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Effeckt.css - apunic
http://h5bp.github.io/Effeckt.css/dist/
======
paulirish
A little bit of background on Effeckt: The idea is we need reusable
transitions and animations [0], all classy but most importantly they must
perform well on mobile. The project is still very much a WIP, and as some
comments below indicate, there are still janky interactions that are
unacceptable. We're looking at integrating something like Topcoat's Benchmark
server [1] to have CI setup for CSS performance regression testing. Identify
and improve (or cull) any effects that are inappropriately slow.
The project started over on lazyweb-requests [2] and Chris Coyier has led
development of the project from early on. It's a very open and community-
driven project, so there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to get
involved and move things. Lastly, the readme [3] helps explain a lot of the
goals and ideas of the project.
[0] [http://youtu.be/Qc40YDFA4Bg](http://youtu.be/Qc40YDFA4Bg)
[1] [http://bench.topcoat.io/](http://bench.topcoat.io/)
[2] [https://github.com/h5bp/lazyweb-
requests/issues/122](https://github.com/h5bp/lazyweb-requests/issues/122)
[3]
[https://github.com/h5bp/Effeckt.css#readme](https://github.com/h5bp/Effeckt.css#readme)
------
dclowd9901
Since none of the comments here are outright positive, let me be the first to
say 'holy shit, dat Make Way! modal transition!'
I love open source.
~~~
sker
That was the one that got my attention too.
How long until people start using similar effects to turn their single-page
web app into a multi-page web app? Similar to Linux 3D desktop, compiz and the
like.
~~~
tvararu
I've found jmpress[1] to be indispensable in this regard. Such designs have
been perfectly plausible for a while, mobile friendly and everything.
[1]
[http://jmpressjs.github.io/jmpress.js/](http://jmpressjs.github.io/jmpress.js/)
~~~
sker
That's much better implemented than I expected. Thanks for the link, I'll see
if I can find a use for it.
------
ChikkaChiChi
I understand that this sort of thing isn't for everyone, but the level of
trolling negativity in this thread is on par with Slashdot.
If you are somehow disappointed that clicking on a link to something that
defines itself as CSS Effects (it's there in the name) and you ended up on a
page with CSS animations...you are a clod.
------
tnash
Is the modal text really blurry for anyone else, or am I going insane?
~~~
adamzegelin
Blurry for me to. Safari 6.0.5, Mac.
It's the combination of -webkit-transform and -webkit-backface-visibility that
causes the blurriness. Wild guess: those attributes turn on 3D acceleration,
and rendering is incorrectly offset by .5 pixels.
~~~
andrewgleave
Setting -webkit-perspective can also trigger aliasing on transformed elements.
24 ways has a good intro to 3D transforms:
[http://24ways.org/2010/intro-to-
css-3d-transforms/](http://24ways.org/2010/intro-to-css-3d-transforms/)
------
gtaylor
Looks neat, but some of these animations run pretty slow on my i7 running
Chromium on Linux. I've got an Radeon 5870 with proprietary drivers, and I
understand that Chromium's acceleration situation is weird, but I guess I was
discouraged to see it struggle.
------
egonschiele
The placeholder images you use for captions are getting scaled up so they look
very blurry for me. Might be better to get bigger images and have them scale
down? placehold.it also allows you to specify your own text there by passing
in the `text` parameter.
This library looks great!
------
dhotson
Very cool!
I've been playing around with an animation concept for submitting a note:
[http://dhotson.github.io/envelope/](http://dhotson.github.io/envelope/) .. is
it too much? :-)
~~~
weavie
I'm not seeing any animation?
~~~
Cederfjard
Try WebKit.
~~~
jarek
"I'm not seeing any animation?" "Try IE6," only a decade later.
------
jarek
And here I just want stuff to happen fast
~~~
mxxx
hahaha
------
Kiro
It says it's performant but for me it's laggy compared to
[http://tympanus.net/Development/ModalWindowEffects/](http://tympanus.net/Development/ModalWindowEffects/)
Why is that?
~~~
stayclassytally
Isn't it the exact same thing? I thought the idea was the this library was a
collection of other ideas.
------
RodericDay
"Ever notice how small flourishes and subtle transitions dramatically
increases the value of the experience you enjoy with an app or site?"
:(
------
kbrackbill
Everything is smooth and looks great in Chromium, but the whole page is
sluggish in Firefox (on linux at least, and usually firefox on windows is
worse).
This has been generally true in my experience playing with CSS animations. Are
there any tricks to optimize stuff like this in Firefox, or is it just an area
where Chromium is still way far ahead in performance?
~~~
agildehaus
Feels snappy to me on Firefox/Win32. Tremendously sluggish on Chrome on my
Nexus4 though.
~~~
Xephyrous
Also feels snappy to me on Firefox/Xubuntu
~~~
kbrackbill
Hmm, maybe it's just a problem with my setup then.
------
bsaul
I love the blur behind modal. On my Chrome the blur effect starts after the
modal is displayed. I suggest that you make it progressive, inside the same
animation as the background turning to gray (not sure it's possible though).
~~~
jalada
Doesn't work at all in Firefox :(
~~~
spyder
And for me it crashing the tab in chrome.
~~~
kaushikt
It actually works pretty cool for me on Chrome.
------
mrinterweb
Performance was not quite on par with other CSS3 animations I have seen on my
Nexus 4. I think part of the perceived performance issue may have been the
artificial 300ms delay android adds after press/click.
------
kaushikt
The scroll effects reminds me of Stroll.js [http://lab.hakim.se/scroll-
effects/](http://lab.hakim.se/scroll-effects/)
Amazing work you guys. Fork - Contribute
~~~
jcomis
They attribute it to that page exactly right at the top of the section.
~~~
kaushikt
Yeah, i didnt notice that. Thanks.
------
ArekDymalski
This is amazing. As a form of thank you let me share a glitch which I noticed
on latest Chrome in Windows 8
[http://i.imgur.com/bRHRBK6.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/bRHRBK6.jpg) As you can
see there are no scrollbars for the lists and weird artifact is visible on the
middle list. This doesn't happen on IE 10. Also,some of the effects start with
a noticeable delay (but work smoothly).
------
eterpstra
From the site:
"Ever notice how small flourishes and subtle transitions dramatically
increases the value of the experience you enjoy with an app or site?"
I agree that a very slight fade or slide can help reduce the jarring effect of
a contextual transition (such as the appearance of a modal, or a menu), but
what value is added by the not-so-subtle effects like the 3D transforms (that
incidentally cripple mobile devices and older browsers)?
~~~
jarek
There's no value. It's basically junk food. Once someone comes up with the
chemical/library, it's easy to include them in your product. It's noticeable,
users like it, it provides straightforward talking points for any press
("beautiful"), it's an easy sell.
But there's no substance. I don't know about others, but when I read a
physical book it's not for the page turn experience.
------
emehrkay
The modals barely work in chrome on this HTC one. However, everything works
beautifullyon an iPhone 4s. When will mobile chrome catch up?
~~~
at-fates-hands
Pretty much any CSS3 rendering on Chrome sucks. Both on their mobile as well
as desktop browser. I've really been let down on how bad embedded fonts look
and how poorly transitions, opacity and other CSS3 properties work.
I'm still perplexed on why they haven't figured this out when Firefox doesn't
seem to have the same issues.
------
drawkbox
I wonder if this is part of stroll.js or inspired by or vice versa:
[https://github.com/hakimel/stroll.js](https://github.com/hakimel/stroll.js)
demo page: [http://lab.hakim.se/scroll-effects/](http://lab.hakim.se/scroll-
effects/) hakim.se has lots of cool stuff like that.
~~~
dbaupp
Quite a few of them have "Source: Hakim El Hattab" linking to
[http://lab.hakim.se/effeckt/](http://lab.hakim.se/effeckt/) (which is dead, I
filed
[https://github.com/h5bp/Effeckt.css/issues/93](https://github.com/h5bp/Effeckt.css/issues/93)).
------
eob
Very cool!
Side comment: one problem with modern web apps is JavaScript bloat. And one
pressure on libraries is to keep growing. These two things seem to be at odds.
It would be nice if someone created some kind of { CSS, js, HTML } build
system that allows components to be built and packages separately.
~~~
skw
I'm not entirely sure what you mean? Things like bower and component already
fulfil these roles.
~~~
fantnn
I think he means being able to pick and choose exactly what part of libraries
one would need; with something like jquery most sites are only using a
fraction of jquery methods
------
tehwebguy
Navigation: Left Push is the best CSS "drawer" I've seen on iOS so far. It's
choppy coming in but perfect going back out on this page.
Do you think it has to do with the number of elements on the content page?
I'll make another demo to test it out later, just on my phone now.
------
tsenkov
Great job. What is the licensing on Effekt.css? (I couldn't find it in the
repo or the demo page)
~~~
paulirish
MIT or whatever. We haven't gotten there yet... we haven't really launched per
say. :)
~~~
notdan
I would love to use this now, but can't until there is a license. Would love
to see something added soon. MIT would be great.
------
lifeformed
The Scroll effects were a little too distracting for me, but the rest were
pretty cool!
------
GoldfishCRM
Hakim you the man. An other great swedish developer delivers.
------
PhilipA
It runs a bit slow on my iPhone 4S, especially the list effects. Are anyone
else experiencing lag on their mobile phones as well?
~~~
jessedhillon
Yes, it slows Safari to a crawl and eventually the browser crashes or is
killed.
~~~
PhilipA
I tried it in Chrome, and it doesn't kill it, but it is quite slow.
Amazing that a 800mz processor in old time could run complex 3d-games, but
changing DOM and CSS seems to be much harder calculations...
------
airencracken
Ugh. It's like people decided the solution to crappy flash, was to make stupid
flash stuff native in the browser.
~~~
ChikkaChiChi
Because you're supposed to use all the things on every page you ever build
using this, right?
I'm shocked you were able to see this in Lynx. Who needs the web gussied up
with photos and colors?
~~~
pbhjpbhj
Lynx does colour and images IIRC.
------
hardwaresofton
This is the most awesome thing I have seen today. Instantly shared with some
of my comrades in web arms.
Keep up the awesome work
------
arms
Very nice. I was looking for something similar to this a couple of days ago.
This will fit the bill nicely :)
------
fmax30
The Library seems awesome , but the off screen navigation bar feels a little
jerky when turned on.
------
spinachthrow
Is it just me or is this kinda blurry?
Pretty dope though, that from top=>tilt fall was pretty exciting
------
anuragramdasan
This is cool. Makes the prototype web page design easier for the back-end
developer.
------
kayoone
great stuff, sadly its almost unusable on mobile (tested with a quadcore HTC
One).
~~~
vikramhaer
Tested it on my HTC One as well, seems fairly responsive to me. Not native-
level smooth, but for what it is, worked better than expected.
------
cdhack
Looks great, smooth to use, attractive 3D view. Can't wait to try it out!
------
jv22222
animate.css has been around for quite some time and is also very impressive:
[http://daneden.me/animate/](http://daneden.me/animate/)
------
shaydoc
Really well done on this, the power of open source is unreal.....
------
be5invis
Tested on IEX Works well
(unlike zepto, which uses the evil __proto__)
------
RoryH
for ROFL's and LOL's open the page in IE8
~~~
acorkery
not sure what the opposite of graceful degradation is, but that's pretty
close! They're right not to support it though.
------
joelle
This is so dang cool! I love it :-)
------
it_learnses
sorry if this sounds stupid, but are all the effects done using only CSS?
~~~
eekfuh
They use some JS to add and remove classes, but they are all either CSS
transitions or CSS animations.
------
novaleaf
doesn't work with ie8 or below,
looks like it could with some tweaking though.
------
BaconJuice
no love for IE8? :( Saved anyways, Thanks for the great share!
~~~
DavidBradbury
No. No love for you.
------
ronaldsvilcins
Love it!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Upside Of Not Being A Billionaire - aaronbrethorst
http://chrisyeh.blogspot.com/2012/07/upside-of-not-being-billionaire.html
======
roopeshv
an article about false dichotomies.
------
checkmeout
its nice to know your relationships are real. Look at Hugh Hefner...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Wiby – A Search Engine for Classic Websites - ronsor
https://wiby.me/
======
dhfromkorea
This is really cool. I searched for "Korea" and the third result was a page of
Richard Stallman's website about his visit to Korea in 2000, from which I
discovered he wrote about an array of big companies and why not to use them---
pretty interesting. Last time I met him was in Finland. Such a consistent,
profound character.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Pastel - amazing css3 admin interface ($20 on themeforest) - mcobrien
http://std.li/pastel/home.html#home
======
mcobrien
Themeforest link: [http://themeforest.net/item/pastel-dashboard-admin-
template-...](http://themeforest.net/item/pastel-dashboard-admin-template-
iphone-web-app/1694914)
------
aggarwalachal
this is some really awesome work. Good job.
It is some interesting take on how an admin interface should look like. Were
you using this in any of your projects and decided to take it out as a theme?
How long have you been working on it?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Use “flying trains” as a way to create “direct flights” via midair hubs? - amichail
The idea is to have direct flights using "flying trains" formed by having several airliners departing from different cities connect nose to tail in midair to form a transient midair hub and allowing passengers to change planes to the one that will be landing at their desired city.<p>Is this feasible? Can it replace airline hubs and produce many more direct flights?
======
internaut
It's not flight, but a Chinese designer, Chen Jianjun, came up with this for
trains:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh5W_-
_WFvc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh5W_-_WFvc)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Saturday Afternoon Serials - DanielBMarkham
http://economychapter.wordpress.com/
======
DanielBMarkham
This is a bit of a weird submission, so I thought I should explain it.
I was looking for images for a presentation I'm giving next week and happened
across this blog.
As some of you may or may not know, there used to be movie serials -- episodic
adventures they added to the regular movie. So before you watched the main
movie, you'd see something like episode 8 of Brain Snatchers From Another
World (Although I think they were mostly westerns?)
Here are some pictures and notes from them. If I remember correctly, George
Lucas had these in mind when he first created Star Wars.
All of this is before my time, but it looks like great fun -- really campy
scripts, cheap sets, and lots of improv.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Companies Sell the Blood of Recovered Coronavirus Patients for Exorbitant Prices - koolba
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/world/coronavirus-news.html
======
downshun
Hyperlinks in news articles give an air of authority to the stories.
I started following down the links in the story only to find NYT articles.
Does the wiki game [0] also have a NYT analog?
[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wiki_Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wiki_Game)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
GraphIt: A High-Performance Domain-Specific Language for Graph Analytics - ArtWomb
http://graphit-lang.org/
======
The_rationalist
As a symbolic AI scientist I am really interested in making graph read/writes
faster for fighting the complexity curve.
The graal seems to be graph processors (ASICS) e.g this Darpa project that
promise a x1000 vs current x86. [https://www.tomshardware.com/news/darpa-
intel-qualcomm-graph...](https://www.tomshardware.com/news/darpa-intel-
qualcomm-graph-analytics,34665.html) But I never thought of using à DSL
(excluding openCL that I consider far less domain specific) and that is an
excellent Idea, the benchmarks are promising !
_But_ I Wonder How does this compare to those algorithms run on a modern GPU
(or even with HSA)
------
ArtWomb
Companion paper:
[https://people.csail.mit.edu/jshun/graphit.pdf](https://people.csail.mit.edu/jshun/graphit.pdf)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Supreme Court rules for Samsung in smartphone fight with Apple - wstrange
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-iphone-idUSKBN13V1XL
======
Hupriene
The actual opinion is quite short.
[https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-777_7lho.pdf](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-777_7lho.pdf)
It basically states that if a single component of a multi-component device
infringes a patent, then calculations of damages based on profit can (but
aren't required to) consider only the profit made on that component. While the
ruling is in Samsung's favor, it seems unlikely to make much of a difference
in the disposition of the case.
~~~
Oletros
It will make a difference in the damages
~~~
Hupriene
It _may_ make a difference in damages. From what I can see nothing in this
decision says that the lower court must change its damage calculations. This
only says that they have the option to.
------
wyldfire
> The justices in their 8-0 ruling sent the case back to the lower court for
> further proceedings.
Interesting part of Sotomayor's opinion [1]. "The parties ask us to go further
and resolve whether, for each of the design patents at issue here, the
relevant article of manufacture is the smartphone, or a particular smartphone
component. Doing so would require us to set out a test for identifying the
relevant article of manufacture ... We decline to lay out a test ..."
Sounds to me like the decision is based on the subtle specific scope of the
patent(s) and or legislation on what scope is allowed.
[1]
[https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-777_7lho.pdf](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-777_7lho.pdf)
------
drzaiusapelord
This is probably a good precedent. If my product has 15 lines of infringing
code out of 2 million, then you shouldn't be entitled to my entire profit
margin. There should be some basic test by the courts to determine what
percentage is liable. This means less of a payout and ideally lower incentives
for patent trolls to litigate and more of a "fair" compensation instead of a
winner-takes-all model that seems to be the default.
~~~
lightedman
"If my product has 15 lines of infringing code out of 2 million, then you
shouldn't be entitled to my entire profit margin."
If out of 2M lines of code you have 15 infringing lines, unless those lines
are to something very specific and not general like say a simple random number
generator anyone using that language would write the exact same way, you
shouldn't have to pay jack and it shouldn't be considered infringing in the
first place.
~~~
r00fus
LOC is a bad analogy as it's often easy to determine coupling.
It'd be more like saying my car had tail/headlights like a Mercedes - how much
of my sales/revenue is because it looks like a Merc?
~~~
drzaiusapelord
Trademarks and trade dress are completely separate issues from software
patents.
I can code something 100% unique with an apple logo and looks exactly like an
ipad. I violate no software patents.
------
wyldfire
This was flagged for being political or some other reason?
~~~
dang
Probably for being political. We did ask users to err on the side of flagging
for one week. Clearly it would normally be on topic.
------
vxNsr
Wow pretty crazy that's it's fully unanimous
~~~
umanwizard
Lots of SC decisions are unanimous. I think the majority in fact.
------
nrki
> The 5.7 terawatt-hours of electricity Google consumed
> [Microsoft] data centers currently use about 3.3 million megawatt-hours
Come on, editor.
~~~
vinay427
I think you meant to comment on this thread:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13114803](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13114803)
~~~
devy
S/he might be looking at the "ALSO IN TECHNOLOGY NEWS" section on that Reuter
article and commenting the editorial there :)
------
perseusprime11
At this point, Samsung should just pay up and focus on removing the "explode"
feature from their smart phones. They did copy the designs blatantly.
~~~
michaelmrose
The engineers are working on one the lawyers on another its not like the legal
team is going to roll up their sleeves and pull out some schematics.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Interactive: CDOs’ Interlocking Ownership (built with Raphael.js) - thejefflarson
http://www.propublica.org/special/interactive-cdos-interlocking-ownership
======
thejefflarson
There's a blog post on how we did it here:
[http://www.propublica.org/nerds/item/the-rainbow-
connection-...](http://www.propublica.org/nerds/item/the-rainbow-connection-
how-we-made-our-cdo-connections-graphic)
------
nnash
Google Chrome on OSX seems to get confused when you try to use the back button
after clicking on a couple of the options.
~~~
thejefflarson
Thanks, I'll see if I can fix that.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Meteor in the Wild: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Reactive Programming - belisarius222
https://joinjspot.com/blog/meteor-in-the-wild
======
ams6110
Might be a good idea to at least put
<noscript>This page requires JavaScript</noscript>
on your site. All I see an expanse of white.
~~~
aroman
The last few lines of the article shed some light on OP's opinion of browsing
with JavaScript disabled:
"you need to support browsers that don't have JavaScript enabled.
... ok, that last one was sufficiently low-probability that I'll stop there
before I start telling you not to use Meteor if your customers gave up their
computers in favor of the abacus."
~~~
Volpe
I don't quite understand the whole "I cripple my browser" thing. Like, if you
are going to disable javascript, why not CSS, and if you disable both of
those... by not disable the renderer and just read the html... or demand
people write plain text websites. Javascript seems rather arbitrary...
But I do wonder about the accessibility ramifications of only supporting
javascript. Do all browsers support javascript?
~~~
stavrianos
For a sufficiently lax definition of "browser", no.
see also:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_browsers#Java...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_browsers#JavaScript_support)
------
amadeus
How can Meteor be taken seriously with shit like this?
This site barely works... Simply hangs with spinning jewish logos...
~~~
gfodor
This could be anything, and be completely unrelated to meteor or related in a
way that has no bearing on the claims of the article. He did just launch,
after all.
~~~
amadeus
I've had a couple of my sites hit by Hacker News before, it's not that much
traffic.
But I am perhaps a bit biased, I already think Meteor is a joke of a product.
~~~
gfodor
Most big things start out as jokes. (I don't hold an opinion one way or the
other.) But you have to admit they are doing something semi-interesting.
~~~
amadeus
I prefer to be interested in things that are ACTUALLY interesting; think
Google's Spanner, SpaceX, etc, developed by neckbeards who know what they are
doing.
Not some silly NodeJS/MongoDB API.
~~~
gfodor
It's generally unkind to come in and trash other peoples' work, especially
when it's work that is something designed to help make others' jobs easier and
is being open sourced.
~~~
faceyspacey
Amadeus doesn't know what he's talkin about and hasn't analyzed Meteor. At
least add some anecdotes that show you have analyzed the product to give you
the right to be so harsh.
Meteor is fantastic and has changed the way we should develop web products
forever, and more importantly has opened up a whole new set of expectations
for what websites should be capable of. Websites are going to become living
breathing creatures as a result. Meteor will lead to a truly collaborative
realtime web--one where viewing any website is a group activity, rather than a
private one.
------
primigenus
I'm excited to try out your dating site given that it's built with Meteor and
I'm a fan, but having to sign up three of my female friends to see it first is
a buzz kill.
Perhaps you could consider a limited preview account for us HNers that doesn't
let us date anyone but does let us check out what you built and sort of
inspect things. That will help shine some positive light on Meteor with our
crowd, many of whom will likely be unwilling to share an experimental Jewish
dating site with their Facebook friends on a whim.
~~~
triplesec
yes, that's very "mid-period facebook" to force invitations on three friends
(indeed I'm not sure that Facebook allows that any more for apps because of
the annoyances). I'd also like to try it too, otherwise, since it's for both
Jewish and Allies, as it were.
------
stuffihavemade
What are the advantages to using Meteor over Rails/Django/Express, etc., for a
dating site? Sure, the client server model is compelling, but you're giving up
not only the Ruby/Python ecosystem, but the Node one as well. Did you consider
something like Derby.js, which uses npm and is built on express?
------
pqdbr
I liked the article a lot, got excited about giving Meteor a go for our next
project, but then I checked out your website and got bummed. It takes +10
seconds to load ... the "loading " message. And then it just sits there,
spinning the jewish logo.
------
mcot2
I would be a lot more interested in meteor if it took more of a library
approach and wasn't tied specifically to node.js and mongodb.
I understand they are moving towards this by having a protocol and different
adapters for other databases.
------
belisarius222
jspot dev here. fixed speed issue with help from Nick Martin from Meteor.
Turns out I was running a dev-mode proxy to auto-reload code, but Nick figured
out we could bypass it in the nginx config. Should be much faster now.
------
saint-loup
I'm sorry, but why would you put something like this in your CSS:
text-shadow: 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5);
It makes the text blurred and jarring.
~~~
stavrianos
Perhaps an attempt to force/fake font smoothing?
------
paulyg
"Coming soon on mobile. Check it out on your desktop or laptop." Really?
------
svachalek
I think Meteor is fantastic in most respects but the REST-unfriendliness of it
is a little puzzling in this day and age. It would be really nice to see it
play well with others.
~~~
debergalis
[meteor dev]
Thanks. We're getting close to implementing a principled approach to REST
endpoints and server-side routing. [https://trello.com/card/page-model-server-
side-rendering-res...](https://trello.com/card/page-model-server-side-
rendering-rest-endpoints/508721606e02bb9d570016ae/7)
------
ibudiallo
I guess your blog doesn't allow mobile, so I'm out. What's up with under
construction just le the mobile user view it.
~~~
triplesec
You could try setting your mobile browser (default, or say Dolphin) to report
itself as a desktop client. Workaround, and I usually have one of my mobile
browsers set up like this for suboptimal mobile sites.
~~~
ibudiallo
You are right, but most of the time, when a website is that complicated to
access, it is not worth it.
------
orangethirty
First time it did not load after waiting 32 seconds. Second time it did load,
but after waiting 7 seconds.
------
belisarius222
@saint-loup Good catch! That was old code, not noticeable in my usual browser.
It's gone now.
------
adambom
This doesn't work on my computer. Do I need to have Javascript installed? How
do I do that?
~~~
krapp
Use a modern browser.
------
jbm
Can't access as my phone gets redirected to an empty mobile page.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
What Was Once Hailed as First U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Is No More - protomyth
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-01/cape-wind-developer-terminates-project-opposed-by-kennedys-koch
======
DubiousPusher
Man, sometimes I feel like the Kennedys are America's most hypocritical
family.
Edit: BTW, I go by wind farms all the time on my way through beautiful Cle
Elum Washington and they do not spoil the view in the slightest.
They are not nearly as jarring as the ugly houses people are building in the
upper Madison County in Montana where my family lives.
~~~
vinay427
> Man, sometimes I feel like the Kennedys are America's most hypocritical
> family.
I don't know what this means. Are you referring to actions taken by other
Kennedy family members? If so, why should the actions of one's relatives fall
exactly in line with one's own legacy, lest their family be deemed
hypocritical? That seems like an awfully high bar that presupposes the family
is a single moral and ethical unit.
~~~
melling
How about when Ted Kennedy stopped Richard Nixon’s healthcare plan.
[https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/201...](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/06/22/stockman/bvg57mguQxOVpZMmB1Mg2N/amp.html)
~~~
icebraining
You mean, when Nixon introduced a much weaker healthcare bill right after
Kennedy had managed to broker a bipartisan bill proposing a real reform? I
don't see anything hypocritical about refusing to support a bill designed to
keep the current broken system running and squash actual reform.
At least, that's how it looks to me as a complete outsider.
~~~
melling
well, that’s not what the article says that I posted:
“Kennedy said later that walking away from that deal was one of the biggest
mistakes of his life.”
“Over time, Kennedy realized his own plan couldn’t succeed. Opposition from
the insurance companies was too great. So Kennedy dispatched his staffers to
meet secretly with Nixon’s people to broker a compromise. Kennedy came close
to backing Nixon’s plan, but turned away at the last minute, under pressure
from the unions. Then Watergate hit and took Nixon down.”
~~~
icebraining
I read that, and I don't think it contradicts my view.
Kennedy introduces a real reform bill; Nixon introduces a weak, "compromise"
bill so the opponents of real reform (like the insurance companies) can use to
oppose it while avoiding the wrath of the people who understand the status quo
is terrible, by looking like they also want changes. Kennedy, defeated, judges
whether accepting Nixon's bill - despite its intent - is still worth it, or
whether the unions are right that it imposes too great of a cost on employees
(25% of premiums). He makes a decision, then later he regrets it.
------
jpao79
Kind of reminds of this one:
[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fracking-
tillerson/ex...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fracking-
tillerson/exxon-mobil-ceo-welcomes-fracking-but-not-water-tower-in-his-
backyard-idUSBREA1P24O20140226)
Tillerson, former Republican heavyweight Dick Armey and other residents of a
ranch-filled suburb of Bartonville north of Dallas filed suit in 2012 seeking
to block construction of the 160-foot-tall (49-meter-tall) water tower,
arguing it would be an eyesore.
The suit, filed in Denton County District Court, also noted that the tower
could encourage the town of Bartonville to sell “water to oil and gas
explorers for fracking shale formations leading to traffic with heavy
trucks... creating a noise nuisance and traffic hazards.”
------
aacook
A bit of a bummer to hear, especially when Massachusetts is shutting down its
only nuclear power plan in 2019. The plant produces the vast majority of the
State's renewable energy and about 15% of its total power. It doesn't sound
like there are real replacements lined up.
~~~
frede
How does a nuclear plant produce renewable energy?
~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
I just assumed they mean _clean energy_.
~~~
joss82
I just assumed that they mean carbon-poor electricity.
------
nerdponx
This is some really flagrant and kind of reprehensible NIMBYism.
------
api_or_ipa
I just don't get all the arguments that say wind farms are ugly. I just don't.
~~~
corysama
Some friends and I visited an wind farm just as a place to fly a kite. The
area was rolling green hills, a few cows and these massive, clean, white
towers up into the sky. It honestly struct me as a scene from an idyllic
future sci-fi movie. It was like walking around in someone’s CG desktop
background.
~~~
api_or_ipa
In my hometown we built a wind turbine on the top of a mountain that overlooks
the city. On clear days you can see the turbine poking out on top of the
mountain and it looks absolutely gorgeous, like we're an advanced species
intelligently harvesting energy from the planet. It's breathtaking in a way
that's hard to describe.
------
adventured
That wind farm could have eventually provided enough power for a million
people. As much as the specific loss of renewable energy is detrimental in
this case, the loss of another powerful demonstration in the US of offshore
wind farm potential is probably just as great.
------
Frogolocalypse
America has the best leadership money can buy.
------
Thriptic
Are there areas off the coast of Massachusetts where this style of offshore
wind farm can be implemented that aren't proximal to the most popular and
picturesque vacation destinations in the area? I'm sure most people can get
behind the idea of offshore wind but this wasn't the best thought out location
for this project.
~~~
cannonedhamster
This has nothing to do with the landscape. I've driven by the pilot windmills.
You can barely see them. This is about filthy rich white hypocrites throwing a
tantrum over nothing. Most people in Massachusetts (or America for that
matter) would probably have a hard time affording to vacation anywhere near
these things.
~~~
ams6110
What does their being white have to do with it?
~~~
cannonedhamster
That's literally almost all you'll find on either of the islands, to the point
that it sticks out if there's a POC there. I'm a white upper middle class guy
myself, but let's call a spade a spade. They tried to build this in the rich
white guy's back yard and they didn't like it.
Edit: These are also the same people that claim to be progressives and for the
POC(I'm liberal) in politics but when it comes to actually doing something
that would have cleaner air, their first reaction is to NIMBY it. These are
exactly what these people are. It's a definition.
~~~
Tade0
As a relatively poor, white eastern European I feel somewhat offended that I'm
thrown in the same bin as these people solely because of something over which
I have no control - the tone of my skin.
------
justincormack
By comparison, the UK has over 11 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity...
~~~
ptaipale
According to [0] it was 15 gigawatts in 2016 Q3. Very nice wind at the British
isles.
That's nominal capacity, rate of generation appears to be 24 % of nominal;
what can effectively be utilized is then below that.
[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_the_United_Kingd...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_the_United_Kingdom)
~~~
raverbashing
Around 2.3GW now by wind
[http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/](http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/)
It is weather dependant but that number grows depending on the day
------
mc32
It died at the hands of The Kennedys and the Kochs. An unholy alliance of
progressives and conservatives sunk the project. Here we see that energy
policy trumps politics when it comes into conflict with people's personal
interests.
On the other hand, the industry learned so long as the turbines are out of
sight, they are out of the NYMBY's minds.
~~~
leggomylibro
It is disgusting that any individual has that sort of power.
Being in politics is supposed to mean being a public _servant._
Well okay, how much power do you think Senators give their servants? They
probably don't think of their housekeepers/sitters/chefs/etc's opinions at
all. If their dog-walker objects to the dog that they get, what's going to
happen? The dog sure isn't going to change.
~~~
ajmurmann
We call it "servant", but in fact still treat them like royalty. We never
fully made the transition from royalty to servant. Why do so many governments
put their high officials up in special house/palaces? We don't do that for any
other jobs. It would be much healthier to treat elections like a shared effort
to hire someone to do a job.
~~~
leggomylibro
Terry Pratchett has a lot of good aphorisms, but one that stuck with me is
some etymology from a cop and a Machiavellian dictator:
> "It's all for the good of the city, sir. Do you know where the word
> 'policeman' comes from? It means 'man of the city', sir. From the old word
> _polis._ "
> ...
> "You're a man interested in words, captain. I'd just invite you to consider
> something your predecessor never fully grasped."
> "Sir?"
> "Have you ever wondered where the word 'politician' comes from?" Said the
> Patrician.
These roles have a very specific purpose, and that purpose is service. They've
veered sharply away from it, but that is still their job. Also, I think in
real life the root is 'politia' or 'politika' or something, but the definition
is similar.
And another word from that book: 'polite' apparently came from 'behavior
befitting someone living in a city.' I guess social norms maybe became more
important with the density?
~~~
ajmurmann
This is all from ancient Greek where the city ("polis") was the state.
These terms were thus all created in the first democracy we know of. However,
that was then followed by millennia of monarchies. Modern democracies came
into existence in an environment where monarchies were still the norm and it
shows. I find it reminiscent of the fact that Christians celebrate Christmas
which is supposedly a Christian holiday by following all kinds of pagan
rituals like the entire Christmas tree thing.
------
dsfyu404ed
Good. It was a corrupt boondoggle operation that was going to cost everyone a
heck of a lot of money.
And I say this as someone who would like to see global warming hurry up and
wash eastern MA into the Atlantic ocean.
Also, it takes a special kind of stupid to think you can take on rich and very
well connected people and win.
>Lawsuits piled up, delaying the project. Cape Wind missed a series of
contractual milestones, prompting National Grid Plc and Northeast Utilities’
NSTAR unit to cancel power-purchase agreements in early 2015. At the time,
analysts declared the project all but dead.
I forget, is that the one where people were supposed to pay more than the
already sky-high electricity rates for Locally Grown(TM) Non GMO(TM) Green(TM)
energy or was that a different one?
------
nova22033
[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/nmuqcf/the-daily-show-with-
jon...](http://www.cc.com/video-clips/nmuqcf/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-
jason-jones-180---nantucket)
------
johnchristopher
I automatically closed the tab when the video started playing automatically.
~~~
eighthnate
Same here. Not sure why you are being downvoted.
~~~
johnchristopher
Well, my comment isn't adding anything useful to the conversation, hence the
downvote. I still wanted to point it out though :).
------
jmclnx
Have any of you lived near a wind farm ? A few years ago I camped near one
that had 5 wind mills, and it was 7 miles (11 k?) away, It was like I was
sleeping with the loudest snorer you can imagine. I slept very little.
Maybe when located out in the ocean the sound would blend, but if on land I
would not want one anywhere near where I live.
Anyway I heard they are making great strides with solar and even tidal power,
I doubt those will keep you awake.
~~~
masklinn
> Have any of you lived near a wind farm ? A few years ago I camped near one
> that had 5 wind mills, and it was 7 miles (11 k?) away, It was like I was
> sleeping with the loudest snorer you can imagine. I slept very little.
That really surprises me.
I've got a dozen turbines less than 10km away literally facing my windows (I
can see them unless it's really foggy) and I never heard them, despite having
real trouble sleeping when there's any sort of noise. The turbines are half a
klick from a small town too, they'd have been burned down a long time ago if
they could be heard from 10.
~~~
jmclnx
> That really surprises me.
well maybe it was the terrain, it is a mountainous and maybe the shape caused
come kind of reverb. I know I was warned by my camping neighbors about the
sound and I thought "how bad can it be".
But it was a rough night with little sleep due to the sound.
------
tomohawk
They're putting these windmills all over West Virginia - its a shame really.
They really spoil the views and kill lots of birds. It's another case that
shows the difference between what the little people have to deal with vs the
elites.
~~~
matthewmacleod
I was hoping this was a parody, but I fear it’s not.
The impact on views of wind turbines is minimal. Even if you don’t like ‘em,
I’m sure you’ll acknowledge that some minor inconvenience is better than long-
term environmental damage.
Also, wind turbines dont really do that much damage to bird populations:
[https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-
scienc...](https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/wind-
turbine-kill-birds.htm)
~~~
tomohawk
Not everyone agrees with you:
[http://savetheeaglesinternational.org/new/us-windfarms-
kill-...](http://savetheeaglesinternational.org/new/us-windfarms-
kill-10-20-times-more-than-previously-thought.html)
My point was that the elites of Martha's Vineyard were able to kill the
project, and at least part of that was based on what they look like. Windmills
in the distant ocean view are much less impacting of views than ones
prominently arrayed across ridge lines.
It appears there's one rule for little people and other for elites.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Reading for the Rushed - llambda
http://blog.fogus.me/2012/02/22/reading/
======
nate
I've taken a speed reading course through Groupon (Iris) and it has increased
the amount of books I consume by 100x. Good for Amazon. :)
Speed reading might be broken into two parts. There's the part where you train
your brain+eyes to consume more words faster (stop vocalizing words, better
peripheral vision, etc.)
But the most important part for me isn't what people typically think of when
you hear "speed reading".
It's better skim reading.
The technique I learned was read each chapter 3 times...
Start your chapter. Read the first paragraph or two at your normal reading
pace. Get a handle on what the chapter is going to be about. Then, skip to the
last paragraph of that chapter. Consume it at your normal reading pace. Go
back to the beginning of the chapter and read the first sentence of each
paragraph in the chapter at your normal reading pace. Now, you have a great
outline in your head on what this chapter is about. Now go back through it a
third time, and speed read the crap out of it :) Try and read it as fast as
you can. Because of the first 2 reads you'll have much better control on what
paragraphs can be skipped, which need a little attention, and which need to be
memorized.
It's not perfect, and you probably wouldn't read your best fiction this way,
but it's helped me a ton.
~~~
Lewton
To me... Reading any fiction at all like this, seems ridiculous. I'm not
reading stories with the intention of learning the plot as quickly as
possible.. Or else I'd just look up a summary online.
I gave up on speed reading because I didn't see the point. My reading of most
technical texts is more limited by the speed of my understanding than my
actual reading speed.
Am I looking at it the wrong way? Is it actually a skill I should try and
master?
~~~
jcfrei
similar reaction here. I just don't see the merit in reading fiction, even
less in speed reading it, if it's not for your own entertainment. I figure a
lot of people feel like there's some sort of intrinsic, intellectual merit to
the act of reading, no matter what (as long as there aren't a lot of
pictures...), but i believe this stems from a time where reading fluently was
a skill not so widely distributed as it is today.
------
saturdaysaint
One of my best investments/buys last year was an Audible platinum membership -
basically buying 24 credits/audiobooks for roughly $9 each. Especially since a
credit gets you even brand new books, irrespective of length, it's an insane
value - almost like getting CDs for $3 or new video games for $10. I was never
into audiobooks when they required lugging CD cases around but with Audible's
iPhone app, they're actually the most convenient book form, since you can even
"read" while driving, walking, doing housework, etc.
~~~
pullo
my experience with audio books have not been enjoyable. My speed of reading is
much faster the narrator's which leaves me a little impatient. and books of
depth require your complete attention, in which case it easier to sit down and
focus on them ( so no parallel house work..)
~~~
afterburner
One possible solution (which I have used and like) is to play the audio book
back at increased speed. iDevices have this feature for anything properly
tagged as an audiobook; Android has options too.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Douglas Crockford's review of The Little Schemer - swannodette
http://www.amazon.com/review/RMRQUQPH2J4GB/ref=cm_cr_dp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0262560992
======
mbubb
Nice review - I made the mistake of reading the 1 star reviews for the same
book. Incredibly irritating. A book with goofy elephants, jelly stains and a
ludic Socratic exposition is not everyone's cup of tea - I get that. But the
fact that this book is read, reissued and somewhat relevant more than 30 yrs
after its original writing deserves some consideration.
I think the most striking thing about this book is that it does not in any way
require you to turn on the computer. It is a good exercise in this regard. I
first read this a few years back and immediately thought that if I had to
teach someone from scratch about programming I would use this first...
~~~
swannodette
> I think the most striking thing about this book is
that it does not in any way require you to turn on the computer
YES! I love this about this series. If you're looking for something more
challenging along these lines I can't recommend The Reasoned Schemer enough.
------
spacemanaki
Also be sure to check out The Little JavaScripter if you haven't already seen
it: <http://www.crockford.com/javascript/little.html>
It's an extension of this review and includes a toy Scheme REPL written in JS.
------
grinnbearit
Here's a scratchpad for the little schemer in Clojure I created while working
through the book. I hope it helps anyone interested in reading it.
[https://github.com/grinnbearit/theoretical-
clojure/blob/mast...](https://github.com/grinnbearit/theoretical-
clojure/blob/master/src/the_little_schemer.clj)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Long-term rentals back on market in Vancouver thanks to new Airbnb rules - mzs
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/06/21/three-hundred-long-term-rentals-back-online-in-vancouver-thanks-to-new-airbnb-rules-says-researcher.html
======
mzs
thread of charts the editor left out:
[https://twitter.com/JenStDen/status/1142547276981653504](https://twitter.com/JenStDen/status/1142547276981653504)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The parable of the toaster - RiderOfGiraffes
http://www.rako.com/Software/Software_Humor/The_Software_Toaster_Parable.html
======
DannoHung
I wish someone would make a toaster that had some sort of probe that could
tell when the bread was actually toasted.
~~~
pbhjpbhj
I'm pretty sure they do, using reflectivity ... but having looked I can't find
them as products even though some toasters are listed on Amazon at > $400 USD
for a 2-slice popup toaster they still just have a timer and handle to popup
the toast. $400!
------
chaosprophet
Moral of the story: us electrical engineers make better designers :D
------
actionjackson
tl;dr
~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
You're fairly new here - 17 days as I write this - so you might be wondering
why people are downvoting you. I haven't - instead I'll provide a reason why I
nearly did.
This is purely my opinion. Others will have different reasons.
For me to know that you think this article is too long, and that you didn't
bother reading it, gives me no information. I don't know who you are, so I
don't know whether your opinion is worth listening to. You give no reason for
not bothering to read it apart from that you found it too long.
How far did you get? Why was it not grabbing your attention? What was your
assessment of the part you did read?
Did you read _none_ of it? That tells me more about you, than the article.
In short, I find no value in what you wrote, and so I would down-vote you,
except that others already have, without providing reasons.
I don't know why they did, but I thought you might find value in why I nearly
did. I hope that proves to be useful information for you.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
A basic Lisp interpreter in R - juliuste
https://github.com/dirkschumacher/llr
======
clircle
Ihaka (co-creator of R) may still be working on a new statistical programming
language based on Common Lisp.
[https://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/%7Eihaka/downloads/Compstat-...](https://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/%7Eihaka/downloads/Compstat-2008.pdf)
~~~
hatmatrix
That was the inspiration behind Incanter[1], but I haven't heard about efforts
by R. Ihaka beyond his writings/presentations 2008-2010 or so.
[1] [http://incanter.org/](http://incanter.org/)
------
jordigh
If you enjoy this sport, there's also Make-a-Lisp (MAL), an ongoing project to
write lisp in every programming language:
[https://github.com/kanaka/mal](https://github.com/kanaka/mal)
In particular, here's their R version:
[https://github.com/kanaka/mal/tree/master/r](https://github.com/kanaka/mal/tree/master/r)
~~~
c3534l
"Implement a Lisp" seems to be Lisp's version of "rewrite it in Rust."
~~~
clappski
If done for educational purposes then there isn't anything wrong with that.
~~~
c3534l
You say that like there's something wrong with rewriting it in Rust.
------
peatmoss
This is brilliant. It kind of reminds me of hy
([https://github.com/hylang/hy](https://github.com/hylang/hy)) in addition to
Norvig's lis.py that the author cites as inspiration.
I feel like lots of folks in the R community secretly or not-so-secretly pine
for lisp. My own "someday project" is to implement some portion of R in
Racket—"Arket". Of course all the native libraries that have been wrapped in R
are the tricky bit.
~~~
bachmeier
> Of course all the native libraries that have been wrapped in R are the
> tricky bit.
Everything in R is an SEXP struct. The native code is all shared libraries on
Linux and Mac, and mostly DLLs on Windows. There should be almost no problem
calling the native libraries if you have an existing R installation.
That doesn't apply if you are talking about a complete reimplementation of R,
but that would be a massive project, in which case calling native libraries
would be of little relevance.
------
huac
From one of the linked issues, a "Lisp-like R":
[https://github.com/chanshunli/jim-emacs-fun-r-
lisp](https://github.com/chanshunli/jim-emacs-fun-r-lisp)
------
pvaldes
You can also open a lisp interpreter and open an R session from here. Probably
more efficient.
If you want to open a lisp repl inside R you can just open an R session and
write:
system("sbcl", intern=FALSE)
That's all... use intern true if you want to save the session to an R object
foo <-system("clisp", intern=TRUE)
~~~
sciencerobot
One of the point's is that you can use R's functions in a LISP-like language.
~~~
bachmeier
In that case, why not just embed an R interpreter inside Lisp? I've published
a slightly modified fork of RInside that lets you embed R inside anything with
a C FFI[1]. Tested only on Linux.
[1]
[https://bitbucket.org/bachmeil/rinsidec](https://bitbucket.org/bachmeil/rinsidec)
------
lottin
R with Lisp syntax. Cool stuff.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Next Mark Zuckerberg Is Not Who You Might Think - kanamekun
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/02/upshot/the-next-mark-zuckerberg-is-not-who-you-might-think.html
======
aaron-lebo
Who wants to be Jobs or Gates or Zuckerberg anyway?
Of course we all do, but that's pure ego. Each one of them was brilliant,
there is no discounting that, but you also can't ignore the role that luck
played. You can't just be brilliant and you can't just be lucky, you really
have to be both to have the kind of success they did. It's not surprising that
they are anomalies, hoping to recreate their success is like hoping to find a
winning lottery ticket.
We shouldn't put any of them on a pedestal anyway. The empires of each of them
was built on locking people into their closed systems at any cost. Jobs did
some remarkable things, Zuck seems like he's going to do positive things with
his fortune, and Gates might eliminate the world of a lot of disease, but you
only have to look at past cutthroat titans like Andrew Carnegie to know that
redemptive actions like that leave behind at best an ambiguous legacy.
There was a great piece on Grantland this week talking about Silicon Valley,
Halt and Catch Fire, and Microserfs. It had this bit which I thought was
really interesting:
"The moment reads two ways. Either it’s about Zuckerberg, for all his
billions, being Just Like Us — a slave to the same digital toy to which we’ve
subcontracted management of our memories, our personal interactions, and our
sense of self-worth — or it’s about how Facebook, born of Zuckerberg’s sense
of exclusion, has made us just like him. The notion that the tech visionaries
whose inventions colonize our daily lives are actually uploading the virus of
their personalities to the global unconscious is an idea that floats through
The Social Network; it’s the engine that powers Alex Gibney’s forthcoming
documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, which stops just short of
postulating that every iPhone includes a fragment of poor angry uncharitable
emotionally stunted Steve’s immortal soul, like a sliver of wormwood from
Mordor."
[http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/silicon-valley-
hal...](http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/silicon-valley-halt-catch-
fire-microserfs-douglas-coupland/)
If you want to be like Zuck, what is it about you that you are going to infect
the world with?
~~~
vezzy-fnord
It's pretty telling that everyone wants to be the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates
or Mark Zuckerberg, but very few want to be the next Niklaus Wirth, Alan Kay
or Gary Kildall.
Far fewer are interested in computing so much as a gold rush that happens to
use computing as its backdrop, which is overwhelmingly heading towards web-
based media companies.
~~~
walterbell
_> gold rush that happens to use computing as its backdrop, which is
overwhelmingly heading towards web-based media companies._
Yet Gates' and Jobs' gold came from edge clients, not web media. Clients have
never been more powerful, why is there no modern gold rush in client software?
Is it merely that SaaS/hosted software does not suffer from piracy?
~~~
virmundi
I think is part of it. It's hard to pirate something you can't get a copy of.
Other things is that the web is more universal. Say I have a great client app.
It works perfectly on a client Windows machine. If I want to tap the larger
market I have to have an OS X version, an Android version, iOS (depending if I
didn't target both when doing the OS X version), and a Linux version. To keep
all of these people happy, the versions should be pretty much the same. That's
hard to do with client software on multiple targets.
The web targets the lowest common denominator: browsers. Fortunately as those
go, the VM that is the browser is pretty powerful. Sure I might not be in my
preferred language, but I can get things done. If done right, powers are added
as the device becomes more capable my leveraging existing frameworks like
Bootstrap, etc.
~~~
boomzilla
I think there are two other factors as why web apps are dominating client
apps. The first is distribution cost. Even with AppStore and Android market,
it's still very hard to get your app to the users. People browse to hundreds
of different websites everyday, but very few try out tens of apps in their
phone. The second factor is that the web is intrinsically a lot more
connected. One web page/app can easily link to another with, doh, a link. The
linking/back button semantics are well understood by all the users.
------
AndrewKemendo
Go look at the portfolio page for your average Venture fund. The overwhelming
majority of the companies are doing really boring stuff, like compliance
management, lead generation, staff management, sales tracking etc...
And most of the founders are older guys who are also boring, they don't do
exciting movie star CEO stuff. They just found a super specific niche and are
filling it really well and making great money doing it.
So when I go and talk to these same investors, it is clear that most of them
don't _really_ care about moonshots or big market shifting ventures, despite
what they say. They want cash flow positive companies who might have a
reasonable chance of being acquired and don't really need that much work -
because make no doubt, all of those unicorns or whatever you want to call them
take a ton of work from the investors.
But I have no desire to be a part of one of those companies. They generally
aren't particularly ambitious at global scale - they aren't trying to change
human behavior or move markets like airbnb, uber, facebook, google etc...they
just want to make good money, and are generally pretty good at it. Might as
well go work for Oracle at that point.
~~~
adventured
Even most of the unicorns are boring.
They're overwhelmingly in "fintech", "big data", and productivity software.
[https://www.cbinsights.com/research-unicorn-
companies](https://www.cbinsights.com/research-unicorn-companies)
~~~
techbio
These are some bizarre categorizations! By whose POV are they sliced and
sorted?
eg. Uber and Lyft are "On-Demand" not the more natural, "Transportation";
Spotify and Evernote are "Internet Software and Services", not "Media" and
"Productivity" respectively; another is denoted "Greentech" not "Energy".
I suppose $1B can call anything anything.
------
NathanKP
> Asking whether a programmer in Silicon Valley plans to start a company is a
> bit like asking a waiter in Hollywood about his or her acting ambitions.
I wonder if many of these programmers don't really like coding, just like the
waiter doesn't really like serving people.
Maybe it is just because I live outside the Silicon Valley filter bubble but I
have no plans to ever start my own company. I like to architect really nice
systems, and turn them into well coded implementations. I don't ever want to
have to touch a pitch deck, or deal with investors, or worry about making
money, or burn rate.
I'll be the first engineer at someone else's startup, but I don't want to be a
businessman first, engineer second. To me coding is not a gateway to getting
rich by creating the next Facebook/Snapchat clone. Instead coding is the
destination, and I'm at that destination, doing the thing that I enjoy every
day.
~~~
Mikushi
I'm an "engineer", went through Web dev, lead dev, CTO, and now Senior
Technical Architect. But I don't like coding much, I'm good at it, but it's
nothing more than a mean to an end for me, which is solving problems.
Same goes for the business side actually, most of it is pretty
boring/unchallenging, but it's a mean to an end, and if I want to meet that
end I must do the best I can to be great at all those aspects.
Or hire someone that will fill that in for me. But in early stages, I'll give
my fullest on all angles.
------
jseliger
I sent a letter to the corrections department at the NYT and to the author
because of this:
_“I can be tricked by anyone who looks like Mark Zuckerberg,” Paul Graham,
co-founder of the seed investor Y Combinator, once said._
Graham already pointed out that this is a joke and that the quote was taken
out of context:
[http://www.paulgraham.com/tricked.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/tricked.html)
~~~
jseliger
Sorry to reply to myself, but I got a reply from Louis Lucero II at the
_Times_ :
_Thanks for your email. I 'm confident that most readers will understand that
the line was tongue in cheek, however. The idea that a co-founder of Y
Combinator could be persuaded to part with seed funding simply by dint of the
solicitor's wearing a hooded sweatshirt is, of course, preposterous. At any
rate, there is nothing to "correct," so to speak, as Mr. Graham did in fact
say those words._
Not surprisingly I disagree with his assertion, but apparently he won't change
the article or issue a correction.
Things like this explain why public figures have to be canny when dealing with
the press: the desire to willfully misinterpret is strong, and, even when
pointed out, often isn't corrected.
~~~
sopooneo
Yeah. You have to be careful not just about what you say, and what context it
could be taken in, but what any distinct set of N consecutive words will sound
like when isolated between quotation marks.
_You can 't just ["]Abuse drugs and alcohol when you're young["] and think it
won't catch up with you_
------
tedunangst
> The average founder is 38, with a master’s degree and 16 years of work
> experience.
If we want to predict what the next MZ is going to be like, shouldn't we
restrict our training data to the set of successful unicorn founders instead
of the set of all founders?
Most startups fail, so it seems this data is most useful for predicting who
won't be the next MZ.
~~~
JoeAltmaier
Be fair; entrepreneurs are very likely the set that will produce another. The
set that predicts who won't be, is the rest.
------
adultSwim
Even the New York Times is using click-bait headlines now. Sigh...
~~~
compostor42
Its a race to the bottom. Online newspapers are really feeling the squeeze
with regards to declining ad revenue.
Everybody has to adopt the click-bait tactics now or be left behind.
~~~
minthd
Maybe in the end we'll all be curating high quality blog posts, from people
who aren't paid by views ?
------
auganov
Mark and Bill are not so anomalous being Harvard students that dropped out to
purse an already promising opportunity. Jobs is the closest to most people's
idea of a "college dropout".
------
applecore
_> […] Venture capital still relies heavily on referrals. “Show me another
industry where the way you find your customers is to wait for your friends to
introduce them to you,” Mr. Bahat said._
The deep irony of the consumer-focused venture industry—for all its talk of
technology and transparency—is that it still operates with the shrouded
obscurantism of a medieval guild.
------
noreasonw
A model to explain the bias.
People find more likely what they they recall more easily and vividly, so this
is like adjusting a linear model only considering the outliers (top or under
stellar), so the fitted model don't represent the general population of
founders whose life is more mundane and less interesting that a film star.
Edited: To clarify.
------
eranation
This is encouraging a little, I'm 37 and will finish my masters next year! Now
just need a good startup idea...
------
sprkyco
_-“Show me another industry where the way you find your customers is to wait
for your friends to introduce them to you,” Mr. Bahat said._
Illicit drug industry sounds like one. Am I taking this quote out of context,
are startup founders customers of VC's? Did not realize that was the hierarchy
if that is the case.
~~~
tedunangst
The analogy is imprecise, so it's not clear who the customer in the quote is,
but it could also mean VCs are customers of startups. They are seeking to buy
opportunity. (Also, one usually gives the sales pitch to the customer, not the
other way around.)
------
sjg007
This is basically straight out of Moneyball.
------
kanamekun
From the article:
<< Yet if someone like that came to a top venture capitalist’s office, he or
she could very well be turned away. Start-up investors often accept pitches
only from people they know, and rely heavily on gut feelings, intuition and
what’s worked before. “I can be tricked by anyone who looks like Mark
Zuckerberg,” Paul Graham, co-founder of the seed investor Y Combinator, once
said. >>
Paul was right - this meme just won't die.
<< People will probably still repeat that quote, but now if someone does it
will be proof that either (a) they didn't do their research or (b) they have
an ideological axe to grind. >>
[http://www.paulgraham.com/tricked.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/tricked.html)
~~~
hackuser
From the link you posted: _As if anyone would think it did. Could anyone be so
naive as to think that resembling Zuck would be enough to make a founder
succeed? And is it plausible that we, of all people, who 'd interviewed
thousands of founders, would think such a thing?_
This undermines the argument. Clearly very many people, in very many areas of
our society, filter those they do business with based on appearance. It would
be naive to think otherwise about society and the business world (though
applying the generality to a specific person, such as Paul, is a mistake).
I thought the original quote represented Paul well -- it demonstrated
awareness of the very human weakness in all of us, to instinctively prefer
people like ourselves. Having the instinct doesn't mean Paul acts on it, or
that it's his only instinct; being aware of it is what enables people to
control it (or control for it).
EDIT: Added a few sentences.
~~~
JesperRavn
I don't see how that is fair.
1\. PG claims he was joking, and doesn't actually believe what he said.
2\. The article quotes him as if he truly believed this, when in fact he
believes the opposite.
3\. You claim that if PG's argument for why he doesn't believe it is wrong,
then the quote is likely to be true even if PG didn't mean it, and _therefore
it 's accurate to quote PG as if he did mean it_. That last part makes no
sense.
~~~
hackuser
> 3\. You claim that ... the quote is likely to be true even if PG didn't mean
> it, and _therefore it 's accurate to quote PG as if he did mean it._ That
> last part makes no sense.
I didn't say that or even talk about those issues (other than saying that to
speculate on PG's actual thoughts would be "a mistake"). Maybe that's why it
makes no sense to you.
------
gboone42
If we get another Mark Zuckerberg, does that mean we're getting another
Facebook. I can barely handle the one we already have.
------
JesperRavn
This is typical of politicized reporting that really really wants to push
diversity.
First, the article says
_Many people think they know what the founder of a tech start-up looks like:
a 20-something man who spent his childhood playing on computers in his
basement and who later dropped out of college to become a billionaire
entrepreneur._
And then refute this with the more "diverse" reality that
_The average founder is 38, with a master’s degree and 16 years of work
experience._
Note no mention of the gender of the average founder. Next, they consider the
study by Bloomberg Beta that the article implies refutes the "myth in our
heads of what the prototypical start-up founder is, and that myth is an early-
to mid-20s white male who studied computer science at an elite school and
dropped out"
But the methodology of the study is to create a machine learning model that
uses the "backgrounds" of people (which seem to include which companies a
person worked for, and I would guess also which school) to predict which
people will become a founder. They then define the people who the machine
learning model scores highly, as "potential founders" and examine the
demographics of potential founders. The results quoted are:
_While only 12 percent of current founders are women, when they searched for
potential founders based on the other characteristics of successful founders,
20 percent of the people they found were women._
_“If you look at just the professional histories of the people who got
funded, then it suggests people who share those histories are much more
diverse than the people who get funded,” Mr. Bahat said._
_Only 53 percent of founders have technology backgrounds, indicating that a
computer science degree is not a requirement. Of potential founders, 8 percent
of those with technology backgrounds are women._
So in the strange logic of the author, the machine learning model's validity
is not called into question even when the difference in gender bias between
"potential founders" and actual founders is mediated by highly relevant
information, such as a technology background. To be specific about the problem
with this logic, if the machine learning model selects a completely different
looking population (ignoring gender) from existing founders, that is evidence
that the VCs are biased, but it is _also_ evidence that the machine learning
model is wrong. The high level problem with this approach is that the same
variable they are trying to show is biased (being an actual founder) is the
one they are using to train the model which selects "potential founders" in
order to prove the bias.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
GDD: a lazy, naive, false design method - jonny_storm
https://amoveablebeast.neocities.org/2016-09-03-gdd-graph-driven-development.html
======
crawfordcomeaux
Thank you so very much for sharing this! I have needed FOR DECADES a means of
deciding how to approach problems, not just in design/development work, but in
life.
This is such a simple, straightforward strategy for me to apply in order to
meet my need for peace & order in my life. I can't emphasize how happy and
relieved I feel right now. Again, thank you.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The UN is partnering with China’s biggest surveillance software company - doener
https://qz.com/1830789/un-partners-with-chinas-tencent-surveillance-software/
======
NicoJuicy
Checking the date of publication => April 2. A day too late for April fool's.
Could have sworn that was the only possibility.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Review my Writing Style - michael_fine
I recently started a blog, and just published my first post. I was wondering if you could give me tips on my writing. Is it to verbose? Intentionally obfuscated? Poor explaining? Any tips would be great. Here's my post: http://mhfine.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/re-imaging-the-file-system/
======
michael_fine
Clickable: [http://mhfine.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/re-imaging-the-
file-s...](http://mhfine.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/re-imaging-the-file-system/)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: User-friendly online “vault” web app to securely share secrets? - niels_bom
I need to share secrets (like API keys), privacy sensitive data, sometimes small files with customers, and they with me. Some of them aren't tech savvy so I don't want to ask them to use encryption tools. I'd really like it if there was some kind of web application I can just give them an account to and that we then have an encrypted conversation on that I can simply delete later on. For legal reasons I'd also want this app hosted in my own country (the Netherlands).<p>I've come across some enterprise-scale solutions that are almost Dropbox-y and have calendar-synch features and are basically bloated. Because the use case U have is actually quite simple the webapp itself can also be quite simple (I'd think), but security needs to be strong.<p>Are there webapps like this? What are webapps like this called?<p>Thanks!
======
just_observing
I have an install of zerobin which I use for keys, items that I would prefer
not to email but it does not support files, just text. Essentially it's a
pastebin.
"TL;DR: ZeroBin is a minimalist, opensource online pastebin/discussion board
where the server has zero knowledge of hosted data. Data is
encrypted/decrypted in the browser using 256 bits AES."
[http://sebsauvage.net/wiki/doku.php?id=php:zerobin](http://sebsauvage.net/wiki/doku.php?id=php:zerobin)
test at [http://sebsauvage.net/paste/](http://sebsauvage.net/paste/)
------
shakna
Though not a web app, I've used magic wormhole [0] with some success with
clients. Your requirements for hosting might make finding something suitable
difficult.
[0] [https://github.com/warner/magic-
wormhole](https://github.com/warner/magic-wormhole)
------
shivakaush
[https://onetimesecret.com](https://onetimesecret.com)
------
saluki
Helpspot has a really nice tool for sharing text securely.
[https://www.helpspot.com/vault](https://www.helpspot.com/vault)
------
zerognowl
If you want to store files on a private blockchain:
[https://storj.io/](https://storj.io/)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Do modern nations have contingency/recovery plans? - Red_Tarsius
I'm always at awe at the complexity of our civic structure. But it all seems very fragile. For example, very few people know how their sewers work and how to keep proper maintenance. Who's guarding this knowledge? Who's making sure that we don't somehow forget how to do it? Or that we don't stop replacing aging professionals? This is one of countless examples. Society always seems one bottleneck away from collapse. The same holds true for key human rights and privileges. We're always one generation away from blowing it up. Such lack of clarity and foresight might explain why it's so difficult to replicate civic models in 3rd world countries.<p>Do modern nations have contingency plans? Is there a special archive of practical knowledge and step-by-step procedures for building and running the power grid, water pipes, sewage system, general logistics, basic farming practices and seed samples? We have a pretty sweet thing going on, it would be silly not to back it up. Worst case scenario, we would leave the survivors with guidelines and instructions that could accelerate the recovery of modern society – decades instead of centuries.<p>On a side note, it's all too common to disregard blue collar workers. We should be more respectful of those positions, otherwise young people might actively avoid the very jobs that make up the modern world. Unfortunately, media portrays them as the butt of the joke – everyone is familiar with the <i>simple-minded, blue collar redneck</i> trope.<p>I apologize for the grammar, English is not my first language.
======
tristanj
For an archive of human knowledge, there's the _Third World Development Online
Library_ , compiled by Alex Weir, which is a 13GB archive of 900+ books on
Agriculture, Livestock, Food safety, Construction, Mathematics, Technology,
Metalworking, Finance, and many more. I don't think it's updated anymore but I
linked a copy below, as well as a wikpedia link about the archive.
I'm hoping one day someone will gather all this information together and
record it on giant stone blocks placed around the world, as insurance for
future generations.
[http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/INDEX.HTM](http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/INDEX.HTM)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD3WD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD3WD)
~~~
Red_Tarsius
I really appreciate you took time to comment on my post! I'm going to dive
into your links as soon as I get back home. Stone is an excellent idea. It is
the most resilient storage system we know of: everything digital doesn't last
longer than a few years.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Reportr - Your life's personal dashboard - SamyPesse
https://github.com/SamyPesse/reportr#
======
zapt02
This is awesome - been wanting to hack up something similar for a long time.
I am surprised that most similar commercial services tank (Google Health,
Microsoft HealthVault.) The issue is they are not providing any visualization
tools to be useful, they just store your data.
~~~
SamyPesse
Thank you, the next step is to build trackers for online data (Facebook,
Twitter, GitHub, ...) using their APIs and offline data (using connected
hardware).
~~~
pyvek
I too have wanted this for some time (have it on my todo projects list). A
tool to track all my web usage, commits (both public and private), laptop
sleep time, battery status, temperatures and more. This will make things a lot
easier. Thank you!
------
ChuckMcM
This is an oblique comment but it reminded me of Ken Thompson's quote:
_" Ken Thompson was once asked what he would do differently if he were
redesigning the UNIX system. His reply: 'I'd spell creat with an e.'"_ [1]
[1]
[http://books.google.com/books?id=poFQAAAAMAAJ&q=%22spell+cre...](http://books.google.com/books?id=poFQAAAAMAAJ&q=%22spell+creat+with+an+e%22&dq=%22spell+creat+with+an+e%22)
------
CWIZO
I haven't dived into the code much so the answer might be obvious. But, where
would this trackers live? Would I have to host them somewhere (I presume they
can be written in whatever language I want since you have an API)? Or how
would that work.
Do you have any plans on adding a "manual entry" form or something? I'd love
to use this to track how many cigarettes I smoke per day for instance
(currently I'm using a small app I made myself).
~~~
SamyPesse
For the moment, the only tracker is the web navigation tracker and it lives as
a chrome extension, using the API and jsonp, it sends events to reportr.io or
your own instance.
For trackers for Facebook (twitter, github ...), I planned to add a system of
addons to add in one click a tracker for the service (which use the Facebook
API), but I'm not sure yet what is the best implementation for this. For the
moment, you can use the API (or a library : python or javascript) to track
events with scripts.
No manual entry yet, but it'll be added soon. But you can write a python
script (10 lines of code) to do it for you :
[https://gist.github.com/SamyPesse/6859673](https://gist.github.com/SamyPesse/6859673)
(Sorry for my english, I'm french).
~~~
larrybolt
Pretty cool! It took me a few minutes to figure out how exactly to send data,
but a quick php-script did the trick!
[https://gist.github.com/larrybolt/6860232](https://gist.github.com/larrybolt/6860232)
Really this is what I have been thinking about building myself, awesome that
you actually built it! I think I found a github project that I actually would
love and can contribute to!
------
tectonic
This might be a really good compliment to my project, Huginn.
[https://github.com/cantino/huginn](https://github.com/cantino/huginn)
Huginn excels at getting data out of various Internet sources and reacting to
it. Your project looks like it's great at presenting it.
Send me a note and we can chat about it!
~~~
SamyPesse
I just contact you using your website form.
~~~
chrisbalt
^ Would love to hear what comes of this.
------
xauronx
Tried installing it in a heroku instance following your directions, sign-ups
don't seem to work though. Do you have any ideas?
WebSocket connection to
'ws://[instance].herokuapp.com/socket.io/1/websocket/KqW6Fh7TtpdmUelBVVly'
failed: Unexpected response code: 503
------
ddw
Very cool, I'm going to give this a whirl.
Suggestion: if you're up for folks helping you with creating new add-ons, add
some documentation on how they can do that. I'm definitely interested in
contributing.
------
prakster
Hey Samy,
I signed up on [http://www.reportr.io](http://www.reportr.io)
But now what do I do? Any instructions on what to do next will help.
~~~
SamyPesse
Check out "Track your web navigation"
[https://github.com/SamyPesse/reportr#track-your-web-
navigati...](https://github.com/SamyPesse/reportr#track-your-web-navigation)
Or you can use the http api (or the python library) to track events from
wherever you want.
------
skram
This looks pretty rad and a good start to build upon for a completely open-
source tracker. Will follow up with some thoughts/contributions after checking
it out more.
~~~
SamyPesse
Thanks :)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Jeff Bezos' wealth tops 105B dollars, now officially the richest man in history - Lordarminius
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/jeff-bezos-net-worth-tops-105-billion-amazon-founder-declared-richest-person-history/
======
arcanus
It seems unlikely he is actually the richest. Historically many individuals
have amassed pretty fabulous amounts of wealth. From some of the history I
have read, Marcus Licinius Crassus or Lorenzo de' Medici seem to have had
substantially more purchasing power, at least relative to the times they lived
in.
For example, I do not see Bezos building anything I would compare to
cathedrals.
~~~
turndown
>For example, I do not see Bezos building anything I would compare to
cathedrals
No, I'd say the majority of the things the wealthy build now are less self-
aggrandizing and more useful.
------
nielsbot
Here's a chart if anyone wants a graphical version:
[https://www.dropbox.com/s/cw6vs4v4h4woxpt/richest.png?dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/s/cw6vs4v4h4woxpt/richest.png?dl=0)
(Not sure what's standard practice for sharing images on HN.. or is that not
done?)
~~~
XR0CSWV3h3kZWg
Wikipedia disagrees with many of those estimates.
~~~
nielsbot
They're taken from this clickbaity thing:
[https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-
art...](https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-
articles/25-richest-people-lived-inflation-adjusted/)
------
spikefromspace
Only if you don't take inflation into account.
------
myaso
What about the Saudi King?
It's interesting to see how much Amazon can keep going. Bezos seems like the
kind of person who can delegate responsibility extremely effectively -- is
there a limit to this or will Amazon start being hobbled by it's own weight.
~~~
Lordarminius
I'd wager Amazon could keep growing for a long while. The worldwide market for
e-commerce is nowhere near saturation point and the business model is by
definition a recurring one. In addition, there are many adjacent markets to
conquer.
~~~
myaso
But on e-commerce you have large regional players already. Japan, Korea?,
India?, China, and probably Indonesia too. I find it hard to believe that
Amazon will be able to conquer all or any of these. Saturation in what way?
Total amount of goods purchased online increasing gradually over the years? As
for for adjacent markets, ok fair enough -- but will they win in everything
they try? I don't really think so -- and the more they take on the more Amazon
as a whole will be strained.
~~~
hkmurakami
Who leads Japan? Rakuten? They were first movers but Amazon has made huge
share gains there in the last 10 years and they're in the common vernacular
now. They outmaneuvered the publisher coalition and are now the only real e
reader player in town. If there's a factor blocking Amazon from dominance
there, it's the continued strength of brick and mortar powered by the high
standard of service and support provided by those stores as well as strong
infrastructure that prevents Amazon from developing competitive advantages
with.
~~~
myaso
Yes I was referring to Rakuten -- there are a few more minor players. I'm
working off limited data here -- so forgive me for using heuristic estimates.
But yes, what are the odds of overcoming that advantage in your opinion? Japan
is a odd case and _extremely_ difficult to penetrate for outsiders, that level
of insulation doesn't weight the odds in Amazon's favor or anybody else's
coming in from the outside.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
IPhone UI Stencil Kit - tlrobinson
http://www.designcommission.com/shop/iphone-stencil-kit/
======
profgubler
That is a novell idea. It is like balsamiq, but low tech. They should sell it
to every ad agency. Because the one were I work, we continually get asked
about making iPhone apps.
I hope they design one that is made for website ui as well.
~~~
pstinnett
Looks like you can buy it from their shop if you'd like it.
<http://www.designcommission.com/shop/>
------
DLWormwood
This kits looks biased towards the "selection list" UI metaphor similar to how
iTunes works. It doesn't seem useful for any apps that would involve any
degree of graphics or visualization. (And of course, games are right out.)
In other words: boring.
------
rrival
For Omnigraffle: <http://graffletopia.com/stencils/413> (free)
------
grinich
This is great. For me, prototyping != laptop.
------
lpgauth
Anyone from design commission at WWDC? I'd love to buy one directly.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
NoDaddy: Band Together Against SOPA-Supporting GoDaddy - michaelschade
http://rawr.mschade.me/nodaddy/
======
michaelschade
I've updated it so now you can list how many domains you'll transfer away. As
of this comment, GoDaddy will lose 205 domains and 58 customers.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
CMU Researchers Break Speed Barrier In Solving Important Class of Linear Systems - yarapavan
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2010/October/oct21_speedyalgorithm.shtml
======
drats
As much as the cult of genius is often overwhelming and contributing people
have been written out of histories of discovery I still feel uneasy when I see
a Prof and a PhD student listed as discovering something as you never know
what the Prof contributed with the current state of the academy. It can always
be a collaboration yes, so I am not passing judgment on this case, but there
seem to be many cases where it is not a collaboration but a payment of dues to
seniority. Then again, at my faculty in another discipline we have so little
support or contact with the Profs it's embarrassing: so I suppose having any
kind of working relationship as peers would be better than what goes on in
some places.
~~~
Qz
As a recent CMU Alum, I can say that in this case you needn't be suspect.
~~~
gojomo
Do you mean, "you need not just suspect, I can confirm that in my experience
at CMU the professor _is_ over-credited", or "you need not be suspect, in my
experience at CMU the credit is properly allocated"?
~~~
jgershen
I interpreted Qz's comment as "this professor is deserving of the allocated
credit." As a recent CMU CS grad (and student of Professor Miller) I would
agree and say that this is also generally the case.
~~~
gojomo
I was leaning towards that positive interpretation, given CMU's positive
reputation.
But given the thread root, and not knowing any more about Qz -- indeed being
unable to trivially associate that handle with a real name/project via the
profile page -- a cynical comment from a disgruntled grad couldn't be ruled
out.
~~~
Qz
Apologies for the lack of clarity -- my original wording was possibly more
ambiguous than the one I posted and I thought I had fixed that, but I guess I
failed.
------
d4ft
The article mentions a few fairly vague examples of what this type of
algorithm is used for. To all of you non-neophytes, what are some specific
implementations of this algorithm and where are they used?
~~~
dmlorenzetti
If you write the equations describing the flows in a mass-conserving system,
you can end up with a symmetric diagonally-dominant system.
As you might expect, there's a physical interpretation.
Diagonal dominance basically means that the diagonal entry of each row of the
matrix is at least as big (in magnitude) as the sum of the off-diagonal
entries.
Suppose the diagonal entry gives the rate of change of flow (say of a fluid,
or of electric charge) into some physical location as you change some other
property of that location (like its pressure, or voltage). Then the off-
diagonals in the same column reflect the rates of change of flows to other
locations as you change its pressure. And the off-diagonals on the same row
reflect the rates of change of flows out of that location as you change the
pressures in other locations.
If the flows are driven by pressure or voltage differences-- which is often
the case, especially when you've linearized the system mathematically-- you
get symmetry (because adding 1 volt to node A has the same effect on the
A-to-B flow as subtracting 1 volt from node B).
If the system conserves mass (or electric charge or whatever), then the
diagonals must at least add up to off-diagonals (in magnitude).
So then all you need is a connection to an outside node of known pressure or
voltage (like ground), that doesn't change and hence doesn't contribute to the
off-diagonals. That kicks one node over into having a diagonal entry greater
than its off-diagonals, and then you have a nonsingular matrix and you can
apply the algorithm.
Disclaimer-- it's been a while since I worked on this, so I probably messed up
at least one of the directions or row-wise vs. column-wise relationships.
~~~
mturmon
And it's also worth saying that diagonal dominance is a stronger property than
positive definiteness. That is, something can easily be PD but not DD.
------
jmckib
Link to the actual paper, for the mathematically inclined:
[http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~glmiller/Publications/Papers/KoutisAp...](http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~glmiller/Publications/Papers/KoutisApproaching-2010.pdf)
------
jedbrown
Funny that they don't mention multigrid which is O(n) and very reliable for
M-matrices (more general than SDD, which is a rarely used term in the
multigrid literature). It's hard to take this seriously if they don't
demonstrate that the constants are good enough to beat the various multigrids
for this problem. Also note that most physical problems which lack optimal
sparsity are also not M-matrices, and indeed lack H-ellipticity (necessary and
sufficient condition for the existence of a pointwise smoother), even though
they are often still SPD.
~~~
wtallis
Wouldn't this method at least have the advantage of being a drop-in
replacement, where multigrid methods require a bit more work to integrate in
to your solver?
~~~
jedbrown
Algebraic multigrid is usually called in the same way as a direct solver. For
example, there are three distributed-memory parallel algebraic multigrid
packages (and a bunch of other methods, direct and iterative) that may be used
as runtime options with PETSc's same Solve call.
------
jasondavies
> The current theoretically best max flow algorithm uses, at its core, an SDD
> solver.
Does anyone know how this improvement in solving SDD affects the complexity of
the current best max-flow algorithm [1] i.e. (N+L)^(4/3) ?
[1]: [http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/max-flow-
speedup-0927.htm...](http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/max-flow-
speedup-0927.html)
------
fbcocq
I'm terribly sorry if this is an ignorant question but does this somehow apply
to manually solving a, say, 5x5?
~~~
dmlorenzetti
Probably not worth the effort on such a small system.
They specifically target large systems, because their approach (I think)
iteratively approximates the matrix, then uses the solution of each simpler
version as the initial guess to the solution of the next closest one to the
original.
Presumably all that overhead pays off in the long run, but not on small
systems.
------
joshuasmyth
In the article it mentions the runtime is s[log(s)]2 - Does this mean s
_log(s)_ log(s) or 2 _s_ log(s) ?
~~~
jessriedel
It's the former, and it looks fine to me: <http://i.imgur.com/g38Ix.jpg>
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Watch Soyuz Rocket Go Out of Control During Failed Launch - gvb
https://sputniknews.com/science/201811011069417282-video-soyuz-rocket-losing-control/
======
gvb
In the YouTube video at 43 to 44 seconds you can see the "left" booster pivots
into the tank rather than away from the tank like the other two boosters in
the frame.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=44&v=v-N602kxpg4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=44&v=v-N602kxpg4)
------
hcrisp
Sounds like the Korolev Cross sequence [1] did not go as it should have.
[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-7_(rocket_family)#Korolev_Cr...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-7_\(rocket_family\)#Korolev_Cross)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
1 way HN could REALLY help: ERIC NEEDS YOU - bfe
http://bfe242.com/please-help-my-awesome-friend-eric-who-is-bat
======
bfe
Please help my friend Eric. He really is awesome! And he really could use your
help!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The fall of Jersey: how a tax haven goes bust - hunglee2
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/08/fall-of-jersey-how-tax-haven-goes-bust
======
padobson
_In a new code of conduct, the EU insisted that all members (as well as those
jurisdictions that wanted equal access to its market, such as Jersey) tax
local and non-local companies the same._
This was the turning point for Jersey, in case you missed it in a fairly long
piece.
I wonder why Jersey didn't simply raise the corporate tax rate to 1%, and
lower its citizens taxes to 1%. They still would have come in far below most
of the rest of the world in corporate tax rates[1], but would have wildly
increased their revenues.
As it happens, they ended up losing their financial industry anyhow.
[1][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_rates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_rates)
~~~
branchless
This is why Cameron wants to have some "red lines" with the EU. He's terrified
they are going to strangle The City.
~~~
wavefunction
For those of us that are unfamiliar with the special situation with The City,
can you perhaps elaborate a bit? I'm curious to learn more about what you're
alluding to.
~~~
yoshamano
CGP Grey does a really good job giving an overview of the history of The City
of London.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrObZ_HZZUc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrObZ_HZZUc)
Along with another video about the governing structure of The City of London.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ROpIKZe-c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ROpIKZe-c)
~~~
wavefunction
Thanks!
------
lordnacho
Bunch of separate items:
\- What about Guernsey? Are they screwed as well? How can you write an article
about one half of a pair of twins without mentioning the other half? A fund I
used to work for had a guy sitting there pretending to make trading decisions,
precisely for the tax advantage.
\- Lived on Jersey for a bit. It was like a little piece of Surrey, on an
island. Lots of expensive cars. Nice country pubs, good views in places. Roads
are too narrow. A bit like an early version of GTA though: although there are
variations, you quickly discover how small it is.
\- As a finance guy I never realised how bad the Dutch disease got on the
island. I did realise there were an unusual number of lawyers and accountants.
But I never thought it was as bad as it turns out.
~~~
charlesdm
Most EU venture capital funds structure holdings through Jersey or Guernsey
SPVs as well.
------
hackerboos
It's always frustrated me that Jersey/Guernsey/Isle of Man get away with
reaping the benefits of being part of the UK (EU and EEC membership) whilst
not actually being part of the UK, undermining our tax system, generally
gaining from tax avoidance and evasion on the mainland.
These territories need to be given an ultimatum become part of the UK and
implement UK tax laws or remain independent and be 100% responsible for their
own affairs.
Edit: Amazon and Play.com used to operate out of Jersey to avoid VAT being
charged on orders [1].
[1] - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAT-
free_imports_from_the_Chan...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAT-
free_imports_from_the_Channel_Islands#United_Kingdom_2)
~~~
rquirk
The IoM isn't part of the EU or the UK. As a Manxman living in Europe, I'm
fortunate that my mother's side of the family is English or I'd have more
trouble with work permits and whatnot. I haven't been able to exchange my Manx
driving licence for a Spanish one, for example, since it isn't recognised.
As for taxes, people on Mann get screwed over on prices - everything from
groceries to petrol is more expensive than the north of England since it has
to be shipped in. The tax breaks for residents are less than for corporations
too, without the corporate breaks I think there would be less work there in
general. Might get rid of the southern English bankers that all moved there in
the 2000s if they removed so many incentives so it wouldn't be a complete loss
;-)
~~~
pm24601
So what is the IoM status? Is it a separate country?
Wikipedia says its a Crown dependency - how is that different than being part
of the UK?
I would love to hear more -- because how can IoM avoid Jersey's fate?
~~~
nly
This video (5m long) might explain a few things
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10)
~~~
pm24601
Thanks. OMG. What a mess.
It looks like a system of whatever works and not upsetting an apple cart.
------
josscrowcroft
I grew up in Jersey, and for sure there's a lot that I don't like about the
place.
Still I found this article very poorly-written, poorly-researched,
sensational, weighed down by anecdotes, cliches and an exhausting "Poor UK,
evil Jersey" pattern. It gets worse as the piece goes on, increasingly
opinionated and accusatory.
I am not an expert, but I sense that very many factors went into creating the
situation there, many of them outside forces, and it's not possible or helpful
to caricature an entire island in this way to look for a simple cause and
effect relationship.
~~~
lovemenot
You were probably already better informed on Jersey than most of us were
before reading the article. There may have been significant details left out,
but as a broad brush I felt the article probably did a good job of presenting
a general picture of the island's economy.
Perhaps there are some important specifics that you would like to contribute,
rather than just criticising the article's tone.
------
ps4fanboy
I never understood why countries do not impose huge taxes on money moving in
and out of tax havens. I guess there is always another route you can take to
disguise the origin.
~~~
briandear
Why? The money doesn't belong to the government. The problem is that taxes are
too high. Lower taxes and there's no need for havens.
~~~
anigbrowl
You park your capital somewhere because you like the commercial, legal and
financial infrastructure. Insofar as your financial mass distorts economic
spacetime for everyone int eh vicinity, it's not unreasonable that you will be
asked to pay some of the costs of said distortion. If you stay in a hotel
that's only half-full and make your bed before you check out, would you expect
your stay to be free? Probably not.
I'm being a bit tongue-in-cheek here, but your repeated claims that taxes are
too high presupposes some objectively correct level of taxation. In the real
world, what happens is that tiny poor jurisdictions set tax rates that would
be economically unsustainable but for the prospect of attracting some huge
international firm whose revenues are so big that even a tiny percentage of
them is a lot of money for the poor jurisdiction, and the extra administrative
costs of domiciling the corporation there are less than the difference between
the unusually low tax rate and that of a more economically logical place for
the headquarters, based on actual factors of production.
Why should taxes come down to the level of whatever the poorest country is
willing to charge in order to attract itinerant capital? Why not (as we are
sort-of in the process of doing) just deny market access to firms that don't
want to pay prevailing rates?
It's not that I hate capital as such, but as an individual I have to pay some
sort of taxes and my international economic movements are somewhat restricted,
because of the basic fact that people can impose costs on an economy as well
as contribute to it. I'm not enthused about paying taxes on the income I
receive in return for my work product, but I recognize that there's a _quid
pro quo_ here as I prefer to live in a civilized society and transact business
using money rather than live in a cave and subsist on fish or something. I
don't care for the idea that having a large sum of capital should exempt one
from these rules, in addition to the obvious economic advantages that said
capital provides (and which I slightly envy but do not resent).
------
lumberjack
Is Jersey really powerful enough to create a tax haven? Or is it that powerful
people in foreign governments purposefully let Jersey exist so that they can
benefit from its existence?
Basically, what I'm questioning is whether the tax haven is Jersey's doing at
all. Of course they are complicit but I don't think that it's up to them to
decide to be a tax haven.
~~~
TheOtherHobbes
Jersey is effectively owned by the Queen, albeit rather indirectly through her
role as Duke (sic) of Normandy.
In practice the day to day running of the Channel Islands is left to what's
called the Privy Council, but the Queen gets final say.
Parliament isn't involved.
If the Queen objected strenuously to Jersey's role as a tax haven, it would
never have become one.
Jersey is one of those edge cases where the feudal nature of the British
establishment becomes obvious. Parliament isn't quite only for show, but a lot
of wheeling, dealing, and money hiding goes on behind the scenes. Neither the
British parliament, nor City regulators, nor the EU have much oversight.
~~~
pm24601
So does this mean the Queen is still the absolute ruler of some random bits of
real estate?
I always thought that the Queen was reduced to a figurehead status.
~~~
toyg
UK constitutional affairs are crazy; believe me, I've looked at them at
several times. It's a rabbit hole of ad-hoc agreements for little bits of land
here and there, acquired or controlled at various points in time by feudal or
commercial means, and just maintained as they were or with minimal
harmonization. It's the same at all levels, from the smallest of towns to the
humongous London (the City or the Metropolitan Authority? it's all a mess...)
to Crown Dependencies, Overseas Territories, etc etc.
You then couple this legal patchwork with Common Law and a formalized-but-not-
quite-fully-consistent parliamentary process, evolved day-by-day over several
hundred years, and you can understand how very few people at any given time
actually know who really _should_ be in charge of this or that. What matters
is that the right someone should be considered in charge at the right time on
the right matter, correctness be damned. It's an extremely pragmatic stance on
Power: it decouples highfalutin declarations of what Power is and where it
comes from, in favour of simply making sure that Power exists and can be
exercised for everyday purposes by trusted insiders without facing a riot.
The current system has been running continuously for more than 300 years (and
it's not incredibly different from the one it replaced, which was almost 600
years old at the time). Imagine maintaining a custom backend for 300 years,
piling hack over hack because you're never allowed to rewrite it all from
scratch. That's what the British system basically is.
But going back to your question: of course the Queen is a figurehead, but it's
_because she decides to be so_ , as British monarchs have done since the
Glorious Revolution. In theory, she (or her heirs) could, at any time, try to
force the constitutional compromise, reasserting everyday powers that today
are in Parliament hands (the list grows longer every year, as it often happens
with elderly rulers)... but there is really no reason for her to do so: she is
well looked after, paid handsomely to basically be a 365/24/7 global PR
representative for her country, and allowed to own a large amount of wealth
and property, some of which she (or rather her heirs) can directly manage and
profit from (Duchy of Cornwall etc). Why would you give up all that and
precipitate a disastrous conflict and potentially a civil war? For some
misplaced pride of power, at 89, after having seen through (and won) the Cold
War?
So the powers stay there, she just doesn't use them (and would likely be
rebuffed if she tried too hard to); she _exercises influence_ were strictly
necessary and that's enough to keep everyone happy. It's a bit like owning
nuclear weapons without ever using them.
This whole setup is also the reason some people still worry about the return
of "activist" monarchs. HRH the Prince of Wales at various points tried to
wield his unwritten power a bit... ungraciously, stoking these fears, but he
seems to have recently accepted that his reign will be too short to really
worry about, so we should be ok.
------
branchless
The UK controls what Jersey does and lets it do it. They have loads of other
tax havens too. Let's hope the rich get what's coming to them and the people
of the UK can eventually be free of the cancer that is The City.
People all over the world would be better off if The City is crushed.
~~~
vixen99
And what is coming to the wealth creators? I guess you mean the 1% who
contribute 30% of income tax in the UK for instance. Just wondering how you're
going to make up the deficit (or what cuts you'll make) when they 'get what's
coming to them' as you so crudely put it.
~~~
vkou
And here I thought that people actually building widgets in factories are
wealth creators... As opposed to having your name on the deed to the factory.
~~~
gozur88
Not really, no. Without someone willing to risk money creating the factory
those people would be poking the ground with sharp sticks.
~~~
vkou
Without labour working in those factories, producing goods, those deeds are
about as valuable as toilet paper.
You're confusing creating value with economic velocity. Mere ownership cannot
create value. Mere ownership can change the rate at which money circulates in
the economy.
~~~
gozur88
You are completely ignoring the value of risk. Labor is just one input among
many to widget making. Without somebody willing to take the risk, to sink
money he has into the widget building business, it just doesn't happen.
This is why capitalism works far better than the alternatives.
~~~
vkou
So, before capitalism, people didn't build widgets?
My point is that labour does not need capital to produce value (Although
access to capital can increase the amount of value labour can produce.)
Capital without labour is, quite obviously a lame duck.
Crediting the super-rich (A very few exceptions aside) for creating wealth is
nonsense. In the best case, the people they employ created their wealth - said
people just ended up keeping less/spending more of it. In the worst case,
collecting rents created their wealth.
~~~
gozur88
>So, before capitalism, people didn't build widgets?
There was no "before capitalism".
>My point is that labour does not need capital to produce value (Although
access to capital can increase the amount of value labour can produce.)
Capital without labour is, quite obviously a lame duck.
Labor without capital is the same duck. Creating a business is risky, and
someone has to be on the hook for that risk.
>Crediting the super-rich (A very few exceptions aside) for creating wealth is
nonsense.
The super-rich are a sideshow. Most "capitalists" out there are people like
you and me putting money into their 401(k) every paycheck.
~~~
alextgordon
How do you define capitalism? There are places that have _money_ but lack
sufficient property rights to support a system of capitalism.
i.e. "it's my land because I live here and work on it" vs "it's my land
because I own a title deed as recognised by some authority".
------
jimworm
Speaking of havens, does Jersey have enough independence to become a data
haven?
~~~
toyg
Yes, but it's still ultimately under direct control of UK forces. If GCHQ
wanted to tap your cables, they would do so in the same way as in Britain.
~~~
charlesdm
Are you sure about that? I was under the impression that wasn't possible.
~~~
toyg
Jersey is under UK military control, it even has a formal Territorial Army
regiment, so it's certainly possible in factual terms.
In legal terms I honestly don't know, but after Snowden I thought we agreed
that the law is no obstacle for these people.
------
melling
There's a Jersey in England?
fuhgeddaboudit!
~~~
irremediable
This may shock you, but we also have a York and a Hampshire.
~~~
gozur88
You should have named them "Old York" and "Old Hampshire". This way is
confusing.
"Olde" would be acceptable, too.
~~~
mikeash
I would like to renew my periodic proposal to replace all names with UUIDs.
For example, the York in England could be renamed to
E4D24E55-D779-402A-90D4-9EBE41FB2AA4. England itself could become
62F2B833-2462-4F64-A071-2887FF46105A. The "New" York in the colonies could be
renamed to D6EE5383-2D68-4CC2-BCED-CDBB2B7661E0. This would eliminate all
confusion.
~~~
gozur88
We'll have to think up a new tune for Kandler and Ebb's classic
_D6EE5383-2D68-4CC2-BCED-CDBB2B7661E0, D6EE5383-2D68-4CC2-BCED-CDBB2B7661E0_
------
sandworm101
So not collecting taxes didn't generate enough revenue to keep things in the
black?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Scrapy Tips from the Pros - ddebernardy
http://blog.scrapinghub.com/2016/01/19/scrapy-tips-from-the-pros-part-1/
======
kami8845
I love ScrapingHub (and use them) but these tips go completely against my own
experience.
Whenever I've tried to extract data like that inside Spiders I would
invariably (and 50,000 URLs later) come to the realization that my .parse()
ing code did not cover some weird edge case on the scraped resource and that
all data extracted was now basically untrustworthy and worthless. How to re-
run all that with more robust logic? Re-start from URL #1
The only solution I've found is to completely de-couple scraping from parsing.
parse() captures the url, the response body, request and response headers and
then runs with the loot.
Once you've secured it though, these libraries look great.
PS: If you haven't used ScrapingHub you definitely should give it a try, they
let you use their awesome & finely-tuned infrastructure completely for free.
One of my first spiders ran for 180,000 pages and 50,000 items extracted for
$0.
~~~
dante9999
> code did not cover some weird edge case on the scraped resource and that all
> data extracted was now basically untrustworthy and worthless.
Your data should not be worthless just because you dont catch some edge cases
early. Sure there are always some edge cases but best way to handle them is to
have proper validation logic in scrapy pipelines - if something is missing
some required fields for example or you get some invalid values (e.g. prices
as sequence of characters without digits) you should detect that immediately
and not after 50k urls. Rule of thumb is: "never trust data from internet" and
always validate it carefully.
If you have validation and encounter edge cases you will be sure that they are
actual weird outliers that you can either choose to ignore or somehow try to
force into your model of content.
~~~
kami8845
Hmm, I'll have to investigate that, any tips for libraries to use for
validation that tie well into scrapy?
What do you do if you discover that your parsing logic needs to be changed
after you've scraped a few thousand items? Re-run your spiders on the URLs
that raised errors?
~~~
stummjr
Spider Contracts can help you:
[http://doc.scrapy.org/en/latest/topics/contracts.html](http://doc.scrapy.org/en/latest/topics/contracts.html)
------
Cyph0n
Extremely well designed framework. It can cover more than 90% of use cases in
my opinion. I'm currently working on a project written in Scala that requires
a lot of scraping, and I feel really guilty that I'm not using Scrapy :(
~~~
horva
I think you can still combine the two. For example Scrapy can be behind
service/server to which you'd send request (with same args as if you were
running it as a script + callback url) and after items get collected Scrapy
can call your callback url sending all items in json format to your Scala app.
Or if you want to avoid memory issues for sure, you can send each item to
Scala app as it gets collected. Basically, idea is to wrap Scrapy spiders with
web service features - then you can use it in combination with any other
technology. Or you can use Scrapy Cloud to run your spiders at
[http://scrapinghub.com/](http://scrapinghub.com/).
~~~
darkrho
There is ScrapyRT: [http://blog.scrapinghub.com/2015/01/22/introducing-
scrapyrt-...](http://blog.scrapinghub.com/2015/01/22/introducing-scrapyrt-an-
api-for-scrapy-spiders/)
In the project I work on we do have the usual periodic crawls and use ScrapyRT
to let the frontend trigger realtime scrapes of specific items, all of this
using the same spider code.
Edit: Worth nothing that we trigger the realtime scrapes via AMQP.
------
daturkel
I've played with Scrapy before to make a proof of concept and I was pleased
with how easy it was (haven't yet had to use it for anything else yet).
That being said, had no idea how sophisticated it could get. This is super
impressive, especially the JavaScript rendering.
------
blisterpeanuts
Yay! Another article on scrapy. I'm just getting started and my first goal is
to scrape a tedious web-based management console that I can't get API access
to, and automate some tasks.
Very glad to learn about this site Scraping Hub. Keep the war stories coming.
It's technologies like these that brighten up our otherwise drab tech careers
and help some of us make it through the day.
------
rahulrrixe
I have been using this framework for more than three years and seen how it has
evolved and made scrapping so easy. The portia project is also awesome. I have
customised scrapy for almost all the cases like having single spiders for
multiple sites and providing rules using JSON. I think it is highly scalable
with bit of tweak and scrapy allows you to do very easily.
------
stummjr
Hey, author here! Feel free to ask any questions you have.
~~~
piroux
Here is a first one : What are the best ways to detect changes in html sources
with scrapy, thus giving missing data in automatic systems that need to be fed
?
~~~
stummjr
Hey, not sure if I understood what you mean. Did you mean:
1) detect pages that had changed since the last crawl, to avoid recrawling
pages that hadn't changed? 2) detect pages that have changed their structure,
breaking down the Spider that crawl it.
~~~
stummjr
1) detect pages that had changed since the last crawl, to avoid recrawling
pages that hadn't changed?
You could use the deltafetch[1] middleware. It ignores requests to pages with
items extracted in previous crawls.
2) detect pages that have changed their structure, breaking down the Spider
that crawl it.
This is a tough one, since most of the spiders are heavily based on the HTML
structure. You could use Spidermon [2] to monitor your spiders. It's available
as an addon in the Scrapy Cloud platform [3], and there are plans to open
source it in the near future. Also, dealing automatically with pages that
change their structure is in the roadmap for Portia [4].
[1]
[https://github.com/scrapinghub/scrapylib/blob/master/scrapyl...](https://github.com/scrapinghub/scrapylib/blob/master/scrapylib/deltafetch.py)
[2]
[http://doc.scrapinghub.com/addons.html?highlight=monitoring#...](http://doc.scrapinghub.com/addons.html?highlight=monitoring#monitoring)
[3] [http://scrapinghub.com/scrapy-cloud/](http://scrapinghub.com/scrapy-
cloud/)
[4] [http://scrapinghub.com/portia/](http://scrapinghub.com/portia/)
------
KhalilK
I tried using PHP to scrape 50,000 webpages for a couple of fields, got it
done in 4 hours, with scrapy it took 12 minutes. Been using it ever since.
------
nathell
Wow, never heard of Scrapy! Looks like I've reinvented it in Clojure:
[https://github.com/nathell/skyscraper/](https://github.com/nathell/skyscraper/)
~~~
Cyph0n
That looks pretty cool. I was planning on writing something similar in Scala,
but I'm not sure if I have enough experience with the language to get it done.
~~~
khgvljhkb
If you're lazy (and if you're into FP you must be hehehe), just use that
Clojure library. Calling Clojure code from Java is easy, and I'm sure it's not
much harder from Scala.
------
contingencies
Man, I feel old. Does anyone remember learning web scraping from one section
of Fravia's site? Ever try to move forward from that to write a fully fledged
search engine? These memories are from 15 years ago... quite amusing how much
hasn't changed. In hindsight it was probably easier back then due to the lack
of JS-reliant pages, less awareness of automation and less scraper detection
algorithms.
~~~
melling
What is the state of web scraping? I've got a few thousand URLs that is like
to build a search engine around:
[https://github.com/melling/SwiftResources/blob/master/swift_...](https://github.com/melling/SwiftResources/blob/master/swift_urls.tsv)
I'm using Swift to preprocess the data and I host my server on AppEngine using
Go:
[http://www.h4labs.com/dev/ios/swift.html](http://www.h4labs.com/dev/ios/swift.html)
Since my engine is stitched together, I could use Python or Perl to scrape the
sites and extract the words, ignoring JavaScript and css.
------
hokkos
What I need is an API scraper, scrapy seems to be mostly for HTML. I know how
to look at network requests in Chrome dev tools and JS function to understand
the shape of REST API, so I need something to plan the exploration of the
arguments space. For example if you want to scrap airbnb, you look at their
API, find there is a REST call with a lat, long box, I need something to
automatically explore an area, if the api only give the 50 first results and
you hit this number of calls it should schedule 4 calls with half the size
boxes and so on. If the request has cursors, you should be able to indicate to
the scraper how to follow it. I don't know what is the best tool for that.
~~~
ddebernardy
It's not entirely clear what you're up to, but FYI Scrapy works fine when
scraping JSON data:
[http://stackoverflow.com/a/18172776/417194](http://stackoverflow.com/a/18172776/417194)
------
staticautomatic
I like this article but for its discussion of these libraries. On another
note...
Am I the only one who dislikes Scrapy? I think it's basically the iOS of
scraping tools: It's incredibly easy to setup and use, and then as soon as you
need to do something even minutely non-standard it reveals itself to be
frustratingly inflexible.
~~~
ddebernardy
Scrapy is about as flexible and extensible as you can get... Care to elaborate
on "frustratingly inflexible"?
~~~
staticautomatic
I do a lot of scraping specific pages and often have to auth, form-fill,
refresh, recurse, use a custom SSL/TLS adapter, etc., in order to get what I'm
after. I'm sure Scrapy would be great if I just had a giant queue of GET
requests. Also, don't get me started on the Reactor.
------
inovica
We use Scrapy for a few projects and it is really really good. They have a
commercial-side to them, which is fine, but for anyone doing crawling/scraping
I'd strongly recommend it. Good article also
~~~
IanCal
Same, it's really nicely put together, lots of sensible defaults and it's easy
to add your own bit of awkward logic when necessary.
------
indymike
Great to see Scrapy getting some love. It's really well done and it scales
well (used it to scape ~2m job posts from ATS & government job banks in 2-3
hours).
~~~
mikerice
Using it for the same use case, scraping a whole lot of job posts. Scrapy is
love, scrapy is life.
------
escherize
Here's slides for a talk I gave about an interesting approach to scraping in
Clojure [1]. This framework works really well when you have hierarchical data
thats a few pages deep. Another highlight is the decoupling of parsing and
downloading pages.
[1] - [http://slides.com/escherize/simple-structural-scraping-
with-...](http://slides.com/escherize/simple-structural-scraping-with-
skyscraper)
------
bbayer
I love scraping web and produce structured data from web pages. The only
downside of using XPath or similar extracting approach is necessity of
constant maintenance. If I have enough knowledge about machine learning, I
would like to write a framework that analysis similar pages and finds
structure of data without giving which parts of page should be extracted.
~~~
stummjr
Maybe you should give a try at Portia
([http://scrapinghub.com/portia/](http://scrapinghub.com/portia/)). It does
exactly what you mean.
You may also be interested in this library:
[https://github.com/scrapy/scrapely](https://github.com/scrapy/scrapely)
------
inovica
Quick question. Could you use Scrapy to specific individual pages from
thousands (or millions) of sites, or would you be better off using a search
engine crawler like Nutch for this? I want to crawl the first page of a number
of specific sites and was looking into the technologies for this.
~~~
sheraz
Yes, if you use subclass CrawlSpider, then you will be able to set rules on
your crawls [1]
[1]
-[http://scrapy.readthedocs.org/en/latest/topics/spiders.html?...](http://scrapy.readthedocs.org/en/latest/topics/spiders.html?highlight=crawlspider#crawlspider-
example)
------
steinsgate
Confession : I am guilty of using regex superpowers to extract data from urls.
Will check out w3lib soon!
~~~
hackerboos
I've had to write some gnarly XPath expressions to extract data with Scrapy.
> //b[contains(.,'City')]/following-sibling::a[not(preceding-
> sibling::b[contains(.,'Country')])]/text()
------
novaleaf
Anybody interested in browser automation, can try
[http://api.phantomjscloud.com](http://api.phantomjscloud.com)
disclaimer, I wrote it. No crawler yet, though that's next after a new
website.
------
pjc50
That reminds me, I was going to write a scraper to extract my HN comments.
~~~
detaro
HN API? [https://github.com/HackerNews/API](https://github.com/HackerNews/API)
Haven't used it yet, so no comment on how well it works/how far back it goes)
------
banterfoil
What kinds of careers often deal with web scraping and doing these sorts of
tasks? I am really interested in the field and some of you seem to be real
experts in this field.
~~~
stummjr
All sorts of careers, for example:
\- developers who want to develop some data-based product (a travel agency
website, who finds the best deals from airline companies);
\- lawyers can use it to structure the data from Judgments and Laws (so that
they are able to query the data for things like: which judges have interpreted
this law in their judgments) (more on this:
[http://blog.scrapinghub.com/2016/01/13/vizlegal-rise-of-
mach...](http://blog.scrapinghub.com/2016/01/13/vizlegal-rise-of-machine-
readable-laws-and-court-judgments/))
\- (data-)journalists who work on investigative data-based articles (they use
it to gather the data to build visualizations, infographics, and also to
support their arguments).
\- real state agencies can use it to grab the prices of their competitors, or
to get a map of what people are selling, what are the areas where there is
more demand.
\- large companies that want to track their online reputation can scrape
forums, blogs, etc, for further analysis.
\- online retailers that want to keep their prices balanced with their
competitors can scrape the competitors websites collecting prices from them.
More on Quora: [https://www.quora.com/What-are-examples-of-how-real-
business...](https://www.quora.com/What-are-examples-of-how-real-businesses-
use-web-scraping)
------
elktea
Shame Python 3 isn't there for Scrapy yet - although checking the repo looks
like someone is actively (last few hours) porting it. Good to see.
------
shostack
Rubyist here...how does Scrapy compare to Nokogiri?
~~~
ddebernardy
Much like apples to oranges.
Nokogiri is a tag soup parser. Scrapy is a web scraping framework.
In addition to tag soup parsing, Scrapy handles a slew of things such as text
encoding problems, retrying urls that fail owing to network problems (if you
wish), dispatching requests across multiple spiders with a shared crawl
frontier (see Frontera), shared code between similar spiders using middlewares
and pipelines, and what have you.
There's a Lisp joke that goes something like every sufficiently complex piece
of software in C is a slow, buggy, poorly implemented version of Lisp. Very
much the same could be said about Scrapy and web scraping projects. :-)
~~~
shostack
Makes sense, thanks for the clarification. To your knowledge, is there
anything comparable to Scrapy in Ruby land?
~~~
ddebernardy
Not that we're aware of. Most rubyists use request and a tag soup parser,
without benefiting from any type of parallelization that you get from Scrapy.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Mastering systemd: Securing and sandboxing applications and services - kureikain
https://www.redhat.com/sysadmin/mastering-systemd
======
proactivesvcs
The official documentation on these directives was of great value when I
started looking into unit file hardening. There were a few minor cases where I
had to, or felt the need to go elsewhere for deeper explanation, but for the
most part it was readable and comprehensive.
I was able to understand the changes that I made and while carefully testing,
few unexpected problems resulted.
The changes that I applied as a result of this has meant the unit files now
score around 1.5 from the "systemctl-analyze security" system. Considering I
approached the process with almost no knowledge of systemd, this speaks
volumes on the quality of the documentation, its timeliness and practical
relevance, and the fruit that can be borne of excellent documentation.
~~~
lovelettr
Was that the freedesktop.org wiki?
~~~
proactivesvcs
Primarly the systemd.exec man page at
[https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd.exe...](https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd.exec.html)
, as well as the accompanying unit and service file man pages for more general
reference.
------
thu2111
I have to admit, having recently spent some time learning it and updating my
Linux skills I really don't understand why systemd seems to have provoked so
much hate and controversy in the Linux world. So far I really like it. It
makes a Linux server feel more like something designed rather than
incrementally patched together out of hacky shell scripts written 20 years
ago.
The unit config files are small and simple. Every line makes sense. Things are
coherent - learning how to start a service at bootup means you've partly
learned how to configure the new equivalent of cron jobs. The same
configuration works at the system and per-user level. You can quickly locate
logs. I didn't quite like the command line interface at first e.g. why
"systemctl" and not "service", plus I always forget if it's the service name
in the second or first position. But the basic functionality is all there.
I realise Docker is all the rage at the moment but I've found it kind of flaky
and complicated. For my own purposes systemd feels about the right level of
abstraction. It's not picky about where software comes from, it just manages
it. You can unzip a tarball and make it run isolated, depend on other
services, and a whole lot of other neat things. If you've learned it on one
distro you learned it for the rest, unlike SysV init. And it seems to
constantly get more useful features that are all pretty easy to configure as
well.
~~~
castillar76
Purely my perspective here, as a 25-year user of Linux and BSD (for context).
On the one hand, I very much agree with you that Systemd brings a lot to the
table. The files are much easier to work with, the service ordering and
integration is logical and works well (to the extent I've beaten on it), and I
can't deny that a faster boot sequence is helpful for things that boot often
like container images. It's been a lot easier writing systemd config files for
my new services than it was to write init.d boot scripts, for sure, and the
integration of systemctl is really nice: one command does all the service
things from info to disabling.
The flip-side for me, the one that continues to get under my skin, is the
approach of the systemd project. It's the habit systemd has of simply
subsuming all other system functions into itself (DHCP client? Sure! DNS
client? Mine now! Logging? We handle that now. Firewall control? ALL SHALL BE
ASSIMILATED.). If the systemd versions of those functions were both obvious in
presence and easy to replace with more fully functional replacements when I
wanted, I'd feel better about it, but I keep running across cases where system
functions that have worked that way since Linus was in knee-pants have
suddenly been replaced behind the scenes with a systemd module whose
configuration files and knobs aren't obvious or well-documented, it's
difficult-to-impossible to uninstall, and trying to disable and replace it
leads to cascading failures.
Worse, I keep seeing security issues brought up to the systemd devs and then
tossed aside with "well, just don't do that" or "how is that even a problem".
It's not pervasive or constant, but it's steady enough to be worrying.
Obviously not every security issue raised will be top priority, but it
concerns me how much of my systems are being subsumed by a project that seems
to prioritize "do all the things now" over "do things securely".
Compare that to the approach taken by, say, OpenBSD, which has also been
steadily replacing long-standing system bits with their own custom-developed
pieces. Their approach has been "we will provide basic functionality that is
iron-clad secure", while leaving you the ability to swap in something else for
stuff like OpenSMTPd without breaking your system. And yes, Theo can be just
as much an <unprintable> as Poettering, but I'm a lot less worried about the
outputs of his work for the above reasons.
Ultimately I think systemd is a good way forward, but it needs someone else to
take over the project, rein it in, and keep it focused on being good at what
it does rather than trying to be all things everywhere. Or, alternately, it
needs to just implement its own kernel and go off to be SystemdOS v1, which
seems to be the trajectory it's on right now.
~~~
dTal
>Worse, I keep seeing security issues brought up to the systemd devs and then
tossed aside with "well, just don't do that" or "how is that even a problem".
It's not pervasive or constant, but it's steady enough to be worrying.
Obviously not every security issue raised will be top priority, but it
concerns me how much of my systems are being subsumed by a project that seems
to prioritize "do all the things now" over "do things securely".
I would be even harsher than that. It's not just security issues that earn
"don't do that" from systemd devs - it's everything that doesn't fit their
narrowly imagined use cases. You don't even get "do all the things now" \- you
just get "do this particular thing now". Generally with no regard for POSIX.
And if you want the old behaviour back, expect to boil the oceans. Exhibit A:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19023885](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19023885)
~~~
jcranmer
> Generally with no regard for POSIX.
To be fair, if I had to pick the heavily-used specification I'd most like to
see ground into dust and rewritten from scratch, it's POSIX. There are several
misfeatures that can't be easily undone (fork, and its maddening interaction
with file descriptors, for one).
I also strongly dislike the shell-based model of development that people
usually appeal to for POSIX. Shell makes for a crappy language (witness how
you effectively have to ban spaces in your filesystem paths to make things
work). Stringification of identifiers makes time-of-check-time-of-use attacks
possible. I suspect it's also a driving factor for some of the misfeatures,
because terminal programs and the shell need to implicitly share a lot more OS
resources, so programs end up doing weird things like passing all open files
to your children by default.
Were I to write my own operating system in 2020, I'd not think at all about
POSIX until I finished the design, and relegate it to a compatibility layer
for people who want to write programs as if it were 1970. Amusingly, when I
looked up Fuchsia last week, it does seem that they designed the OS APIs along
some of the ideas I had (e.g., ditching signals; handle-based API), so maybe
there is some hope for a better-than-POSIX future world.
~~~
zbentley
> fork, and its maddening interaction with file descriptors
What's maddening?
------
fpoling
This sandboxing for services provides similar isolation as various container
runtimes. Plus due to integration with systemd things like live update without
dropping a single connection is possible to implement with straightforward
application code.
~~~
thu2111
If I understand Docker correctly, it's not actually intended to be a sandbox
and wasn't designed as such (e.g. the daemon runs as root, or at least used
to). It's not clear to me what the threat model for running untrusted Docker
images is, or how you'd know what the expected set of permissions were except
by reading a README.
Whereas this feature is explicitly a sandboxing feature, and the needed
permissions are enumerated by the service file.
~~~
colechristensen
Cgroups limit the impact anything inside the container can do to anything
outside the container.
It doesn't matter that the daemon runs as root, it starts processes in an a
way that prevents them from interacting with other daemons, filesystems, etc.
resources.
You don't quite understand docker correctly :)
~~~
TheDong
It's not cgroups, but rather namespaces and seccomp (and apparmor/selinux on
some distros) that sandbox the processes inside the container.
cgroups are used mostly for resource limits, not for sandboxing (aka
namespacing).
docker by default does have a slightly more lax security posture than systemd
or lxc (i.e. a default set of capabilities that isn't explicitly enumerated
and a focus on UX over tweaking them, no usernamespaces by default, etc),
though you're right that it is largely meant to be a secure sandbox for
untrusted containers, as long as you know hat you're doing.
~~~
colechristensen
Ah, I was under the impression that namespacing was a part of cgroups in
general.
~~~
TheDong
To quote Jessie's blog post [0]: "containers were not a top level design, they
are something we build from Linux primitives [Linux namespaces and cgroups]".
cgroups can be used without namespaces, and the reverse is also true. Both of
them are part of linux container implementations (like lxc and docker), but
for an easy example, systemd uses cgroups for every service, and only uses
namespaces for ones you very explicitly turn them on for.
Don't quote me on this, but I also think cgroups landed in the kernel many
years before namespaces did.
[0]: [https://blog.jessfraz.com/post/containers-zones-jails-
vms/](https://blog.jessfraz.com/post/containers-zones-jails-vms/)
------
david_draco
This is cool. But how do I use these sandboxing if I want to run a desktop GUI
application?
~~~
reddotX
you use snapcraft [https://snapcraft.io/](https://snapcraft.io/)
~~~
ATsch
Not to start a flamewar, but I'd like to point out why I think snap is not
only inferior to flatpak technically but actually a threat to the linux
desktop:
Snap is very deliberately centralized, with a single hard-coded repo URL. The
server is also closed-source. This is because snap's somewhat transparent
primary goal is to give Canonical central control of app installation across
all linux distributions. The plan from there will include taking cuts of sales
revenue and publishing fees. The pieces for this (like DRM) are falling into
place.
Flatpak, because it isn't born out of such business a model, supports an
arbitrary number of user-defined repos, which are trivial to host because they
are static folders and can be installed with a single-click via a
`flatpakrepo` url.
This is on top of other advantages such as upstream support from the likes of
GNOME, support for sharing code between apps using "frameworks", supporting
themes, using namespaces instead of modified AppArmor, p2p support, a better
permission system, etc.
------
LockAndLol
What I'd like to know is how whether it's possible run GUI applications in
their own containers. From what I understand about X, if a GUI app runs in the
same context as the DE, it will have access to all other windows, the
clipboard, etc.
That makes me think that Xephyr is mandatory in order to run an app in a
container, but I haven't found a satisfactorily easy way to do so. Would
systemd be the easy solution I'm looking for?
~~~
mook
Firejail, mentioned elsewhere in the thread, should do that correctly.
Personally though I've been doing docker (substitute with systemd-nspawn or
whatever you like) with xpra; not sure it's as secure, but it should block
accidental snooping while still supporting clipboard transfers.
It appears that the relevant developers are pushing towards using Wayland for
more secure remote windowing, but I do not know what state it's in.
------
m23khan
Nice - wondering if these are applicable to centOS as well given that centOS
is touted as the freeware version of RHEL.
~~~
akeck
I expect that's the case. For the most part, CentOS has feature parity with
RHEL.
~~~
nightfly
CentOS is RHEL without the RHEL branding.
~~~
kyuudou
Also, you can update and upgrade without an RHN subscription. Technically,
it's a complete recompile of the source code used for RHEL into CentOS rpm
packages.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Where do you save your ideas? - megalodon
Every now and then we are struck by a sudden realisation or idea - a moment of clarity, if you will - which is exhilerating, but at the same time easy to forget, because we do not choose the time they happen (at least I usually don't).<p>My question is two-fold: Where do you save your ideas and when/how do you revisit them?<p>I've been using standard iOS Notes app, but I'm interested in hearing how other people do it.<p>I'm referring to ideas that can be put in a single sentence or two.
======
MalcolmDiggs
For years I wrote all my ideas down in a spreadsheet. But once the list got
into the hundreds of lines I figured "I'm never actually gonna build most of
this stuff..." so I stopped doing that.
Now I keep a top-10 list only, in an evernote file. If I want to add something
to the list, I have to delete something else. And the next time I have spare
time to build something, I'll just have 10 good options to choose from,
instead of a thousand terrible ones.
------
rl3
A text file called ideas.txt, one idea per line. I try to aim for just a
stream of consciousness; if anyone actually read it I'd be quite embarrassed.
The fewer formalities or barriers that exist between a momentary idea and
writing it down, the better.
Ideally, I should have placed the file under version control from the start so
I could reference when a particular idea came to mind, but I didn't do that.
My actual project planning docs are all text files though, and those actually
are under version control. I find using a blank commit message works best
because it lowers the barrier to further editing or writing.
~~~
byg80
Same here. Nothing better than good old notepad.
~~~
DrScump
I used to use Notepad. Now I use Jota with the underlying file served from
Dropbox so I have read/write access from my mobile and desktop alike.
------
asteadman
Google Keep: [https://keep.google.com](https://keep.google.com)
------
n2dasun
A Google Docs file, so I can quickly open it on my phone or PC. The filename
begins with 3 zeros, so it'll always show up at the top if sorted by name, and
I can just type in three zeros to search for it in the event that I don't
remember the exact name.
------
curuinor
I used to save my ideas, quite rigorously. Now, I try not to. Ideas are
nothing, execution is everything, and execution is very much composed of
things that you will remember, because they are so specific.
------
LorenzoLlamas
Not sure why what app being used is relevant. Plain text is all we need to
write anything like this. You could use Markdown if you must (and must you?),
but whether you use VIM or emacs or sublime slime or something else, two
things are clear:
You type in plain text (just like I'm doing here in this comments box) and jot
down notes. Save it an ongoing text file (probably called 'ideas.txt' or you
could separate them into 'personal_ideas.txt' and 'business_ideas.txt' and
'new_relationship_ideas.txt' (lol) if you need, and place all that 'org' stuff
in a folder that auto-syncs to some service somewhere if you need cloud backup
(dropbox, iCloud, gdocs, etc).
Standard iOS Notes app is fine if you are all in the Mac/iOS space routinely.
The only thing I do in terms of 'formatting' is to put bigger ideas in all
caps and then indent (it's a tab!) for sub-notes and maybe put an asterisk if
I'm feeling bulletproof.
So, like this:
from business_ideas.txt
* increase Twitter to 180 characters * publish corporate drone-like rants on LinkedIn * command-line movie time tool * dog walking service combined with GoPro/Vine channel for owners to watch 'best of' clips * invent a new "to-do" app and try to monetize it since text files haven't worked in 30 years * See if WordStar is for sale and revamp it for the Mac with lots of shiny glossy new icons * MOSQUITO FARM ____order breeds online __ __build security fence to hide farm from nosy neighbors __ __what about a super-mosquito cross-bred with a hornet? __ __sell to labs who need well-trained mosquitoes for zika testing * refurbish old consignment shop as an "eBay shop" * frozen yogurt, but only for pre-teen girls in a "safe" environment (no boys allowed) and only in girl-like colors, but where we teach them coding, laser tag, and play songs from the movie 'Frozen' all day long. Name: Frozen Yog-Her? * record online python coding tutorial for beginners since there is not much available now
------
schlagetown
I use nvAlt on Mac + Simplenote on iOS.
Easy to sync between the two using plaintext files in a Dropbox folder. About
as lightweight and easy to search for simple notes (whie still working on both
desktop and mobile) as I've found.
Caveats: not great for longer notes, and keeps things super simple…so mostly
great for collecting ideas.
I keep stuff here that I add to frequently; other things I typically move
elsewhere to organize / edit…I love Scrivener for this but also use Google
Docs for certain things.
~~~
prjohnson
Been using both w/same setup for years. The speed, simplicity, and flexibility
of nvALT is amazing. I'm always flipping in and out of my nvALT window
throughout my work, where is save clippings, terminal commands, todos, links,
troubleshooting fixes and how-tos, and so on.
With tagging and zero-lag search, it's great for archiving dozens or hundreds
of disorganized notes, b/c finding exactly what you need takes 1 or 2 seconds
(keyboard shortcut to window and just start typing to search… matching notes
instantly appear. Or, for a new note, just keep typing to give it a title and
hit enter).
The instant in/out ability (w/ near imperceptible lag) to work with nvALT
makes it something I couldn't live without. It's always there, hidden in the
background and available. Other windowed note tools require launching the app
or opening new windows, often suffering from display refresh lag times or
hogging resources (read: OneNote). Opening and using Notes.app (or even
TextEdit.app), for example, and flipping between windows and other apps while
working is annoyingly slow.
Oh, and might as well give credit to the background syncing with SimpleNote
for web / iOS app availability, providing access to notes while on-the-go or
at a second machine. Yes, the nvALT / SimpleNote combo is great. Love. Love.
Love.
------
MegaLeon
I use Workflowy - I have an "ideas" bullet which collapses into individual
ideas. Then I shift-enter it and write a small description. I can later go
back at it and collapse the idea into sub-points and expand into it.
If the idea is worth it, I can drag its bullet into "production" or another
section like that.
[https://www.workflowy.com](https://www.workflowy.com)
------
ddavidn
I use Evernote. There are better tools for organization and prioritization,
but I find that I get distracted by those things. So, I take it down in
Evernote (or a Field Notes book if I'm AFK) so that my thought doesn't get
interrupted by shiny things, then I copy it to Asana if it's work-related or
just leave it in Evernote if it's a personal thought.
------
ttam
I've been using google keep and it's been mostly great.*
It's free, it's simple and works in multiple platforms: Web, Android, iOS.
It supports tags, attaching images and, archiving notes, so you can keep your
list clear.
I mostly use a note per idea. Before, when I used a txt/spreadsheet, I mostly
had a 1 line per idea kind of organization, but it became impractical when my
mind started going back to the same ideas with more thoughts.
* it failed on me when it had some sync issues..
------
adzeds
I am interested to see some of the suggestions here.. I currently just leave
things rattling around in my head...
I always tell myself I should document them on a Trello board then I can add
notes to each idea when I think of things.
Trello: [https://trello.com/](https://trello.com/)
~~~
revx
I use a Trello board as well. I love how I can categorize ideas, add notes to
them, and organize them easily.
------
giltleaf
I organize most of what I do outside of work, including starting my own
business and running my website, in google folders so it's accessible straight
from gmail. I setup filters to automatically sort emails into various folders
(boost traffic, various swipe files, books to read) so, for example, if
someone sends me a cool article on hydroponics (something applicable to my
business) and it sparks an idea, I just forward the email to myself and add
"uvf swipe" to the subject line.
Depending on the folders, I visit them once every month or so, or almost
never. It just depends what I'm into at the time, but I can always get them
later.
When it comes to afk, I usually use evernote, but just as a basic notetaker
that I can type up later.
------
ericzawo
Workflowy. I've yet to find a better jot-taking program, and have my entire
life on there.
~~~
fosco
I like the concept of workflowy, but hate using cloud based apps. if I could
host it locally on my own gnu/linux box I'd be much happier to use it.
I saw hackflowy awhile back and was not able to successfully install
(potentially user error).
anyone know of a workflowy that can be hosted locally or run on a smartphone?
------
unimpressive
Combination of paper notebook, text files, and a program I wrote that acts as
a probabilistic reminder list
([https://github.com/JD-P/epiphanal](https://github.com/JD-P/epiphanal)). I
found I was having trouble ever actually reading the giant project and ideas
lists I'd write because you'd get to a certain number of items and there was
no _way_ you were actually going to read that entire list, even skimming it
became a hassle. So I wrote this instead as an alternative where it feeds you
a small number of items from a list at a time.
------
fitzwatermellow
Plain text files written using Vim in a Terminal. Then archived by folder to
Google Drive or DropBox. I want them to be in a format I, and any machine, can
read N years from now. I've been burned before by proprietary solutions ;)
I revisit old files at odd intervals. I have ~5 years worth of notes. What I
love most is when I think I have a new idea, or stumbled upon original
inspiration, and I find an almost exact sentiment mirrored years ago, albeit
using different language. Then I know I've revealed some deep truth that will
remain constant for me, and it is only my manner of expressing it that has
evolved!
------
hanniabu
I used to save mine everywhere from emails, text files, to-do apps, Google
keep, trello notebooks, and texting myself to random pieces of paper. What I
use really depends on what's available to me at the time as well as the
convenience.
Yesterday I just finished putting all my family cooking recipes into a single
JSON file so they'll easier to digest. This morning I started on compiling all
my notes to a single JSON file too, adding summaries, detailed explanations,
tags, and categories. After I'm done I plan on making a nice Webapp to add,
search, and view entries.
------
gasparch
Evernote. It proved so far to be the most useful. Especially because you can
easily add tags to the notes.
When using 'clip to Evernote' browser extensions to add research materials you
add same tags and then you have nicely linked together idea + research
material.
I used to use index cards for storing ideas, but if you move often or just
away from them - they are not so useful.
Hassle of digitizing notes are compensated by better availability.
For quick notes on a move I may use voice memo or voice note and then type in
when I'm at the computer.
------
zo1
I use Trello. I have a board where I general store things, and happen to have
a column just for ideas.
Also, have another column for things to read. Things to research/investigate.
------
tryitnow
Google keep. I've given up on any hope of organizing my ideas (at least in
first draft form). The important for me is being able to enter them quickly
and easily on any device and then being able to retrieve them quickly via
search.
Organizing can come later once I refine the ideas.
The most important thing I have to keep in mind here is to include terms that
are good for search (not too generic, otherwise they bring up too many
results).
------
cableshaft
I use the developer diary Devarist nowadays, which lets you store things in
Markdown, and I periodically export those entries to a single local markdown
file. I prefer the searching and organization (and always online) aspect of
Devarist, but I don't want to lose my files either.
I also include little icons that represent the category so I can visually
browse and filter pretty quickly and easily as I scroll through it.
------
beshrkayali
Depends on what field the ideas are concerned with but my short answer would
be: personal journal, evernote, or Google Docs (now switched that to Quip)
------
stephenr
I have mostly used notes.app on iOS/Mac synced via iCloud (I have both short
ideas and more fleshed out concepts in there)
Recently I've been experimenting with markdown documents in a git/hg repo. I
haven't quite found an iOS vcs+markdown editor I'm happy with though, so it's
not a full migration from notes.app
------
kek918
When these moments of clarity arise I immediately open Simplenote[0] and type
it down (unless im busy and forgets it).
Simplenote mainly because I never found a satisfying way to sync my txt files
across all devices
[0]: [http://simplenote.com/](http://simplenote.com/)
------
robodale
In a Google docs file called "UN-Validated Ideas". Unless I've presold an idea
to other people (and have their money in-hand), those ideas never make it out
of that file.
------
bsnux
Emacs org-mode. Notes are plain text are they can be exported to HTML, PDF and
LaTeX. Google Drive and Dropbox folders help me out to read my notes from
anywhere.
------
supersan
Google drive: in a big folder named ideas with sub-folders like B2B, B2C, Fun,
etc (doc files inside each sub-folder).
It's also easy to sync and access on all devices.
------
pattu777
I use Wunderlist. I have created a new list for ideas and save each one in
that list. I have also added priority and reminder for some of those ideas.
~~~
dataentryagency
Wunderlist+1
------
wcchandler
I have a 7"x4.375" notebook that's been lugged around for over a decade.
Small, convenient and practical.
------
banterfoil
I am a student so I have access to private Github repos. I have a personal
repo that contains stuff like this.
------
zhte415
So many apps...
I email myself. A movie recommendation to a really really good idea.
Simplify and reduce.
------
yuvrajsinhs
Notepad. Sometimes, my mobile phone.
------
MattoRochford
Mixture of Evernote, iOS Notes and physical moleskin notebooks.
------
tmaly
Google Keep or Trello if its project specific
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Taking your programming skills seriously? - wollw
Hello Hacker News,<p>About five years ago I dropped out of art school for psychological reasons and I've been living with my parents almost ever since. Fortunately I have parents who have been kind and supporting of me during this time but as you can probably imagine I feel like a total leech. In an attempt to do <i>something</i> with my life I started taking classes at the local community college about two years ago but was mostly taking them for my parents' sake rather than my own.<p>Even though my college 'career' has always been in fine arts I've personally been programming as a hobby on and off for over a decade. Until recently this wasn't something I really thought I had any 'real' ability at, and left it at that. This changed during a recent stay at nearby community where you pretty much just worked to earn your keep. While there I ended up building a system to log and graph their off the grid power system to help monitor usage patterns. Building that project forced me to get a much deeper understanding of Perl (the language I ended up using) than I previously had. After that was finished I helped a few other people build a wireless network using XBees to monitor some other of their utilities from around the property. Previously, I didn't think I was capable of programming something that would make people's lives easier; having done so was a real revelation.<p>A few months have passed since then and I'm currently living with my parents. After seeing that I can build a usable and helpful program I'm rethinking things and am starting to take this hobby of mine more seriously than I did before. What I'm wondering now is what sort of things I should do to grow more as a programmer. I feel like I have a decent understanding of how to program but have never taken any formal classes. I'm thinking about taking some CS classes at the local community college in the fall (seems they have at least a decent department if the fact they teach C++ and Assembly as their intro and advanced languages) but wonder if this would be worth my time at this point.<p>Any advice/comments would be appreciated.<p>edit: As for knowledge I have... I have a pretty good grasp on C and Perl, have spent a decent amount of time with ARM assembly and some AVR, and recently played with Scheme (I've been reading The Little Schemer). I've played with a lot of different languages but these are the ones I feel most comfortable with. I'm also reading through the Android documentation and learning a bit more about OOP in the process (as well as touching Java for the first time).
======
ianterrell
Rather than your community college, use these: MIT OpenCourseWare:
<http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm> iTunes U:
<http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/>
Formal education isn't necessary, but it's real world helpful to get some
education on data structures and algorithms IMO.
Publish everything you can on Github and ask/answer everything you can on
StackOverflow. Then use both of those as resume references, and just get a
job. :)
------
wollw
Thanks for the advice everyone. I forgot to mention it above but most of the
recent projects I've worked on have been JS/Canvas stuff (how I managed to
forget about the only somewhat formulated work I've done outside of the
projects mentioned in my post I attribute to late night posting). I think I'll
work on some more general HTML5/CSS3/JS stuff in the future and try getting
through some OpenCourseWare material. Also, being able to link to a GitHub
repo wasn't something I'd really thought much about but that's a really good
point; I'm moving my work there now.
------
damoncali
Get some books, build some stuff, use that stuff as a reference to get a job,
learn from the people there.
In reality, you are probably more prepared than you think.
------
phektus
You might want to try web front end design, html5 + css3 + javascript, so
you'd be able to make full use of your fine arts-fu.
------
johnx123
You look like a self learner. So, learning with books and getting to newsgroup
seem sufficient. All the best
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Socrates was wrong to state the unexamined life is not worth living - mathoda
http://mathoda.com/archives/207
======
danohuiginn
For a slightly more broad-based look at this, try In Our Time:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_2002...](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20020509.shtml)
As for the article: yes, everyone's views are skewed by their personal
perspective. The way to minimize that is to consider things rigorously - which
is surely what philosophy is trying (not always successfully) to do.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Rio Olympics Drug-Testing Lab Is Suspended by WADA - uptown
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/sports/olympics/rio-drug-testing-lab-is-suspended-by-wada.html
======
davecheney
Urgh, paywall. Far too many of these in HN recently, one could be forgiven for
thinking they were spam to sell subscriptions.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Hybrids 14x better than electric vehicles at reducing carbon dioxide emissions - jajag
https://www.emissionsanalytics.com/news/hybrids-are-better
======
jajag
Related:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20261457](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20261457)
\- electric vehicles are neither as efficient nor as sustainable as hybrid.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: What is the best tool to check for vulnerabilities in a REST API? - nkkollaw
I'm also interested in vulnerabilities in web apps in general, but as all my apps ultimately do their server-side stuff through an API, I should probably check that, first.<p>I'm looking for something for Mac, or that works/can be compiled for Mac, preferably.
======
brudgers
Probably the best tool is monitoring. Connect a honeypot to the internet and
watch how the attackers attack.
Good luck.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Bye Bye Web, Hello Apps - newsit
http://carsonified.com/blog/dev/bye-bye-web-hello-apps/
======
stcredzero
From the post:
_Mobile is the New Black
I much prefer using the apps for Facebook and Twitter than I do the
traditional websites for these two applications.
The reasons for this are applicable to both cases. I find that using apps on
my iPod Touch is a more personal experience, probably because the online world
I’m exploring is all in the palm of my hand, literally.
I can also access it away from the formalities of a desk. Slouched on the
sofa, sitting in the garden and dare I say, on the toilet. You could take your
Mac Book Pro’s to these places too but it isn’t the same really is it?_
To get it out of the way: Apostrophe S is not a plural!
The main point I wanted to make is this: the smartphone form factor is only
one stepping stone on the path of the mobile computing revolution. Just
_having_ a computer on the same device as your mobile phone has been worked
out. Now we are starting to see the limits of that form factor. No smartphone
is yet or ever will be the be-all end-all device. It's only logical that other
forms are to follow.
------
nopassrecover
Very typical of the non-typical web user. We are so immersed in this stuff
daily we fail to realise that most people don't twitter or seek out new ways
to interact with the web.
As for the Facebook app example, the article itself highlights the flaws of
apps - they are slowly updated and lacking in features compared to the live
sites. Try managing your Facebook on the iPhone. Try watching Facebook videos.
Try Facebook chat (it's somehow even buggier than the live site).
~~~
Tichy
Although to be honest, my reality is the opposite: my non-techie friends use
facebook a lot, and I don't...
~~~
solutionyogi
I completely agree. I don't have a Facebook account but all my non-techie
friends have it. In fact, they make fun of me that I don't have a Facebook
account. I was convinced about Facebook's power when I found that my
x-girlfriend's mom in _India_ has Facebook account and that's how she keeps in
touch with her daughters (One is in US, one in Africa and one in Germany).
------
davidw
I think the key factor to look at in terms of economics is this:
How much cheaper is it to distribute something as a web app?
With ever more pervasive internet, for a lot of desktop applications, the
answer is "a lot cheaper". For mobile phones, it's probably not _that_ much
cheaper for people, given that they pay for data. If you try and handle
several platforms (S40, S60, Android, iPhone), it is probably cheaper for
companies though, so that's a point in favor of the web. Interesting stuff...
~~~
patio11
I think distribution is the key factor, but maybe not the kind of distribution
you mean. Desktop apps, web apps, iPhone apps, whatever -- getting them to the
customer is so cheap it might as well be free.
The real question is the distribution channel and how that interacts with your
business model. Web apps and iPhone apps both have amazing distribution
channels: Google and the App Store. However, the App Store is really only
amazing for the top sliver of the apps, and the rest get dregs. You do _not_
have to be one of the largest sites on the Internet to make fairly decent
amounts of money on Google. (Additionally, I strongly suspect that even if one
were to look at only the head of the distribution, traditional software
distributed on the web would stomp iPhone apps on pretty much any metric with
the possible exception of "dollars earned per programmer hour invested".)
Now desktop apps, on the other hand, desktop apps have nearly nothing to offer
a developer that a web app can't do better. They can be distributed over the
Internet for cheap! But so can a web app. You can get people to download
them... but you can get people to sign up for a web app, easier. You can get
people to pay for them... but you can get people to pay for a web app, easier.
You can push content updates over the tubes, you can collect usage statistics,
you can leverage OSS, you can... but you can do it all easier on web apps.
Which is a shame... I liked desktop apps.
~~~
davidw
Well, by distribution I mean the whole lifecycle, which you describe rather
nicely, not just the initial download. When you have thousands of users, or
hundreds of thousands, it's so much easier just to upload a few things to a
server and make it live, rather than trying to get some kind of auto-update
system set up. Which means it's cheaper.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Review my Startup's Front Page - scribblewiki
http://www.scribblewiki.com
======
maxklein
\- Online Collaboration Tool should be an anti-aliased image
\- Don't sell a tool for experts to idiots
\- Feedburner icon is messed up
\- font size of 'here' is bigger than the text beside it
\- Do not let .php show in the address above. You may change your technology
in the future, you will lose all your google strength because all your pages
will change location
\- Create your own wiki now should be stronger and in the middle. It's the
main action you want
\- Support wiki sounds like you want people to support wiki. Like support
africa, support tibet, support wiki
\- Your ul under blog updates has a too large space at the top
\- "Check out TicTakToe our support and information wiki". This sentence is
too long
\- those circular arrows on your triple feature could be mistaken for
clickable items
Let me give you an idea:
Once you can get a person to start using your wiki, he is unlikely to ever
change, because it's just too much hassle. So your PRIMARY goal is to get
people to start using it and put their data in. My suggestion is to offer a
special offer 3 Months for $5 offer, only available for the next 5 days. Use
session tracking to customize it per user. Now, after the user has put some
data in (BEFORE he gets tired), you POPUP a new special offer saying IF YOU
register now, you get 6 Months for just half price!
Once they pay twice, they are yours, and will hardly change again.
~~~
scribblewiki
Thanks, for the ideas!
------
zacharye
I like the front page, though your copy could use a bit of work as previously
stated. It's clean and attractive - colors are pleasant.
One note though - the choice of coloring on the plan pricing page is not as
desirable. Dark gray text on dark blue is not easy on the eyes.
~~~
scribblewiki
Thanks for the information, so all white text would work?
------
martian
I'm stoked on your concept and loving the logo.
Vertical spacing overall should be a tidied and made consistent. Maybe push
the second line of your logo up onto the first line to compress the header?
Also I'd suggest you put some more constraints on the design. Pick three
colors max. Also maybe limit font choice. You have at least four fonts (two in
the logo, and two more in the text of the page), shifting between serif and
sans-serif with all sorts of colors and weights and sizes that all add up to
looking like clutter. Similarly link colors seem to be very different (the
light green on a light blue background looks a lot different than the light
green on the dark blue bg).
Font sizes in the three boxes at the bottom are too small. Also, headers on
those boxes should be clickable (since there are little arrows on those
headers).
You could try looking at one of the many CSS frameworks (I personally enjoy
Blueprint) to add some cross-platform consistency to line-heights and font
sizes.
Regarding content: It seems there are two places on the page to learn what
ScribbleWiki does. Once in the light blue box and once in the space right
below it. Maybe put all this text into one place?
Hope my comments don't come off as too negative -- just trying to provide some
constructive criticism.
------
brm
you really should center everything on the vertical axis. the main paragraph
is just kinda hangin out to the left.
Look at maybe applying a little more vertical padding to things like the logo
(looks crunched).
Should probably also place more emphasis on the things you want people to do
like "sign-up" and "try it out" even if its just making them bigger or bolder
than their surroundings.
conversions are more important than aesthetics but you're off to a decent
start balancing both
~~~
brm
downmodded why?
~~~
ig1
No idea, your comment looks reasonable to me. +1 back to positivity.
------
ScottWhigham
I like that design and I think it's a very popular template style. It's
popular for a reason - people like it. I would suggest increasing the line-
height and font-size of your main text.
Good luck!
~~~
tstegart
Yeah, nice grid. I would make the boxes at the bottom the same size, it seems
odd that one is larger than the others. Also, its very grid-like, but that one
section of text in the middle is centered. Looks odd.
------
cschneid
The arrows on the right of the blocks are misleading. They look like links, or
at least active content, but don't do anything.
~~~
shiranaihito
I agree.
The first block like that is a link, and the other three are not - it's not
very consistent.
I'd recommend making the rest into links too.
It's easier to hit a block like that, instead of a much smaller text link to
whatever the block is already advertising!
------
STHayden
Not to be harsh but I think you really need to work on that logo. your page
design is pretty strong but the logo is the weakest thing on the page.
It's very hard to get a logo to look both freehand/scribly as well as
professional. Either you need to do a mot more research in to how other have
done good freehand script well or just stick with a typeface.
Perhaps the name could be all one typeface and you could have a more hand
drawn icon to go with the logo.
either way the logo needs work.
good luck!
~~~
scribblewiki
I asked for comments, no need to worry about giving them to me. So something
more like this <http://janeknight.com/images/scribble.gif> ?
------
jpd
"A "wiki" which is basically an editable website that allows people to easily
collaborate. You can use a wiki from anything to organizing a camping trip to
replacing your water cooler discussions at work. See some more uses of a wiki
here."
If they don't know what a wiki is, they probably don't want to create one.
Secondly, if you must keep it, make the font bigger and easier to read. I had
to zoom in it just to make it legible.
------
johns
Change the tagline to "Simple wiki hosting. IT Department Optional" or
something. Either way, put what it is before the "punchline".
~~~
johns
Proper sentence casing (sorry for my previous bad example): "IT staff
optional."
------
qhoxie
You might want to rethink the contrast and the color combinations on the band
through the middle. Looks nice overall though.
~~~
STHayden
yeah. I would use an Image instead of HTML. If you check 37 Signals all their
big text are images cause they can just be made to look better.
------
prateekdayal
I felt that What is ScribbleWiki and "Simple Wiki...." say pretty much the
same thing. You may wanna look into that.
Also in general its a good idea to keep all three boxes Red, Yellow and Green
header one of the same dimensions (height is different in your case)
I think consistency is generally great to have
------
snorkel
Hi, I'm your typical lazy web surfer with the attention span of a squirrel on
speed. I want to see screenshots or some other visual example of the product
_before_ I signup for a trial, which I could not find on the first few pages I
clicked so I left.
Always post at least one screenshot.
~~~
scribblewiki
Good information, we'll try that.
------
daveambrose
What made you decide to have "Online Collaboration Tool" in large font on the
front page?
~~~
qhoxie
Yeah, and to add to that, some of the text on the front page is a bit less
compelling than you probably want it to be.
~~~
daveambrose
I'm not saying that it's bad. I'm wondering the reasons? Does the text really
add value to what ScribbleWiki does?
------
scribblewiki
Looking for front page comments for ScribbleWiki; but, will take comments in
general as well.
------
hellweaver666
it looks a bit wank on the iPhone - you may wanna look into that...
~~~
scribblewiki
Never really tested on the iPhone, know of any links for doing that?
------
gojomo
Too many colors, and many of the color pairings wash-out against each other --
white on lightblue, lightblue on darkblue, white on lightorange. The scribbled
'Scribble' is almost unreadable.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ways to Free Your Business From Stagnation - JacobAldridge
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/6-ways-to-free-your-business-from-stagnation/
======
JacobAldridge
Wanted to share this article for the content, but also to share my experience
(as the 'expert' quoted at length) in case it can help others trying for media
coverage.
This article is my first success using HARO
([http://www.helpareporter.com/](http://www.helpareporter.com/)), a mailing
list designed to link journalists with possible sources. I believe I'm in
another article being published next week, through a similar site focused on
Australia (www.sourcebottle.com.au).
1) My focus is much more on building credibility than sales. While I might end
up being featured in a major paper, more likely I will be one of several
people quoted in a small business piece tucked somewhere online. However I
will be able to use that later on (see, for example, the hasty list of
publications I've just added to the www.jacobaldridge.com homepage).
2) Feedback I've received on my responses to these media calls is the benefit
of pitching yourself quite strongly at the top of your response. For example,
the piece next week is about making meetings valuable - I opened by saying "In
8 years as an international business coach, I have sat through or presented at
4,712 meetings." The journalist's response was that that introduction ensured
what I had to say was going to get aired.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Technology Still Sucks - lootsauce
http://www.andrewluetgers.com/2014/02/11/technology-still-sucks/
======
loup-vaillant
_Title:_ "Technology Still Sucks"
_Content:_ "The batteries of Android phones don't last, and Apple's phones
don't play with the web well." There are other minor details.
_Conclusion:_ none.
Frankly with such a title, I expected more. Wasted my time. Don't waste yours.
~~~
lootsauce
Interesting what were you expecting based on that title?
~~~
jsight
I was expecting some general trends that are not improving, and that indicate
things that the industry should work on. There definitely are some (sigh).
Instead I see:
\- Android phones have bad USB ports
\- Android phones have bad batteries
\- iOS phones have a bad browser
\- Some ramblings about WiMax (huh?)
\- A conclusion that wonders if we will feel like idiots when these problems
are fixed (huh?)
Which of these problems are not being fixed? Android battery life seems to be
improving, at least in the devices that I tend to look at (Moto X, Moto G, LG
G2, Note 2/3). The only Android device that I have had USB issues with was a
SGSII (funny that his was the same :) ), but in general improvements to
battery life improve that problem as well, as they reduce the number of cycles
on the connector.
I know nothing about iOS and its browser, but there is a good chance
alternatives will form there as well.
Should we really be focusing on some sort of idea that because things aren't
perfect and tradeoffs have to be made, "technology still sucks"? It feels a
bit like saying that all cars suck because my GT86 can't haul my boat.
(Note: Don't take the above as bashing. The story is just a guy ranting on his
blog, and not every blog rant has to purport to be something profound to serve
its purpose. There is nothing wrong with that.)
~~~
lootsauce
Sorry to disappoint, this is just one mans frustration with technology and why
it still sucks for me as an example of a systemic issue that will probably
never go away.
As for a conclusion that can be drawn, maybe -
"This is why technology still sucks, big time. You have these arbitrary
boundaries of platforms that for a million stupid reasons can't accomplish the
most fundamental, basic chore like keeping a charge or wrapping text or
playing a video and you are supposed to just accept this without question."
Sorry to wax philosophical about technology and not deliver enough research
and bullet points and trends and obvious conclusions but it would be
interesting if you had any opinions on how these seemingly petty issues shape
our behavior without us thinking of it. Reading the web on an iPhone IS a
horrible experience yet nobody admits it. I conclude with a thought that I was
hoping would lead to discussion of this unquestioning adaptive behavior we
have with broken technology but as with most comments on HN it goes meta
instantly.
~~~
loup-vaillant
> _it would be interesting if you had any opinions on how these seemingly
> petty issues shape our behavior without us thinking of it._
Oh, so _that_ was your main point. Much more HN worthy. Too bad it got lost in
the boilerplate. You should write tighter:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3QzdIMoLkk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3QzdIMoLkk)
To answer your question, this problem is called "status-quo bias". As long as
they believe it's the default, people tend to accept things as they are. A
browser that sucks. Manual processes. Even torture and other atrocities, at
some places and times. On the other hand, people resist change.
From there you can get to many absurdities. My latest is the attitude towards
device drivers. When a device doesn't work on Windows, it's the fault of the
device maker. The onus is on them to provide suitable drivers. But when a
device doesn't work on GNU/Linux, it's because _Linux_ sucks. Why? Because
"everyone is using Windows", so if I have a problem, it can't be from the one
thing everyone uses. Linux on the desktop is not as established, so it's more
suspect. My graphics card is popular and got stellar reviews dammit, so if it
doesn't work on Linux, that must be because those kernels maintainers are
morons.
Or the golden prison Apple lock us in: perfectly acceptable for the iPhone,
while anyone who tries that on the desktop would probably be sued. Guess which
is the default on which platform.
------
bhauer
A title after my own heart, though I think you're using hyperbole in the same
way I do.
I agree that charging is a weak point of modern portable computing. Having a
phone with wireless Qi charging helps me appreciate that some innovation is
happening, while not especially quickly. The fact that I still need to connect
my tablet and laptop to charging cables betrays a curious indolence in the
industry. Wired charging is not for 2014. It was for ten years ago.
My own rants: [http://tiamat.tsotech.com/technology-
sucks](http://tiamat.tsotech.com/technology-sucks)
------
ethagknight
Maybe Technology Is Not Perfect, but it doesn't suck.
>>"These devices are on an upgrade cycle that is ridiculous and its the height
of first-world whining to complain about your ”old phone” when, for goodness
sake, it gives you the internet in your pocket with what not-so-long-ago would
have been subject to export controls as a supercomputer."
You complain about first world whining, and then whine about iOS not reflowing
text? I don't understand the objective of this article.
------
adwn
Maybe if the author were using something less powerful than a processor that
"not-so-long-ago would have been subject to export controls as a
supercomputer", the battery would last longer ;-)
But then again it wouldn't run Flash or a browser (reflowing or not). The
phone he wants today will be available in 5-10 years.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: unusually difficult Google first phone screen question - anon987987987
I had my first phone screen today with Google. I haven't signed an NDA, nor was I asked to keep this quiet. The question was:<p>Given a permutation [1..n] inserted into a BST, write a function to calculate how many other permutations of the input produce the same BST.<p>I have been studying up for a few months: Cracking the Coding Interview, Elements of Programming Interviews... is it just me, or is this a very difficult "first phone screen" question? I feel like my shot at Google was just obliterated. After an additional 1 hr later after the ph screen I was able to come up with a solution...
======
nandemo
The phrasing of the question is imprecise, but I'm assuming the idea is that
"inserting a permutation into a BST" means the nodes are inserted in order and
the tree is never rebalanced.
It's an interesting question. And it's certainly much more difficult than any
phone screen questions I've been asked by other companies, and also harder
than my phone screen question at Google, but not as hard as some questions I
had on-site there (I didn't get an offer).
Suggestions: eventually you'll want to get to some sort of recursive formula,
but start with small, concrete examples and reach the answer simply by
counting.
For instance, get the permutation [1, 2, 3] (or even just [1,2] then [2,1]),
draw the tree and think about how many other permutations would generate that
same tree. The point is to confirm with interviewer that you got the question
right. Then you consider [2, 1, 3] and the other permutations. At this point
you'll probably get a hint of one case when you can swap 2 numbers and one
case when you cannot. Then you test it with some 4-node trees. Hopefully at
some point you can come up with an informal, English-language formula on how
to calculate the answer for a tree if you know the answer for the 2 subtrees.
If necessary, refine it, but I don't think the interviewer would necessarily
expect you to give a closed formula answer.
If it makes you feel better, I've recently had a phone interview with a
certain large market data company and all they asked was HR bullshit like
"what does make motivate /demotivate you?". Apparently I didn't give the
expected answers, and I didn't pass.
~~~
anon987987987
Yes, inserted as-is into BST without rebalance. Good to know it was an
unusually tough ph screen question. But also good to know that there are
harder on-site questions! Man!
------
suyash
What position you applied for?
~~~
anon987987987
Just a general software position.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
South Korea's drive-through testing for coronavirus - helloworld
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/13/815441078/south-koreas-drive-through-testing-for-coronavirus-is-fast-and-free
======
ghevshoo
The situation in Stockholm, Sweden right now is:
“You who have symptoms similar to coronavirus will not be tested in the
future. This applies regardless of whether you have been in the areas that
were previously exposed to infection or had close contact with someone you
know is ill in covid-19.”
There are no test kits. Hospitals have run out of face masks. And it’s only
just getting started here.
~~~
MaCorona
One could built UV-Lightmasks.
A transparent hose, add UV-LEDS to sterilize the flowing air. Dry the air at
the start with silica gel. All that is needed then is a battery.
The silica gel can be heated every once in a while to loose any moisture bound
it and sterilize virus particles attached to it.
~~~
steve_adams_86
You'd need a specific wavelength (265nm seems to be the standard) and they get
pretty expensive. A UV LED from adafruit or sparkfun will probably not be
sufficient.
At a glance they sell LEDs around 400nm which from my cursory reading wouldn't
be effective for what you're imagining.
Not to say this would never work. Just that you would need special parts that
are less common and more expensive by orders of magnitude.
I've also read that sterilizing very fast moving air doesn't work well. It
seems HVAC systems use extremely intense light order to be effective in these
conditions, which a small LED (or a few) wouldn't accomplish.
------
helloworld
This is striking: "A nation of 51 million, South Korea has tested about
250,000 people since its outbreak began on Jan. 20, with a daily capacity of
15,000. It has conducted 3,600 tests per million people compared to five per
million in the U.S."
~~~
malandrew
The credit here doesn't go to South Korea's government but to a company called
Seegene and it's CEO Chun Jong-yoon who directed the company to focus on
COVID-19 testing on January 16th. They are the reason South Korea's CDC was
able to ramp up 118 labs so quickly. It's making about 10,000 test kits a week
and has been at the center of South Korea's testing strategy.
The market is better at addressing problems than government and if the FDA and
CDC hadn't gotten in the way in the US, our testing response would have been
far better.
Seegene's kits test for all three marker genes and aren't even available in
the US because it doesn't yet have FDA approval. At least 30 other countries
are placing orders for Seegene's kits.
~~~
clairity
it wasn't "the market" that solved this problem. it was the employees,
including the ceo, at that company who felt a duty to the rest of the country,
not to some market opportunity, that effected the result.
bureaucracies, including corporate ones (see: innovator's dilemma), are
typically not nimble enough to respond to rapidly changing circumstances. it's
not a market vs government (false) dichotomy.
~~~
tathougies
I mean, the CEO and the employees are literally part of the free market.
~~~
Swenrekcah
Sure, but he’s saying it wasn’t market forces that motivated them but their
sense of civic duty.
That is something that “the market” often lacks in their relentless pursuit of
shareholder value.
~~~
tathougies
> That is something that “the market” often lacks in their relentless pursuit
> of shareholder value.
This is nuts. The market doesn't pursue shareholder value. Corporations do.
However, the market, which consists of consumers and small producers as much
as corporations, certainly does not always, as is seen in consumers (and
frankly corporations as well) oftentimes irrational behavior.
~~~
Swenrekcah
I concur that my statement is not entirely accurate, but if we apply the same
nuance to the general sentiment I was replying to, surely we will conclude
that we should absolutely not rely upon “the market” to prepare for and carry
out disaster response.
------
itcrowd
_The_ questions to ask for any test:
\- What is the false positive rate?
\- What is the false negative rate?
\- Considering the above, what is the efficacy of mass testing?
(Not saying it is or isn't effective, hard numbers are necessary)
~~~
sho74
Yup I have been wondering about this too. If my community has 10 beds and 2
docs what is anyone supposed to do if there are 100 positives?
Other weird thought I had was how does security deal with some lunatic who
gets tested positive and runs around infecting others...just walks into some
critical hub like a hospital and pat's everyone on the back.
~~~
mattnewton
> Yup I have been wondering about this too. If my community has 10 beds and 2
> docs what is anyone supposed to do if there are 100 positives?
Pick the 10 most likely to develop complications due to age or comorbidity and
quarantine the rest so that you don’t get 200 more next week. We’re still in
the “stop the bleeding” phase of treatment.
~~~
scrollaway
Triage usually dictates that the ones most likely to die from the illness,
especially if they're old, get lower priority than those that can be treated
at a greater success rate, and who are more likely to live longer and
healthier as a result.
This is the procedure at most hospitals. You give the beds to those who need
them, and are most likely to "make good use" of them (= not "waste" them by
likely dying anyway; sorry for the atrocious wording)
~~~
mattnewton
Sure; the idea is that testing allows officials to make decisions about how
best to use the resource you have, both in terms of hospital beds and
quarantine.
------
dba7dba
I don't have the link but I read Seegene is providing about 80% of the
coronavirus test kits used in Korea currently.
1\. CNN article (March 12, 2020) on Seegene
[https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/asia/coronavirus-south-
korea-...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/asia/coronavirus-south-korea-
testing-intl-hnk/index.html)
The CNN text article is actually pretty good article and also the video is
good. The company reports they used AI to speed up the development. They were
able to accomplish it in 2 - 3 weeks with a few people instead of 2 - 3 months
with many more staffers getting involved.
From the CNN article
_The firm is making about 10,000 kits a week and each kit can test 100
patients. So it is making enough to test one million patients each week, at a
cost of under $20 per test._
Seegene is now looking to export of the excess capacity to 30 countries
including Germany and Italy.
2\. Below is 2017 video of a mini-seminar of Seegene's solution platform at a
trade show.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKL5D19r6t8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKL5D19r6t8)
The last part shows that they have a software solution for helping faster
diagnosis.
As a layman, I felt Seegene's product focus is on getting as many tests done
as possible by using following: \- One test vial can test multiple issues \-
Integrating barcode/software to allow faster diagnosis
3\. I frankly don't understand why FDA can't approve Seegene's product into
US. It's not like people will be injected with liquid/medicine.
~~~
ecf
For #3, it’s because the contract for making the official test for the US is
going to be awarded to a friend of someone in the committee, and they have to
wait for said friend to have tests ready.
------
ck2
Korea gear approach:
[https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/03/13/gettyimages-1205...](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/03/13/gettyimages-1205553157_custom-5c12d569a8ea0724b74b972034ad3ba5b62557e7-s1200-c85.jpg)
Europe (and likely USA)
[https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/03/12/upshot/12up-
healt...](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/03/12/upshot/12up-
healthcovid/merlin_170345880_ab07006f-7c0f-49c4-938d-f6850badf9a9-jumbo.jpg)
Leaning into the car with facemask down. Should end well.
------
ck2
I wonder if Walmart completely thought out what is going to happen when they
turn their parking lots into drive-up testing, implying that every sick person
with a fever is going to be in a Walmart parking lot soon.
~~~
claudeganon
With exponential growth of the disease, lack of testing, and poor healthcare
infrastructure in the US, that would’ve happened anyway when people needed
groceries. I guess they decided they might as well cash in on some testing
stations.
~~~
blhack
Are they cashing in somehow? Or do you mean cashing in in the sense that they
have a massive, existential financial interest in this going away as quickly
as possible?
~~~
claudeganon
Details of the arrangement aren’t clear. They’re stock shot up about ten
points after the announcement though.
~~~
jcheng
The stock market as a whole was up 10%.
------
ta999999171
Will Korea sell us tests?
Will anyone? Has this been discussed anywhere?
~~~
claudeganon
The administration turned away from the German designed/WHO standard tests
everyone else is using, so I don’t think any international ones are FDA
approved.
Today’s presser sure gave me the impression that the delay in testing was so
they could roll out this nebulous private-public partnership drive through
testing and I guess boost CVS’ stock price or something.
~~~
xienze
> they could roll out this nebulous private-public partnership drive through
> testing
Realistically, how would you envision tests on this scale being performed? In
theory, it’s a great plan. Pretty much everyone in the US is close to a
Walmart/CVS/Target. Drive up, get swabbed, check results online. Fast and
minimal human interaction. The implementation remains to be seen but I can’t
imagine the alternative of having everyone rush doctor’s offices and hospitals
working very well.
~~~
claudeganon
How they’re being performed in South Korea or any other country that’s doing
tests at scale? American exceptionalism falls apart when countries around the
world are outperforming your response.
~~~
2snakes
According to the record by Mark Green from Tennessee, the test that South
Korea is using was denied because of inadequacy by the FDA in the USA, and
that test will not even be used for emergency purposes.
[https://www.c-span.org/video/?470277-1/federal-health-
offici...](https://www.c-span.org/video/?470277-1/federal-health-officials-
testify-coronavirus-outbreak-response&start=3811#)
------
ggffryuuj
I just finished listening to a veteran virologist give a 2 hour interview.
It’s being blown way out of proportion. Nobody under the age of 9 has died,
period. Under the age of 30 your mortality probability is vanishingly small.
It’s only a threat to people who have a compromised immune system because of
age, diabetes or something like that. This is nothing like the Spanish flu.
Unlike influenza viruses, these viruses don’t mutate in a way that would cause
their recurrence every year. The chances of a more deadly strain popping up
are extremely small.
I listened to trump address the nation in the rose garden live today. The npr
correspondent confidently said that this virus “isn’t going away.” It’s a flat
out lie and hysteria.
~~~
DeepThoughts
Would love to see your sources. I’m shocked there are still people like you
claiming this is all an overreaction while the smart folk are all bracing for
impact.
You gotta get it together man, this is bigger than anything you’ve ever seen
in your life. If we’re very lucky it’ll be bad in the coming weeks and months,
if we’re not it’ll be much much worse.
~~~
ggffryuuj
I would love to see a source that contradicts what I said. My source is the
testimony of a virologist with 40 years of experience and other qualified
people. I’m sorry to be blunt but there simply isn’t anything to brace for.
The worst case scenario is that a very small number of people die before herd
immunity slows the spread to nothing, after which the virus will basically
disappear probably before we even have a vaccine for it. That’s what happened
with Zika and some others. That’s what’s going to happen here. The number of
people who die will be similar to deaths from the flu, car accidents and other
things. Can you offer a single substantive counter argument to anything I’ve
said? I will enjoy reading it.
~~~
jariel
" I’m sorry to be blunt but there simply isn’t anything to brace for."
This is appallingly wrong.
If you're commenting here on HN and referring to legit medical sources, then
you're also smart enough to see what has happened in Wuhan and Italy where
hospitals are completely overwhelmed, where triaging is leaving many people
_without any care_. Over 65? Comorbidities? Sorry, 'just die' or hopefully
not, is the medical response because they are overwhelmed.
That under 30 are less likely to die is irrelevant when most of the population
is >50 and the rate of spread, the severity of cases is such that health
services are completely overwhelmed.
Hospitals around the world are facing 'Denial of Service' attacks and
everything is crumbling.
The way to make this survivable is to control the spread of the disease so as
to make care available and give enough time for rapid trials etc..
"The worst case scenario is that a very small number of people die before herd
immunity slows the spread to nothing"
No! The 'worst-case scenario' is 10's of millions of infected, (possibly over
100 million in the US), 1000-to-1 infected to ventilator ratio, total and
complete overwhelming of US medical services, several million dead, 10's of
millions out of work and isolated for many weeks, unable to work, contribute,
teach, provide medical services, run the 'toilet paper factory', etc..
Literally the _worst disaster in US history_ \- worse than WW2 or the Civil
War (~2% death rate) in terms of domestic turbulence.
Now - add in how many people are going to die from 'regular things' because
the healthcare system is null.
~~~
ggffryuuj
Appalling. That’s so funny. The morbidity rate is far less than 3%. Most
people who get it probably don’t even realize they have it which makes the
numbers look worse than they are. Look I’m not saying nothing should be done.
If nothing were done the. We might see something that vaguely resembles what
you are describing. If people wouldn’t panic and if antibiotics were
prescribed remotely and if people did a few basic things like wash their hands
and stay at home if they have a preexisting medical condition, then basically
nothing would happen. The only one we don’t have is a lack of panic. People
are trying to see their doctors and get tests while they have no symptoms. I’m
sorry man but you’re wrong this time.
~~~
jariel
>>> "We might see something that vaguely resembles what you are describing."
No, there's a 100% chance we will see it if we don't take measures. _Watch the
news_ from Wuhan, Italy - it's apoplectic. It's really bad, and if they didn't
shut everything down, it would be a zombie movie.
We know that 'shutting things down' works because in China, the virus is
contained, at least for now and medical facilities are starting to be able to
cope.
>>> "The morbidity rate is far less than 3%"
Source? Because every credible source and the data coming out of various
countries puts the rate at somewhere near 3%, not 'far less than' 3%. Some
facts [1]
Even a 1.5% death rate is existentially problematic, we're still talking
_millions_ of people dead.
Moreover, if you bother to look at the data, you'll see that _morbidity rates
are a function of access to care_ , meaning that when Hospitals are
'overwhelmed' \- people die at much greater rates. In Italy, it's 5%.
But there's a bigger issue: 20% of people who get it requires specific medical
intervention, and at least 5% of them 'intensive care'. COVID is totally
overwhelming medical the medical system in 100% of the areas wherein the
contagion has let loose; people getting zero treatment, medical staff getting
infected, people dying in the hallways, in their homes.
FYI 20% of 330M Americans is 66M people, only a fraction of whom need to be
infected for 'zombie apocalypse' in the Hospitals, again: see Italy, Wuhan for
what will happen.
>>> Antibiotics?? Antibiotics are not part of this equation.
>>> "and if people did a few basic things like wash their hands and stay at
home if they have a preexisting medical condition, then basically nothing
would happen. "
No - absolutely not. Having a few people 'wash their hands' and having the
elderly 'stay home' will do very little to quash the pandemic.
The evidence from other countries is writ large, the variables are
established: extensive testing, restricted travel, social distancing,
isolation for any sick person, aggressive operational preparation by medical
staff, keeping social order, restriction on large scale events etc. etc..
This is the 'new normal' for at least a few months.
[1] [https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-
peop...](https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-
die-f4d3d9cd99ca)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge - dmmalam
http://www.samsung.com/uk/galaxys6/index.html
======
joshmn
I'm really disappointed that they dropped support for MicroSD and battery
removal, which are (in my opinion) the biggest things that stand out versus
iPhone.
I guess I'll stick with my S5.
------
tariqr
Dont get it, why make both? Why make the customer decide on such mundane
criteria. Ridiculous.
~~~
gdulli
The curved screen is more expensive to make so it has to cost more. It looks
gimmicky and unnecessary but a lot of consumers have been trained to pay extra
for flashy design flourishes or innately feel better about doing so.
It's smart, this way Samsung can appeal to those types and also people who
just want a normal high-quality phone with no gimmicks at a more reasonable
price.
~~~
joshmn
I have a friend who is really drawn to stuff like this -- the curved screen.
He told me that it's great for swiping from the edge of your screen to open up
a window for viewing what apps you have running.
He was convinced (via marketing) that this is the only phone with that
ability.
My rooted S3 running on Beanstalk can do it.
What I'm trying to say is, yeah, gimmicks, but to the poorly-educated
consumer.
I personally find the edge to be just another thing that can go wrong when I
drop the phone.
------
ProfOak_
I don't get it. Is the only difference rounded edges?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
ANN: HTTP a Little Book - copy1000
https://leanpub.com/httplittlebook
======
magicbuzz
How does leanpub allow a book description with such awful spelling and
grammar?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
GNU Taler 0.0.0 released - Prygan
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/taler/2016-06/msg00014.html
======
vessenes
I don't have time for a full write up of this system yet, and a paper would be
really great.
That said, here are to me the most salient points:
* Exchanges (essentially banks in Taler) must have external auditing; there are no in-built technology mechanisms for noticing or defeating over-issuance
* HTTP/HTTPS focused -- this is intended to be an API-layer tool
* Token based, so you could use it with any system you want
* Government audit friendly -- it tries for high levels of privacy for users and almost none for merchants as a conscious decision to be bad for money laundering.
------
kybernetyk
>Unlike BitCoin or cash payments, Taler ensures that governments can learn
their citizen's total income and thus collect sales, value-added or income
taxes
Wow, what a feature ...
~~~
Frondo
Indeed, that is an excellent feature.
Money transfers without the banks, but I can potentially get buy-in from my
government and use it to pay my taxes (which I am happy to pay, because I am
buying civilization with it)?
Sign me up!
~~~
exstudent2
It's funny that you think you're buying civilization with your taxes when the
vasty majority of the money you give the government is used to actively
_destroy_ civilization. Bombs aren't cheap.
~~~
sbierwagen
Vast majority? Military spending is only 15.75% of the US federal budget. And
that's just federal spending, citizens also pay taxes to states and
municipalities, which rarely field combat aircraft.
~~~
miles
While military spending (not counting veterans' benefits) in 2015 was around
16% of the total US federal budget[1,2], it made up 53.71% of the
discretionary spending budget, dwarfing the next closest category,
"government", at 6.54%.
From the BusinessInsider link below:
" _The military budget is by far the largest single cost displayed. It is
almost six times larger than the 2015 education budget and it is more than 34
times the size of NASA 's 2015 operating budget. In total, the costs of
running the military amount to approximately 16% of the overall 2015 US
budget._"
[1] [http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-defense-budget-is-
mass...](http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-defense-budget-is-
massive-2015-8)
[2] [https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-
bud...](https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-
budget-101/spending/)
~~~
azernik
And discretionary spending is a useful metric... why? Your taxes go to funding
both discretionary and non-discretionary spending, so of your tax money, yes,
military spending is only around 16%.
------
nwalfield
Taler is quite different from, say, bitcoin in that it tries to enable
taxation while preserving anonymity. The main webpage has more info:
[https://www.taler.net/](https://www.taler.net/) . Unfortunately, it doesn't
appear that a paper has been published yet. But, there are a couple of
presentations at [https://taler.net/news](https://taler.net/news) .
------
kriro
From reading their page and watching a talk I don't quite get how they merge
taxation and anonymity. As I understand it what individual transactions are
for is protected but the total money flows are available and thus taxable? I
take it they have categories (capital gains, income) etc. attached to the
money streams since they are taxed differently in most countries? That would
open the possibility to do some metadata/timing etc. analysis and at least
some of that anonymity would get leaked. I would also have to prove somehow
that this transaction was for example a capital gains transaction etc.
Similarly I don't see how sales taxes are handled. That would require a
somewhat specific location identifier on my part, would it not (in the U.S.
you'd need to provide your state)? I'm also not sure how tax deductions would
work. For those I usually have to turn in receipts and declare why the content
of the items is relevant for the work.
Let's say I want to buy a book that I think could be flagged for political
reasons and would want to keep the fact that I bought that book secret. I'd
still have to prove that it was purchase of an item (possibly even indicating
a book depending on how complicated the tax code is).
It feels like in practice it would be a rather soft layer of anonymity. I
don't know I feel like I just don't get how taxation and anonymity can be
merged as soon as the tax code gets complicated a lot of information needs to
be leaked.
------
codewiz
Reading Taler's website ([https://www.taler.net/](https://www.taler.net/)) it
is not clear to me whether customer and merchant must agree to use the same
exchange in order to perform a transaction.
It seems to be implied by the key interactions of a Merchant: "Create a
reserve based on an incoming wire transfer from a customer" and "Execute wire
transfers to merchants in response to validated deposits".
If this is indeed the case, then there's an attractor towards centralization:
both customers and merchants will be forced to sign up with the dominant
exchange for maximum interoperability.
Either exchanges are given an incentive to federate with zero friction for
users, or the Taler network will inevitably become a centralized monopoly.
~~~
Allezxandre
I understood the website the same way you did: the merchant must use the same
exchange as the customer. I hope we're wrong.
For the sake of anonymity though, it appears to me that using a new exchange
would be easy as you would not require to log in with an email and a password,
but rather with a kind of web-browser extension or something similar. Each
merchant could then become its own exchange, and you would only see a few big
exchanges whose role would just be to make everything simpler for the
merchant, and that simplicity would come at the price of an increased fee.
This is a bit like what PayPal or Stripe are doing today.
------
programLyrique
Previous discussion worth reading about Taler on HN a few months ago:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10258312](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10258312)
------
brianolson
Title should say something about what "Taler" is. It's obviously brand new. A
post about ffmpeg 67.9.5 might assume that there's more knowledge in the world
about what "ffmpeg" is.
~~~
rocky1138
While I agree with you, Thaler is the origin of the word Dollar.
~~~
tremon
Not all of us use the Dollar as our primary currency, and probably fewer of us
are etymologists.
~~~
WildUtah
_fewer of us are etymologists_
But think how useful it would be in an emergency if we were.
[https://xkcd.com/1012/](https://xkcd.com/1012/)
------
yarrel
I'm pro-taxation, but cryptocurrency with built-in state surveillance doesn't
seem like a good combination.
~~~
gwildor
I'm generally against state surveillance, but how else would you properly tax?
~~~
branchless
By taxing land!!!!!
~~~
frozenport
This will make land ownership harder, which is a regressive measure and will
further income inequality. Land and home-ownership represent significant steps
towards generational wealth, because when you are paying off a mortgage you
own the home while in the case of a lease you own nothing.
Literally, this you are advocating economic policy from the Ancien Régime.
~~~
aninhumer
It also makes it hard for existing landowners to own land, so they're more
inclined to sell it, lowering the prices for everyone.
Also, even if you rent, your landlord is paying the tax, so they'll pass the
cost on to you anyway.
------
MatthewWilkes
So, semver is great and all, but 0.0.x releases just look silly, in my
opinion. I've never seen someone zero index the least significant column
before though, which makes it look even worse.
Would people actually expect w piece of software marked as version 0.0.0 to be
anything more than a placeholder?
~~~
cornstalks
It's funny that programmers treat zero-indexing arrays and things as normal
(even "correct"), but suddenly zero-indexing versions is something wacky.
What's weird to me is that 0.0.0 isn't more common in the developer world,
given how frequently we start counting from 0.
~~~
dunkelheit
I find 0.0.x versions wacky too. Version numbers (in contrast to array
subscripts) are only useful in relation to previous version numbers. Ideally
when a new version of the software I use comes out I can decide whether to
upgrade only by comparing the version number with the one I use. E.g. in
semver increased minor number means "new functionality added". So when 0.0.0
version comes out, what does it mean, compared to the absence of software? No
functionality at all? :)
~~~
cornstalks
What does 0.0.1 mean, compared to the absence of software? You can't compare
0.0.1 to anything if there's no other previous release.
Starting at 0.0.1 is at least just as arbitrary as starting at 0.0.0, and your
aversion to starting at 0.0.0 suggests you're making implicit assumptions
about what the non-existent 0.0.0 means when starting at 0.0.1. But if 0.0.0
doesn't even exist then you can't really make any assumptions about it.
At least 0.0.0 is clearly the very first version of something. Starting at
0.0.1 doesn't make clear that there isn't an earlier 0.0.0.
~~~
MatthewWilkes
For me, personally, 1.0.0 feels right as the first version. Compared to
nothing, the first release is a major and there have been no minors.
I guess I don't really see version numbers as indexes but as cardinals, hence
why leading zeroes seem weird to me.
------
zmanian
Is there any document or talk that really explains how all the crypto pieces
fit together?
------
technofiend
This is cool but if you do look at where big investments are being made it's
more in smart contract/block chain. Considering the extreme regulatory and DOJ
pressure to expose all parties in any fiduciary transaction I'm skeptical
we'll ever see an explicitly government-approved system with anonymity.
~~~
internaut
> I'm skeptical we'll ever see an explicitly government-approved system with
> anonymity.
Me too but I also think that it's increasingly not possible to scale up a
governance system without anonymity.
Suppose you have a list of incumbents that will pay you off to kill
competition, and a list of new entities that affect those incumbents. That's a
recipe for stasis and stagnation. Arguably this has already occurred in the
medical arena on multiple levels.
You need a 'fog of war' to allow innovation to occur. Otherwise you're
depending on the goodwill, patriotism or honesty of officials, things that
could dry up when you most need them. I suppose this could also be used as an
argument for limited protectionism and incubation.
------
gcb0
gnu devs peomoting chrome. im surprised. I would have expected "only tested on
iceweasel" .
------
Tharkun
The name is rather poorly chosen, given that thousands of banks use Thaler
(with an H) to handle their payments...
------
kensai
Is there a white paper of the protocol somewhere?
------
homero
Selling my bitcoin now!
------
etatoby
If you consider how much money is embezzled / stolen by (most) corporations by
avoiding paying taxes for all the services they benefit from, in the countries
they operate in, this seems a very good feature.
~~~
fiatjaf
Yeah, because it would be much better if none of these companies existed.
~~~
jug
Did the parent imply that?
~~~
fiatjaf
Yes, of course.
~~~
ball_of_lint
No, it implied it would be better for them to pay their taxes.
------
legulere
"electronic payment system providing anonymity [...] in any existing currency"
This sounds pretty much like money laundering to me.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How Zano Raised Millions on Kickstarter and Left Most Backers with Nothing - Futurebot
https://medium.com/kickstarter/how-zano-raised-millions-on-kickstarter-and-left-backers-with-nearly-nothing-85c0abe4a6cb#.o9kxki64i
======
TrevorJ
It seems like there are some common threads that crop up in these failed
kickstarters, especially the ones that require hardware and supply chain
knowledge. I wonder if this could present a good opportunity for kickstarter:
they could bring on board a team of domain experts that can help vet projects
along with an advisory/incubator style model that would help successful
kickstarters avoid these pitfalls.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The long, complicated, and extremely frustrating history of Medium - longdefeat
http://www.niemanlab.org/2019/03/the-long-complicated-and-extremely-frustrating-history-of-medium-2012-present/
======
asaph
> Medium made it possible for anyone to blog and be seen.
This was possible long before Medium launched. I recall popular bloggers being
a thing years before Medium showed up.
~~~
taneq
Yeah, what about Wordpress, Blogger, etc.? They've been around forever.
~~~
sontek
LiveJournal!
~~~
konradb
Radio Userland :)
------
rchaud
I remember writing for a review site called Epinions back when I was a broke
teen in the mid-2000s. They paid for reviews of products, with the
monetization based on views of my page. I bought a $100 Sandisk MP3 player
when the average price of an iPod was $250, and reviewed it. I made $50, but
over the course of 2.5 years.
I think about that sometimes and still think it's a better ROI than posting
anything on Medium.
------
telltruth
Ev Williams is my founder hero. People often sweat about having a cool idea or
atleast great tech before they do startups. Not Ev Williams. He has created
startups after startups that has no real novelty, has no technology challenges
and even doesn't target any real problem that world has. Still, his startups
eats of millions of dollars in investment while having tiny little teams and
finally gets sold or even IPOed for billions of dollars in windfall. I wager
that if anyone else appeared at any of the VC with ideas of his startups, they
would have been laughed off out the building. The amazing part is that he
stays low most of the time, avoids any self-PR and still manages to mobilize
massive public attention to his startups. That one is his single most
important skill that none of the other founders can even come close.
~~~
sytelus
> The amazing part is that he stays low most of the time, avoids any self-PR
> and still manages to mobilize massive public attention to his startups.
So how does he do that? This is obviously a billion dollar skill.
~~~
rchaud
He's the cofounder of Twitter and has a track record of getting traction with
his products. I would imagine VCs care more about that than his public
profile.
------
nkozyra
I have absolutely no idea what the value add of medium is supposed to be to
publishers?
Amateur tooling? Half assed distribution? Unreliable relationship? Constant
new ways to annoy readers?
For an incredibly basic blog I get it but even the publishing tools there are
so limited I'm perplexed it hasn't grown up.
~~~
tonystubblebine
FWIW, I make a full time living there on part time work and they've sent my
articles several million readers that never otherwise would have heard of me.
Also I was just approached for a mainstream book deal. Those are all massive
goods.
The bad is that I think Medium hasn't stayed in one place long enough for
people to accurately understand it. But I've been working with them from the
beginning of this strategy shift two years ago and the basic strategy hasn't
changed at all.
~~~
nkozyra
> FWIW, I make a full time living there on part time work and they've sent my
> articles several million readers that never otherwise would have heard of me
I suppose there are publishers and then there are _publishers_. I have no
doubt they're trying to court people like you but it seems like their bigger
ploy is to rope in the big publishers into embracing their platform, to
abandon traditional digital publishing platforms.
If I'm a basic blogger or tiny digital publisher, Medium _can_ work, though
the tools are so archaic and limited I would become frustrated very quickly.
If I'm even at medium-sized, the whole thing is a mess of half-measures that
now seems singularly focused on annoying readers.
Throwing my content into a network or allowing me to pay to promote my content
or whatever really isn't enough of a sell. I can do that anywhere and keep
more of the money.
~~~
wodenokoto
> Throwing my content into a network ... really isn't enough of a sell.
That depends on the network you are thrown into. The company I work for saw a
substantial increase in new leads after moving the corporate blog from self-
hosting to Medium.
As much as I dislike the platform too, it is hard to argue with money
------
idlewords
There's a long history in American publishing of wealthy people taking on an
expensive publishing venture as a pet project, which in turn takes on the
idiosyncrasies of the founder. It's easy to get distracted by startup speak
and the fact that Medium lives online, but its trajectory fits squarely in a
tradition that has been around for as long as we've had the printing press and
intellectually vain rich people.
~~~
tonystubblebine
I'm sure I'm biased, but this feels like a severe misreading of Evan Williams'
history. He's abnormally persistent about enduring failure until he finds the
big thing. Blogger and Twitter were both preceded by long periods of failure.
Also, given that he resigned from the Twitter board and has other people
making his investment decisions it seems pretty clear that Medium is not a pet
project for him.
~~~
coldtea
> _He 's abnormally persistent about enduring failure until he finds the big
> thing. Blogger and Twitter were both preceded by long periods of failure._
If that "failure" still got investor money, then there's not so much
"persistence" involved.
Blogger was sold in like 4 years, that's not some incredible tenacity either.
~~~
tonystubblebine
At Blogger, they ran out of money, the entire team left, and Ev ran it alone
for a year or two. For part of that he was relying on donations to eat. That's
what I was calling persistence. If it was such a great idea, why didn't other
people on that team try to keep helping, even if just in the evenings? (I'm
not actually positive that they didn't try--that's a flaw in my narrative
here).
Similar when Twitter started inside of Odeo. Odeo was struggling, Twitter was
an interesting Odeo side project with a hundred users including all of the
Odeo investors. Ev (with his blogger money), bought back all Odeo assets
including Twitter basically out of shame for wasting the investor's time and
money. The only pushback at that time was from investors who thought there was
no need to make them whole and that they would have been fine if he'd just
shut everything down. If Twitter really looked all that promising, then
there's no way those investors would have let that happen. But Ev saw some
potential and persisted even when other people didn't understand why. I was on
the Odeo team so I saw a lot of that first hand.
Medium's a longer case. I shared offices with them a couple times and that's
why I push back on this "pet project" or "vanity project" so hard. It's more
like his "White Whale" which I suppose does have some vanity in it. But he's
as serious about figuring Medium out as he ever was with the previous two
successes. I'd actually seen a really convoluted version of Medium that they
called Grids and never released. It was so inscrutable, so bad really, that
they had to shut it down and work on an unrelated project for a month just to
recover some confidence. (That's what it looked like to me at least).
I think because I've been around for so many failures (Odeo, Grids, something
called Standy), that I see Ev as someone who's wrong a lot, but consistent in
hunting for something that feels big enough. I saw all the Medium pivots in
that light: if they are pivoting then he'd finally concluded that that path
wasn't big enough.
If you assume Ev wants Medium to be both big and meaningful (that's my
assumption), then this looks like a good pivot. It has the potential to be big
(the VC hyptothesis would be the Netflix for Content or something like that)
and more importantly, it solves the meaningful problem because it changes the
incentives for writers so that content marketers get deprecated and quality
gets promoted. A lot of Ev's best public statements the last two years are
about how corrupted the free content ecosystem is.
That's something I didn't realize until I got inside this partner program.
We'd been publishing free articles that now I'm embarrassed by. Maybe those
articles had good ideas, but most of them needed a lot more work to really be
valuable to the reader (including articles I wrote). But since we weren't
getting paid, it didn't make sense to put in any more work than what we had
been doing. Now that we have money and a style guide and deep story edits
(about three hours of editing per article), I feel like we're much less likely
to be wasting a reader's time. (We publish advice, so we can't claim that we
succeeded by entertaining the reader).
------
oska
4 of the first 8 comments in this thread are from a relentless self-promoter,
evident in both their self-references in this thread and their submission
history to HN in the last two years being almost solely comprised of their own
articles on Medium.
~~~
coldtea
And we had to know that because? To morally condemn them?
If we (people on HN) like their 4 comments enough to vote them to the top,
then it's up to us.
Same for their "submission history". I could not care less if it's comprised
from their own articles on Medium. As long as people liked and voted for the
stories to go on the front page, that's enough. If people on HN didn't like
and vote for the stories, they'd be lost, like countless other submissions. So
there's that.
I would have a problem if antirez, or idlewords, or PG, or whoever posted
their own articles either. Why not? There's the upvoting of submissions to
tells us whether those are good or not.
I also checked the submissions history of the person you refer to. 30
submissions in 6 years. Hardly clogging the pipes.
Besides, what they share in this post is regarding Medium, so is totally on
topic. There's this, too.
What's this putdown for? Jealousy? Moral indignation? I don't really like the
tone and the finger pointing.
------
tonystubblebine
I was the first publication in this program starting two years ago, basically
the test case. We've renewed and expanded it twice since then and are in talks
to expand it again. I feel so fortunate in that the experience has been useful
and profitable.
~~~
wodenokoto
Why is this being downvoted?
A user is willing to share their first-hand experience with the content-matter
of an article.
How is that not both interesting and relevant in a HN context?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Facebook disguised sponsored ads as regular posts, Adblock Plus fixed that - hinchlt
https://sociable.co/social-media/facebook-disguised-sponsored-ads/
======
ipsum2
Reminder that Adblock plus sells ads and extorts advertisers:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/business/media/adblock-
pl...](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/business/media/adblock-plus-created-
to-protect-users-from-ads-opens-the-door.html)
[https://medium.com/@trybravery/please-stop-using-adblock-
but...](https://medium.com/@trybravery/please-stop-using-adblock-but-not-why-
you-think-13280e76c8e7). (HN commentary:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16997272](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16997272))
Use Ublock Origin for a real adblock.
Also, I find it suspicious that the user who submitted the post only
exclusively submits articles from "sociable-co".
------
tfitz237
I noticed one of these recently and tried to block it with an adblocker by
finding the word Sponsored. I looked at the source code and found that they
separated each letter of the word 'Sponsored' into separate html tags, making
it impossible to find it by text. So sleazy, Facebook.
~~~
mirkules
That’s brilliant, in an evil way. At that point I would just draw the text on
a canvas (not to give any ideas).
It’s ironic that people who use adblockers are the exact people you don’t want
to push ads onto, _even if you can_. They have adblockers for a reason, and
they’ll just ignore them anyway!
------
amyjess
Isn't this a violation of FTC rules?
~~~
cjhopman
Only if you interpret what they are saying in the way that they intended you
to, despite the fact that it's not what they are explicitly saying.
When they say "Facebook were disguising ‘sponsored posts’ as regular posts",
all that means is that Facebook changed something in such a way that Adblock
Plus was no longer detecting it as a "sponsored post". It doesn't mean that
sponsored posts looked the same to users as regular posts.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Are there any startups willing to use the ASP.NET Core technology? - techdominator
Recently, Microsoft has been showing more openness with regards to their products by open sourcing asp.net core and the coreclr runtime for example.<p>I would like to know if there are actual startups that are using or considering to use these technologies to build their product and services, especially in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley area?<p>If yes how do you manage (or plan to manage) the risks associated with these relatively immature technologies?<p>If not what are the reasons for a startup to stay away from .NET CORE?
======
kogir
> If not what are the reasons for a startup to stay away from .NET CORE?
I've been using .Net for over 10 years now, and just launched a new product on
Asp.Net Web API + SQL Server + Orleans.
Whatever Microsoft says, .Net Core is not at all ready. The tooling and
libraries are still undergoing major (and breaking) changes. You'll spend more
time debugging it than your own code.
I (foolishly) tried to adopt it a year ago (RC), and again six months ago
(1.0). Each time I ran into a critical bugs and omissions.
.Net Core will probably, eventually be great. It isn't yet.
Edit: Here's an example of the fun you'll have, published today:
[https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/dotnet/2017/01/30/announcin...](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/dotnet/2017/01/30/announcing-
net-core-net-native-and-nuget-updates-in-vs-2017-rc/)
~~~
throwawasiudy
I agree 100%. My last place was a 100% MS shop and while .NET core seems like
it will be great we ran into endless problems, specifically with compatibility
and existing libraries. We couldn't get anything more than a toy project to
work.
I recommend anyone looking at .NET core to use Java for now. The languages are
basically mutually intelligible and while java is a bit less syntactically
pleasant it gets the job done, and the tools are quite mature. Arguably Java
has, and has had, 99% of what .NET core is trying to achieve for many years.
Using the right frameworks it's incredibly fast, multiplatform, and even
serverless.
The biggest problem that you run into with Java is too much choice, the
opposite of the .NET framework. Deciding which tools to use takes a fair
amount of research because the ecosystem is so massive. I've been cutting my
teeth on it for the past couple months and I would say go with these
frameworks:
DropWizard Play Jersey
running on Grizzly, Jetty, or Netty depending on which project supports what.
Database-wise for ORM nothing beats Hibernate. Entity framework is basically a
slower more confusing copy of hibernate, coming from someone that's used both.
The main advantage of EF is LINQ which Hibernate can't quite match in theory
but usually does in practice(the queries generated by HQL tend to be a lot
less....stupid)
~~~
rdlecler1
>I agree 100%. My last place was a 100% MS shop and while .NET core seems like
it will be great we ran into endless problems, specifically with compatibility
and existing libraries. We couldn't get anything more than a toy project to
work.
This has been my experience with MS in general. Initially everything seems
great and you feel productive, but as soon as you decide to go off-road you
lose all that you gained and more with buggy and poorly documented software.
~~~
UK-AL
Standard .Net is acutally one the most well documented and stable platforms
I've used.
~~~
samfisher83
I agree .net standard is super well documented.
------
jpobst
I work for a very mature startup, and recently led our first site on ASP.NET
Core. The framework itself is very nice and very solid, basically a "do-over"
of all the previous ASP.NET frameworks with the benefit of hindsight. Although
there's been some new things to learn, I've been very pleased with how
consistent and thought out the new ASP.NET Core is. We run the site in
production.
Having said that, the tooling around ASP.NET Core has been an absolute
disaster. They went 90% of the way with one mechanism (project.json), then
decided to start over with a new mechanism (msbuild). While I believe it is
ultimately for the best, the interim has been incredibly difficult to work
with, as ASP.NET has been officially released now for ~8 months with neither
method fully working. For example, in the current project.json stuff you
cannot reference another project without first putting it into a Nuget
pacakge.
Hopefully this will all be cleared up with the upcoming release of VS2017, but
if you need something sooner and aren't interested in dealing with a lot of
pain, I'd stick to ASP.NET classic for now.
~~~
gol706
Putting the words "ASP" and "Classic" that close together sent a chill down my
spine. You're totally right about the tooling though. If I can't do File->New
Project and get it to compile and run an empty project out of the gate, your
doing it wrong. Every time I try I have to find some new forum post telling me
how to fix my environment.
------
tiffanyh
StackOverflow.com [1]
I'm not certain I'd still call them a "startup" but they have been very open
about their large use of .NET and the advantages it brings to bear.
[1] [http://nickcraver.com/blog/2016/02/17/stack-overflow-the-
arc...](http://nickcraver.com/blog/2016/02/17/stack-overflow-the-
architecture-2016-edition/)
Edit: More .NET information / usage.
[2] [http://nickcraver.com/blog/2016/03/29/stack-overflow-the-
har...](http://nickcraver.com/blog/2016/03/29/stack-overflow-the-
hardware-2016-edition/)
[3] [http://nickcraver.com/blog/2016/05/03/stack-overflow-how-
we-...](http://nickcraver.com/blog/2016/05/03/stack-overflow-how-we-do-
deployment-2016-edition/)
~~~
sklivvz1971
I am a core dev at Stack Overflow. We do not work with .net core yet in
production.
That said, we do maintain a number of .net libraries, such as Dapper or
miniprofiler and we ported them to .net core (or we are in the process of
doing that).
We are also contributing significantly, together with other community leaders,
to the design and development of the .net core API.
This said, we have been having some of the pain that is mentioned in other
threads. The framework is still incomplete and evolving, although a lot of
what's coming out is excellent and very fast/modern.
------
ctolkien
Yes, we launched our start up on ASP.NET Core -
[https://www.comparelearning.com.au/](https://www.comparelearning.com.au/)
(We're based out of Sydney Australia - not SF).
Overall, it was a positive experience and I think even with the current warts
(in particular around tooling), it's a nicer stack than MVC5.
I blogged about some things we learned here:
[https://chad.tolkien.id.au/lessons-learnt-going-into-
product...](https://chad.tolkien.id.au/lessons-learnt-going-into-product-with-
asp-net-core/)
------
kminehart
Since it's been an hour and there hasn't been much response, I'll give my two
cents.
I don't work for a startup. However, I do work in a small team of 3
developers, and have recently been faced with the decision of choosing a
technology stack to start from scratch.
Before this decision, we were using PHP5; we were constantly putting out fires
and couldn't ever get any actual work done because of this awful inherited
codebase.
WARNING: OPINIONS AHEAD.
We decided to not go the .NET route for a few reasons.
Object-Oriented programming doesn't have a place in our hearts, as it does
with a many OO-only developers. I find that object-oriented code is overly
verbose and often difficult to maintain. For these reasons, we also wanted to
avoid PHP, Java, and node.js. I feel like object oriented programming is more
of an obstacle I have to overcome than a feature.
I hate to say it, but I just don't trust Microsoft. Yes, .NET on Linux is
incredibly fast. How many years down the road until Microsoft decides to try
getting their new Linux user-base onto Windows? They've done similar things
before, and it'll take more than a year of a "Microsoft <3 Linux" advertising
campaign to convince me to use one of their products in a Linux-only
ecosystem.
Not only that, but .NET core hasn't been on Linux for a very long time. There
isn't as much documentation that I can find on running, deploying, and
maintaining a .NET / Linux application as many other technologies. (note: I
could be wrong here after some more research, it's been out for a couple
years, which is probably enough time).
We decided to go with Golang. It's a statically typed language that treats
functions as first class citizens. It's not object oriented, doesn't have
exceptions (yay), has an amazing standard library (including testing and
benchmarking!), is easy to deploy (compiled & doesn't depend on a runtime like
JVM or .NET core), and I feel like it's working with me, not against me. Plus
half of our stack is already in Go (docker & kubernetes, and now Tyk).
I know that so many of you will absolutely disagree with me and that's fine.
I'm not here to start fights, just giving my two cents. :)
~~~
throwaw181ay
> Object-Oriented programming doesn't have a place in our hearts,
Go is object oriented.
> I hate to say it, but I just don't trust Microsoft.
But you trust Google? well known for discontinuing products or abandoning them
( GWT?,... )
> It's a statically typed language that treats functions as first class
> citizens
Without some form of generics/type classes you can't fully take advantage of
Go first class functions to do classical functional programming.
> It's not object oriented
it's completely object oriented, it has methods on values,composition through
struct embedding and implicit interfaces for polymorphism. It ticks every box
of a OO language.
> is easy to deploy (compiled & doesn't depend on a runtime like JVM or .NET
> core)
Go actually has its own runtime, it's just included in the binary resulting
from the compilation.
> doesn't have exceptions (yay)
Go has panics which are exceptions.
I personally find Go useful but don't like the limitations of the language.
And they are showing already with more and more untyped API (
context.Values(interface{})interface{} ). Go relies way to much on runtime
behavior like type assertions for a so called statically typed language. Go
basically asks the developer to do the compiler's job. Because the compiler
doing its job would make it slow (?!?). So you find yourself doing a lot of
copy paste, writing your own parsers, code generators and manifests to use go
gen, use tricks that make code ugly, or just say "fuck" to types and use
"interface {}" when you are tired of all that.
.net core isn't ready for production, but when it does it will support both F#
and C# + a vast ecosystem of libraries useful for web development, gaming
(unity), mobile and desktop apps (Xamarin GUI libs ...), while Go users will
be stuck with that poor type system writing extremely verbose code because
they believe that generic programming is bad.
~~~
ponco
Can you elaborate on what you mean by Google abandoning JWT?
~~~
abrookewood
Maybe it was Google Wave? Not sure .. but Google definitely have a history of
dumping products.
------
jayrulez
I spearheaded the move from php(symfony) to .NET Core at the startup where I
work.
We have had a pleasant experience so far. Performance is better across the
board. Development is as fast or even faster in most cases. Deployment has
also been simplified.
We started the port of our code base around October last year and released the
update to our product at the end of December. During that time frame, we
migrated from 1.0 to 1.1.
We are using some awesome libraries from the community and a few small ones we
wrote internally.
Libraries include:
openiddict (for openid connect and oauth 2.0) rawrabbit (simple rabbitmq
library) entity framework core with npgsql mailkit for smtp email sending
We wrote these library wrappers around third party services because they did
not exist in a stable form: twilio wrapper nexmo wrapper gcm wrapper (now fcm
wrapper) bitgo wrapper (hosted bitcoin wallet provider) blocker wrapper
(blockchain explorer) openexchangerates wrapper api layer wrapper (mobile
number verifications) ip-api wrapper
among others.
A service monitor for monitoring availability of third party services
We have also a spin off from our main product where we are using an private
blockchain-like solution(openchain) for a niche market.
We have been very pleased with the overall experience using .NET core so far
and we are looking forward to moving to 1.2.0 as soon as it is out.
The only real issue we've had is that the new signalr library does not have a
stable release though we are using it in production. We've had to isolate it
into a separate project but because of compatibility issues with 1.1 libs.
Can't complain about hat though as we knew it is an unreleased pre-beta level
library.
To manage the risk of using it, we try to follow the development closely and
prepare in advance for any changes we can see coming.
~~~
StavrosK
> I spearheaded the move from php(symfony) to .NET Core at the startup where I
> work. We have had a pleasant experience so far.
Keep in mind that a rewritten system tends to be better than its predecessor,
because you already know what (not) to do, so you can't really compare the two
languages directly based on that.
~~~
jayrulez
While I do agree you in general, I believe the comparison is valid in this
case.
The history of our product is like this.
The MVP was about 80% done in Laravel around the time I joined the company.
I joined the company as a symfony developer who was supposed to migrate the
MVP to using symfony because "enterprise" and yadda yadda yadda as desired by
our CEO.
We were successful in migrating to symfony 2 after about 2 months of work.
From there, the system evolved over a few months going through multiple
chaotic pivots. While the product worked, we had taken on a non-trivial amount
of technical debt due to the rapid pace of evolution and numerous pivots.
As we were about to move to the next phase in our development, I spoke with
our CEO about the technical debt we had incurred and possible ways in which we
could shed it. Being a technical guy, he understood where I was coming from
and allowed us a month to clean things up.
The plan was to migrate to symfony3 while cleaning up the mess we had created.
However, while were working on the update, we started experiencing some of the
same pain points we had before including performance issues, composer memory
issues, poor library availability, late or no feedback on github issues etc...
Since I had done a project using the rc1 bits of asp.net core and updated the
application to rc2 bits after and had a good experience I suggested that we
gave it a try.
The performance and dependency management issues went away. Development speed
also improved as we had better tools to work with.
------
cbellew
Pre-launch startup here.
The tooling side of things is surely a pain, but it's getting better. I liked
the project.json style, so i'm a little disappointed they are moving back to
csproj.
Aside from that, it's a great, intuitive, fast framework that we use in
production and I love it more every day. I'd chose it again and again.
Watch out for the lack of performance monitoring solutions available so far.
Most of them haven't got support for .NET Core yet. New Relic does not.
------
weq
I never recommend up taking any MS stuff until the atleast the V2. Been
programming in .net since 1.1 when i came over from java.
First off - get off the marketing bandwagon. You dont need .NET core. If you
want to be "prepared" for .net core eventually, u can do this by using
dependency injection, and isolating all your platform specific code - ie.
Never use File. Directory. directly, always wrap them in a service, ie
IFileSystemService. If u want to be mostly compliant (esp with reflection),
use PCL projects as they are widely used and supported and are basically core
compliant.
But yeh anyways, u need to be more specific as to WHY u need .NET core? My
startup is using Owin + WebAPI + React, no need for ASP.NET/razor at all.
------
boraturan
We are all built on .net core (alvin5.com)
We have had issues with Visual Studio and Tooling between betas, but now the
platform has matured considerably and with the expected release of .net
standard 2.0, I would say you can go for it for prod.
C#/Editor/Tooling/Access-to-low-level is better than any platform I habe used.
The new MS with the open/Azure/AI investments also seems ok. We feel like we
are fit for the next 10 years with .net core.
------
luizb
Yes, we are using for some APIs at
[https://fastsalas.com](https://fastsalas.com) .
\- Azure hosted \- BizSpark supported \- .netCORE still on our beta
environment, but we can say its mature enough to go to prod.
------
hallz
I have been using it on a project and it has caused issues. However I think
once .NET Standard is released adopting .NET Core won't be a problem. Plenty
of other open source frameworks and libraries have similar issues.
Also it is important to realise that ASP.NET Core is not the same as .NET Core
(asp.net core can run with .net core or .net 4.5/6).
[https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/cesardelatorre/2016/06/28/r...](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/cesardelatorre/2016/06/28/running-
net-core-apps-on-multiple-frameworks-and-what-the-target-framework-monikers-
tfms-are-about/)
[https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/dotnet/2016/09/26/introduci...](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/dotnet/2016/09/26/introducing-
net-standard/)
------
UK-AL
I work in ex-startup(as in it's now highly profitable and successful for quite
a few years) using traditional .net on azure.
.Net core has been in quite a bit of flux recently, so we've been avoiding it.
However I the next year or so, I think we are going to adopt it.
------
keithwarren
Not a startup...but I do know of (I am consulting for them on the project) an
established SaaS company that is impressively large and successful in their
vertical that is porting from PHP/Postgres to ASP.net core and running it all
on Azure
Biggest pain so far is the versioning FUD around .Net core, standard etc. That
said, it is not really an issue.
From a risk mitigation perspective we are trying to lean on some other
established and long tested things like Dapper as a micro-orm and staying away
from fluid elements that we really want to use like SignalR until they settle
down some.
We also went as green field as we could, no attempt to port code in the
classic sense, ground up rewrite.
------
rnagenetics
The better question would be "If you are a startup not tied to a linux stack
would you use .NET (Not necessarily core)." .NET Core is definitely not ready
for prime time. It will be eventually. I believe many are confusing what
solution is correct for the job.
Most startups are not going to be purchasing hardware for a hosted solution
but instead will use cloud servers ala azure or aws heck even google cloud.
.NET is supported on all of them.
.NET has great tool, is now open source both standard and core, widely
supported, and unless you plan on running linux or mobile then why not?
------
ofir_geller
We plan on moving to it sometime this year, from "old" dotnet. The timings is
unclear because it depends on a few factors both on our side and from
Microsoft/the community. For example we are on trend of using Entity Framework
less in favor of dapper, so when the bits we are still using are fully
supported by entity framework core that block will be cleared. Other big
dependencies like a posgresql driver are already ready to go IMO. Tooling
still isn't 100% ready in visual studio 2017 with web deployment being a key
problem.
My advice would be to only use it now if you are starting from scratch and you
have no business goals in the next 6 months (you are building an MVP and can
take the hit of some random bugs in production). I know that at least one
startup is using it for critical services, but they are also committed to
fixing the dotnet core source code when they run into a problem and I believe
are part of the reason for the good pref of kestrel (new web server), I think
unless you are willing to do that you should wait a bit longer.
[https://www.ageofascent.com/category/asp-net-
core/](https://www.ageofascent.com/category/asp-net-core/)
------
sebringj
I first wonder what advantages are there in using .NET Core over anything
else. I personally can't think of any and I'm a fan of c#. I would love to
hear and this is not sarcasm as I started out in the ASP.NET world a long long
time ago in a galaxy far far away.
~~~
BuckRogers
There isn't really. If you wanted .Net Core you'd just use Java. Its been what
.Net Core wants to be but has been for a very long time but with the
tooling/libraries and such. I think the ship has sailed where there is a mass
of devs out there chomping at the bit for C# on Linux. It'll be moderately
successful because the .Net Framework userbase is large but most people have
already reached for Java, Python or Ruby if they wanted to work outside of
what that provided.
------
dgudkov
We're currently evaluating ASP.NET Core for a task manager with web UI for our
.NET application (a data transformation tool). Our target audience is people
with little or no technical background therefore we can't ask them to setup
IIS. I looked at other web-servers in .NET stack (e.g. Suave), but nothing
looked sufficiently lightweight and easy to use. Although, we're looking for
ASP.NET Core over .NET 4.5.1, not .NET Core.
~~~
UK-AL
Self hosted nancyfx?
~~~
dgudkov
It's a good suggestion although at this point I don't see why it would be
radically better for our case than ASP.NET Core. Our application has very few
API endpoints and very low qps rate, so we don't need extensive routing or
balancing. At the same time, since we have previous experience with ASP.NET
the learning curve would be flat, while nancyfx is a new animal for us.
------
idonotknowwhy
Amazon AWS uses .net core to provide c# as a language in AWS Lambda
[http://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/lambda-dotnet-
co...](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/lambda-dotnet-coreclr-
deployment-package.html)
Looks pretty ready to me.
------
phlai
I have launched a product - engagekit.com using asp net core. Initially was
faced with some package incompatibilities during the beta stage. However,
things have improved since RC2. It's my personal venture, hence, there is no
need to consider the impact to the existing technical team.
------
stephenwithav
> If not what are the reasons for a startup to stay away from .NET CORE?
.NET's text-to-speech isn't available in .NET Core, much less on Linux.
~~~
DaiPlusPlus
Isn't that because .NET's TTS is just a wrapper around OS-provided TTS
services?
~~~
flukus
The mistake was having these in the core framework to begin with. It's under
the System.Speech namespace and not Windows.Speech or something more
appropriate.
------
jmkni
I'm the lead developer on a startup and all of our backend code is .net core
(the frontend is still 4.5)!
I love it.
Feel free to PM for more info.
~~~
DaiPlusPlus
Do you use EF at all? I'm interested in DNX but only EFC works on DNX, not
EF6, and EFC is missing so much necessary functionality (Lazy-loading, Linq
joins, Complex types, etc) it's a total no-go for the projects I do that all
tie-in with databases.
~~~
flukus
Have you looked into nHibernate's support for .net core? It was always more
flexible than EF anyway, I've been watching EF slowly fix their design
mistakes to be more like nHibernate since version 1.
~~~
DaiPlusPlus
I haven't. I've been "loyal" to EF since the LinqToSql days, though I did use
NHibernate heavily about 10 years ago. My main draw is the quality of the
tooling and the nice EDMX model designer. The other draw is Linq support for
compile-time type-safe queries (which I've noticed are compiled into good SQL
with less mangling than I'd expect).
I am guilty of not staying on top of trends outside the MS camp. I does
NHibernate now offer parity with EF? I just don't want to write SQL/HQL in
strings.
~~~
flukus
I think it has full linq support now (although could be wrong), but it's had
type safe queries for many years now, almost as long as .net has had lambda
expressions. It's very much like using EF without linq and just using the
.Where syntax. I've used it on some projects that never had any HQL (which is
an abomination). There are also a bunch of stuff like future queries that
could make it much more performant than EF.
------
jamesmp98
If I had a startup idea, yes.
------
brilliantcode
Yeah we are using a .net project on Azure...I'm not sure about what the
original question is meant to get at.
I just view .net as the staple of commoditized programming language. Go to
Asia, Europe, they are always there. The "Java" of Microsoft and it's powering
lot of stuff out there.
------
boyanpro
Why somebody would do something like that when there are python, ruby, Django
and other cool stuff.
------
graycat
My startup is based on Windows, the .NET Framework, ASP.NET for Web pages, and
ADO.NET for interacting with SQL Server. For the programming language, I'm
using Visual Basic .NET -- as Kernighan and Ritchie, IIRC, stated in their _C_
, the lanugage has an _idiosyncratic_ syntax, which it turns ou I don't like.
Since C# borrows some of that syntax, I prefer the more traditional (like
PL/I, Pascal, Fortran, Algol, etc.) syntax of Visual Basic .NET.
When I selected this collection of tools, I seemed to see that there were some
big, famous, successful, busy Web sites using these tools.
So far, I'm pleased with these tools but would like much better technical
writing in the documentation.
Some things about the tools are really nice. So far my code is about 100,000
lines of typing and about 25,000 programming language statements. I typed in
all the code using my favorite text editor (KEdit) and have made no use of
Visual Studio or any other integrated development environment. For me, KEdit
and Rexx as a scripting language work fine. For a scripting language, I may
convert over to Microsoft's Power Shell, but I see no big need to do that now.
For organizing my work, I make heavy use of the Windows NTFS hierarchical file
system -- it looks terrific, like some of Microsoft's and/or the industry's
best software.
For the _CORE_ , I have no more than 15 seconds of understanding what the heck
that is. AFAIK, I won't be using the _CORE_ , whatever the heck it is.
~~~
nicostouch
Congratulations on completely failing to answer the question.
~~~
graycat
The question was about .NET Core, and I wrote about .NET which likely is
closely related. It is likely that my use of .NET is also use of some of what
is in .NET Core.
So, I answered based on what I know about .NET which should be relevant to the
question.
Others can be more clear on what is the same, similar, or different between
.NET and .NET Core. Then the parts of .NET Core that are also in .NET can get
something of a clean bill of health from me.
~~~
frik
.NET core is a complete rewrite with incompatible API, it has little to do
with the old .NET legacy framework. That's MSFT, one days hip API is tomorrows
legacy cruft, you better stay on the edge or choose a stable non-MSFT open
source solution.
~~~
graycat
Gads: I'm ordering the parts for my first server computer and about to put my
code into alpha test, and already my tools are obsolete? Gads!
Sounds like .NET Core is aimed mostly just at the Linux world or the mobile
world or people who want to be able to run the same code on both Linux and
Windows. But I'm staying with Windows desktop and Windows Server -- already
spent too much on getting good enough with Windows.
I have to suspect that Microsoft will continue to support Windows developers,
including with VB.NET. If all Microsoft does with VB.NET is fix bugs, then
fine with me. I'm not sure I have yet found a bug; so, fixing bugs in VB.NET
should be easy enough for Microsoft.
I'm not really a _programmer_ ; instead I'm an applied mathematician and
business man who also writes software. Since this thread is about startups,
the core of my startup is some applied math I derived -- and then programmed,
with a Web site for the users.
I would guess that if Microsoft wants all their major languages to run on both
Windows and Linux, then that will be a lot of work and something for the
future that I don't have to worry about.
While I don't like the C# C-like syntax, I could use C# if I needed to. IIRC
there is a source code translator from VB --> C# and, maybe, if possible, in
the other direction. So, I could convert my code to C#.
I suspect that I'm not the only developer who wants to continue with VB.NET
and the .NET Framework as they have been for some years now. If the .NET Core
is not relevant to such developers, then so be it, and that's not a good
reason for Microsoft to abandon their old developers.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Suiteness (YC S16) makes it easy to rent suites and connected hotel rooms - stvnchn
http://themacro.com/articles/2016/07/suiteness/
======
spdustin
I created an account and tried searching suites in Vegas next month and got
only a spinner.
Console shows a console.log'd error: _[Log] There was an error: 503 HTTP /2.0
503 (suiteness-564112e565.js, line 1818)_
Prior to that, the actual network request error entry: _[Error] Failed to load
resource: the server responded with a status of 503 (HTTP /2.0 503) (results,
line 0)_
The response from that network request:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<style type="text/css">html,body,iframe{margin:0;padding:0;height:100%;}iframe{display:block;width:100%;border:none;}</style>
<title>Application Error</title>
</head>
<body>
<iframe src="//suiteness.github.io/suiteness.com/error">
<p>Application Error</p>
</iframe>
</body>
</html>
~~~
killion
Hi, sorry one of our upstream providers for Las Vegas is having downtime at
the exact same moment the post went live. We hope to have it resolved shortly.
~~~
killion
Whew, this has finally been resolved. Vegas is up and running at 100% again.
~~~
spdustin
Awesome. Was looking for some of those media suites on the strip. There's one
at Palazzo that has a piano! I miss Vegas. Your site makes me want to go back
again. The data for the Palazzo media suite, however, isn't exactly right. It
shows amenities include a piano, massage table, and pool table. The suites
don't have all of them (at least, not when I toured them a while back) but do
have one or two in each room configuration.
Great job on the site. Some gorgeous properties out there. I'll definitely be
returning when I'm ready to live it up in Vegas again. That bungalow at the
Cosmopolitan looks pretty swank...
------
snake117
I surprisingly like this idea. My friends and I were considering getting a
suite in Vegas a few months back and though the plans mainly fell through for
conflicting schedules, I remember finding it more difficult getting _quick_
information on suites.
I have two questions for you:
1\. Have you faced any resistance from certain hotels for any reason?
2\. What other cities do you plan on expanding to?
Keep up the great work!
~~~
killion
Thank you! The problem you described is exactly the one we want to solve.
1\. Absolutely, we faced a lot of resistance when we first started. It took
getting one big hotel to vouch for us to get more signed up. It gets easier
every day since we are bringing the best customers. 2\. San Francisco will be
live very soon. Before demo day we anticipate that we will have the largest
markets in the US online.
~~~
wishinghand
Why were they so resistant? I'd be interested in hearing their rationale.
~~~
killion
We found a few main reasons and lots of little ones. The main ones were:
1\. Brand Safety - The hotels we work with are high-end luxury resorts and
they don't want to be seen as discounted.
2\. Limited inventory - Many of the suites we sell are one of a kind like
penthouses.
3\. Technology limitations - This is a huge one but most hotel reservation
systems max out at 4 adult occupancy. They can't just put these suites on the
GDS.
4\. Personal approvals - Some of the suites have decor like $50K vases that if
they are broken they are out of commission for weeks.
So we had to overcome all of these issues before we could sign the first
hotel. But by overcoming them and bringing great customers to the hotel the
sales process has become easier (not easy, easier). I hope that helps.
------
Flemlord
Would prefer it showed me the total price of the room, rather than $-per-
occupant. Note I would use this to book rooms for my family rather than for a
group of adults.
~~~
killion
Hi, there is a AB test for that running right now. If you want the total price
in the search results there is a checkbox for that in the filters. Thanks for
the feedback!
------
eldavido
Are you guys planning to integrate with existing property management systems
or to be the property management system?
~~~
killion
That is a great question, we are currently integrated at the central
reservation system level. The next step for us is to integrate at the property
management level. Eventually we want to provide enough utility for luxury
hotels to replace their existing CRS and maybe PMS.
~~~
eldavido
Email me. Email is in sig. I've spent the better part of the past few years
building a property management system and would love to trade insights (if you
aren't too busy pre-demo day)
------
a_small_island
Not being pedantic: I don't "get" your logo. How did you come up with it and
what other variants did you test? And why is the logo upside down in my chrome
favicon vs rightside up on your homepage?
------
killion
Hi there, one of the founders here. AMA.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Google has released a list of 1000 most-visited sites on the web - johnarcews
http://webgeekph.com/news/google-has-released-a-list-of-1000-most-visited-sites-on-the-web/
======
jws
#985: dropbox.com — myth & folklore
Congratulations on achieving mythical status!
~~~
invisible
Another good one: #229: comcast.net - online games
~~~
muddylemon
#824 stackoverflow.com - Music
------
nostrademons
Interesting that Twitter places above Amazon.com, and Bit.ly places above
NYTimes.com.
Also interesting that Scribd is the top-ranked YC startup, significantly ahead
of justin.TV (which was the second-ranked that I knew of), and I couldn't even
find Reddit, Digg, or Hacker News on the list. Though the data set is likely
biased: geeks are far less likely to have Google Toolbar installed than the
general population, and less likely to opt-in to allowing data to be collected
if they have it.
~~~
what
Isn't it based on the ads they serve?
Was also posted two days ago: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1386244>
~~~
nostrademons
The article said it was based on Toolbar logs, opt-in Google Analytics data,
and a few miscellaneous sources like customer panels. I'd imagine that most of
the big sites don't use Google Analytics (or don't opt-in to letting Google
use that data if they do), so I'm guessing that Toolbar logs are the primary
sources for most of these.
~~~
what
Didn't bother reading this one. Looked at the one from two days ago, saw
double click ad planner and made assumption. You know what they say about
assumptions.
------
ams6110
They should have titled it the 1000 most-visited sites except for porn.
~~~
invisible
Apparently #135 (game2.com.cn which is in fact a gaming site by the looks of
it) is porn.
------
skullsplitter
As a csv file <http://dl.dropbox.com/u/481380/top1000.csv>
------
matt1
I always notice microsoft.com on these lists and don't understand how it gets
so much traffic. What am I missing?
~~~
ErrantX
Random thought: default IE home page.
~~~
tree_of_item
Isn't that msn.com?
~~~
ErrantX
I thought it went to Microsoft.com/go?fwlink= etc. And them pushed you to
wherever (no idea if that counts, but if it did it could explain it)
------
vaksel
it's kinda sad that you only need to go to #15 to hit below 100mm
visitors/month number. You'd think by now, there'd be hundreds of sites with
those numbers
also would be nice to see a top 1000 for domain names. i.e. combine all
ebay.com/ebay.co.uk/ebay.co.jp etc.
------
lazyant
Distribution of their web servers: [http://lazyant.com/post/642248858/web-
servers-of-the-most-vi...](http://lazyant.com/post/642248858/web-servers-of-
the-most-visited-sites-in-the-internet)
------
spxdcz
Anyone else find it creepy that they've removed all of their own websites
(Google, YouTube, Gmail), but stil feel it's fair to publish this data about
everyone else (including their competitors)? "Do No Evil". Hmm.
~~~
pinksoda
Maybe they thought it was unfair to list their own sites.
~~~
spxdcz
Unfair how? Facebook gets more traffic than YouTube. Why not let the public
make up their mind? Or publish two versions? Or somehow otherwise make data
available about THEIR sites that they've made available about everyone elses?
Seems like a slightly pointless list otherwise... "Here are the top sites in
the world!... except for the ones we've taken out."
~~~
ugh
Imagine, just for a moment, what would happen if the did release their data.
People would criticize their decision either way …
------
d_r
Direct link, skipping the blog:
<http://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/>
------
drusenko
there's something a little strange about this list... based on our google
analytics numbers -- and the listed monthly unique visitors -- we'd be ~125,
yet we aren't even featured on the top 1,000.
something tells me that it isn't very accurate.
~~~
AndyKelley
Remember that this list is how many people _click google search results to get
to the site_
------
andrewljohnson
I didn't even no rapidshare was a real site. Any HNers use that? Occasionally
my software shows up there on Google Alerts but I thought the site was bogus.
~~~
kristofferR
It's the largest file uploading service on the planet.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: We redesigned our teaser page, what do you think about it now? - NikolaWaevio
The link is:
http://teaser.waevio.com/<p>Please post your opinion and let me know what do you think about it - don't hold back with the criticism too!
======
k__
I don't know what it's trying to tell me. It feels rather slow and the color
of the image doesn't match the background of the body/page.
------
pwg
Too much tease - the page provides me with zero idea of what this is or why I
should be interested in it at all.
------
NikolaWaevio
Clickable link: [http://teaser.waevio.com/](http://teaser.waevio.com/)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: looking for "war stories" getting OSS into UK (local) government - lifeisstillgood
I have for various reasons become stung into running a fringe meeting at July's Local Government Associations annual meeting. The idea is I perceive a catch-22 in OSS in local govt - for the stuff that governments alone do, no one who can code has an itch so there are no prebuilt packages so OSS is at a disadvantage to proprietary<p>I want to gee up enough council leaders to agree to stop paying proprietary companies and pool funds to develop open software - and am looking for anyone with experience (good bad indifferent) trying to get OSS off ground in uk government.<p>Please comment or contact me from my profile
======
bmelton
The biggest trick is in figuring out how to get them to pay for it.
I've found, at least in the US Federal Government, that OSS is usually
considered 'good' at all levels. Occasionally there is skepticism, but
generally, it's viewed positively.
However, what many OSS apps lack is a backing company to engage for support. A
scenario, if you will:
I am the CTO of a federal agency, and I am looking to cut costs over the long
run and replace an aging legacy system. I see that OSS_APP_A is a direct drop-
in with minimal switching costs, however, OSS_APP_A has no 'RedHat, Inc'
behind it. OSS_APP_B however, doesn't appear to be quite as fully featured,
and would probably require contracting time to fully switch over, which we can
hire 'OSS_APP_B, Inc' to do. If it breaks, we can call 'OSS_APP_B, Inc', and
we can hire them to do the work. Also, if it fails, we can blame them and get
out of paying on the contract until such time it is fixed.
Open source is nice, but in government, generally, systems are more critical
than others. Swapping out their office suite to OpenOffice is probably a no-
brainer, but swapping out Microsoft IIS for Apache is a little scarier,
because what happens if it breaks? So they don't use Apache, they instead hire
a company like Covalent which offers a little value-add on top of Apache, but
basically, they're "someone to blame" if/when it doesn't work.
If there's a particular piece of software you'd like to push, and it doesn't
have some kind of formal backing, you might consider that a business
opportunity. Though federal sales is hard and trying, it can also be quite
lucrative, at least in the US.
~~~
lifeisstillgood
bmelton - thank you for your reply.
I am guessing you are _not_ the CTO of a federal agency and are just talking
rhetorically (otherwise I am _very_ impressed with HN)
I believe federal sales and their equivalent is profitatble because it needs
to be to make up for the effort !
I mostly think that there are few drop-in replacements without systems-
integration. But what I am hoping to do is to start a culture of ... well
paying developers rather than paying proprietary companies. I have a suspicion
that a pool of government funds and a community steered openly (sort of like
debian project) would allow agencies to say if the debian-alike project acts
as developer-of-last-resort we will arrange to pay for OSS devs to come in.
Still in the planning stages, but if you have any specifics please ping me
cheers
------
lifeisstillgood
To be clear this is at the moment a pro-bono thing - darn it, if you are using
my tax money to pay for software it had better be free and open.
I am writing up some of this at www.mikadosoftware.com but its hardly a
campaign site right now !
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Google that never was: how the search giant killed a 2007 redesign - quadrahelix
http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2863705/google-redesign-2007-kanna-killed-strawman
======
zach
It looks like the slides call it "Kennedy", not "Kanna", for whatever reason.
In any case, don't miss the last slide, where there's a chart suggesting a
quantitative comparison of two shades of blue:
[http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2863672/google-kanna-
and-s...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2863672/google-kanna-and-strawman-
redesign#3116603)
I presume this is a self-aware reference to the "testing shades of blue" story
that designer Douglas Bowman brought to wide attention three years ago, in his
Google farewell blog post:
<http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html>
------
nchuhoai
Gmail looks a lot like yahoo mail does. Just personally, I like the white
space heavy design better. Less visual clutter
------
nhebb
Did anyone else look at the Design Porn slide [1] and think "Windows Metro!"?
[1] [http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2863672/google-kanna-
and-s...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2863672/google-kanna-and-strawman-
redesign#3116577)
------
tadasha
Gmail was better before. They are experiencing some problem with their lab and
video chat plugin.
~~~
msrpotus
Also just being generally slow lately.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Poor Man's Template A/B Testing (in Django) - amcgregor
http://tech.matchfwd.com/poor-mans-template-ab-testing/
Ever wanted to A/B test your templates in Django and didn't know where to start? Here is a 50 line function as a drop-in replacement for render_to_response with full breakdown of how and why.
======
DrDub
Everytime I read about A/B testing I remember this posting about why you do
better than A/B using solutions to the multi-armed bandit problem:
<http://stevehanov.ca/blog/index.php?id=132>
~~~
amcgregor
Convienently, the solution I wrote allows you to utilize two or as many
templates as you want, add and remove to the directory as you wish. For us,
setting off a handful of template options for two weeks then seeing which one
has higher conversion is extremely simple (no need for 'reward' function as
such) and effective (it's a fair distribution across the options). We
explicitly wanted to avoid needing to track the number of times each
possibility is viewed.
I think "better" needs to be defined. "More accurate results?" Possibly, but
probably not by much. Less disturbance to general conversion rates (since the
'successful' case is presented most often barring random variability), sure.
But the point is to try out every option, not try out the seemingly more
successful option the majority of the time.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Plex Alternative with Custom Metadata and Better Search - kumpelblase2
https://github.com/kumpelblase2/vima
======
Wowfunhappy
> Vima's basic concept is that a video does not get any metadata from the
> system itself, but the user has to define everything that one could assign.
I've already done this with my video library! I have a wonderful little
program called Meta[1] that lets me easily set the metadata on all my media
files (audio + video) in the format built into the file specification.
I would encourage you to look at interfacing with the metadata built into the
file, as keeping a separate database feels a bit like re-inventing the wheel.
(Mind you, Plex etc do the same thing when they just grab everything from
imdb)
[1][https://www.nightbirdsevolve.com/meta/](https://www.nightbirdsevolve.com/meta/)
~~~
kumpelblase2
My personal use case does not evolve around the metadata that is usually
present in the file itself. I'm aware that this exists and that Plex pulls
information from there too (see the footnote[1] in the section about Plex). I
don't think it makes sense to try and mirror all the metadata in the file
metadata, but in the spirit of being configurable and for portability reasons
it would make sense.
I planned for adding a provider that would read certain metadata from the file
(just like any other tool) as well as possibly also pushing edits back if
wanted. Not sure when I get around to that.
[1]: [https://github.com/kumpelblase2/vima/#what-is-the-problem-
wi...](https://github.com/kumpelblase2/vima/#what-is-the-problem-with-plex--
other-media-servers)
------
kumpelblase2
Hello HN-Community!
I've been working on this project here and there now about 2 1/2 years: Vima.
I needed a replacement for Plex as it doesn't serve my needs very well since I
wanted to search for more specific data that Plex doesn't allow me to. So in
Vima, you can effectively search for any kind of metadata one can assign to a
video, automatically creates playlists from these searches and let the system
prefill certain metadata for each video. The user is in complete control of
what metadata a video can hold and what types they are.
One use case could personal video "asset" management (which is what I am
doing) to more easily find certain kinds of videos not by their name, but
rather their actual content represented as metadata. This could be for video
lectures, youtube channel backups or similar cases where there's a bunch of
loosely connected videos. Alternatively it can be used like Plex for movies
and shows but it would be lacking the data providers and doesn't have a
concept of videos belonging to another.
This is a state that I'd consider V1.0 given the features it has right now are
sufficient and it works. There are obviously several additions that can be
done (and I hope I can get around doing them) and the design could be polished
in many places. But I wanted to get it out there.
Some technical info: I decided to use rails+mongodb for this project because
of the dynamic nature of the data. One can add and remove metadata at will,
which can be of varying types which makes it ideal for a dynamic language and
a document store. I think it worked out pretty well even though I had to leave
my familiar lands. I also implemented a stripped down version of the apache
lucene query language to allow for proper searching of all the different
metadata (internally it gets translated into a mongodb query to execute). I
initially didn't want it to be an SPA but over time it is becoming more clear
that it would make several aspects easier to use and some workflows faster,
but for now I'll just stick to normal templates.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
And then, suddenly, it works - Chris Dixon - tathagatadg
http://cdixon.org/2012/02/11/and-then-suddenly-it-works/
======
petercooper
Having that experience right now with my programming e-mail newsletters. Just
ticked over to 50,000 subscribers today. It started as a side project and I
got more than enough "e-mail is dead", "where's the RSS!?" and "it's been
done" at the start :-)
~~~
tathagatadg
That's awesome .. I just subscribed to your podcasts from podcasts post on the
frontpage[<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3580367>]. Which newsletter
exactly are you talking about?
~~~
petercooper
<http://javascriptweekly.com/> <http://rubyweekly.com/>
<http://html5weekly.com/> and <http://statuscode.org/> primarily.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Carol Bartz interview may come with $10 million price tag - anigbrowl
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/08/carol-bartz-yahoo-disparagement/
======
hga
So you suppose she might not care that much? How much is her reputation worth?
Wasn't she essentially retired before being brought in for a Mission
Impossible?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Inflation strikes - Mumbai shop burgled of onions worth Rs 18k - kshatrea
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mumbai-shop-burgled-of-onions-worth-Rs-18k/articleshow/24967502.cms
======
PilateDeGuerre
Good for these thieves choosing illegality over starvation. But looting a shop
in the night is a very individual solution to what is afterall a very
widespread collective problem.
The question in my mind after reading this article is: in a country rife with
corruption and starvation, why are mass expropriations of food i.e. food riots
not more common?
~~~
yashg
The thieves most probably weren't starving. Because you can't eat raw onions
alone and you don't need 260 kg of that. It was stolen with the intent of
selling the onions in the market and make a quick buck.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
1980: "Telefuture" - Everything Old is New Again - jnazario
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJbD00z68JI#!
======
gee_totes
Does anyone know what Homecoming Week is?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Hawaiian emergency worker who sent the wrong message is reassigned - jonwachob91
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hawaiian-emergency-worker-who-pushed-wrong-button-reassigned-n837776
======
java-man
What should have happened is HI reassigning the manager of the said worker,
and the manager who signed off the design of the said screen, and their
respective managers.
Finding scapegoats is easy. Fixing the problem with hierarchical bureaucracies
is not.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Five startups disrupting the gender problem in tech - BatFastard
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/five-startups-disrupting-the-gender-problem-in-tech
======
BatFastard
Had to read thru it to get just how much men are disrupting gender issues..
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Intel Discontinues the Intel Developer Forum; IDF17 Cancelled - randta
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11279/intel-discontinues-the-intel-developer-forum-idf17-cancelled
======
matt_wulfeck
From what I gather online, intel is entering into an exestential crisis as
homegrown chips and GPUs are replacing CPUs in the battle for tomorrow's data
center. All of the interesting research from Google and others all have one
thing in common: a custom asic processor.
~~~
eklitzke
The ASIC processors Google use are for _inference_ , not training. Having
efficient inference is great, but training is what uses up most of the compute
power.
The battle between GPUs and CPUs in the datacenter is real, but I wouldn't
count out regular CPUs yet. Even with GPU-ready frameworks like Tensorflow,
Theano, and Pytorch, it still requires a fair amount of domain expertise to
get good performance out of GPUs. These frameworks can automatically offload
compute kernels to the GPU, but actually getting good performance still
requires you to understand the memory model, what data to pin in GPU memory,
how to use the limited GPU memory effectively, etc.
The new instruction sets that Intel have been adding (e.g. all of the recent
vectorized FMA instructions) go a long way to making Intel CPUs competitive
for a lot of this ASIC/GPU stuff out of the box for things like neural
networks. Nvidia has been off to a really great start in this area, and they
have carved out a very respectable lead, but I think it's premature to say
that Intel (or AMD) are having an existential crisis.
~~~
puzzle
Correction: the ASIC processors that Google used in 2015 and just talked
about, two years later, were for inference. We don't know what they use now
and how. The paper hints that training might happen in a later revision.
You have to wonder why they started with inference and not the other way
round. Perhaps it's the case that you train a model once, then use it for
predictions many, many, many times, thus using more aggregate compute power.
(I used to work at Google, but the above is based on public information and
speculation alone.)
The paper does confirm that CPUs are closer to GPUs for smaller or latency-
sensitive workloads than most people assumed. At least on 2015-vintage
hardware, that is. And they're a lot less trouble to set up and provision.
~~~
jtmcmc
Training can happen asynchronously and in batch - inference needs to be low
latency and have massive parallelism because it's powering millions of android
devices voice to text recognition - for instance.
------
drawkbox
Intel has always been a great research company. They are responsible for
OpenCV[1] and largely the entire augmented reality craze is from that
sponsored work. They are an important part of technological progression in the
last couple decades, they even made Apple sales pick up with intel chips
(creating a killer *nix dev machine for a time '06ish) before the iPhone came
along.
It would be a shame if the bean counters got them into this with drawing back
r&d and are now taking r&d away. The engineers are definitely not in control
at Intel today, hard to quantify research projects and developer/engineer
outreach to non engineers. These types of moves have been known to kill off
companies.
[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenCV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenCV)
~~~
doublerebel
My experience is that also Willow Garage is listed as the main author on many
of the (still current) AR tooling, but I don't know the story between them and
Intel. It's an incredible amount of open source work that enables the startup
I'm doing now, I can only hope to contribute as much back/forward from our
company.
------
pkaye
I'm guessing these yearly conferences will fade away as Moore's Law falls
apart and Intel and others will have a harder time coming up with something
new to showcase every year. No longer can you rely on process shrinks to
innovate.
~~~
komali2
People always talk about Moore's Law falling apart, and it seems like people
didn't see it coming. I mean, I didn't, I'm just a guy that reads a lot of
scifi. But I always assumed whiz-bang mathematicians had already figured out,
I dunno, the threshold at which a processor can be nanosized, or like how big
a processor could become before the distances became too great that due to the
speed of light further computational advancement wasn't possible. I mean, I
know nothing about this stuff, like I said, I just read a lot of scifi and
have a high opinion of all the smart folk researching this stuff. Would love
to learn more.
~~~
akuma73
Have a look at this photo:
[http://m.eet.com/media/1169843/120906_intel_22_3.jpg](http://m.eet.com/media/1169843/120906_intel_22_3.jpg)
That's a fin of a modern transistor (Intel 22nm). The dots in the photo are
_atoms_. It's fair to say that Moore's law is nearing an end or has already
ended.
~~~
Animats
Atoms are too big, photons are too big, electrons are too big, and the speed
of light is too slow. There's no longer plenty of room at the bottom.
Still, it's not like the physical size of semiconductors is the problem. A CPU
today is maybe 100mm^2 of silicon. 4U of rack space can easily hold tens of
thousands of CPUs, if you can power them, cool them, and connect them up in a
useful way.
~~~
akuma73
_if you can power them, cool them, and connect them up in a useful way._
Good luck with that. Power costs go up linearly at best with cores if you
don't have any more transistor scaling.
~~~
sbierwagen
Power will always scale linearly with cores, of course, but you could make
cores less power-hungry with reversible computing:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing)
Actually useful reversible logic is, as they say, an open problem.
~~~
akuma73
My point was that a new transistor shrink would give you lower power vs. the
same transistor in previously larger node. You get more compute-per-watt with
small transistors. If scaling stops, then all kinds of things get more
difficult.
------
m-p-3
I'm wondering why Intel is withdrawing so much of their money from different
projects like this and OpenStack.
Maybe AMD is putting a lot of financial pressure on them, and they have to put
more funds in R&D?
~~~
ksec
But these money are tiny compared to the Impact they will/should get from AMD
Ryzen.
To remain price competitive with AMD Ryzen, Intel's Gross margin will likely
take a dive from the current 60% to below 50% over the next few years. The
Data Center Group represent 30% of the Revenue, and my guess it represent 60%+
of the profits.
OpeX is increasing, R&D required for each node is increasing. They are not in
Smartphone, they are not opening up their Fab. Basically their future looks
pretty grim to me. They wont disappeared all of a sudden, they will likely
have 3 to 5 years more time to figure it out.
But, again none of this has to do with Intel withdrawing from so many project.
I cant believe saving money from these event / project are the motives.
~~~
joezydeco
Why can't that be the motive? Panic makes companies like Intel execute lots of
quick short-sighted changes in the hopes of turning the boat.
Something like cancelling a developer's conference would _totally_ fit this
scenario.
------
brendangregg
That's disappointing. It was a useful technical and marketing event to learn
about a variety of Intel technologies, some I wouldn't have otherwise been
exposed to, and certainly not had a chance to talk to the engineers. I'd
rather they moved it to somewhere cheaper than to cancel it.
------
pmarreck
I for one am not terribly upset that the Intel hegemony's time has run out
~~~
coldtea
Who said their hegemony has run out? The fact that AMD put out some also-run
processors?
~~~
pmarreck
The writing is on the wall. From ARM to incredibly powerful emerging GPU's to
interest in custom ASIC, the Intel instruction set's days are numbered
~~~
coldtea
I don't care what GPU my mobile phone runs. It's fast enough, I'm ok with it.
I also don't care about servers. I'm not a dev-ops/admin person.
On my laptop/desktop, where I DO care, I don't see Intel going away anytime
soon.
Even if we switched to some ARM devices, it would be a regression (if not for
anything else, for having to run most Windows/MacOS stuff under some kind of
Rosetta-like interpreter for many years).
Besides, as soon as ARM CPUs approach the limits of various manufacturing
processes, they will face the same issues Intel does. Moore's law is not
coming back.
------
Animats
Independent developers have fulfilled their function and are no longer needed.
~~~
CalChris
Dunno if you've been to an IDF, but I'd say that IDFs have fulfilled their
function and are no longer needed. I went to the Skylake IDF and after a very
predictable presentation there was an opportunity to ask questions. It went
roughly like this:
_What time is it?_
_The question was what time is it. Intel is an industry leading leader
committed to developing customer solutions. We are not disclosing what time it
is now. We may be making announcements related to time in the future._
This cost me a day. On the plus side of the ledger, I like Intel
documentation, especially their _Optimization Reference Manual_. But I don't
need to go to IDFs anymore and now I don't have to.
~~~
ghaff
An industry analyst of my acquaintance made a similar comment to me. He said
that Intel has become significantly less willing to disclose their future
plans with developers and others. He also said that there seems to be
diminished interest by developers in going to an Intel-centric show.
A show like IDF clearly makes less sense if you're increasingly unwilling to
say much about future directions. It's also entirely possible that the
projections for event sponsorships, etc. weren't looking to be where Intel
wanted them to be.
------
kensai
I think it's better for them. The IDF was used to showcase new products. If
they have no new significant products to show, it's better not to summon
anyone instead of getting the flak for introducing only minor evolutions as it
has happened in the past few years with the (dying?) tick-tock model.
------
residentx
Don't try to make too much of this. I had been working with Intel since
December on the issues of IDF. The vendor was not performing. They had no
website up and emails and calls were not returned. Also, when I finally did
reach the vendor, I asked them how they were going to handle the visa
logistics of China/Asia IDF attendees coming to the US. I asked them if 2-3
months would be enough to get Visas approve with the Trump Administration. A
few days here we are with the cancellation. This mess is purely Intel's fault.
I even emailed Krazanich about putting more eyes on this. But's let's move.
I'm heading to Ignite now....
------
wfunction
Anybody know if and when desktop CPU's might start getting FPGAs? Been waiting
for that for a while now...
~~~
rbanffy
Not before mainstream software supports it. We had 64-bit with Alpha, MIPS,
SPARC, but 64-bit x86 only happened when it could run 32-bit x86 code
flawlessly and it only got mass adoption when Windows went 64-bit.
~~~
bhouston
We only got Intel 64 bit CPUs once AMD got them first and people starting to
buy them.
~~~
wolfgke
> We only got Intel 64 bit CPUs once AMD got them first and people starting to
> buy them.
Intel came first with Itanium (June 2001:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Itanium&oldid=775...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Itanium&oldid=775602971#Itanium_.28Merced.29:_2001)),
which clearly _is_ a 64 bit CPU. The first x86-64 CPU by AMD got released in
April 2003
([https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=X86-64&oldid=7754...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=X86-64&oldid=775455698#History))
and Intel's first x86-64 CPU came out June 2004
([https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=X86-64&oldid=7754...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=X86-64&oldid=775455698#History_2)).
~~~
rbanffy
Alpha, SPARC and MIPS had 64-bit offerings before that. I was reading e-mail
on a 64-bit machine when Itanium was called Merced.
~~~
wolfgke
My parent was talking about _Intel 64 bit CPUs_.
~~~
rbanffy
Sorry. I was comparing both sides as an analogy why FPGA's won't be available
on mass-market CPUs anytime soon.
The reason Itanium never achieved the mass acceptance Intel expected is
because, even with Windows running on it, it never ran x86 software at a
reasonable price/performance point. Java was Sun's attempt to make SPARC
viable by breaking with the ISA compatibility problem.
Today, with Linux, JVM, .NET Core and interpreted languages running a lot of
the server workloads we have, it'd probably be a very different story.
When compared with the other 64-bit architectures we had (I forgot IBM's
z/Architecture) amd64 is still an awful register starved overcomplicated
architecture.
~~~
wolfgke
> The reason Itanium never achieved the mass acceptance Intel expected is
> because, even with Windows running on it, it never ran x86 software at a
> reasonable price/performance point.
That was _one_ (and surely important) reason. There were lots of others
reasons
>
> [http://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/csep590/06au/projec...](http://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/csep590/06au/projects/history-64-bit.pdf)
(seriously: everybody interested in the history of Itanium should read this
text), for example:
"Davidson also pointed out two areas where academic research could create a
blind spot for architecture developers. First, most contemporary academic
research ignored CISC architectures, in part due to the appeal of RISC as an
architecture that could be taught in a semester-long course. Since graduate
students feed the research pipeline, their initial areas of learning
frequently define the future research agenda, which remained focused on RISC.
Second, VLIW research tended to be driven by instruction traces generated from
scientific or numerical applications. These traces are different in two key
ways from the average systemwide non-scientific trace: the numerical traces
often have more consistent sequential memory access patterns, and the
numerical traces often reflect a greater degree of instruction-level
parallelism (ILP). Assuming these traces were typical could lead architecture
designers to optimize for cases found more rarely in commercial computing
workloads. Fred Weber echoed this latter point in a phone interview.
Bhandarkar also speculated that the decision to pursue VLIW was driven by the
prejudices of a few researchers, rather than by sound technical analysis."
~~~
bhouston
There seems to be alot of ideas in VLIW that is used by GPUs to get high
degrees of parallelism and a hiding of the cost of conditionals.
~~~
rbanffy
Didn't Transmeta have a processor that used software decoding from x86 to an
internal VLIW?
------
SadWebDeveloper
Interesting move after "AMD Rizen" was launched, wonder how this is going to
be viewed on the stock market.
~~~
alayne
AMD has had cheaper/slower processors for many years. Is something different
about Ryzen?
~~~
my123
Yes, the Naples 32 cores/64 threads powerhouse is what's dangerous to Intel,
especially at its performance level. (datacenter is where Intel probably makes
most of its profits, and Naples is eating right into that market)
~~~
alayne
According to articles on Forbes and Extremetech, Intel currently has 99% of
the server market. This is a new product that may affect Intel, but it hasn't
done anything yet. So far this is just speculation then.
~~~
snovv_crash
It hasn't done anything yet because it hasn't been released yet. So of course
it is speculation. However, based on the downclocked Ryzen benchmarks I have
seen, it should significantly outperform anything Intel has in Perf/W at the
5W/core level. And Perf/W is what datacenters care about.
~~~
alayne
I'm just trying to relate OP's comment to changes in the conference or even
claims about a market effect. It seems like wishful thinking.
~~~
my123
AMD will have to also do chipsets right for the platform to have a chance -
they didn't really prove that yet.
------
rdslw
This for me is a clear sign of mobile (and their processors) steady growth
(and probably dominance) to (some) decline of Intel.
Android as an OS surpassing this March everything else on web-usage speaks the
same story in different words ([http://www.wired.co.uk/article/android-
overtakes-windows](http://www.wired.co.uk/article/android-overtakes-windows)).
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Music Pirates are Immoral Cheapskates, Or Are They? - kloncks
http://torrentfreak.com/music-pirates-are-immoral-cheapskates-or-are-they-091021/
======
DanielStraight
Asking people what they would pay is pointless. People don't know what they
would pay. People lie about what they would pay. People lie about pirating
music. This is why surveys suck. People are just going to lie... even if they
don't intend to.
Music pirates are not immoral cheapskates. They are normal people who
occasionally engage in immoral, cheap (and I would add self-destructive [if
the music industry dies, so does your access to music, pirated or otherwise])
activities.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: SpeakingPuppy – Snapchat-like AR for your dog - throwaway413
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/speakingpuppy/id1405200668?ls=1&mt=8
======
hwoolery
Hey HN, I made this app, let me know if you have any questions! It uses a
TensorFlow/Keras model to detect the dog's facial features, and a custom AR
interface for estimating 3D pose.
~~~
throwaway413
Do you have any plans for a social component to the app i.e. following other
dogs and sharing “stories”/videos?
Great work! My kid is hooked.
~~~
hwoolery
Maybe in the future -- a bigger commitment to create the infrastructure needed
for that. For now, just looking to get feedback and reactions : )
------
creimers
Your app is very impressive from a technological point of view.
However, I would like to point out that while there are ~400 million dogs in
the world, there are only ~200.000 wolves left. Things are getting out of
hand.
~~~
hwoolery
Yes, although wolves are making a comeback in some parts of the world, so
there's something to be optimistic about!
------
hwoolery
Gif of it in action:
[https://twitter.com/i/status/1032148934108409856](https://twitter.com/i/status/1032148934108409856)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Candy Japan 2014 Year in Review - veb
http://www.candyjapan.com/2014-year-in-review
======
jglauche
Some feedback as a user: I canceled my subscription recently after about half
a year. Some things I didn't like with the service:
\- The service said that candy was shipped bi-monthly. I assumed it would come
like every two weeks, but it always arrived quite simultaneous for me, a few
days to a week later once a month.
\- Maybe it's me, but the flavors often ranged from weird to inedible (like
rose flavored candy)
\- There is no way to re-order candy that I actually like. Actually, it's hard
to even gather the name of the candy often enough in order to search for it.
\- The cancel subscription link / process was hard to find on your page.
~~~
bemmu
Thanks for the feedback.
International mail is a bit unpredictable, even post office says the packages
can take 2-4 weeks, so it is possible there could be overlap.
I try to balance between easy to eat and truly bizarre. Sorry you didn't like
those rose flavored ones, but many people actually loved them. Taste
preferences are so varied I can't hope to keep everyone happy. I would rather
sometimes shock and sometimes dazzle instead of just keeping it safe.
Definitely looking into starting a shop in the future to re-order more of the
good ones.
Cancel instructions are in the FAQ, they are complicated a bit because I don't
have user accounts on the site (need to verify you have the subscription you
are trying to cancel). Easiest way is to drop me an email and ask for cancel.
~~~
mchaver
I haven't used your service, so I be making some wrong assumptions here, but
if some users would like to be able to find some of the candies they have
eaten, you could include a list in their account with the name of candies they
have received in Japanese (and English or Romaji) and a photo. Probably should
wait until after they receive the package to maintain the element of surprise.
------
JacobAldridge
Congrats Bemmu - I love the 'overnight success story' that was 2014.
In my experience, businesses tend to grow in jumps with a plateau in between
and it looks like 2014 was that sort of year (as a deserved reward for the
years of platform investment you had made). Best of luck getting over that
1,000 item milestone and then the next big jump beyond!
~~~
bemmu
If I could just keep at 1000, that would be great success. I think if somehow
the site doubled again, it would become possible to even hire full-time help.
Interestingly not all sweets makers are that interested in selling in bulk. My
approach seems to need some tweaking. Currently I would just send an email
like "hey I'd like to buy 1000 of these cute candies you make, how much would
it be?". But instead of a price, I just get "we don't sell wholesale". It's
strange to me as I would imagine they would be happy to sell more of their
product, but apparently a more gentle approach is called for here. My first
hire would likely be someone who is really good at this, unless I can somehow
turn into that person myself during this year.
~~~
caractacus
Are there Costco-like outlets in Japan? Places that sell in bulk at a lower
cost?
Just signed up for a trial. Really looking forward to it. A couple of things:
1\. The sign up process is SO EASY. Fantastic - wish other sites would make it
so simple. Choose your level of service, pay, done. Fast and quick.
2\. Email newsletter signup? Didn't notice one. Would be a great way to keep
people who pay for gift subscriptions in the loop.
3\. Provide a custom email for people who have bought a gift subscription. At
the moment, it's just the link. If you provided a page or sample email that
was like 'Hey, I've bought you a subscription to Candy Japan!!!! Here's what
happens... etc etc' \- I think it would make the impact of the gift greater.
~~~
bemmu
I don't really know how wholesale works, not sure how to learn more about it.
What I called the newsletter is really just a description of the items that we
send to subscribers when stuff is shipped to them.
Good idea about the explanation page for gift subscriptions.
~~~
bane
This is American focused, but I think the story is very similar in Korea, so
it might parallel how it works in Japan as well.
[http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-Wholesale](http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-Wholesale)
I know in Korea that some of the big "traditional" style markets have shop
fronts that are only wholesalers and won't sell to regular customers. If
there's an analog where you live you might want to hit those up. I wouldn't at
all be surprised if there's a wholesale confectionary market of some sort that
meets once a month or whatever.
My sister-in-law ran a small store for a few years and she'd go to a local
convention center/stadium and buy all kinds of inventory at such places.
------
m-app
Great write-up, Bemmu. Glad to hear Candy Japan is still going strong. I had a
subscription for a couple of months last year, I got my first batch right
after we met on a warm sunny day here in Amsterdam!
Unfortunately I had to cancel the subscription, though. This is because the
frequency was just too high for me. Although I do love all the weird and funny
types of candy, I'm not that much of a sweet tooth and some of the candies
kept piling up! If 2015 also brings different types of subscription, I'll
probably sign up again for once a month.
All the best!
~~~
zacharycohn
Does Bemmu offer an "every other month" subscription for 2/3 the price?
If not... you should. :)
------
mtgentry
I still love this idea Bemmu. One suggestion - I think you should invest in
design and copywriting for the homepage. What you're selling is an emotional
experience but it isn't being presented that way.
To Americans like me, Japan is mysterious and fun. I actually don't WANT to
see what the box looks like. If you play up the mystery more, it becomes less
of a transaction and more of a emotional experience which will help justify
your higher price.
Congrats on the good year!
~~~
bemmu
Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have some example of a site that would in
your mind be closer to how Candy Japan should be?
~~~
mtgentry
Sure, I think there's a couple ways you could go:
Maybe you play off Japanese cartoons, with characters like this:
[http://drbl.in/bTYf](http://drbl.in/bTYf)
Or maybe you could have loud and over the top illustrations of the candy like
this, but 10 times louder [http://drbl.in/kgdq](http://drbl.in/kgdq)
Since your product is candy, I would go for the playful/quirky/over-the-top
aspects of Japanese culture. Lots of fun color and illustrations. As opposed
to the traditional, serious, craft focused parts of the culture.
------
doug1001
feedback from current customer (approx 20 months): i set up a subscription for
my small team of devs--try to convince them i'm a thoughtful, generous
manager, or at least buy their love. They "care packages" are a huge hit with
this gang--every candy type (a team of six with varied tastes so not too
surprising). Initially, when the twice-monthly shipments arrived, i would but
the box on a bookcase in our area; i don't think the candy ever lasted more
than 24 hours. After the first couple of months, they began retrieving them
directly from the mailroom, then putting the box on my desk once it was empty.
I would love to try some, or even one, but you see why that hasn't worked out
so far. About a months or so ago, one of the devs on the team told me how
awesome she thought were these sweets, and kudos to whomever orders them for
the whole team.
------
stats_lly
I have stumbled upon Candy Japan about half a year ago when I was moving house
and said I'd try it after I settle down. I have recently come back to this
topic and did some research on different Japanese snack subscription options.
\- Most services cost around $25 monthly.
\- Candy Japan seems to offer the most frequent service, with almost all of
the other options only offer monthly delivery.
\- But Candy Japan also offers the smallest amount - 282 grams (141 grams * 2)
compared to others who usually offer 1lb (450 grams) monthly.
Has anyone tried other subscription services? How do they compared to Candy
Japan?
~~~
CmonDev
Can you list those other services, please?
~~~
stats_lly
Here's a review on (probably) all boxes available:
[http://beejuboxes.com/box-list/japanese-snack-
boxes/](http://beejuboxes.com/box-list/japanese-snack-boxes/)
After some comparison, looking at sample boxes, weighing pros & cons, I signed
up for a taste box from TasteJapan, and I'm very excited to see what it's
like!
------
Joona
I have noticed a similar graph on Twitch viewership - you hover around 1000
viewers for a year or two, and then suddenly start gaining hundreds of
viewers, and in just a few months, you may have doubled your numbers.
Congrats on your success!
~~~
Kiro
Where did you see those numbers? Is it from personal experience?
~~~
Joona
Yes, just noticed it from regular viewing.
------
jameswyse
I love Candy Japan but do have a couple of suggestions:
\- The email you send out is great, but it often arrives well after I have
received the package. One arrived a couple of days ago and I really want to
wait on the email, but my willpower is usually no match for (possibly)
delicious candy :/
\- The email always goes to spam. Maybe check your DKIM settings or contact
MailChimp? Or maybe it's just me? (Gmail / Google Apps)
\- A small card with the name/photo/short description of each item would be
great. If they were well designed and of decent quality I'd even collect them!
------
davidw
Are there any regulatory hurdles, or are you flying under the radar, so to
speak?
Congratulations in any case - it always cheers me up to see a niche business
like this do well.
~~~
outworlder
He may well be.
One anecdote: one of his shipments had quite a variety of candies. While other
boxes were unopened by customs, this one had stickers all over it. Upon
opening, I noticed that one of the candy boxes had been opened, which happened
to be the one with candies that looked like white round pill-like things. I
assume it was flagged as suspicious and a sample was taken. It had a sticker
with the word 'food' (in Portuguese) written on it.
There are a few regulations regarding 'food' imports. I even expect to run
into some trouble because of the regular deliveries. I suspect the amounts are
small enough that it hasn't hit any triggers yet.
------
chr15
How do you source your candies? Did you ever have any logistics issues with
order fulfillment being time consuming? How did you get around that?
~~~
bemmu
I've built a relationship with a supermarket owner. He gives me a discount and
also does a lot of the work of calling around manufacturers to see which
candies he can get. I suspect he probably makes a nice profit, too, compared
to if I did all that sourcing myself.
The biggest challenge is that many items are region bound or limited time
sales, so practically we cannot get them. If I took the train to various
prefectures in Japan and chatted with manufacturers, I could probably get even
more variety going. I was thinking of starting a new tier (Candy Japan
premium) for that, but still thinking about it.
It does take time to prepare the packages. First of all we don't know exactly
how many subscribers we'll have until the last minute. Then we want to order
an amount of items that best matches that count. That takes more time than if
we pre-ordered. Then stuffing the boxes takes about 3 days. I think the post
also takes an extra day for them to calculate all the postage for a pile of
1000 boxes. So yes there are currently some delays, but from the customer
point of view they get something every 2 weeks, only the initial shipment
being slow to arrive.
~~~
lsiebert
You might consider preordering extra so you can cover your count, and sell
additional boxes/ordering of individual items as one off items. A one off box
of some of the same stuff you shipped out might make a good gift or a way for
a person to get some more of a box they really enjoyed, or a way to try out
the service (perhaps at a slight discount) without subscribing.
------
ekianjo
Hey Bemmu, great story! Come and talk about it in one of the next HN Kansai :)
~~~
bemmu
You all already know about it. I should rather take a trip to Hacker News
meetup Seattle or somewhere :)
------
Pamar
Some more feedback:
I did a "test run" with a subscription for my mother. She enjoyed it as a
gift/novelty idea, but the quantity was too much for her... I am now
considering (prompted by the post of some other customer in the thread) to get
a subscription for my office. But ... one of the shippings to my mother
included some crazy "hamburger facsimiles" that you had to prepare by mixing
different powders, pouring in stamps, cooking in microwave and then cut up and
assemble. While fun, this is impractical for office use, I'd prefer to be sure
I get actual candies mostly (salted snacks would be ok, too, but anything
involving such a preparation would be wasted on us).
Finally: I was really disappointed when you canceled the stationery project...
I had at least three people who could get this as a gift (and possibly renew
on their own after the first run).
~~~
CmonDev
_" but the quantity was too much for her"_
What is the real quantity? All I could find is a photo of two empty envelopes
from a distance and a single nicely done box of candies (what does it have to
do with envelopes?).
~~~
Pamar
Sorry but I am far away from her home and cannot check - I am just reporting
her reaction after 3-4 shipments.
(And this is not criticism about the service: it was me who had misjudged the
situation - anyway she was happy about the idea, it is just that she prefers
not to eat "too much" candies for health reasons).
------
Xixi
I'v very recently (few days ago) launched a service with the same business
model but for Japanese tea, called Tomotcha:
[https://tomotcha.com](https://tomotcha.com)
I'll most certainly do a Show HN soon, just a couple of things to fix before.
For instance the price is currently only listed in EUR, but if you prefer to
be billed in USD just drop us an email saying so and we will bill you in USD
($25/month).
~~~
gwern
Looks interesting. I'm certainly interested in Japanese teas and like being
able to sample a variety ( [http://gwern.net/Tea](http://gwern.net/Tea) \-
might I encourage you to also explore the world of oolongs as well as
greens?), but looking at your current front page, my first thought is 'it
sounds like a good idea, but how do I know the tea they send will be any good?
What have they sent in the past and/or plan to send for launch?' You have a
listing of families, but not the specific ones.
------
lerouxb
Maybe consider a different currency? The USD is really strong at the moment,
causing the price to be really expensive for most countries.
------
vgnanand
@bemmu, Non-subscriber here (Although potential subscriber). Could you start a
mailing list for the website that would feature new stuff or offers that you
may have. It's a wonderful service, but my memory defeats me often 'coz of
which I may miss out on new stuff or simply forget about the service, so,
please consider the option.
------
hobo_mark
Hi Bemmu, I found something similar on PH some time ago (japancrate.com),
although is seems more recent, do you know them? How common are these
'subscription box' services (I had no idea this was a thing)? Do you have more
subscriptions in Europe or the US?
------
videogramme
I think your page need a good way to graphically browse all those candy.
I don't understand the difference between the box from April 2014 and the size
of "two standard Japanese envelopes".
------
cyberjunkie
Sounds like you're going to be getting more new customers today!
------
joonap
おめでとうベッム！Nice to hear that the business is doing well! 明けましておめでとう！
------
bjackman
Idea: Gift subscription should have an option to send the first package to
you, so that you can wrap it up and physically give it. Then they can add
their mailing address.
------
jzwinck
Free idea (worth as much as it costs!): You could franchise in other
countries. Candy Korea, Candy Taiwan, that sort of thing.
Thanks for the good, clear write-up.
~~~
bemmu
Thanks.
I tried launching one site called Pen Japan. But what I realized is that any
time I considered putting in some effort to promote Pen Japan, I was better
off putting that effort into promoting Candy Japan instead. If I look for
bloggers to reach out to or write guest posts, I can't justify doing it for
the new site when I would much rather promote the existing one.
Why would I prefer promoting existing one? Two reasons: running two sites is
almost twice the work. Why launch a new site and promote that, when I could
instead push the existing site? Secondly, there are some minor scale benefits
when shipping a lot of the same item. You can get a better margin when buying
1000 pieces of the same item vs. 500 pieces of two different items. So it
makes sense to push hard on just one direction.
If the sites were somehow less related, but with some synergy benefits, then
that would make sense. For example if I launched a buy-and-ship reshipping
service where customers can request any item they want from Japan which I then
go out to buy and ship to them. It would make sense to promote that, because
the avenues to promote it would be different enough not to compete against
Candy Japan. It would also make sense in that those services could be cross-
sold, so that is something I might consider. But not really wanting to start a
"Candy X" where X is just some other country.
------
samteeeee
You should change your FB share image to the professional photo of the box of
candy, rather than the comic image, IMO.
------
petecooper
I subscribed after reading this review - I love what you've done, Bemmu.
------
Kaboozy
Any coupon code for HN community?
------
jchung
What happened in July 2014?
------
colechristensen
I enjoy my Candy Japan subscription, including the occasional joy of not
enjoying a strange foreign food :D
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
AI Will Not Be Taking Away Code Jobs Anytime Soon - Katydid
https://www.nextplatform.com/2018/02/05/ai-will-not-taking-away-code-jobs-anytime-soon/
======
diego_moita
Funny how, in computing, every new idea is almost always a reiteration of an
old one.
One of the arguments for John Backus to create Fortran was to allow non-
programmers (of Assembly language) to program. In some sense he succeeded, it
allowed a lot of scientists unwilling to understand registers, stack and heaps
to program computers. Then Grace Hopper did the same with Cobol for business
people. In the end they didn't extinguish the job of a programmer, they just
enabled people that thought in higher levels of abstraction to program
computers.
This is what Wordpress/Joomla did for HTML coders, what super-optimized C and
C++ compilers did for machine-level coding, what Sharepoint is doing for
intranet builders, etc. We are constantly moving to higher levels of
abstraction and solving more problems but it only increases the need for
people skilled with basic notions of programming.
~~~
hoopladler
Turing reportedly believed that programming would require “a great number of
mathematicians of ability”.
I think if you want to find a trend in computing, it's the same as the
progression in other industries. Tooling replaces raw ability, technique
replaces skill, and jobs requiring skills are slowly replaced by jobs that
don't require skills.
Consider Go, for instance. There's no doubt that the opinionated, overly-
controlling compiler, absolute minimalism, and conventional structure of the
language is designed so that a mediocre programmer can produce passable code.
A good programmer doesn't really need gofmt, or a compiler that tells them off
for not properly commenting their code. Good programmers don't tend to abuse
generics or lambdas or all the other things Go doesn't have.
So what it does, compared to C++, or even Java, is allows you to employ less
experienced, less skilled programmers, and equally, to expect them to actually
be productive, and not to produce morasses of unreadable gibberish.
Don't get me wrong - I like Go. But if C was the only language in town,
there's no doubt you'd need more programmers, they'd have to be better
trained, and their job security and compensation would be better.
~~~
anonacct37
> designed so that a mediocre programmer can produce passable code
That's a little unfair, if accurate. Even the best of us are mediocre
programmers when fixing a bug in the middle of the night or diving into a new
code base.
You might as well say (and some do) that Haskell is for mediocre programmers
because good programmers don't make type mistakes.
> a compiler that tells them off for not properly commenting their code
Are you still talking about go and if so would you mind sending a link because
as someone who has written it professionally since pre-go1.0 and contributed
multiple changes to the go repo I haven't the faintest idea what you are
talking about.
~~~
hoopladler
I'm actually kind of embarassed by how innacurate my post was, but I can't
edit it with corrections.
------
skywhopper
This is silly. We already have automatic code generation tools. We have for
decades. They are called compilers, interpreters, standard libraries. These do
not reduce the need for programmers. No AI can decide _what_ to build nor can
they solve pragmatic tradeoffs between competing goals that real programmers
have to deal with all the time. Some human has to be making the decisions
about what the computer is going to do. And they'll need a means by which to
inform the computer what it is to be doing. And that means is what we now call
a programming language. Smarter compilers, code analysis tools, or library
finders aren't going to remove the need to define the specification.
Anyway, it's not like there's a limited amount of programming to be done, and
if we could only be more productive, we'd finish it all up sooner and go to
the lake. No, the demand for more and better software will only increase to
consume any productivity increases we achieve. Think about the software you
use every day. Could it be made better? Of course! Most of it is terrible.
There's an infinite amount of work to be done.
~~~
dynamodispatch
> No AI can decide _what_ to build
Honestly, programmers don't decide either. We build what we are told to build.
> Could it be made better? Of course! Most of it is terrible. There's an
> infinite amount of work to be done.
Of course, if our objective it to achieve perfection, then there will always
be more things to do because we can never achieve perfection. But most of the
time "good enough" is good enough.
But I agree with that AI won't be taking programming jobs anytime soon. But AI
will certainly put pressure on the number of jobs and wages. As you said,
"smart" compilers, debuggers, code analyzer, etc helps increase productivity.
But sooner or later, it will eventually hit demand for programmers.
We are living in the golden age of tech. So it's hard to imagine it ever
stopping. I think the biggest concern is the wages and prospects. As more and
more people get into programming and as the profession gets more and more
productive ( AI, tools ), it's inevitable that wages will stall and decline.
Hopefully, just not in my lifetime.
~~~
ericmcer
Judging by how impacted CS programs are at colleges, and how hard working the
interns I have been seeing come through my company lately, wages may be
stalling sooner than you think.
Like many other skilled occupations in this country the future is probably
going to be very highly paid elite workers and masses of low paid people who
are just "good". Kind of inevitable in a capitalist society where human labor
is losing its value.
~~~
closeparen
A massive increase in programming labor physically won’t fit in the Bay Area’s
housing stock, and the industry already could have slashed costs anytime it
wanted by hiring in the Midwest and South.
------
ilaksh
I personally believe we will see artificial general intelligence demos in 2018
or 2019. They will be general but not initially have anywhere near the same
level of capacity as animals or humans so people may deny they are
intelligent. But by 2020 or 2021 most will not deny it. Within a few years of
training, high level tasks like human equivalent AI programmers will be
possible.
This is speculation obviously. Let me try to explain why I think it is so
close.
The limitations and problems of neural networks, deep learning, etc. for
creating AGI have been well documented. However, for each of these problems,
there are successful projects addressing them. Things like capsule networks
(Hinton), distributed training on shared experience (Deep Mind), fast online
learning with time-based animal-like networks (Ogma).
At the same time, the advanced neural network researchers have become familiar
with the existing body of AGI work. They are building their networks into
virtually embodied or real-bodied robots that have fully general inputs and
outputs and training them in varied environments.
Some generality has already been demonstrated. Based on the progress made so
far it seems likely abstraction, depth of cognitive ability etc. will be
increased as there are more innovations and integration of existing ones.
The reason the timeframe is relatively short is because of the exciting
progress so far, the number of actual geniuses working on it, massive
investments, improvements in hardware, and social expectation. The world now
believes again this is possible which means there is an explosion of people
working on it and ultimately those are two of the biggest factors pushing this
into reality.
If tools are not released by researchers within a few years then I expect
someone to release a tool or game online or on Steam etc. with powerful built-
in AGI.
------
akditer
AI won't make coders unemployed. It will simply create a new type of job, like
tensor flow programmers. This is same as C++ programmers who some way generate
assembly code by using a tool called compiler.
~~~
TeMPOraL
The first iteration, maybe not. But the end goal for a general AI is to have
it close over - i.e. have an AI capable of programming itself. At this point
you enter the realm of recursive self-improvement, with no humans necessary in
the loop.
------
jmclnx
I think it depends. If pointy/clickie programming I think this type well be
the first to go to AI since all you are doing is linking blocks together. If
programming that is only done using a text editor, I think it will be a while.
------
pilooch
Fact is though that instead of coding up an object detector, the machine is
doing it now. This job is now being controlled by ML personnel, not (yet) your
standard programmer. What is left is glue code and architecture, at least for
some time.
------
junkscience2017
No, but combine cloud APIs, AI, and market consolidation and you will indeed
see a reduction in the demand for code. I write much less code than I did ten
years ago. I spend more time integrating others' code now than I do writing my
own.
In ten years most industrial coders will probably be down to a hundred or so
lines of new production code a year...it will be the DATA arcitects who are
calling the architecture shots as it becomes clear that data architecture
trmps code architecture
~~~
klibertp
I don't believe this to be true. We've seen quite a few technologies, which
promised to "let anyone code", without any real success, whereas to "let AI
code" is even harder than letting your boss. At the very least, I expect we'd
need another 2 or 3 major, paradigm-shifting, breakthroughs to get computers
sophisticated enough to program themselves, which is still 50-60 years away.
I mean, that's my gut feeling; we'll see how it plays out, but for now I'm
still not really worried about my job disappearing.
~~~
jjeaff
I think that we can do a lot more with a lot less programmer hours today.
React native is a good example. We have just finished rebuilding our app with
maybe one third the time and cost of our two native apps.
This is of course offset by the overall huge growth in demand for all kinds of
software. But if that demand curve ever flattens out, then I think we could
definitely see a reduction in the need for programmers.
~~~
kthejoker2
This exactly. I always think of this xkcd comic
[https://xkcd.com/1205/](https://xkcd.com/1205/)
If AI makes all those targets achievable, the number of projects which will
get wired up will be astronomical - but finite.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Teen Who Died of Covid-19 Was Denied Treatment - maxwell
https://gizmodo.com/teen-who-died-of-covid-19-was-denied-treatment-because-1842520539
======
redis_mlc
For non-US readers: Somebody made an incorrect decision to take him to an
urgent care office, which requires immediate insurance or payment, rather than
a hospital, which has to admit you if you're acutely ill, then bills you
later.
You're supposed to use urgent care for minor things like an earache or
prescription refill.
The "insurance hack" in the US is that since hospitals must accept you if
you're critically ill, you don't need any insurance to get admitted and
treated initially. Also the initial paperwork is less burdensome if you're
critical.
The reason for that is because hospitals were dumping comatose patients on
lawns at other hospitals to reduce their costs. Hey, capitalism.
~~~
kwhitefoot
> For non-US readers: Somebody made an incorrect decision to take him to an
> urgent care office, which requires immediate insurance or payment
Is this something that all US readers would know? What about people who have
never been to such a place?
> You're supposed to use urgent care for minor things like an earache or
> prescription refill.
Surely urgency comes in degrees and someone with the symptoms of COVID-19 is
surely in more urgent need than someone who has an earache.
I realize that the name is just what it is called; I'm not really arguing for
a change of name, after all it's not my country, but it does seem quite
plausible that someone might go to such a place under the (mis)apprehension
that urgent needs would be attended to and payment be dealt with afterward.
~~~
zamadatix
I doubt most people here realize the emergency room can't refuse a real
emergency due to lack of insurance but I almost guarantee fear of large
hospital bills is the reason the urgent care was the first stop, it's the
cheapest place to get care without needing an appointment. So unfortunately I
don't think it was confusion about what an urgent care offers (it's a pretty
well known service for the above reason) as much of fear of cost over going
straight to the emergency room.
------
Someone1234
They let a 17 year old die because they didn't have enough money?
In many other countries this would be criminally culpable but in the US they
aren't even going to release the name of the "urgent care" clinic. Immoral.
And don't even come to me with "well its complicated." No it isn't at all
complicated. The kid didn't have money so they turned him out on the street,
without even a safety evaluation, and he died before he could get care
elsewhere.
There's nothing complicated about that, you're pretending it is complicated to
avoid the moral and ethical implications of what actually happened.
People pretending like no medical triage, because he lacked means, is
perfectly fine and that it was actually the [medically unqualified] victim's
fault for not self-diagnosing well enough to go to the correct facility are
apologists of the worst kind. It defies both common sense and basic decency.
~~~
ng12
They didn't turn him out on the street: they sent him to the emergency room
and he died en-route. Urgent care clinics are not hospitals, they don't even
like writing prescriptions for anything other than antibiotics. At best they
could have called him an ambulance.
~~~
fiftyfifty
This. People need to understand that these clinics are not equipped to deal
with this stuff, they do not have ventilators and equipment like that. They
are not hospitals, some are no bigger than a dentist office. Some clinics like
this may only have one doctor on staff with just Nurses and PAs seeing
patients. If this kid was in that bad of shape they probably couldn't have
helped him at this facility.
~~~
salawat
Doesn't matter. If they made the professional judgement call he needed more
than they could offer, someone should have been calling 911 in order to get a
meat wagon on the way. If he was bad enough gone to have to head to an ER, th
he Urgent Care should have at a minimum hit him with prednisone and a
nebulizer treatment to get his airways open. Most also have Epi-Pens on site
if they were really worried about his chances of making it to the hospital
alive.
You don't get to cherry-pick patients because it's inconvenient. Shit happens,
and you're the Doc/NP. Get out the prescription pad, write a scrip or call in
to the nearest pharmacy to expedite, and have office staff or whoever drove
him in pick it up.
Welcome to professional culpability. Now if what they said was, we won't see
you because you can't pay; go to the ER, some naming and shaming is in order.
~~~
ng12
If someone's at risk of dying on the way to the hospital making a CVS run is
not the right call.
~~~
salawat
More meant as a mitigation to "The ambulance will be here in 15 minutes. Go
next door, get this, and bring it back so I can keep him alive until then."
You are by no means helpless as a medical practitioner with modern
pharmaceuticals minutes away most anywhere.
Not "Stop at CVS on your way there." Once a medical practitioner sees you are
in need of more intensive care the onus is on them to ensure they do what they
can to get you there alive.
I'm fairly secure in my assertion of these courses of action. Even bounced it
off an RN to make sure; so I'm not just pulling it out of my ass here.
------
CodeWriter23
> Mayor Parris explained in his YouTube video that the 17-year-old is believed
> to have had no underlying conditions that may have contributed to his death.
I guess Gizmodo missed this key update to the story. Odd, the update was
published some 2-1/2 days prior to publication of the Gizmodo article.
[https://www.kcra.com/article/california-minor-dies-due-to-
co...](https://www.kcra.com/article/california-minor-dies-due-to-coronavirus-
complications/31919733#)
------
ryanmercer
"Urgent Care" facilities are not emergency rooms or hospitals, they do not
have the equipment necessary, few have very little medical tech in them at all
with the most advanced things being contactless thermometers and _maybe_ an
x-ray. They are little more than offices with private examination rooms.
They are 100% for acute, non-life threatening illnesses and injury.
Whoever is claiming he was denied for insurance is likely confusing what was
actually said. Even if they'd had a suitcase full of unmarked non-sequential
20$ bills they'd likely have been able to do anything for him besides refer
them to an emergency room/call an ambulance.
This article is garbage, it is 100% trying to get clicks and isn't even
remotely actual journalism.
~~~
DuskStar
> This article is garbage, it is 100% trying to get clicks and isn't even
> remotely actual journalism.
So in other words, it's Gizmodo?
------
vondur
I know that is scary when here in the US when you don't have medical
insurance, but if they had called the emergency number (911) an ambulance and
paramedics would have been dispatched and he would have been taken to the
hospital quickly and would have received treatment. The hospital would have to
treat him, regardless of medical coverage. They would still be charged for the
services later, but they would have received treatment.
~~~
elliekelly
> They would still be charged for the services later, but they would have
> received treatment.
And his family would have been bankrupt from the ambulance ride alone, never
mind the cost of the treatment. A family that can't afford health insurance
for a 17 year old cannot afford healthcare in the US at all. Let alone
emergency healthcare. The family almost certainly went to Urgent Care first in
hopes of getting their very sick son treatment for $5,000 instead of $50,000
at a hospital.
~~~
nojvek
> And his family would have been bankrupt from the ambulance ride alone, never
> mind the cost of the treatment. A family that can't afford health insurance
> for a 17 year old cannot afford healthcare in the US at all. Let alone
> emergency healthcare.
This ^. I don't have health insurance, I can't afford it right now. If I had
covid-19 and I was very serious where the bill would be hundreds of thousands
of dollars, I would rather choose to die than to bankrupt my family.
US has one of the highest rates of preventable deaths.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The ‘balance of nature’ is an enduring concept. But it’s wrong - pseudolus
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/balance-of-nature-explained/
======
whatshisface
This article is pure fluff, nature is in plenty of dynamic equilibria. Saying
the balance of nature doesn't exist is like saying red bowling balls don't
exist.
~~~
fastball
If two things are balanced, they should remain balanced until acted upon by an
outside force. That is the implication when someone says "the balance of
nature".
But as pointed out in the article, it is not true. Ecologies change and fall
out of equilibrium with or without human intervention. That is not balance.
------
hprotagonist
If we believe that balance implies stasis, then sure. Nothing like that
exists, and never has.
"Homeostasis means dynamical systems have fixed points in state space" is
something that's been taught in american highschool biology since at least the
mid-90s. (though they usually take more words to say the "fixed points ..."
bit)
~~~
fastball
Would you not argue that balance implies stasis?
Do you not think things which are balanced should remain so unless acted upon
by an outside force?
Since "nature" as a concept tends to include everything except human activity,
the implication of "balance of nature" is that it will remain in stasis unless
acted upon by humans, which, as the article has pointed out, is not accurate.
~~~
wavepruner
One of the most paradigm shifting mental adjustments I've made is considering
humans and our actions as nature.
Which, of course, is true.
So strange we don't think of ourselves as being part of what created us and
would die without.
Humans behavior is not an external force. When we destroy nature that is
nature destroying nature, as it always has.
~~~
dondawest
What is this war in the heart of nature?
Why does the land contend with the sea?
Is there an avenging power in nature?
Not one force, but two?
------
_bxg1
As of 2015, NatGeo is majority-controlled by Fox News' parent company. Just
something to think about.
[https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150909-21st-
cent...](https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150909-21st-century-fox-
media-partnership/)
~~~
fastball
And that is relevant how...?
~~~
_bxg1
The whole thing is a vague, fluffy argument against the value of conservation.
It tries to argue that nature isn't static and that we therefore shouldn't
worry about screwing it up. What's left out is the fact that nature's time
scale of change is so slow compared to our own time scales, that it may as
well be static from our perspective. We change things exponentially faster
than natural systems have time to adapt to.
~~~
fastball
That’s not what the article is arguing at all.
It came across to me as arguing for _stronger_ conservation efforts, because
even if we manage to stop human-led global warming, that doesn’t mean
ecologies will just stick around.
------
Merrill
18,000 years ago Manhattan was under 2000 feet of ice. An ice-covered Canada
has been the usual state of nature for the last couple million years.
The current warm period is highly unusual and probably unstable, although AGW
may prolong it. Things change.
------
meuk
I'm not sure what exactly the defining quality of 'balance' is that nature
does not have. In other words, I miss the point of the article.
~~~
zwieback
Yeah, poorly written. As far as I can tell the only point is that nature
doesn't balance itself out on its own but there's no metric for "balance".
------
msiyer
Ridiculous. What next? The 'balance of an atom' is a totally wrong concept and
the universe is about to crumble?
~~~
fastball
No, because an atom _is_ in balance.
An atom has a set number of protons, neutrons, and electrons, which will not
change unless acted upon by an outside force.
~~~
msiyer
And the motion of electrons is totally predictable?
And what exactly are the 'outside forces' when it comes to the closed system
which we refer to as 'nature'?
~~~
fastball
Generally human activity is considered to be outside the closed system.
~~~
msiyer
You and I are thinking about this totally differently. Humans and their
activities can create new variables, but nature will adjust to that. We are an
inseparable part of nature. So are our activities.
------
AlbertoGP
Adam Curtis explored this in more detail in the second part of his 3-part
documentary “All watched over by machines of loving grace“, titled “The use
and abuse of vegetational concepts”:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Watched_Over_by_Machines_o...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Watched_Over_by_Machines_of_Loving_Grace_%28TV_series%29#Part_2._'The_Use_and_Abuse_of_Vegetational_Concepts')
The concept of “balance of nature” is generally associated with the
environmental movement, and I too thought so until I watched Curtis’
documentary. Here is a quote from the summary in the Wikipedia article:
> However, this was opposed by many people within the environmental movement,
> since the model did not allow for people to change their values to stabilise
> the world, and they argued that the model tried to maintain and enforce the
> current political hierarchy. Arthur Tansley who had invented the term
> ecosystem, had once accused Field Marshal Jan Smuts of the "abuse of
> vegetational concepts". Smuts had invented a philosophy called holism, where
> everyone had a 'rightful place', which was to be managed by the white race.
> The 70s protestors claimed that the same conceptual abuse of the supposed
> natural order was occurring, that it was really being used for political
> control.
The article subject of this discussion, from National Geographic, has much
less substance to it but this is the part I think reflects the point that a
blind adherence to that concept will actually _damage the enviroment_ :
> But the most obvious, and pressing, manifestation is the looming climate
> crisis, says Corinne Zimmerman, a psychologist at Illinois State University.
> While the vast majority of scientists agree that efforts to address climate
> change must involve human action, a public misconception about nature being
> in balance could inhibit progress. “If nature is all robust and fine, she'll
> take care of herself, we don't have to do anything about our carbon
> footprint,” she said. “It's a very naive understanding of nature.”
This article in NatGeo is not detailed enough but it’s quick to read, so I
would recommend anyone interested in protecting the environment to take a
quick look at it, and in any case watch Adam Curtis’ documentary where he
gives this idea a better grounding and shows how things end up not as
intendend. We can not base the fight against the destruction of our natural
environment on misconceptions.
In the words of (fictional) astronaut Mark Watney[1], we are going to have to
“science the shit out of this”.
[1]
[https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mark+watney+science+the+shit+out+o...](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mark+watney+science+the+shit+out+of+this&t=canonical)
------
ourmandave
Didn't read the article, but the title sounds like a piece you'd put out to
sway public opinion if you wanted to say, I dunno, nuke Mars or something.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Does Snapchat's CEO Need to Go? - goronbjorn
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2014/01/03/snapchat-ceo-go/
======
001sky
Where does media punditry get off on making absolutist calls for heads to
"roll"? I mean, imaging if random non-experts had a journalist fired for every
failed-prediction or embarrasingly wrong policy analysis penned in an op-ed?
There would be no journalists left !
~~~
kyro
Journalists for the most part are attention-whoring nobodies with no expertise
in any particular subject, who hide behind overly aggressive and opinionated
words. Watch pundits on any news channel, or read any massively circulated
news source and it's pretty clear to confirm what I'm saying. They jiggle
their jowls with such empty emotion and intensity.
May be harsh, but I think it's pretty accurate.
~~~
hbags
Punditry is not journalism. Journalism is not punditry.
That said, I find it morally repugnant that 001sky seems to want to quash the
right of either to engage in public speech, simply because said speech calls
some entrepreneur's credentials into question. It's fine for any person (be
they a research-oriented journalist or a bloviating pundit) to raise these
sorts of questions, even if I think their position is weak and a tad
ridiculous.
If you, as an entrepreneur, are too weak to handle public scrutiny (including
scrutiny from people who are quite unlike yourself), then you should find
another line of work.
~~~
kyro
Punditry != journalism, you're right. But I think what I said applies to most
in both categories.
------
jimsilverman
i'm shocked by the comments here.
it was a massive and anticipated security flaw. the CEO's reaction was not to
fix it, not to apologize, but to arrogantly lie about the severity of the
threat.
less than a week after the CEO deemed the attack theoretical, it happened. the
CEO's reaction was not to fix it, not to apologize, but to offer an opt-out
after the damage had been done.
not sure why snapchat is getting a free pass on this, but it's horrifying.
~~~
code_duck
What I can figure out is why more hasn't been made of how the snapchat app
doesn't delete viewed photos at all: it stores them in the phone permanently.
[http://m.ksl.com/index/story/sid/25106057?mobile_direct=y](http://m.ksl.com/index/story/sid/25106057?mobile_direct=y)
[http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/partner-zone-
infose...](http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/partner-zone-
infosecurity/snapchat-photos-not-deleted-hidden)
Seems to me like a massive breach of trust which defies the entire claim of
the app.
~~~
rickhanlonii
I was confused by this for awhile until I started hanging around a group of
people who use SnapChat almost as much as texting. For the most part they
share innocuous "here's what I'm doing" type photos. They use SnapChat because
it's a really easy to send a photo to everyone on their list at the same time
individually when they want to share a photo of what they're doing at that
moment, with no feed or wall or comments to maintain later.
Thus, they really don't care if the photos are saved anywhere because they're
not concerned with the privacy of their photos--at worst the snaps they share
are unflattering. Their main concern is that they don't want to maintain any
photos later, they just want to tell each other 'hi, here's what I'm doing'
and forget about it.
In other words, to them SnapChat isn't a platform to share photos _secretly_ ,
it's a platform to share photos _momentarily_. SnapChat even sells it as this:
>The images might be a little grainy, and you may not look your best, but
that's the point. It's about the moment, a connection between friends in the
present, and not just a pretty picture.
I get it now. I still don't like SnapChat at all (the UI is ugly, the UX is
par, and I don't like the attitude of the company), but I see the user appeal
and I see why the users SnapChat wants most will continue to use the app even
though one of their friends may be keeping that picture they took of their
thanksgiving turkey permanently.
~~~
code_duck
How would that be an improvement over text messaging?
------
jusben1369
So the more interesting article here is "Do people even care any more?" Is
Snapchat's CEO making an educated guess that his users are on the cutting edge
of SN users and are already sharing a boat load of information and just don't
care that much about the breach? Whenever FB makes any privacy changes there's
usually a huge uproar. But not many of those complaining are high schoolers or
college kids. Maybe they know their user base better than we think.
~~~
bertil
It makes sense: I have seen many security professionals complain on the
principle, but not one user publicly state they are going to abandon SnapChat
for that. These are roughly the generation that threatened to leave when
Facebook rearranged buttons.
I'm not sure I got the extend of the issue, but: there is now an accessible
database of phone numbers to SnapChat handles, right? I get how large scale
hackers might use it (but presumably already have); or how a large marketing
operation could use that to associate phones numbers that they have with
handles, that are presumably unusable for the moment, unless SnapChat users
would accept an friend invitation from a branded account.
However, the kind of spying that worries most SnapChat users should be from
close relatives (parents, teachers, exes, cf. danah boyd’s research), people
who already have your phone number, and already have seen your handle appear
when they installed SnapChat, and were already denied access. That breach
doesn’t change that. The social discovery feature functioning as it is was the
issue, and that was already widely accepted.
------
aryastark
You would assume CNNMoney would be more concerned with the CEO's lack of a
business plan rather than his lack of apology. Let's get our priorities
straight here. I mean, if you're not making money, do you really have a
business? Does any of this even matter? If a tree falls in the forest...
It takes a certain type of person to use Snapchat. A person that believes in
unicorns. That is, someone that believes you can erase things you send over
the internet. I suppose if you believe in that absurdity, then you may also
believe in whatever nonsense the CEO might tell you about their enhanced
security that will prevent this type of breach from ever occurring again.
Or you could just stop using the damn thing. Vote with your wallet, er,
eyeballs.
------
aubreyjohnson
Sorry is an emotion and this is a business. I don't care about how Snapchat
"feels," I care about what they've done to fix the security issues and how
successful that effort is.
~~~
mathattack
If someone doesn't accept the blame, perhaps they're less likely to make sure
the problem doesn't repeat.
------
thenmar
It's a little strange how much vitriol that article contains. It's as if the
author is just itching for someone to finally put one of those 20-something
entrepreneurs who didn't have to climb the corporate ladder for decades in his
place.
------
baldajan
Asking for a person's head every time a mistake is made isn't something a
mature person would do. Maybe Dan Primack (the writer) should be fired and
replaced by an "adult" that won't make those claims... Now doesn't that sound
ridiculous?
------
iLoch
Take a deal and jump ship boys, your idea won't be worth anything in 6 months
when the next big thing comes out.
~~~
uladzislau
Probably it's too late already.
------
NN88
its funny how when things go wrong in private companies, how quickly the
general public thinks they can weigh in on how someone needs to stay with that
entity.
Imagine building something and losing your influence over it to the rest of
the world.
~~~
toomuchtodo
> Imagine building something and losing your influence over it to the rest of
> the world.
Happens a lot more often than you'd think.
------
octatone2
They simply need to own up to a poor implementation of a useful feature and
take protecting user data more seriously.
~~~
onedev
Hah, good one...
When is the last time a company owned up to their mistakes and fixed them like
that?
------
johnrob
What's the big deal? In the age of surveillance, all data is public.
~~~
iluvuspartacus
Tell that to the wife (possibly husband) hiding from her (his) deranged
spouse.
Data breaches can have very serious consequences for individuals.
~~~
electic
If you have this issue in your life, using any service is a bad idea. This
includes Facebook, Pinterest, anything. When you interact with services you
create data and in many ways data exhaust that can be used to locate you or
reveal things about your interests, traits, etc.
------
adamsrog
Why is the author so focused on an apology? Does a forced apology really solve
anything?
If I were a Snapchat user, I'd primarily be interested in what they're doing
to prevent anything of the sort from happening in the future.
------
mbloom1915
apology? these are two kids from Stanford who made a fun project and it just
so happen to take off. Give them a break, their team of less than 5 people
could careless what the public thinks!
~~~
minimaxir
Snapchat isn't a "project" anymore. It's a business.
~~~
icedog
It's a business that doesn't have any business.
~~~
3am
Did you read the WSJ Andreesen interview that's on the frontpage
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7007332](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7007332))?
He gave a plausible and coherent explanation of Snapchat's strategy (spoiler:
Tencent of the West). I think that Tencent's valuation is stretched and I
think Snapchat is unlikely to succeed even if that is actually their goal...
but it was interesting, anyway.
edit: hey, w1ntermute, thank you for that interesting response. Cognitively I
think my brain wants a tidy explanation for them turning down the $3B,
otherwise I can't make any sense of it whatsoever.
~~~
w1ntermute
> He gave a plausible and coherent explanation of Snapchat's strategy
No, he doesn't. All he did was demonstrate his utter lack of understanding of
East Asia.
East Asian cultures are high-context, meaning that when Tencent released non-
messenger services (that could actually turn a profit), users were much more
likely to use them because they were already familiar with the company and its
existing messaging service. But this strategy does not work well in the low-
context cultures of the West, where people are more comfortable with giving
new companies and products a chance. Snapchat cannot expand into other
verticals with the ease that Tencent did.
~~~
robterrell
That's what people said about Asia-style free-to-play games, too: that they
would never work in the West due to cultural differences. Turns out that was
totally wrong.
~~~
w1ntermute
No, you're actually making the mistake of conflating China with the rest of
Asia. Japan, which also has a high-context culture, has paid upfront for games
for decades. And it wasn't just that free-to-play games were popular in China
first, it's that paid games could never turn a profit because people would
pirate them. There's a huge difference between people not using a product and
people using it without paying for it.
The primary reason why free-to-play games became popular in the West is
because the $0.99 floor that Apple set for the App Store drove consumer
psychology regarding app purchases, which made it difficult to turn a profit
in any other way. Just take a look at Steam to see how much money is being
made from non-freemium games.
------
dreamfactory
Seems the journalist and a lot of commenters here are saying that a service
like this needs to be regulated so that there are consequences for negligence
or carelessness. There's probably something in that, but in the absence of a
regulatory framework for social media systems, snapchat surely has no
liability or requirement around data security (beyond existing regulations).
------
metaphorm
anybody remember tamagotchi? beanie babies? pogs?
snapchat is the pogs of 2013. its already 2014. clock is ticking.
------
kyberias
Does Fortune's Dan Primack need to go?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
A former CIA spy has revealed his key role in the arrest of Nelson Mandela - randomname2
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/cia-tip-off-led-to-jailing-of-mandela-9mwcsdq9c
======
cm3
The CIA is the reason for most of the unstable regions and it's hard to
understand how after messing with other places and making it worse for
everybody but weapons manufacturers, they're still doing the same thing over
and over. Previously it was the fight against Communism, now Islam, I wonder
what it will be in 2020. Middle-east, Asia, South America, all are right to be
very angry with the CIA, but turn it into a "Burn America" rethoric, which
doesn't help their argument. CIA's policy is probably controlled by someone
else, and that's where changes need to be made because I like to think they
don't come up with the stuff on their own.
~~~
kangar00
> CIA's policy is probably controlled by someone else, and that's where
> changes need to be made because I like to think they don't come up with the
> stuff on their own.
Beyond you liking to think that, what evidence do you have that the CIA's
policy is controlled by anyone other than the CIA's Deputy Director who
commands internal operations, and its Director, who reports to the director of
National Intelligence as well as having to answer to Congress and the White
House?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency#Or...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency#Organizational_structure)
For the most part, theories of secret groups that control things are false,
not counting well-known groups like the Masons, etc. that make secrecy part of
their identity. There is plenty of evidence to support that Congress and the
White House are lobbied heavily by outside interest, and that's no secret.
Combine that with the varied interests and agendas in the involved
organizations, human error, incorrect or misinterpreted information, etc. and
you have plenty enough reason for things like this to go wrong.
If you are an American citizen, and you believe the U.S. government is so
wrong and misguided, nothing is typically stopping you from leaving the
country or attempting to vote for others that might be able to make some
changes, but the fact is that there is an extreme momentum of the country that
is simultaneous chaotic and well-intentioned, so no matter who you vote for,
things will typically continue on. Well- maybe not if Trump is elected,
because the entire country could turn into a sideshow ;) , but this is true
for the most part.
If you live in another democratic country, vote for leaders that you believe
will positively influence the U.S. in one way or another, or you can speak up
about it.
Belief in some shadowy group is just not helpful, and is a result of the
imprint on the psyche from movies, television, and other media sources. There
are real groups out there with influence, and real single players with
influence, but it's really not that hidden; it's just complex.
~~~
arca_vorago
I think you are completely wrong about this. There is plenty of evidence to
indicate that "shadow groups" of varied interests that sometimes align and
sometimes dont, are often pulling the strings of "public puppets". Your view,
while common, (especially in the academic world where conspiracy is avoided
like the plague) doesnt seem to reflect reality.
The conspiratorial view of history is the correct one.
Would you like me to go into more detail?
~~~
467568985476
Please go into more detail. Start with the evidence.
~~~
WayneBro
Could we start with asking you what kind of evidence would actually satisfy
you? How much effort are you prepared to expend in questioning this?
Honestly. What do you need to just to consider the _small_ possibility that
your view of things is the incorrect one?
Do you want macro/micro/historical/current evidence and do you expect such
evidence to be easily disseminated here or are you just asking without any of
these things in mind?
I guess we could start with the fact that it's proven beyond a shadow of a
doubt that very few people control the economy in modern times -
[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354-500-revealed...](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354-500-revealed-
the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world/)
We could also prove that for historical times.
The evidence is there. It just takes a little work to dig through and a lot of
reading. So, I suggest trying to look around on your own first. Read about the
United Fruit Company. 1950's Iran. Rand Corporation. There's just so much out
there already that I think anybody who hasn't read about this stuff by now
must not really care.
~~~
IsaacL
Not the OP, but it's sunday afternoon and you've piqued my curiosity. I'm not
opposed to conspiracy theories, but my view of the world is one of different
groups competing for power without a guiding plan. I find it interesting
reading about individual conspiracies and learning how the world really works,
but in my view they eventually backfire on the people who instigate them.
Take the United Fruit Company - so they lobbied the US government to instigate
a coup in Guatemala. That's devious. (I've just looked up the coup in more
detail, and the consequences for Guatemala were horrendous, so I'd say the
coup instigators were not merely devious, but outright evil).
Thing is, neither party benefited. The US got involved to prevent communism
growing in its backyard, but ended up pissing off the entire region. The UFC
wanted to protect its assets in Guatemala, but was forced by Eisenhower to
divest them all 4 years later.
What's the grand pattern here? What's the motive behind all these conspiracy
theories? Do they intentionally backfire, or are the people pulling the
strings just short-sighted?
~~~
WayneBro
Thanks, great response. I guess my overall point would be that once you think
you know something, you've stopped thinking about it.
I agree that it's a fact that there are different groups competing for power
and that there is a constant struggle. I would quibble over the "without a
guiding plan" part because I don't know what you mean by that exactly. Large
and powerful groups can certainly exert leverage over numerous smaller and
less powerful groups.
A guiding plan could be a general philosophy. Look at all of our political and
military power systems. They are designed hierarchically, so that the nearer
you get to the top, the smaller and more powerful the group is. The pyramid on
the dollar bill is obviously symbolic of this. That's indicative of some sort
of guiding plan. I mean, there's one group (the Masons) who can get all of
their secret symbols implanted into our money forever? That's scary to me.
Regarding United Fruit - yes, the company suffered but can you say that
company profit was the prime motive for messing with South America? Have you
considered that all warfare starts with economic warfare? What if de-
stabilizing a region makes you all sorts of profits in other ways, with other
companies? What if you can get all sorts of secret money to do secret things
by controlling illicit trade that now comes out of that region?
I have a LOT of questions. How could the Taliban have virtually ended poppy
production in Afghanistan in 2001 and yet our own government which supposedly
is at "war" with drugs like Heroin, cannot quell the supply from that area
which produces 90% of the drug for the rest of the world?
In my view of the world - the puppets change all the time but somehow shit
stays the same, so I just am not that sure that there isn't a guiding plan of
sorts. (EDIT: Even if that plan is just "greed". Endless greed. And "do what
you want" mentality, which is the philosophy of Satan/Lucifer. You might think
I'm crazy just for mentioning Satanism but secret power didn't start in modern
times.)
------
zo1
It's kind of odd that the DailyMail and RussiaToday (RT) have more "info" than
the linked article that's paywalled. Not necessarily a bigger "scoop" of the
story, but they provided more info about the parties, backstory, pictures
included. Honestly, I tried looking for a decent article after encountering
the paywall, but most were just "rehashed" quotes and links to the TheTimes
article, with absolutely nothing of substance added.
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3591000/How-CIA-
got-...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3591000/How-CIA-got-Nelson-
Mandela-arrested-Unrepentant-agent-confirms-tipped-South-African-security-
forces-meaning-leader-jailed-27-years.html)
[https://www.rt.com/usa/343096-cia-nelson-mandela-
arrest/](https://www.rt.com/usa/343096-cia-nelson-mandela-arrest/)
Anyone have a decent article on this with more info and backstory?
------
mark_l_watson
Not too far off topic:the book "The Devils Chessboard", the history of Allen
Dulles and the CIA is informative. The author was at Harper's Magazine for
decades, and this book is full of personal accounts and information gleaned
from historical records. The book is an eye opener. I was particularly shocked
by how Dulles suppressed information of the holocost as it was happening,
preventing obvious steps like bombing the railway lines leading to the death
camps. Dulles was so fixated by the communists that any actions were to him
justified.
Edit: Dulles was also fixated by protecting the interests of his law firm's
Wall Street clients and he viewed the Nazi apparatus, minus Hitler, as a
potential resource, something to be protected and largely left in place after
the war.
------
Tharkun
You know how we're still hunting down and jailing formers nazis and
concentration camp guards? Why aren't we doing the same to these CIA agents
and decision makers?
~~~
sbarre
Because the United States of America didn't lose any wars, and winners make
policy.
~~~
galuggus
How about Vietnam, Iraq, Afganistan?
~~~
hasenj
How did they "lose" Iraq? They successfully invaded the country, changed the
regime, changed the military, the police, the government .. everything. Then
they left.
Iraq is in utter chaos, the US is doing just fine.
How exactly did the US "lose" in Iraq?
~~~
awinder
Because the stated goal of that war was for the instilled government to
survive and for democracy to transform the region. Not for the country to
become destabilized with former military operatives to go into Syria and form
the next great political catastrophe. That definitely wasn't a "win" long
term.
~~~
hasenj
That's completely different from winning or losing a war.
The events you describe don't affect the US's dominance at all.
The region's current turmoil is all internal. The US can just wait it out and
then when it's all over, the winner will be weak and the US can just come in
again any time and reset the whole thing.
So this doesn't affect the US's ability to "write" history.
~~~
Udik
> So this doesn't affect the US's ability to "write" history.
It does, this thread (and thousands others like it) is the proof. The US are
internationally much weaker than they were before the wars in the Middle East,
and their international politics are now considered by growing amounts of
people as illegitimate and harmful.
~~~
hasenj
> their international politics are now considered by growing amounts of people
> as illegitimate and harmful.
That has always been the case.
------
sehugg
NYT reported this in 1990, we just didn't have confirmation and the name of
the agent: [http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/10/world/cia-tie-reported-
in-...](http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/10/world/cia-tie-reported-in-mandela-
arrest.html)
And it's still unclear whether anyone else was involved in the decision to tip
off the police.
------
tempodox
> ...the world’s most dangerous communist...
How fads change. Had it happened today, they would have called him a
terrorist.
Sadly, it's not really news that the U.S. only pay lip service to Democracy.
After all, the dictator of our choice can guarantee our economic and military
interests much better than any democratic regime.
~~~
Havoc
>they would have called him a terrorist.
Actually the ANC (or at least a splinter group) did bomb civilian locations in
a terror campaign so yes it was considered a terrorist organisation. Now
they're considered the liberators/bringers of democracy. Hows that for a pivot
hn?
~~~
qznc
If terrorists win they are not called terrorists anymore. Compare the Boston
Tea Party which started the war of independence.
~~~
dhd415
The Boston Tea Party was most certainly not terrorism. No one was hurt or
killed, either combatants or civilians. It cheapens the word to use it for any
act of defiance against a government.
------
gfgjmfgjmgh
The CIA was also behind the assassination of Homi Bhabha (father of Indian
atomic energy program) and Lala Bahadur Sastry (Prime Minister of India).
~~~
newjersey
> Later, Gregory Douglas, a journalist who interviewed former CIA operative,
> Robert Crowley, over a period of 4 years, recorded their telephonic
> conversations and published its transcribe in a book titled, "Conversations
> with the Crow". In the book, Crowley claimed that CIA was responsible for
> eliminating Dr. Homi Bhabha, Indian nuclear scientist whose plane crashed
> into Alps, when he was going to attend a conference in Vienna and Lal
> Bahadur Shastri, who died at Tashkent summit in 1966. Crowley said that USA
> was wary of India's rigid stand on nuclear policy and then PM Lal Bahadur
> Shastri, who wanted to go ahead with nuclear tests. He also said that agency
> was more worried about collective domination of Indo-Russian over the
> region, for which a strong deterrent was required.
If that's true and if it was planned, there's probably a memo justifying it
somewhere and we will declassify it in the future.
~~~
HillRat
"Gregory Douglas" has written a number of conspiracy-theory books that
encompass Holocaust revisionism and JFK assassination theories; he is widely
believed to be the _nom de plume_ of Peter Stahl, who is also believed to have
forged wartime Nazi documents and disseminated them to historians. It's all a
bit of a rabbit hole, but the upshot is that there's very little reason to
believe anything he writes.
------
dijit
Given the serious effort CIA puts into destabilising regions (Lets not forget
the large amounts of sources who said people were being ferried and paid to go
to Kiev when the Ukrainian uprising was occuring) it would not surprise me
very much if they were also behind the Britain "exit" from Europe, since that
would cause an economic collapse of the EU and would remove a super-power from
play.
I feel like a conspiracy theorist when saying it out loud, but given the
history...
I mean it's economic suicide for britain to leave the EU, yet someone is
plastering it all over the media and it's not the politicians. :\
~~~
krisdol
It's the workers who have been shafted by declining standards of living,
stagnant wages, rising prices, false promises about the benefits of free trade
agreements, and increased immigrant labor -- coupled with an increasingly
bureaucratic EU organization that pushes more political change than
economic/trade change. The citizens of Britain signed up for the EU when they
saw it as a trade agreement that would benefit them down the line, instead
they are giving up more sovereignty to EU's bureaucracy in exchange for
benefits that disproportionately flow up to the elite.
And it's not economic suicide. In the short term it will most likely hurt but
in the long term, Britain will survive and the EU will need to bend to
accommodate Britain's consumers, even if the UK is not a member state. It is
one of, if not the, biggest importers of EU goods and it's the EU, not
Britain, who cannot survive without accommodating the other.
Also I don't see why the US would benefit in any way from a collapsed EU or
UK. Trade and travel becomes harder when they are not a single unit.
~~~
dijit
the EU being overly bureaucratic is due to age, the UK system has the same
issues.
our sovereignty is not important as long as we have the choice to leave in
future, but the benefits awarded the middle/working/lower classes is
unquestionable and we may not be awarded such luxury under a malevolent or
overly 'for the rich' party. Rights are only rights until they aren't.
Workers rights in the UK are the best they've ever been, and better than those
in the US, which is where our model seems to steer towards without EU
guidance.
Quality of living (I'm guessing housing?) is bad in spite of the EU rules, not
because of it.
We are awarded many luxuries and exceptions by the EU because of our status as
one of the "core" members, if we renegotiate we don't have that. In addition
trade agreements are not going to be in our favour unless with have something
to barter with.
most of our industries are service/management layer, we're the middle people
to a lot of things and without being a pivotal hub we may lose this and the
foundation of British economy will be rocked, we need to produce something
that the world cannot live without before making such threats.
Additional:
Without the EU being a unified block we do not have the clout to stand up to
US bullying.
_edited to remove condescension and provide only my points_
~~~
tomarr
I'm British and back staying in the EU, but I think your post is unnecessarily
condescending and incorrectly portrays your opinions as facts.
The immigration argument is about EU citizens which the Danish system can do
nothing to stop/slow, and stopping the 'free-flow' of EU citizens is most
Brexiters biggest desire from the campaign. The economic studies are
definitely in Remain's favour, but economics as a field is very 'woolly',
often wrong and more importantly does not resonate with a large populace who
have seen living standards broadly stagnate since the last prolonged
recession.
There are arguments for and against - the Remain camp don't have a
satisfactory answer to people who are genuinely concerned over immigration or
(albeit discretely) do not like immigration in their surrounding, and the
Leave campaign have the consensus on the economic side due to uncertainty over
post-Brexit state and agreements.
~~~
dijit
Fair enough I could have worded things nicer, I've seen a lot of very bad
"facts" circulating about the EU leave/remain debacle and mostly it comes down
to peoples feelings about sovereignty.
However, the Danish system does indeed stop and slow EU migrants.
As a British citizen living in Sweden, I can't go live over the bridge in
Copenhagen unless I have a residence permit, which requires having a job, or
meeting the required points.
Without a residence permit I cannot rent property or pay bills. I had to go
through all the pain with my sister-in-law who is Estonian and studies
business in Copenhagen. I'm fully versed on the difficulties of getting a
residency there and it's certainly not as simple as being an EU citizen.
I've edited my first post to remove the comments about brainwashing as it's
not productive to conversation.
------
mrslave
In the interest of some context: Mandela was a communist and a terrorist.
While a "political prisoner" he was offered freedom as soon as he would
publicly renounce violent protest (i.e. terrorism) and he persistently refused
to do so. His second wife, Winnie, enjoyed the necklacing opponents. So nice
people all round.
~~~
Synaesthesia
Of course the government of SA didn't have to renounce violence, which is the
way they dealt with any resistance. Violence, torture, intimidation. Refusal
to negotiate.
Of course we don't call the Apartheid government "terrorists" for these
crimes.
He was not a communist, but an African nationalist. This is something he has
always maintained and was confirmed when he became president, the national
economic policy was pretty much neoliberal. The reason why he remained close
to the communists is because they were sympathetic to his cause and lent a lot
of support.
~~~
sandisk5
> Of course we don't call the Apartheid government "terrorists" for these
> crimes.
Almost everyone agrees that the Apartheid government was horrible. Almost no
one holds them up as a positive example.
Conversely, almost everyone holds Mandela and his terrorist organization up as
an example and as a hero despite them intentionally setting off bombs in
civilian locations like shopping malls and restaurants.
~~~
soneca
From the biographies I read, they never put bombs in public, civilian
locations. Only in strategic industrial/infrastructure locations, making sure
there was not a person in place.
But, of course I read that in biased biographies. Do you have source that a
person was killed by these attacks?
~~~
sandisk5
I'm no expert. Mandela cofounded
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe#Bombings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe#Bombings)
has a list of atrocities committed by them. During most of them Mandela was in
prison I believe. I don't know about his influence over the organization
during that time or if he condemned these attacks, I'd guess he didn't but am
happy to be proven wrong.
"five civilians were killed and 40 were injured when MK cadre Andrew Sibusiso
Zondo detonated an explosive in a rubbish bin at a shopping centre shortly
before Christmas."
"a bomb was detonated in a bar, killing three civilians and injuring 69"
" terror campaign continued with attacks on a series of soft targets,
including a bank in Roodepoort in 1988, in which four civilians were killed
and 18 injured. Also in 1988, a bomb outside a magistrate's court killed
three. At the Ellis Park rugby stadium in Johannesburg, a car bomb killed two
and injured 37 civilians. A multitude[14] of bombs at restaurants and fast
food outlets, including Wimpy Bars,[15] and supermarkets occurred during the
late 1980s, killing and wounding many people."
------
brudgers
A non-paywalled report of the news:
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3591000/How-CIA-
got-...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3591000/How-CIA-got-Nelson-
Mandela-arrested-Unrepentant-agent-confirms-tipped-South-African-security-
forces-meaning-leader-jailed-27-years.html)
------
Pica_soO
Agency's like the CIA are just symptoms, the obvious to late, to little effort
done after problems seem unsolvable by politicians. And they often are. If you
have a population that basically votes with there feet for a war every second
generation. If you have a social system that depends on constant corruption,
to get everyone through the day. If you have resources that allow those in
power to get by without any responsibility to there country's. If you got
armed groups, which provide to second sons of a second sons a future in
guerilla warfare - what is a group of man in a office building to do about
that? The answer is nothing. They cant turn stone to bread. They cant reason
with the unreasonable. They can try to gamble who gets to sit on the iron
throne. The sad fact is- the CIA- on a larger scale, has no power over the
population, which going in murderous cycles, stomps there own future into the
ground. They make a excellent blame-pinata though.
------
thomasahle
I think it's interesting how the CIA's goal seems to be more or less
"maintaining the status quo" in the global power struggle. This is obviously a
useful thing to have, but if it gets too strong, how can we ever have the
positive revolutions that have given us things like democracy?
~~~
_nedR
Not really. They have repeatedly sought overthrow of numerous governments in
the past (including democratic, communist and dictatorial). Not really
maintaining the status quo.
~~~
thomasahle
Mostly relative young governments though, no? Governments that were trying
something too radical, or were positioned too far from the established way of
doing things.
~~~
_nedR
Yeah. You are right. When i think about it, Even in case of old governments,
the cia was motivated by maintaining some status quo which the government was
trying to change.
------
vidoc
Oh my God! This can't be true can it? I dont want to wake up tomorrow and
learn that the Iraq war adventure was not based on wrong CIA intelligence, but
a manufactured one, and 100% of the US political establishment knew it (in
addition to basically the rest of the world).
~~~
mpweiher
Not sure if trolling... ??
Just for the record: of course large parts of it were manufactured. Some of it
was manufactured by a so-called "source", but that source was so in-/non-
credible that you wouldn't buy a used hammer from him, never mind a used car.
And it was well known that this source was completely non-credible.
In addition, various other bits were combined in ways that the appearance of a
threat was manufactured out of pieces of information that both weren't
threatening in themselves and also did not constitute a real threat when
combined appropriately (the infamous 45 minute claim is among these). For
more, see the various UK inquiries regarding "intelligence failures" leading
up to the Iraq war.
The difference between that and manufacturing the whole thing from scratch is
at best marginal.
~~~
spriggan3
> Just for the record: of course large parts of it were manufactured. Some of
> it was manufactured by a so-called "source", but that source was so in-/non-
> credible that you wouldn't buy a used hammer from him
Yet Powell built his case, before the UN with Curveball's informations.
Curveball who ultimately admitted he was a taxi driver and not a scientist.
Some might say "the US has been misled", I don't believe one second, the Bush
government was looking for any excuse, even fake to invade Irak. I pity the
families of all the soldiers who died there, they died for nothing. And the
locals who were massacred,during and after the war,the US is directly
responsible for their death.
~~~
Hondor
Why do you pity the families of US soldiers who invaded Iraq but blame the US
for the deaths of Iraqis? If what the US did was wrong, then the soldiers who
carried out those orders were wrong too.
How do Americans maintain this doublethink that their government's military
actions are bad but the people who carry them out are good? Is a US soldier
somehow more righteous than an ISIS soldier? They both kill innocent people,
they both do it to serve "bad" purposes. Why not treat them all as what they
are - killers?
~~~
thinkloop
The soldiers didn't know any better, and the situation wasn't clearly evil
enough for there to be expectation of rebellion or refusal of orders.
The leaders, by contrast, knowingly engineered it (according to parent)
No one brought up isis soldiers.
~~~
ZenoArrow
If the soldiers didn't know any better, then that's a sign that our cultural
attitudes towards war are somewhat lacking. Those people were not forced to
sign up to the military, and if their moral compasses were distorted enough to
believe wars not based on self defence can somehow be justified then why is
that message getting across?
We shouldn't blame the soldiers for doing a difficult job, especially after
the damage is done, but we can and should discourage people from signing up in
the first place.
~~~
toyg
_> Those people were not forced to sign up to the military_
You should read up a bit on the US military. A lot of those people came from
disadvantaged backgrounds where army careers are the only ticket out of
poverty.
The US political and military establishment literally preys on the poor for
their cannon fodder. It's the post-Vietnam equilibrium: they won't draft, so
(white) sons and daughters of the middle-classes will be left alone, and in
return such middle-classes don't ask too many questions about where, how and
why the military is used.
To assuage collective guilt, a narrative has emerged in which grunts are not
blamed, since they are effectively victims of a system nobody really wants to
change.
~~~
ZenoArrow
> "A lot of those people came from disadvantaged backgrounds where army
> careers are the only ticket out of poverty."
They are not the only ticket out of poverty, speaking broadly these people
have choices. What is happening is that the military provides, for some
people, an attractive way to get out of poverty, because it comes along with a
certain level of prestige. Change the level of prestige and you change the
influx of new recruits.
~~~
toyg
_> Change the level of prestige and you change the influx of new recruits._
Who can change the level of prestige? Upper and middle classes. Why would they
do that, when the system works just fine for them? Nobody is legally coerced,
and still cannon fodder is overwhelmingly provided by the "right" people.
From a certain perspective, it's a beautiful system.
~~~
ZenoArrow
> "Who can change the level of prestige?"
We all can, and we can start by resisting the narrative to refer to those
involved in preemptive war as 'heroes'. There's nothing heroic about playing
the role of the aggressor.
Furthermore, we need to find a way to better engage with those who have taken
part in war so that we can learn from their experiences. The more we can see
war for what it is, the less likely we'll be so casual about it continuing.
~~~
toyg
You also have to design and pay for alternative careers and education streams.
It's not a coincidence that the countries who most value military careers are
often ones where higher education is extremely expensive or restricted.
That will mean raising taxes and fighting tax evasion, which might mean less
"free money" from VC gluts.
~~~
ZenoArrow
Putting aside the situation in developing countries, I'm suggesting making the
changes closer to home.
In developed countries potential soldiers already have other options so it's
not a question of making economic changes, it's a question of changing how we
cut through the propaganda that glorifies soldiers. The only cases for
soldiers as heroes are in cases of defending against an external aggressor or
defending the helpless. Becoming a soldier does not automatically make you a
hero, just as lawyers are not automatically heroes, it all depends on the
causes they serve.
------
bunkydoo
I wonder what would happen if we just told everyone at the CIA to go on a 1
year vacation. We might have world peace
------
nxzero
Here's another source:
[http://m.democracynow.org/stories/14271](http://m.democracynow.org/stories/14271)
------
raverbashing
Well, sending him to jail helped make him an important figure. True, there's
no way of knowing how it have gone otherwise
Not to be demonized but not to be idolized as well
~~~
Strom
I'm curious, how did it help? I've always been under the impression that he
succeeded despite the 27+ year prison time.
~~~
phire
Being in prison isolated him from the less moral things the ANC did during the
'70s and '80s, while still being seen as a figurehead.
------
ccvannorman
""The agent firmly believed Mandela was in the pocket of Communist Russia and
was planning to incite the Indian population in the Natal region, where he was
based, to rise up.""
Given ubiquitous surveillance and increasing state power, how long before
average citizens start getting locked up because a single cowboy at an agency
"firmly believes" they are a threat?
~~~
notahacker
Never mind "ubiquitous surveillance", this has always happened.
And given that Mandela was a member of a banned organization that was wanted
by his own government for attempting to start armed rebellion using weapons
(acquired from from sympathtic communist-aligned powers), it wasn't exactly as
if the whim of a single agent was the main factor behind his detention (or the
CIA's ultimately unfounded belief in what might happen if he succeeded)
------
ebbv
The title of this link is misleading. A former CIA spy (is that even
confirmed?) claimed it. That's incredibly different from the CIA actually
admitting it.
Which is not to say I really doubt his claims (assuming it can be verified he
was a CIA operative who was in South Africa at that time.)
------
fiatmoney
Mandela & his organization were responsible for a terrorist (in the classical
sense - using unfocused attacks on civilian populations as a bargaining chip
and method of instilling fear) insurgency that killed thousands of people in
incredibly brutal ways. The ascendancy of that government has resulted in
South Africa turning from a reasonably prosperous & stable country into one of
the most dangerous countries on earth, especially for the white minority, who
is ~ one election away from genocide at any given moment.
Props on Mandela for being gracious in victory & not immediately going Full
Zimbabwe, but it is insane to suggest that he was some sort of sainted figure
that there was no reason to even fight.
------
Lerumo
Find it funny that they label Mandela a communist while the apartheid
government owned all important sectors of the economy eg telkom
(telecommunications), eskom (electricity), amscor n denel (weapons), sabc
(radio and tv broadcasting), spoornet (rails and ports) acsa (airports) just
to list a few. Apartheid was basically socialism for white people and brutal
facism africans.
------
known
"If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world,
it is the USA. They don't care." \--Nelson Mandela
[http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/nelson-
mandela-i...](http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/nelson-mandela-iraq-
israel_b_4396638.html)
------
JHof
Here's a very similar article from 1990 -
[http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/10/world/cia-tie-reported-
in-...](http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/10/world/cia-tie-reported-in-mandela-
arrest.html)
------
proksoup
The new title "an individual admitted something not the organization" is
definitely more accurate, but represents an unsettling (to me) blame shift. I
suppose the original title incorrectly placed responsibility on the
organization and not the individual.
------
ertyui
Linkbait title. If the testimony is true then at best its a tip off about a
then wanted man's location, nothing to do woth cia behind a conviction or
anything else.
~~~
jonathankoren
As if Mandela was going to go free by Apartheid regime.
When you know the outcome, you don't get to wash your hands of the guilt.
------
irunbackwards
Of course we did. We've been behind almost every coup of any truly democratic
(we Americans like to call this communism) society in the last century.
------
c2the3rd
I would like to thank all the people who had a comment on this article, but
did not post it. Truly, you improve the community with your silence. I'm aware
of my own hypocrisy on this point, but logical consistency would prevent this
sentiment from ever being expressed.
As it is, perhaps 5% of these comments know anything about what they are
talking about. One of the biggest intellectual failings of the sort that
frequents this place is mistaking being smart with being informed.
~~~
nxzero
>> "I'm aware of my own hypocrisy on this point"
Given I commented, calling you out to explicitly state why you feel that my
comments on this page somehow show that I don't know what I'm talking about.
~~~
proksoup
I am also curious to hear why c2the3rd is so confident about the ignorance
displayed here and why silence instead of noise is the solution. Hacker news
seems to do a pretty good job of at least up voting the majority thoughts, and
perhaps with some effort by all of us we can respond intelligently to those
popular thoughts and also get up voted. Even if ignorant, isn't it worth
discussing and responding to if that's what most people are thinking?
~~~
april1stislame
>>> Hacker news seems to do a pretty good job of at least up voting the
majority thoughts...
And therein lies the problem. Echo chambers are only good at making you wish
to be deaf, if even...
~~~
ZenoArrow
Only if you treat downvotes as bad. My own comments on this thread have
received a fair number of both upvotes and downvotes. I consider when that
happens (assuming I haven't been overly antagonistic, which I don't think I
have been) that I've hit a raw nerve. I could be wrong, but alternatively I
could've said something someone isn't willing to hear. That can be useful
feedback in its own right (though I prefer the clarity of comments over
votes).
~~~
nxzero
Maybe it's me, but it's rare that my comments get more that 10 votes (up/down)
- and as such, I don't make anything of votes to my comments; statistical
significance, poor sample, puppet accounts, etc.
What I do make something of is meaningful responses to my comments.
~~~
ZenoArrow
Sure, such feedback is rare, it does require significant feedback in both
directions, it doesn't work with single upvote/downvote swings.
It's also very obvious when you've said something that annoys one individual
as you can get a string of downvotes in quick succession across multiple
comments. Such feedback is easy to spot and see as childish, so I enjoy it for
what it is instead.
That said, I much prefer comments, even those that disagree with me.
------
rubyfan
Non-paywalled: [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3591000/How-CIA-
got-...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3591000/How-CIA-got-Nelson-
Mandela-arrested-Unrepentant-agent-confirms-tipped-South-African-security-
forces-meaning-leader-jailed-27-years.html)
~~~
merlin_g
Why is everything behind a damn paywall these days?
~~~
chippy
It's newspapers and the decline in print.
~~~
branchless
Newspaper death throes.
------
franky303
Paywalled. Next.
~~~
SoonDead
Get my upvote.
------
hugh4
Not really an "admission", he was guilty of the crime for which he was
charged.
~~~
nxzero
Given the systematic abuses by the state authority in South Africa, at the
time of Mandela's arrest, against the social and civil rights of a certain
group of citizens due to ethnic prejudices, believe a some context is worth
considering in deciding who was right and wrong.
~~~
viiaezumu
The "abuses" by the Apartheid government was actually negligible compared to
the violence South Africa has experienced since the unbanning of the ANC.
[http://issafrica.org/uploads/CQ7Thomson.pdf](http://issafrica.org/uploads/CQ7Thomson.pdf)
~~~
nxzero
Reviewed the document, though see no evidence to support your claim. What
exactly is your point and the evidence supporting in and why do you feel the
sources and methods used to collect it are valid?
~~~
viiaezumu
People point to a few abuses and then say the Apartheid government was so
terrible. But it did a decent job of providing safety and security, which is a
basic human right.
The ANC undermined the police service when they were unbanned When they took
office, they ran the police service into the ground. They do not protect the
rights of minorities.
------
DonHopkins
struct NelsonMandela *nelson_mandela =
(struct NelsonMandela *)malloc(
sizeof(struct NelsonMandela));
free(nelson_mandella);
------
equalsnil
Would South Africa be a better place if it had become a Russian-influenced
Communist country?
If Mandela was a secret operative for the communists in South Africa, as the
local communist party claimed when he died, and as this former CIA operative
has claimed, then he had to have known he was playing a tricky game. Ending
apartheid, creating a communist paradise, pick one.
[Edit] I know I'm being downvoted, but I also doubt anyone commenting here
lives in a communist country, or has ever spent much time in one.
~~~
sangnoir
Why are you talking in hypotheticals when Mandela became president of South
Africa in 1994?
Your false dichotomy is empirically false because apartheid was ended without
creating a 'communist paradise'.
Even if we were to accept your limited worldview/binary choices; it is not
clear how a state with codified racism (apartheid) is superior to an
egalitarian communist one.
~~~
_yosefk
An egalitarian communist state has never existed, it's always a state where
the ruling party does as it pleases while the majority has no rights
whatsoever. (Whether _this_ is superior or inferior to an apartheid state is a
tough question.)
~~~
Synaesthesia
That's not true, Cuba is egalitarian, to a far greater degree than the Soviet
Union was. Revolutionary Spain was very egalitarian. The Soviet Union can't
really be called socialist, it was more of a totalitarian dictatorship.
~~~
_yosefk
Grandparent said "communist", not socialist, so while many people argue about
the difference it doesn't seem relevant here.
Revolutionary Spain did not survive long enough to discuss IMO.
Cuba... egalitarian in what way? Is there anything the government does that
the citizens can legally undo without overthrowing it? (Note that a benevolent
dictatorship can exist, in theory, and among other things it can be a
communist - or a racist - dictatorship; nothing prevents from the dictator to
grant freedoms to the subjects, the point is that nothing prevents him from
taking them away, either. If you don't refer to rights in the sense of things
the government cannot prevent you from doing but instead refer to
"egalitarian" in some sense of Cuban citizens living substantially different
lives than Soviet citizens, I'd be curious to hear what exactly you mean.)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
AngularJS directives for Twitter's bootstrap - eranation
http://angular-ui.github.com/bootstrap/
======
pkozlowski_os
Just wanted to comment that all the directives from <http://angular-
ui.github.com/bootstrap/> are native AngularJS directives. They don't require
_any_ 3rd party JavaScript dependency (jQuery, bootstrap's JS etc.). Just take
Angular, 5kB library (minified, gzipped) and you are ready to go!
On top of this all those directives are fully customizable as (almost) no DOM
manipulation happens in directives, markup is extracted to separate templates:
<https://github.com/angular-ui/bootstrap/tree/master/template>
~~~
lukifer
Am I missing something? Angular contains its own "jQuery Lite", and appears to
be about 30kb gzipped.
Still, it's neat that no additional JS is required.
~~~
pkozlowski_os
Actually jqLite has 2.36kB when minified / gzipped, check this for more
details:
[https://plus.google.com/104744871076396904202/posts/EgjErc6N...](https://plus.google.com/104744871076396904202/posts/EgjErc6NdrD)
This is over 13x less as compared to full jQuery (1.9.x):
<http://mathiasbynens.be/demo/jquery-size>
so at the end of the day this might be a substantial difference.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Exxon prevails in climate-change lawsuit - Bostonian
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-12-10/exxon-wins-climate-change-lawsuit
======
Bostonian
These lawsuits are about punishing Exxon for selling a legal product, under
the pretext of protecting investors. Quoting the article:
“The office of the Attorney General failed to prove, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that ExxonMobil made any material misstatements or omissions about
its practices and procedures that misled any reasonable investor,” Ostrager
wrote in a 55-page ruling. James “produced no testimony either from any
investor who claimed to have been misled by any disclosure,” while the company
disclosed its use of both the proxy cost and the greenhouse gas metrics no
later than 2014, the judge said.
~~~
larnmar
I can’t quite see how suing a company on behalf of its own investors is
supposed to work, but I assume that if I’m an XOM shareholder it would involve
wealth being transferred from me to me via lawyers who get to take a
significant cut for themselves.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Tech Layoffs Surge Past 100,000 - dell9000
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/12/tech-layoffs-surge-past-100000/
======
maien
100,000 is just a number in "tech" firms, which is a board category. 100,000
is a lot, but not really a lot compare to the current situation of the
economy. You should look at how many of those layoffs are strategic, and many
of them are just "cutting fats". I assume many company are using the time to
cut their fats.
~~~
retyred
yup, and also for companies whose stock prices are depressed (all of them),
this is one of the only meaningful things they can do for investors in a
recession. and frankly they can rehire people later for lower wages...i see a
huge wave of salary resets going through the valley. developer wages were out
of control, at one point last year i wouldn't even look at anything under
$150k. now i have a lot of experience, but even i found these salaries absurd
for developers. thats going to change.
------
dilanj
Does anybody know the percentage of coders in these numbers? I doubt the job
security/demand for a good programmer has changed at all.
~~~
patio11
You could always work as a company employee ( _seishain_ ) at a major Japanese
company. They essentially can't fire you. You essentially can't quit.
In times of economic uncertainty, this sort of arrangement holds a lot of
appeal to people. Believe me though, oh boy, there are downsides to the
expectation that worker and company are joined at the hip forever.
A common opinion among my friends: "No matter how bad it is, above all, don't
quit. If you quit, you'll never work for a decent company again. You'll be
_hakken shain_ (temp) for the rest of your life, condemned to perpetually poor
conditions and ceaseless economic uncertainty. It would be like being
American, except with worse pay. _looks around_ Sorry, Patrick. When I said
like an American, I didn't mean like you. But you're not American, anyhow, so
its OK."
------
mdasen
As bad as this is, I guess we've been luckier than many sectors. Here's to
hoping we are able to pull ourselves out and create a stronger and more
resilient economy for all.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: 2015 MBP users, what machine have you upgraded to, or are planning to? - iDemonix
I've got a 2015 MBP, and unfortunately after constant use every day for the last 5 years, the screen has started to flicker, and I've finally had to admit that I need more RAM for things like Docker/Vagrant. Although the amount of spec you get for your money has always been a bit of an insult from Apple, the latest 13" line-up (not a fan of bigger sizes) seems insane.<p>My current laptop cost around £1200 new (5 years ago), and came with a 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM. The current cheapest 13" MBP costs £1300 and sports a tiny 128GB SSD and still 8GB RAM.<p>If I select the 3rd (of 4) most expensive laptop, which has a reasonable CPU (albeit 8th gen), then bump the RAM to a realistic 16GB, and the SSD to 512GB, the price is £2179, which is insane. From Dell I can get the same spec, with a 10th gen CPU, for about £500 less.<p>I've used Mac for the last 18 or so years and would consider myself a Pro user, but it feels like madness to spend over £2000 on a machine that's on an older spec CPU than most competitors, for a lot more price.<p>If anyone from Apple is reading this, screw you for making the emoji bar mandatory and not giving the 13" MBP a physical escape key.
======
chewz
As of three years now my MBP 2015 is running ChromeOS so my next laptop would
be probably something like Pixelbook Go (2 pounds, decent keyboard, 16GB)
But since ChromeOS can run on just about anything (I use as a spare laptop
ChromeOS on $100 Thinkpad x230) I really do not have to worry about upgrading
MBP 2015.
For the sake of the planet I will probably go for anything available 2-nd hand
with decent screen.
------
lioeters
As a lifelong Mac user, it seems 2015 MBP was "peak Apple" and I've also been
frustrated with more recently released machines.
This is probably not the answer you're looking for, but - I built a desktop
Hackintosh for flexibility, repairability, extensibility. It dual-boots
Ubuntu, for now. I'm migrating off of macOS gradually, and looking at
Thinkpads for laptop.
~~~
iDemonix
Funnily enough when discussing this with a friend this morning I also
described my 2015 MBP as 'peak Apple'.
Sadly I need a laptop instead of a desktop, and I can't be bothered to battle
with Hackintosh compatibility...
~~~
lioeters
For what it's worth, here are a couple of laptop models I noted down from
prior HN discussions on this topic:
Lenovo ThinkPad E/T/X series; X1 Carbon
Dell XPS 13
------
iDemonix
Also, as a secondary question, is there any physical difference between a US
MBP, and a UK MBP, other than the charger? The same £2179 laptop in the US
(with taxes) comes to £1792. I have some family in the US that visit annually,
so a saving of almost £400 would be nice.
~~~
mtmail
Apart from the keyboard layout (no £ or example) another difference is the
local salex tax, that's lower in the US.
You have to pay customs at the UK airport for any item over £390.
[https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arrivals-from-outside-
the...](https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arrivals-from-outside-the-eu)
~~~
iDemonix
> You have to pay customs
Only if you declare it ;)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Salto – UC Berkeley’s Agile Jumping Robot - sohkamyung
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/uc-berkeley-salto-is-the-most-agile-jumping-robot-ever
======
DHaldane
Hey it's my robot! I can field some questions if people are curious about
anything in particular.
~~~
FeepingCreature
What happens if you take one, put it in a shock-absorbent coating (bubble
wrap?) so it can take a bit of a fall, add a tiny low-res camera and hook it
up to a neural network with the goal to maximize distance moved per second...
then leave it alone in a room overnight?
Or can it not get up on its own yet?
[edit] If you add a thin piece of string to the top and connect it to the top
of the room, I bet you can make a mechanism to set it upright when it falls
over. Then it has all the time in the world to learn to land on its feet.
~~~
grmarcil
See Animats' answer [1] to a similar NN suggestion in this thread.
There are some research groups trying robotic control with black box neural
networks (pixels in, control commands out), afaik with limited success so far,
particularly with this many degrees of freedom.
Deep learning has yielded some really incredible results the last 5+ years,
but those results have been concentrated in a few areas (computer vision,
speech recognition, game decision, ...). So there is a tendency to think NNs
can do anything, but really a) setting up a NN to work with a problem is non-
trivial (architecture design, data collection, data labeling, feature
selection) and b) very much an open research topic for many problems, ie not
guaranteed to work at all.
[1]:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13121158](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13121158)
------
jstrieb
I question the benefit of any jumping robot that is designed for continuous
hops if there is no evidence that it can land.
~~~
DHaldane
I'm honestly surprised about how much interest there has been in a landing
controller. I always thought it was a bit less interesting than getting the
robot bouncing around doing new things.
I could see how being able to stop gracefully could be useful in some
scenarios, but there are some other jumping tasks in the queue before I work
on that.
~~~
tgb
I'm honestly surprised that you're surprised - it's hard to judge what makes
the problem difficult if you don't include landing. There's lots of ways to
get something to 'jump' (like these toys [1]) that aren't too useful.
This isn't meant to be a criticism of your work, but an explanation of the
impression it made in me. If it had been presented as "here's a new approach
to jumping with these advantages", I'd have been impressed. Billing it as "the
most agile jumping robot ever" while not being able to land it is setting your
audience up for disappointment. My touchstone for jumping robots is that
Boston Dynamics robot that can jump onto a building, and then I saw yours
needing safety nets to jump a meter - you just don't want to set me up for
that comparison. On the other hand, your video did get me excited to see where
you go in the next few years - I definitely do want to see chain jumps
exectued, even in controlled evironments.
[1] [https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2e/87/10/2e87...](https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2e/87/10/2e8710fe2ee3b60b262f9e4e66a4751d.jpg)
~~~
DHaldane
OK, I see where you're coming from. The sandflea is a very practical,
application-driven platform, and our robot is just a simple scientific tool
meant to test new ideas about jumping. We were interested in the science of
the new modes of locomotion so there wasn't much value in developing the
landing for this work. We'll try to stick the landing next time.
~~~
jstrieb
That makes more sense; I, too originally read the post with a different type
of robot in mind. After re-watching the video and re-reading the article (and
of course reading these HN discussions), I'm appreciating Salto more for what
it is: an excellent example of well-engineered biomimicry with a lot of
potential for future robots.
------
clamprecht
Salto means "I jump", or just "jump" in Spanish.
~~~
serg_chernata
More akin to backflip in Russian. :)
~~~
DHaldane
Ha. Neat.
------
aresant
I love the nod to biomimicry in the video - inspiration from animal strategies
and adaptations is an unfair advantage in robotics design.
~~~
hugs
I realized this many years ago when I was working with underwater robotics. I
learned that fish swim in a pattern that looks like a sine wave, and so I
started to design robots to fit that pattern. Anyway, biomimicry is a
fascinating field -- it's one of those things I wish I even knew existed
before I had to pick a major in college.
------
elementalest
This is a clever novel design and shows lots of potential. The next step would
be attaining the ability to right itself and land on its foot. Some kind of
machine learning (NN) would probably work well.
~~~
wyager
> Some kind of machine learning (NN) would probably work well.
This isn't exactly a constructive criticism, but that is essentially the most
useless comment you could possibly make here. "This very general class of
algorithms that I've heard about a lot would probably work here.". That is
true! It's sort of like saying "Some kind of processor (Intel) would probably
work well". It's completely incidental to the problem at hand, and most likely
not worth saying.
It's also just a bad suggestion, because you almost certainly don't need to
resort to the "high-interest credit card of technical debt" for what is a
control and kinematics problem. Even if there's not a nice closed-form
solution, there are 100 other approaches that are more appropriate for this
sort of thing than just jumping straight to a neural network. I'm not going to
go into an explanation of control theory, but "use a neural network" is not
the universal answer to every problem in engineering and computer science.
/rant
~~~
Animats
You can set up landing from a jump as a two-point boundary value problem. It's
like orbital rendezvous - there are both position and velocity goals, and more
degrees of freedom in the goal than actuators. This is called an under-
actuated system. So you have to exert changing forces and torques during the
period of control. This is rocket science, which is good, because rocket
science has been well-studied.
I used to work on this stuff.[1] Raibert's insight was that balance dominates
gait. My insight was that slip control dominates balance. On flat surfaces,
slip control isn't a big issue, but on hills, it dominates the problem.
Here's a simple example of a two-point boundary value problem. Suppose you
want to accelerate an stationary object so that at time T1 it has velocity V1
and position P1. Your only controllable variable is acceleration, but you can
change that over time. No constant acceleration will do this. You're going to
need a changing acceleration. For this particular problem, there are closed-
form solutions. Look up "shooting method" for how to solve this in general.
An appropriate use of machine learning here would be to correct for small
errors. You can calculate an idealized solution from the dynamics, and when
you use it on a real robot, it will probably be somewhat off. That's when it's
appropriate to use machine learning, or at least hill-climbing, to tweak the
tuning parameters until it's on target.
Obligatory Freefall: [2]
[1] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc5n0iTw-
NU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc5n0iTw-NU) [2]
[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2900/fc02895.htm](http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2900/fc02895.htm)
------
kahrkunne
This is the third time I've read this title and the third time I got the
meaning of "agile" wrong... HN is doing things to my brain.
------
M_Grey
Very cool little robot, and a great article.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Watch NASA simulate a Mars landing on Earth to test supersonic parachutes - antr
http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/11/nasa-mars-parachute-test/
======
curtis
I've long wondered if it would make sense to test Mars-bound hardware at high
altitude -- Earth atmospheric pressure at 100,000 to 200,000 feet is similar
to Mars surface pressure.
To test a parachute you'd probably pretty much need to launch it on a rocket,
so maybe it's not worth the trouble. You might be able to drop an airplane
designed for Mars from a balloon, however.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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Long Live WebGL (2013) - joeyespo
https://nullprogram.com/blog/2013/06/10/
======
dahart
> This is because OpenGL is at its essence a 2D API.
I know @greggman has made this argument strongly and repeatedly. He’s not
wrong, and he’s definitely an authority on the subject, he’s done amazing,
amazing things for WebGL. But I keep bumping into this argument and I find the
strict insistence on the 2d part exceeding the argument’s usefulness.
It’s useful to know that you’re on your own to handle projections and
matrices. They aren’t built-in to the fixed function pipeline the way they
used to be. It’s useful to be able to think of WebGL as a rasterization
engine, and it’s useful to understand how the pieces fit together.
It’s not useful to claim that WebGL isn’t 3d at all ever, or to stick firmly
to that interpretation. WebGL does have support for 3d coordinates, 3d
textures, 3d matrices, and it’s main function is to present 3d graphics. Say
what you want about having to roll your own transforms, there is absolutely 3d
support and 3d intent designed into WebGL.
If you really want to insist that WebGL is a 2d API only, then get the Khronos
Group to say that. Currently the WebGL page says: “WebGL is a cross-platform,
royalty-free web standard for a low-level 3D graphics API based on OpenGL ES,
exposed to ECMAScript via the HTML5 Canvas element.” Appeal to them to change
the wording to 2d. As long as Khronos calls it 3d, then it’s 3d. Trying to
convince people otherwise on the internet can never work.
~~~
westoncb
After working with OpenGL for many years and then moving to higher-level
systems more recently (e.g. three.js), I found a useful way of viewing the
'essence' of the API: moving data around. It's not so much a '3D graphics API'
as it is a wrapper for interacting with a a GPU.
(A notable exception is shader code, which is largely doing custom geometric
or pixel transformations. But the rest of it is pretty much an API for moving
blocks of data in and out of the GPU.)
I think this is important to know, because the common perception is that
OpenGL, as an API for creating 3D graphics, would give you primitives for
talking about 3D objects/spaces—which for the most part it doesn't, aside from
essentially utility classes (e.g. vectors/matrices for working with 3D
spaces). In consideration of that, it's a pretty awful experience if you're
interested in describing 3D scenes, as opposed to developing new rendering
techniques or optimizing old ones or whatever.
So instead, it's an API well-suited to building actual 3D graphics APIs on
top—scene graphs, game engines, etc. My understanding is that Vulkan/Metal
take this to a further extreme, and I see it commonly mentioned in that
context—but it's true of OpenGL too!
It should be more common to warn beginners: learn OpenGL so that you can
understand the underpinnings of some other system you will eventually use to
describe 3D graphics—but this isn't the endpoint, don't build all your games
or whatever directly on OpenGL. You will have _so_ much more fun with a good
scene graph.
~~~
MaxBarraclough
> It's not so much a '3D graphics API' as it is a wrapper for interacting with
> a a GPU.
Mandatory link to Zed Shaw's blog post on the difference between an
'indirection layer' and an 'abstraction layer'.
_Abstraction is used to reduce complexity. Indirection is used to reduce
coupling or dependence._
* [https://zedshaw.com/archive/indirection-is-not-abstraction/](https://zedshaw.com/archive/indirection-is-not-abstraction/)
~~~
westoncb
Hmm, but I didn't say it was an indirection layer nor an abstraction layer...
~~~
MaxBarraclough
If I'm understanding you and Zed correctly, you pretty much did, you just
didn't use Zed's terminology.
As you say, the intent of modern graphics APIs like Vulkan _isn 't_ to spare
the graphics programmer the hard work of writing low-level code. Instead the
intent is to provide a minimal indirection layer which does just enough work
to let graphics code work on any vendor's hardware, whilst preserving the
graphics programmer's ability to do low-level cleverness.
So game-engines and scenegraph systems are in the business of abstraction, but
graphics APIs are in the business of indirection.
~~~
westoncb
Okay, I see your point. _But_ indirection only enters the picture once you
introduce the possibility of _multiple_ graphics cards which are being
communicated with the same API—and I agree, that is an example of indirection.
However, it's not the role I was attempting to highlight. I was considering
the role of OpenGL/WebGL in relation to a single graphics card: if you
consider that situation, the API is still necessary and what it's doing is
neither (much) abstraction nor indirection. Instead, it's main task is
essentially conversion: the graphics card needs data in one format, javascript
programs assemble their data in another (I'm using data very loosely here; I
mean to include even the program source, since it's in a 'format' we can just
give directly to a GPU).
That said, even something like Vulkan does abstract a bit, and once you bring
in the possibility of multiple cards, the value of its role as an indirection
layer becomes clear.
------
AKluge
No, WebGL is not a 2D API. Neither is its predecessor, OpenGL. This comment
from the article is particularly misleading.
> OpenGL is at its essence a 2D API. The vertex shader accepts something as
> input and it produces 2D vertices in device coordinates (-1 to 1) as output.
This, and some of the comments in this thread, perhaps stem from a
misunderstanding of the projection matrices. The projection that you do
yourself is a projection from a large, arbitrary, 3D space to a small 3D space
where x, y, _and z_ are restricted to [-1, 1]. These are the device
coordinates
([http://www.vizitsolutions.com/portfolio/webgl/normalizedDevi...](http://www.vizitsolutions.com/portfolio/webgl/normalizedDeviceCoordinates.html)).
The hardware is very good at projecting this small 3D space onto the screen.
Indeed, it is possible to write a 3D program entirely within the device
coordinates. This example draws two triangles, without any projection, where
one is clearly behind the other.
[http://www.vizitsolutions.com/portfolio/webgl/translationMat...](http://www.vizitsolutions.com/portfolio/webgl/translationMatrix.html)
Drag the slider to see one triangle move behind the other.
Even this is a simplified explanation. There are a lot more details here,
including all the math:
[http://www.songho.ca/opengl/gl_projectionmatrix.html](http://www.songho.ca/opengl/gl_projectionmatrix.html)
This shows why the output from a vertex shader, gl_position, is a vec4. It is
definitely not a 2D value.
That said, yes, WebGL is great :)
~~~
ajross
I think the point was that the OpenGL framebuffer is ultimately a 2D space.
Whatever your input data and computation model, at the end of the data the
output from your computation goes into a set of arrays with two index
coordinates. That's a fairly specious point, maybe, but it's not wrong.
~~~
jmts
But surely since the memory that the frame buffer is encoded into is 1D,
OpenGL is really one-dimensional. /s
Sure, the frame buffer is 2D in the end - it has to be, in order to display on
a standard computer monitor - but surely the fact that OpenGL is able to
natively handle point data as 3D-homogeneous coordinates, and support for
techniques like depth buffering out of the box counts for more than any
argument that only really amounts to "after it is finished doing all its work
you just have a 2D image".
------
zerr
Is WebGL here to stay? As Apple deprecated OpenGL...
~~~
mcpherrinm
WebGL is already implemented on top of DirectX on Windows using ANGLE:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANGLE_(software)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANGLE_\(software\))
As a result, operating system support isn't really relevant to browser
support, since ANGLE will eventually be able to target metal or vulkan on Mac
os
~~~
zerr
What about OpenGL? Is it worth learning now?
~~~
skolemtotem
Yes! I'd suggest learning OpenGL, then Metal, then Vulkan/DX12, which is how
I'd rank them from high to low level.
~~~
zerr
I'd prefer to stay at OpenGL level. Maybe some kind of standardized high-level
API pops up on top of Vulkan/Metal, for those who don't want to go that low-
level.
~~~
skolemtotem
Metal is actually not that bad to live in. Vulkan, on the other hand, is
micromanagement hell. I definitely agree with the people saying that it's for
"building your own OpenGL".
~~~
pjmlp
Worse, because they took the extensions concept and took them a step further.
Every couple of weeks there is a new version, and each card supports a certain
minor version.
[https://vulkan.gpuinfo.org](https://vulkan.gpuinfo.org)
------
pandaman
I have not used OpenGL much and don't know if you can actually output 2D
device coordinates, but I am sure it supports the same format the hardware
uses natively - 4D device coordinates.
With the 4D device coords it can do things, which make no sense in 2D:
clipping against view frustum (e.g. how do you clip against the front plane in
2D?) and perspective mapping.
| {
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Review: How I Used Fiverr & What I Got For $50 (10 gigs) - nader
http://www.outsource.io/fiverr-review-what-you-get-for-50-dollars-10-gigs
======
jacobwg
And now I'm wondering if the two comments below the article were purchased by
the author...
There does seem to be value in Fiverr, though, especially stuff like the "fix
my CSS" job. (disclaimer: I was NOT compensated in any way for this comment
and I have never used Fiverr before)
------
kkt262
There's some great gigs on Fiverr, but from the post it seems like you only
had some mediocre results.
~~~
nader
the results were pretty good, actually
------
tnuc
The font looks awful.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Bootstrap 4 drops IE9 support and goes full flexbox - luisrudge
https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap/pull/21389
======
mgkimsal
For everyone saying "Foundation" when people ask what else... let me explain
why Bootstrap is used so much more frequently than all other options combined.
[http://foundation.zurb.com](http://foundation.zurb.com) vs
[http://getbootstrap.com](http://getbootstrap.com)
Each has a link to 'download'.
Foundation's link takes me to a page where I have a bunch of options, and a
bit "build a custom generated version".
Bootstrap's takes me to a screen with 3 options, but also - and this is key -
CDN links. Right there. I can paste a few lines in my HTML template and start
working.
I don't need to download/generate code.
I don't need to install node/npm/etc.
I don't need to install and learn sass stuff.
I don't need to make a lot of decisions or do a lot of extra unrelated stuff
to get started.
Bootstrap is the PHP of the css/grid/framework world (for better and for
worse).
I truly hope they keep the CDN hosted stuff for Bootstrap 4.
EDIT: didn't mean to pick on foundation specifically - this "take control of
every aspect of all your layout/grid/css" that most other frameworks require
works to their disadvantage when it comes to popularity and uptake.
~~~
tylersmith
The need to just copy and paste code that links to CDNs is why so many people
don't take frontend development seriously.
~~~
mrweasel
npm, bower, grunt, webpack and whatever is trendy right now, is the reason why
some front development isn't take seriously.
Having the CDN link, or download with the js and css files is in my view a
sign that you know what you're doing. Requiring me to use two package managers
and a build tool that I didn't pick is uprofessionel.
~~~
TomMarius
> two package managers and a build tool that I didn't pick is uprofessionel.
I don't see the difference from Ubuntu forcing you to use APT or C++
applications forcing you to use Make.
------
ceejay
I find it extremely powerful that major open source projects are calling the
shots instead of the major browser vendors.
For some who may not recall, I think the most famous / historic move was when
jQuery decided version 2 would deprecate support for IE 6/7/8.
Originally jQuery project would go out of their way to make sure all browsers
were covered. Needless to say these days Microsoft is far more receptive to
the needs of the open source community.
~~~
gramstrong
>Microsoft is far more receptive to the needs of the open source community.
They are, but not for this reason. Microsoft doesn't even support IE9 anymore,
so there's not really any reason for any open-sourced project to do so.
~~~
ceejay
I apologize for not being more clear. I was thinking about the flexbox more
than the IE9 deprecation. The jQuery story was only to reinforce the idea that
open source projects are "at the negotiating table".
[http://caniuse.com/#feat=flexbox](http://caniuse.com/#feat=flexbox)
There is a footnote on that page for IE11 (I believe still supported by
Microsoft) that says:
"Partial support is due to large amount of bugs present (see known issues)".
------
based2
> [http://flexboxfroggy.com/](http://flexboxfroggy.com/)
~~~
baby
This is amazing. Do you have something similar to learn HTML or CSS?
~~~
olieidel
yes, CSS Diner: [https://flukeout.github.io](https://flukeout.github.io)
------
astrodust
It's so great that IE9 is essentially extinct.
~~~
nightski
It must be nice. I work in commodities and there are many plants and
facilities that still only have access to IE8/9\. It was a large struggle to
even drop IE6/7 with a huge amount of backlash.
~~~
intrasight
I just tell them that anything below IE11 is a violation of corporate security
standards and won't be supported.
~~~
nightski
I am not a direct employee. It's actually the IT departments that push back.
~~~
intrasight
What I did (last year) was to make sure they had at least read
[https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/End-of-
IE...](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/End-of-IE-support).
IT only pushes back because the business users who use old web apps push back.
Gotta make sure that IT knows the MSFT no longer has their back and so they
need to be more aggressive with the business users and their app vendors.
------
dbond
"Drop IE9 support for v4 beta?" "fuck it, why not"
[https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap/issues/21387](https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap/issues/21387)
This isn't how you should drop support, it might be a good choice but can we
at least have some discussion, maybe even an RFC, not just declare it be so
within the space of 3 hours and lock the issue...
Like this:
[https://github.com/emberjs/rfcs/pull/45](https://github.com/emberjs/rfcs/pull/45)
~~~
avita1
It's worth noting that nothing on github suggests that the person who made
that comment is a contributor/maintainer for Bootstrap.
~~~
tracker1
mdo is one of the creators of bootstrap. I also feel it's probably time to
move on from IE < 11, and possibly even then depending on your real needs.
Even MS has worked pretty hard to get people off of IE and into Win10+Edge
------
tmoreton
Finally! Every other major framework needs to jump on this bandwagon and stop
supporting IE9 and then the users will realize they are outdated...at least I
would hope so. Every aspect of Frontend development adds a ton of extra hours
when building around IE9's quirks. I had the same idea as Bootstrap building
my own Flexbox based CSS framework Useful.ly
------
cygned
Ah the worst thing about Bootstrap is jQuery because it's a pain to integrate
it into Single Page Applications properly. That's why I enjoy Bulma (bulma.io)
so much - just CSS but still 90% of the stuff you get in Bootstrap.
~~~
Ralfp
I don't really understand whats so hard about using Bootstrap with it's JS in
SPA. I've adapted BS components for Ember.js, I've did same with Mithril.js
and then React.js, and I've never had problems.
My only pain points were lack of proper destructors for use in tests.
~~~
cygned
I also use it with React, but it took me some time to set it up properly. The
challenge is, that
import jquery from 'jquery'
window.$ = window.jQuery = jquery;
import 'bootstrap';
doesn't really work because webpack (what we use) moves all import statements
to the top. That can be solved by import bootstrap with
require('bootstrap');
though.
However, the more challenging and annoying part are plugins because jQuery
uses it's own plugin registry ($.fn). Most of the plugins are so nice to
require it if require is available. But, the things you get from require are
cached, thus, if you do
const $ = require('jquery');
$.fn.yada = ...
your registered function will not be available to other jQuery imports.
Long story short, what's so annoying about this technology is the fact that it
does not fit the modularized setups very well but you are forced to find a way
for it to work when you want to use bootstrap with the JavaScript additions.
~~~
tracker1
You can inject window.$ and window.jQuery via webpack directly, making the
inclusion implicit... there's a minor amount of additional script added, and
it makes it unavailable to attach to the actual window, but I find the DOM
interfaces sufficient in the console anyway.
~~~
cygned
I added it via expose-loader and with the ProvidePlugin but neither of it
worked. Eventually some technique (loader, plugin and/or require()) made it
work and I gave up and didn't touch it since then.
------
nateberkopec
I've replaced Bootstrap with Milligram
([https://milligram.github.io/](https://milligram.github.io/)) on all of my
projects.
Yes, it weighs far far less (which makes it suitable for inlining directly in
the head tag), but mostly I just find the source far more readable.
~~~
thirdsun
This is actually kind of nice. I hate frameworks like Bootstrap that try to
make any design / styling decisions. It's my experience that unless you're
fine with that out of the box styling, you'll actually fight the framework
while customizing it.
A small, lightweight framework that focuses on the very basics, avoids styling
and frees me from repeating boilerplate code in every project is most welcome.
Milligram looks promising in that regard. My other alternative was Corpus:
[http://jamiewilson.io/corpus/](http://jamiewilson.io/corpus/)
------
tribby
traditionally the reason I've avoided flexbox for layout (fine for most items
within that layout) is the wonky rendering on slower connections[0]. is
bootstrap doing anything to get around this or did they really go "full
flexbox"? since I use susy[1] I'll never need bootstrap for grids, but I'm
curious about the flexbox adoption and tradeoffs.
0\.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPryjyFP5FM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPryjyFP5FM)
1\. [http://susy.oddbird.net/](http://susy.oddbird.net/)
~~~
angry-hacker
Uh, does connection speed really plays a role when it comes to browser
painting the elements? I'm not sure of I understand.
~~~
rspeer
The observation in the linked video is that, when the browser is incrementally
rendering the page, a traditional "grid" layout will put the content in its
final location, while a flexbox will render a box of content that's bigger
than usual and shrink it later -- because the items that cause the content
area to shrink haven't been loaded yet.
------
apaprocki
What are peoples' opinions whether CSS Grid will replace Flexbox usage in a
lot of simple layout cases?
~~~
ahoy
The general thinking is
* use CSS Grid for layout in 2 dimensions. Page level layout essentially
* use Flexbox for layout in 1 dimension. "module" level layout.
These are not hard and fast rules, like much in CSS.
~~~
konschubert
I am really confused with CSS grid. How does it adjust to smaller screen
sizes? My impression is that it is rigid like an html table, and we have
mostly abandoned these for good reasons.
With flexbox I can make the sidebar float below the content at a certain
screen size. Can I do this with grid?
So if anything, it seems to me that the global layout should be done with
flexbox, and the grid is for smaller, more rigid elements that do not need to
re-order on different screen sizes.
~~~
WorldMaker
Most of the same tricks to flexbox reordering and reflowing for responsive
layouts apply to CSS grid as well. You can use @media queries to switch grid
layouts based on things like screen size. With more recent specs you get a
further advantage in that where flexbox reordering is based on easy to mix up
numbering (at this media layout this Div A is 1, Div B is 2, Div C is 3, but
in this other layout Div A is 3, Div B is 1 and Div C is 2) for naming your
grid sections (Div A is "sidebar" and Div B is "main-content" and Div C is
"footer"); the names stay consistent and only your designation of which name
goes where in the grid flow (which is managed at the parent container level)
shifts with media query reflows.
~~~
WorldMaker
For what it is worth, I built a complicated 2D, responsive layout for my blog
(mostly to amuse myself). I allowed myself whatever tech choices I felt
comfortable using and I wish I could have used Grid but browser support wasn't
where I would have liked and neither was prollyfill support. The Flexbox
version I built is a lot less simple to follow in the CSS media query
switching than the Grid equivalent would have been (but Flexbox version has
been quite reliable across browsers). Though the biggest loss in not having
Grid support turned out to be what I wanted to do for DL (DD, DT) layout,
since I tend to use those quite heavily, and neither Flexbox nor CSS Table
Layout suffice (due to DT+DD[+DD...] sets lacking a wrapper element, per HTML
spec).
------
rado
An unfortunate tipping point for accessibility. My personal project natUIve is
full flexbox, supports IE8, doesn't require JS even for the slider.
[https://radogado.github.io/natuive/](https://radogado.github.io/natuive/)
~~~
pmontra
Nice project.
The immediate visual difference with Bootstrap is square corners vs rounded
corners. Buttons and other components look strange after years of Bootstrap
and its impact on web design. There is probably a few rules to edit to fix
that, still... why having to do the work?
Anyway, I'll try to remember natUIve if a customer asks me to support old (but
not so old) browsers.
~~~
rado
Hi, thank you. That's one of the biggest problems with Bootstrap – a framework
should not impose design on the creators.
The issue isn't just about old browsers. IE8 might not matter, but by
supporting 10 years in the past you also make sure it will work 10 years in
the future, following the standards. Simple, accessible HTML is under attack
by the JS frameworks and most of the industry. When the framework du jour
collapses under its complexity in 5 years, we'll be back to HTML.
Regards.
------
jgalt212
I'm a bit sad for the dropping of IE 9 support, if only because it was the
first IE that had a "fast" JS engine and didn't take forever to render our JS
heavy site.
------
ourmandave
Of course there's a flexbox JS shim.
[https://github.com/jonathantneal/flexibility](https://github.com/jonathantneal/flexibility)
~~~
ng12
Does anyone have experience using this with an SPA (React/Angular/etc)? I'd
love to try it out so I can avoid having two layout styles.
~~~
tracker1
For many of the components, it's easy enough to do the necessary styling via
your own controls (tabs in particular) as opposed to trying to map the jquery
+ bootstrap.js... if you can avoid their JS, you can save some overhead. ymmv.
If you're going with React, you might want to look at material-ui[1] with a
normalize css include and a basic (manual) flexbox layout to begin with. The
components offered are really complete for a UI framework, and depending on
your needs, working from dev branch may be a good option.
[1] [http://www.material-ui.com/](http://www.material-ui.com/)
~~~
ng12
Flexibility is for browser compat, not sure how this helps.
------
chiefalchemist
Slightly off topic but ZURB Foundation for Email is a nice tool for generation
markup that'll work in most email clients
FWIW you don't really know a lot of Foundation to use it.
------
sergiotapia
That's great. I wonder how much traffic will be saved worldwide without .col-
md-6 html being sent around. Just straight up content HTML with minimal
"boxing".
This is great news!
------
andy_ppp
I'd love it if they had a things don't look broken promise for IE9. Seems like
it should be relatively easy to sequentially layout the page in IE9 without
flexbox?
Is everyone else dropping IE9 support at this stage...
I'm a bit out of the frontend developer loop these days being full stack and
learning things like docker or elixir is more fun, and useful, than the
vagaries of the latest promise library/CSS Pre processor/awful class naming
scheme/etc.
------
cwt137
This is a pull request that hasn't been merged yet. Maybe the title should be
"Proposal to drop IE9 support and go full flexbox in Bootstrap 4"
~~~
tracker1
The PR is from MDO, and I'd be surprised if he didn't have commit access.
------
ksec
Since Google, is essentially what everybody in the western world uses to
search, ( Russia, China, Japan, Korea all gets their own search from somewhere
else. )
I wish they could release some stats on browser usage. Otherwise i dont know
where to get concrete information without substantial bias. Also the time
which browsers are used. Since people are likely using different browsers in
School / Work compared to at Home.
------
gtk40
IE7-IE9 still receive security updates on some versions of Windows.
[https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/microsoft-internet-
ex...](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/microsoft-internet-explorer/en-
us)
IE9 is the newest version of IE available for Windows Vista SP2 for example.
~~~
torgoguys
Vista extended support ends in April of 2017. It's the last holdout of
Microsoft-supported mainstream versions of Windows (i.e., excluding fringe
versions like Windows Embedded) that can't upgrade beyond IE9. Seems
reasonable that the new version of Bootstrap (which you don't have to use--v3
still works fine) should not bother with support for a browser that will soon
be no longer supported by the browser's own creator.
They should probably even consider dropping IE10 support if it is _any_ sort
of burden to them. IE10's marketshare is so tiny (smaller than IE9, IIRC).
Windows Vista (i.e., "Windows 6") users used IE9 since MS didn't support
anything beyond that for Vista while Windows 7 users mostly auto-updated to
IE11.
------
desireco42
Right move. We need to push forward.
------
szastupov
Migration from 3 to 4 will certainly be a pain but then you're gonna love it.
I love new cards, utility classes, better out of the box support for mobile
browsers.
But beware of breaking changes between alphas, there are quite a few.
~~~
chiefalchemist
I'm presuming it's not a migration as much as a complete makeover/refactoring.
Which could be interesting. Does that open the door to Foundation? That is, if
you're going to more or less start over is now the time to jump the Bootstrap
ship and climb on board with Foundation?
~~~
szastupov
By migration I meant migration for a project that already uses Bootstrap 3 and
considers using 4.
Speaking of Foundation, I dunno, it depends on one's needs.
Some people say Bootstrap is too big but I appreciate its vast collection of
components. Especially when you do CMS / control panel kind of apps and you
need to make them quick, Bootstrap is a saviour.
Also, aesthetically I like those rounded form controls, buttons and cards.
Plus it takes only a few lines of scss to make bootstrap look branded, add
custom fonts and most people won't even guess it's Bootstrap.
~~~
chiefalchemist
Yes. I got what you meant by migration :) My arc was that the difference from
3 to 4 looks to be fairly vast, and that you're all but rebuilding (i.e., it's
a new site/application). Or darn close.
So if you've been considering Foundation this could be a window for Foundation
to pick up some marketshare.
------
bluetwo
My front-end framework is simply HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Why complicate my life?
I do love flexbox, but I would rather simply code it by hand rather than have
some tool/framework/precompiler do it for me.
~~~
extra88
> Why complicate my life?
Why reinvent the wheel? Unless you've already created your own pattern library
to draw from, you're not going to save time writing it all yourself. How are
users going to benefit from your hand-rolled code?
There may be plenty of good answers to these questions but they should be
asked.
~~~
exodust
I'm pretty sure using bootstrap is re-inventing the wheel more than hand
coding is. Using a framework which when installed and configured gives you the
end result of a "wheel", as opposed to just coding up the wheel using
HTML/CSS. Let's also make it clear that hand coding doesn't mean sitting there
repeatedly typing out every character on every new job. There is always
previous jobs and code to draw on to flesh out the needs of a page or site
build efficiently and reliably. The benefit for developers is that you have
very detailed control and knowledge of the frontend, rather than some broad
"does Bootstrap do this thing I want" buffer between you and your own work.
Each to their own. No right or wrong.
------
truth_sentinell
Was about damn time a major player like this dropped IE, should have been IE10
though. Good move nonetheless.
------
dexterdog
I thought you never go full flexbox
------
buckbova
Does anyone know when to expect a RC? Looks to be in alpha still.
~~~
wcarron
At this rate, I expect Armageddon before Bootstrap 4 gets an RC.
~~~
xeromal
It's better than angular going to RC 5x and making huge changes inbetween. lol
------
vayarajesh
I feel I have gotten too used to Material design and I hardly ever use
bootstrap. Do anyone of you feel the same?
What are the advantages of Bootstrap over Material Design?
------
scotchio
What percentage of users still use IE9?
~~~
grandalf
It's mostly government offices and large firms. I believe IE9 support is still
required by most government agencies.
~~~
EugeneOZ
Large firms pay large bills. So IE9 will not die without a fight.
~~~
grandalf
True. I think MS just gradually shifts the costs so that at a certain point
the cost of upgrading everything to the latest OS version seems like a good
deal compared with the support requirements of IE9.
------
jeffehobbs
Excellent choice!
------
wcarron
Bootstrap is really so far behind now I don't know why anyone even considers
it as a viable option anymore. How long have they been in alpha/beta stage
without a solid RC? It's legitimately pathetic and abysmal at this point.
I'm honestly really confused. I'd love to ask one of the devs how they've
managed to literally do nothing while other, better CSS frameworks have been
created AND versioned in the same timeframe.
Bootstrap 4 is just a sad attempt at preventing obsolescence. Time to let it
die.
~~~
ergo14
Any other options you can recommend that have any traction among developers?
(I know about zurb)
~~~
OriginalPenguin
I'm really enjoying using Semantic UI. They have an official version of it
specifically for React.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Future of Cities Depends on Public Transit - dget
https://blog.remix.com/the-future-of-cities-depends-on-public-transit-13ee70d476df
======
AndrewDP
Yes, public transit needs more investment. Claiming that the 'future of
cities' is reliant on that investment is a bit myopic. The future of cities
depends more on sensible planning as to how limited real estate is developed
(mixed use, density, etc). Sensible planning can make existing public transit
more efficient. Of course, this is why NIMBYism is so destructive and
ultimately costly on the wider community.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Venture Funding Drops for Youngest Companies As Older Ones Suck Up More Cash - yagibear
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/venture-funding-drops-for-youngest-companies-as-older-ones-suck-up-more-cash/index.html
======
pg
Or maybe as younger ones need less cash.
------
johnrob
The VCs know that a big part of start up success lies in sticking around,
which is probably why early stage money gets supplanted by follow on money.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Share chess positions and moves - cygx
http://webchess.cygx.de/
======
cygx
Something I hacked together during the weekend. The purpose is to provide a
mechanism to easily link to arbitrary positions like
http://webchess-cygx.rhcloud.com/?n_rb5_p3_p_p_p7_R5_K8_p3_p_PN_2P_R3_N6_k-w--
As a bonus, you can see what others have done in a given situation.
In principle, you could use it to play cooperatively against any- (or rather
every-) one.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
‘We Got to Be Cool About This‘: An Oral History of the LØpht, Part 1 - signa11
https://duo.com/decipher/an-oral-history-of-the-l0pht
======
madmax108
Man, this whole series is so well written. I remember back in the day, when
lophtcrack, Medusa, Cain and Abel, and JackTheRipper along with massive (for
the time) rainbow tables were the tools of the trade (This was a little before
internet exploits and Metasploit gained popularity). As a little script-
kiddie, finding and running exploits on unsecured servers and machines, doing
silly things like ARP poisoning in my high school lab network and bruteforcing
zip files with passwords, oh such glorious times. I truly went from being a
user of tech to a person with a hacker mindset, which has proved to be
tremendously useful in my professional career.
I honestly feel that in the current day and age, if anyone tried the same
stuff many of us got away with in the early 2000s (or 90s), then the
punishment would be much much stricter. Not sure how that gets in the way of
people learning by "banging things together till they work", which was a major
source of learning for me.
Damn, I feel old now!
~~~
jraines
> _I honestly feel that in the current day and age, if anyone tried the same
> stuff many of us got away with in the early 2000s (or 90s), then the
> punishment would be much much stricter._
From poring over stuff from this milieu, I figured out how I could change
grade records at my school. I never did it, so I don't know what would've
happened if I got busted.
Some kid in the Bay Area just got busted for the same and is facing 14 felony
charges.
Anyway. This was my first encounter with hacker culture, and it was so brain
expanding even though I understood practically none of it. Now, I could barely
recount more than the few sentences I just did, but that logo brings up waves
of nostalgia.
~~~
some_account
Because the American legal system is insane.
~~~
peterwwillis
Yep. Teenagers who commit benign hacks for fun get more time than murderers.
People's lives get ruined for effectively the digital form of trespass. It's
pretty fucked up.
~~~
jeffreyrogers
Do you have a source for people getting more time than murderers for
"effectively the digital form of trespass". I agree that some parts of the
legal system do not work very well, but I think that's a big exaggeration.
------
dec0dedab0de
As a kid l0pht was this mythical force, along with cDc. I would read a bunch
of papers, not understanding any of it, but I thought it was so cool. I
remember being very disappointed when the domain redirected to @stake.
~~~
tptacek
They're generally cool people, but they're just people. The Cult of the Dead
Cow people especially --- I have nothing bad to say about any of them, but if
you're idolizing them, ask yourself why you don't just become one of them.
They're just a group of people who wrote tfiles, shared bulletin board
systems, and had varying levels of engagement with computer security.
Virtually every serious software security person who blogs is clearing a
higher bar than they set.
The one thing everyone involved with the L0pht and cDc has that you probably
don't is age; they were doing this stuff in the 1990s and had time to make a
name for themselves. But things move so much faster now than they did in the
1990s, that differentiator gets less and less forbidding every day.
~~~
dec0dedab0de
I understand that now, but when I was 14 in 1996 it seemed like I was reading
about some forbidden secret magic. Now it just feels like a different career
path. I'm sure a good part of that change is me getting older, and knowing
more. Though I think that the rising level of professionalism in computer
security has robbed it of it's mystique. I think this is a good thing overall,
but nostalgia and what not.
~~~
georgemcbay
> I think that the rising level of professionalism in computer security has
> robbed it of it's mystique
It has, though basically every one of the now-respectable-looking professional
security outfits you could point to has one or more of these late 80s early
90s "mystique era" hackers working for it (and I can probably tell you what
their old bbs handle and/or irc nick was).
------
mdb333
great article but it kind of petered off at the end... why not highlight what
folks have gone on to do post @stake?
they got acquired by Symantec. Mudge went on to work with the DoD to
development a cyber fasttrack program, Weld started and recently sold
Veracode, Katie started the bug bounty at Microsoft, Joe Grand is still doing
his thing w/ HW etc...
these folks really are self-made titans of the industry and a true testament
to meritocracy and the hacker ethos. They legitamized security research as we
know it.
------
jameskegel
I’d like to also remember SpaceR0gue’s now gone HNNCast with great segments
like “tool time” and “con fu”
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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50% 0f doctors have used wikipedia as a reference. - olefoo
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327185.500-should-you-trust-health-advice-from-the-web.html?full=true
======
baran
I don't know why Wikipedia continues to get a bad wrap for what it is: a very
general source of information online. I doubt any Doctor would consult
Wikipedia in making a decision on diagnosis or treatment.
However, Wikipedia continues to be the best source of general information
online. It is the Encyclopedia Brittanica of our time. It provides information
which can then be used as a launching point for further research.
Doctors in particular are some of the most knowledgeable people around. They
are, and have to be, life-long learners. With that said, Wikipedia is an
excellent resource to begin online research, but it is by no means definitive.
So this "study" is by no means troubling to me.
------
marcocampos
Remember Mycin? Great expert system to support doctors. Never really used
because people where afraid about ethical and legal issues.
While this is not the same, how long before someone gets hurt because some
article was not totally correct or something similar? Someone decides to blame
Wikipedia or something like that and _puff_ , all other doctors stop using it
for fear of being put in a similar situation.
I, for one support the use of additional information from sources like
Wikipedia. Anyone remember that girl who self-diagnosed herself when all the
doctors before couldn't figure out what was wrong with her? It shows that
decent information that's peer reviewed constantly and with high availability
can be a great asset.
Let's hope people star trusting technology more in situations like this.
~~~
pmorici
Can't be much worse than a doctor not knowing the answer and making a wild
guess.
We place way to much implicit trust in medical professionals and esp. doctors.
Look at how many crappy IT workers are out there I've got to believe that the
medical field can't be much different.
------
olefoo
The meaning of that 50% is fairly elusive, since the research is not
accessible to us. I'm guessing it's the result of asking something like "Have
you ever looked up any medical information on wikipedia?"; but they might just
as easily have omitted the 'medical' from the question.
------
jeremymims
This is a good sign.
Although I'm sure some information on the internet is unreliable, I've been to
plenty of doctors in my life who have made incorrect diagnoses and given me
unreliable information too.
When doctors and patients have more information more easily available (even if
some percentage is incorrect), I can't believe that wouldn't help.
The real question is, why aren't all doctors checking online resources like
wikipedia in addition to the resources they normally use?
~~~
mixmax
Yes it is. Here's a quote from the article:
_"How does Wikipedia fare as a medical reference? Its collaborative, user-
generated philosophy generally means that errors are caught and corrected
quickly. Several studies, including one examining health information, another
probing articles on surgery, and one focusing on drugs, found the online
encyclopedia to be almost entirely free of factual errors."_
~~~
TrevorJ
The danger would be 4chan, etc, changing info that has potentially life-
threatening implications.
~~~
anigbrowl
I wouldn't worry about that. There are no lulz to be had if nobody notices,
and wiki vandalism is so easy (and so easily correctable) that posting a wiki
alteration on 4chan is usually derided as lame - so much so that some other
4channer will likely revert and alert, since there are more lulz to be had
from getting the vandal's IP banned from wikipedia. Further, 4chan is not so
amoral as to find incorrect pharmaceutical information lulz-worthy...it's more
likely that they'd add the name of someone they didn't like to an article
about embarrassing social diseases, eg suggesting Christopher Poole has a
raging case of syphilis.
I can't quantify this of course, but I'd say the rare but real risks from bad
QC and errors in pharma documentation (typos or oversights on dosage level,
contraindications, half-life and so on) are a much greater risk than that
presented by /b/tards.
~~~
dfranke
_4chan is not so amoral as to find incorrect pharmaceutical information lulz-
worthy_
Uh. <http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Epilepsy_Foundation>
~~~
anigbrowl
Hey, I said nothing about those unworthies at 4 _20_ chan. Also, guilty lulz.
------
logjam
To support the assertion, this article references the main page of the website
of a marketing company who published a "report" where 50% of doctors had used
wikipedia as a reference.
I can't find the "report" on their website anywhere.
Are they trying to imply that 50% of physicians had looked up
something...anything?... on wikipedia, or are they implying that 50% of their
sample of physicians made a diagnostic or treatment decision based on
wikipedia? What was the population surveyed?
If anyone can link to the actual study/report, I'd be interested.
There is much more reliable online information than wikipedia for physicians,
eg. Up-To_Date, Lexicomp, epocrates, MD consult, online Merck, etc. I've never
heard of a physician basing diagnosis or treatment on anything found on
wikipedia.
I love wikipedia, but don't use it like that.
------
thunk
... on Gossip Girl.
~~~
thunk
Damn, I've got to remember: "Straight face. No fooling around -- it's a
slippery slope. We _hackers_ don't appreciate that sort of thing." :)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: My first RubyMotion app, lulcards. Send hilarious postcards. - gfodor
http://lulcards.com<p>Been working on this since January. RubyMotion experience was very positive, made development both enjoyable and I'd like to think faster. (Found a few bugs though!)<p>Running on AWS via OpsWorks. Using Amazon SWF for backend fulfillment workflows, which is amazing and not something I see mentioned often. Postcard printing/mailing by Amazingmail, payments by Stripe, address resolution by SmartyStreets (who are great and hooked me up with with free unlimited API calls for a year.)<p>Would love any feedback or suggestions, thanks!
======
gw666
Great job--great app idea, very professional website. Congrats on all your
hard work. I downloaded it, made a picture, then...I can't send it because
neither I nor the recipient uses Facebook. Maybe consider actually letting
people use their Address Book?!! Good luck!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
I used to run my own mail server - arxanas
https://waleedkhan.name/blog/mail-server/
======
zeveb
I had a similar issue when syncing a bunch of Gmail emails onto my desktop.
Somehow I screwed up the dates on the messages (even though the headers are
the same), and now my messages are in a weird random order, and finding stuff
based on date is impossible.
Given that it is roughly 15 years' worth of emails, this is … not great.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: How to motivate friends - danielscrubs
So I've started a project with two friends. This project consumes me to that degree that I'm working 40 hours on the project + 40 hours on my normal 9-5 per week.<p>Now my two friends, one is a marketing professional and the other is a developer joined the project.<p>I finished a MVP (the other developer works on a different product) and would like to push it out. This is where the trouble started. I thought when we had an MVP the marketing guy would start creating content on a blog, get some social media traction, and create videos to showcase the product.<p>I've tried to talk to him about it, that he just needs to put in some hours, that I don't care if it's not perfect, I trust him with what should be done. Whenever we have a drink together he seems passionate about the project. He always have a positive attitude. I try to get him involved by asking what should be done next on my side or what goalposts he has.<p>I kind of understand him, he has a normal, good life. But right now he down-prioritises the product constantly, he might put in one hour per week iff we meet up over coffee.<p>When I speak with him I just get the response that I work too much and that he will get to it in due time or deflects the issue.<p>So my question is: how do I motivate a friend that says he is passionate but not putting in enough effort? I mean right now, even admitting to not having time would be fine.
======
abhikhar
I think you are wasting your time on him. Friends may or may not have same
ambition and priorities as you. Better pay some one to get this job done
otherwise you may loose close friend too.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Taag- Article sharing made more personal - aelkalliny
http://www.taag.co
======
aelkalliny
Looking for genuine feedback - much appreciated!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
DNS lookups can reveal every web page you visit, says German boffin - LinuxBender
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/03/21/dns_records_more_revealing_than_you_think_says_german_boffin/
======
LinuxBender
My solution is a linux router between my home network and the cable modem that
intercepts ntp/dns requests and sends them on over several VPN paths to
different VM's around the country, each using multiple resolvers that are not
google or opendns. It isn't perfect, but my ISP has never seen a single DNS
packet from me.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Extension or webpage to quickly pulsecheck a GitHub project - lakechfoma
Browsing a GH project and trying to see if it's still "alive" is time consuming as it requires understanding pieces of all of the insights pages and looking at activity on different branches and in the issue/pull pages. Is there any website or browser extension that can quickly provide insight to the activity/growth/decline of a project or organization? Or maybe I'm missing something and GH already offers a ready to consume summary
======
lakechfoma
Of course such a summary can't say "project is stable and boring, doesn't need
work" but more often than not I am looking for something that should have
plenty of momentum, or I find something that looks half baked and I want to
quickly understand whether development effort is slowing down or speeding up.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How Not to Photograph Sex Workers - woldemariam
https://fstoppers.com/documentary/how-not-photograph-sex-workers-506874
======
ptsneves
The photographer that that left identifiable faces should be prosecuted.
Perhaps that is the most telling problem: these people's rights are not
enforced, because those people live on fringes of morality. Making a
commercial project based on illegal footage should make it illegal. South
European countries have very strong privacy rules and they are actually
enforced both legally as well as socially. To have security camera you need a
license, and even it's usage for prosecution is limited. On the other hand the
word-policing of "prostitute" destroys the article, that very fast comes out
as a moralistic piece on how prostitutes are only victims of slavery and
violence. In Portugal there was recently some feministic propaganda saying "if
you pay you are worth nothing" with an origami vagina on a 20 euros bank note.
They basically reduced the body of these people to a 20 euro bill. I found it
disgusting and other women protection victims came out saying that the
campaign was in extremely bad taste and did not represent the whole spectrum
of the activity. It also further stigmatized these people. Personally I found
it disgusting. I program for money and often sacrifice a lot of my dignity for
it. Should my activity be reduced to a caricature? Hell no.
[https://www.publico.pt/2020/07/30/impar/noticia/tens-
pagar-n...](https://www.publico.pt/2020/07/30/impar/noticia/tens-pagar-nao-
vales-nada-campanha-abolicao-prostituicao-aponta-dedo-utilizadores-1926429)
------
PostPlummer
These pictures are disturbing and apparently illegal (since Spanish law seems
to forbid the photographing of identifiable people in public, IMNAL) but damn
they struck me and left me well aware of the utter despair and loneliness of
these women.
If that was the goal of the photographer: well done, despite the breach of
law.
For me, as someone with little to no real live exposure to this metier, they
did more to explain the desperation then anything I've seen before.
I'm sad now and will be looking for a way to... help out?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Wework is now valued at 16B dollars - sage76
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/15/office-envy-get-inside-weworks-new-york-space.html
======
sage76
I don't know how this real estate company is being valued like a tech company.
Having a website and online booking now somehow seems to make you a tech
company. I guess we should just party like it's 99.
------
tmaly
I bet the fundamentals do not support this valuation.
What is their cashflow look like?
~~~
sage76
Another article : [http://thehustle.co/why-wework-is-worth-so-
much](http://thehustle.co/why-wework-is-worth-so-much)
Quote : "Boston Properties, the largest publicly-traded office real estate
company, owns 47 million square feet of office space and has a market cap of
$18B. The company has real, tangible, assets and is valued only slightly more
than WeWork who’s renting a total of 80 offices."
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
If healthcare learns to share, blockchain could transform radiology - howard941
https://www.healthimaging.com/topics/imaging-informatics/healthcare-hare-data-blockchain-radiology-siim
======
szggzs27
Take the all occurrences of the word "blockchain" out of this text, and it
would not take away anything from this article.
Sounds like the author has no idea what he is talking about, and is forcing
blockchain into the article when it has no relevance.
~~~
howard941
This article [https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/06/why-
arent...](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/06/why-arent-
electronic-health-records-better/592387/) about e-Estonia exposes the health
record-blockchain connection but it too is thin on the details.
------
duxup
What exactly is happening here?
Is the information stored on blockchain just "Yes this provider can see my
records?"
That doesn't strike me as something that requires blockchain, and maybe isn't
even the hardest part...
~~~
verdverm
Agreed, working with a group that is taking on this problem and doing very
well. They get their hardware and ML onprem. Then comes distributed,
differential training on encrypted EMRs.
The big key to success is creating a system radiologists want to use. Focusing
on quality control before FDA. Building an ecosystem where hospitals make
money be granting access to the data from the ML apps which can be uploaded
through the dev portal and trained on data they would never have been able to
access.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
For software developers: how to find a job with relocation to Europe - Lexandrit
http://relocateme.eu/blog/life-hacks-for-software-developers-how-to-find-a-job-with-relocation-to-europe/
======
lujim
Life hack #2: Don't move to Europe to chase a girl or run from a President-
elect. (actually do whatever you want just don't expect the girl to be as good
or the President-elect to be as bad as they seem to you right now)
Edit: All the guys with great relationships... I was attempting unsuccessfully
to be funny. Have a great weekend.
Edit 2: It appears from the replies below that 75% of men that follow a girl
to another country find it to be the best decision they ever made. I would
like to formally retract my Lifehack
~~~
elliotec
I chased a girl to Europe, by far the best decision I ever made.
~~~
busterarm
I chased a girl to Canada and it was the worst decision I ever made.
YMMV.
~~~
enraged_camel
Chasing the girl, or chasing her to Canada? ;)
~~~
busterarm
Both, actually.
~~~
77pt77
Canada is sorry...
------
guessmyname
The article should start with the prerequisites, things like an university
degree and some work experience will make your job hunt easier and in many
cases it will be impossible to get an European job with relocation without
these two things.
I, for example, have been trying to get a job in many of the startups in
Amsterdam and Berlin for the past 3 months and it has been impossible due to
my lack of formal education, or better, due to the lack of university degree.
And to add salt to the wound, the education system in my home country forces
you to pass +5 years studying just to get a Bachelors while you can get a BS
in ~3 years in the EU and use the other 2 years to get a Masters (as in the
US), so even if I had finished university I wouldn't be able to compete with
the education of engineers that are already living in Europe. More than once
my profile has been rejected by European companies because they can find
someone as good (or more) than me without the need to initiate an immigration
process.
Nonetheless, I will try every single website linked in this article because I
hope than maybe one of these days I will get hired for work experience and
skills than for my education. I haven't found a job in Europe for lack of
trying.
~~~
gdulli
The part about university is counterintuitive. In the US companies have to
compete for talent, not vice-versa. So if ability is there with a candidate,
education is irrelevant. Candidate supply and demand has companies removing
barriers, not adding them. (At least in the big-city markets I have experience
with.)
What does the emphasis on education abroad mean? That the supply and demand
for developers is inverted relative to the US? Or that they're behind the
times and haven't figured out what we've figured out here?
~~~
wolfgke
> The part about university is counterintuitive. In the US companies have to
> compete for talent, not vice-versa.
To perhaps resolve this contradiction: In Germany you typically are not
considered as "talent" if you are self-learnt, only if you have a formal
degree (also for blue-collar jobs you do apprenticeship for 2 to 3 years). The
mentality really is "if the person is not even able to get a degree/do an
apprenticeship" how can he/she an able person. The only exception of this rule
if you are self-employed - then it's your problem to find customers. If you
are successful as a self-employed person or founder (even though you have no
formal degree), you will still be accepted.
One reason (beside tradition) might be that in Germany there are strong
dismissal protection laws. This means that after a probation period of
typically a half year it becomes complicated to fire you. Thus as an employer
you really want to go the safe way: It is not sufficient that you are
currently good, but also that you are able to learn new things on your own. A
university degree is a strong sign that you are able to learn new, complicated
things on your own in the future: It is my impression that to get a degree at
a typical German university in some STEM subject you are a lot more on your
own in terms of learning etc. than at a typical US university.
~~~
taurath
Its a very different culture. College is affordable for most people - in the
US it means you're willing to go into a lot of debt or have either well off or
poor parents. There's a huge pool of extremely competent people in the US
without a degree due to familial reasons.
~~~
wolfgke
From what I have read in the internet the much larger difference is that in
Germany there are lots of other ways than going to college/university: As the
example with apprenticeship or going to a Fachhochschule (a little bit similar
to university, but much more school-like in sense of strict organization and
mostly focused on "applied subject"; "Fachhochschule" is often translated with
"school of applied science", but I prefer the traditional translation
"engineering school", though Fachhochschulen don't offer just degrees in
engineering). Fachhochschulen were originally conceived by industry because
they complained that at that time they considered the education that
universities offered as too theoretical.
Also apprenticeships of course finish with a certificate (which is often well-
regarded for apprenticeships that are more intellectually challenging) and
Fachhochschulen also finish with a degree (though the Fachhochschul degree is
considered as "a level below" than a university degree).
TLDR: Just because university is affordable in Germany does not imply that
most people want to go there. There are lots of other options such as
apprenticeships or Fachhochschulen (and some more exotic options that I won't
go into) which can be a much better choice. If people in the US complain about
the high cost of university/college education: Why don't they simply conceive
such alternatives, too?
~~~
taurath
Because there's no national structure for it - it would all need to be
achieved on the state level given both politics and the different needs of
different states. We have community colleges here but I don't believe there
are almost any public certification institutions. Also because in almost the
entire country there are no protections/contracts for workers being fired at
any point for any reason, and also workers can leave at any point for any
reason, companies have very little incentive to spend any money to train
people. It'd be perfect for society to step in and provide these sorts of
institutions but in our current political climate ANY outgrowth of government
except to military is seen with extreme skepticism.
------
andr
Having just been through the process myself, here's my advice.
1) If you are moving from the US, you want to move to Europe not for better
jobs, but for better quality of life overall. Europeans work less hours, have
more vacation, and many more places to go to with a $50 plane ticket. Unless
you live in NYC, your future European capital will likely be more diverse when
it comes to culture and food.
2) Start by picking the city where you want to live. Scout it, see what is
around, see what the people are like. Look for a job after you find that
place.
3) Meeting people face to face will make your job search much easier. If you
can AirBnB your US apartment, that might even be enough to pay for a trip to
cheaper cities like Berlin or Barcelona.
4) Yes, you'll need a work visa, and while each country is a little different
when it comes to those, generally being sponsored by a company is all you
need.
5) In most cases, don't worry about the native language. I have found jobs,
and know people that have done the same, in Zurich, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin,
and Barcelona, knowing only English. Once you settle, you might want to learn
the local language for social reasons, of course, but there are plenty of
English-only jobs.
~~~
tom_mellior
> In most cases, don't worry about the native language. [...] Paris [...]
I know a bunch of fellow expats in Paris. The ones that came here with the
intention of learning/improving French are usually happy. The ones that came
expecting to get by with only English are _absolutely miserable_ and _hate it_
here. The French (rightly) regard you as an arrogant prick if you don't show
that you are willing to make the effort, and they treat you accordingly.
Yes, the other places you mentioned are probably easier in this regard.
~~~
kenoph
I've been to Paris recently for a 3 days tech event. I would say that in my
experience it is the French people that are often arrogant in that they get
pissed / make fun of people who can't speak their language. A friend of mine
that was with me and can speak French to a decent level had troubles even
ordering stuff in a bar because the girls working there didn't make the effort
to understand beyond his foreign accent... and he is half Belgian.
Of course my experience is limited and of course you would expect someone
living in France for a long time to learn the language, but it's also a matter
of good manners. I, too, would hate to live there if my experience is the
norm.
EDIT: It seems that other people had the opposite experience so take anything
with a grain of salt.
~~~
bobwaycott
Even as a tourist knowing only English, the best ways to ingratiate yourself
with everyone is to at least start with a French greeting—especially when
walking into shops, cafes, etc. Americans are far too accustomed to employees
greeting _them_. If you walk into a place, some quick, intentional eye contact
and a friendly sounding "Bonjour!" go a long way. French shop owners/workers
in Paris don't make a point of saying, "Welcome to my shop, may I take your
order?"
I speak French, but whenever I would get lost in a conversation, I'd simply
apologize, explain I'm American, and am having trouble understanding or
following (all in French, of course; its worth learning how to say it), then
ask if they spoke English or if they could slow down. At that point, they'd
express being delighted to speak in English, and I'd keep trying to speak in
French. Made for some very fun times with all the people I met.
It's also worth learning how to say a few key phrases in the correct rhythm
and tone. French isn't spoken with an English-like cadence.
------
mlent
For people interested in this topic, I've written a fair amount on the more
nitty gritty aspects, as an American who relocated to Berlin, Germany.
[http://notanomadblog.com/how-to-emigrate-germany-startup-
job...](http://notanomadblog.com/how-to-emigrate-germany-startup-job/)
[http://notanomadblog.com/startup-jobs-
berlin/](http://notanomadblog.com/startup-jobs-berlin/)
[http://notanomadblog.com/prepare-resume-international-
job/](http://notanomadblog.com/prepare-resume-international-job/)
If anyone is interested in this and needs a push in the right direction, I'd
hope these links help you out!
Also, if you're a Javascript developer who wants to live in Berlin, I'm trying
to hire someone excellent. If that's you, please apply:
[https://sumup.workable.com/jobs/373611](https://sumup.workable.com/jobs/373611)
Ok, enough self promotion. If anyone has questions about relocating to Germany
or Berlin, HMU :)
~~~
wheels
Well done on the guide. I'm used to being the crotchety Berlin emigration
pedant on HN, and this actually gets almost everything right.
The process you described is still probably the most common (and the one that
I took around 15 years ago). Worth adding, however, is the new-ish Blue Card
system, which allows folks with relevant education to get a visa for 6 months
to look for a job, in theory, simplifies the visa application process a bit,
and gives you a faster track to permanent residence. My wife is a more recent
immigrant (from Eastern Europe) and was able to get permanent residence much
faster than I did because she went the Blue Card route.
~~~
dvdhnt
Not to be too prying, but you don't happen to have children do you? I do, very
young, single digits, and would love to immigrate out of the US but
healthcare, daycare, and schools for my children are priorities. Any thoughts
on those there? I'd rather find out from the horse's mouth...
~~~
wheels
I do, but having spent virtually all of my adult life in Germany (36 now,
moved here at 21), my sense of what's normal is the way that things are here.
My son was born here and is a German citizen (which isn't automatic just by
being born in Germany). He's 16 months old now.
Healthcare and daycare aren't particularly difficult issues. The healthcare
systems in developed countries are almost universally good. Health insurance
is based on your income, rather than any pre-existing conditions or your job,
and is universal. Day care is heavily subsidized. We pay €400/month because
we're in the highest income bracket, but even that is being phased out next
year (and up to now was only applied to kids from 1 to 3). Finding a day care
spot can be annoying, but it's more of a chore than an impossibility. At our
son's (public) day care, 55% of the kids have at least one non-German parent.
We're not far enough for me to have anything more than a theoretical view on
schools. Private schools are very rare here. Public schools are probably
better than median US public schools. They're naturally in German, with the
exception of (in Berlin) the JFK and Nelson Mandela schools, which are bi-
lingual English and German. JFK specifically reserves spots for American kids.
If the kids are young enough though, they'd probably pick up the language in
an amazingly short span of time. (We don't have any special plans to send our
kid to one of the bi-lingual schools. I'm fluent in German and my wife speaks
it reasonably well, and we're both permanent residents here.)
------
robk
If you're a good computer scientist or have done notable things in tech, the
UK's Tech City visa is a really simple and fast way of getting a 5-year visa
for the UK that has a path to permanent residence then citizenship afterwards
(after year 5 and 6 respectively). I've had friends use this with great
success recently in engineering, product management and product marketing
roles and quite short turnaround times (often less than a month if you've done
a complete packet with references). It's most relevant if you've worked at
either promising fast-growth startups or otherwise bigger tech companies
before like Google/Facebook/etc.
Having a job lined up already is not required although you'll have to show
work experience in the UK to stay after the 5 years. If you're in a marriage
or partnership you can also get your partner's visa through this as well.
The criteria are pretty reasonable if you've done even noncommercial things
like research and the "promising" track is suitable for younger/less
experienced folks with demonstrable potential. Feel free to reach out if you
have questions and I'll do my best to answer them.
[http://www.techcityuk.com/tech-nation-visa/](http://www.techcityuk.com/tech-
nation-visa/)
~~~
ng12
I used to visit the UK a couple times a year. Beautiful country but I don't
think I could ever justify moving there in light of recent events [1].
Especially considering that, coming from the US, greener pastures aren't all
that hard to find.
1\. [http://www.zdnet.com/article/snoopers-charter-expansive-
new-...](http://www.zdnet.com/article/snoopers-charter-expansive-new-spying-
powers-becomes-law/)
------
memracom
Do learn some of the native language of your target country before you apply.
Having that on your resume and being able to handle small talk in an interview
demonstrates that you are serious about staying in the new country for some
time.
There is lots of good advice on the Internet on how to learn a foreign
language fast and it does not include "take a course" because the rigid
structure of courses impedes more than helps. Just do it, practice it every
day in every way that you can, starting today. No excuses. EVERY DAY. If you
have nobody else to talk to then talk to yourself in the foreign language.
This is brain training and requires practice. And just like compound interest,
working for an hour or so every day pays off big in language learning.
~~~
SyneRyder
If it helps others, Duolingo is obviously a good starting point for this (and
free), but I also liked LingQ because you can import articles from the web and
learn to read them word by word, building up your own personal dictionary in
the process. So instead of pre-defined lessons, I learned by reading German
song lyrics. (Unheilig is now my favorite band.)
Speaking / conversation is really important though, and I haven't solved that
yet. iTalki looks good, but I've not yet tried any of the Skype sessions yet.
[0] [https://duolingo.com/](https://duolingo.com/)
[1] [https://www.lingq.com/](https://www.lingq.com/)
[2] [https://www.italki.com/](https://www.italki.com/)
------
ryanSrich
Life hack #1. Be prepared to take a 50-75% pay cut if you're relocating from
the US.
~~~
nfriedly
Seriously. I just got a recruiter spam email yesterday for a job in London
with a salary listed at "up to £45k" (about $55k USD).
That's less than half of my current salary in a city with double the cost of
living!
(I'm in Ohio, but apparently London is even more expensive than SF:
[https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cost+of+living+london+...](https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cost+of+living+london+england+vs+san+francisco))
~~~
6t6t6t6
Up to £45k is an offer for an entry level job. If you have experience, you
should be looking for £60k or more.
London is an amazing city if you can get a good job, otherwise, it can be
quite hard to live there.
~~~
nfriedly
The email said they were looking for a "Senior/Lead" person, but I'm sure
you're right in general.
~~~
6t6t6t6
They are not going to find a Lead developer for this price. And if they find
someone, that person will move to another company after realising how salaries
are in London.
[http://www.monster.co.uk/jobs/search/?q=lead+developer&where...](http://www.monster.co.uk/jobs/search/?q=lead+developer&where=london&cy=uk)
------
dijit
Sort of on-topic; we're hiring in Sweden and we don't care where you're from.
[http://www.massive.se/jobs](http://www.massive.se/jobs)
~~~
zerr
What about don't caring where one works from? ;)
~~~
dijit
Unfortunately, we need you to be in the office.
Even if remote working was culturally accepted in ubisoft I'd want people in
my team to be on-site for the first six months anyway.
~~~
zerr
> I'd want people in my team to be on-site for the first six months anyway.
No problem with that. It is even preferable. Also 1-2 week(s) onsite stints
once in awhile afterwards.
------
pistoriusp
As a software developer living in Germany I wouldn't mind swopping with
someone in the USA? Any takers?
~~~
atemerev
Why bother for the US if you have German-speaking Switzerland nearby, with
great salaries?
~~~
mlent
Same as other commenter: Switzerland is SO expensive. Of course the salaries
are higher, but damn. You can get away with spending very little in Germany,
and saving a higher percentage of your salary.
Of course, the best hack is to live in Germany but work in Switzerland.
~~~
rndstr
You can also be frugal in Switzerland and have it all. Start with cooking by
yourself, you save a shitload of money.
~~~
sgberlin
Thats what I do. Depending on where you live, taxes are _way_ lower too,
offsetting higher cost of living.
------
LetBinding
I am a data scientist working at a big firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. I
have a PhD in CS with a specialization in AI / Machine Learning / NLP from a
US university.
I am from India. So I assume my nationality will be an immigration barrier in
most countries. Is this something I should mention while formally applying?
------
heneryville
This year I relocated myself and my family (four kids) to Nicaragua. Both my
wife and I speak fluent spanish, but I was very surprised by how hard and how
expensive it was. Some things I learned: \- Finding what you need is hard.
We've got to buy a hula hoop for our kid's school. We don't know exactly where
to go, and wind up driving around for 3 hours to find the right thing \- Small
things are hard. We spend hours each month waiting in lines at banks to pay
the electricity bill, the water bill, the internet bill, rent, the plumber,
the reservation fee for a beach house. I miss bill pay terribly. \- Culture is
vastly different. Where in the US I felt like our family was well put
together, here we're considered a mess since we don't have a full time maid
and 2 nannies. We tell ourselves that we don't care what people think about
us, but you get tired of being judged all day
But on the flip side, we've been here 5 months and have already seen 4
volcanoes, numerous beaches with world-class surfing, my kids are starting to
learn Spanish, and it's been a wonderful time to focus on what's really
important for us.
I'd recommend it, but not to anyone. You've got to be prepared for this.
~~~
distances
> here we're considered a mess since we don't have a full time maid and 2
> nannies. We tell ourselves that we don't care what people think about us,
> but you get tired of being judged all day
Perhaps worth noting that in some countries hiring domestic help is seen as a
kind of social requirement if you're wealthy enough to do that. Basically for
job creation. No idea what's the case in Nicaragua though.
------
tobltobs
Be aware that if you are looking for a job in a EU country you have a
disadvantage against other job candidates from a EU country. Most countries
have a quota for non-EU work visa, whereas there is no so thing for employees
from an EU country. That means that your employer would have to go through
some hassle to sponsor your visa. That usually means you need to have a
searched for specialization and senior level work experience.
If you don't have this specialization or not enough work experience you could
try to look for jobs in remote areas where employers have problems to find
people. The southwest of Germany with those zillions of small to middle sized
mechanical engineering companies would be an example for that. Of course the
cultural shock will be bigger than the one you get if you go to eg. London.
Your salary also will be about 20%-30% lower then those in a city, you could
describe those places as boring (or laid back, depending on your point of
view) and you would definitely have to learn the language.
------
chmod888
I've started this process myself (an experienced American web developer). One
advantage I might have here over others is my wife is a dual-citizen
(France/US).
The one offer I received is about half what I make now. I turned it down
hoping to hold out for something better. I've gathered that one's salary will
very wildly based on the country (Switzerland seems to be the highest). The
loss of salary has been disappointing and something that I'm willing to
sacrifice (there are other advantages that offset it, like work/life balance)
but not so much that I'm making less than an entry level salary in the US.
This site looks promising so thanks for sharing. If there are any more sites
like this, or recruiters that specialize in this kind of thing, I'd love to
know.
~~~
djsumdog
Last year I was in Europe on a self-funded sabbatical. I was backpacking
around the world for about 11 months.
I had a few interviews in Germany and The Netherlands that didn't work out,
but one thing I did notice is that many European countries don't have the huge
income wage gap for software engineers.
An engineer that might go for $150k in Chicago or Seattle would be about 50h ~
55k euro in Berlin. It works it self out with lower costs for groceries,
better public transportation, reasonable housing prices, etc.
The loss of salary you mention might seem bad for you, but it's part of having
generally lower income inequality. The wage gaps in America (a lot of it
brought on by the high demand and cost of housing and our poor transportation
networks) are not good for people without tech jobs in cities that are
dominated by them.
~~~
justin66
> An engineer that might go for $150k in Chicago or Seattle would be about 50h
> ~ 55k euro in Berlin.
Given the current exchange rate, that's a shocking gap between the US and
Europe. People will happily sit in some traffic to make 3x as much.
~~~
taurath
You can live in the very core of berlin for around EU1500/mo, and much cheaper
in places only a few blocks away from the subway that will get you to work in
1/4 the time. Food costs are about 50% less than in the US, for better
quality. You can travel to any other city and other countries by fairly
inexpensive train or cheap flights. You can spend 1600 on room/utilities, 400
on food, 100 on transportation and have 1600euros a month for whatever you
want at that salary, with no worries about your health or looking after your
kids.
But you probably won't have 4000 square foot house to store your 4 cars in.
~~~
justin66
> But you probably won't have 4000 square foot house to store your 4 cars in.
Or more generally, you'll just have a whole heck of a lot less money, which
was the point. I wonder if djsumdog was exaggerating, though, by failing to
compare like against like. The numbers he quoted for US engineers represent
the pretty high end. Are there really engineers in Berlin making a lot less
than 50k Euros/year?
~~~
Rainbooow
Belgian speaking here. Have 4 years of experience, my first salary was around
40k. Current salary is 46k, and I am moving next month to Paris in a top tech
company (reputed to pay very well there), that will offer me 59k + 14k
(average bonus, etc.). And I consider myself on the high end of the spectrum,
so yeah, I am pretty sure there is a lot of (young) engineers making less than
50k in Berlin.
~~~
zyzyis
NL here. From my previous employer I was making more than 80k euro per year as
an engineer, but almost half of the money goes to tax.
So what is the point there? So I quit and work for 3 days per week. Much less
money before tax but after tax not really. I feel it is good deal to take 2
days back to life.
So if you want to live in Europe, forget about working for someone else.
------
ced
Work holiday visas are a great way of getting into Europe if your country
qualifies for it. Many people transition from these visas into a work permit.
It's way easier to find a job when you're on the ground and can get a face-to-
face interview.
[http://www.anyworkanywhere.com/visainfo.html](http://www.anyworkanywhere.com/visainfo.html)
------
donretag
I would love to move to Europe. As of now I am planning at least to retire in
Europe (lack of high property taxes makes retirement easier). But the lack of
jobs, especially interesting ones, in the warmer Mediterranean countries keeps
me away. I am a dual citizen (US/EU), so I would have no visa issues unless I
go to Croatia.
This site only re-enforces the fact that all the tech jobs are up north.
------
davedx
Is this a good thread to mention "we're hiring"? :)
Sustainable energy company in Amsterdam. We can do visas.
[https://vandebron.nl/vacancies](https://vandebron.nl/vacancies)
------
Compulsion
First life hack: make sure you want to live in Europe.
I like the parts of Europe I've been to (Germany, Ireland, France, Austria,
Hungary, the Netherlands)
Having said that, don't expect it to be better than wherever you are. There is
no promised land.
I'm saying this even though I work for a large company with offices throughout
Europe. I could transfer without any difficulty and get paid relocation to my
choice of cool European cities. That's not to sound braggy, just to say that
just because you have the opportunity it's worth considering whether its worth
the jump for you.
~~~
throwaway729
I miss the small familiarities when abroad. Small things like the style of
windows, houses, roads, smells. Also, national forests.
Bigger things: being a native speaker, knowing how all the institutions
(schools, churches, etc.) work. Never having to learn subtle stuff about how
to interact in this or that rare situation. Being a citizen of the place you
live. Being near family.
Leaving your home country has a lot of drawbacks, no matter where you are from
or where you are going to.
~~~
mbesto
> Small things like the style of windows,
German windows design and their obsession with fresh air is such a subtle but
absolutely fantastic part of their culture IMHO.
~~~
Broken_Hippo
It is never a practical thing, and it happens even while you are happy where
you land.
I really enjoy living in Norway. I miss the color of dirt and smell where I
was in the US. I still find the color weird. It isn't to say that I don't like
it or that one is better or worse, really, just one is more familiar. SImple
as that.
------
zemanel
SanomaTech (virtual org of Sanoma Media) is hiring in the Netherlands:
[https://github.com/sanoma](https://github.com/sanoma)
[https://youtube.com/channel/UCU7D3JL3AZr05cbp_BXAdrw](https://youtube.com/channel/UCU7D3JL3AZr05cbp_BXAdrw)
------
yitchelle
One thing the article did not touch on is the administrative aspect. Visa
requirements, social norms, etc. It all contributes to the decision. Oh, don't
forget to talk to your SO as well.
------
nrki
Off-topic, but that stock image misspelled "Sydney".
------
samfisher83
I think Europe pays much worse than US for SWE. Also if you are a US citizen
you have to pay US taxes on everything over 100k.
~~~
dagw
_if you are a US citizen you have to pay US taxes on everything over 100k._
'Fortunately' hardly any programming jobs in Europe pay over 100k
------
tixocloud
Is there a similar site/service for upper-management/product manager/analytics
roles?
------
mahdix
This is exactly what I was looking for! Good resource at the right time!
------
mgrpowers
Working from Mexico. Moving was hard but the payoff was worth it.
------
tiatia
One way plane ticket: 500 Dollar
Fake Syrian passport that unlocks residency, shelter, food, pocket money and
health insurance: 250 Dollar
A German chancellor that is a criminal and is breaking German law and
Agreements like Dublin III: priceless.
There are some things money can't buy. For everything else there is
MasterCard.
~~~
clock_tower
You're going to put a fake passport on your credit card?! :)
~~~
tiatia
Why not? Yes, it is illegal but nobody gives a f. in Germany. The rule of law
has long been gone under former secret police agent Angela Merkel (please
google "IM Erika").
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Tech in Asia’s Series A pitch deck - nubela
https://sharedhere.com/thread/view/9pmsWHdiUyqxum9rgSpSvS
======
nubela
Page seems broken, but you can access it here:
[https://sharedherecdn.com/snapshot/giXdwBE8yZPYeEwoV26RNG/co...](https://sharedherecdn.com/snapshot/giXdwBE8yZPYeEwoV26RNG/content/index.html)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Blockchain Job Board – Earn Crypto for Applying/referring to Jobs - abreckle
https://jobs.xpo.network
======
yanayprop
Would be nice to have some kind of sorting/searchability, especially if this
gets big.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
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