways of programming via Lambdas and structural typing. You could
code in that way before, but anonymous class boilerplate was so high that few
bothered, and those that did were hard-pressed to convince their colleagues of
its value.
The problem with language changes is that to make use of them, your developer
community has to educate themselves on the new features and how to use them.
Certain VM changes like new GC algorithms often don't require this, as the
basic interface of the GC is the same (clean up garbage for me, thanks!).
I think the next big programming style Java may enable is what I call data-
oriented programming, which is enabled via sealed types and pattern matching.
This enables you to code the dual of OO, where you have a fixed number of sub-
types but an unbounded number of operations. I believe this style of
programming is useful far more often than it is used, simply because Java
doesn't make it easy to code in this style.
Other future changes I am excited for, but don't expect to get implemented any
time soon, if ever, frankly, are:
* Improved native code interop. I consider this to be both a language and VM change. * Improved memory layout control, including stack-allocated types and inlined objects inside of other objects. * project loom for golang-style I/O programming. * full tail recursion. Why was this feature rejected from the VM?
~~~
pron
> Other future changes I am excited for, but don't expect to get implemented
> any time soon, if ever, frankly, are:
Most if not all of them will land in the next few years. In fact, working on
those precise features is what most of the OpenJDK team does.
> Improved native code interop. I consider this to be both a language and VM
> change.
That would be Project Panama, making its initial, partial delivery in JDK 14
(GA next March, EA available now).
> Improved memory layout control, including stack-allocated types and inlined
> objects inside of other objects.
Project Valhalla. The most complicated of the bunch. Just had a recent major
breakthrough, and you can work with the EA release already.
> project loom for golang-style I/O programming.
Working on it :)
> full tail recursion. Why was this feature rejected from the VM?
Not at all rejected. It's still a goal for Loom. We'll just do lightweight
concurrency first. Cost/benefit prioritization etc.
~~~
tempguy9999
Utterly dumb question but why is tail recursion necessary in the JVM given
that the compiler is better placed simply to turn recursion into a loop. TR
removal should be done best at the highest level I'd think.
~~~
pron
The compiler can only make this transformation in special cases, in
particular, when it doesn't break any of the JVM's semantics (also, not all
recursion is self-recursion, i.e. a tail call to the subroutine you're in).
You can't just discard a frame of a call in a tail position, because some
security mechanisms require knowing the full call-stack (plus, developers
might hate you when their stack traces start missing crucial frames). So we're
talking about explicit tail calls, in places that can be checked for the
safety of the optimization.
------
cies
Pattern matching in switch statements (calling them match statements would
then be more fitting), a nice way to deal with nulls, and proper sum types
(aka tagged unions, like enums in Rust) and Java would be pretty up-to-date.
~~~
MaxBarraclough
I'm still not sure why imperative/OOP language have been so resistant to
adding pattern-matching of the sort seen in Haskell and OCaml.
There are plenty of almost entirely pointless features that get implemented in
major languages, like 'events' in C#. They add almost no value to the
programmer. Pattern-matching would be really useful for avoiding rats' nests
of control-flow, but until recently no major imperative language even seemed
to consider adding them.
The extremely obscure Felix programming language has had pattern matching for
years. [0] As nestorD says, Rust has them now, as does Kotlin. About time.
[0] [http://felix-lang.github.io/felix/](http://felix-lang.github.io/felix/)
~~~
goto11
The reluctance might be because polymorphism and pattern matching are kind-of
solving the same problem from different angles.
~~~
dkarl
That's an interesting point. I've been wondering for a long time why a lot of
people who are exposed to pattern matching in Scala never start using it
themselves, even if they understand it well enough to read pattern matching
code without difficulty. It often offers a simple, transparent way to express
logic that looks very tricky using if/else, but despite seeing examples they
keep reaching for if/else even in awkward cases. And I've observed that they
end up adding methods to classes solely to be used in a single piece of
if/else business logic, which often (in my opinion) are the concern of the
business logic that uses them, not the concern of the class.
And I find that we disagree. When I frame a question as, "How does this
algorithm handle this value?" they frame it as, "How does this class behave in
this algorithm?" Is the difference in how the types are treated in the
algorithm best expressed as the concern of the class (via polymorphism) or as
the concern of the algorithm (via pattern-matching)?
I write a lot of OO code with polymorphic methods and am not opposed to
modeling things that way, but I think it's often not the best way. I feel like
business logic that could be expressed coherently in a single place gets
scattered across many classes, and to understand the algorithm you have to
gather the logic from a bunch of different places and reconstruct it. Not only
that, classes accumulate little fragments of logic that belong to disparate
concerns that are supposed to be handled elsewhere. If you have polymorphism
and not pattern matching, this is inevitable. If you have both, it can be
avoided.
------
bendiksolheim
Java is actually getting quite a few nice features these days. I am especially
excited about these improvements to the `switch` statement – I have always
felt that the `switch` statement is more or less useless in its current form.
Now, if it only had exhaustiveness..
------
skocznymroczny
I'm more looking forward to things like Project Panama.
A big gap between Java and C# is value types and better interop with native
code ("pointers"). ByteBuffers in Java are painful for many usages and very
poor compared to things like [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)] in C#.
------
EnderMB
As someone that used to write a lot of C#, I find that the language is
changing so often that it's hard to know what's new and what's been around for
years.
In contrast, Java hasn't changed all that much over the years, and I wonder if
an approach of taking the more useful features from C# and ignoring some of
the others would be a good approach.
I often wonder how Java developers feel when they look over at C#, and see a
language that has exploded in functionality over the last decade, all while
Java has mainly optimised the JVM and slowly added features.
~~~
pron
It's not taking some features and _ignoring_ others. It's taking features than
have shown good cost/benefit, and _not_ taking those that haven't. The choice
here is about which features _not_ to adopt, just as much as it is about which
features to adopt. Java's philosophy is still innovation in the VM while
keeping the language conservative. It's just that conservative is a relative
term, here. If some language feature seems to have a good cost/benefit ratio
_and_ it's become mainstream enough, Java will adopt it.
BTW, Java has also "exploded in functionality over the last decade", it just
hasn't translated to _language_ changes. Even the project I work on, adding
lightweight concurrency, will not change the language at all, while in C# it
took the form of a _huge_ language change (async/await). Nevertheless, in Java
the added functionality will be at least the same as it's been in .NET.
~~~
mumblemumble
> It's taking features than have shown good cost/benefit, and not taking those
> that haven't.
I actually wonder if it's more taking features that have proven sexy, and
ignoring the rest. I still think that the single biggest source of verbosity -
and design damage in some of the newer APIs such as streams - is that Java
hasn't implemented extension methods. That costs me time and money on a
regular basis. By comparison, the cost of fall through by default in switch
statements is that I have to use a linter. Which I already have to do for a
fistful of other reasons, anyway, so, while this -> operator certainly
scratches an itch I've had, it doesn't move the needle much in terms of
productivity or code quality.
_edit_ : Should add, in C#'s defense - .NET's lightweight concurrency was
initially implemented as a library. C#'s async/await came later, and is just
syntactic sugar as far as I've ever been able to tell.
~~~
pron
First, no language feature has been shown to move the needle much in terms of
productivity or code quality. We are unable to detect differences between
(reasonable) language choices, let alone individual features, so it's mostly
about ergonomics. I'd be extremely surprised if you could show that any
feature or lack thereof actually costs you money, but if you could, that would
be quite a discovery. As to extension methods, they're not ignored. The
language team is just unconvinced it's a good feature, which doesn't mean
there aren't people who like it. As to switch statements, the language team
had actually analyzed many hundreds of millions of lines of code before
committing to the feature.
~~~
mumblemumble
> First, no language feature has been shown to move the needle much in terms
> of productivity or code quality.
Absolutely true. When I've looked at that research, I was really quite
impressed by how little has gone into looking into it, considering how
interesting the subject is to so many people. My guess would be that it's
because it's prohibitively expensive to study. That said, there was one result
that I believe was shown to be fairly robust, and independent of language:
that bug rate and cost are both generally proportional to lines of code
written.
To that extent that that may be true, while I certainly don't have a $500,000
study by a team of professors at Stanford to back me, there's at least a
plausible basis for my own perception of doing better work in object-oriented
languages that do or do not have some sort of mixin mechanism: I find that
using them often lets me get the same job done in less code. (Without that, I
admit I have to retreat to pointing out that absence of evidence is not
evidence of absence.)
There's also the design damage thing. Some developers on my team are quite
resistant to using streams instead of loops in Java, and it's precisely
because of the poor ergonomics. If you need to do an operation that isn't
built into the Java API, you have some sub-par options: You can implement a
collector, which is justifiably criticized as being a hassle (6 methods to
implement) that yields code that scans poorly (every other verb is "collect").
Or you can implement a function, but using that function requires breaking the
flow of the stream code by creating a bunch of intermediate variables, or,
worse, constructing a pyramid of doom. By contrast, when we're working in
Kotlin, you can just write a function and deploy it the same way you'd deploy
any other method in its equivalent APIs. It's less effort, it's less code
(read: stuff to get wrong), and, perhaps critically, it's a lot less annoying.
~~~
pron
What operation that isn't in the stream API would you say you need most often?
------
lemagedurage
The new style of switch statements is very nice. I've found myself using if
else blocks to replace switch statements because they're simply more legible,
and they take up less vertical space. Now the new style switch statements will
be an improvement over that.
~~~
aliakhtar
Its copied from Scala pattern matching, and still isn't as good as it.
~~~
pron
Almost all features in the Java language are guaranteed to be copied from
other languages because it is in Java's "charter" not to introduce features
that haven't been tried in other languages first, and then copy only those
that have shown a good cost/benefit. The question you should ask is not which
features are copied, but which ones _aren 't_.
------
maximente
what's up with all these .christmas domains appearing high on HN listings?
there appear to be accounts dedicated to posting from javascript.christmas,
java.christmas, and functional.christmas , all of the same style/format/etc.
the only posts they submit are from those domains. is this a coordinated
boosting effort?
functional.christmas =>
[https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=bendiksolheim](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=bendiksolheim)
javascript.christmas =>
[https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=ewendel](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=ewendel)
~~~
oauea
Looks like spam. I've flagged the most recent posts, hopefully the mods see
this.
~~~
volkk
how is it spam if it's just shared various blog posts from a single website?
------
nikeee
If I'm not mistaking, there is no JEP for making throw statements expressions.
Is there an obvious thing that I'm missing here? It would make sense for
concise method bodies [1] and throwing in switch expression branches more
consistent (over making exceptions for throw statements). Also, C# did the
same thing.
[1]:
[https://openjdk.java.net/jeps/8209434](https://openjdk.java.net/jeps/8209434)
------
toopok4k3
Why are they spewing Java versions so quickly? I have barely moved to 8 yet.
~~~
cstuder
Java moved to a six-months release cycle in 2017:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_version_history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_version_history)
Java 8 had its end-of-life for commercial usage in january 2019. The new long
term release is Java 11.
Time to move on for you.
~~~
tristanperry
Some companies spend longer than six months to discuss/agree to a 'major
version upgrade' of software.
Naturally the gap between (say) Java 10 and 11 is fairly small, meaning it
shouldn't take many months to merely discuss an upgrade - but not all
companies have got round to the regular-release way of thinking.
~~~
qw
Java 8 was released March 18, 2014, so they had 5 years to upgrade.
But I see your point about the new release schedule, where the LTS version is
not supported after 6 months.
I think the companies need to change their mindsets. New Java version are
backwards compatible, as they introduce changes gradually.
It is actually more dangerous to wait, because they risk that some features
(like GC) are deprecated after 4-5 versions. By updating regularly and keeping
an eye on deprecated features, they should have time to adjust
~~~
vbezhenar
I still need to pass weird flags for Tomcat to make it work under Java 9+,
almost 6 years later. Modules were a mistake. If not for modules, a lot of
people would have migrated to 9+.
~~~
ivolimmen
Modules where not a mistake but we will likely benefit from it in say at least
5 years. Every artifact/library you use has to be a (real) module to be able
to use it's full potential.
~~~
jillesvangurp
I've yet to see a real world use that is meaningful. Mostly it just adds
deployment bureaucracy for opting in to stuff that used to be there by
default. I'm not seeing a huge adoption of modules outside of Java's core
libraries.
A good thing that came out of it was that it forced them to untangle the 2
decades old standard library. This was disruptive but it seems to have also
unblocked a bit of progress and also allows the to have experimental modules
in non lts releases (9,10,12,13).
------
MockObject
I really wish they would use a numbering scheme that used points for the non-
LTS releases: 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 9.0...
~~~
colejohnson66
I’m wondering when Java 2 comes. Java 12 is actually 1.12...
~~~
kjeetgill
They dropped the pretend Java 7 => Java 1.7 thing already. They don't even do
7u80 style versions anymore.
~~~
colejohnson66
Really? When?
EDIT: It went Java 1.4 -> 5.0[0]
[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_version_history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_version_history)
------
iainmerrick
That “instanceof” change looks strictly worse than Kotlin’s “smart casts”
(after checking x is an instance of Y, x implicitly casts to Y as long as its
value doesn’t change).
The new Java shorthand, by introducing a new variable name, also introduces
some sneaky variable shadowing risks (as this blog post itself explains!)
_Edit to add:_ maybe the difficulty is in formally specifying “smart casts”,
or at least clearly documenting them? I don’t think Jetbrains has documented
all the rules used by Kotlin. It doesn’t seem undoable, though.
------
dry_soup
Cached:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20191217093210/https://java.chri...](https://web.archive.org/web/20191217093210/https://java.christmas/2019/17/)
(Google hasn't cached it yet as of this writing)
~~~
matsemann
Curios, why post this?
~~~
dry_soup
Because I tried to access the page a few times over a two-hour period, and it
always timed out.
------
splittingTimes
Will we ever get to see golang-style multiple return values/results?
~~~
rohan1024
Method chaining becomes complicated if you have multiple return values. In Go,
you can't return error values if you want to do method chaining. Error
handling then becomes even more complicated.
~~~
Polyisoprene
I would like to have the result type for this, like in Rust:
enum Result<T, E> { Ok(T), Err(E), }
~~~
lllr_finger
I've implemented this in Kotlin with sealed classes, and it's slowly taking
over within our org. You don't get a few things (like the ? sugar) but it's
still really nice.
I have no idea why the Kotlin std lib has a Result type but limits it to
exceptions - such a missed opportunity.
------
cutler
When is Java going to fix its ugliest wart - regex backslashitis? Seriously,
which other language in 2019 requires you to escape every sodding backslash in
a regex?
~~~
doyoung
Second that. It's the most annoying thing in Java.
------
zelly
Every language is becoming Rust. I love it.
------
gigatexal
off-topic: What a cool TLD!
~~~
ksec
You have got to be joking, now Christmas is a domain?
~~~
trewtey
Why not? There was a lot of pressure on .com, now with all these GTLDs it's
easy and cheap to find a cute name.
------
kimi
"Welcome to Kotlin"?
------
hildaman
Soon Java will become the new PERL with 20 ways to do the same thing &
developers will have to spend hours on Google trying to figure out what that
wierd bit of syntax actually does.
------
ken
It seems that most languages these days are on a path to adding as much syntax
as possible. Is there no limit? The mainstream languages are already too
complex for me to understand fully, let alone use effectively.
We used to joke about APL (the "beautiful diamond") and Lisp (the "ball of
mud"). Lisp was big, at the time, but most of it is what we'd call the
standard library today. The actual core was quite small, and everything was
remarkably coherent for a system of its size. Today, many core languages are
as big as all of Common Lisp.
When I see a language add new syntax for a trivial transformation, in the
compiler because the language isn't extensible, using ASCII art because
they've run out of symbols on the keyboard, it just looks like the worst of
APL combined with the worst of Lisp.
~~~
bartread
I'm not sure what you're objecting to here. The switch enhancements, in
particular, seem to me to reduce boilerplate and improve readability. If I
ever go back to spending time in Java I'll certainly be using them.
------
vturner
Sigh, I know new language features are cool, but I highly doubt the growing
dominance of Python and JS is a question primarily of language features.
Python has a REPL and the outstanding tooling built on that along with an
ecosystem of libraries where a default use case is the design choice. That all
leads to "fast" development which what a lot of people care about. JS has the
default use app deployment area: browser.
Meanwhile Java's REPL is a pretty sad imitation, and I see no movement toward
trying to get back in the user app space.
I love the JVM and the language itself is good enough, but the management of
Java features through the years leaves me disappointed.
* I know Android is Java and Kotlin focused but Android development is entirely different than writing a JavaSE app. Also know Kotlin compiles to JS, and I think that supports my grumpy young man persona. A hugely successful language IDE company saw it useful to build a cross compiling language on your platform.
~~~
smitty1e
Right, but will We Assembly be a JS killer?
If I can stay in Python and target the browser without the fuss and bother of
JavaScript, why would I?
~~~
zelly
WASM won't kill JavaScript because there is a whole generation of programmers
that actually prefers it to Python etc. and goes out of their way to use it
(nodejs).
There are also more technical reasons like WASM not being able to access DOM.
------
nennes
Is it me or does the below sound condescending?
_Trying new features is a good way to broaden your skill set, and if there is
something you strongly dislike about the usability of a feature you can even
provide feedback to the JDK developers._
To me it reads like: Try our experimental features because that will make you
a better (rounded | paid) developer, and if you really really want you may
even provide feedback.
~~~
jlillesand
No offense, but that's probably you. Even if I try to read that as
condescending, I have a hard time doing it.
I read that as: trying new stuff in code generally makes you a better
programmer. And when you test stuff that's still in an experimental phase, the
language designers are probably still open to feedback from the broader
public.
~~~
nennes
None taken! I'm getting allergic to corpo talk lately and it looks like I'm
overreacting!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
PEP 582 – Python local packages directory - BerislavLopac
https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0582/
======
nicolashahn
I'm definitely in favor of this. This is much simpler than the virtualenvs we
currently deal with. The only downside I can see is that virtualenvs also
manage the python version, so there could potentially be some confusion as to
which version to use. To build a virtualenv you need to choose a version as
well, but at least once you do, it becomes explicit. Coming back to a project
months or years later and then trying to figure out what python the project
wants is minor but nevertheless an inconvenience.
~~~
WorldMaker
Most other languages have moved that sort of information into more shared
container formats like Docker (and higher level container orchestrators like
Kubernetes, etc). virtualenv has been a relatively poor, Python-specific
Docker, and it is probably past time for the benefit of Python DevOps to
retire virtualenv entirely for more general/shareable tools.
~~~
devxpy
I actually kinda liked having a virtualenv.
Although the hacks used to make it work, were not nice.
I would have loved to see core python suppport for virtualenv, which could
probably avoid these hacks.
~~~
BerislavLopac
"Core support" in which sense exactly? It is part of the standard library:
[https://docs.python.org/3.7/library/venv.html](https://docs.python.org/3.7/library/venv.html)
~~~
sfoley
Virtualenv is not the same thing as venv, but you are correct that package
isolation is now part of “core python” - as of 3.3.
~~~
BerislavLopac
Yes, but apart from virtualenv being older and working with Python 2, I fail
to see the difference between the two.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Extraterm. A cross platform terminal enumlator - sbuttgereit
http://extraterm.org/
======
quangio
It would be quite good if this is something like VSCode/Atom extension. But as
a standalone application, well, ehem, electron, ~70Mb.
For more electron hate and terminal:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16900941](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16900941)
Terminals I prefer over this:
[https://github.com/jwilm/alacritty](https://github.com/jwilm/alacritty)
[https://github.com/liamg/aminal](https://github.com/liamg/aminal)
[https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/](https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/)
~~~
sbuttgereit
I've actually never understood these arguments as they're often times made.
Can many (all) Electron apps be made much more efficiently in other ways?
Sure, but so what? As a fact by itself, why should I care? It's a meaningless
factoid and only in specific contexts does it matter a whit.
If an Electron application: 1) Provides valuable services to the user; and 2)
provides those services sufficiently well enought that the user isn't troubled
by the experience (or even enjoys the experience)... anything else is just
noise. In some contexts, that memory issue matters, but not nearly all.
I'm finding Extraterm working relatively well so far. Seems to be performing
where I want and providing a good terminal experience. It's taking a metric
shit-ton of RAM from what I can tell compared to what I might expect, but...
I've got RAM to burn, so it doesn't phase me in the least, I mean I don't earn
interest or anything by saving that RAM so as long as that's the only ill...
I'm doing pretty good. And if I want to tackle the most egregious consumers of
resources, there are other, worse violators in that department... like Firefox
taking an order of magnitude more RAM just to show the Hacker News tab that
I'm editing in.
Of the terminals that you list, Alacritty looks interesting and I've been
following a bit, and the other two are non-starters for me as I need cross-
platform tools (Windows and Linux specifically).
Anyway, like most things in (professionally competent) technology, most things
are good or bad only within certain contexts and use cases. Over
generalization amongst practitioners tends to be a larger and more present sin
than applications taking more RAM than some would like.
------
hestefisk
rxvt is still doing a damn fine job, and it doesn’t require me to load a
browser engine to interact with the shell...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How To : Install Webmin In Ubuntu - abttech
http://www.abttech.com/how-to-install-webmin-in-ubuntu/
======
bradleyland
A better method is to add the Webmin repo to your repository list. This allows
you to update using apt along with your other software. Webmin has it's own
built-in update mechanism, but I find it easier to automate when everything
works with your package manager.
Very simple instructions are included on the Webmin website:
<http://www.webmin.com/deb.html>
------
mkelly
At first I wasn't sure if this submission was a joke or not.
I'd be quite interested in any argument in favor of installing webmin. I'd
never willingly install that piece of software on a machine connected to the
internet.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Do You Really Know Bill Gates? The Myth of Entrepreneur as Risk-Taker - idiotb
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/09/13/bill-gates-risk-taker/
======
noahc
This is something a lot of people don't always see. For example, I spent 20
hours building a website and doing all the SEO, link generation,etc and then
just let it sit. It had a bunch of fake products and now 2 or 3 months later
people are now trying to place orders.
Now I can start devoting time to it and build out the infrastructure to
support the website and business. I didn't jump and quit my job to see if it
will work.
At the end of the day, when the money runs out you have to get a real job. The
goal should be to take small-risk big-reward plays and lots of them until
something catches.
~~~
nerfhammer
Just curious: how did you decide what products to (pretend to) offer?
------
burgerbrain
_"The thought of Gates and Allen as the godfathers of a hacking subculture
that has cost Microsoft and the world overall hundreds of billions of dollars
does indeed boggle the mind."_
Lulwat? Talk about somebody not knowing their history.
~~~
roel_v
In what sense? What he mean was 'G&A did the same computer vandalism that has
cost the world $bb since then'. Which, even if a bit dramatic and un-nuanced,
is not really wrong.
~~~
burgerbrain
_"the godfathers of a hacking subculture"_
The "hacking subculture" had it's roots way before Gates and Allen, and in
completely different social circles. The effect of the comment is to mis-
attributed something that was much bigger than them.
------
brudgers
The Gates story reads like it was mostly cribbed from the Wikipedia entry and
dates from[2009]. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_gates#Early_life>
------
boh
Malcolm Gladwell wrote a similar article in the New Yorker:
<http://www.gladwell.com/2010/2010_01_18_a_surething.html>
------
staunch
Ambition is the overriding characteristic that Gates has in such abundance and
most people lack. Gates was lucky to have had so much support but probably
would have taken more risk if he had been forced to.
~~~
boh
The amount of risks that Bill Gates would have (supposedly) been wiling to
take (due to his superhuman ambition) doesn't make a difference. The support
he had allowed his risks to actually come to some end and would have helped
him survive failure should it have come to that. There is nothing in the
history of Bill Gates that suggests that Microsoft was successful due to it's
competitors' lack of ambition.
------
rbanffy
I believe the PC-DOS deal (without which Microsoft would be a footnote) stems
from Microsoft's role in the BASIC interpreter built into the PC's ROM rather
than an indirect intervention from Mary Gates. The BASIC deal, however, is
somewhat attributed to her.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Trump Bid to End 'Dreamers' Immigrant Program - jbegley
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/18/us/politics/18reuters-usa-court-immigration.html
======
tareqak
The SCOTUS opinion:
[https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-587_5ifl.pdf](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-587_5ifl.pdf)
.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Solving mazes using Python: Simple recursivity and A* search - laurentluce
http://www.laurentluce.com/?p=264
======
orijing
Not to be pedantic, but where's the recursion?
Seems like an instance of a common metaphor:
while queue.hasElements():
element = queue.pop()
explore element if we haven't already
put element's successors into queue using some priority
~~~
endtime
A correct implementation of A* might look simple, and indeed it's not the most
complicated algorithm out there, but I wouldn't dismiss it until you've read
and understand the proof of its optimality.
~~~
orijing
Of course, I've dealt with many search problems using A* (in particular, in
the context of machine translation). I understand the algorithm and the proof
of optimality. And I agree, the algorithm is very simple (not much different
than uniform-cost search)--the complex part (in more general applications) is
the heuristic function.
I don't see where I dismissed A*.
~~~
endtime
Maybe I misunderstood this:
>Seems like an instance of a common metaphor
That gave me the impression that A) it was new to you (due to the "seems to
be") and that B) you weren't impressed ("common").
------
Kafka
I wonder how the algorithm would be affected by weave mazes.
[http://weblog.jamisbuck.org/2011/3/4/maze-generation-
weave-m...](http://weblog.jamisbuck.org/2011/3/4/maze-generation-weave-mazes)
~~~
mukyu
Neither is.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
NASA Finds Perfectly Rectangular Iceberg In Antarctica - jaequery
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/10/22/nasa-finds-perfectly-rectangular-iceberg-in-antarctica-as-if-it-was-deliberately-cut/amp/
======
jaequery
There is something weird going on. Check this too:
[https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1016610/weird-news-
yout...](https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1016610/weird-news-youtube-
alien-bunker-Antarctica-secret-military-base)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Kent M. Pitman Answers On Lisp And Much More - udzinari
http://slashdot.org/developers/01/11/03/1726251.shtml
======
gjm11
Very good stuff, but note that it's from 2001.
(Kent Pitman was involved in the ANSI CL standardization process, was the lead
author for the standard itself, and created the HyperSpec --
[http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Front/index...](http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Front/index.htm)
\-- which is possibly the best programming language standard document ever.)
------
gjm11
KMP's answers to the Slashdot questions were very long, so they split them
into two parts. There doesn't appear to be a link from the first part (which
is the thing linked here) to the second part, so here is one:
[http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/11/13/04202...](http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/11/13/0420226)
------
hvs
The questions from people that have obviously never used Lisp haven't changed
in 50 years.. "Why all the parenthesis" "Lisp is too arcane" etc. I can't be
too hard on them, I used to think the same thing. But once you make a
commitment to actually learn the language (just like any other language), you
find a beautiful language that allows you to write very compact code with a
minimum of boilerplate.
I'm constantly amazed at how many ideas that Lisp came up with years ago that
are just now starting to gain wider acceptance in more mainstream languages.
It's unfortunate that superficial complaints about syntax prevent so many
developers from giving this language a chance.
~~~
gfodor
Arguably having slightly unfamiliar syntax that has long term benefits (like
lisp's parens) provides an excellent filter against programmers who you really
_don't_ want in your community, anyway. I find that people who obsess over
syntax are often the ones who know the least about programming and computer
science in general.
That said, some syntax choices are horrifically bad, and make simple things
hard. But lisp's parens are not an example of this, just the opposite.
------
cageface
I've always very much admired the elegant simplicity of Lisp and Scheme. I've
done a bit of CL and, lately, Clojure hacking and I do think that learning
Lisp is an enlightenment that no good programmer should deny himself.
However, I'm also less and less convinced that the one really killer feature
that Lisp allows, macros, really makes up for the downsides of the s-expr
syntax. Modern languages with closures and first-class functions and easy,
powerful metaprogramming facilities give you enough flexibility without macros
and history has shown that s-expr prefix notation is just not something that
many people enjoy.
A previous poster's claim that Lisp makes a good extension language because
it's scriptable is a good case in point. Dealing with the s-expr syntax in a
capable editor like Emacs isn't a problem but entering complex, ad-hoc s-expr
expressions on a command line is just gross. I'd _much_ rather use something
like Python or Ruby or Lua for that purpose.
I'm not sure that any of the existing statically typed, type inferencing
languages have really found the sweet spot yet but, as much as I enjoy the
current crop of dynamic languages, I'm still much more inclined to believe
that the next step in the evolution of highly productive languages is going to
involve reintroducing static typing in a less cumbersome way, not revisiting
the Lisp paradigm in a new context. When I look at the work that the Rails 3
team is doing to clean up and modularize the Rails internals I just have to
think that their task would be much easier in a language with explicit, static
support for interfaces.
~~~
anonjon
_However, I'm also less and less convinced that the one really killer feature
that Lisp allows, macros, really makes up for the downsides of the s-expr
syntax._
Sorry, what is the downside? (foo x) vs. foo(x) doesn't make a difference to
me.
Is this an implied downside that amounts to not having used the language very
much?
~~~
cageface
There are two downsides. First, lisp syntax requires a lot more parentheses
because every expression must be parenthesized. Infix languages eliminate most
of these. Admittedly this also occasionally introduces some problems with
operator precedence but in practice these aren't that big of a deal. S-expr
syntax just isn't as readable.
Second, prefix notation is terrible for complex arithmetic. Even the most
ardent admirers of s-expr syntax will concede this.
I certainly haven't done as much lisp hacking as some people but I've written
a complete html-mail archiver: <http://github.com/cageface/macho>
a standalone xml parser: <http://github.com/cageface/xmls>
and an s-expr syntax for python: <http://github.com/cageface/lython>
So I think I'm entitled to an opinion.
~~~
anonjon
_Infix languages eliminate most of these._
No, they don't.
They eliminate some of them, mostly ones associated with math. The rest of
them they replace with different types of parenthesis.
Brackets, braces, tabbing and carriage returns, semicolons. They are all
structure delimiters. In lisp you have one structure delimiter "()", in non-
lisps you have many.
I don't see how it is terrible for complex arithmetic. Lisp order of
operations is explicit. Code does not become more clear because you add a
bunch of implicitly defined structure, (no matter how much you were drilled in
math school, it is still another thing to remember). Besides, what makes math
different from anything else? I end up parenthesizing infix math anyway,
simply because it is hard to keep track of the order of operations.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and I didn't meant to imply that
you aren't, I was just interested in your reasoning.
To me, 'readability' is a vacuous claim, being that they only thing that
'readability' really means is 'what I am used to'. (I write lisp code for a
living, am used to lisp code (lisp was my first language), and I find it much
easier to decipher than other languages).
~~~
cageface
The great thing about using a variety of different structure delimiters
instead of one is that they delimit different kinds of structure and make
those delimitations more clear and explicit. Real Lisp code makes liberal use
of redundant whitespace to indicate structure for similar reasons. In fact, a
lot of Lispers will tell you they don't even see the parentheses after a
while. If this is really so, why not just eliminate them and use Python
instead? You lose macros but gain a lot of syntactic clarity.
As for arithmetic, most people will find this: (/ (+ (- b) (sqrt (- (* b b) (*
4 a c)))) (* 2 a))
less readable than this: (-b + sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c)) / 2 *a
It may be that readability is relative but those that find prefix notation
more readable in general have been in the minority since Lisp was first
invented.
------
dkarl
_Further, the package system is missing certain kinds of inheritance
capabilities I've often wished for, but I recently sat down and did the work
of writing my own versions of defpackage for my own use, adding the
capabilities I wanted in a way that my own tools can use, and I had no
difficulty._
A tendency of all Lisp gurus is to shrug off the lack of any facility that
they can easily write themselves. Where is this new defpackage? Is it
documented? Does it work for anybody else's needs, or just his? Is it even
available? The fact that he considered these issues to be not worth mentioning
in the context of the question is really frustrating.
_For the most part, I've found the limitations of Common Lisp's abstraction
capabilites to be incidental, and not deep, and I've found its syntactic
reorganization capabilities more than capable of making up for it._
For most development there's no level of language power that makes up for
being able to build 95% of your environment and 90% of your code by
downloading tools and libraries used by thousands of other people, instead of
(say) 80% and 70%.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Dwolla raises $5M to continue its work on “really freaky stuff” - Codhisattva
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/07/dwolla-gettin-freaky/
======
bproper
It's fun to see a startup talking about having "A good relationship with the
Federal Reserve."
There is a big competitive advantage to not being in SF or NYC. They are in
Des Moines, where people work on insurance, payments and risk management.
But there is no way that the credit card companies won't be trying to protect
their margins and block a new payment network that avoids interchange fees.
~~~
Codhisattva
True. VISA/MC will eventually do something to protect their hegemony, but what
can they do? Lower fees to $0? I think their days are numbered (good
riddance).
~~~
callmeed
They'll do what any self-respecting, old-money hegemony would do: take some
senators out for golf and steaks and write a big campaign check.
They will lobby to implement more regulations with regards to "money
transmitters" in the hopes of increasing their costs enough that they have to
raise fees.
See: [http://www.quora.com/Aaron-Greenspan/Posts/In-Fifty-Days-
Pay...](http://www.quora.com/Aaron-Greenspan/Posts/In-Fifty-Days-Payments-
Innovation-Will-Stop-In-Silicon-Valley)
~~~
thinkcomp
They won't have to try hard. There's only four states left (that don't
regulate money transmitters)!
------
billybob
A few months ago, when Gowolla got bought out, I thought sadly, "there goes
that cool payments company." Apparently I was thinking of Dwolla.
I'm not sure whether this says something about naming your company or just
about me.
------
otakucode
I'm sure banks and credit card companies will use the entirety of their
resources, both political and capital, to ensure that no organization is ever
permitted to enable money to move this easily.
But, really, it should be one of the primary things that the public should be
fighting for. And it will be a fight, quite possibly a literal one. We're
talking about nothing less than cutting the financial throats of every banker
in the world. When it comes right down to it, though, it flat out does not
cost more to work with large numbers than it does to work with small numbers.
The idea of the bankers or card processors getting a percentage of every
transaction is fundamentally flawed and unjustifiable. Of course, this is
operating on the idea that a market should be based upon people trading value
for value... an idea that doesn't seem to have much footing today. If you have
no value to offer, but you've got the political capital to get people forced
into the playground you own, that's seen as successful business as well.
~~~
Codhisattva
Banks aren't being disrupted. On the contrary they have an incentive to join
FiSync and work with Dwolla as the current interbank systems are ancient.
The credit card companies are certainly being disrupted though. Their model is
based on a limited communication capability which evaporated years ago. They
will claw and hang on for dear life but it's just a matter of time.
------
hop
Payment processing has been ripe for disruption for a long time - so glad they
are getting around the barriers to entry.
Interesting Marc Echo is an investor - <http://blog.dwolla.com/>
_I first met Marc at Big Omaha during his amazing talk on disruption and
innovation. Marc’s advice has ranged from telling me to be more confident to
telling me that our logo sucks. It’s always been incredibly unfiltered and at
times… harsh. But that’s actually what we really need, and when we need the
truth I know I can always look to Marc for a totally good opinion on all
things in life. I can’t say I’ve ever met anyone like Marc, and his partners
at Artists & Instigators just get it._
------
Codhisattva
More from the CEO about all this disruption. <http://blog.dwolla.com/closes-
series-b-round/>
------
eridius
Dwolla has always sounded interesting to me, but I have yet to run across any
business that actually accepts Dwolla payments. I set up an account a while
ago and I have yet to actually use it. The fairly high barrier to entry
(giving an unknown company direct access to your bank account) also makes it
hard to convince friends/family to join up.
~~~
thinkcomp
That's because the majority of Dwolla's volume comes from Bitcoin-related
transactions.
I'm happy to be corrected on this, but right now they have nowhere near the
presence in mobile payments as the press seems to think.
~~~
Codhisattva
I seriously doubt that there's a $1m in bit coin per month.
~~~
narcissus
I could be wrong in what I think you're saying, or in what I'm reading at
<http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/> but according to that site, MtGoxUSD alone
had $17M worth of trades in the 30 days.
~~~
Codhisattva
I stand corrected. I made an assumption based on a bias and lack of info. (aka
"never mind")
------
viggity
I couldn't be happier to see a start up like Dwolla thriving in my home town.
Congrats Dwolla!
------
maeon3
Good terms with the federal reserve? Im not sure if I should feel bothered
that the entity that can make tens of trillions of dollars appear out of thin
air likes a certain startup.
What I see is a federal reserve that realizes green slip anonymous
transactions are annoying as hell and wants to expand its power, what better
way then to get some sweetheart deals to the future hub of all money
transactions. Hook up these guys with big money, control the money
transactions globally instead of domestically.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
We just released VLC 1.1.0 - jbk
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/1.1.0.html
======
a2tech
In very sad news they've removed the Shoutcast integration inside of VLC. This
was one of the great 'hidden' features of VLC-you could view essentially any
type of video or audio through a very slick integrated menu. Darn AOL for
strong arming them into removing the feature.
~~~
jbk
I promise that you will have a surprise quite soon :D
And the lua extension framework already let's you get it back.
~~~
catch23
hopefully soon! It's the main thing (shoutcast streaming music) I use VLC for.
~~~
jbk
In the next days...
------
csytan
VLC was my preferred player in Windows, and still remains my default in OS X.
There is nary a format which the orange pylon cannot handle. Thanks to the VLC
and FFMPEG guys for all the hard work!
~~~
baddox
Last I checked something with their .flv support was bad. It might have been
the splitter or something. With a lot of .flv's you couldn't seek to anywhere
in the file.
~~~
jjs
IIRC, .flv files have an index that is used for seeking (including seeking
into a stream, in cooperation with the server).
Some encoders might not create the index properly, and some players might have
tricks to seek (offline?) even without one.
To repair these files, see: [http://muzso.hu/2008/12/18/fixing-flash-videos-
flv-for-use-w...](http://muzso.hu/2008/12/18/fixing-flash-videos-flv-for-use-
with-adobe-flash-media-server-fms)
------
philjackson
You could write to a text file, in broken English, a vague description of a
song and I bet VLC could still play it. Great piece of software, thanks to the
devs.
------
ericd
I'm seriously impressed with how far VLC has come in the span of a few years.
Crud files go in, perfection comes out. I wish more software was this robust.
------
philwelch
The Mac OS X version is 64 bit, which means it'll work with 64-bit HandBrake.
Previously you had to use an odd prerelease build. This is what I was waiting
for!
~~~
nroach
cool! but still no hardware acceleration for OpenCL it looks like.
~~~
astrange
Video hardware acceleration has nothing to do with, and can't be helped by,
OpenCL. I'm just warning you in case you try to write it and fail.
------
baskinghobo
No disrespect to VLC but I just did a side by side comparison with MPC HC and
VLC player and the MPC HC player looked much more clear -
<http://i.imgur.com/Mc2oS.jpg>. Any reason behind this?
~~~
brandong
I use both VLC and MPC-HC on my machines. On the lower end computers I've
noticed a large performance difference between the two: MPC-HC can crank out
720P on my 5year old laptops without hiccup, but VLC stutters all over the
place.
I've heard some recommendations on how to configure VLC to be more responsive,
but the fact remains MPC-HC performs better "out-of-the-box" than VLC.
I still keep VLC around for anything MPC-HC has trouble playing, however, as
VLC truly does play just about anything if it is playable at all.
~~~
jbk
Of course, MPC-HC uses GPU while VLC didn't until this version.
------
BoppreH
I'm still waiting for an "auto-search subtitle" feature like the one in Media
Player Classic.
~~~
jbk
The new extension framework was designed for such features.
Here you go: [http://ale5000.altervista.org/vlc/extensions/subtitles-
mod.l...](http://ale5000.altervista.org/vlc/extensions/subtitles-mod.lua)
------
neurotech1
I've used VLC player for a while, for playing both DVDs and downloaded videos.
It's a very versatile package.
It does not have the sound bug that causes Windows Media Player(with codec) to
make the background loud, and the main track soft.
------
pragmatic
> so far, on Windows, VideoLAN is quite sad to be forced to recommend nVidia®
> GPU, until ATI® fixes their drivers on Windows
I noticed that MPC-HC uses much less CPU (using the GPU I assume. Are there
any tweaks to get VLC to do the same? Or is this quote above an indication
that this just doesn't work well in ATI cards?
BTW, I'm using ATI hardware and I find CPU usage around 10-20% in MPC-HC vs
~50% in VLC. In spite all VLC's other awesome features, The CPU useage and
resultant fan noise are a bummer.
I love the skins and plug in feature, btw.
Good work.
~~~
jbk
Well, until ATI fixes its driver, you cannot do much. Or until we found a
work-around.
But we are not really Windows developers...
------
PatrickTulskie
You really should use Sparkle for the OS X release. VLC is one of the few apps
that doesn't use it and the built in updating mechanism in VLC never works
anyway.
~~~
l0nwlf
Yes. I wonder why the built-in update never works. It gave me the message
while updating 1.0.5 that it is the latest version.
~~~
jbk
Because we want our server to not die... So, first release, then, when calm is
back, make the built-in update.
------
pyre
I don't see added support for the Broadcom HD decoder that Asus is shipping in
some of their newer model Eee PCs (1005PR). Anyone know if there plans to add
this? It would really help out HD decoding on the low-end platforms (esp since
the cards aren't integrated, so they can be bought as add-ons as long as your
low-end machine has a slot).
~~~
_delirium
Not precisely an answer to your question, but it looks like there's a third-
party library working on support for the Broadcom Crystal HD, which currently
builds as a xine plugin:
[http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/archvdr/browser/branches/li...](http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/archvdr/browser/branches/libcrystalhd)
~~~
pyre
I know that the XBMC crew have already integrated support for it. There is a
github repo for the drivers too.
------
houseabsolute
Wondering what the technical problems with the ATI drivers were.
~~~
jbk
Well, those are pretty simple. For many reasons (that are debatable, but maybe
this isn't the right place?), VLC can decode on the GPU and then gets the data
back from the GPU to filter/restream/reencode to finally display it. Even if
this isn't the fastest way, there are good reasons for it (I can explain if
needed...)
On ATI drivers, the data back path is slow, and you need a special GUID that
ATI doesn't want/cannot to communicate. Adobe uses it, we cannot yet. I
believe this will be fixed in the future.
~~~
Zev
_(I can explain if needed...)_
I'd personally be very interested in hearing some details about this, if you
have a few moments to write something up (or even paste a few links to some
mailing list posts or the like, somewhere that I can do some reading).
~~~
jbk
Well, yes.
First, remember that VLC is not a media player. It is a framework, like
GStreamer, QT or DS. It works in the same way, with modules/plug-ins/objects
that are loaded when needed.
For the matter of GPU/DSP decoding, you have two choices: either you do a
codec module abstracted and independent from the rest of the modules or you
plug a special codec module to a special renderer module (and violates your
clean separation, but well...) The second is faster, of course. But...
But, then you cannot control anything: depending on the GPU/DSP vendor, you
will have different filters (deinterlacing, noise, gradient...) that you
cannot control, you have different color tones, etc... So depending on the
GPU/DSP, you will not have the same experience...
Also, you cannot use that method for restreaming and converting.
Then, you need some hardware specific code, which, of course we want to
avoid...
And finally, for each 'API' we need a special renderer, and not use the normal
ones. Which makes more code to maintain, and VLC's core team is hardly 5
persons.
~~~
Zev
Ouch, it sounds like GPUs are a royal pain to work with. (Also: this little
bit of perspective makes what you guys do seem even more awesome). Thanks for
the details!
------
Thoreandan
jbk - Thank you (and the rest of your team members!)
Does anyone have links to who I should talk to to volunteer as an Intel gfx hw
tester? Netflix+Silverlight+Win7 is using GPU acceleration for video on my
netbook, it would be great to have VLC take advantage of the same.
------
mkramlich
big thank you to the VLC team for keeping this great free video player going!
------
unwantedLetters
I've wanted this feature for a while: to be able to just drag a subtitles file
while VLC is playing a video and have VLC immediately start displaying
subtitles from the new file.
It's a great piece of software anyway! Congratulations on the latest release.
~~~
jbk
This is exactly how it works on Windows and Linux interface of VLC.
~~~
unwantedLetters
Heh, I suppose this tells you what OS I use. Any plans of bringing that
feature over to OS X?
~~~
jbk
Did you try Lunettes?
~~~
unwantedLetters
Hey, no I haven't tried Lunettes, but I will try it as soon as I get the
opportunity.
Thanks for the tip though, it looks very interesting.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How to stop Apple from listening to your Siri recordings - october_sky
https://9to5mac.com/2019/07/29/stop-apple-listening-siri-recordings/
======
bluesign
Good luck removing
2019-05-03 Removed allowSiriServerLogging from the Restrictions Payload.
[0]
[https://developer.apple.com/business/documentation/Configura...](https://developer.apple.com/business/documentation/Configuration-
Profile-Reference.pdf)
~~~
givinguflac
I created my own profile for this and have removed and re-added it just to
test. Not sure what you think it's preventing.
~~~
bluesign
Oh I meant good luck removing server side tracking, allowSiriServerLogging key
is not valid anymore, so has no effect as far as I can see.
------
strooper
Stopping Apple from listening to Siri, stopping Google from listening to
Google Assistant, stopping Amazon from listening to Alexa, stopping Google
from collecting data from android devices - these sort of articles and
arguments seem flawed right at the title.
Those companies have created those devices to listen to you, and your
surrounding, to understand you better and serve you the right product or
service or their ads. You can not have both smooth service and complete
privacy if the data is restricted, as the system will not get to learn you.
~~~
pwinnski
Game theory suggests that I want to turn off _my_ recordings and hope that
most of you do not. That way I benefit from the improvements that result from
you giving up your privacy, while retaining my own.
~~~
collyw
A lot of these improvements are based on personalization. A common problem for
me would be searching for Django related stuff - Duck Duck Go would return a
lot of things based on the film, while Google knew that I was interested in
the web framework.
~~~
whytaka
But the difference is covered literally by just adding 'python' to your query.
~~~
godshatter
The art of crafting query strings seems to have fallen by the wayside. Almost
any query I do involves giving topics or categories first, followed by more
qualifiers to nail it down more, usually followed by double-quoting the terms
that the search engine seemingly ignores in the query string.
All the code to find like terms and phrases and whatnot is great and not
privacy threatening, but I wish the search giants would stop trying to guess
my motivations and just present me with the most relevant results based on
what I asked for, and not what it thinks I was probably asking for.
------
cj
Funny to see an article promoting the use of Apple Device Profiles on the
front page.
There was just an article last week on the front page describing how
installing device profiles is unacceptable:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20514833](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20514833)
~~~
oarsinsync
Device profiles are the superset. It allows a wide range of features and
functions.
Mobile device management uses a subset of what device profiles allow for,
along with additional external tooling.
They're similar, but the thread you linked to is about MDM, not device
profiles in general.
Deploying a device profile is akin to accepting a self signed certificate.
When it's of your own generation, it's probably fine, if someone else has done
it, you should question what's happening and whether or not it's right for you
to accept it or not.
------
bobwaycott
_INSTRUCTIONS—For those who wish to do this on their own without downloading
and installing a third-party 's profile to their device(s) (and have a Mac):_
1\. Download Apple Configurator 2 from the Mac App Store.
2\. Open the app, plug in your iOS device, and click on it to activate working
on it.
3\. Command+N to create a new Profile.
4\. Under General, fill out the mandatory info (only name is required).
5\. Click Restrictions, then click Configure. Un-check the 10th top-level
checkbox that says "Allow server-side logging of Siri commands". Take a look
at other things you'd like to control.
6\. Command+S to save the profile. Close the window.
7\. Click on Profiles in left sidebar. Click Add Profiles. Select the profile
you just saved. Ensure your device is unlocked, and it will be added to your
device.
8\. Go into Settings app on your device. There will be an entry at the top
that says "Profile Downloaded". Tap into that and select to install the
profile.
------
hprotagonist
"curl some rando's plist" still gives me the willies, honestly. And i know
it's just XML!
~~~
ihuman
If you go to the github [0] linked in the article, it tells you how to create
your own using Apple's Configurator application [1]. In the "restrictions"
section, uncheck "Allow server-side logging of Siri commands". You can also
preview the raw XML of the config profile on github without downloading the
file [2].
[0] [https://github.com/jankais3r/Siri-
NoLoggingPLS](https://github.com/jankais3r/Siri-NoLoggingPLS)
[1] [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jankais3r/Siri-
NoLoggingPL...](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jankais3r/Siri-
NoLoggingPLS/master/configurator.png)
[2] [https://github.com/jankais3r/Siri-
NoLoggingPLS/blob/master/P...](https://github.com/jankais3r/Siri-
NoLoggingPLS/blob/master/Prevent%20server-
side%20logging%20of%20Siri%20commands.mobileconfig)
------
tga
How about a better question -- if you turn off everything Siri in the
settings, are there circumstances in which an iPhone will _still_ send audio
to their servers?
This to me would be the only _reasonable_ way of stopping Apple from listening
in, while still using an iPhone.
------
elagost
So does anyone know if this actually works?
~~~
taqcp
How could we ever check?
~~~
MichaelApproved
Network traffic logs.
~~~
taqcp
Your voice is always sent to Apple to process it since Siri doesn't work
locally; what we are wondering is whether that voice recording is permanently
stored or destroyed as soon as it's processed.
~~~
louiz
So… This is just a “please, don’t record what I send you”? How could anyone
believe apple will obey this demand?
~~~
dymk
How can anybody trust anyone to do anything?
They have a good track record of respecting user privacy.
~~~
iamnotacrook
But.... Let's try again... How do we know that?
~~~
dymk
You don't know it for a fact. You trust them to not do it.
Yes, _let 's try again_, how do you know you can trust _anybody_ to do
_anything_?
Do you hold a gun to their head? Do you trust the courts to uphold written
agreements/contracts that dictate the other party's behavior? Do you observe
their past behavior and use that to guess future behavior?
In 99% of our daily actions, we use the last option, and right now is no
exception.
------
ropiwqefjnpoa
Not Apple, but I'm pretty happy with the Amazon firestick. It only listens
when you press the button on the remote. Seems acceptable if that's all Amazon
is logging.
~~~
dangoor
As I understand it, Apple devices don't start sending audio data to Apple
until you say "Hey Siri" (which is interpreted on the device). It may not be
as explicit as pushing a button, but it seems close.
~~~
GRiMe2D
And most important, you can disable "Hey Siri" trigger on your iPhone/Mac or
Apple Watch. If you disabled "Hey Siri" trigger (and left "Siri" on) then you
have to long press "Home" button (or button on the right, if you are on iPhone
X and later) to start "Siri"
~~~
ropiwqefjnpoa
I know, but that prevents CarPlay from working, which I really like...
------
pintxo
This sounds too easy: do not use Siri in the first place?
------
jerkstate
Does this just disable logging for the device you install it on, or the whole
Apple account? What about Siri on Mac, HomePods, etc?
~~~
bobwaycott
Profiles are only activated on the devices you install it on, iirc.
------
jraph
"Hey Siri, can you stop Apple from listening to my Siri recordings?"
"Hey Siri!… Siri?!"
P.S. If someone out there has an Apple device, I'm interested in knowing what
the actual response to this request is.
~~~
cardiffspaceman
Siri responded with a web search that resulted in some articles about how to
accomplish what you ask about. I think it included this thread. I didn't
bother to visit the resulting pages.
~~~
jraph
Thanks!
------
mcv
Another option is of course to simply not use an iOS device.
Having to download some third-party thing to disable it, really shouldn't be
necessary. There should be a simple setting in iOS to turn Siri's listening on
or off.
~~~
petard
You don't need a some third-party thing, you can create the profile yourself
using the Apple Configurator. Agree that this should be an easily accessible
system setting like OP suggests.
~~~
jaclaz
As a matter of fact it should be "default" and need an actual "opt-in" to
allow the server side logging.
~~~
viraptor
It's on by default because it has a very important function for Apple. If it
was opt-in, Siri would be a much weaker service.
~~~
jen20
The configuration to allow listening at all (to start Siri by code phrase) is
opt-in during device setup. While I would like to see a checkbox for allowing
human review of Siri messages also, at least there is a way to _opt out_ -
something most mobile devices simply do not have.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Any chance of monetizing this webapp(solarpower, price)? - schtog
As a sideproject a year ago to learn Python and learn more about solar-energy I created a webapp that compares prices of solar-energy equipment/parts.<p>I did the basic work and presentation but never made it into a "professional" one, meaning optimized, good-looking etc.<p>I now have some time over and I wonder if I should finish it.<p>There (obviously) already are services like this though, the best ones covering all kinds of green services.<p>None of them are that easy to find and to the point.
There isn't a killer green energy price comparisment service nor a solar only one.<p>But is this monetizeable? Clearly someone going to such a site is probably looking to buy eventually but are they just comparing and then buying in the "real world" instead?<p>Can it generate enough traffic? It's not like solar energy is that big (yet) but since I'm not selling, just showing(or will show) ads from the whole world there might be a market?<p>On the other hand for most people ordering stuff from other countries isn't an alternative so I might have to do by country. Just that there perhaps isn't that many options for smaller countries...<p>Is this idea worth finishing? Do you believe it has any potential?
======
bilbo0s
Make a website that you can order solar powered gear from. Not the stuff you
need to assemble yourself, the stuff that is already complete. Start with
solar generators like the SolarStik, or the one at KenSolar. Actually, both,
be a reseller is my point.
Solar is a useful technology being handled by less than creative people right
now. What they need are young, hungry young men to hawk their wares in a
creative fashion. For example, it would be simple for an enterprising young
man to fill a UHaul with SolarStiks and drive down to Houston an put a sign up
on some well travelled intersections indicating the availability of solar
generators. You would sell out in less than an hour, WITH the story on CNN
about the fact that you did so. Free advertising. Everyone gets the point. The
consumers are educated.
Every technology needs its Henry Ford, or Bill Gates . . .
Basically solar needs its Sylvester McMonkey McBean . . .
By the way, I live in Houston, and my neighbors think I'm pretty forward
thinking right now since there is little gas for their generators.
------
jacobscott
"Is X monetizeable", "can X generate enough traffic","does X have potential"
imho, the answer to these questions will probably take equal effort to the
technical/development aspect. There are plenty of price comparison engines
around... so if a domain expert in solar thought of this idea and did all the
market research (to have the answer to your question), I suspect they would be
developing a competitor.
------
trapper
Not sure, what are the search volumes & keyword prices like? Are there any big
competitors using those keywords? A few hours of digging on adwords will tell
you a lot.
------
speek
Go for it. You never know what will happen until you try.
------
DabAsteroid
_There isn't a killer green energy price comparisment service nor a solar only
one._
What about Solarbuzz?
<http://www.solarbuzz.com>
~~~
schtog
Yes it has stuff but it isn't that to the point/find what you need. And it
doesn't seem to compare and link to prices/products. And it is ugly.
------
DabAsteroid
_It's not like solar energy is that big (yet)_
Why would solar energy get much bigger?
~~~
schtog
Decentralized and clean/green. Sure there are problems to solve before it will
get anywhere though.
------
ld50
turn it into a social network!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Nook Color gets Froyo, Flash, Facebook, and Angry Birds - shawndumas
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/04/nook-color-gets-froyo-flash-facebook-and-angry-birds.ars
======
ares2012
I like that the price point makes it one of the most affordable Android
"tablets" but the e-ink refresh rate must make motion games like Angry Birds
hard to play. Has anyone given it a try?
~~~
ZeroGravitas
It's not e-Ink, that's its sister device the "Nook", the "Nook Color" has a
very good but otherwise standard color LCD with a high DPI.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Whitespace in US politics for socially liberal and fiscal conservative? - bobosha
For example, someone who largely agrees with the left on police reform, universal healthcare etc. But, then be tough on illegal immigration, reduced immigration levels, and be business friendly.<p>Is there a whitespace for someone to seize the argument from both Sanders and Trump voters.
======
verdverm
Yes, it's called being an independent and it's frustrating that people believe
you can only be a part of one camp and have to believe everything they
espouse. My opinions are more varied and there are ideas I (dis)like from both
sides.
I'm recently pondering that a zero party system might be a good idea (better
than a N party system). A two party system creates dichotomy and divisiveness
ensues. More parties create more camps or clans. No parties would mean
individuals are evaluated as individuals and don't have to hold party lines.
------
PaulHoule
It is one of those positions that seems to be there (like the Libertarian
position) but when you test it at the voting booth you can find no evidence
for it.
To some extent Trump was able to find a coalition that the "political system"
denied, but it was that particular coalition and he was able to find it
because he was the one republican candidate in 2016 who didn't go "kissing the
ring" to a large number of republican groups that required that candidates
accept a long list of bundled issues that was especially engineered to
suppress Trump's coalition and had been doing that since 2000 or so.
The trouble is that the positions talked about by the D's and R's and even the
independents have a weak connection with reality at best and when you look
closely things fall apart.
For instance consider "universal healthcare"; you might think that is
"business friendly" for most businesses and that is true. The trouble is that
20% of business (health insurance, pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy benefit
managers, your doctor, the hospital your doctor works at, the medical staffing
agency that pays your doctor to work at that hospital) has a life-or-death
mandate to maintain the status quo. They can feed back a small percentage of
their bloated profits to buy off politicians, influence the media, etc.
Anyone who is writing up the sad story of homo sap when we are extinct might
find this
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem)
to be the asteroid impact that wiped us out.
The "capital W White vs capital B Black" model in which 90% of the population
oppresses 10% has it completely backwards -- that doesn't work as a business.
If 90% percent of people took everything from 10%, they would improve their
standard of living by just a bit more than 10%. If 10% of the population took
just 10% from the other 90% they could double their standard of living and
have enough over to pay for the propaganandization or repression of the 90%
and maybe even convince the 90% to celebrate them.
Try the "business friendly" action of establishing universal health care and
you will find that those who profit from the current health care system will
make the "not business friendly" label stick. You might be able to do a very
long term campaign to move the "overton window" over the course of 30 years,
but the health care industry has the advantage of sustainability -- they can
consistently divert money to this cause over the course of decades and never
fall victim to the despair that they'll never win.
As for immigration, that's another toughie.
Just about everywhere except for Israel (which just wants Jewish bodies to
outnumber Palestinian bodies) there are two facts: (1) most people think
immigration is sucking life out of the economy, (2) immigrants make it much
easier to square the circle of the 'social problem' around retirement,
disability, and indigenous poverty (e.g. poor people born in that country)
For instance, the ratio of young people to old people determines how easy it
is for people to retire. It doesn't matter if this is through a government
program or the stock market or living in your children's house. Transfers of
money and goods across international lines accounts for something, but we all
consume a great deal of services that require a local workforce.
Ironically though, the beneficiaries of that labor often feel like their
country has been invaded, sometimes it is at a very visceral level. People in
apartment blocks in Eastern Europe often can't get over the different smells
produced by the cooking of incoming groups.
That people feel that way in America boggles my mind. An Italian immigrant
relative of mine is the poster example of successful immigration but he loves
Trump, Fox News, and just can't connect evil "chain migration" to him moving
into the U.S. with his brother and sister and mother and...
In all the 48 continental US states the agricultural workforce contains many
illegal immigrants. I hesitate to use the word "essential", but if illegal
immigrants were deported today farmers would be seriously stressed about "How
do I get the crops in this fall?"
The wandering right-wing mind might imagine you could bus the bums who live in
front of the Moscone center to pick strawberries in the central valley. Those
people are mentally ill, they can't do it, particularly when compared to a
skilled and experienced 'American-but-not-U.S.' workforce. In upstate NY
taking care of someone's dairy cows seems like a dead end job to locals and a
hassle compared to Burger King where you can call in sick when you don't want
to work. (My mental picture of what happens if you miss a milking isn't so
clear and I'm glad it stays that way!) A Mexican might see it as a way to get
experience and save money to start his own farm so he'll take the job
seriously and tend to see things the same way as the farmer.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Autonomy CFO trial to shine light on HP deal - yazr
https://www.ft.com/content/2517ec02-1a08-11e8-aaca-4574d7dabfb6
======
yazr
Some context:
Hewlett-Packard wrote down about $5bn of the $11.1bn it paid for Autonomy in
2013, alleging fraud and inflated sales figures.
------
lettergram
Financial Times is blocked unless you get a subscription -_-
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Rules for new FPGA designers - jsnell
http://zipcpu.com/blog/2017/08/21/rules-for-newbies.html
======
adwn
> _Do not use an asynchronous reset within your design._
This is flat out wrong. Registers that drive output pins should _always_ be
reset asynchronously. If you're not careful with your board design, it can
happen that your FPGA is powered and configured before your clock signal is
available, especially if it is generated by a PLL. An asynchronous reset on
the output IO registers ensures that you're not inadvertently driving external
electronics with bogus signals.
For internal registers it usually doesn't matter whether they're reset
synchronously or asynchronously. There are some cases where the synthesis
software cannot move async. reset registers from flip-flops into built-in hard
IP cores like DSP elements or block RAMs, so a sync. reset can make sense here
for performance reasons.
There's one caveat, though: An async. reset signal _must_ be released
synchronously to the clock, or there _will_ be timing errors. However, this is
a tiny, simple construct easily written by any non-beginner.
(source: I design FPGAs for a living)
~~~
tastythrowaway
what did you study/how did you learn to design FPGAs? I had an early intro to
verilog in school but it all seemed so opaque to me. Do you think it's
possible for people to teach themselves? Thanks.
~~~
fpgaminer
I taught myself and now design FPGAs for a living as well. Had 1 class in
college that, like your experience, was totally opaque. But it sparked my
curiosity.
Not sure I can advise exactly _how_; I'm usually strong at self learning. Just
letting you know it's possible. Personally I'd start with IntelFPGA (formerly
Altera) products; I found them easier to use.
~~~
gchadwick
Personally I taught myself with the aid of an Altera DE2 board (I had a
professor at university who was kind enough to lend me one of the class ones
on an extended loan).
The DE series still exists and has a wide range:
[http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-
bin/page/archive.pl?Language=E...](http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-
bin/page/archive.pl?Language=English&CategoryNo=163#Category165)
The DE0 Nano is pretty cheap: [https://www.digikey.co.uk/product-
detail/en/terasic-inc/P008...](https://www.digikey.co.uk/product-
detail/en/terasic-inc/P0082/P0082-ND/2625112) the more capable DE10 Nano looks
interesting too: [https://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detail/en/terasic-
inc/P049...](https://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detail/en/terasic-
inc/P0496/P0496-ND/6817231) only slightly more expensive.
They provide a good plug and play solution. Program over USB, software
available free from Altera (Ages ago Mentor used to do a free version of
ModelSim in conjunction with Altera, something similar is probably still
around).
You can also just grab Icarus Verilog
([http://iverilog.icarus.com/](http://iverilog.icarus.com/)) it's an open
source verilog simulator. Will allow you to get to grips with verilog without
needing the hardware. The main problem is you may start building designs that
simply cannot be built in hardware (plenty of ways to build stupid circuits in
verilog).
There are few resources on the internet (comparing to what's available for
learning programming). Maybe try 'Digital Design and Computer Architecture' by
David Money Harris & Sarah L. Harris.
~~~
mattcoles
I wouldn't recommend Icarus Verilog, it's not a very good simulator. You're
much better off downloading either the free Altera/IntelFPGA copy of Modelsim
or using the free version of Xilinx's Vivado.
The DE10 Nano is a great board though, huge FPGA that can hold big designs and
the HPS gives you a lot of extra capabilities.
~~~
gchadwick
> I wouldn't recommend Icarus Verilog, it's not a very good simulator.
Haven't really used it much myself but fair enough :) I suspect many people on
HN would be more comfortable with free opensource tools. Which is why I
mention it.
The majority of the EDA world is proprietary software and huge licensing fees,
free limited versions available for home/educational use if you're lucky. A
bit of a culture shock for someone used to the software world!
~~~
Cyph0n
And the proprietary stuff is better 99% of the time.
------
jhallenworld
Here are some more rules I like to use:
Use I/O flip flops: the external world should be separated from the internal
world via one pipeline stage, and that stage should be in the I/O cells. This
is not always easy to pull off (Xilinx, ugh), but when you do it you will get
consistent I/O timing from run to run, and basically not have to worry about
it once it's working. It's less error-prone than trying to have accurate
external timing constraints. This is really for older (board-level)
synchronous designs.
Often the FPGA and board designs are happening at the same time. Get a
skeleton design working before the board design is complete. This design
should include all I/O, clocks and resets. There can be many non-obvious
constraints involving these things, so you better have them right before the
board design is done or you are in for a world of hurt.
Along the same lines: take baby steps during the design (get blinking LEDs and
some kind of software accessible register interface running first).
Oh a big one: use version control. Unfortunately the tools (Xilinx) do not
make this easy, but it is really essential. You would be surprised at how
often this is not done.
------
jhallenworld
>Do not use an asynchronous reset within your design
It's not bad advice for new designers, but also be aware of the consequences:
you might have a performance penalty from this if your FPGA's flip flops do
not have direct synchronous resets. Also if your design might have to be
ported to an ASIC you might have the same issue.
Better is to use the "asynchronous assert, synchronous release" reset and
learn about recovery and removal timing closure.
In the past I've also designed with no timing requirements on reset, but start
out all state machines doing nothing, and have a (synchronous) start pulse or
edge to get things going. This can allow you to use the already existing slow
global reset net. It mattered on older FPGAs with limited routing resources.
~~~
kevin_thibedeau
> Better is to use the "asynchronous assert, synchronous release" reset
Also put that synchronized async. reset onto a clock buffer if your synthesis
tool isn't inferring one since it will be a high fanout net. For an FPGA
target you lose most of the benefits from synchronizing it if you let the
reset be delayed by running over the normal routing fabric. For an ASIC you're
going to have to buffer it no matter what.
A common problem is that most FPGA dev. boards don't have any provision for an
external reset and student's never learn the discipline of properly
initializing their circuits. Xilinx takes an official stance against global
resets [1] which I feel does untold damage to impressionable developers.
Thankfully they do have the ROC library component that will simulate a reset
after completion of configuration. Use this or your platform's equivalent if
you don't have access to an external reset.
[1]
[https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/white_papers/wp...](https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/white_papers/wp272.pdf)
------
mikejmoffitt
> Do not transition on any negative (falling) edges. > Falling edge clocks
> should be considered a violation of the one clock principle, as they act
> like separate clocks.
I think this is a good thing to point out if you are working in a primarily
rising-edge system, which is common, but if your _entire design_ uses falling
edges for one reason or another, I don't see the problem.
I have had to transition a design to falling edge when I needed interop with
existing external hardware that operated on the falling edge. Rather than
invert my clock, using the falling edge was fine.
------
tsayin
Resets NEED to be asynchronous assertion, what if the clock distribution logic
is messed up, or just isn't running yet on power-up? De-assertion does need to
be synchronized, though. Method is left as an exercise for the reader.
Also, aside from the latency added, dual-flop synchronizers are pretty good
probabilistically for uniformly distributed single-bit random events, but they
aren't guaranteed. For mesochronous signals they can actually make things
worse, and for periodic signals or buses, there are much better methods.
But those issues usually come up in advanced designs with high-speed data
inputs (PCIe or Ethernet) or other reasons to NEED multiple clocks. For
beginners, the important thing to remember is that resets assert
asynchronously and de-assert synchronously.
------
peterburkimsher
Great advice, and clear writing style.
Story time! During my 2nd year of university, I built a small CPU as a
project. It was split across 2 breadboards, using an FPGA for the control
unit.
It worked fine during debugging, but sometimes it would give really weird
problems. Then when we tried to debug again, it was fixed. What was going on?
We'd forgotten to connect a common GND between the breadboards. When we
attached the probes to debug it, the ground was passed via the USB port on the
PC.
~~~
jacquesm
In low power circuits forgotten ground is annoying but that's about it. In
power circuits it can cause spectacular and expensive side effects.
~~~
msds
And with RF, well, things get really weird really fast...
~~~
williamscales
In my undergraduate I worked in a lab where we made very sensitive voltage
measurements on a large apparatus. The experiment was grounded to a large
copper bar buried under the floor but the measurement equipment was connected
to the building ground thereby creating a gigantic loop that could pick up all
kinds of crazy noise. The solution was to break the (literal) ground loop with
a buffer amplifier.
------
chillingeffect
Literally the same rules I was taught on day 1 of my engineering co-op 23
years ago.
We also added, "no external capacitors can be used for timing," because people
would try to fix things that way.
------
FullyFunctional
Good list for starters, but obviously the reset question has nuances (not
opening that can of worms).
One thing that bit me when I was a complete n00b: assigning registers from
within more than a single always block. On my simulator (at the time) it
worked perfectly but the synthesis tool silently ignored one of the blocks.
EDA tools suck. There I said it. Coming from a software it's truly shocking
how poor error/warnings are handled. My "favorite" part is that you cannot
enforce a "0 warnings" discipline as the libraries and examples from the
vendors provoke thousands warnings and the only workaround is to filter the
individual _instances_ of the messages.
~~~
gluggymug
"One thing that bit me when I was a complete n00b: assigning registers from
within more than a single always block. On my simulator (at the time) it
worked perfectly but the synthesis tool silently ignored one of the blocks."
It's tool dependent but I believe you should see a warning that two drivers
are assigned to the same net.
This is probably where I am guessing you mistakenly thought you were creating
a register in Verilog with the keyword "reg". Synthesis tools don't work like
that and haven't for quite a while.
Taken from
[https://blogs.mentor.com/verificationhorizons/blog/2013/05/0...](https://blogs.mentor.com/verificationhorizons/blog/2013/05/03/wire-
vs-reg/) :
"Initially, Verilog used the keyword reg to declare variables representing
sequential hardware registers. Eventually, synthesis tools began to use reg to
represent both sequential and combinational hardware as shown above and the
Verilog documentation was changed to say that reg is just what is used to
declare a variable. SystemVerilog renamed reg to logic to avoid confusion with
a register – it is just a data type (specifically reg is a 1-bit, 4-state data
type). However people get confused because of all the old material that refers
to reg."
A lot of people here on HN seem to be self taught and not keeping up with tool
and language developments. If you use tools and techniques from the 90s, don't
expect wonderful results.
------
DigitalJack
They mostly seem reasonable to me. I'm not sure exactly what they mean by
_external wire inputs_ in this statement: "Synchronize all external wire
inputs with two clocks before using them."
You can ruin a design by trying to synchronize data. We've had to respin an
ASIC because somebody "synchronized" the data on a bus.
~~~
DigitalJack
And to clarify further, they mean two flip flops in series, not two clocks.
It sort of becomes a short hand to refer to the delay incurred by flip flops
in series as "clocks" (short for clock cycles). And to capture data in a flip
flop is often referred to as "clocking" the data.
~~~
zipcpu
Thank you for that comment. I've adjusted the text so that it's hopefully
clearer!
Dan
------
senatorobama
Unfortunately, FPGA designers don't get the big bucks anymore.
------
nayuki
There is a wrong link to [http://asic-world/verilog/veritut.html](http://asic-
world/verilog/veritut.html) . It seems Firefox automatically fixes it to
[http://www.asic-world.com/verilog/veritut.html](http://www.asic-
world.com/verilog/veritut.html) . Does anybody else find this behavior
surprising?
------
tuckermi
On the topic of good practices for FPGA design, does anyone have a
recommendation for an online course that covers this or similar material?
~~~
duskwuff
Not an online course, but my go-to recommendation is "FPGA Prototyping by
Verilog Examples" [1]. Or, if you want to learn VHDL, [2].
[1]:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470185325](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470185325)
[2]:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470185317](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470185317)
~~~
planteen
The old edition of the VHDL book had dated coding practices that are no longer
necessary like splitting out comb and sequential logic. Is it still like that?
~~~
skummetmaelk
Not necessary, but still easier to read in most cases.
------
Cerium
Nice list. I wish I had something like this as a student. I made all those
mistakes and had to learn them the hard way.
------
skdjksjdksjdk
What is the best resource for understanding how to create FPGA constraints?
Any good resource for floor planning ?
~~~
jhallenworld
IMHO, If you have to floor plan, you're doing it wrong.
You should try to design FPGAs so that they work like software, in that you
should be able to run the tools consistently like you would software through a
C compiler and not have difficulty with failed timing. If you had to do floor
planning to close timing, you are giving up a huge advantage.
~~~
fpgaminer
That's good in theory, but ... it's not realistic. The compilers are too
unstable. I lost a couple days of my life last year because Quartus forgot how
to route its multipliers.
But usually you only have to floor plan if you're near the limits of your
target FPGA, or if you're using some of its special IP (like say pinning some
of DRAMs or PLLs).
~~~
pheon
Yup or your design is just large. Due to the non-deterministic nature of the
compiler guiding it at a high level makes it less likely to choose resources
in weird locations. e.g. I roughly map out block ram assignments for some of
the top level modules but still give it plenty of wiggle space.
~~~
esmi
Not only that but you don’t want to have to redo analysis and verification on
blocks that have been already mapped, placed and routed. Especially as one
does minor bug fixes towards the end of a design. It’s like refusing to use
libraries.
------
aphextron
How does one go about learning IC design to begin with? I only have the
vaguest notion of what all these terms mean to begin with. Is it analogous to
teaching yourself to code, or is it fundamentally different/harder?
~~~
esmi
It’s very different if you do it right but not really harder. The first thing
you learn is digital logic design at an abstract level. Something like this:
[https://www.csie.ntu.edu.tw/~pjcheng/course/asm2008/asm_ch2_...](https://www.csie.ntu.edu.tw/~pjcheng/course/asm2008/asm_ch2_dl.pdf)
Then once you can make digital designs you learn to describe them in a
hardware description language (HDL) such as Verilog. When reviewing verilog
designs it’s very easy to spot the “verilog coders” vs the hardware designers.
------
cushychicken
No falling edge clocks? Good luck writing a proper SPI peripheral.
~~~
pjc50
For doing SPI within an FPGA under these rules, you would have the input clock
as a signal sampled by the FPGA clock _not_ used as a flop clock, and detect a
falling edge synchronously with a chain of two flops.
Works very well so long as master clock speed >> SPI speed.
~~~
wyager
True, but many slow uCs support system clock == SPI clock. Probably not as
relevant these days with 99% of stuff happening on 32-bit devices with clocks
so fast you would need RF experience to route SPI at system clock.
------
blackguardx
Good list. I've seen use of both synchronous and asynchronous resets. People
have some good arguments for both methods sort of like the tabs vs spaces
arguments.
~~~
gluggymug
The problem is that reset logic requires a bit of design rather than hard fast
rules.
Designs are getting larger these days with a lot of 3rd party IP that you
can't assume use a particular reset method.
Tips #2 and #5 in this article,
[http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1278998](http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1278998)
, explain how you have to tailor your reset methods to the modules you are
integrating.
If you don't, you chew up resources.
A new FPGA designer should learn the first principles so they can understand
how to make decisions and where to look for potential issues when bugs occur.
------
wyager
A bit late to the party, but my advice: unlesss your goal is to learn high-
performance design, try to save yourself a _lot_ of effort by using a higher-
level HDL. Depending on how cool your professor is and what their pedagogical
goals are, they'll be fine with it. Using something like CLaSH will statically
prevent you from doing a lot of hardware stuff that's non-synthesizable,
flammable, or just plain dumb. You can do a lot of things in standard HDLs
that just don't make any sense, and a lot of students get confused and do
them. Not only will something like CLaSH or Chisel prevent you from doing dumb
things, but they will get you in the mindset of doing things correctly.
~~~
lvoudour
I don't agree teaching students experimental high-level languages in lieu of
proven industry standards just because those standards are archaic and/or un-
intuitive. It's a great academic endeavor but the FPGA (and ASIC) landscape is
driven by industry not by academia.
If you're aiming for an FPGA job after school you'll need to be proficient in
verilog or vhdl (ideally both), there's no shortcut. The sooner you learn how
to deal with their quirks and pitfalls (I agree they have a lot), the better.
Sprinkle some good-ol' TCL in there and you're good to go. Yes python is
better and more feature/library rich but the industry is still using TCL
(which is not bad, just not modern).
Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see a standardized higher level approach to
hardware description, but unless the vendors agree and support it there's very
little chance it will be useful. The current trend in high level synthesis is
non-portable vendor specific tools. The only way I see the trend changing is
when FPGAs become more mainstream (already happening in the server/deep
learning sectors) and there's a critical mass of customers that ask for FPGA
tools in par with software tools (ie. high level languages, open source, etc.)
PS. You forgot the python based myHDL :)
~~~
gluggymug
It's the _experimental_ part of the high level language that is the problem. I
agree you shouldn't teach it to students. It just leads them down a divergent
path away from what is done in industry. It isn't addressing the needs of the
student, only their short term "wants".
But the language is just a small part of the design process. You have to be
learn to design HW. The HW engineering project tailors the tool choices around
the requirements of the product. It is assumed that engineers know the
fundamentals. They can adapt to any high level synthesis tool.
Vendors training courses for all fancy HLS tools are done in a few days at
most. They don't have a semester for any newbies to learn Verilog/VHDL or
C/C++ first. It's assumed you know them.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Royal pardon for Alan Turing - rmason
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25495315#TWEET993634
======
jamesbritt
Existing discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6957423](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6957423)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Pen.io is Hiring Remote PHP Devs - feint
Pen.io was launched here on HackerNews early this year. Since then, my weekend project has turned in a startup backed by some incredible investors.
We're now looking for some remote PHP devs to work on Pen.io.<p>Email [email protected]
======
dawilster
I would love to apply but sadly uni has eaten all my time up but good luck in
your search.
------
gd9121980
interested will do
and here's something i just finished
<http://uwdda.org> has an api for craigslist
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
First intelligence gene discovered - iknowl
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/5515/intelligence-gene-found
======
tokenadult
The most important quotation from the article for establishing context on what
the latest finding means: "It is generally accepted that genes, a good
education and environmental factors combine to determine our intelligence. 'If
people wanted to change their genetic destiny they could either increase their
exercise or improve their diet and education,' said Thompson. 'Most other ways
we know of improving brain function more than outweigh this gene.'"
And it's important to remember that the study here is based on data-mining
<http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html>
and has the usual defects of unreplicated studies of this kind.
------
Estragon
My professional field is statistical genetics. I don't actually want to bet,
but if I did I'd give odds of three to one against this replicating, and ten
to one against it having anything at all to do with the genetic architecture
of human intelligence. My money is on the result reflecting population
stratification.
------
twelvechairs
Id just like to point out the gross disparity between the title "First
intelligence gene discovered" and the psychologist quoted in the article who
was "a little wary of thinking in terms of a gene for intelligence."....
------
rollypolly
I'm sure it's just a matter of time before people look for correlations
between this gene and race.
Boy is this going to open a can of worms.
~~~
trustfundbaby
This is something that cannot and should not be avoided though ... I remember
reading this article in GQ magazine, many many moons ago, about fast twitch
fibers being found more readily in people of West African Descent which is
what makes them better sprinters (this is why your 100m, 200m races are
dominated by people from America, West Africa and the Carribbeans) ...
naturally I started to discuss this with a African American Studies Professor
I was friends with at the time, and the response wasn't that the research was
incorrect, but that it shouldn't be talked about because white supremacists,
or other racists would seize upon it to make an argument that since
athleticism could be so advantaged by race then intelligence could too.
It makes me sad that America's racial history makes things like this way more
fraught with all sorts of dangers than it needs to be, but eventually we do
have to do these kinds of research and find out how these things are related
to our ancestors ... I for one, think we'll find that skin color has
vanishingly little to do with these sorts of things ... I mean, in the matter
of fast twitch muscles fiber, it turns out that not all black people have that
advantage, only a small group of people from West africa
People will always try to describe things according to race in this country,
but I think that as long as we're reasonably careful/responsible with the way
we carry out the inquiry, it will benefit us in the long run.
~~~
ekm2
Sprinting does not have the same global impact as intelligence,which is why
people get so testy about it.
------
antiterra
This may be the first intelligence gene discovered; however, it also may be
yet another study [1] that is contradicted by attempts to replicate it [2]. I
don't know much about Cosmos Magazine, but it's a bit disappointing that a
'science' magazine would cite a single study as conclusive without waiting for
peer review.
1\. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17160701?dopt=Abstract>
2\. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17160701?dopt=Abstract>
~~~
jessriedel
I think you may be confused about the term "peer review", as the study
referred to in the OP article certainly underwent peer review in the process
of being published in _Nature Genetics_.
~~~
antiterra
Granted. I meant "replicating experiments" to further validate the findings.
------
carbocation
Original articles:
[http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.2250....](http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.2250.html)
[http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.2245....](http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.2245.html)
[http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.2237....](http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.2237.html)
------
huxley
"People who received two Cs from their parents, about a quarter of the
population, scored on average 1.3 points higher than the next group - half of
the population with only one C in this section of the gene. The last quarter
of people, with no Cs, scored another 1.3 points lower."
I'm sure it's a significant step in cognitive research finding a gene that
correlates to differences in intelligence but is a 2.6 point spread that big a
deal?
------
jauer
Too bad the article didn't mention the specific SNP.
~~~
leot
rs10784502
"In addition, the C allele of rs10784502 is associated, on average, with
9,006.7 mm3 larger intracranial volume, or 0.58% of intracranial volume per
risk allele and is weakly associated with increased general intelligence by
approximately 1.29 IQ points per allele."
[http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.2250....](http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.2250.html)
[Edited to provide a more useful quote]
~~~
antirez
Just tried and at 23andme it is possible to check this gene, at least with the
latest version of their chip (v3). Just got to "Browse raw data" and put
"rs10784502" on the right of "a SNP:" and press "Go".
p.s. CT here, the most diffuse variant (the "best" one according to the
article is CC).
~~~
prawn
Where is the "Browse raw data" link?
Edit: Ignore that, found it. Under the Account menu in the top nav.
"No SNPs matching 'rs10784502' found in the data from your chip."
------
wcoenen
Perhaps also interesting in this context is the fact that the human brain has
been shrinking over the last 20,000 years:
[http://discovermagazine.com/2010/sep/25-modern-humans-
smart-...](http://discovermagazine.com/2010/sep/25-modern-humans-smart-why-
brain-shrinking)
------
6ren
So this is a switch. I wonder if this is a pure improvement, or there are
deficiencies common to carriers; perhaps in co-occurance with another switch
(like malaria resistance/sickle cell anemia). Perhaps increased incidence of
autism/asperger.
~~~
wcoenen
I guess you are implying that we don't all have the "smart" version of the
gene for that reason.
But the brain accounts for about 25% of glucose consumption in your body. So
for genes which enlarge the brain, evolution would have sought the optimal
trade-off between increased intelligence vs increased metabolic cost. There
may well be no "deficiency" other than that increased cost.
------
dingle_thunk
Anton's Key?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Best practice to stay healthy? - Windson
What you eat/What you do to keep yourself healthy?
======
byoung2
For the past few years I've been doing the most boring thing but it works. I'm
eating minimally processed foods, sticking mainly with vegetables, fruits, and
meat, avoiding bread, pasta, and any drink with calories.
For exercise I've been focusing on weight training, specifically compound
movements with a barbell (squats, presses, cleans, pulls) and HIIT for cardio.
I had been working out at home but recently I joined a CrossFit gym and I like
it better.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Zeus: A simple HTTP router for Go - darylginn
https://github.com/daryl/zeus
======
mrwnmonm
is it faster than the native mux?
~~~
darylginn
Probably not, but I haven't benchmarked anything. The native mux doesn't
support named parameters, however.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Xobni Decides To Start Making Money, Launches Premium Upgrades - jasonlbaptiste
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/14/xobni-decides-to-start-making-money-launches-premium-upgrades-for-your-smarter-inbox/
======
CWuestefeld
Announcement from Xobni already posted here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=705107>
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Digital Karnak Project - benbreen
http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/
======
replicatorblog
A bit of a non-sequitur, but I knew very little about Egyptian history and
recently decided to listen to a Great Courses series about it. The professor
who delivers the lectures, Bob Brier, was amazing. His affect is that of a guy
from Brooklyn discussing the Mets, but focusing on pharaohs and hieroglyphs.
The course was so well done it inspired me to but a few of his other books and
recommendations and start thinking about taking a trip to my Museum's Egyptian
collection.
[https://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-History-of-Ancient-
Eg...](https://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-History-of-Ancient-Egypt-
Audiobook/B00DICD9BE?ref_=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl&qid=1494956751&sr=1-1)
------
awinter-py
if you look at nothing else on this page check out their 'timemap' here
[http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/timemap](http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/timemap)
Mixing geo & chronology is something I hope catches on everywhere, but glad it
caught on in archaeology.
Overemphasis of the new is an unpleasant side effect of the search/news driven
web.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Exploring Programming Language Architecture in Perl (Scheme-Like Interpreter) - draegtun
http://billhails.net/Book/
======
mahmud
That was pleasantly surprising. Very thorough and highly recommended.
Don't miss the PDF link for later perusal.
<http://billhails.net/Book/EPLAiP.pdf>
Nice find draegtun, thanks!
~~~
berntb
I wonder why I haven't seen this book before?
It felt like seeing pictures from my childhood, since when I studied long ago
Lisp was the first language taught. I've written partial implementation of
lisps a couple of times, it isn't hard -- and quite beautiful.
(It's a pity it isn't using the new Perl 6/Rakudo parsing stuff, which is
probably too new.)
------
draegtun
On CPAN there is a small Perl Lisp interpreter:
<http://search.cpan.org/dist/perl-lisp/>
It seems to have be written for the express purpose of parsing Gnu newsreader
'eld' files! (example here: [http://cpansearch.perl.org/src/GAAS/perl-
lisp-0.06/newsrc.el...](http://cpansearch.perl.org/src/GAAS/perl-
lisp-0.06/newsrc.eld)).
Here is a more general Lisp example in the distribution:
(defun sum (a b &optional c)
(write a b c)
(+ a b))
(setq a 100)
(setq b (sum 4 5))
(write (print (list a b)))
(write (ord "a"))
(write (chr ?a))
(write "Yesterday was:" (localtime (- (time) (* 24 60 60))))
(setq pid (perl-eval "$$"))
(setq a 10)
(while (not (zerop a))
(write a)
(setq a (1- a)))
(list "Good bye")
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Rory Sutherland on The Psychology of Advertising and more [audio] - da02
http://theknowledgeproject.libsyn.com/rory-sutherland-on-the-psychology-of-advertising-complex-evolved-systems-reading-decision-making
======
pixelmonkey
I am only 15m into this podcast, but I know I will enjoy it.
An executive at ad firm Ogilvy & Mather discusses the economic philosophy of
advertising.
He refers to the best advertising as "the creation of intangible value from
existing products/services." An example he gives is Apple making the
public/market find value in interfaces and user experience, while other
products in the category are judged by clock speed and similar technical
specs. Or, it is a craft lager being judged by how it was created and the
story behind the recipe, rather than just the taste.
"The biggest source of economic waste is when a great invention is marketed in
the wrong way. It is like eating at a Michelin star restaurant where the
dining room smells a little of sewage. It doesn't matter how damn good the
food is; it's the context that makes the overall experience."
~~~
guiambros
Rory Sutherland is a truly unique guy. I saw him speaking a few times while
worked at a sister company, and was always impressed by his ability to pack so
much information in his talks, and so eloquently. Plus, he's hilarious.
------
indescions_2017
From around the 1:03:00 mark:
In advertising, we want people to do this thing.
What prior stimuli will we need to get them to do it?
People won't use moist lavatory paper! That's one
of my totem obsessions, by the way. What the hell?
I mean what is it about the West that thinks it's ok
to wipe your ass with dry paper? We need Japanese
toilets. If I were Trump that would be day *&^%ing
one, ok...But for whatever reason, people don't
really buy moist lavatory paper. So I've got to ask,
as an advertising person: what prior conditions might
make this more likely? Let's hypothesize a bit. You
might say: actually it's the shelving! Because when
you look at supermarket shelves, we instinctively
derive social information from the relative
prominence and proliferation of wet versus dry
paper. There a ton of dry rolls stretching as far
as the eye can see. On the top shelf, there are two
meagre little packets of moist lavatory paper.
That means its basically for perverts or people with
abnormal medical conditions.
Basis of _Nudge_. Another book he recommends is _The Mating Mind: How Sexual
Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature_. As well as some of the
"happiness literature" such as Meik Wiking's _The Little Book of Hygge: Danish
Secrets to Happy Living_. So, feel free to trust your gut. But still employ
split A/B tests!
------
smcnally
Sutherland makes strong cases for focusing on experience & the creation of
perceived value especially as opposed to more purely engineering solutions.
Recommend seeing Rory Sutherland's comments about supermodels and Chateau
Petrus on the EuroRail
[https://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_sweat_the_small_st...](https://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_sweat_the_small_stuff/transcript?language=en)
[http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_a...](http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man.html)
[http://www.cyberfootprint.eu/rory-sutherland-perspective-
is-...](http://www.cyberfootprint.eu/rory-sutherland-perspective-is-
everything/)
------
TamDenholm
I absolutely love Rory Sutherlands talks on Behavioral Economics, you can find
excellent talks of his on youtube. Hes great at explaining on how to think in
different ways. Excellent for people looking to learn about alternative
viewpoints to things.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Our hiring process at Argo - pkfrank
https://dev.to/argo/our-hiring-process
======
bhalp1
Author here. Any questions?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Meet the 19-year-old Kiwi making $5000 a week using stolen credit cards - camtarn
http://www.vice.com/en_au/read/meet-the-19-year-old-kiwi-that-makes-5000-a-week-from-the-deep-web
======
camtarn
TL;DR: he buys stolen credit cards from the dark web, buys products from
Amazon and other big retailers, then sells the products on for cash. He has
employees helping with this, and hopes to grow his earnings from $5K a week to
$50K.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How Could a $2 Pair of Eyeglasses be Made? - jjets718
http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-process-for-designing-and-finding-the-parts-for-a-physical-product-such-as-eye-glasses-Are-there-firms-that-do-this-or-can-you-crowdsource-the-process?__snids__=26964942
======
drallison
Plastic eyeglass frames and a standard lens blank, possibly integrated, should
be very inexpensive to build in volume. The primary cost is likely to be in
making and possibly in installing the prescription lenses. What is needed is a
low cost, field customizable lens.
~~~
jjets718
I've found frames on alibaba.com that only cost $0.50. Like you said, the
trick is finding prescription lenses that are very cheap, and that could be
made to fit a certain frame. Thanks for the comment!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
You Will Totally Work for This Start-Up - hartard
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20110517/you-will-totally-work-for-this-start-up
======
roachsocal
My favorite part is the subtle Blackberry notification sounds throughout the
video.
------
martythemaniak
No brandcuffs!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Apple picks Bing over Google to power Spotlight search on OS X and iOS - anderzole
http://www.tuaw.com/2014/06/04/apple-picks-bing-over-google-to-power-spotlight-search-on-os-x-y/
======
baldfat
Another example where the customer is secondary to business practices. Do
people actually request to have Bing more then Google?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Interactive Traffic Simulation - robomartin
https://imaginary.org/program/interactive-traffic-simulation
======
robomartin
[https://traffic-simulation.de/routing.html](https://traffic-
simulation.de/routing.html)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Millions of SMS messages exposed in database security lapse - known
https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/01/millions-sms-messages-exposed/
======
breakingcups
> TechCrunch contacted TrueDialog about the exposure, which promptly pulled
> the database offline. Despite reaching out several times, TrueDialog’s chief
> executive John Wright would not acknowledge the breach nor return several
> requests for comment. Wright also did not answer any of our questions —
> including whether the company would inform customers of the security lapse
> and if he plans to inform regulators, such as state attorneys general, per
> state data breach notification laws.
Though it doesn't mention a timeline, this does seem like a way to pour
gasoline onto a PR dumpster fire.
------
threatofrain
> But the data also contained sensitive text messages, such as two-factor
> codes and other security messages, which may have allowed anyone viewing the
> data to gain access to a person’s online accounts. Many of the messages we
> reviewed contained codes to access online medical services to obtain, and
> password reset and login codes for sites including Facebook and Google
> accounts.
> The data also contained usernames and passwords of TrueDialog’s customers,
> which if used could have been used to access and impersonate their accounts.
~~~
retSava
Hence why 2FA tokens and reset links should have a short window of validity,
and why shallow information such as knowing account name, or address, or
mothers maiden name, should not be used for sensitive purposes.
~~~
threatofrain
This brings up some interesting technical questions: how long is too long and
what is a deep question for identity?
~~~
theshadowknows
One time I did a "forgot password" reset on an old email account. Apparently
young me thought it was a good idea to choose the 'pick your own question'
thing and the question I chose was "What?"
...to this day I still don't remember what the answer was.
~~~
dpeck
Depending on how young, there’s a decent chance the answer was some variation
of “chicken butt”
~~~
theshadowknows
Hah!
------
ga-vu
Actual source: [https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/report-truedialog-
leak/](https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/report-truedialog-leak/)
Saved you a click
------
haolez
From the original article, it seems to be ElasticSearch again. Why do so many
companies expose ES to the open internet?
~~~
tyingq
Terrible defaults, and stuff like this: [https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ransom-
attack-on-elasticsearch-...](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ransom-attack-on-
elasticsearch-cluster/71310/17)
~~~
nullwarp
I will never understand why basic authentication in ES was locked behind a
X-Pack license. That's always seemed absolutely bonkers to me.
~~~
vageli
> I will never understand why basic authentication in ES was locked behind a
> X-Pack license. That's always seemed absolutely bonkers to me.
Security is an enterprise feature. Dealing with this now trying to enable SAML
in a few SaaS apps, for example.
~~~
tyingq
It's not just locked behind the X-Pack...if you choose a trial, it works.
Then, when the trial expires, poof...it's wide open. Surely there's a better
way to handle that.
~~~
neurostimulant
Wow is this true? Instead of disabling access or shut down the db server they
simply removed authentication and left the db wide open when trial expires?
~~~
tyingq
Was true in 2017. It has apparently been fixed since.
------
woadwarrior01
IMO, mining SMS messages for data is by definition going too far in terms of
intrusion into people's privacy.
On a related note, I came across a post on the machine learning subreddit[1]
recently, where the author claims to have a dataset of 33 million SMSs in
Mexican Spanish. I'm half suspecting the OP added the Mexican prefix to
prevent anyone from doubting that his dataset was collected in Spain (In which
case, GDPR applies). This was likely collected from an Android app which
surreptitiously collected with the "Telephony.SMS_RECEIVED" intent, and the
author half confirms it[2].
Regardless of the legality of doing so, reading people's private SMSs just
reeks of privacy violations. iOS in this specific case does the right thing by
not letting apps read incoming text messages (except for the limited case of
reading single-factor SMS login codes[3], which was introduced in iOS 12).
[1]:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/e0z7xs/dis...](https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/e0z7xs/discussion_hyperparameters_for_word2vec_for_sms/)
[2]:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/e0z7xs/dis...](https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/e0z7xs/discussion_hyperparameters_for_word2vec_for_sms/f8lfbpt)
[3]:
[https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uitextconten...](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uitextcontenttypeonetimecode)
~~~
travem
> except for the limited case of reading single-factor SMS login codes
Is the app actually reading the code? I thought this was just a UI hint that
made it easier for the user to select the code from the suggestion area of the
keyboard
~~~
dlhavema
You don't code anything in your app to get/use this feature. If you click the
suggestion iOS fills in the passcode for the user.
------
Avery3R
Non-techcrunch link [https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/report-truedialog-
leak/?=true...](https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/report-truedialog-
leak/?=truedialog-exposed-data)
------
ryanmcdonough
I wonder if this is why I’ve been getting phone call spam from Switzerland &
Turkmenistan the past few days.
------
spamlord
Where can I download the database to see if any of my own information has been
pwnd?
------
sojmq
Nice clickbait. A database from a B2C provider, not personal texts from a
telco.
~~~
lightedman
What's the difference? Security breaches are security breaches, no matter
what.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Learn by Doing – Volume 27 - kylegalbraith
https://www.kylegalbraith.com/learn-by-doing/volume/27/serverless-linear-algebra.html
======
vfulco2
Kyle finds some of the best material for his chosen areas of focus. I continue
to be very impressed with his curation skills and original content. I have
been meaning to promote his stuff on my Chinese social media channels and need
to find time for that this week. Kudos!
------
kayza
Is there an archive of the previous volumes?
~~~
raawa001
[https://www.kylegalbraith.com/learn-by-
doing/](https://www.kylegalbraith.com/learn-by-doing/)
------
smnplk
I can not submit form.
~~~
smnplk
Ahh, I had tracking protection enabled. All good now.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
SEO Growth Hack: Piggy-Back For Fast Rankings - stanners
http://www.gettingmoreawesome.com/2012/10/29/seo-growth-hack-piggy-back-for-fast-rankings/
======
keywonc
I was about to submit this too. Wonder how it went for those that tried this
hack. Can someone share experience?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: What skills do you need to acquire to benefit the society? - febin
Ex:
System Thinking
Finance
======
brad0
This question is way too open ended.
I would say that most jobs benefit society.
Benefit yourself first, then your family and friends, then society.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: What podcasts do you listen to every week without fail? - coinbit
I am interested to know what are some of the podcast you lisen to every week. For me its The Daily.
======
gw666
I'm a fan of the bizarre. Here's what I listen to:
* The Magnus Archives
* Alice Isn't Dead
* Rabbits, The Black Tapes, Tanis (all from Pacific Northwest Stories, aka Public Radio Aliance; you'll either love or hate these)
* Knifepoint Horror
I just discovered this great nonfiction podcast, on design and architecture:
* 99% Invisible
------
bewe42
samharris.org
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Visualizing Modulo Bias - ejcx
https://twiinsen.com/blog/visualizing-modulo-bias/
======
nitrogen
This could be really cool if this live generation of random images was merged
with some of the other visualizations that exist for evaluating randomness.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Automakers Knew of Takata Airbag Hazard for Years, Suit Says - davidf18
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/business/takata-airbags-automakers-class-action.html
======
davidf18
I work in healthcare patient safety and study safety in industries such as
aviation, nuclear power, oil & gas, and auto and airplane design among others.
Even luxury brands such as BMW (in the article) and Lexus, Mercedes, and Audi
were affected.
Not affected: Volvo and Subaru
Additional background information of how other airbag vendors refused to use
the cheaper, unsafe and unstable propellant:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/business/takata-airbag-
re...](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/business/takata-airbag-recall-
crisis.html)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Changes to our content policy, our board, and where we’re going from here - ComodoHacker
https://old.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/gxas21/upcoming_changes_to_our_content_policy_our_board/
======
kitsune_
Ellen K. Pao was right all along. Also if the replies in here are
representative of Silicon Valley as a whole, damn. It just reminds me of the
stereotypical too-smart-for-their-own-good hacker who is prone to making
sweeping generalisations and extrapolations in domains that lie outside of
their own experience or expertise. I know I'm prone to this and I've met a lot
of arrogant smart people who fall into this category. I really think that
there is an empathy problem here. Sometimes we just need to shut up and listen
instead of looking at the world in binary terms.
~~~
vincentmarle
> Also if the replies in here are representative of Silicon Valley as a whole,
> damn.
Unbelievable indeed. When is HN going to come out with their anti hate policy?
~~~
manigandham
The HN guidelines are already sufficient:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)
------
Darmody
I blocked Reddit on my computer but I decided to unlock it temporarily to read
this.
"u/kn0thing has resigned from our board to fill his seat with a Black
candidate"
Now I regret it. I despise this kind of actions taken based on the colour of
the skin/nationality/ethnicity/religion.
~~~
uniqueid
> I despise this kind of actions taken
> based on the colour of the skin
Are you sure you aren't applying a rule, on this occasion, without thinking it
through? Skin-colour is relevant to the job here: it's a guarantee that the
board member will have first-hand experience dealing with the issues Alexis
thinks Reddit has mishandled.
~~~
fakename11
Not necessarily guaranteed, not every person with a certain skin color has
experienced the same thing... but you can probably find someone that has if
that is what you are selecting for.
~~~
uniqueid
True. I actually considered clarifying that. But if we're being pragmatic, the
chances are awfully good that a new "black" board member _will_ understand the
issues.
Have to say, unless the board member is also a prickly character, there's a
high likelihood, even with an understanding, that he or she won't really rock
the boat anyways.
------
panpanna
About time. It is almost impossible to browse the front page without seeing
some hateful content.
And I am not talking about the political stuff. You can upload video of a
random dude getting beaten to death, make some absurd claims like "the guy is
a pedophile caught in the act" and watch the hateful comments roll in.
Basically, you can make any claims and the ones that keep people's blood
boiling seems very popular way of getting clicks and upvotes.
~~~
PunchTornado
maybe you should unsubscribe from subs you don't like. plenty of people like
violent subs, like justicesurved or others.
~~~
panpanna
Mate I got news for you:
they are getting so popular they are all over the front page.
I sometimes wonder if Reddit has resulted in a generation completely unable of
critical thinking.
~~~
PunchTornado
I don't understand what you mean by frontpage. it is made only from posts from
subs you subscribed to. if you don't like it, unsubscribe.
or the thing that bothers you is that other people like it and want to see it
~~~
zo1
I get /r/politics all the time recommended to me, filled with hateful content.
I can't "block" it even though I've looked.
~~~
DuskStar
old.reddit.com is the only way to reddit.
------
politelemon
Sadly Reddit's announcements have a long history of verbosity, with little to
no action taken afterwards. It's a long post but you'll notice very little in
the way of actual measurable goals.
The comments in that thread are very telling of how Reddit's admins have
chosen to wring their hands, or lament over their lack of involvement in the
past rather than address issues, policies or tools.
------
KKPMW
This whole post is weird. Based on the tone they seem to think they are
combating racism. But really the CEO of a company just announced that they are
looking for a new candidate. Requirements? - No particular requirements,
except having the right skin color.
~~~
kitsune_
Your implied reverse-racism argument just doesn't hold. Are you telling me
that there are no capable African-Americans who could fill that board
position? If not, the what are you arguing? That increasing the representation
of historically oppressed minority groups is bad?
~~~
ALittleLight
It seems a bit silly to say "reverse racism" doesn't hold when race is an
explicit criteria for the job. Maybe this is still net positive for all the
good that could come out of it, but clearly racist to say certain races need
not apply.
Imagine I'm selling clothes to upper middle class people in Iowa and someone
applies to be a salesman or a general manager. "Oh sorry, I'm really looking
for a white person here because I feel we've mismanaged our relationship to
white consumers in the past." That seems like pretty clear cut racism to me. I
don't see we should apply different logic just because the races or jobs are
different.
~~~
8note
But people of all races are required to know white people culture to attend to
our needs.
In the situation you give, being white offers no special qualifications.
~~~
manigandham
Culture is not race or skin color, nor dependent on them.
------
high_derivative
To me, it seems like a combination of childish-authoritarian beliefs that the
world will change for the better once, and only once, you stop anyone from
saying anything controversial at all. Once nobody is able to disagree, bad
things won't exist any more.
~~~
trianglem
It’s all about doing what you can when you can. Please take this acerbic,
hyperbolic attitude somewhere else.
~~~
high_derivative
I hope the irony is not lost on you when you ask me to leave this platform for
disagreeing with you.
~~~
knolax
I hope you realize the irony of the fact that you're posting on a forum much
more heavily moderated than Reddit.
------
namelosw
I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Maybe time will tell.
One thing popped up in my mind was YouTube demonetized a lot of videos that
are not 'family-friendly', and eventually destroyed a lot of great content
creators.
------
audessuscest
I deleted my reddit account. Reddit is becoming an editorialised website where
people propose content, slowly but surely. Promoting sub they entirely control
and moderate heavily. I used to visit reddit daily for more than a decade.
Reddit is dead to me.
------
merricksb
Big discussion earlier:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23430575](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23430575)
------
milsorgen
Reddit was infinitely more valuable (to the user) when it lead a hands on
approach. I understand somethings should and must be removed from the platform
but it is undoubtedly an echo chamber, almost unparalleled at this point. It's
value to provide viewpoint, insight and discussion is almost nonexistent at
this point. This announcement certainly doesn't bode well for anyone hoping to
find it a platform that fosters better discussion.
~~~
uniqueid
> it is undoubtedly an echo chamber, almost unparalleled
> at this point.
What does "unparalleled" mean here? It sounds melodramatic.
~~~
pensatoio
Hard to find a worse or larger echo chamber than Reddit, no? Seems like a good
use of “unparalleled” to me.
------
flyinglizard
This week the NYT apologized[0] for publishing an op-ed[1] from a Republican
senator which stated something (using the military to restore civil order)
which has broad - if not majority - support among Americans[2]. Some
columnists apologetically said that giving Sen. Tom Cotton a stage could be
justified on the basis of giving that to other enemies of the US in the past,
such as Iran and the Taliban[3].
It seems like in the USA circa 2020 there's a pretty narrow legitimate range
of opinions, stepping out of which immediately earns you *cist expletives.
[0] [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/business/new-york-
times-o...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/business/new-york-times-op-ed-
cotton.html)
[1] [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-
protes...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-
military.html)
[2]
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/06/02/58-o...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/06/02/58-of-
voters-support-using-military-to-help-police-control-protests-poll-
finds/#76593f332417)
[3] [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/opinion/tom-cotton-op-
ed-...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/opinion/tom-cotton-op-ed-new-york-
times.html)
~~~
Traster
Why are you mis-representing what the NYT did? Are you just hoping people
don't read your citations. From your citation
> For example, the published piece presents as facts assertions about the role
> of “cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa”; in fact, those allegations
> have not been substantiated and have been widely questioned. Editors should
> have sought further corroboration of those assertions, or removed them from
> the piece. The assertion that police officers “bore the brunt” of the
> violence is an overstatement that should have been challenged. The essay
> also includes a reference to a “constitutional duty” that was intended as a
> paraphrase; it should not have been rendered as a quotation.
The NYT didn't apologize for publishing an Op-Ed from a Senator. It apologized
for doing it's job badly and publishing materially false statements as fact.
It's worth noting that Senator Cotton went on to publicly call for the extra
judicial killing of protestors. Which, if we're really so concerned about
legitimate opinions, I would suggest murdering protestors would have more of a
chilling effect than choosing not to publish their op-eds.
~~~
hackissimo123
> It apologized for doing it's job badly and publishing materially false
> statements as fact.
Does that mean they'll also be apologising for The 1619 Project?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The lost infrastructure of social media - chmars
https://medium.com/@anildash/the-lost-infrastructure-of-social-media-d2b95662ccd3#.f0rz8cyiv
======
PaulHoule
I remember the rat (Technorati)
Back then I ran 4 or 5 blogs and maybe 20,000 splogs (spam blogs) and I could
never get the rat to index my blogs but it seemed it would always index my
splogs.
The absence of vertical specific search engines is a major feature of the 2016
web. Is there some scorched earth policy that suppresses them? (You'll never
get an acqui-hire in this town?)
------
chmars
Interesting: The article understates the persistence and power of RSS and
omits subscription as a category. The article is still great of course!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Samsung 3D Vertical NAND crams a Terabit on a single chip - ChuckMcM
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/08/samsungs-3d-vertical-nand-crams-a-terabit-on-a-single-chip/
======
ChuckMcM
This is a pretty interesting part. I was pretty convinced that the FLASH guys
had nowhere to go with respect to geometry limitations, clearly I was wrong.
:-)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
An Efficient Quantum Algorithm for a Variant of the Closest Vector Problem - aruss
https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.06999
======
aruss
Shor has done it again!
I'm not an expert on quantum algorithms, but if you're wondering what the
implications of this are, here's what I understand as a cryptographer: a lot
of post-quantum cryptography (i.e., not anything we use now like RSA or ECC)
relies on the hardness of the closest vector problem (given a real-valued
vector, what is the closest vector in a discrete lattice to that real
vector?).
This algorithm gets really close to invalidating the security assumption of
this problem, which is the basis for a lot of modern post-quantum crypto (like
a lot of fully homomorphic encryption schemes), so we might expect it to fall
soon.
Also: this does not affect the security of symmetric schemes like AES at all,
those are still safe in a quantum world.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Build online Books directly from GitHub - bryanbraun
http://bitbooks.cc
======
sgdesign
Nice. Reminds me a lot of [https://www.gitbook.io](https://www.gitbook.io)
We actually ended up building our own Gitbook/Bitbooks for Discover Meteor, in
Meteor.
And we also have a Middleman implementation, although Middleman does 90% of
the work out of the box.
In any case it's nice to see open-source options coming out so we don't all
have to keep on reinventing the same wheel.
~~~
bryanbraun
Oh yeah, I read your follow-up post here:
[https://www.discovermeteor.com/blog/community-
translations-w...](https://www.discovermeteor.com/blog/community-translations-
with-github-middleman-codeship-heroku/)
Middleman has been great to work with, and it makes it easy to open-source the
components I'm using (like this:
[https://github.com/bryanbraun/franklin](https://github.com/bryanbraun/franklin))
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
It takes more than practice to excel - Multics
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140728094258.htm
======
mcone
I think this confirms what a lot of us intrinsically felt: Some people are
just better at certain things than others. Jeff Bezos came to this realization
while he was in college:
"Intent on becoming a theoretical physicist and following the likes of
Einstein and Hawking, he discovered that although he was one of the top 25
students in his honors physics program, he wasn't smart enough to compete with
the handful of real geniuses around him. 'I looked around the room,' Bezos
recalls, 'and it was clear to me that there were three people in the class who
were much, much better at it than I was, and it was much, much easier for
them. It was really sort of a startling insight, that there were these people
whose brains were wired differently.' The pragmatic Bezos switched his major
to computer science and committed himself to starting and running his own
business." [1]
[1]
[http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html](http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html)
~~~
gaelian
I would have thought it pretty obvious that some people have in intrinsic
"gift" in certain areas. This is completely obvious in physical sports and I
don't see why - considering that our minds are underpinned by the physical
structure of our brains - that this wouldn't also be the case when it comes to
mental activites as well.
Just because I may not have the intrinsic gift that allows me to become the
best physicist or investor in the world doesn't mean that I couldn't get
pretty damn good at it if I put the time in, though. It doesn't necessarily
mean that I would enjoy what I was doing any less.
I remember hearing about a study that I think was by Claudia Mueller and Carol
Dweck[1] that basically found that praising kids for being smart (i.e. having
an intrinsic gift) was far less effective than praising them for putting in a
good effort (i.e. putting in the time and practice). While it is
incontrovertable that some people do indeed have an intrinsic gift for certain
activities, I think we should not lose sight of the apparent fact that just
about anyone will do better when this view is at least not assigned greater
importance than the need to put in a good effort. Lest we unintentionally
start sending messages something like "Oh, well you're obviously not as gifted
as Michael Jordan at Basketball, so you should probably not even bother
learning the game at all." That's an intentionally exaggerated example to get
my point across, but particularly when it comes to early childhood development
I believe we should not underestimate the effect of even a stray word of
encouragement/discouragement. I know that such words had a definite effect on
me at an early age if they were from the right person - e.g. an authority
figure - and often more of an effect than the authority figure assumed their
words had at the time.
1\.
[http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/](http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/)
~~~
watwut
There are things you can become damn good at it if you put the time in. Those
are definitely worth doing professionally. But, there are also things you can
get mediocre at best if you put in excessively lot of time. Those are not
worth trying to do professionally, although hobby is another matter.
On the other hand, I think that we underestimate childrens ability to get up
again after failure or isolated stray word of discouragement. Telling children
they sux one too many times will lower their self-esteem, sure. However, most
of them will recover from hearing something slightly discouraging once in a
while just fine.
~~~
gaelian
> On the other hand, I think that we underestimate childrens ability to get up
> again after failure or isolated stray word of discouragement. Telling
> children they sux one too many times will lower their self-esteem, sure.
> However, most of them will recover from hearing something slightly
> discouraging once in a while just fine.
For sure, I would even go so far as to say discouragement is a normal part of
life and if one was to shelter a child from all forms of discouragement -
assuming that's even possible - then that child would probably not be very
well equipped for life generally. This is an interesting issue as well, but I
think it's orthogonal to the main point I was trying to make.
------
zvrba
I think the key is "deliberate practice" \-- google it; but here's an OK
article: [http://www.fastcompany.com/3020758/leadership-now/why-
delibe...](http://www.fastcompany.com/3020758/leadership-now/why-deliberate-
practice-is-the-only-way-to-keep-getting-better)
But before learning about 'deliberate practice', I had first heard a saying
that "practice makes permanent". You have to practice with the actual
intention of getting better and perfecting your technique, otherwise you're
just strengthening the old habits.
Some context for the rest of the text: my hobbies are aikido and an old
Japanese sword art, so I practice sword cuts a lot (wooden sword, no target --
yet).
Deliberate practice is hard, it's taxing, both physically but _also_ mentally.
It requires not only that you focus on _what_ you're doing but also
consciously focusing on _how_ you're doing it. By focusing on what and how
simultaneously, you can draw a causal connection between the result (what) and
how you achieved it. If you're not satisfied with the result, then you try to
modify the "how" in a variety of ways until you feel the result has gotten
better.
This is mentally taxing and absolutely _not_ fun. You're watching yourself
making mistakes in real time, the mind wants but the body cannot (yet).
Sometimes you even need to get a fundamentally new idea about "what" or "how"
in order to break the (current) barrier. Suddenly an advice that you got from
a teacher a year ago, and which didn't make sense then, makes sense NOW.
And after having practiced for a while (usually up to 50 min; different
exercises), I notice that I have reverted to "blind" practice, that I can no
longer focus on "how", regardless how much I try. That's when I stop,
regardless of how much "real time" has elapsed.
\---
Trying to write ten thousand different sentences will make you a better writer
than writing the same sentence ten thousand times.
~~~
jwdunne
That's the thing that stuck out for me in the article. It mentions practice,
but there is no distinction from deliberate practice. It may well be that the
highest performers did more deliberate practice, which totalled less practice
overall.
The last sentence of your comment sums up my thoughts exactly.
~~~
a8da6b0c91d
It's completely unfalsifiable and therefore useless. There's no objective way
to categorize practice as deliberate or not. It's just some stupid buzzword.
~~~
epochwolf
Just because there's no simple objective way to categorize and measure
something doesn't mean it's automatically invalid.
------
phatbyte
To me one factor that matter a lot is motivation, or a goal to achieve
something.
In my field I see a lot of people coming into CS just because it's trendy and
they will sure have a job after graduation. But they lack the motivation to do
something in that field. A lot are just in it because the pay is great and you
can around computers all day..
I remember when I was 9 I had a goal, I wanted to make a game. I didn't even
have a computer back then, but I knew I wanted to make a game so others could
play it. I remember spending afternoons drawing level design, characters and
how the game would work once I had my own computer. I never actually made a
game but I loved the idea of creating something for other to use.
When I was 14 (now with a Pentium 100mhz good times) I wanted to be an hacker
(hehe), so I learned C, Socket programming, I wet my feet into Linux, I
started messing around deamons like email, web server.
When I was 18 I needed money, my parents couldn't afford to pay my tuition. So
I created an app, to add my empty Resume and got hired by a software company
to develop web apps.
Tens years fast-forward and here I am today, still making apps that people can
use and still learning everyday, working for an awesome company, having my own
small software-shop on the side and doing what I love to do.
I may not excel in my field, I may not be disruptive (haha), but I truly love
what I do and can't honestly see myself doing anything else.
I just wanted to say that's fine not to excel or to be in the top 10. If
that's your goal, go for it, but as long as you love what you do and have
something that motivate you I'm pretty sure you will do just fine.
------
kappaloris
A funny thought: this is a very obvious thing for people who follow the
competitive scenes of (valid) multiplayer games. There are lots of cases where
progamers get to a high level of skill after an amount of practice that
absolutely would not be enough for other people. In the end it's not dark
magic, they just tend to already have the right mindset (and experience from
other games for example) to make the most of their practice.
An iconic example is the team (Na`Vi) that won the first big DotA2 tournament.
The game was in closed beta and professional DotA1 teams got a key at
different times. Navi got their key just 1 month before the tournament while
other teams got theirs way before. Still, 1 month was enough to beat all other
professional teams.
There's a lot of interesting things that one can learn from esports, even just
from the sheer amount of data generated (dota2 has almost 10M unique monthly
players).
~~~
suby
Quality of practice is also important, and probably a major factor in your
example. My knowledge and skill will be vastly different if I spend 500 hours
playing against the best players in the world, compared to spending 500 hours
playing in Bronze league (does Dota2 have a bronze league?).
------
jwatte
If we believe in evolution as expression of genetic traits, And we believe
that intellectual capacity has evolved, Then we believe that intellectual
capacity is a generic trait.
(Remains to determine whether intellectual capacity genetic trait varies like
"has two arms," or like "height," and of course to try to pin down how to
measure it, and count how many "its" there may be.)
~~~
klodolph
And our best theories indicate that genetic disposition for intellectual
capacity varies between individuals much in the same way that "has two arms"
varies between individuals. That is, there are a lot of genes involved and if
one of them is changed, you're more likely to end up with missing or malformed
arms than you are to end up with super arms.
Or what I'm trying to say is that there's no gene for "smart", just like
there's no gene for "has two arms".
~~~
bjourne
That is reassuring. But do you have any references for that? The only study I
can think of is the one where it was showed that Ashkenazi Jews had higher
intellectual aptitudes than other ethnic groups. Which would prove that
intelligence is on a scale and not on/off. Of course, the result is highly
contentious and was criticized on various grounds. One of them being that it
is very hard to discover whether a trait is due to genes or the environment.
------
ivotron
From Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow": practice AND feedback.
Without feedback, you don't know how well/bad you're doing
~~~
rvn1045
Yes feedback is the most important thing. One thing I notice between people
who get good at something and people who don't is that the people who don't
just keep doing the same thing over and over again and somehow expect
different results. However the people who do get good at something, keep
making small little tweaks day in and day out based on their performance.
------
RachelF
A lot of it is in the DNA. Here's a study where they compared twins, some who
practise music and some who didn't:
[http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-
technology/2160625...](http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-
technology/21606259-musical-ability-dna-practice-may-not-make-perfect)
~~~
kenjackson
Except this test doesn't actually test musical expertise. Recitals make way
more sense. Out would be like testing how good one programmed by how fast they
typed.
------
jamesrom
"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." — Vince
Lombardi
------
arh68
I've thought about this for years, since hearing about Gladwell's 10khrs rule.
I recently started reading _The Inner Game of Tennis_ , and I think it's
clarified what's going on here. It's obvious the trend is related to
_physical_ , not intellectual, skills. Playing violin, soccer, archery, etc.
The 'deliberate practice' concept basically boils down to clearing up
interference between Self 1 & Self 2 [1]. You have to maintain the constant
feedback loop, where you are aware of what you are playing, you hear the
notes, and you make small adjustments to Self 1. The opposite of this, the
useless kind of practice, is where you tell Self 2 to shut up and keep making
endless adjustments, never _listening_ to the feedback.
This state of mind, 'conscious unconsciousness', trains your Self 2 to
execute. I don't know why it takes so long for the subconscious to learn, but
muscle memory does develop.
Most people think these people are training their Self 1, as if studying music
theory will guide their hand, unconsciously, up the scales. It doesn't work
that way. You can't memorize a compound bend on guitar, you can't memorize a
double stop on a violin. Self 1, as important as it imagines itself, cannot
play music all by itself. There are far too many notes in any song to
consciously focus on each one as it passes. You have to rely on muscle memory
to get you through.
Keeping that feedback loop open is about as hard as maintaining averted vision
in the night sky. Or staring into a Magic Eye. You've got to relax _and_
focus.
[1] you'll have to read the book. Self 1 observes & directs, Self 2 executes.
Roughly, Self 1 is conscious, Self 2 is subconscious.
------
jmulho
“But Macnamara and her colleagues found that practice explained 12 percent in
mastering skills in various fields, from music, sports and games to education
and professions. The importance of practice in various areas was: 26 percent
for games, 21 percent for music, 18 percent for sports, 4 percent for
education and less than 1 percent for other professions.”
This is just stupid. Suppose I take a test to see how many pairs of three
digit numbers I can multiply correctly in one minute. Then I practice
multiplying three digit numbers for one hour twice a day for two weeks. Then I
take the test again. How much will I improve? 100%, 200%, 1,000%? How close
will I be to having “mastered” the skill of multiplying three digit numbers?
Is 28 hours enough? Maybe I am just not able to master a skill that is so
difficult to master. Let’s suppose I’ve got the right stuff and I am able to
master this particular skill. Now convince me that practice explains only 12
percent of my success!
------
jkscm
There are many threads here discussing the influence of genetic factors but
this is not what the article is about. Genetic factors are not mentioned in
the article. One of the last paragraphs states other possible factors
explicitly:
> Her next step is to find out what factors contribute to being an expert on
> an instrument, playing field, in the classroom or at work. She hopes to
> investigate such factors as basic abilities, age when starting to learn the
> skill, confidence, positive or negative feedback, self-motivation and the
> ability to take risks.
I think the whole nature vs nurture discussion in relation to intellectual
aptitude is shaped to much by peoples own biases which leads them to ignore
the overwhelming evidence for the importance of nurture/culture/eduction/...
Maybe it's easier to believe some people are born smart.
------
programminggeek
I don't think anyone who has ever truly excelled at something would attribute
all the success solely to practice, but I don't think anyone who truly
excelled did so by not practicing either.
Sports are a great example of this. A great athlete is often...
One part genetic gifts - if you are tall basketball might work well for you,
if you're short maybe a horse jockey would be a more sensible sport.
One part intuitive skill or affinity - some people naturally are good at
throwing a baseball fast or really love to kick a soccer ball. Some people
just aren't.
One part opportunity - I've never had an opportunity to do curling, but I've
played football and basketball. If my parents were world class martial
artists, I'd probably be pretty good at martial arts.
One part practice and experience - a good amount of skill acquisition can only
come from doing and refining that skill. You can read about how to run long
distances, but at some point you just have to put in the miles. The more you
do, the more you learn.
One part obsession - to be the best in the world, you have to have a
ridiculous amount of determination. Most people don't have that for most of
what they do. The ones who reach the highest levels tend to go beyond
determination to obsession. Read about how Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan
practiced and prepared and you realize that they weren't just doing
"deliberate practice", they were obsessed with greatness and that obsession
drove them beyond what anyone else was willing to do.
One part luck - even if everything else aligns you can get hurt, something
else could sideline your career, you might fight a drug addiction or have
family problems or an illness. Also, being lucky enough to get certain
opportunities come your way at the right time often plays a big factor.
When you have all of those things come together you have something special. We
can all recognize it simply because it's rare.
When we try and reduce everything down to a simple idea like "deliberate
practice" that might sell a lot of books, or make for interesting papers, it
really doesn't tell the whole story.
I think the human mind wants to reduce complexity to simple things because it
makes the story we tell ourselves about the world easier to understand, but
it's the complexity that makes it all so fascinating in the first place.
------
agumonkey
I suck at music. But I suck 1000x more when I started. I love the
enlightenment phases a non-genius like me goes through when he passes a
landmark. First swing, first rubato .. Even without excellence, it's totally
worth it.
------
parasight
It would be interesting to know a way to pick the skills one can excel in.
10000 hours of deliberate practice is a huge investment. I'd rather invest it
in something I can excel in.
------
sidcool
The discussion here sort of disheartens me. Does it mean that I will be what I
was born with? I would like to believe otherwise as it gives hope to achieve
greatness, in spite of it not being in my genes.
~~~
walterbell
The difference with humans is that we can modify our environment, which means
we can and do modify the fashions of greatness. Hence the many opinions
telling us what is cool today.
To exercise free will one must decide which "choices" are deterministic (i.e.
not actually choices) and which are open to imaginative innovation. It is the
definition of greatness which is personal, not its achievement.
In the words of Heinz von Foerster,
[http://web.stanford.edu/group/SHR/4-2/text/foerster.html](http://web.stanford.edu/group/SHR/4-2/text/foerster.html)
"Only those questions that are in principle undecidable, we can decide."
------
sp3000
Why can't we just admit that some people are born with certain genetic traits
that allow them to excel in certain fields? Practice would accentuate those
gifts and is vitally important, but let's not pretend everyone is capable of
everything if they just practiced more.
Hell, even the ability to commit to extended periods of practice requires
certain genetic ability. Most people are not born with the ability to
hyperfocus like Bill Gates and work for 24 hours straight like he was able to
do during the early days of Microsoft.
We accept ADHD has genetic components, and so the ability to focus for
extended periods of time (which is what practice entails) is inherently easier
for certain people.
~~~
Mangalor
> Why can't we just admit that some people are born with certain genetic
> traits that allow them to excel in certain fields?
Because throughout all of world history there are many examples of people
taking that logic too far in order to consider certain races, certain sexes,
and people from certain lands as inherently mentally inferior, and in the
worst case, exterminating them in the form of a proposed "solution" to the
"problem".
People strongly hesitate around this sort of talk for a reason.
~~~
obvious_throw
It's scientific fact that intelligence as measured by any manner of g-factor
psychometry has heritability correlates of between 0.4 and 0.5. Furthermore,
studies such as the Minnesota transracial adoption study show clearly that
these correlates apply within racial groups, having fully negated
socioeconomic and parenting factors. We have willfully ignored reality per the
ideological dictates of progressivism for the last fifty years.
Feelings and ideology trumping reality may work for a while, but it can't last
forever when faced with competition from groups and nations that harbor no
such illusions, such as the Chinese, who are investing in their genetic
research labs to investigate the genetic origins of intelligence so as to
benefit their own population generations hence. We, on the other hand, are too
frightened to even _talk about_ such investigations. Much to the detriment of
our own future.
------
caster_cp
I really, really thought that the article contained practical tips for excel,
the MS Office Excel
------
spaldingwell
That's because being a master at something requires something science can't
quantify: you need to care.
I don't mean pedestrian caring. I mean a deep, rich relationship between you
and what it is you practice. That caring translates into focus, attention,
deliberation etc.
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that
counts cannot necessarily be counted." \- Albert Einstein
(PS - I'm hinting at Heideggers phenomenology here. You can watch a great
documentary introduction to it here:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-rmGy9gWvE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-rmGy9gWvE))
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Features are faults - Athas
http://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/features-are-faults
======
api
It's not just true for security, but also to some extent for usability.
At ZeroTier we develop our core network virtualization engine with a very
strict philosophy about settings and features:
* Any setting a user must adjust or manage to make things work is a bug. Everything must work instantly and reliably in any minimally functional environment, and installation must be single-step.
* Optional settings are suspect. They should be computed if possible.
* The best features are invisible.
* Any visible feature is suspect, especially if it's a special-case, workaround, or legacy support hack. A visible feature should only be added if an invisible feature or systematic fix eliminating its need cannot be found.
Simplicity is harder than complexity and minimalism indicates a more advanced
design. A longer feature list indicates an inferior product.
~~~
Athas
_Any setting a user must adjust or manage to make things work is a bug.
Everything must work instantly and reliably in any minimally functional
environment, and installation must be single-step._
This has its own problems, as you risk building hidden dynamic behaviour that
can behave unpredictably. The notion of "everything must work instantly" also
suggests enabling all possible services immediately, which is widely known as
a terrible idea security-wise (although it may well be usable).
~~~
api
Those are legitimate issues that you have to keep in mind for certain.
What I described is an ideal that is intentionally not reachable in practice,
like "the home is all of efficient, attractive, well located, and cheap." In
reality there are often trade offs.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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Reverse Engineering the YouTube Algorithm - lahdo
http://www.tubefilter.com/2016/06/23/reverse-engineering-youtube-algorithm/
======
visarga
Interesting. Didn't know that starting a YT session on a video boosts that
channel.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Master Your Recurring Revenue: Analytics for Stripe, Chargify and Recurly - adzeds
https://chartmogul.com
======
adzeds
What are people's thoughts on this service?
I like the way it can easily bring all the data into an easy to understand and
use dashboard...
Anyone know any similar services?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
I’m with the Band [Led Zeppelin] (and their Private Jet) - bonemachine
http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/07/10/im-with-the-band-on-their-private-jet/
======
bonemachine
Damn. I'd give anything to go back to 1973.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Is the DevOps Movement Leaving the Enterprise Behind? - cheyne
https://www.scriptrock.com/blog/devops-movement-leaving-enterprise-behind/
======
beat
Undoubtedly. DevOps as a movement is at risk of being the playground of
startups and small businesses, with little impact in the enterprise.
More of a concern to me, though, is that "DevOps" will simply become another
meaningless buzzword, like "Agile". They'll adopt the phrase but not the
culture.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: How have you asked for a raise? - dalanmiller
What has worked? What hasn't?
======
lifeisstillgood
I went in six years from bankrupt to 100k ukp a year, most of that over the
latter 2 years - and I did it by asking my next-boss-to-be for the raise.
Usually I managed a 20k leap each job, something frankly not happening in any
negotiation you are in with your current boss - no matter what technique you
use.
Be professional about your job search - I spent most lunch hours for a year
job hunting or improving my skills or my presentation.
And be more professional about your profession. Take online courses, (I went
back to Open University - udacity is zoo much more convenient), treat the job
you have as a professional project rather than a job - start to separate away
from the employed mentality.
Professionals are responsible for their own reputation and skills, they are
willing and able to act like an owner or stakeholder. You really are a company
of one.
Sell your services to a higher bidder
Ps - I am reliably informed job hunting is a terrible way to find a job. I
would seriously suggest you keep job hunting the normal way(chase the agents -
they do not expect it!) but also start / join a smallish OSS project related
to a tiny niche (no smaller than that) in your own area - then join the
appropriate LinkedIn group.
One hour a day (that lunch hour) and you will be and probably be recognised as
an expert in that area.
------
codeonfire
Have some evidence that your position pays better. HR departments will buy
salary reports that under report sources like BLS (that they use to justify
your low wages to themselves), so you better bring some good stuff. When a
substantial change in responsibilities or work environment is made bring it
up. This might get you a token 1% or so which your company will just take out
of next year's 2% raise.
Going someplace else works great. Expect 10-30% more unless you are already at
the top of the pay range for your job and market.
~~~
lifeisstillgood
Agreed, except that as a business owner I am frankly arguing that the people
worth keeping should get 20% yearly pay rises or I lose them.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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Compilers Targetting Parrot - draegtun
http://wknight8111.blogspot.com/2010/05/compilers-targetting-parrot.html
======
RiderOfGiraffes
This returns me to the question I asked here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1361382>
If I'm compiling, what should I target?
I could target LLVM, C, some high-level compilable langauge, or now, Parrot.
There doesn't seem to be any cogent, clear, knowledgable discussion of the
various features and merits. I suppose asking for one is like asking "which
language is best," and the answer will always be "it depends."
~~~
stefano
I've used Parrot as a target for a language implementation. It supports a lot
of stuff out of the box (even multimethods!) and it's quite easy to get
started. It also provides tools to help you build a compiler, like a parser
generator integrated with the rest of the system. The problem is that right
now it is quite slow, slower than Perl or Python, and a bit buggy. It would be
an ideal target platform for dynamic languages otherwise. I wouldn't use it
for something needed in production at the moment.
~~~
WalterGR
> a bit buggy
Anything off the top of your head that you've been bit by?
~~~
stefano
Threading just doesn't work (it's going to be rewritten from scratch).
Sometimes there are segfaults within managed code and sometimes there are
memory leaks. Sometimes an assertion in the VM fails, causing the program to
halt with a stack trace. A few releases ago the compiler of Parrot's assembly
language reported wrong line numbers in error messages, but this has been
fixed.
~~~
WalterGR
All those "sometimes" seems to suggest that Parrot is much more than a bit
buggy.
A memory leak is one thing, but segfaults and assertion failures... Down to
brass tacks: is this thing usable in its current state?
~~~
stefano
> Down to brass tacks: is this thing usable in its current state?
Experimentation and quick and dirty prototypes? Yes. Production code? No.
------
avar
Parrot's been claiming that it's slow and incomplete now, but a solution to
that is just around the corner for a few years.
Maybe that's true, but I think that'd be the main concern of any compiler
writer thinking of targeting it. It's not a mature platform with known pros
and cons, unlike the JVM or LLVM.
I hope it all turns out for the best and Parrot delivers on its promises. But
I can see why e.g. the PHP team isn't rushing to target it given the state of
its native languages.
~~~
j_baker
These things take a long time. Heck, it might even be a bit early to call LLVM
mature. Sure, it supports a C and C++ compiler, but I don't think it has
anything production-ready for much else.
~~~
avar
It's in extensive use by Apple on the iPhone and in XCode, and outside Apple.
The JVM is also well understood and widely deployed.
By comparison the Parrot project with the widest use is Rakudo, which is still
just at a testing stage. Maybe there's some larger user of Parrot that I
haven't heard about, so correct me if I'm wrong.
~~~
chromatic
Lua 5.2 has been feature complete on Parrot for years. Like LLVM and the JVM,
we'll keep tuning and improving and fixing bugs and adding features to make
language implementation easier, but the correlation between "maturity" and
"use" is strong.
~~~
avar
That's interesting. Are there any recent benchmarks of Lua on Parrot v.s.
LuaJIT? The only thing I could find was this from 2007 where it was ~2 orders
of magnitude slower:
[http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl6.internals/2007/09/...](http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl6.internals/2007/09/msg40359.html)
The URL to the benchmark script was broken so I couldn't run it.
Don't get me wrong, I think Parrot's very neat. But I could see why compiler
implementors would be sceptical of it since it's not feature complete, and
seemingly not very optimized. So there's a lot of unknowns.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Software Craft in Your Company - incognitotech
I'm Tech Lead in a relatively sized Corp (3k employees, 200 developers) and I'm doing full stack from mobile to Backend and APIs, and I was wondering what is the state of Software Craft in your company.<p>More specifically how did you create a culture of development quality (well-crafted software) ?
What are successful insights to install a culture of learning and make other developers unite and want to improve (create a community of professionals)?<p>I've been trying for a year (events, katas, coding games, tech watch, ...) and definitely had some results with some of our passionate developers (approx. 20 to 30) but having a hard time to gather more developers, either they don't have a time or they don't want to take it (probably they see no value?).<p>OTOH we have recurrent defects and code smell, code review is not always enforced properly, unit tests not optimal (or not properly understood).<p>Do you do weekly katas? Weekly events? Some kind of university inside the Corp? Mob programming? Did you reach to your management to have developers having actually time to devote to improvement? Deliver somewhat less but with more confidence, better quality meaning less people woke up at night.<p>I know I won't be able to have everyone interested, but I'd be delighted to see what the HN crowd is doing regarding this subject, so that I can also improve :)
======
president
What is your goal with the coding events? These things have more to do with
motivation, innovation, and team-bonding but very little bearing on quality of
employee code culture. Also, the most productive engineers will not want to
waste valuable time on these types of events.
The only genuine way to foster a software engineering culture is to hire
proven and experienced software veterans as leaders in your engineering
organization. And when I say proven and experienced, I don't mean people that
are just good at LeetCode. Remember, culture always comes top-down and the
best coding culture is a result of good mentoring and calling out bad coding
practices before it spreads like a virus.
~~~
incognitotech
My goal was to start something and make people know each other around drinks
and some interesting stuff like conference videos, latest news (react hooks /
suspense at the time, Spring related, Functional Programming, ...).
Really just to start something because teams are isolated and don't speak that
much to each others. When something is not working it's always another team
fault for example.
I think you're right regarding the hiring process, ours is just "soso", we
would definitely need more software veterans. We have some but not so many and
even with events/meetings/chapters where we make decisions about code
review/best practices and so on, but not enough seniors to actually enforce
this in each team and keep an eye on it.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Evolution of the Lego Logo - NaOH
http://www.logodesignlove.com/lego-logo
======
matthewvincent
So much nostalgia in those logos! One thing that struck me looking through
those old sets is just how timeless Legos really are. I inherited many of the
70s-80s sets from an older cousin in the 90s, that were subsequently used by
my younger siblings and I all the way through the early 2000s. And they're
still there at my parents house ready for another generation! I honestly can't
think of another toy with such staying power.
~~~
lb1lf
At least here in Scandinavia, BRIO trains come close. They're utterly
indestructible (like most Lego), and to the best of my knowledge any BRIO
thingamajig ever made is compatible with any other; I had a hand-me-down set
around 1980; today, I buy new kit for my kids to go along with the stuff I
had. It all fits perfectly.
~~~
jharger
I remember those! Here in the US in the 80's they used to be at the
"educational" toy stores in shopping malls across the country. I always
thought they were really cool, but my parents never bought me one.
------
PhasmaFelis
It's worth noting that Lego didn't invent locking bricks, though they did
refine them. Similar bricks made of rubber had apparently been around for a
while, but the first plastic versions were made by a Brit named Hilary Fisher
Page under the brand name "Kiddicraft".
Lego discovered that Page hadn't patented his bricks in Denmark, copied them
more or less exactly (though they'd improve the design later), and the rest is
history. Page killed himself in 1957, apparently without ever hearing of
Lego's success. Lego bought Kiddicraft in 1981 to solidify their legal claim
before suing Tyco for copying _their_ bricks.
~~~
fattire
Yeah here are a few reports on this:
[http://www.cracked.com/article_20025_5-world-famous-
products...](http://www.cracked.com/article_20025_5-world-famous-products-
that-are-shameless-rip-offs.html)
[http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2014/02/06/kiddicraft-the-
compan...](http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2014/02/06/kiddicraft-the-company-lego-
ripped-off-to-make-plastic-bricks)
They say the plastic blocks WERE patented, but Lego (allegedly) didn't care or
perhaps as you mentioned the patent didn't apply in Denmark according to some
commenters as well.
As the article notes, Lego has been very aggressive pursuing perceived design
violations.
------
baxtr
I just love Legos. I spend countless hours in my childhood building whole
cities in my room... I was so excited when we got our baby boy that I bought a
brand new Lego police station right away, which I've stored in the basement of
ourhoise. He's now 2... we'll get there.
That said, I have the feeling that when I was a kid there was a bigger variety
of "joinable" toy systems. Lego has gotten so big that all of them vanished by
now. However, that's just ust based on my gut feeling, I don't have real data
for that
~~~
deadbunny
> Legos
Lego. They are Lego bricks not Legos.
~~~
basseq
I had a ton of legos growing up, and it was always that—legos. Though the
"proper" pronunciation may be singular with a plural noun (e.g., bricks,
pieces, sets, etc.), the vernacular has most certainly evolved to include the
general "legos".
------
sriram_iyengar
Lego is always an inspiring story. Another one from bookmarks
[https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/history-lego-
marketing](https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/history-lego-marketing)
~~~
pacaro
Your linked article has the one thing that TFA is missing, one image with all
the logos on it. Thank you
~~~
sriram_iyengar
Yes. (With an aspergers boy and Lego became a necessity during his
kindergarden. It has done and is still doing wonders to improve his attention)
------
arketyp
Remarkable similarity between the '39/'40 logo and the logo of the Swedish
wooden toy company BRIO used until quite recently:
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_BRIO.svg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_BRIO.svg)
------
mcv
Cool piece of history, but I notice that a number of photos are more recent
than the years in their caption. The 1970 product line photo shows products
from 1980 (1978 perhaps), and while the first space men may have appeared in
1978, the yellow, blue and black ones are from the 1980s.
------
gugagore
I had hoped this traced the history of programmable Lego (the first product
was "LEGO LOGO")
------
test1235
I was in the flagship (?) store in Copenhagen a few weeks back, and they have
a selection of these up on the wall as you walk in. Not so many of the earlier
(arguably uglier) ones, but it was interesting to see.
------
zik
Pretty interesting article but I had to laugh at this:
> A subtle refinement (a “graphic tightening” in LEGO’s words) of the 1973
> logo for better digital (i.e. internet) reproduction.
Digital/internet reproduction in 1973? The web wasn't invented until 1990 and
didn't really catch on until around 1997. In fact computers didn't exist in
the home and the computers that did exist were text based. The personal
computer revolution really happened after the IBM PC was released in 1981.
~~~
shagie
Rephrased:
> Given the 1973 logo ( [http://www.logodesignlove.com/images/evolution/lego-
> logo-12....](http://www.logodesignlove.com/images/evolution/lego-
> logo-12.jpg) ), in 1998 the image was tightened to make it easier to print
> digitally ( [http://www.logodesignlove.com/images/evolution/lego-
> logo-13....](http://www.logodesignlove.com/images/evolution/lego-
> logo-13.jpg) )
As far as the changes go... look at the removal of white space in the area
between the 'L' and 'E' and within the 'O'. Furthermore, the middle bar of the
E was made more pronounced, and the upper terminal of the 'G' was made more
regular.
~~~
zik
Oh woops. I guess I misread that.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Weak Link in Full-Disk Encryption (PDF) - all
http://citp.princeton.edu/pub/coldboot.pdf
======
rakkhi
Good article and I think you are doing some very interesting research.
My problem with this type of research though is the amount of fear,
uncertainty and doubt (FUD) it generates. Your attacks are viable if certain
very precise conditions are in place i.e.:
[+] device has not been shut down for a period of time(you can probably advice
what that is) [+] the attacker knows and cares enough to try a cold boot
attack and recover keys from the DRAM, and doesn't have any other easier
options available to them to get the data [+] they are able to take the memory
out and store it in ultracool conditions [+] the user has not applied another
level of encryption on top for really sensitive files e.g. PGP file / email
encryption
I mean if I was the US, Chinese, Russian governments or organized crime and
wanted something on someone's laptop I would just kidnap them or hold their
family hostage and ask for the password. Although Truecrypt hidden operating
system was designed as some mitigation to this type of attack
------
rakkhi
I had a question on my blog: [http://rakkhi.blogspot.com/2010/09/3-million-
reasons-to-encr...](http://rakkhi.blogspot.com/2010/09/3-million-reasons-to-
encrypt-your.html)
Have you tried or are you aware of anyone sucessfully using a cold boot attack
on Blackberry or other mobile phone memory to extract encryption keys?
------
ax0n
More than 2 years old... But I digress.
The real lesson here is that generally, physical access is ultimate access.
------
martinp
loop-AES can apparently prevent this type of attack. See the paragraph about
key scrubbing in their README file: <http://loop-aes.sourceforge.net/loop-
AES.README>
------
beanfeast
So it seems that the fix for losing data on hung PCs is similar to that for
involuntary amputees: gather up the bits you need, shove them on ice and get
yourself as quickly as possible to someone who knows what to do with them.
------
one010101
What worries me about it is simply the fact that just a few single-bit errors
can make the entire disk unusable. Backup, backup, backup!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Unified font file for all languages? - seibelj
I'm writing a game that makes heavy use of chat and GUI interfaces. The UI framework requires you to load a single font to display characters. Therefore, to support as many languages as possible, I would like to load an OTF / TTF that has unicode characters from all languages.<p>The Google Noto Font (https://www.google.com/get/noto/) supports all languages, but they aren't unified. They use separate TTF's for Chinese, for Korean, etc. I'm looking into how to unify them, but my question is, why isn't this an obvious problem that people have solved? Wouldn't game developers need unified fonts regularly? I haven't seen any common font that solves this issue and I'm perplexed.
======
Jonnax
Just to point something out with Chinese and Japanese gliphs. There are quite
a few characters which share the same character but are represented
differently in Japanese and Chinese.
I think that prevents unification for a single font.
As an example check out the screenshots for this app that fixes the issue (of
Chinese gliphs being used in non-Japanese languages) by changing the priority
of fonts used on Android.
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ascendtv.k...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ascendtv.kanjifix&hl=en)
Incidently that issue was resolved in Marshmallow or Nougat where you can
select secondary languages in the settings.
------
eschutte2
TTF and OTF only support 2^16 glyphs per font. Why does the UI framework only
allow one font file?
~~~
seibelj
I can dynamically change the font if I want, but only 1 font loaded at a time.
In this case, I would have to auto-detect which font to use based on the UTF8
code, and swap the font out.
Is this how big companies do it? For example, Supercell in the Clash of Clans
/ Clash Royale games will display text perfectly no matter what language.
Latin text will appear intermixed with Korean, Chinese, etc. without any
issue.
------
naikrovek
GNU Unifont has what you want, except it is a bitmap font.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
We are Mt. Gox: AMA - nico
http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1c7ahh/we_are_mt_gox_ama/
======
jack_trades
Talk about putting up a shingle and calling yourself an exchange.
The clamor from the crowd that they need to do better PR gets me chuckling the
most. They are fairly transparent about their lack of technical expertise,
hinting at major issues in their understanding or seriousness of what they are
doing.
When one noisy person tells you how to do your job and you know they're wrong,
whatever. Brush it off.
When a fistful of redditors are telling you 15 different ways that you should
be doing your job and it's pretty easy to show that they understand the
problem domain and issues better than the team... that's a big problem.
I guess people hope MtGoxs new trading platform scales better, but that is not
the sort of thought/wonder to be having when you are about to press submit on
thousands in trades.
Bitcoin. Currency like kids and potato cannons. What could go wrong? Fire it
up!
~~~
ramblerman
"Bitcoin. Currency like kids and potato cannons. What could go wrong? Fire it
up!"
You highlight the weakness in MtGox and then by analogy suggest the whole
platform is similary amateuristic.
the bitcoin protocol itself is solid, tested and has some very smart people
working on it.
------
vy8vWJlco
Isn't the idea of a central exchange (which "Magic the Gathering online
exchange" is), where most of the trading occurs, a little antithetical to
notion of a distributed currency?
~~~
minimax
The problem is moving the counter currency around. I can zap you some bitcoins
without any problems, but it's much harder for you to zap me back some USD (or
EUR, JPY, whatever).
~~~
vy8vWJlco
Fair, the ForEx role will never go away, but it seems that MtGox has also
become a trading platform for the Bitcoins themselves, with the obvious
downside that it is susceptible to DDoS' like any centralized service. It
makes more sense for a P2P currency that this simply be done at the protocol
level with at most a custom client, but one that is still a full peer. The
problem I, and others, are seeing is that the blockchain is becoming huge and
will only get bigger, meaning only those with the resources to maintain it
will participate as full peers - hardly ideal for a distributed system since
it will inevitably require a certain amount of centralization to scale.
~~~
codeulike
_Fair, the ForEx role will never go away, but it seems that MtGox has also
become a trading platform for the Bitcoins themselves_
Wait, whats the difference between those two things? Converting bitcoins into
anything else _is_ ForEx.
~~~
vy8vWJlco
MtGox has become something of a speculative trading platform. While direct
exchange (cash in, cash out) will always be necessary (unless you are paid in
Bitcoins and live off of Bitcoins), I don't think MtGox is mostly being used
that way. Rather, MtGox is becoming synonymous with Bitcoins for traders, and
people want to use it like a bank (with all the problems that entails, and
Bitcoin was partially hoped to relieve). As such, Bitcoin is only as reliable
as MtGox. If People's main interaction with MtGox was buying Bitcoins for use
on real goods and services, then I would agree that it is just another
exchange, but people aren't using it like that. People buy BTC with USD one
day, and buy CAD with BTC the next, with every intention of going back through
the exchange and the Bitcoin currency again in order to cash out. MtGox has an
API, and in fact, you are right, that is precisely what a ForEx is used for...
I'm not knocking it, only pointing out that many of the problems people want
Bitcoin to solve are being recreated by re-imposing conventional institutional
roles. As long as there is more than one currency, people will need to
exchange them. Who am I to say Bitcoin "shouldn't" have a trading platform
other than to note that, IMHO, anyone who uses MtGox speculatively is relying
on it's centralization, with all that that entails. I think it's ultimately
just a matter of scale.
~~~
codeulike
_People buy BTC with USD one day, and buy CAD with BTC the next, with every
intention of going back through the exchange and the Bitcoin currency again in
order to cash out._
Are you sure they're doing that?? Bitcoins volatility would render it
pointless for Forex trading. (edit: by which I mean trading between two old
school currencies via bitcoin)
~~~
vy8vWJlco
I am taking it for granted that speculative trading is a pretty common, if not
the main activity on MtGox:
\- "Bitcoin day trading": <https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=57169.0>
\- "Mt. Gox Temporarily Halts Bitcoin Trading to Allow the Market to Calm the
Hell Down": [http://betabeat.com/2013/04/mt-gox-halts-trading-
temporarily...](http://betabeat.com/2013/04/mt-gox-halts-trading-temporarily/)
But I could be wrong.
~~~
codeulike
Oh yeah, people are swapping BitCoin for (old school) currency Y and then back
again like crazy.
I thought you meant people using Bitcoin to do arbitage between (old school)
currencies X and Y
I agree that speculation is harming bitcoin. It needs less volatility to be
truely useful. But then when a genuinely innovative currency/technology
suddenly gets a ton of press, I don't see how a spike could be avoided.
~~~
vy8vWJlco
_"I thought you meant people using Bitcoin to do arbitage between (old school)
currencies X and Y"_
That's precisely what I suspect (and can only guess at this point) that it is
being used for:
[http://bitcoinmagazine.com/btc-trader-bitcoin-arbitrage-
made...](http://bitcoinmagazine.com/btc-trader-bitcoin-arbitrage-made-easy/)
<http://lichtman.ca/is-bitcoin-arbitrage-feasible/>
<https://github.com/michaelcdillon/BitCoin-Arbitrage>
At the same time, MtGox also serves as an entrypoint for non-speculating users
and has effectively become the "Bitcoin bank." It's voluntary - people are
choosing to use MtGox, but in this regard MtGox's success seems to be a
Bitcoiner's weakness: a DDoS against MtGox can cut the value of a BTC (and
their lunch money) in half.
------
Mahn
It seems they were not _aware_ that AWS exists. They should really consider
hiring engineers specialized in scaling.
~~~
saosebastiao
The more fundamental problem is the lack of separation between their trading
engine and their website. While a website would be perfectly fine on AWS (and
likely the more significant part of their scaling problems), the trading
engine belongs on a very tightly controlled platform.
I don't have any confidence in their platform. It shouldn't take more than a
few domain experts to build a better platform...but for some reason its not
happening.
~~~
Mahn
> I don't have any confidence in their platform.
Neither should anyone, as evidenced by their track record. It's just sad that
it is this platform driving the price of the Bitcoin at the moment, and I'm
not sure how it speaks about the future of the currency.
------
paulhauggis
wow. After looking at all of the issues and the lack of answers from MtGox..I
don't think I'm going to be investing any money in this exchange any time
soon.
~~~
SpikedCola
No kidding - they appear to be focusing on answering question #1 and
completely avoiding #2 & #3. Does not instill confidence.
~~~
3pt14159
You guys need to understand that these guys are super Japanese, complete with
the culture of never wanting to show dishonor. If they were American I would
be much more suspicious, but they have consistently fixed the problems that
they have had and are desperate to hire western developers to move to Japan to
help the not only build the exchange, but expand the community's trust in
them.
~~~
illuminate
"You guys need to understand that these guys are super Japanese, complete with
the culture of never wanting to show dishonor."
Then why have a Reddit Q&A about their failures?
------
fnordfnordfnord
Huge opportunity here for a proper exchange / trading platform to be built.
There is obviously a demand for it.
~~~
minimax
1) Regulatory issues are a big question mark.
2) There isn't actually that much volume compared real electronic exchanges.
Just looking at the Mt Gox page from today it looks like $30MM USD worth of
bitcoins have been traded. Hard to make any real money off of that.
~~~
ProblemFactory
> 2) There isn't actually that much volume compared real electronic exchanges.
> Just looking at the Mt Gox page from today it looks like $30MM USD worth of
> bitcoins have been traded. Hard to make any real money off of that.
While it might have much less volume compared to a "real" exchange, MtGox fees
are 0.6% of each transaction. $180k daily revenue is certainly "real money"
for a startup.
------
nwh
The best piece of all comes from their answer about new servers.
> Upgrading computer systems means ordering more servers (2 weeks timeframe),
> setting up (1 day), load testing (2 weeks) and deployment (1 day). It's a
> process that can take up to one month in total.
~~~
codeulike
You've got to bear in mind that they're talking to reddit. I think thats a
fair description of why they can't upgrade at the drop of a hat. As they say
elsewhere in the AMA:
_We are big in the bitcoin world, but compared to a Facebook or a Google or
even a bank we are too small and don't have access to their technology_
What would you have them do?
~~~
dragonwriter
> Cloud solutions are not meant for large scale operations such as trading
> systems
Arguably, _hosted_ cloud solutions aren't ideal for large scalable operations,
if you define "large scale" as in "someone with the scale of Amazon, Google,
etc. that can afford to run a private cloud."
But MtGox makes it pretty clear that they aren't on that scale. Their argument
seems to be simultaneously that they are both too "large scale" for hosted
cloud solutions and too small scale to be able to effectively address the
challenges they face in-house, which, if we accept it, seems to indicate that
they are at a scale that _cannot effectively operate_.
~~~
codeulike
Right. They couldn't effectively operate in the face of a huge trading spike
and a DDOS. Hence they're upgrading. But then they get stick for taking too
long to upgrade.
Conversely, if they spent $$$ on a bulletproof platform, they'd probably go
bust (as seems to have happened to other more technically proficient
exchanges)
The underlying problem is: people have too high expectations of what the
bitcoin world can cobble together at this point. Its being built by hackers,
not bankers.
~~~
dragonwriter
> Conversely, if they spent $$$ on a bulletproof platform, they'd probably go
> bust (as seems to have happened to other more technically proficient
> exchanges)
If that's true, it would seem to indicate that no one with the resources to
eat the cost of operating a reliable exchange through the expected growth
period of bitcoin has sufficient long-term confidence in bitcoin to underwrite
the growth-phase costs in order to reap the rewards once bitcoin is all grown
up.
> The underlying problem is: people have too high expectations of what the
> bitcoin world can cobble together at this point. Its being built by hackers,
> not bankers.
Expecting the main exchange for something that is promoted as a currency to
meet the reliability expectations of a currency exchange is not unreasonable.
~~~
codeulike
You're assuming that access to investment (VC funding or whatever) is a
perfectly efficient system. It clearly isn't.
------
xoail
It always bothered me to know that there is no other solution to DDos attacks
other than shutting down the systems and wait till it gets back to normal
load.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
A Regular Expression Matcher in 30 lines of C - coderdude
http://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/spr09/cos333/beautiful.html
======
gjm11
It's very nice pattern-matching code, but it isn't a regular expression
matcher. The class of patterns it's able to match is much smaller than the
class of all regular expressions -- not because of missing "sugar" (character
classes, +, non-greedy wildcards, ...) but because it doesn't support groups
or the | operator.
As a result, the language supported by this matcher has, e.g., no way to match
the pattern (ab)* or the pattern a|b. It's much, much less powerful than an
actual regular expression matcher would be, and much of what makes it possible
to do it in 30 lines of C is that loss of power.
(I've written extremely similar code before: this level of functionality --
basically, glob or DOS wildcards -- is pretty useful. I'm not Rob Pike, and my
code for similar functionality would probably be longer than his. But my code,
or even Rob Pike's code, for even the simplest thing that could honestly be
called a regular expression matcher, would be longer than this by a bigger
factor.)
------
chanux
I see the OP has discovered
[[http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=cod...](http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=coderdude&start=0)]
r/tinycode which was posted on HN few days back
[<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2717279>].
------
antirez
I wrote a similar glob-style string matching, but it's far more than 30 lines
(130 lines of C):
[https://github.com/antirez/redis/blob/unstable/src/util.c#L1...](https://github.com/antirez/redis/blob/unstable/src/util.c#L11)
I use it in Redis, but in general being "glob matching" more standard compared
to a regexp subset people are more likely to know the syntax.
------
ihodes
That was a superb read. Given the author(s) (who I noticed only after
reading), I suppose that's to be expected. I'd like to see a similarly elegant
version that translates the RE to a DFA–if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be
quite happy!
------
slug
This an excerpt of the excellent book
<http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596510046>
------
perlgeek
Yes, matching regular expressions is easy, if you don't care about speed or
features. Like, being able to match a literal dot or asterisk. Or char
classes, or getting case insensitivity right (like the German ß that matches
SS, so case folding needs not to preserve string length).
Still nice to see that it can be done in so few lines.
------
shangaslammi
Here's my attempt at implementing the same functionality in Haskell:
<https://gist.github.com/1062472>
I tried to make it short, but still somewhat readable, so it's not completely
"golfed".
------
sheffield
"In 1967, Ken [Thompson] applied for a patent ..."
Wow, he pioneered that, too...
------
swah
That code is dense.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
WhatsApp warns that Google Drive backups are not encrypted - fnigi
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2018/08/29/whatsapp-backups-google-drive/
======
Djvacto
I didn't realize this to be quite honest, and will probably be disabling my
GDrive backups now.
------
jmcnulty
That sucks. I would rather have it encrypted and be deducted from my usage
quota than this. The extra protection would be worth it.
WhatsApp's data is no longer safe from government snooping. They just have to
subpoena Google for a copy and as Google retain the encryption keys to your
drive there is no real impediment.
------
Grangar
What would their case be for not encrypting it?
~~~
CPAhem
I suspect WhatsApp not encrypting the backups was likely not a technical issue
primarily, but a business one. Google gives free storage and can read all your
chats on Drive to target advertising. Whatsapp gets free storage.
If you want to protect Google Drive properly, use an "at-rest' encryptor like
VeraCrypt[0] or Syncdocs[1]
[0]
[https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Home.html](https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Home.html)
[1] [https://www.syncdocs.com/how-to-set-up-google-drive-
encrypti...](https://www.syncdocs.com/how-to-set-up-google-drive-encryption/)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Disney+ Was the Most Downloaded App in the US in Q4 2019 - sogen
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2020/01/14/disney-plus
======
nscalf
It is beyond me how Disney is allow to buy up a monopoly of content creation,
then allowed to pull content from other platforms to compete with them. It’s
been a long time since I reviewed anti-trust laws and cases, but I think they
control something like 80% of box office hits, largely by buying up every big
competitor. It’s a conversation I would expect to be brought up more often.
~~~
berdon
They seem benign to me. Monopoly is defined as "the exclusive possession or
control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.".
You yourself say they own "80% of box office hits" but there's still ample
competition. They're just not making better content.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ten Tips to Ignore When Starting a Business - da5e
http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/tips2ignore.htm
======
mathgladiator
I would say if you are looking for tips/advise on starting a business, then
don't start one.
Most of successful entrepreneurs I've met and consulted for have an insatiable
desire/passion. They wake up, and they think about the business. They go to
bed, they dream about the business.
Its the passion that's going to put the 99% _perspiration_ into the product.
But then again, YMMV.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers - nealyoung
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/nsa-effort-pries-open-computers-not-connected-to-internet.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimesworld
======
todayiamme
I do understand that it is now the status quo to disavow everything the NSA
is, but foreign intelligence gathering is their mission and releasing these
details simply doesn't help the cause of fixing the NSA's less savoury
incursions.
While arguably any foreign intelligence agency of note isn't going to be
caught off guard by these leaks, leaking these details does offer political
ammunition to the very people who stand to gain from the expansion of the
NSA's mission into civilian data gathering. It helps to make the case that the
leaks aren't such a good thing after all and are compromising the intelligence
gathering apparatus of the US of A. Add a bit of spin and you can quickly use
this to get back to business as usual and people will actually support them as
now it'll become a matter of identity instead of what it should be - a
surgical exploration of a cancer afflicting a nation state.
~~~
eru
What if the foreignerns don't want to spied up on? Or do they count for less?
~~~
IBM
What is the use of acting naive about foreign affairs, diplomacy, and
statecraft?
Are you really suggesting that your country's intelligence service doesn't
attempt to do the same?
~~~
lancewiggs
The USA has diplomatic relations with foreign countries based on trust. They
also trade with those foreign countries - and that international trade is what
makes the economy and our lifestyles work.
Targeting "all foreigners" destroys trust that foreigners have in the USA
system for trade and diplomacy, lowering the impact of the state on both.
~~~
snowwrestler
Comments like this make me think that maybe all the "acting naive about
foreign affairs, diplomacy, and statecraft" is not actually acting.
In the entire human history of diplomatic relations, nations have always
attempted to spy on one another. Diplomatic relations are not based on trust,
they are based on shared beliefs, interests, and goals.
~~~
baddox
> In the entire human history of diplomatic relations, nations have always
> attempted to spy on one another.
Yes, and it's all bad. I don't see what's naive, or even controversial, about
this.
~~~
ewoodrich
So the US shouldn't have spied on the Japanese consulate in the 40s to
anticipate the forthcoming declaration of war? Or intercepted German
transmissions to break the Enigma code?
~~~
Filligree
Both countries you were - anticipated to be - or actually at war with. That's
hardly the same thing as spying on allies.
------
PythonicAlpha
"We do not use foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of
foreign companies"
Nobody with an unspoiled mind and following the news last year will believe
this bullshit.
If there is anything, people all over the world (also in the US) should have
learned: Statements from people of some federal US organisations can not be
believed at all -- in many cases the complete opposite is true.
~~~
jjh42
The NSA lost all credibility for their claim not to be stealing for commercial
advantage when they were caught spying on Brazil's Petrobras (government owned
oil company). It is simply not credible to claim this spying was for the
prevention of terrorism.
------
vonnik
The only thing that's more disappointing than the NSA spying is the NYT
sitting on this scoop for more than a year, and letting Der Spiegel break it.
Only slightly less amazing is that Der Spiegel and Jacob Applebaum were
talking about this more than two weeks ago, and the NYT diddled until now.
Incredible.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vILAlhwUgIU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vILAlhwUgIU)
~~~
supersystem
I'm more disappointed that very few on HN seemes to have been paying
attention.
~~~
vonnik
I agree. It was also really bad timing. No news organization should break
anything major between X-mas and New Years. People are offline...
------
danso
Given that the NSA's mission is to do surveillance against foreign targets
("There is no evidence that the N.S.A. has implanted its software or used its
radio frequency technology inside the United States.")...the techniques
described here actually seem to be in line of what you imagine the NSA is
_supposed_ to be doing. At least it's surveillance that requires them to have
a physical targeted presence, rather than just drinking from the
telecommunications firehose.
------
staunch
This sounds like a non-issue to me. Any person on this site could create
little USB devices for stealing data. It's nothing special or new. I thought I
was going to hear that they're light years beyond Tempest[1] or something.
Feels good to finally hear an NSA story that doesn't depress me.
1\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempest_(codename)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempest_\(codename\))
~~~
conductor
It can be inserted by a manufacturer, as mentioned in the article.
A little chip (inside the motherboard/CPU/hard disk/graphic card) with a radio
module that can receive radio signals and write the received data directly
into hard disk and/or RAM or read bytes from the hard disk and/or RAM and/or
graphic card and transmit it back.
~~~
lancewiggs
I imagine the widgets transmit and receive over multiple spectrums, bouncing
the spectrum around as they do.
I wonder if technology now can tweak and coordinate the multiple existing
radios (Wifi, bluetooth, GSM/CDMA/3G/4G etc) on phones and computers to
deliver the same result.
Is that possible? Would that require changes in silicon or could it be done
with baseband software changes or even above that? I have no idea frankly.
~~~
nitrogen
_I imagine the widgets transmit and receive over multiple spectrums_
I seem to recall a strong opposition by the government to the development of
consumer ultra-wideband radios. I wonder if this was part of the reason.
Either way, it looks like some applications of UWB are available now, though,
such as wireless HDMI.
------
rl3
"In most cases, the radio frequency hardware must be physically inserted by a
spy, a _manufacturer_ or an unwitting user." [emphasis added]
~~~
wmf
US manufacturers sold pre-bugged equipment to the eastern bloc during the cold
war, so why not now?
~~~
VladRussian2
Today it is just a well publicly known feature of modern Intel CPU (officially
it is stated to be disabled on some CPUs :)
[http://www.realvnc.com/products/viewerplus/](http://www.realvnc.com/products/viewerplus/)
"Computers with particular Intel® Core™ vPro™ processors enjoy the benefit of
a VNC-compatible Server embedded directly onto the chip, enabling permanent
remote access and control. A RealVNC collaboration with Intel's ground-
breaking hardware has produced VNC Viewer Plus, able to connect even if the
computer is powered off, or has no functioning operating system."
~~~
nl
_well publicly known feature_
I sure didn't know about it, and wish I did. I'd love to be able to use it!
Is there any easy way to make this work (and to check if your computer
supports it)?
~~~
simcop2387
This has some more info, no idea how much it applies to current tech.
[http://blog.michael.kuron-germany.de/2011/10/using-intel-
amt...](http://blog.michael.kuron-germany.de/2011/10/using-intel-amts-vnc-
server/)
EDIT: and some more current stats
[http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2012/04/23/intelr-
vpro...](http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2012/04/23/intelr-vpro-
technology-release-80-processor-requirements)
------
vxxzy
Transmit as far as "EIGHT Miles". Does anyone know what type of power this
would take? I imagine if they used a less noisy frequency combined with
sensitive receiving equipment, it would not take much. I used to play with CB
radios which has a cap at 4W, with a good antenna, one could transmit 7+ miles
in good situations.
~~~
mparlane
Could it be via powerlines?
edit: I know the article mentions wireless, but it might not be true after all
~~~
plorg
I suppose it's possible, but if I were the NSA I wouldn't bet on getting a
signal past the neighborhood distribution transformer. There's often enough
disturbance on a building-wide circuit to cause problems with powerline
networking. Your 42" LCD TV probably has enough power-conditioning circuitry
to interfere with network signals.
------
beloch
Well, I suppose it's time for the tin-foil-hat crowd to turn their computer
cases into a Faraday cages then! Of course, these NSA gizmos might plug into
ground and detect radio-induced current fluctuations. Given how many computer
cases are metal, this might be the obvious way to go actually. So... Faraday
cage and a really expensive ground conditioner?
------
codex
This is another example of how Snowden has compromised national security by
leaking secret information that has nothing to do with American metadata and
everything to do with the NSA's charter and legal mission.
~~~
samstave
Any thought that the NSA is adding to our national security is a delusion.
How about a shift in your thinking: Instead f "securing" ourselves through
trillions in weapons and intel BS - why not work toward creating a better
world through better systems and people?
How many Norwegian terrorists have there been?
Fuck the NSA.
~~~
PythonicAlpha
>Any thought that the NSA is adding to our national security is a delusion.
Adding more security will make our life less and less secure. Anybody who
believes, such things will stop terrorism, is just dreaming.
------
Theodores
Sounds like an update to The Thing:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing_(listening_device)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing_\(listening_device\))
------
xanth
So now one needs to run BSD, air gaped and in a Faraday cage to be 'secure'...
So now what does one do with it
~~~
dijit
every day the movie 'Enemy of the State' looks more believable.
------
__pThrow
I have to admit I was disappointed these seem to require radio transmitters be
added to the device. Was sort of hoping to discover there were little antennas
built into Intel processors or nvidia video cards.
However, I now know more about what DARPA's littlest flying robots will be
doing, especially the ones already described as little more than chips with
wings.
------
f_salmon
> Richard A. Clarke, an official in the Clinton and Bush administrations who
> served as one of the five members of the advisory panel, explained the
> group’s reasoning in an email last week, saying that “it is more important
> that we defend ourselves than that we attack others.”
Pretty frightening that such things apparently still need to be said.
------
NKCSS
I remember an article on here a while back of a well known security or
cryptology researcher that had a machine get re-infected by unknown malware
time and time again without a network connection, who also observed radio
waves and thought that was the iv...
~~~
igravious
Was it this?
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6646936](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6646936)
"Mysterious Mac and PC malware that jumps airgaps?"
~~~
NKCSS
Yup, thanks!
~~~
igravious
I remember coming to the conclusion at the time that the security researcher
must be kind of going nuts or something; doesn't seem quite so nuts now.
Surely a professional would spot a rogue chip or device though?
------
lazyjones
So, any chances of finding such a device out in the wild? Suggestions for
detecting the most likely used type of radio transmissions? How can they
transmit over 5Km with USB power and no antenna?
~~~
XorNot
Under the right conditions you can send radio messages around the world on as
little as 5 watts.
You gotta remember that there's two sides to any radio system: the transmitter
and the receiver, and both determine what you can do. After all, with the
right antenna on one side, you can use wi-fi over a distance of miles.
------
oceanplexian
> The technology, which has been used by the agency since at least 2008,
> relies on a covert channel of radio waves that can be transmitted from tiny
> circuit boards and USB cards
Obviously if someone has physical access to a machine it can be compromised.
Replace "USB Cards" with "USB WiFi stick" and you've achieved the same thing.
This is just FUD. Machines that are air-gapped from the Internet with tight
physical security are as secure as ever.
~~~
falcolas
It seems to me you missed the "can be inserted by the manufacturer" portion of
the article. Doesn't require physical access, just that they purchase a
compromised machine.
~~~
acousticcoupler
Also secured facilities generally monitor for things like unauthorized WiFi
access points and clients.
~~~
nitrogen
Did the article say these devices use WiFi, or do they use something else?
~~~
falcolas
They discuss range measured in miles, so I don't think wifi would fit the
bill.
------
higherpurpose
This article feels like NSA bait to me. It's like NYT is trying to make NSA
look good.
------
ShirtlessRod
My favorite part:
"The technology, which the agency has used since at least 2008, relies on a
covert channel of radio waves that can be transmitted from tiny circuit boards
and USB cards inserted surreptitiously into the computers."
Oh, so they only need physical access to the machine, and then they can do
stuff to it? It's like magic!
------
snambi
very good use of tax payer money!
------
zerny
badBIOS and now this. Sigh.
------
notastartup
oh man when does this stop? these guys are clearly breaking the law all in the
name of "keeping us safe from terrorists". This needs to be stopped. All the
perpetrators of this program must be brought to justice with a court that
adheres to the principals of democracy and freedom.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Graph-based data storage REPL in C - jhedwards
https://github.com/incrediblesound/Graph-Reply
======
jotux
Some general feedback:
In C you separate your implementation from your interface with header files.
If you include .c files in .c files it will end up causing a lot of problems
and start making includes order dependent (like how your code will break if
you move #include "structures.c" down a few lines).
Generally you want a header file for each source file and put the stuff you
want to share with other files in there (prototypes, typedefs, etc). For
example, disk_utility.h would have prototypes for save_to_disk and
read_from_disk and then instead of including disk_utility.c in your replay.c
file you'd include disk_utility.h.
Without compiling the code I see a lot of things that are, at least, warnings.
When you're learning you really want to compile with -Wall and pay attention
to warnings.
It's a neat project and I hope you continue learning C, it's a great language.
~~~
jhedwards
Thanks for your feedback! I spent a lot of time chasing down memory leaks with
this project, which was fun, but clearly that's not the last of the hurdles
with C. My dream is to program space robots, which probably will never happen,
but I feel one step closer every time I build something in C.
~~~
LukeShu
I've made a pull request that contains a reasonable mount of feedback. I hope
it's useful and instructive!
~~~
e12e
Those are great reading, thank you (even if I have nothing to do with the
project :-). For others:
[https://github.com/incrediblesound/Graph-
Reply/commits?autho...](https://github.com/incrediblesound/Graph-
Reply/commits?author=LukeShu)
------
axoltl
C is not a safe language sort of by definition, so you always have to consider
all the possibilities. For example, you use sscanf in places, with fixed sized
buffers. What happens if someone were to pass a lot of data into your program?
What happens if the on-disk structure gets corrupted and a 'type' becomes more
than 5 characters?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Help Kill Internet Explorer 6 - mgrouchy
http://www.ie6update.com/
======
pbhjpbhj
[http://almost.done21.com/2009/04/announcing-ie6-update-
help-...](http://almost.done21.com/2009/04/announcing-ie6-update-help-kill-
internet-explorer-6/)
^^ ie6update bars author discussing the ethics of the situation.
I'll probably add this to my blog pointing to a browser choice page like the
MS Windows "web browser ballot" screen.
------
mgrouchy
I'm posting this cause it is worth discussion. Do you think this is harmful or
helpful?
Myself, I am kind of against anything that tricks our users. Something like
this can also be manipulated to trick users to install malicious software
which also makes me wary.
~~~
Semiapies
It's like those popups that are made to look like system menus. This one just
doesn't happen to pump your computer full of malware.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Multi-view Wire Art - jbhuang0604
https://cgv.cs.nthu.edu.tw/projects/recreational_graphics/MVWA
======
eat_veggies
Wow, this is pretty cool! I've seen some art installations that work through a
similar concept: this is one of the more memorable ones:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-GR9IVjU54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-GR9IVjU54)
I built a similar (but less cool) project that builds these kinds of shapes
out of a bunch of dots: [https://jse.li/s-h-a-n-p-
e-s/frontend/](https://jse.li/s-h-a-n-p-e-s/frontend/)
------
bitwise-evan
I love these projects. I did a related project where I created a single, solid
object that has 4 different silhouettes/shadows from 4 different angles in the
same plane. Using more view angles than dimensions makes the problem much more
complex. I suspect it is not possible to do this purely programmatically so I
did it by hand had to smudge the letters to get everything to work out.
[https://i.imgur.com/n1btEHG.mp4](https://i.imgur.com/n1btEHG.mp4)
[https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2111419](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2111419)
~~~
anandology
ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany has an exhibition called Open Codes, where they have
used a single solid object to generate all letters in the alphabet using
projections.
[https://zkm.de/en/exhibition/2017/10/open-
codes](https://zkm.de/en/exhibition/2017/10/open-codes)
~~~
nimanima_meru
There supposed to be a spiral encoded in the first chapter of genesis. And the
spiral itself encodes the alphabet the encoding of the spiral is written in.
Very quine like ability. I am not familiar with any other alphabet achieving
this.
[http://meru.org/letteressays/letterindex.html](http://meru.org/letteressays/letterindex.html)
Here he breaks down the encoding. It's basically: the first verse of genesis +
the order of the alphabet = a structure.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJGW2UANWRE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJGW2UANWRE)
------
amenghra
[https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:15232](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:15232)
is a cube with 3 different projections, each a valid QR code pointing to
different wikipedia articles.
------
k_sze
I suck at math, but just out of curiosity: mathematically speaking, can such
"wire" structure be made in N dimensions? Let's say a wire struction in 4
dimensions that will project to different 3D objects.
~~~
jbhuang0604
This is interesting. Imagine that we have a series of multi-view wire
structure (i.e., adding a time dimension), then we probably can project three
different animations.
------
HocusLocus
In Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (1979, Douglas Hofstadter)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach)
... the author carved a simple object of wood that orthographically projected
the letters E,G,B to serve as cover art. Book recommended.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Apple changes open-source page copy - tjmehta
http://www.apple.com/opensource/
======
powera
I still see the (blatantly absurd) "As the first major computer company to
make Open Source development a key part of its ongoing software strategy" copy
on this page.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Patchmap: Memory Efficient Hash Tables and Pseudorandom Ordering - signa11
https://1ykos.github.io/patchmap/
======
nullc
I'm fond of using interpolated search on hashed data. I've never tried it on
data with dynamic insertions/deletions.
I would have anticipated the cost of maintaining the sort making it not a
winner. Interesting to see that it can actually work out in practice!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Do People Really Think Earth Might Be Flat? - digital55
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/do-people-really-think-earth-might-be-flat/
======
codingdave
The survey question asked was not whether people currently believe the earth
is flat. They asked, "Have you always believed it is round?" Those are not the
same question, and people could be answering based on childhood/pre-school
beliefs. Unless they dig deeper, it is hard to say why people gave a negative
answer.
~~~
_rpd
I agree, the question was just badly worded. I would answer "other" to "I have
always believed the world is round." Like everyone I began in ignorance and
only later was educated enough to "believe the world is round." The world
looks flat at first glance. It is a surprise that the world is a sphere. It's
a great lesson for all of us to review first impressions in light of other
evidence.
~~~
aeternus
Also, pedantically, the true shape is more accurately an oblate spheroid.
~~~
perl4ever
I would call an oblate spheroid "round".
~~~
Doxin
I'd also call a pancake round. Terminology is important.
------
0898
YouGov said that lots of millennials think the world is flat. But when
Scientific American asked for the poll data, it didn't make sense – and YouGov
didn't want to talk about it.
~~~
dstroot
Bravo. Full summary in two sentences!
------
simulate
The New Yorker had a good piece about people who attend the annual flat earth
convention: [https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/looking-for-
life-...](https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/looking-for-life-on-a-
flat-earth)
>> He described the modern flat-Earth community as a confluence of three
strains of thought. “There’s the conspiratorial,” he said. “It’s like, ‘That’s
kind of weird with the moon landing. Maybe I’ll look into it. What else could
they be lying about?’ ” The second is “the scientific-minded,” people who
“just want to go out and do the experiments.” The third, Davidson said, “is
the spiritual—people that want to say, ‘Wait a minute, what would happen if I
took the Bible literally?’ ” In style and substance, the flat-Earth movement
is a close cousin of creationism.
------
pella
"The earth is flat (p > 0.05): significance thresholds and the crisis of
unreplicable research"
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5502092/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5502092/)
~~~
cheez
Great link. In finance, people make trading decisions even when p is .15
~~~
contravariant
So if they roll a six they go for it?
~~~
cheez
The point is that nothing is certain, and you take educated risks with
appropriate management.
------
woodandsteel
Seems to me they should interview a bunch of the people who gave each answer
and ask they why they believe as they do. Without that we are just
speculating. In fact, we might find out that for many the answer they gave to
the survey didn't even mean what it seems to.
------
lylecubed
Here are a couple of images I was given by an Aerospace Engineer recently. I
don't know if he was trolling me or not, so I provide them without further
comment.
[https://imgur.com/a/GoEzEdl](https://imgur.com/a/GoEzEdl)
[https://imgur.com/a/zZS3nti](https://imgur.com/a/zZS3nti)
~~~
trendia
The first one:
If you zoom in close enough, the horizon looks flat. (Alternatively, the plane
is not high enough for the earth to look round with that focal length)
The second one:
All that matters is that Mercury isn't in the line between the Sun and the
Earth. Take a look here [0] to see that there are times when Mercury's orbit
would be visible from Earth.
Even then, I'm not sure why the Earth being flat would have anything to do
with Mercury's visibility, since it would still be visible even if the Earth
were flat.
[0]
[http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMAT6680Fa09/Yoon/EMAT%206690/Fir...](http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMAT6680Fa09/Yoon/EMAT%206690/First%20Task/3rd%20page%20-%20find%20orbit%20mercury/plotorbitmercury.html)
~~~
travisr
> Even then, I'm not sure why the Earth being flat would have anything to do
> with Mercury's visibility, since it would still be visible even if the Earth
> were flat.
They're trying to imply that a spherical Earth would prevent a visible Mercury
at night. It's still nonsense.
------
thrill
At least The Man Will Never Fly Society knows the Earth is round - otherwise
the Greyhound buses would fall off the edge.
~~~
contravariant
That's not true at all, the Earth could be toroidal, which allows for a flat
embedding.
~~~
credit_guy
Maybe it’s worth mentioning that this flat embedding is a consequence of the
Nash embedding theorem. The same Nash as in the Nash equilibrium, or in A
Beautiful Mind.
[1]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_embedding_theorem](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_embedding_theorem)
------
DmenshunlAnlsis
My guess is definitely _Why, then, are younger people more likely to be
uncertain or ambivalent? Perhaps they are more likely to offer frivolous or
ironic responses, as Earther’s Brian Kahn suggests..._
I think the concept of honestly answering pollsters was in decline before the
Millenials came around. The idea that a statistically singifcant fraction
reacted along the lines of, “why are you asking me such a stupid question,
yeah sure, I have doubts, hehehehe...” seems plausible.
~~~
alexgmcm
Yeah - I remember in the 90s loads of people put their religion as Jedi in the
UK census.
People just like to take the piss.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Google updates indexing to execute JavaScript - edsykes
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2014/05/understanding-web-pages-better.html?utm_source=javascriptweekly&utm_medium=email
======
gavinpc
This was posted earlier this week:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7805144](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7805144)
What I'm wondering is, if you have a server than supports "both" methods
(dynamic page and "fallback"), how do you know which one to serve? And should
they be at different addresses? If they weren't, wouldn't this break caching?
If they were, how can you redirect from a "noscript" tag if you have um, no
script? Etc etc.
~~~
tjgq
Google has a system [0] whereby their crawler appends a special parameter to
the query string to signal that you should serve a static, "indexable"
version.
What I get from this announcement is that their crawler is becoming good
enough at executing dynamic pages that having to serve a separate static
version may soon become unnecessary.
[0] [https://developers.google.com/webmasters/ajax-
crawling/docs/...](https://developers.google.com/webmasters/ajax-
crawling/docs/specification)
~~~
evv
Personally, I hate and avoid the practice of building twice, once for SEO and
once for usability.
I am always careful to build dynamic apps which render the HTML correctly on
the server. Its handy not just for SEO. It also allows you to support legacy
browsers and it dramatically decreases load times.
But if google is the only search engine you care about, and load times and
legacy browsers don't matter to you, by all means, continue building one-page
JS apps. There are often less headaches to be had when you go the simple
route.
~~~
edsykes
do you mean that you serve the dynamic html from the server so that it appears
static to clients, or that you render what happens on the client on the server
if the googlebot is crawling?
~~~
evv
I've been using react on node.js to pre-render the entire site as it would
appear with the dynamic client-side app.
Each app uses little wrapper libaries to agnostically behave the same way on
client/server. Both the client and server environment have access to routing
functions and cookies, using redirects and headers on the server and pushstate
on the client.
These apps are much more cross-platform and quick because the app is visible
as soon as the css loads. The app will mostly work before the client js
launches, because all links are generated by the router and injected into the
anchor href by react.
The idea is to have a genuine, working html & css site with a dynamic layer
when the browser supports it.
Maybe I should start a blog on some of these topics..
------
habosa
Previous discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7790227](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7790227)
~~~
edsykes
ah nice one, no mention of google in the title so I missed this.
------
arasmussen
This seems a few years late... given that a ton of content is generated with
JS nowadays and it has been this way for years
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Life and death on a superyacht - camtarn
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/26/superyachts-something-goes-wrong-raise-the-anchor
======
blackrock
To be honest, when I see all these excesses of the super rich, I just want to
puke.
I am dumbfounded how the normal people can just celebrate it, and dream that
they too can one day become one of these billionaires.
And yes, while it is true, that some people can truly rise from rags to
riches, or create a computer program that can take over the world. For the
majority of us, the odds are not in our favor. You can work hard, or work
smart all your life, but you will never become rich.
It takes money to make money. There is no truer maxim than that.
These people live the life of luxury and pleasure, while the rest of us can
barely make ends meet. And I'm not talking about the programmers, but rather,
the other people that aren't blessed to have well paying jobs.
Sometimes, I think that there should be a legal limit on the amount of wealth
that someone can accrue.
But even this doesn't solve the problems that our society is facing. It
doesn't solve the homelessness. It doesn't solve the expensive housing crisis.
Or the student loan crisis.
Meanwhile, for the rich, life is great. Technology is abundant. Money just
makes more money. Opportunities are plenty, if you have the right connections.
Anyways.. back to the grindstone. When I become a billionaire, I'm going to
buy myself a super yacht too.
~~~
retrac98
It doesn’t need to be this way!
Billionaire level wealth aside, amassing a few million over the course of a
lifetime isn’t as difficult as people think, it just requires discipline.
Live well within your means and invest your saved money in assets
consistently, compounding and time will do the rest.
Most rich people get there slowly, and don’t appear to live a rich person’s
lifestyle. Conversely, a lot of people who appear rich have little accumulated
wealth.
If you’d like to know more, Have a read of “The millionaire next door” and “I
will teach you to be rich”. They changed my outlook on what being wealthy
meant, and I’m now putting thousands onto my net worth every month in a
automated way.
~~~
foepys
> and I’m now putting thousands onto my net worth every month
Lucky you. A lot of people I know don't even make thousands per month. They
make less than $2,000 after taxes. With this, accumulating millions isn't
possible, not even slowly. And even these people are way better off than
other's who barely make $1,000 or even less.
~~~
closeparen
Suppose you make $24k. Investing $2400/yr from age 22 and earning 5% returns,
you investments pay $540/mo in today's dollars by age 65 [0]. Add in $1,110 in
tdoay's dollars from Social Security [1] and you're at 85% income replacement.
Of course there are big problems with saving 10% of so little, and your
retirement account could be even more at risk in a financial emergency, but in
principle retirement works up and down the income ladder.
[0]
[https://retirementplans.vanguard.com/VGApp/pe/pubeducation/c...](https://retirementplans.vanguard.com/VGApp/pe/pubeducation/calculators/RetirementIncomeCalc.jsf)
[1] [https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/](https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/)
~~~
lkrubner
" _and earning 5% returns_ "
This is basically impossible for reasons explained here:
[https://voxeu.org/article/suprasecular-
stagnation](https://voxeu.org/article/suprasecular-stagnation)
I'm old enough to recall the boom of the 1990s. Me and my professional friends
were constantly invited to come to seminars about investing. All the mutual
funds were trying to convince us to invest in the stock market. At that time,
the stock market was booming, so it was easy to believe that investing in the
stock market was a legitimate way to become wealthy.
All of the pitches recited the same set of numbers: we could invest in low
risk mutual funds and get 12% returns, or we could invest in high risk mutual
funds and get 16% returns. It was explained that when we were young we should
prefer high risk strategies, and as we got older we should prefer lower risk
strategies.
Then the crash of 2001 happened. Nasdaq took 10 years to come back to life.
The stock market was flat for many, many years.
Around 2003 we started getting invitations to seminars that taught us how
important it was to invest in real estate. We were told that the value of
homes had never gone down, in all of USA history. It was the safest
investment, and had significant returns.
Then the crash of 2008 happened. My friends who had bought homes were
underwater. Even as recently as 2015, I still had friends who owed more on
their homes than the homes were worth.
These notions that it is easy to get stable long term returns has not been
born out by my experience, or the experience of any of my professional peers.
Our actual experience was very well described by the Bible:
" _I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor
the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men
of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance
happeneth to them all._ "
[http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/9-11.htm](http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/9-11.htm)
~~~
closeparen
And yet the annualized rate of return of a total stock market index from 1990
to 2017 is 9.82%. There are absolutely booms and busts. It’s absolutely not
stable when you look inside the cycles. But there are, reliably, cycles.
Period and amplitude vary. But on a long enough time horizon, it works out.
It’s also expected to decree as your risk exposure as you get closer to
retirement to mitigate the risk of retiring at an unlucky time.
~~~
lkrubner
And yet, starting tomorrow, we might be at the start of another down cycle
like the one that ran from 1966 to 1982. That was 16 years. For any actual
living individual, it would be life changing, in a bad way. Even for young
people. From 1966 to 1982 the nominal stock market index declined slightly, at
a time when inflation was in the double digits, so the real rate of return was
horrible.
~~~
closeparen
Yes - no one is proposing that one can retire in 16 years. The S&P 500 over a
40-year working career from 1966 to 2006 returned 5.57% after inflation [0].
[0]
[http://www.moneychimp.com/features/market_cagr.htm](http://www.moneychimp.com/features/market_cagr.htm)
------
eric_h
I was once invited by (and paid for by) a billionaire investor in the company
I worked for to a resort in the Bahamas patroned exclusively by the rich and
famous. The extent of the service offered by the (mostly black, Bahamian
staff) — appearing, disappearing and offering way more attentive assistance
than any reasonable person needs made me downright uncomfortable. It was
lovely to be in paradise, but being waited on hand and foot just seemed
wretchedly excessive.
[edit: spelling]
~~~
ggg9990
I think Americans particularly dislike this obsequious type of service. People
from other countries love it. Steve Jobs famously had very little household
help and their family did their own household chores for a very simple reason
that he couldn’t buy his way out of — he didn’t like strangers in his fucking
house all the time. The best writing on this is of course David Foster Wallace
for Harper’s.
~~~
Lewton
As a European currently in the states
What the f are you talking about
We’re completely creeped out by the toilet assistants that no one bats an eye
at.... And you’re the country where some states won’t let you pump your own
gas
Steve jobs and David foster Wallace is seen as outsiders, to claim they
represent the attitude of Americans is absurd
~~~
ggg9990
I wasn’t really talking about Europeans as the people who love it. More like
China, India, Latin America.
------
drcross
There are 3,287 road deaths each and every day. I think this article is
reaching when they have to go back as far as 2010 for an example.
~~~
throwaway010718
After reading, it does seem like a megayacht is an overall safe place to work.
In contrast as a teenager I worked the register at a convenience store in NYC
for less than minimum wage selling cigarettes and lottery tickets to the
poorest people in the city. At the time "convenience store clerk" was the most
deadly job in the US and I really thought I wouldn't live to be an adult.
There was also an 11 year old boy who was employed at that store for 25% of
minimum wage (not a typo). The boy worked from 5AM to 7PM on Saturdays and was
kept in the basement where he used a razor blade to prep magazines and
newspapers that didn't sell.
If you had given any of us a chance to work on a yacht, cross the Atlantic,
and leave with a few $Ks in savings, we would have taken it even if the
survival rate was 50%. And especially if people would still be writing about
our deaths years later. Even now, I doubt the death of a convenience store
clerk would make the local news.
~~~
Spooky23
Not to minimize your experience, but we have no idea what the actual safety
statistics are, because they don’t exist.
When your employer is a holding company in Cayman Islands, operating a ship
flying a flag of convenience from some random country, located in yet another
random country, expectations are limited... who would an accident be reported
to?
~~~
stickfigure
I agree that actual safety statistics probably do not exist.
But why would you assume they are especially unfavorable? People crew all
kinds of boats, big and small. Many do it for fun, on their own boats, in
places where law enforcement is barely present.
"People sometimes get hurt on boats", sure. This fact doesn't stir much
outrage.
------
jonathankoren
I've been watching this thread all day, not one person has mentioned that the
entire article has an undercurrent of the unaccountability of the super rich.
The article specifically mentions how the yachts move from port to port, have
their ownership hidden, and constantly change flags, to avoid taxes and to
avoid giving the legal protections their workers would have if they were
employed on land. Where even the death of a crew member is shrugged off.
This is article is about callousness.
------
gaius
_gone to local bars to celebrate sailing across the Atlantic. Faith had been
locked up for the night, and Michael climbed to its top in an attempt to get
inside via an unofficial emergency entrance. An inquest found he fell from the
top deck, hit his head on the quay and drowned_
It’s a stretch to blame that on the owner of the boat. He could have been
drunk and climbed scaffolding to get back into his apartment.
~~~
lmm
If someone climbed scaffolding to get back into their tied cottage because the
owner had locked it up while they were out, we would blame the owner.
~~~
al_chemist
He was drunk. Top deck is around 15 meters climb. Previous name of this boat
was Vertigo.
------
SergeAx
Former yacht pro here, been employed as a first mate by Russian minigarch (I
am Russian too). Working on a yacht is indeed dangerous and all safety
precautions must be taken. All cases described in an article are examples of
deadly negligence: one should wear life west when operating tender boat after
sunset, one should use additional harness line while hanging on significant
height, and one definitely should not try to jump on a boat from pier after
drunk night (did it once on my vacation, was centimeters from poor chap's
fate, lesson learned).
I don't see, however, how's boat owners are responsible for this except hiring
slightly wrong people to manage and command their expensive property.
------
awat
It feels like this piece was written under the directive of write about super
yachts and they sort of just made it fit.
------
jedberg
I guess I'm not cut out to be a yacht owner, because I assume I would treat my
crew the same way I treat my employees now -- demand that they try to stick to
a 40 hour work week, feed them, and make sure they are well rested and being
safe.
I guess I would have to ask that magic yacht designer to design one that had
double the normal crew quarters so that they didn't have to work doubles.
~~~
al_chemist
Crew on your superyacht is not your employees, it's a service. It's more like
a hairdresser or barista. Do you ask your barista if they had enough sleep? Do
you ask your hotel room cleaner if they ate well? Do you have another bedroom
for your dogwalker?
Your employees and you are the team. You hunt together, you win together, you
celebrate together. You may know the name of a waiter, but you don't have the
same relationship with them, right?
~~~
jedberg
Given that these people would live in my "house", I would hire people that
would be interesting to have around when they're not doing their job, so I
would assume I would get to know them better than those other folks.
I equate more to the nanny we have now -- she's only here about 15 hours a
week, but we chat all the time, I know all about her family, and I've seen her
engagement video.
~~~
al_chemist
Given that this is your fifth "house" where you spend about a month per year
(maybe a week at a time), you wouldn't even be a person who hires them. And
when you do spend time on your superyacht with your guests Bill Gates and
Steve Jobs you wouldn't even be interested if your masseur is an interesting
person. Because you can either hear about creation of Mac from the creator of
Mac directly OR see your masseur engagement video. It's your vacation time and
it's your decision what would give you more out of your life.
------
golergka
> None of the owners attended the three British men’s funerals.
Are they trying to spin it as something negative? Why the hell would you
intrude into a private and family matter of a person you most likely have
talked to only a couple of times in your entire life.
------
matte_black
Wonder if there might be any positions for software developers open on some of
these super yachts.
~~~
HarryHirsch
Doesn't Peter Thiel promote "seasteading"? It's like Galt's Gulch, but with
Norovirus.
~~~
rhaps0dy
Huh, what does norovirus have to do with this?
~~~
ssmmww
It’s presumably a reference to the fact that norovirus outbreaks are common on
cruise ships.
------
walru
Doesn't this hold true for anywhere outside a major city? If it's going to
take you hours to get to a hospital or a market, or for anyone to come to you,
theoretically you're in the same predicament.
~~~
robotkdick
Part of the issue is the lack of legal structure for ships at sea. Once you're
on the boat and outside the legal boundary of a country, the captain is
essentially a dictator with little legal recourse for complaints.
~~~
barbegal
Except in all the cases highlighted here, the boat was moored up in a port
where the local jurisdiction would apply.
~~~
jonhendry18
Risky maintenance activities don't stop when you're at sea.
------
mn245
Merchant navy deck officer from deep sea tankers and containers. 2nd off
we have had the International safety mangment code for decades.
They havent, these yachts need to be seen crewed and vetted the same level as
commercial shipping.
The real problem, unlike commercial shipping yachts dont really have a reason
to exist and attract a certain type of person.
Most of the accidents described would have been prevented if commercial code
was in place and adhered to.
Maritime labour convention for rest hours??
Not to put to blunt a point on it, the owners pay alot not to care. Theres not
a bottom line.
------
zappo2938
Worse than the slips and falls is the unregulated use of chemicals with the
crew not protected by OSHA.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Interesting facts about Arctic Ice (Querying a csv file with LokijS) - joeminichino
https://medium.com/@tech_fort/interesting-facts-about-arctic-ice-or-how-to-query-a-csv-file-with-javascript-and-lokijs-985d6e0128d9
======
joeminichino
disclaimer: self-submission (author of LokiJS).
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Windows Phone is currently five times more profitable for us than the iPhone - kenjackson
http://blog.anlock.com/?p=28
======
rbanffy
I am quite sure that, for every company that claims WP7 is more profitable
than iOS, there will be more than five companies saying otherwise.
As was pointed out to me a couple weeks back, the plural of anecdote is not
data. And this one isn't even a plural.
~~~
illumen
They had had microsoft people helping them, including helping to code. Who
knows what sort of other help they got from MS? An average developer may not
get that help, which might make the difference between doing well or not.
~~~
bjg
The article states that the people merely worked at MS. It's a big company, we
the reader have no idea which product group they work in or if it's even
related to WP7. I feel like the content of your comment is misleading.
------
cageface
_there is fierce competition and a LOT of noise in the App Store, making it
extremely difficult to stand out_
With 500k+ apps in the store, what are the chances that a user is even going
to _see_ your app at this point? Without a ton of marketing muscle or the good
graces of the kingmakers at Apple just hanging your shingle out in the App
store doesn't get you anywhere.
~~~
z92
I think a better comparison number is [grand total of all apps sold per day] /
[total number of apps in store].
When the customer base is 20 times larger, even 10 fold competitors still
keeps the market twice as attractive.
~~~
danmaz74
That would be true if sales went down linearly when you get farther from the
top spot. But the reality is much closer to a "top X take (almost) all".
------
toyg
I remember seeing similar posts... Oh yes, Angry Birds at one point was more
profitable on Nokia N900 than on iPhone.
Make of this what you will.
------
robryan
This makes sense as while the WP7 market is a lot smaller, a far greater
percentage of people looking for Educational games are being exposed to it.
Now I guess it all depends on how much competition there is on WP7, also being
at the top stop gets you more sales which helps to keep you there. If you
don't get some initial good sales to put you there results could be vastly
different.
A better comparison would be an app that hasn't got any help from top lists on
either platform.
------
shimfish
A lot of nonsense here. They claim to have been "featured by Apple". This was
most probably just in the "What's Hot" section buried under 5 levels of clicks
on the iTunes desktop app. The rankings they claim are actually pitifully
small. Selling 5 times as much wouldn't be such a big deal.
The apps themselves appear to be yet another bunch of spelling apps for young
children. This has been done to death in the app store. Unless the app is
spectacular, it's no shock that it didn't do so well.
I have an app that apparently is doing far better than this in the young kids
iPhone space. I didn't spend any money advertising it. However, it is
something that hasn't been done 1000 times already by everyone else looking to
cash in.
------
n9com
Without any sales numbers, this post is meaningless. You could have at least
given an indication.
------
Rajiv_N
I would like to know what the development time difference is between these
platforms. Also, what is the WP7 SDK like?
For a single developer this could be a good time to write WP7 apps. But iOS is
so attractive because of its SDK and the wealth of third party libraries
available for developers to leverage.
~~~
bad_user
For a single developer this could be a good
time to write WP7 apps
Personally, I doubt that.
In my circles I have a lot of non-technical and technical people. I don't live
in Silicon Valley, or in the US, so the echo chamber that a lot of people from
this community does not apply to me.
I see a lot of iPhones and Android phones. Galaxy S and S2 were huge hits.
Low-end Android phones were hits too, like LG Optimus One - great value for
the price. I see my friends and acquaintances with these phones, like a friend
of mine who's a taxi driver has a Galaxy S in his pocket. But I know NONE with
a WinMo 7 phone. Its market share is completely abysmal.
Now, this company may have had the _first mover_ advantage. Cool for them -
however, personally I want a smaller piece of a bigger pie. The reason for
that being that this pie is growing, exponentially even. Competition may be
fierce and you won't get rich over night, however the 700 million users that
Facebook has will be nothing compared to the number of people carrying
Androids in their pockets, 3 years from now. A lot of people have ridden the
first wave, especially when it comes to Apple's App Store. However a bigger
wave is coming and I don't want to invest the limited resources I have in
Microsoft's me-too-me-too platform.
Another problem is one of trust - WinMo 7 is the successor of WinMo 6, but
it's a completely different platform. This is understandable, as WinMo 6
simply sucked and in my view it was the same story as with IExplorer 6 - they
got something working, then they reinvested resources in the latest fad du-
jour, leaving customers and developers disappointed, WinMo 7 being their
latest attempt at preventing irrelevancy. I have no trust left for Microsoft
to do the right thing in regards to its developers or customers, fucking with
their learned knowledge all over again, or leaving them in the dust. I mean -
they are discontinuing Silverlight for Christ's sake.
~~~
cwbrandsma
On WinMo 6, I think you are skipping over the history with that one. When it
was released (WinMo 2,3,4,5,6,6.5) the hardware was too expensive for the
consumer market, so it was sold to commercial consumers. They biggest concern
for them was business apps, photos, gps, and --wait for it-- barcode scanners.
The types that could be used from 30 ft away.
For that industry, WinMob was much better than the competition (this is before
the IPhone/Android was released). There were lots of models, multiple
configurations, and some of them even made phone calls.
Since then, smart phones hit the consumer market, the app needs have change
(consumers don't need lazer enabled barcode scanners and multiple gps hardware
configurations). But, WinMob 7 doesn't replace WinMob 6, because of the
complete lack of external hardware drivers. IPhone really doesn't fill that
gap either. Just Android.
And, Silverlight (and Flash) are being discontinued as Web platform(s). It
still exists for development on other systems. But it could be argued it is
just WPF at that point.
------
epo
They are claiming 5 times more sales, so are they saying that Microsoft take
the same cut as Apple? Also the app was language learning app for (presumably)
the very young, how likely is that these youngsters would have (extended
access to) an iPhone? I can easily imagine giving the kids a Windows phone as
a play thing because you didn't care if it got damaged or not.
So isn't piece this just saying putting your product in the right marketplace
results in more sales than putting it into the wrong marketplace?
------
10dpd
So they make $5 per day on Windows Phone as opposed to $1 per day on iOS? This
stat is meaningless without figures...
~~~
kenjackson
They don't give figures, but they do give this info in a previous posting
about their iPhone version:
_"Rankings
We have reached the following top charts and have also been listed in 36 more
countries around the world:
US: Top 100
UK: Top 50
Australia: Top 50
Germany: Top 25
Austria: Top 25
Switzerland: Top 25
France: Top 25
Italy: Top 10
Spain: Nr. 1
Mexico: Top 10
Greece: Nr. 1
Canada: Top 50
Argentina: Top 10
Colombia: Top 10
Chile: Top 10
User Ratings
Our paid versions have received 90+ reviews across all countries with an
average of 4.5+_"
No raw sales numbers, but it seems fair to guess they've made more than $1 on
the iPhone version.
I'm actually surprised there aren't more people targeting the education
market. On my iPad I tried to find good educational apps and I'm having a
really hard time. It's probably one of the few app categories where I'd pay
decent money for a good toddler+ app, and have only found a few worth a dime.
~~~
shimfish
Ha. That basically means they are selling nothing. You can get into the top
100 iPhone Games/Educational section with about 20 downloads in a day. But
these are their peak figures. Their boast about being in the top 400 for 2/3
of the time is laughable. That basically means they sold 1 per day. As for the
other countries, that's even less meaningful. You can shoot to the top of that
category with 5 downloads.
Basically, this was one unprofitable app on the iPhone. Making 5 times more on
WP isn't so impressive.
~~~
kenjackson
Actually what you're saying is even worse. You're basically saying that almost
no one makes money on the iPhone. Unless you're Rovio or PopCap -- you're
selling nothing.
And given the fact that I already know a few independent WP7 devs who can make
a living purely from WP7 apps makes me wonder if the iPhone app store really
is the iPhone lottery for developers. This can end up actually turning into a
really bad story for iPhone developers.
~~~
shimfish
No. I'm saying the Games/Educational category is very small and takes very few
sales to be in the top 100 and almost nothing to be in the top 400.
What I'm _really_ saying (in my other comment) is that this was a wholly
unremarkable app with very little to differentiate it from all the other apps
out there. This article is just cynical linkbait to try to squeeze out some
extra sales.
You can get away with selling unremarkable software in a new market. As soon
as news of a gold rush for WP7 emerges then it will be just as tough as the
iPhone market in no time.
------
bluekeybox
Hint: if you develop primarily in Objective C and find the iPhone app market
too crowded, make an iPad app.
------
asto
First mover advantage.
------
nonane
Anyone one on HN developing on Windows Phone and seeing similar results?
~~~
kpao
We're porting our game (Infinite Flight) from Windows Phone to the iPhone and
we're expecting much better returns on iOS.
We will have more data when it comes out in a couple of months.
~~~
nonane
Would love to hear more about it.
Also porting is interesting - we're in a position where we have a bunch of
highly optimized, debugged C/C++ 'backend' code. Since native code isn't
supported on Windows 7 Phone, we'll have to port our app by rewriting it all
in C#. Unfortunately, it's not practical option for us at the moment.
~~~
eropple
That does tend to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks for WP7. I'm
surprised they haven't figured out a way to deal with that.
I'm going the other way - my own code is all in C# (Mac and Linux with Mono,
and MonoTouch and MonoDroid for the mobile platforms) so deployment to any of
the above platforms becomes relatively easy. (I'm writing games, so I can
hoist a lot more of the otherwise platform-specific logic into OpenGL,
OpenGL|ES, and XNA, respectively--still requires building different GUIs based
on desktop vs. phone but is a lot nicer than Windows vs. Mac vs. Linux vs. iOS
vs. Android.)
------
Freestyler_3
It's good to be a early bird, because if it becomes successful you can say it
was a good choice, and if it fails you at least tried.
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