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Multiple Vulnerabilities in the CPP and Parity Ethereum Client - thedlade
http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2018/01/vulnerability-spotlight-multiple.html
======
tannerbrockwell
This is quite damaging for Parity[1]. This combined with the Multi-Sig Wallet
debacle[2] will require a lot of effort from Parity to rebuild their
reputation.
As the valuation of crypto-currencies such as Ethereum increases the ability
to target such vulnerabilities goes from simple malicious or destructive hacks
to security compromises that have material costs beyond a reputation for both
the developers and users of these platforms.
These exploits will also slow the wider adoption of particular platforms, the
Blockchain space is right now quite competitive and market value is very
closely linked to attention and interest in a platform's blockchain
competency.
[1] [https://www.parity.io/](https://www.parity.io/) [2]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14807779](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14807779)
| {
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Apple Asking App Developers to Prepare for Large Screens? - erikstarck
http://www.macrumors.com/2009/12/23/apple-asking-app-developers-to-prepare-for-large-screen-demos-next-month/
======
fnid
There's a lot you can do with bigger screens. When their screens become touch
screens, there's going to be so much you can do with them. Eventually all TVs
are going to be computers with functional browsers, so you better start
thinking about fluid design as one of your motivating factors.
Do this. Go to the Apple store and load up your website on one of those really
high res iMacs and see how much real estate you have.
------
zandorg
I just got a Dell Precision M70 laptop way cheap (around $300) on eBay. It has
a resolution of 1920x1200, the largest I've ever seen (in a 15.4" matte
screen). What do people consider a 'large' resolution?
| {
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Elefant CMS/web framework hits 1.0, so here's my project rationale - lux
https://plus.google.com/113221475545022629802/posts/YVkrGL9yUa8
======
lux
Also a direct link to the project website:
<http://www.elefantcms.com/>
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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A family converts a decommissioned school into a home and bed-and-breakfast - myth_drannon
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/toronto-family-ditches-the-city-for-home-schooling-in-prince-edwardcounty/article28428562/
======
bane
I always like these kinds of stories, and then I wonder what the after-story
is. A couple hundred thousand in repairs, renovation and remodeling, I'm
guessing the occasional B&B guest doesn't provide a huge amount of income.
What do people who do this (move out to extreme rural areas and buy enormous
and expensive to maintain offbeat homes like schools, churches, power plants
and missile silos) do for a living to afford this?
I'd love to go out to random-rural-county and buy 20 acres of land and a
school and turn it into a huge home, but then I'd be hours away from where I
need to go to make the money to do that.
There's always some other parts of the financial story that never seems to
come through in these kinds of articles.
~~~
cgh
They sold their house in Toronto, one of the most expensive cities in North
America, and probably made a couple of million or so. The school was only
$190,000 plus whatever it took to fix it up.
As the article states, the area is a tourism hub so their B&B is probably
quite busy. Otherwise, assuming they own the school free and clear and grow a
lot of their own food, I imagine they don't have many expenses.
~~~
goodJobWalrus
You seem to think that they owned their house in Toronto outright, which is
rare for a young family, especially in such expensive area. Also, median
detached house price in Toronto is just over a million, so if they got a
couple of million, they had above average house as well, so it's still not
clear how are they affording all of that. But, I don't think that's the point
of the article, maybe they are trust fund babies, who cares.
~~~
Scoundreller
> Also, median detached house price in Toronto is just over a million, so if
> they got a couple of million
Be careful, the Canadian real estate industry always publishes _average_
_sales_ prices, not _median_ prices, and not median valuations.
Which is why the numbers are rubbish: Their numbers are biased toward by
whatever turns over more, and by a small number of high value sales.
It's the same reason why average income is a farce. The average of 4
unemployed homeless individuals and a $250k/yr lawyer is $50k/year. The median
is zero and more representative of reality.
Once the industry starts publishing the average valuation of a 3bd 1.5ba home
(detached or not, there's not a lot of detached inventory left!), listen to
them. Until then, ignore their self-serving statistical butchery.
------
danans
I think this is a great example of a growing societal acceptance of people
experimenting and choosing alternative styles of housing and also city
organization, especially ones that involve reclaiming/re-purposing space. The
article's particular example focuses on redefinition and reuse of an existing
structure in a very sparsely populated area.
In dense areas, other ways of re-purposing space are happening. Everyone has
seen former industrial facilities converted into multi-unit housing. But these
ideas are even creeping into traditional neighborhoods. In my case, I would
love to convert my second parking spot into additional living space.
The idea is, with urban neighborhood land values so high (at least in booming
areas), it's hard to justify providing housing for a second car).
Of course, this isn't even a new idea. For decades people have been kicking
their cars to the curb so they can use their garages for other purposes (gym,
workshop, playroom,...). In the coming decades, as people move more towards
uber/lyft style services for transportation, I can see a lot of prime space
formerly occupied by cars being freed up for creative re-use.
~~~
roel_v
Renovating is more expensive than rebuilding. Renovated nice old buildings are
a luxury, not a savings measure (I live in one, which we renovated ourselves -
would've been cheaper and better to knock down and rebuild)
~~~
danjayh
Depends on the building. We bought a house from the 40's on the small side
(1500sf) that needed plumbing, electric service, all flooring surfaces
replaced, kitchen guttend/replaced, both baths guttened/replaced, all
appliances, and significant mechanical (furnace, water softener+filter),
addition of closets, replaced deck, and probably stuff that I'm forgetting.
Had a good roof, which was critical, because water damage would have sunk it
(har har har). We did a lot of the work ourselves, saves a bundle. Contracted
for about $40k of it up front to get it livable quickly.
Somewhat related to the story - I bought a pellet boiler off craigslist for
$2800 and did 100% of the installation myself (electrical, plumbing [heat +
water heater], control) all-in was about $3900, and I'm already in the black
on it after 3 years use (vs. propane). I decided to burn lpg this year because
it was 'only' $1.70/gal, and it turns out that even at that low price
(compared to the last three years) I'd probably have been better off on
pellets, but probably not better off enough to make up for all of the labor
that it takes.
I set it up to automatically switch between the propane furnace and the boiler
(I have a water/air hx) based on the boiler's temperature to make it seamless
for my wife to use :). It's a Central Boiler Maxim M175 ... cranked all the
way up, it might be able to heat his school (just barely) -- I run it at its
lowest setting. Burns very clean, no smoke, happy neighbors.
Renovation _can_ be done for a reasonable financial cost with an investment of
time. Our house isn't super-luxury now, but it's perfectly serviceable and now
we have a house on 11 acres that we couldn't have touched if it hadn't been a
dump when we bought it.
------
thenipper
In an old job I worked for an affordable housing developer who did this with
properties down in New Bedford, MA. We'd turn old schools into affordable
housing units. Same with a hospital in Connecticut. It's a great way to
increase the number of affordable units while using old buildings.
EDIT: Here is an example: [http://www.wihed.org/wp-
content/uploads/2012/09/Acushnet-Com...](http://www.wihed.org/wp-
content/uploads/2012/09/Acushnet-Commons.pdf)
------
mey
McMenamins did this in east Portland [http://www.mcmenamins.com/427-kennedy-
school-home](http://www.mcmenamins.com/427-kennedy-school-home)
~~~
scotje
They also recently did a similar project in Bothell, WA:
[http://www.mcmenamins.com/AndersonSchool](http://www.mcmenamins.com/AndersonSchool)
------
utefan001
Similar story.
These Vegas transplants bought a small-town Nebraska schoolhouse and let their
artistic flags fly.
[http://www.omaha.com/living/these-vegas-transplants-
bought-a...](http://www.omaha.com/living/these-vegas-transplants-bought-a-
small-town-nebraska-schoolhouse-
and/article_c47a8a28-a2ad-5907-bbb5-fc5d878f0c9c.html)
------
sandworm101
Note the firewood. Lots and lots of firewood. Those high ceilings and
cavernous rooms are a nightmare to heat. That wood stove must run 24/7.
I'm all for re-purposing, but there is a point at which a building built for
one purpose just isn't suitable for any other. Elementary school into
residence/home might be that line.
~~~
anon01292016
It works for some (with means). The Human Genome Project's Eric Lander lives
in a converted 10k ft^2 schoolhouse in Cambridge:
[http://connect.bostonmagazine.com/articles/?p=3392](http://connect.bostonmagazine.com/articles/?p=3392)
Architect's photos:
[http://www.maryannthompson.com/projects/proj25.html](http://www.maryannthompson.com/projects/proj25.html)
------
scrumper
This looks great, and their kids will look back and feel very lucky to have
grown up here. As a US resident, I can't help but wonder whether:
\- Property taxes (it's _huge_ )
\- Building code
\- Zoning
Would prevent something like that happening here.
~~~
guyzero
The headline says "Toronto family" but the school itself is pretty rural and
not that near Toronto. I expect taxes are lower than their urban house and
zoning is pretty relaxed.
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Milford,+ON+K0K,+Canada/@4...](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Milford,+ON+K0K,+Canada/@43.9351176,-77.6512341,9z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89d7b86348a84699:0xb01b729c26d910b4)
They can nearly see Mexico from their house! (Mexico, NY that is)
~~~
jbob2000
That's a 1.5 hour drive from Toronto, not even considered the Greater Toronto
Area. I am sure the Globe is putting them under the Toronto umbrella to get
views; who the hell could afford to do this in Toronto... oh wait it's not
Toronto, but you already gave them your traffic.
~~~
gtk40
See my comment to your parent. I don't think it's about getting more views,
when talking about a transition from city to country. In the second paragraph:
"They had been ruminating for years, however, about leaving Toronto for a more
free-spirited life in the country with their three young daughters."
------
nobody_nowhere
"In the last year of its operation, the heating oil bill for the school was
$38,000 and the electricity was another $10,000. They needed a better system."
------
shirro
I would love to live in an unconventional house. There are schools closing in
surrounding farming areas regularly but most are too much travelling time and
poor Internet access.
When there are some good ones with decent services not far from population,
the government seems to have problems getting the schools on the market. By
the time anyone can buy them they would be ruins.
------
qahs_user
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Anne_High_School,_Seattl...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Anne_High_School,_Seattle)
------
ctdonath
Bravo on the out-of-the-box thinking. Nice to see someone make such an
opportunity happen, showing others that status quo need not be adhered to.
I once seriously considered buying a defunct health club for the same domestic
purpose. Adapting the locker rooms seemed the most daunting aspect, but the
3-lane full-length indoor pool was awful tempting.
Notice how far out the family had to go to make it work: fully insulating
walls, wood heat, and a large garden among other factors.
~~~
slantyyz
>> Notice how far out the family had to go to make it work: fully insulating
walls, wood heat, and a large garden among other factors.
On the plus side, I'm guessing that the sale of their Toronto home left them
with a lot of budget to do that work though.
IIRC, the average selling price of a home in Toronto is floating around $1M
these days, and the school cost "only" $190K.
~~~
the_unknown
And not just any part of Toronto - High Park. They were pretty well off to
start with going with that as the base.
Good for them on using their money to fund a great learning/growing experience
for their kids.
~~~
jacquesm
I lived two streets down from there. High Park has both very posh houses and
not-so-posh (as in: derelict) ones, it's very much a mixed bag there,
especially on the North-East side.
------
logn
Church converted to condos:
[https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/ky/bellevue/320-poplar-s...](https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/ky/bellevue/320-poplar-
street/pid_9936293/#)
------
c3534l
Now that I think about it, every old schoolhouse I've come across was turned
into a bar.
------
Scoundreller
Chances are the nearest school for the 3 daughters could not be further
away...
~~~
dalke
No more than 16km to the nearest public elementary school, according to
[https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Queen+Elizabeth+Public+Schoo...](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Queen+Elizabeth+Public+School,+Picton,+Prince+Edward+County,+Ontario,+Canada/43.9350744,-77.1020501/@43.9551262,-77.1452028,10691m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m10!4m9!1m5!1m1!1s0x89d7ca551fce466f:0xd089bcae4057a3ce!2m2!1d-77.145692!2d44.009946!1m0!3e0!5i2)
.
The secondary school is further, at about 50km to Belleville.
------
giarc
I hope the wood splitting picture was staged. Those girls are a few feet from
a man swinging an axe splitting wood. That's an accident waiting to happen.
~~~
lcr94
I do not believe it was staged. While there is a risk of danger, I believe it
is a small risk. Perhaps a the axe head flies off, or a block of wood shoots
out and hits the kid. But those risks are small, and it doesn't make a lot of
sense to spare a child the experience of physically working to heat your
dwelling in order to insure they are safe from an unlikely accident.
Anecdotally, my dad and I drove into the woods and cut down trees for the
fireplace in my family's house. After he cut down the tree, he would cut the
tree into 1 foot rounds and then split them with a maul. The cut, triangular
pieces had to be loaded and stacked into the back of a pickup, and it was back
breaking work.
However, every time the work was done, I remember feeling a sense of
accomplishment and contemplating how it was the drudgery that ultimately
created that feeling.
I think that we should not spare our children these enormously valuable
learning experiences in the name of safety.
~~~
logfromblammo
Your dad could have stacked logs in the truck and cut them to length and split
them near the permanent stack location. Otherwise, you're stacking once in the
truck bed and then again at the woodpile. Perhaps he was building your
character instead of seeking efficiency.
A little bit of gratuitous labor helps the lesson sink in. So maybe you set up
a little contest with your victi-er, kid. You each take half the logs and
whoever finishes first wins. You even let the kid get a head start. They're
concentrating hard because they want to win. But behind their back, you're
using a log splitter instead of a maul. When you yell out "done!" they look
around, and see that you "cheated". Hopefully, they learn the value of
appropriate technology over brow sweat.
That guy shouldn't be swinging that maul so close to his kids, not for safety
reasons, because he should be using at least a lever-operated log splitter
instead.
| {
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"Lucky Thirteen" attack snarfs cookies protected by SSL encryption - dsr12
http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/02/lucky-thirteen-attack-snarfs-cookies-protected-by-ssl-encryption/
======
moxie
This is an entirely theoretical attack, and is an extension of a known
(practical) attack that was published by Vaudenay back in 2002.
Vaudenay pointed out that using CBC-mode in the "authenticate-then-encrypt"
paradigm was dangerous, because CBC's padding would not be covered by the TLS
record's MAC. An attacker could modify the padding in transit, and since it
wasn't covered by the MAC, the server would respond differently to padding
errors and MAC errors. Through a few clever techniques that Vaudenay
demonstrated, this could (very practically) be used for full plaintext
recovery.
TLS implementations responded by removing TLS alerts that differentiated
between padding and MAC errors, as well as calculating the MAC on a message
that had already encountered a padding error anyway, in order to eliminate
timing attacks to differentiate between the two cases.
What the authors of this paper have done is to demonstrate that in hyper-
controlled network environments with incredibly low latency paths (a client
and server engaging in TLS requests on the same uncongested wired LAN with
zero interference, for instance), it is still possible to discern some slight
timing differences between the padding failure case and the MAC failure case.
This is an interesting result for academia and for those who are deeply
invested in the overall narrative of TLS. But ultimately, the conditions
necessary for this type attack are not generally realistic, and I don't
believe it should be characterized as a real risk.
~~~
qeorge
I'm completely overwhelmed by security topics, so please pardon this stupid
question. But could you expound on this part:
_But ultimately, the conditions necessary for this type attack are not
generally realistic, and I don't believe it should be characterized as a real
risk._
Shouldn't it be possible to factor out the network jitters? I'm reminded of
this post by Nate Lawson about Keyczar.
[http://rdist.root.org/2009/05/28/timing-attack-in-google-
key...](http://rdist.root.org/2009/05/28/timing-attack-in-google-keyczar-
library/)
Is this attack unrealistic because taking enough samples to factor out the
jitters would be very obvious to an administrator? Or is it exceedingly
unlikely that a public network will ever have low enough latency to perform
this sort of timing attack on this particular vector? Or am I misunderstanding
your point entirely?
I really appreciate your taking the time to explain this stuff to people like
me! Its fascinating.
~~~
BCM43
If I understand both correctly, the issue with network jitters is you need a
large number of samples for each packet from which you are trying to get
timing information. This causes the total samples to increase to less
obtainable numbers.
------
JoachimSchipper
Also see: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5163696>.
------
meaty
_It took the scientists as little 2^23 sessions to extract the entire contents
of a TLS session cookie_
That's half a million sessions. I think an attack is possibly unlikely.
~~~
MichaelGG
It's over 8M sessions, but some variations mentioned in the article require
less. I don't see why that's unlikely given system speeds and high bandwidth
connections.
------
aidenn0
IF it's a padding oracle, then rc4 should be immune, right?
~~~
lucian1900
Yes, but RC4 should still not be used.
~~~
xyzzy123
Since prioritising RC4 is the mitigation for the BEAST attack as well (IMHO a
rather impractical attack on SSL, but that's another story) it's going to be
the default on a lot of servers already.
You'll find that Google, Facebook and Microsoft servers all prefer RC4 during
SSL negotiation.
See: <https://www.ssllabs.com/>
TLS_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_MD5 - www.microsoft.com
TLS_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA - www.facebook.com
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA - www.google.com
In most circumstances I would consider AES a "better" cipher than RC4, but
it's interesting there are now multiple attacks where block boundaries matter.
~~~
moxie
Most organizations were already prioritizing RC4 before that, simply because
it's fast (23 in order instructions per byte!).
| {
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Grades at Yale since George W. Bush’s time - wslh
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2013/07/30/grades-at-yale-since-george-w-bushs-time/
======
mindstab
I'd say we've generally transitioned from "better grads" to "more grads"
Academic institutions are for profit after all. This anecdotally jives with my
Uni experiences and observations as well for what its worth.
~~~
jazearbrooks
Yale is not for profit. It spends more money on each student from its
endowment than said student pays in tuition, even if he is not getting any
financial aid.
| {
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The fear of dart:mirrors - jsnell
http://mrale.ph/blog/2017/01/08/the-fear-of-dart-mirrors.html
======
hdhzy
Excellent article. I admire taking extra steps and fiddling with the runtime
code to make it faster.
One question though: if dart:mirrors is not working when targeting JavaScript
does that mean the API is practically unused? Or do people use Dart without
compiling to JS? (honest question)
~~~
mraleph
People use Dart on the server and seem to be quite happy with it: see for
example [https://aqueduct.io/](https://aqueduct.io/) as an example of
homegrown server framework that heavily relies on mirrors.
But it is true that mirrors more dead than alive on the JS target.
I also would expect that eventually Flutter would want something in this space
that is compatible with AOT compilation because it allows to tremendously cut
down on boilerplate in some cases.
------
skybrian
Note that the dart2js version of the Dart JSON decoder is lazy; if you don't
actually read all of the JSON, it won't create the Dart maps corresponding to
the JavaScript objects. On the other hand if you do read everything, laziness
is no help and may slow things down. (At least, it makes performance
measurement more difficult.)
The JsonDecoder class has a reviver argument, same as JavaScript. But the only
use I found for it in the protobuf library was to disable laziness:
[https://github.com/dart-
lang/protobuf/blob/814653b49b90b48db...](https://github.com/dart-
lang/protobuf/blob/814653b49b90b48db3d00781b594068ba4aca59a/lib/src/protobuf/generated_message.dart#L165)
Some kind of JsonListener would be welcome when we don't need to create these
Dart maps at all.
~~~
mraleph
I should have stated this more clearly in the post - that it is lazy. I
referred to the code itself, but did not explain what the code does very
clearly, just said that it has a lot of overhead.
------
Matthias247
Well written article!
One question regarding the "More declarative replacement for dart:mirrors"
chapter: Is this what typescript/js is doing, with emitting and processing
metadata only for decorated types?
~~~
mraleph
Yes and no. "Yes" because JS decorators are indeed very local - they apply to
what they decorate. "No" because JS decorators are still imperative.
Essentially when you write
@D class A { }
this simply means something along the lines of:
class A { }
D(A)
where D is an arbitrary function doing arbitrary things to A. There is nothing
declarative here.
------
iainmerrick
This all smacks of a language that isn't very mature, at least for general-
purpose programming. Given than Go works pretty well out of the box for this
JSON parsing example, and is known to work pretty well for lots of other use
cases, why would I choose Dart over Go?
Of course Dart can be used to target JavaScript, which Go can't, so that's a
big difference. But it sounds like dart2js performs badly for this example.
Is there an area where Dart excels?
If it's just a clean modern OO language, that's useful, but it seems like
Kotlin is the hot new thing in that area right now.
~~~
mraleph
> This all smacks of a language that isn't very mature, at least for general-
> purpose programming.
Could you clarify what "smacks" of a language that isn't very mature? There
are libraries written in any language that are not tuned for performance.
The goal of this post is to show that poor performance of a single library
should not be interpreted as poor performance of a language feature that this
library uses... Instead you must rigorously evaluate performance issues. (And
also provide feedback to language implementors)
It is true that builtin libraries could have provided a better JSON
deserialization support... So if your definition of an immature general-
purpose language depends on whether or not there is a fast JSON deserialize
built right into the core libraries - then Dart certainly does not pass.
However one can also define a general purpose programming language as a
language in which programmer could efficiently implement all sorts of things,
including but not limited to an efficient JSON deserializer - which seems to
be the case for Dart.
> why would I choose Dart over Go?
I don't know. Why do you have to choose Dart over Go? You choose want you like
most and what makes you most productive. For me it would be Dart for you it
might be Go. Such is life. Not everybody has to write everything in the same
language.
We can offer you to try Dart. You can refuse to try. You can also try it and
then refuse to use it... Endless possibilities :)
~~~
iainmerrick
_Could you clarify what "smacks" of a language that isn't very mature? There
are libraries written in any language that are not tuned for performance._
("Smacks" isn't meant to be pejorative, I guess it's just a British idiom. I
just meant "appears to be" or "comes across as")
Sure -- to clarify, I think reflection is a pretty important language feature,
but it sounds like it's unnecessarily slow on the native target and not really
usable on the JS target.
It wasn't clear to me whether this JSON parser was a widely-used core library,
or just a random third-party one. But a good fast strongly-typed JSON I/O
library also seems like something a good new general-purpose programming
language ought to have.
Maybe it's unfair to extrapolate so much from this one example, but I hardly
hear anything about Dart at all. I was interested to see what I assumed was a
Dart advocacy post show up on HN, but on reading it, found it didn't make Dart
sound very appealing.
_> why would I choose Dart over Go?_
_I don 't know. Why do you have to choose Dart over Go?_
I'm not trying to start a language war (I kind of picked Go at random, mostly
because it was also started by Google). But I think it's a reasonable
question, and there's room for a bit of advocacy here. If people like Dart,
what do they like about it?
~~~
skybrian
At Google, it's heavily used by Adwords. Building very large desktop web apps
(with many screens, large tables displaying lots of data, material design,
etc) with AngularDart is a sweet spot. Tiny mobile web apps for slow networks
haven't been a focus (yet).
The other major use is for Flutter (cross-platform mobile app development),
which is in alpha.
Outside Google, a developer advocate could tell you more but I don't think
there's a central theme yet; various teams use it who like the language. Sass
is using it, for example.
If you're looking for a fast VM and care more about type checking than about
JavaScript or Lua compatibility, you might want to try it out.
| {
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Microsoft ribs Google's ad tech with 'Gmail Man' - ez77
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20085072-75/microsoft-ribs-googles-ad-tech-with-gmail-man/
======
ColinWright
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2818407>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2819411>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820611>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2821072>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2821210>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2821635>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2821985>
~~~
joebadmo
Hey, thanks for fighting the good fight, ColinWright! I, for one, appreciate
it.
------
chc
Not counting Colin's dupe lists, I think there are more posts of this article
than there are comments on all of them put together.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Apple hit with $1B lawsuit over facial recognition arrest - dwighttk
https://www.cnet.com/news/teen-hits-apple-with-1b-lawsuit-over-facial-recognition-arrest/
======
dwighttk
Sounds like a fishing expedition to me. If they were able to prove Apple used
facial recognition in the discovery process it would be embarrassing to Apple
with their new overt security marketing push. While the plaintiff's argument
is at least plausible, there's no proof and Apple denies it.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Spare Time Project: HiveSpun.com online art collaboration - torme
http://www.hivespun.com
======
torme
Posted a much earlier version of this a while back, made some decent progress
on it since then, but still a ways to go. Let me know what you think!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Examples of founders doing whatever it takes to fund their startups? - traviswingo
As most of us know, starting a company is a lot more difficult than the tabloids make it out to be. On top of that, getting proper funding is next to impossible. Airbnb founders created political themed boxed of cereal during the McCain-Obama election in order to keep the lights on [1].<p>What other examples like this are there?<p>[1.] https://www.wired.com/2017/02/airbnbs-surprising-path-to-y-combinator/
======
muzani
From Wikipedia: "In the early days of FedEx, Smith had to go to great lengths
to keep the company afloat. In one instance, after a crucial business loan was
denied, he took the company's last $5,000 to Las Vegas and won $27,000
gambling on blackjack to cover the company's $24,000 fuel bill. It kept FedEx
alive for one more week."
~~~
AznHisoka
blackjack? seems like an odd choice when roulette could give you a higher
multiplier.
~~~
toomuchtodo
Blackjack has a skill component, roulette is all chance.
------
masonlong
My buddy/boss is selling two houses he built himself on a plot of rural land.
Right now both houses are up for airbnb and vrbo rentals (with amazing
difficulty). He's and living in a pole barn he built, on the same property,
until he can sell the houses. All the money from the rentals right now goes to
his developers and other business expenses (inventory, shipping materials,
etc..) He gets his food from the food bank and his diet is pretty much cereal
and ramen. Two employees live with him under the same circumstances, working
for equity and experience. I'm one of them.
~~~
webmaven
Wow, that's real dedication. What's the company (or, what is it you're
developing)?
------
stevesearer
Anecdote from memory is the founder of instacart getting turned down for VC
and then using instacart to send beer to a VC and then getting funding.
Perhaps it was YC though?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Neo4j for Graph Data Science - jonbaer
https://neo4j.com/blog/announcing-neo4j-for-graph-data-science/
======
RocketSyntax
I wish they would just serialize cypher output in formats that work with
common graph data science libs... rather than wrapping everything slowly into
their own ecosystem.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Russians penetrated U.S. voter systems, says top U.S. official - CrankyBear
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/russians-penetrated-u-s-voter-systems-says-top-u-s-n845721
======
cmurf
It'd be nice to know which states were attempted, which states were
successful. Just because it's "cyber" doesn't make it worth of keeping it a
secret. If it were a physical attack, we'd obviously know about it.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How Millennial Trophies Created a Generation of Workaholics - fulstop
http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/project-time-off/how-millennial-trophies-created-a-generation-of-workaholics/1260/?single_page=true
======
towndrunk
The Millennials I have come across are not workaholics, far from it. They are
too busy on their phones checking "status". It's laughable to think the
"workaholic" ethic came from participation trophies.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Can't Upgrade My Mac Book Pro from Mavericks to Yosemite - mahadazad
Has anyone been able to upgrade to Yosemite? My App Store says Item is not available, however, I can see "upgrade button" on http://www.apple.com/osx/
======
shriv_rohit
I have been running Yosemite since its first release. I don't think the link
on apple's site will work for you if you are not :
\- Registered developer for OS X Beta \- OR initial fist million beta testers
I get the same error, though I get regular updates about Yosemite from App
store since I registered as the first million beta tester.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions.
------
shriv_rohit
Use this link and download - >
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id915041082?mt=12](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id915041082?mt=12)
------
benologist
Try waiting more than 0 hours after they announce it. :P
~~~
mahadazad
:P i am just too excited...
------
erwagasore
Same is happening to me!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
(Why?:Lisp) - alidcastano
https://alidlo.com/lisp
======
lispm
> Lisp, in fact, wasn’t proposed as a programming language at first. When John
> McCarthy invented it in 1958, all he intended to do was define a formal
> model of computation for AI research.
Where does this myth comes from? McCarthy wanted to develop a programming
system for AI research. Not primarily a 'model of computation' for AI
research. He programmed in Fortran and then he and his team developed it as a
new language for an IBM 704 computer. The new language was designed and
developed from 1958 on for that machine: code was hand translated first and
then McCarthy came up with the interpreter idea, which then was implemented by
Steve Russell and so on. It was a several year long project to develop a
programming system. McCarthy also proposed ideas from Lisp as a model of
computation - but that was more of a side-effect from "developing a
programming system called LISP (for LISp Processor) for the IBM 704 computer
by the Artificial Intelligence group at M.I.T." \- literally the first
sentence from the 1960 paper on "computations of recursive functions of
symbolic expressions and their computation by machine".
That Lisp has functions like CAR and CDR is not because it was a 'model of
computation', but because these were influences from the IBM 704 architecture.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAR_and_CDR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAR_and_CDR)
~~~
alidcastano
I first heard about Lisp from reading Paul Graham's articles, so naturally I
learned about its history the same way.
In PG's essay introducing Bel, a new Lisp dialect, he mentions the origins of
Lisp: "His goal was not to define a programming language in our sense of the
word: a language used to tell computers what to do. The Lisp in his 1960 paper
was meant to be a formal model of computation, like a Turing Machine. McCarthy
didn't realize it could be used on computers till his graduate student Steve
Russell suggested it."
Given how much research he's done on Lisp, I figured his interpretation of its
history would be correct.
edit: sorry, forgot to include link:
[https://sep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/paulgraham/bellanguage.txt?t=157...](https://sep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/paulgraham/bellanguage.txt?t=1570993483&)
~~~
lispm
I think that essay a bit unfortunate worded:
'The Lisp in his 1960 paper was meant to be a formal model of computation,
like a Turing Machine'
That's more about a paper from 1960 where McCarthy presented Lisp to a certain
audience of mathematicians.
The actual Lisp programming system which existed at that time (and had a
manual) was designed and developed from 1958 onwards.
Again: 'The Lisp in his 1960 paper was meant to be a formal model of
computation, like a Turing Machine'
But the Lisp programming system they developed since 1958 was actually an
implementation of Lisp on an IBM 704.
The language, its programming model and its implementation were developed
since 1958 -> together. It was an iterative process over several years: ideas
were formulated, code was written (often on paper) and then tested practically
on a computer. Step by step.
More detail on the early years is by Prof. Herbert Stoyan:
[https://github.com/papers-we-love/papers-we-
love/blob/master...](https://github.com/papers-we-love/papers-we-
love/blob/master/comp_sci_fundamentals_and_history/early-lisp-
history-1956-1959-herbert-stoyan-html-rendering.pdf)
~~~
alidcastano
Given your responses I wouldn't say its misworded but wrong. Specifically
referring to his last sentence:
"McCarthy didn't realize it could be used on computers till his graduate
student Steve Russell suggested it."
Anyway, appreciate the clarification/link. Will try to correct my article when
I get a chance.
~~~
lispm
That sentence refers to the interpreter as an evaluator for Lisp, where
McCarthy had the idea and Steve Russell suggested that it could be implemented
- and then also did it. Before, code was manually translated to an actual
implementation on the machine. It seems also that it took time to get details
and the semantics right - especially the problem of of lexical binding (the
FUNARG problem) took more than a decade to fix.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ticketmaster recruits pros for secret scalper program - rinze
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/a-public-relations-nightmare-ticketmaster-recruits-pros-for-secret-scalper-program-1.4828535
======
ageitgey
This is super sleezy and I think Ticketmaster is one of the most awful
companies in the world. But given the ridiculous levels of scalping that goes
on every day (including all the companies that attempt to normalize it, like
StubHub), doesn't it all imply that the fair market price of a lot of tickets
is way higher than what they sell for? Obviously demand is way outstripping
supply or people wouldn't pay $500-$1000 for $100 tickets on a daily basis.
By making all event tickets available at exactly the same time for an
effectively-lower-than-market price, of course professional scalpers are going
to snap up almost all of them and normal people without scripts won't be able
to compete. I wonder what would happen if tickets went on sale for a really
high price (like $500 each) and then the prices kept dropping automatically
every hour until they were all sold. That would kill a lot of advantage that
the scalpers have.
I guess customers would hate it and promoters would hate it, but I wonder if
there isn't some other kind of sales model that would make this kind of sleezy
self-scalping less profitable. Because with market forces this strong,
companies are going to do anything that is legal-ish to get a piece of it. If
Ticketmaster doesn't figure out a way to get a piece of the massive resell
market, they are essentially just giving away free money to StubHub (from
their point of view).
~~~
chongli
Ticketmaster provides a valuable service for the associated acts:
Reputation shield
If artists started charging fair market prices for their tickets the fans
would go ballistic and the artists' reputations would be severely damaged. By
ostensibly selling the tickets below, even if normal people never get to buy
them at face value, they outsource the reputation damage to Ticketmaster.
Since Ticketmaster already has a detestable reputation, they are well-equipped
to provide this service with minimal damage to their brand. In exchange,
Ticketmaster pays a portion of their revenues to the promoters and their
associated acts. It's a win win: artists get more money without damaging their
credibility with their fans.
~~~
mehrdadn
I'm confused, so like an artist would be paying 80% of his potential revenue
($100 vs. $500) in return for reputation shield? That's how valuable this
service is?
~~~
kbenson
Artists' reputations may take a hit if they price their tickets overly high,
as it's seen as gouging fans. Instead, Ticketmaster charged multiple hidden
fees for each ticket, often including a venue fee, service fees, and other
interestingly named fees that are different based on the event, venue, and
tour (although all events in some tours might have a similar fee, some some
venues might have a similar priced venue fee across all events...).
Some of these are collected and go right back to the artist, promoter and
venue. Fans are unhappy about this, but they place the blame on Ticketmaster,
not the artist or venue. This is the reputation shield Ticketmaster offers.
They take the blame for higher prices while passing a lot of those fees back
to the artist and venue. They take a cut for processing the order, and
probably a higher than normal cut for taking the negative PR, but both
Ticketmaster and the artists and venues make more money in the end.
~~~
joshfraser
The kickbacks go mostly to the venues who then write Ticketmaster into their
contracts, making it really hard for artists to find somewhere to play without
Ticketmaster being the manditory ticketing provider.
------
oflannabhra
Freakonomics did a great deep dive [0] into the complexity of ticket markets.
The short of it is that incentives are mixed and spread through the following
parties: sellers, venues, promoters, artists, and fans.
Artists don’t want to look like they gouge their fans.
Promoters take a cut and need to hit volume milestones.
Fans want access, and are willing to pay extra.
[0] - [http://freakonomics.com/podcast/live-event-ticket-market-
scr...](http://freakonomics.com/podcast/live-event-ticket-market-screwed/)
~~~
jrockway
It's kind of unfortunate. I am perfectly willing to allow the artist to gouge
me. If 2000 people want to see the concert and there are 1000 seats, what
choice do they have? Sure, next time book a bigger venue, but this time... you
just have to let people bid on the tickets and sell them to the 1000 highest
bidders.
I feel like I've always gotten a good deal on the secondary market. Every so
often I am in Japan in late August and like to attend a 3 day anime song
concert. The tickets are sold way in advance, and are $60 (ish) for a randomly
selected seat in Saitama Super Arena. This means your $60 may get you a front
row seat or one on the upper balcony behind a pillar, you don't know. And you
have to physically buy the thing from a convenience store in Japan 6 months in
advance. So the primary market is just bad. I end up just buying tickets on
Yahoo Auctions and for $200 I get a front row seat. Would I have been just as
happy to give that $200 directly to the people running the event? Yup! But
they don't let me, so they lose out on $240. Multiply that by thousands of
tickets sold, and you wonder whether or not any of these people ever attended
business school.
Similarly, you can get reverse gouged on unpopular events. My brothers are big
basketball fans. Whenever they visit New York, we go see the Nets play. The
Nets are historically terrible and never fill up the arena, but apparently
they sell a lot of tickets for corporate events. These tickets end up on the
secondary market for reasonable prices, and that's what I buy. The list price
can be something like $1000 and yet we buy them for $100. (I also enjoy the
banter with the coworkers of the people that sold us their tickets. Every
time, it's "I can't believe so-and-so sold their tickets!" But people are
drinking and you can't take yourself too seriously and be a Nets fan, so it's
all in good fun.)
Anyway, kind of wandered off topic... but the only way to make demand meet
supply is to gouge people, so that supply falls to exactly meet demand. The
artist deserves the money, not middlemen.
~~~
cortesoft
Right? This whole thing comes down to the most basic of economic questions:
"How do we distribute a scarce resource where demand is greater than supply?"
We have an amazing system for this - a market. Why don't we just accept that
price is based on supply and demand and let the market (secondary markets
included) determine the price freely.
~~~
medell
Some artists want their concerts to be accessible. Not every creator is in the
maximizing profit mindset.
~~~
kbenson
So? If artists want to control the experience perfectly, don't sell on an open
market. There are ways to prevent the majority of resale (will call,
purchasing credit card required at gate, etc).
If artists really care, they would do more than lip service (some do!). When
they don't, the message is clear. They might care, but they care about money
more, because let's be clear, brokers buying out a venue within a day that
might take a few months to sell out is good for the artist, promoter and
venue. They get to offload risk to a broker, for the cost of _possibly_ some
more money in the long run, and they get all their money up front and can do
what they want with it for that time.
~~~
jtmcmc
Uh there are many reasons. Artists desires are typically mediated through a
promoter or a promoter and a venue and the contractual obligations of both.
For instance if the only appropriate sized venue is a live nation venue then
you're using ticketmaster! if it's one that has an exclusive contract with
ticketmaster same thing. You often can't just "get a different venue" because
for various sizes of venue there are only so many in a city, even fewer that
are correct for your show, and that are available.
~~~
kbenson
> for various sizes of venue there are only so many in a city, even fewer that
> are correct for your show, and that are available.
"Correct for your show" is what I'm talking about. It's realative based on
what your goals are. If you want to make sure fans get cheap tickets, you make
sure supply isn't too far under demand. That can be adding a date, or playing
a larger venue. That's risky, because if you misjudge demand, you might
actually lose money (based on venue minimum costs).
So, artists and promoters like to ensure they are sold out whenever possible.
To achieve this, they play it conservative, but that leaves value on the
table. Brokers capitalize on this. If the artist or promoter was more willing
to increase supply and take that risk, fans would benefit. Usually, they
aren't. Sometimes, they are. Kid Rock and Garth Brooks are notable here. Garth
Brookes will play a venue three days in a row, _twice a day_. Kid Rock might
just book 6-7 days.
~~~
medell
Assuming artists could predict demand and supply (versus spending time
creating music), if they become popular, with this simplified logic they
should only play large venues (which Live Nation controls) on back-to-back
nights in primarily big cities. And if they were mainly concerned about money
(which some are) then they'd only play the largest cities every year. There
are only so many tour days in a year, how would they split their time?
That's not a music culture I'd want to be part of.
~~~
kbenson
> Assuming artists could predict demand and supply (versus spending time
> creating music)
I assume they pay people that are good at this to do it for them.
> they should only play large venues (which Live Nation controls)
Not all of them. Most, but not all.
> And if they were mainly concerned about money (which some are) then they'd
> only play the largest cities every year.
For the most part, I think you just described the concert industry as it
currently exists. Usually, the only thing indicating whether an artist will
book theaters, arenas or stadiums is how likely they are to sell it out. Only
the biggest artists can do stadium tours.
------
satanic_pope
Given how frequently they ran out of 65,000 tickets for
<enter_any_big_ticket_event> within seconds (which would pop up under resale
with > 200% markup minutes later), glad this is out in the open.
Also, Fenway Park is the worst. Had a terrible experience earlier this year
while trying to book Pearl Jam tickets. Presale went live at 10:00 AM on
February 10th (for shows in Sept) and they ran out of tickets at 10:01 AM, are
you kidding me? Suddenly I see spike on StubHub an hour later with ridiculous
markups.
Fortunately my Uber driver pointed out and suggested that I wait until day of
the event (as fenway park puts up unsold scalper tickets back online at market
price). I followed his advice and snagged couple of tickets on day of the
event at market price as he suggested.
The whole experience was mind numbing.Can't wait for Amazon tickets to disrupt
this space and drive 'em out.
Edit : When I said 65,000 tickets - I'm counting Pre-sale tickets as well
including Verified Fan scheme they had going this year.
~~~
nullify88
> Can't wait for Amazon tickets to disrupt this space and drive 'em out.
I think you'll be waiting a while. TicketMaster shotdown Amazon Tickets in
both the UK and US because they didn't want to do business with them.
~~~
dragonwriter
Good thing no one was abusing monopoly power to the detriment of consumers,
otherwise antitrust regulators might have to get involved.
------
wnmurphy
I bought 1 concert ticket from Ticketmaster that cost $45. My final total was
$72. They charged me 60% extra in 'processing fees' for something I could have
just printed out. How much 'processing' does it take to display information on
a web page?
They also don't let you just print the ticket. I had to pay extra to have a
physical ticket snail mailed to me.
Paying 60% of the cost of the product just to help the company continue to
justify their existence is freaking ridiculous.
~~~
kbenson
Part of Ticketmaster's purpose is to allow the artist, promoter and venue to
charge extra but in a way that shifts blame to Ticketmaster. They are wildly
successful in that, as evidenced by the number of people that bring up this
exact point.
If you look at the fees, often there's a "venue fee" and other ones. They are
different per event, but often are similar per tour and per venue... which
means it's being set by artists, promoters and venues. It's trivial to show
all-in pricing (some events have it turned on, so it's what you actually see
on the main page). They don't do so on purpose.
~~~
somebodythere
I hear this a lot, and it might just be me, but I'd feel better about a $50
purchase where the $50 dollars all go to the artist/venue, vs a $50 purchase
where $30 goes to the artist and $20 purportedly goes to Ticketmaster.
~~~
kbenson
Except a vanishingly small number of tickets for popular events are even going
for $50 any more, and how do you feel with the ticket costs $95 but you're
actually paying over $20 extra for it? Sticker shock is real. Avoiding a $115
ticket price helps avoid some of that outrage. Here's a case study:
The last couple weeks Paul McCartney went on sale in a few places. At PNC
Arena[1], the the prices for standard tickets were as follows[2]:
25.50 + 15.59 = 41.09 (+61%)
65.50 + 18.54 = 84.04 (+28%)
95.50 + 20.41 = 115.91 (+21%)
165.50 + 27.92 = 193.42 (+17%)
250.00 + 39.24 = 289.24 (+16%)
That doesn't look too bad, until you consider that the lowest price offer,
which is just over $41 all said and done, but there were only about 250
tickets at that price level releases, for a venue that holds about 20,000
people. That's just over 1% of capacity.
Less than 1,000 tickets of the $65.50 price level were released (and you had
to pay $84 to get them). Less than 3,000 of the $95 price level (almost $116
for those) were released.
Now, I'm not sure exactly how you interpret that, but I suspect I know why
they put put in a very low price level but didn't stock it with much
inventory, and it wasn't to make sure deserving fans got a chance. It does
conveniently allow them to to say that brokers grabbed all the cheap inventory
in the beginning though...
That's not to say every artist does this. Some provide quite a large amount of
low priced tickets, but the trend on that is down, not up, from what I've
seen.
1:
[https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/2D00551BBC524826](https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/2D00551BBC524826)
2: Feel free to check for yourself. Use this JS snippet in a developer console
from the event page:
_storeUtils.eventJSONData.tickets.filter(offer=>offer.description.match(/Standard Admission/))[0]
.prices.sort((a,b)=>a.amount>b.amount).forEach(pl =>
console.log(`${pl.combinedFees} + ${pl.combinedFees} = ${pl.displayAmountWithFeesTaxes} (+${Math.round((pl.combinedFees/pl.amount)*100)}%)`)
)
------
lawnchair_larry
I wonder when we are going to see a startup do to ticketmaster what Uber did
to cabs. They are asking for it with their escalating shitty rent seeking
behavior. Unfortunately, due to their stranglehold on most venues in the
country, they seem to enjoy more power over their industry than even the taxi
lobby did.
~~~
atomical
How do you prevent scalpers? Better KYC?
~~~
toomuchtodo
Tickets are associated to a name at purchase; you are then required to provide
corresponding ID upon admission at the event. Very similar to non-refundable
airline tickets (which was designed to kill the secondary market for airline
tickets [1]). If you cannot attend, your ticket expires worthless.
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame has been doing this as part of his fan
club for over a decade, and is a vocal opponent of scalpers [2].
[1] [https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-I-resell-my-air-ticket-to-
som...](https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-I-resell-my-air-ticket-to-someone-else-
if-I-dont-want-to-travel?share=1)
[2]
[https://www.google.com/search?q=trent+reznor+ticket+scalping](https://www.google.com/search?q=trent+reznor+ticket+scalping)
~~~
monksy
They did say that they were doing that. However.. they're still selling
tickets through Livenation. That was only happening via the Presales.
Source: I have a ticket for NIN that I bought on Stubhub.
------
walrus01
I know that they did this in the United States. But one of the interesting
things that is helpful for investigative journalism in Canada, the entire
country is a one-party consent jurisdiction for recording of phone calls, and
recording of conversations in person. investigative journalists in Canada have
taken advantage of this fact for many years, and exposed a great deal of
corruption.
------
jrockway
I enjoyed reading the email chain linked from the article. Ticketmaster sent
CBC the usual PR statement, CBC replied saying "we are going to say you
declined to comment if that's your answer to our questions" and Ticketmaster
replied that that's unfair and they were perfectly happy answering all the
questions... off the record. Wow.
~~~
Sgt_Apone
I really like that they add supplementary and primary source documents. Seems
like something that more news organizations should do.
------
saudioger
It's amazing how long this ticketing scam has continued, and so blatantly.
Everyone knows it's a scam!
They even managed to make settling a class-action lawsuit into a huge fucking
scam. It's infuriating. I feel like they should be sued for the way they
settled the lawsuit.
~~~
my_usernam3
What do you mean ticketing scam? Scalping? If so, I'm confused on how you
might stop it without allowing people who can't go last minute to resell their
ticket. This feels like a damned if you do, damned if you don't situations.
Also which class action lawsuit are you talking about
~~~
saudioger
This is a professional reseller program. It's not about individuals reselling
tickets last minute. This is specifically about squeezing more money out of
average customers using scalping methods.
Sorry for being vague about the lawsuit/settlement, it's just enraging that
ticketmaster has been so shitty for so long... yet my options are still
generally:
1\. use ticketmaster
2\. don't get tickets
The settlement was:
[http://settlement.livenation.com/](http://settlement.livenation.com/) — in
which Ticketmaster ended up giving tons of borderline _unusable_ vouchers to
customers in settlement (the lawsuit was over fees and took a decade to reach
settlement).
You have to sit and watch their site for specific availability to generally
lower-tiered events and hope you're fast enough to actually get the available
slots (you're competing against millions of people who also have vouchers).
[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/22/business/media/ticketmast...](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/22/business/media/ticketmaster-
lawsuit-vouchers.html)
~~~
jandrese
I'm sure the attorneys were well paid at least.
Those things are almost as bad as those coupons for $10 off your next IOMega
product because your Zip drive was a piece of overpriced garbage.
~~~
saudioger
Hey at least I could use the IOMega voucher, I used to go to a lot of shows so
I have like 50 worthless Ticketmaster vouchers from the lawsuit. Sometimes I
get like $2 off a ticket, but the vast majority of them will go unused.
------
dfxm12
When I see ticketmaster selling tickets for an event, I know it's not going to
be worth my time, money or effort trying to go.
There are a ton of venues and artists out there. If you're put off by this
action, understand that this action is taken by TM, the venue and the artist,
and vote with your wallet. Spend your entertainment dollars elsewhere and
support artists and venues that are more honest. Find a club that sells
tickets with some other company or where you can buy tickets at the door.
------
jdblair
Why aren't ticket sales an auction? That would allow Ticketmaster and the
promoters (and hopefully artists) to extract maximum value for each ticket. It
would simultaneously take all the profit out of scalping. Tickets could be
exchanged at face value, but if the maximum value the market will pay is
already extracted there will be no margin left for resellers.
~~~
baddox
Because many performers want their concerts to be accessible to their broad
fanbase, and this is probably better for their bottom line in the long run,
since there is sure to be animosity towards a popular performer once fans
discover that only very rich people can attend their concerts.
~~~
jdblair
If that's the goal, then active measures to deter reselling tickets should be
used. Thom Yorke succeeded at this when I saw him earlier this year. All
tickets were Will Call and you had to enter immediately after ticket pickup.
Selling tickets in a way that puts fans in direct competition with well-
resourced resellers doesn't help fans either.
------
TallGuyShort
I had no idea Ticketmaster had such a reputation for being consistently sleazy
until I read all the comments here. They scammed me once and I thought it was
an isolated screw up that they just didn't want to own up to.
One would think that review sites, etc. or the BBB might do something about
companies like this, but even companies I always have good experiences with
have some disgruntled former employees or customers trashing them online, and
I've never known the BBB to do much. What's one to do? Are there sites for
feedback on companies like this where it's not just paid shills and
disgruntled people?
------
kaveh_h
This doesn’t hurt ticket buyers as much as it hurts artists and producers.
It’s they who get payed less from Ticketmaster, the consumer would have to pay
market value anyway.
What they should really do to get market value ethically is simple, have an
auction for the tickets. The going price would be transparent to buyers,
artists/producers and Ticketmaster wouldn’t have the ability to doubly collect
fees without paying the artists/producers their real cut in the end. Of course
you could argue Ticketmaster would have the ability to benefits from resellers
anyway, but in reality the price difference the second time would not be big
enough to be benificial for scalpers and Ticketmaster.
If the band/artist want to give more to dedicated fans, just set a side a set
of tickets for their fan club and let them buy for a flat fee or from a
private auction.
------
buf
Eventbrite should be ringing the NYSE bell pretty soon, but even Eventbrite is
unable to penetrate the decade long deals Ticketmaster has in place.
------
misiti3780
anyone else get a bunch of free tickets from ticket master in that lawsuit a
few years back but then realize that basically none of the concerts are
eligible ?
specifically talking about this:
[http://settlement.livenation.com/](http://settlement.livenation.com/)
------
allworknoplay
Maybe this will finally get the FTC to pay attention to
ticketmaster/livenation. It's been one of the most abusively anticompetitive
companies out there for decades, blacklisting venues that don't use it for
everything and setting ticket price requirements (and then of course charging
bigger fees because of it).
It's insanely bad monopolistic behavior the FTC never appears to care about, I
dunno, maybe because it's just entertainment or something.
------
bumholio
This industry can only exist because labels and artists are not willing to
sell tickets at the market clearing price, since they would be seen as
exploitative by their own fans. So they sell the tickets are significantly
discounted prices, in the hopes that at least some of them end up in the hands
of the fans, saving face but creating a niche for a super-sleazy industry.
The solution I believe is to directly engage the fans and include with the
price of the ticket benefits that only have value for fans. For example, when
purchasing a ticket the market price is $100, out of which $40 is the price of
the ticket and $60 is the "anti-scalping deposit" that fans get back when
purchasing from their account with the band's site. So you would get $60 back
in your account that you can use to purchase items valuable for fans such as
limited edition CD, merchandise or even other tickets in the future (this is a
bit tricky since scalpers can automate it, but exposes them to a major risk of
detection and loosing the deposit, unlike the automation of the single ticket
purchase, which either works or is risk free).
Providing this service seems like a nice idea to build a company on.
------
bogomipz
There's another essential component to this systems which is that the artists,
managers and promoters are all often in on this. See:
[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123672740386088613](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123672740386088613)
and
[https://www.theringer.com/2016/6/3/16045790/ticket-
industry-...](https://www.theringer.com/2016/6/3/16045790/ticket-industry-
problem-solution-e4b3b71fdff6)
LiveNation often offers the artist guarantees for the tour up front. This is
great for artists as the risk it transferred to LiveNation. LiveNation then
extorts the fans via Ticketmaster.
Ticketmaster becomes the scapegoat, but since they're a near monopoly with a
one of the worst public images it makes no difference to them. The artists
also take a piece of those "convenience charges" that often make up a large
percentage of the face value of a ticket. Again Ticketmaster takes the heat
and everyone wins except the fans.
------
sandworm101
>> "This is going to be a public relations nightmare."
Lol. Does anyone think tickermaster cares one iota about its public image?
They have been hated for decades, by fans and artists alike. The survive on
their ins with venues, bulk purchasers, and CC companies.
------
kbenson
So, my problems with this article, as someone that works in the industry:
1\. It's not a secret. It's Ticketmaster's secondary market division, TM+.
They may not advertise where people out of the industry would see it, but
that's nothing special. They may not want to draw attention to themselves, for
reasons such as this article, where they are portrayed very unflatteringly and
given little chance to provide their own context. Tradedesk, their new POS
offering, is new, and has been somewhat buggy (most might be worked out now),
so they've targeted known brokers, but it's a free tool, so they would
probably be happy to have anyone that buys and sells more than 1-2 sets of
tickets a month (there are a LOT of people that do this as a little extra
income, or to pay for their concert habit).
2\. Ticketmaster has multiple divisions. The division responsible for proving
primary market tickets and the division for running Ticketmaster's secondary
market are sometimes at cross purposes. I can tell you from experience though,
Ticketmaster does a LOT to prevent the more egregious use of bots, to the
point where it can bleed over to regular fans. Every few months there's some
new site feature that makes bots harder to utilize. Recently it's a new
queuing system and new purchase mechanism, where you select seats off the map
(which they've had for a long time, but not during _sales_ ).
3\. Distinguishing a broker account with 100 purchases on it and a corporate
account for bonus gifts or a concierge service may not be as easy as it
sounds. It's also not that hard for a broker to just use an account for a few
purchases. If I was running a concierge service and Ticketmaster cancelled
hundreds of purchases all of a sudden, I would be a bit peeved that they took
my money (credit, most likely) for months and then basically killed my
business because they incorrectly identified me as a broker account. Also,
artists/venues/promoters may not actually want to you cancel tickets and put
them back on the market. Being sold out has it's own benefits (and nobody
wants to return cash they've already gotten).
4\. One of Ticketmaster's main purposes is to offload anger about pricing from
artists, promoters and venues to a separate entity. There's a reason why there
are often over 50% additional fees per ticket (and they are higher for higher
costing seats, how interesting...). It's because many of those are set and
received by the artist, promoter and venue. It allows for pricier tickets
which is hidden up-front, and the blame goes to Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster of
course tacks on their own fees for this service.
5\. I believe the secondary market provides a useful function (otherwise I
would seek other employment). It helps artists, promoters and venues offload
risk (up-front usable money _now_ , instead of little by little as the tour
goes on), it helps spread tickets to those that have more money than time
(people that devote time still often get tickets, brokers very rarely get
everything), and it allows fans to get tickets _well_ below original cost in
some (fairly common) cases, such as when a tour is overbought or demand
lessens as it goes on. I could find any number of events with secondary market
tickets under primary market cost at any moment.
In the end, it's a market. There are tried and true ways to alter it if that's
what you want, but for the most part, I think most people are happy with how
it works, and happy being able to complain about the time is doesn't as well.
Fix and/or make an example of the market participants that are too greedy
(such as the broker that got in trouble for buying ALL the Hamilton tickets),
and it mostly functions in a way that people expect and find useful. I'll tell
you this, getting rid of brokers (if you could) wouldn't result in much
cheaper tickets. A lot of the money left on the table would just shift to
other market participants, and I doubt it would be the fans.
~~~
conanbatt
> nd the blame goes to Ticketmaster
This argument is repeated over and over again, but i just cant imagine that
being right. This is not usually how efficient markets operate, taking into
account all the subjective brand appreciation. I can believe that Ticketmaster
can shame any artist outside ticket master, or some other network effect, but
not that hating ticketmaster, and deteriorating the user experience, is the
economically efficient way to do it.
~~~
kbenson
> This is not usually how efficient markets operate
Efficient markets assume clear information that is known by all parties, which
make rational decisions. We're talking about a luxury entertainment purchase
based on subjective taste in music, and how people feel about those performing
that music.
> I can believe that Ticketmaster can shame any artist outside ticket master,
> or some other network effect, but not that hating ticketmaster, and
> deteriorating the user experience, is the economically efficient way to do
> it.
Either you didn't understand what I was saying, or I'm not understanding what
you're saying. It's not about Ticketmaster shaming artists, it's about artists
not wanting the negative attention and feeling that high ticket prices
attract, and offloading some of the price to a third party (by having them
collect additional fees) to manage this.
~~~
conanbatt
> it's about artists not wanting the negative attention and feeling that high
> ticket prices attract, and offloading some of the price to a third party (by
> having them collect additional fees) to manage this.
I'll try to rephrase. This would only work if the artist selling the ticket by
themselves could only sell it lower than Ticketmaster. That is, Ticketmaster
can extract MORE money out its customers because they hate Ticketmaster.
That is the idea I contest: people pay more on satisfaction, not on
dissatisfaction. Yes, the artist save themselves _some_ hassle, but they dont
reduce it, they increase it. I would believe Ticketmaster has some leverage we
are not considering.
A thought experiment: lets say artists now sell their tickets on platform
independent and simultaneous to Ticketmaster, at the same total price. Would
people buy on Ticketmaster because they prefer to hate it than to hate the
artist?
I doubt so.
~~~
kbenson
> That is, Ticketmaster can extract MORE money out its customers because they
> hate Ticketmaster.
This is what's happening. People want to see the artist they like, so they see
Ticketmaster as a necessary evil. If those feeling were transferred to the
artist, the artist may alienate fans, which not only affects that specific
concert, but future reputation and events as well. This should not be looked
at one event at a time in isolation, reputation persists, and pays of in a
myriad of ways (album sales, word-of-mouth, etc), so it makes sense to look at
it over time, If an artist is able to cultivate a reputation for caring about
fans, it helps to have a partner able to take any blowback for actions fans do
not like.
More established artists often just charge a lot for tickets. They can get
away with it. Having to pay $100+ for the cheapest Rolling Stones tickets
isn't going to phase most Rolling Stones fans at this point (and a lot are at
a stage in life where they can support it, and much more expensive tickets).
The same might not be true of a newer artist, which is still trying to grow
their fan base.
> people pay more on satisfaction, not on dissatisfaction.
Generally, yes, but it's also skewed by how often the item in question is
purchases, have they purchased it before, etc. No matter how much I enjoy a
new car, I still hem and haw at the price when I an seriously considering
buying one. Expensive luxury purchases are like that (at this point I do pay
for satisfaction in cars - to a degree - but it wasn't always that way, by
necessity and by my current state of knowledge).
> lets say artists now sell their tickets on platform independent and
> simultaneous to Ticketmaster, at the same total price. Would people buy on
> Ticketmaster because they prefer to hate it than to hate the artist?
Is the artist advertising a similar face value and adding fees on to create a
higher purchase price, like Ticketmaster? If not, then I expect the vast
majority would probably end up at Ticketmaster because of a lower advertised
price, even if it's the same at checkout.
In the end though, some fans may be upset at the pricing and treatment, and
that may prevent a future album or concert ticket purchase. Fans are fickle,
and there's a _relationship_ between artists and fans, and that's essentially
why it's not a rational market. There's emotion in there.
~~~
conanbatt
> Is the artist advertising a similar face value and adding fees on to create
> a higher purchase price, like Ticketmaster? If not, then I expect the vast
> majority would probably end up at Ticketmaster because of a lower advertised
> price, even if it's the same at checkout.
Lets try to ceteris paribus it. I have no doubt the price shennanings
Ticketmaster does have an extractive effect, but given the same price for TM
and the artist, who would choose TM? And if the artist is cheaper because
there is no middleman?
Of course TM would punish any artist doing that, thats why I say they must
have leverage.
In the end I might be wrong about this, but deception is a poor substitute for
economic efficiency. The day one artist collects more money with no fuss, the
house of cards falls down.
------
j45
Ticketmaster is also largely pushing behind the scenes for digital only /
digital first ticketing.
The experience of being gifted tickets for an event is no longer the same.
A side effect of this is that Ticketmaster alternatives (Stubhub) etc, are
also better frozen out of the secondary ticket market, and ironically,
Ticketmaster takes their place through their fan-to-fan resale platform.
TM has acquired Stubhub as well, so there are likely other competitors/targets
they are targeting too.
------
wilgertvelinga
One of the few blockchain companies I actually see the value in is
[https://guts.tickets](https://guts.tickets) Their technology prevents
reselling tickets for anything other than the original price, among other
things. (Disclaimer: I just happen to know one of the founders from a past
endeavor, I do not own any of there token)
------
rystband
This is exactly why we built rystband! We're an all digital ticketing company
so we can do what the big companies can, but better. We sell tickets with $0
service fees, forever. Check us out!
[https://www.rystband.com](https://www.rystband.com)
------
porscheburnaby
Artists/celebrities keep using it (i'd even want to say endorse it). Customers
keep buying from it. Unless politicians pick this up and do something like
condemn this practise and threaten regulations, nothing will happen.
------
En_gr_Student
The dark side of this is how they damage the total sales in their
"explorations". The actual performer doesn't get a cut. They don't get to know
their market value, or how bad the pricing hurts the fan experience.
------
forkLding
So HFT taking advantage of ticket sales arbitrage?
------
aidenn0
Has Ticketmaster hit the point where their brand image is so bad that they
aren't hurt at all by bad press?
~~~
Deestan
Their reputation doesn't matter.
If Favorite Artist comes to town to play, you will buy a ticket because you
love the artist. Whether the ticket handler is a piece of shit is
inconsequential.
------
edoceo
Ages ago I was paid by professional scalpers to build bots on TM to get the
"fruit". Fun times.
------
browsercoin
excuse my ignorance but why can't artists just setup a stripe page and collect
money from fans and set up a location and date? why are market makers needed
in tickets market that create incentives for scalpers?
~~~
bluetidepro
It's because the venues are the ones partnered with these types of companies.
Unless the artist themselves own a venue, they usually have to go through the
ticketing of whatever that venue itself uses. The artists sadly don't get that
much control on that type of thing, esp the average artist that doesn't have
the type of "klout" to demand X Y Z happen for them to play that venue.
------
tantalor
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RICO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RICO)
------
brian-armstrong
Guess it's not so secret anymore
------
jiveturkey
"secret"
------
soperj
How is the artist not getting absolutely screwed in this situation?
------
howeyc
Sell tickets by auction, it would extract maximum value and kill the scalping
market.
------
barking
I bought my son a ticket for a music festival that was sold out within hours
of ticket release from ticketmaster's reseller site seatwave and paid triple
the price to some guy with an Indian name who I'm fairly sure never had any
intention of attending.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: What's your current phone? - mod50ack
======
5555624
Sony Xperia Z3 & Z3 Compact. I use one for work and one for personal use. Both
are on T-Mobile, in the U.S. (Although T-Mobile briefly offered a branded Z3,
mine are both phones I bought from Sony dealers.) Although three years old,
they both still do all that I need a phone to do.
~~~
criddell
Are you still getting security fixes?
~~~
5555624
They stopped a little over a year ago
------
tugberkk
Used to have Samsung Galaxy S7, it had no problem and stable enough. Just had
problem with 3rd party app's (instagram) freezing sometimes.
Just got an iphone7, so far so good! Camera-wise, I would like to say S7 was
better.
------
criddell
Nexus 5X. I'm probably going to get a new phone before the end of the year
because this one just isn't working very well anymore.
I think I'm going to buy my first iPhone.
------
lsiunsuex
iPhone 7 Jet Black base. I was originally going to skip the iPhone X but I
think I might order soon / whenever stock catches up to demand and I can just
make an impulse purchase walking by T-Mobile in the mall, lol...
------
shervinafshar
Nokia 3310. I don't change phones until they die on me.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Mozilla say Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 will be here on time within next week - TechCombo
http://techcombo.com/mozilla-say-firefox-35-beta-4-will-be-here-on-time-within-next-week
Surprisingly, the Mozilla corporation will actually be in the position to release the highly anticipated, Firefox 3.5 Beta 4. This new update will most likely be the last of its kind until the real big browser comes into play, Firefox 3.5.<p>This came as a big thrill to me as you all have realised over the last few beta releases, they have been remarkably late! To refresh your memory,they stopped Beta 3 being released, not just once but twice and then moving on to Beta 4. In additon, the fact that they got rid of Firefox 3.0 demonstrating how amazingly different the two versions, 3.0 and 3.5 actually are.<p>Why were there always delays?<p>The obvious reason for the delays are the time management issues, that they did not stick to their target plan. However, the most important reason was from TraceMonkey, which is the new Javascript engine established by Firefox. This seems to be vital for Firefox as it is supposedly meant make pages load 2 times quicker and 9 times quicker than Firefox 3.0...
======
martythemaniak
For those of your who are slightly confused, FF 3.1 (that was supposed to be
released in Decemberish) is called FF 3.5 now. I suppose that version number
makes a bit more sense given the feature set and time frame.
~~~
DEinspanjer
Yep. I've always hated it when companies did the ole version =* 1.5 trick just
to make it sound "better", but in Firefox's case, with a brand new JavaScript
engine, built in HTML 5 <video> tag support, GeoLocation, and a few other big
new features, I guess it does seem like a lot more than just a .1 increment.
------
natmaster
Incredibly poor writing quality. I'm surprised this isn't some high school
kid's blog.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Division: “Protection from Elites” Increases the Damage Taken from Elites - minimaxir
https://www.reddit.com/r/thedivision/comments/4g6lnk/tested_confirmed_protection_from_elites_increases/
======
minimaxir
Maybe not a typical HN submission, but the discussion in the comments about
Software QA is interesting. (The Division in general has been about that, but
this particular bug is hilarious)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
C# Autocomplete Demo Using Bing Code Search Engine - miket
http://codesnippet.research.microsoft.com/
======
tlb
One of my pet ideas is a new programmer's editor that uses proportionally as
much compute resources as Emacs did in the late-80s. An amount of computing
that would show up as a major line item on your department's timesharing bill.
1000 cores costs around $50/hr, so if it boosted my productivity measurably
it'd be worth it. Searching all public github code for strings matching around
my cursor seems like the sort of thing these 1000 cores should be doing.
~~~
ThisIBereave
It should be noted that public github repos are _not_ public domain and not
even necessarily open source unless the author specifies a license.
~~~
timr
It's part of the GitHub terms of service:
_" By setting your repositories to be viewed publicly, you agree to allow
others to view and fork your repositories."_
~~~
rtb
Permission to "view and fork" is not the same as permission to copy and paste
into a proprietary software product (i.e. this may not be legit for use by
"enterprise" developers)
------
doczoidberg
the linked page is an old version. New version:
[https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/a1166718-a2d9...](https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/a1166718-a2d9-4a48-a5fd-504ff4ad1b65)
------
taternuts
This seems like a really cool idea, but I'm not sure how useful it'd end up
being. I also wasn't able to get it to actually work with anything other than
the demo question they provided
~~~
calineczka
Me as well.
------
Avalaxy
I installed the plugin, restarted VS, but nothing happens when I type:
/// convert string to byte array
and press tab afterwards.
Am I missing anything?
Edit: actually something does happen... it inserts a tab, just like any VS
installation would do.
Edit 2: from browsing through the comments it seems like it might be a
ReSharper conflict. They said they would update it though, but in 8~9 months
nothing has changed apparently.
~~~
DevKoala
Have you tried to uninstall and install ReSharper? In the past when ReSharper
has prevented other plugins from working, that has been my solution.
~~~
Cilvic
I don't have ReSharper installed but get the same problem. The IntelliSense
has improved but neither /// nor the "bring up IntelliSense and click the "How
do I" button shown in the video works for me ..
------
zamalek
It also aptly demonstrates the issues with doing internet searches for code,
the snippet in the demo has a bug!
Still, it's a crazy neat idea.
~~~
squeaky-clean
The demo comes directly from the msdn, which is also funny. A cool feature
would be the ability to rate the code snippet, and then searches could be
filtered by rating. For snippets from websites with voting features, like
Stack Overflow, it could display the number of votes, and maybe the comments
for the snippet, or the rest of the post text. Often I don't want to just know
"what code does X" but "how to do X".
Seems like the search could be better anyways. The StackOverflow result for
that example is from a post with 4 other (more useful) examples, but it picks
the last one. It was also not the selected Answer for that post.
This is still really cool, even in it's current state, I think I will find it
useful.
------
arikrak
I always thought that people should have more built-in search power when they
code. It's funny that Microsoft is taking the lead over Google on this, though
I guess Google doesn't have their own IDE.
Soon, modular projects will just consist of searching and plugging in
components...
~~~
murki
Android Studio.
~~~
kevinchen
Visual Studio is a lot more important to Microsoft than Android Studio is to
Google.
------
cl8ton
I installed on VS2013 Ultimate wo/Resharper and here is how it worked for me.
The '///' then tab does nothing but when I start typing in the IDE however it
kicks in with a much better Intellisense complete with the Bing snippets like
depicted on the VS Gallery. So perhaps they limited the slash+tab sequence?
------
crb002
Why aren't we using git like hashes for compilers? Take referentially
transparent parts of code, blob together and make a hash of the AST in a
canonical form and a hash of the assembly, source, transforms used, and
benchmark stats. The compiler would run continiously searching for new
solutions.
------
Nate630
Nice idea. Sort of changes ideas as to what an IDE can/should do.
~~~
icebraining
Related: Joe Armstrong's ideas on a global code database:
[http://erlang.org/pipermail/erlang-
questions/2011-May/058768...](http://erlang.org/pipermail/erlang-
questions/2011-May/058768.html)
(Armstrong is the inventor of Erlang, by the way)
------
nickdandakis
Does anybody know of a Sublime Text or Atom package that does this?
~~~
architech
[https://github.com/azac/sublime-howdoi-direct-
paste](https://github.com/azac/sublime-howdoi-direct-paste)
~~~
k1t
Probably also worth mentioning the commandline tool that I assume this
(howdoi-direct-paste) is based on:
[https://github.com/gleitz/howdoi](https://github.com/gleitz/howdoi)
Previous discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5027021](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5027021)
------
cturhan
I typed
///how to parse json
and it waits...
------
vblord
This is a great idea, but I can't get the website to work. I will try the IDE
because this is actually pretty useful.
------
mcescalante
Unfortunately I don't write much C# (took a few courses that heavily used it)
so it's going to be hard for me to really get an idea of what this feels like
to have access to all the time (i.e. know if it's really useful). I'd really
love to see what it feels like with a scripting language like Python or
Javascript
------
TorKlingberg
I tried the web version, but it just says Loading. Do I need to install
Silverlight?
~~~
mstromb
No, it doesn't seem so. I have Silverlight installed but set to click-to-run,
and the site will provide suggestions for the sample without running the
Silverlight control.
------
justinlloyd
I fear for the future of working with copy/paste programmers, but then my
fears are probably unfounded because after all, this uses the Bing search
engine. Searching for "///how to sort an array" will most likely just give me
the top ten tourist hotels in Paraguay instead.
~~~
orbifold
The problem is that only part of a solution to a problem is really in your
control. Each has a potentially very large number of solutions, most of them
are equivalent (renaming of variables, isomorphic control flow etc.), but some
are inequivalent. For example in Haskell you could at least use iostreams,
pipes, conduit or lazy io to solve the read file in and print its lines. You
can't expect a developer to be familiar with every choice the Library
implementors made, especially since lots of libraries do not really have
stellar documentation.
------
sysk
Waiting for the Vim plugin :)
------
kyberias
Because we need to have more people using random copy-pasted code in their
programs.
~~~
BigChiefSmokem
Yes, I rather my juniors cut and paste from StackOverflow because it means
they are using a _modern_ coding pattern and can learn from it and see great
commentary about why this was the "chosen" pattern.
How else are we supposed to learn?
Same goes to all these clowns who champion one language/platform over another
simply because of ego.
~~~
devcjohnson
"...because it means they are using a modern coding pattern and can learn from
it and see great commentary about why this was the "chosen" pattern."
Unfortunately it means no such thing. I have seen junior engineers search
stack overflow and click for easiest/fewest lines of code with no regard to
why.
You took the OP extreme view and countered it with your own which is equally
biased. Let everyone just be honest about it is all.
How else are we supposed to learn? Actively thinking and engaging others when
we don't know.
~~~
kyberias
My view is that it's probably not wise to automate copy-pasting code from the
internet. It easily leads to just that: copy-pasting and not thinking. I'm
sure that this view is not that extreme really.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
What open source solution powers your entertainment media center? - FOSSSquirrel
http://opensource.com/life/15/1/what-open-source-media-center-solution-do-you-use
======
tomtoise
I personally use an old desktop machine next to the router with Plex Server
installed on it, 2 2tb drives of films and TV shows and a Chromecast, with the
plex app on my android phone which links up the two.
I just browse the plex app for stuff I wanna watch, click cast and then voila!
On demand TV and films, wirelessly, without having to move my arse off the
couch.
What a time to be alive.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How to Write Well - hbcondo714
https://www.julian.com/guide/write/intro
======
lerxst00
Related: I've found advice on this video to be very useful in terms of some
actionable feedback that can be incorporated in your writing:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtIzMaLkCaM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtIzMaLkCaM)
~~~
lerxst00
To add to that, the one of the biggest takeaways from the video, and what is
also mentioned in this post, is to 'open people’s eyes by proving the status
quo wrong'.
People only read things if _they_ find value in what you have written - they
are less likely to pay attention if the article is written in a way that best
demonstrates how much _you_ (the writer) know about something. And, showing
readers that their understanding might have some gaps is a good way to sustain
their interest.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs - scabarott
I really hate writing cover letters as I never know what to write or if anyone is even going to read them.
I see a lot of sites offering advice on how to write generic cover letters, but most all of them don’t seem appropriate (at least to me) for tech jobs - more for formal sales, business jobs. I'm interested to know what HN’ers with experience on either or both sides have to say by way of advice - What do you usually write/expect, is it even really a requirement?. Do you attach a separate document or just write an informal email. What tone do you take - formal, familiar. Do you summarize your skills experience or just include a link to Github etc.
======
huntero
Cover letters might get lost in the HR departments of larger companies, but
they're incredibly useful to me when sorting through applications at a small
company.
Especially for entry level positions, a well-written cover letter is a much
stronger positive signal than a bullet point style resume. Far too often the
resume is a regurgitation of university class projects and career center
templates.
Think of it like a pre-interview, but you get to choose the questions. Since
most entry-level resumes look the same, this is your chance to explain why you
stand out. (a passion for the industry, strong open-source contributions, etc)
If the position isn't entry level, my advice is the same. Use the opportunity
to stand out and score the interview ( which is where the actual decisions
will get made). At a small company, someone will read it.
~~~
starwind0
I find it funny that we have completely reversed methodologies on hiring. If
someone gave me a resume with bullet point skills as the first thing on the
resume, I would be impressed. Though you can't have too much or too little of
any of these elements.
That is interesting. We are seeking the best way to do something, but we are
forgetting that people, the interviewers are all different, looking for
arbitrarily (but defendable) different things..
Far as new grads. When I got my first job, I did list my class projects, but I
focused more on the internships I had had (3 by that point), as well as my
freelancing, and the work with open source 3d printers. If a new grad only has
projects that would be a red flag.
~~~
erichurkman
I like the compromise. A clear definition of background + what they want out
of a new role. If they are specifically targeting my company, I want to know
that and why ("In a prior role I was a financial analyst. I then went to
college to study computer science" will get a very different level of interest
for specific roles from me than "I went to college and studied computer
science").
------
fecak
Resume writer here that also writes cover letters for clients, converted to
writing after 20 years in tech recruiting. Almost any time that a client asks
for a cover letter, my response is "Here it is, and I hope you never have to
use it".
If you're using a cover letter to apply for a job, it means you have no human
inside the company that is advocating on your behalf. Your friend wouldn't ask
you for a cover letter (in most cases) if he/she was going to refer you
internally. So when you are required to use a cover letter, it usually means
you're applying to a job 100% 'cold' as an outsider.
Unfortunately that may be the case sometimes. If a cover letter is required,
there are a few key elements
1 - prove to the reader that you actually paid a bit of attention to the job
requirement. I spent 20 years in recruiting, and generic cover letters that
clearly weren't written for me ("Dear Esteemed Employer") never got my
attention. I want to know what interested you in this opportunity, or briefly
what you know about the company (could be lots of things).
2 - Talk a bit about what you're interested in from a work perspective. What
kind of work do you want to be doing (and hopefully that is the work we're
offering).
3 - Maybe check off a few boxes from the job spec. If they require a degree
and n years with Python, a few sentences to check off those boxes will make it
easy for the reader (often a recruiter or admin with little experience and
limited knowledge of the domain) to say yes to you as a candidate.
Semi-formal tone. You can link to GitHub, but usually I link GitHub and
LinkedIn on a resume.
~~~
tyingq
>Almost any time that a client asks for a cover letter, my response is "Here
it is, and I hope you never have to use it".
That seems kind of absolute. If I were applying to, say, an auto manufacturer,
the cover letter might be the obvious place to state why I'm interested in
working there. And why I'm a good choice. Like, _" I've always been a car nut.
I even wrote an open source library to access CAN bus data here:
[http://whatever](http://whatever) "_
Basically to say that a personalized, per-company, cover letter might have
significant value. A generic one, perhaps not.
~~~
estsauver
If you're going to throw in links, I would do them as footnotes.
... I even wrote an open source library to access CAN bus data [1]...
Thank you, Name
[1] [http://whatever](http://whatever)
~~~
zhte415
I wouldn't. A pain on stream of consciousness.
------
ravenstine
I almost never need to write my own cover letter. The closest I get to a cover
letter is if I have an opportunity to send an email to a company I like, and I
know the email will go to someone not in HR. If I have no choice but to
interact with HR, either I'll see it as a red flag and won't bother applying
or I'll apply with no cover letter. Yes, this does mean I won't get interviews
at most companies.
Writing cover letters that go to HR is like writing a custom message for every
attractive person on a dating site. Everyone _says_ that's what they want, but
your extra effort will go unappreciated 95% of the time while the goofball who
just sent "sup?" actually got some dates. When it comes to searching for a
job, best to not waste cumulative hours of your life writing material that
won't be appreciated.
~~~
expertentipp
> When it comes to searching for a job, best to not waste cumulative hours of
> your life writing material that won't be appreciated.
Cover letters aside, this includes take home assignments in particular.
~~~
bob_roboto
Having had to go through public interview processes (i.e. not being approached
by the company or referred) recently for the first time in a while I can't
agree more. Take home assignments are fine _after_ an interview. Companies
that send you a take home assignment before they want to talk to you are a
waste of time and quite frankly, it's rude and shows a lack of respect. The
ultimate insult being not getting back to you even though you scored the
maximum on their silly CS undergrad tests.
~~~
expertentipp
> The ultimate insult being not getting back to you even though you scored the
> maximum on their silly CS undergrad tests.
The score is _always_ too low and there are _always_ some tests failing. Just
submit the tasks blank or with dummy code. This way they waste time and money
for the license - that's the only thing one can do in defence.
------
starwind0
Personally I have never really seen the point in writing one. My resume has
all my abilities and even a bit about me. The recruiter is going to scan the
resume and let the computer decide if I get the interview. That said the
smarter thing you can do is copy the job posting, attach it to the end of your
resume. I usually do it in micro print and white, as it's just for the
machines.
Speaking as someone that has interviewed a lot of senior level engineers in
the last 2 years. The fastest way to get a black mark is to hand me an 6 page
resume. Frankly as a lead, with 10 resumes on my desk.. most of whom don't
have the right skill set. The last thing you want to do is make me hunt to see
if you can do the job. Cover letters in the rare case I got them, I didn't
read at all. If your resume interests me I'll look at your linkedin.
That said, I am a senior / lead android dev. So I don't exactly hurt on the
job front.. I have noticed the smaller the company the more they want you to
know about them. Especially start ups (the more obscure and small the higher
the expectation)
~~~
zhte415
Can you not manage time sufficiently to spend 2 minutes reading a 6 page
resume and hopefully spending a good 15+ minutes thinking about what u just
read?
~~~
brailsafe
minutes = 20; // 2 + 15+
n = resumes.size(); // 6
Time t = contemplateResume(minutes, n);
// If you manage time sufficiently,
// you'll not be spending that much time looking at only the first indication of a candidate's fit for a role
~~~
zhte415
Spend more time on your people then. They're your exponentials.
------
qznc
I repeat parts of their job description and explain why I fulfill it.
Example: Job ad says "we look for a proactive and self-reliant person" then my
cover letter says "to successfully finish my PhD, being proactive and self-
reliant was important". This technique works even better for the technical
parts.
I'm not sure if it was worth the effort. In the german job market, employers
are quite desperate these days. A friend sent out simple template letters and
got interviews just as easily.
I always sent a PDF. If sent by email, I duplicated the cover letter in the
email. My experience is that many had a print out at the interview and PDF
works best to ensure a good print.
~~~
Balgair
I second this approach.
Many job ads will have a bulleted list of what they are looking for and
responsibilities. Just copy-paste that list and then re-write the bullet
points in a way that shows how you have that skill. EXP:
\- Candidate must have 5 years experience with FooBar
\- Candidate must have good knowledge of ZooCar
Turns into:
\- Via my 5 years at class/volunteering/job at McEnroeCorp I used FooBar and
made FooBarApp with it.
\- I have used ZooCar for class/job/side-project and got-a-B/made-$$$-for-
company/went-to-FGH-conference
Just go down the list and put in whatever you can.
ProTip for 'shyer' people: Don't worry if you only have 3 years and they need
5, apply anyway. Also, if you only have ~40% of the listed requirements, apply
anyway. Hell, if you think the logo is kinda cool and you have an inkling that
you can code and fog a mirro, apply anyway.
~~~
pfranz
I completely agree about applying even if you don't match all of their
criteria. A lot of these job postings are a wishlist for candidates and you
have no idea what the pool of actual applications look like.
------
pruthvishetty
Always write a cover letter from scratch. It's better to invest time in five
most relevant positions and apply with a complementing cover letter (and
resume), than to apply for fifty positions without any background research
(AKA generic cover letter/resume.)
If you are applying online to a big tech company, it almost always goes into
an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The ATS scans your resume and cover letter
for keywords, and matches it with the keywords in the job description or
specific keywords as asked my the hiring manager. (You can get through ATS
just by copy-pasting the job description in your cover letter. Don't do it).
Once you pass through the ATS filter, the recruiter don't seem to care much
about the content of your cover letter, but it makes a huge difference when it
goes to the hiring manager.
Apart from convincing why you are a perfect fit for the role, share
interesting stuff about you like a link to your website (highly recommend this
for new grads in tech roles), github profile, previous internship experiences
and what excites you about this role.
PS - The most effective way to get a call is to network.(and avoid the whole
ATS blackhole).
~~~
walshemj
Sucks for dyslexics even high performing dyslexics like myself find writing
cover letters hard and I would only do that for some very specific and life
changing jobs - some run of the mill startup not so much.
~~~
gjjrfcbugxbhf
If they require a cover letter then that is because they want you to think of
them in the former category...
That said I've found cover letters to be pretty much a waste of my time so
far.
------
kevin_thibedeau
Don't write one. I quit using them after in interview where the HR didn't
bother to provide it to the interviewer who complained about how sparse my
resume was. It was on purpose because the letter had much more background
content. I've also never received a cover letter for candidates I've
interviewed.
You have zero control over the distribution of two separate documents. ATS
systems are geared toward something they can run keyword matches on and the
extra fluff of a cover letter gets cast aside if they are even supported at
all. Just work the meat of the cover letter into your resume and let that
stand on its own.
Of course, outside of tech, where soft skills may need to be displayed a cover
letter has more merit.
~~~
Uhhrrr
Generally I think the importance of a cover letter correlates inversely with
log(company headcount). At a couple of places, I have had people remark
positively regarding my cover letter. In those cases I was particularly able
to show good technical fit and experience with the product space. But the
biggest company where that has happened had 200 employees.
------
ChuckMcM
As a hiring manager I appreciate a cover letter that suggests you have read
the job description, a bit about the company, and thought a bit about what
skills you bring to the table. So for managers like me, getting one gives the
candidate a slight edge over those who don't write cover letters.
That said, just like boiler plate recruiter emails that try to interest me in
a job that I'm clearly not going to be interested in based on where I am in my
career, a cover letter that is clearly just boiler plate can be a slight
negative.
Bottom line, bad cover letter (-1), no cover letter (0), good cover letter
(+1) in terms of impact. Regret minimization says you are always safe not
sending one, but min/maxers would have you tailor it to the job to give you
that extra edge :-).
------
jdlyga
Imagine you were a character in a video game. Why would I want to pick you?
What are your strengths, special moves, etc and how can that help with my
playstyle? That's all I want to know as someone interviewing people. You
wouldn't focus on Ryu as graduating from Kyoto Martial Arts academy, placing
first in the uppercut tournament. Tell me what Ryu is good at. Tell me that
you have a good hadoken that's better than other people's projectiles, and I
can use you in sitautions where projectiles are useful.
------
eli
I can't speak to every hiring manager, but I definitely read cover letters and
value non-generic ones. (And in fact my job ad instructs you to include one.
So I still look at resumes that come in without one, but it doesn't speak well
to your attention to detail.)
The tone doesn't matter that much, but I would avoid the extremes of very
informal or very formal. It should be the first thing that I read, so if
you're applying by email it should be the body of the email.
A cover letter is an opportunity for you to tell me why you're interested in
this job/company _specifically_ and to highlight things that might not be
readily apparent by reading your resume. Some of the best cover letters call
out specific achievements that are relevant to the job you're applying for, or
preemptively address concerns that someone reading only your resume might
have. Even just including enough information to show that you did some
research on the job/company before applying already puts you above most cover
letters. A generic cover letter makes me wonder if you're just applying to
every job ad.
~~~
gjjrfcbugxbhf
Oth. If I don't include a cover letter and you want to find out more about me
you have to interview me...
~~~
eli
This is not good idea.
------
adrianratnapala
Write whatever fits in with the company's hiring process. If that includes a
cover letter, write a SHORT one. A traditional (formal) one might be something
like:
> Dear Sir/Madam,
> My name is scabarott and I am a Something Engineer with N years of
> experience. As shown in my CV I my strenghs are [something impressive, don't
> be boring]. I think this will make me a good fit with your team and am
> looking forward to your reply.
> Yours Faithfully, > scabarott
Once I saw a tech company trying to be hip by saying don't send a cover
letter, but then later asking for a short description of what makes you great.
I thought it was silly, because that description just was the cover letter.
But it was also wise because it set expectations well, and prevented people
bloating out their letters.
P.S: The informal e-mail you my attach a CV to and the dead-tree cover letter
are really the same thing, just tweaked sighlty for different technologies and
traditions.
------
BeetleB
Last time I applied to jobs, and got calls from recruiters, I asked what stood
out. It was always the resume. I asked if the cover letter helped. Response
was usually "You submitted a cover letter? Let me check. Oh hey, I see you
submitted one."
My advice is the opposite of another comment: Write one only if you have a
"direct pass" that avoids the HR/recruiter filter. Recruiters don't seem to
look at them, and HR folks usually don't know enough about the job to value
them.
~~~
SmellTheGlove
This is a good comment, but see my other post in this thread - at least with
me, the cover letter itself gives you a "direct pass" for one of my vacancies.
That's not advertised in the posting or anything, but I'm betting I'm not
entirely unique in doing that.
At the very least, a cover letter can't hurt, so write one for a position
you're really interested in!
------
arwhatever
I wish it were suitable to just submit a resume along with a message "Reply
'YES' for a cover letter," before I take the time to draft a nice, custom
cover letter. Because too many times, applications including a nice, custom
cover letter apparently do not even warrant an acknowledgement of receipt.
Honestly, it feels like a bit of a power imbalance.
------
smoe
My own cover letter consists of two sentences plus a little informal or formal
fluff around it:
1\. Who am I, short description of career so far.
2\. Why I think hiring me would be good for your company. This is essentially
a sales pitch, based on prior research on the company I'm applying for.
It is also what I like to see when being on the other side. It helps filtering
out people that have an actual interest vs the ones that send mass mails, and
also it already gives a first personal impression about a candidate.
------
auntienomen
I hire data scientists, machine learning specialists, and the like, and I
definitely value cover letters. Hiring is an intrinsically noisy process, and
any additional information I can get helps me make better decisions.
I don't particularly care about tone, though. I'm looking to see if the
applicants can string thoughts together, and if they understand what sort of
position they're applying for.
------
roberttt
I would write one and keep it short. Nobody wants to read a huge block of
text. For startups, I've always kept it informal and sent it as an email.
Hi Team,
I'm a software engineer in [LOCATION] looking for new opportunities. I have experience with your stack and would love to hear more about the company and openings.
You can see more from me here:
[WEBSITE/GITHUB LINK]
Please have a glance at my resume and see if my skills and experience could be useful.
Thanks,
[FIRST LAST NAME]
~~~
dewey
That’s also how I always did it and it works well for startup jobs. A lot of
people are too formal or list too many things that the person on the other end
doesn’t care about.
It’s also important to reference something from the company website / job
offer in my opinion. I recently had to wade through a bunch of applications we
got through Indeed and 100% of them had irrelevant generic cover letters /
intro text that could apply to a startup or an enterprise at the same time.
Spending your time on that instead of formatting your CV goes a long way.
------
wtvanhest
You should never 'apply for a job' in the traditional sense unless it is an
hourly job at a mall or something like that.
For professional jobs, the pattern is as follows:
1\. Locate professionals at the company you would like to work at.
2\. Email them through a friend if that is possible, and if not, cold email
them and say you are interested in learning more about XYZ company. Ask if
they can grab a coffee or do a quick call.
3\. During the coffee, ask them good questions to learn more and if you think
you would still be interested, ask them if they have any advice on how to
apply.
4\. Do their advice, which typically means giving them just your resume and
having them insert you in to the HR recruiting process.
Any other strategy is a gigantic waste of time.
~~~
kyle-rb
Maybe I'm just antisocial but I don't envy the person on either side of that
situation.
Also, if this is such an established pattern for professional jobs, why even
bother having proper channels for applications? Are online applications just a
honeypot to blacklist me from actually getting hired?
~~~
chrisbennet
Here’s the thing, sometimes it seems like the HR department’s job is to weed
out exceptional people. If you can avoid going through the front door (HR)
it’s often to your advantage.
As an aside, it may seem unfair to the less socially outgoing that others
don’t use an existing process that might be in place. Take dating for instance
- just because a girl is on a dating site doesn’t mean that the dating site is
the _only_ way to ask her out on a date. Finding a job is similar to dating in
some ways.
------
jeffnappi
As a hiring manager, I always like to see at least a few short sentences. At a
minimum you should share a point or two of why you are a good fit for the
role. It doesn't need to be overly formal and could just be along the lines
of:
"Hello, I noticed that you have a position open using [tech]. I am very
familiar with [tech] and have been using it for [x] years. I saw on your
website that your company is building a solution to [business model], [show
your interest in business model]."
A longer letter is OK, but I don't really value a generic long-form letter any
more than a short note showing you are paying attention and have real interest
in a role at the company.
------
schneidmaster
My company wrote a blog post a while back with some tips for a good cover
letter -- it's not specific to engineering but I think it's super helpful
anyway: [https://blog.aha.io/the-best-cover-letters-that-ceos-love-
to...](https://blog.aha.io/the-best-cover-letters-that-ceos-love-to-read/)
Two key takeaways (in my opinion):
\- If you care about the job, do a little bit of research about the company.
What does the job posting focus on and how do you align with that? What's
their engineering stack and when have you worked with those technologies? This
isn't "required" (i.e. you can certainly find jobs by mass-sending the same
generic intro) but investing a little time in finding out about the company
goes a long way towards telling them that they should take the time to find
out about you in return. I also think this helps with the question of tone --
you probably won't go wrong matching the tone of the job posting itself.
\- Make it easy for them to see if they want to hire you. Include your resume
and make it easy to read (a short, well-formatted PDF is great). Include a
direct link to your GitHub/portfolio/etc. If you don't have any public work,
just say so and give them a Cliff's notes instead -- "Most of my recent GitHub
contributions are private, but for the past six months I've lead a team of
four developers in developing a new widget using React, Redux, and ES6, which
I see is a close match to your tech stack."
------
muzani
I find them tedious but I really enjoy it. I know some employers also take the
effort to read every word, especially when the recruiter is also the founder.
But companies like Google and Facebook don't even let you send them. Maybe
there's some correlation that the smaller the company, the more important the
cover letter is?
The purpose of a cover letter is to just bring up things that aren't in your
resume. If you have nothing to say, make it as brief as possible, maybe even
one paragraph. Most employers will open the resume anyway.
Don't try to fake passion, that just makes you sound like a teenager desperate
to get laid.
My format:
First paragraph, say what you are applying for if it's not in the title
header.
Second paragraph, tell them how you meet the requirements. This is where you
make it clear you have read the job ad and aren't resume blasting.
Third, explain other unique skillsets you bring. I like to emphasize my
entrepreneurship and product development experience or that I can do full
stack, if applicable.
Fourth, why you want to work for this company specifically.
Each paragraph would ideally be 1-2 sentences. The shorter the better. If not
applicable, don't write it.
------
curun1r
As a hiring manager, the cover letter was the most important part of the
packet that I was given. The resume was pretty meaningless since I've seen
plenty of bad candidates with good-looking resumes and vice versa. But the
cover letter was a much more reliable signal of a quality candidate.
For me, there were two important goals that a cover letter was supposed to
accomplish. The first was that the cover letter should prove to me that the
applicant read the job posting. I took time to write an engaging job posting
that wasn't just a list of job functions and qualifications. The cover letter
should explain why the applicant is the person I'm looking for by essentially
regurgitating everything that I've asked for in the job posting and citing
relevant experience, skills or traits of the applicant.
The second is to prove to me that you invested some amount of time into
applying. If I choose to schedule a phone interview and possibly an in-person
interview that may include airfare and hotel, I'm going to be investing a non-
trivial amount of resources into you as a potential hire and I'd like to
believe that you're willing to kick in the 10 minutes or so it takes to write
the cover letter. I'd like to be one of a handful of places you're applying
and not one of 50 or so. A customized cover letter is like a proof-of-work
system that prevents resume spam. It may seem tedious, but that's the point.
It should be hard to automate and if I believe that you're using the same
cover letter for multiple companies, I'll pass.
As an applicant, the formula I follow when writing them is to start by talking
about why the company's product or mission is compelling to me. If I have
difficulty writing this, I rethink applying in the first place since it's
really hard to enjoy working for a company with goals that don't excite me in
some way. After I've talked about why the company is appealing, I pick the two
or three most-emphasized things from the job posting that I feel describe me
and write why I believe that. I save linking to Github for the top of my
resume.
But that's me, and by some of the responses here, I gather others feel
differently.
~~~
mihaitodor
Writing a cover letter doesn't ever take 10 minutes, unless you're sending it
in bulk. For me, it takes hours, even days to be happy with the final result
and to send it along. Due to this, it really annoys me when I get back a one
liner "thanks, but no thanks" reply, but I do understand it's not reasonable
to expect more than that from people and I'm grateful when people do bother to
send a reply, even if it's just a brief rejection note.
I think people who claim this process takes "10 minutes" haven't needed to
write many cover letters...
------
busterarm
I've used cover letters in the past when applying to a job directly without a
warm-introduction from someone. It's been a while.
I had three or four standard cover letter templates I rotated through with a
couple of places to add research I'd done about the company and why I would be
a good fit for them. Often stuff based on what stack they use, who is on their
team, etc.
I think applying to jobs directly is worse than networking and worse than
working with a recruiter, in that order. If you do decide to go that route and
write a cover letter, only include in it what is directly targeted to that
company and the person reading it.
------
gvajravelu
As a job candidate, I found cover letters helpful. They gave me a chance to
explain exactly how my past work experiences and skills would be beneficial to
the company.
Now as someone involved in evaluating tech candidates for my company, I find
cover letters helpful. First off, it shows that the candidate took additional
time to research the company rather than just looking for any job.
Second, I get a better sense of how the candidate's skills fit into the job we
are filling. Bullet points on a resume are helpful but leave a lot
unexplained. A cover letter can fill that gap.
Third, communication skills are incredibly important on my team. Even in tech
jobs, we need to write documentation, email customers, and explain our thought
process. Reading a cover letter helps me understand the candidate's writing
style better.
Overall, if you are given the change to write a cover letter, write one.
The basic format for a cover letter should be:
\- Letter head with your name and contact information
\- Date you are applying
\- Company's address
\- Salutation to the specific hiring manager
\- First paragraph explains how you heard about the company, which position
you are applying for, and why you are a good fit
\- Second paragraph elaborates on a specific tech project that demonstrates
that you can do the job well
\- Third paragraph explains another reason why you are a good fit for the job.
It could be a past tech project you completed, a side project, or something
that demonstrates industry knowledge
\- Closing paragraph explains how they can contact you and thanks them for
reading
\- Valediction with your signature and name
There is a good example of a cover letter here:
[https://www.careerperfect.com/examples/letters/ceo-cover-
sam...](https://www.careerperfect.com/examples/letters/ceo-cover-sample/). (I
have no relation to that site and only found it on a Google search now. Trust
anything else on that site with a grain of salt.)
Good luck!
------
Maro
I review about ~100-200 CVs per week in bulk, for Data Science.
I actually treat a cover letter as a negative signal. Who has time to write
one, and why you do think anybody cares? Show where you worked, what you did,
link to some interesting stuff, all this in the regular CV structure, and
that's it. I have about 10-20 seconds per CV, reading a cover letter is out of
the question. The only thing the CV is for is to (i) send some signals to pick
out the 5% of applicants that make it to the first screening round, and (ii)
at later stages, to quickly open it to recall who the applicant is.
~~~
brailsafe
> Who has time to write one, and why you do think anybody cares?
How did you get your current job, and what is your opinion about the summary
or cover letter space in almost every job application form? Assuming of course
that you don't have an alternative means into the company.
~~~
Maro
Last 2 jobs I was headhunted. But that's because I'm "old" in this industry
(10+ yrs of experience) and have the right signals on my Linkedin = worked at
good companies (Prezi, Facebook). The biggest signal is what company you
worked at, second biggest what school you went to (if it's a big one).
I guess there's some segments where cover letters are a thing, eg. academia.
But I've never seen anybody care about cover letters at tech companies.
------
tomc1985
A cover letter is your sales pitch. I've never understood why there is so much
instruction in them when all you're doing is trying to sell yourself. Write
them a sales letter hyping YOU the programmer.
~~~
twobyfour
To a lot of people, selling in general is not second nature, and promoting
oneself runs against deeply ingrained social strictures about modesty.
How DOES one hype oneself without being boastful? How DOES one sell without
coming across as fake? What things about oneself WOULD the hiring manager find
appealing?
These are all questions whose answers are far from obvious to probably the
majority of job applicants.
------
ragnese
As someone who is currently applying to jobs, this is a very important
question and the answers are, unfortunately, exactly what I expected:
everyone's experience and suggestions are totally different.
Which sucks, because I really wanted to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm
still fairly new to the field, and I don't have a vast network to tap into
(which is what it seems like most people here prefer to do).
So here I am, thinking that my resume/CV is actually starting to look nice
(PhD in a hard science where I spent the whole time doing/writing Monte Carlo
simulations and analyzing data, plus 1.5 years at a tech startup doing backend
and Android dev, plus proficiency in many languages, SQL, etc), and I'm
getting almost no interest in my applications. I had one local guy contact me
and one corporate job that made me take an SAT-style online test and a
"personality test" that I guess I failed because I haven't heard back after
that.
I think I've sent out nearly 30 applications in the last couple of months.
I've been mostly sending them out via Indeed and WeWorkRemotely.com. Is this
field really that competitive? I'm not even getting to the "perform like a
trained monkey" interview questions- I don't get any responses at all!
I can't imagine that my cover letters are all _that_ bad. I mean, I try to
customize them to each job. I try to keep them brief.
It's just all really, really discouraging.
~~~
user5994461
Where do you live? Would you mind to tell more about you?
If you do heavy maths like what you appear to do, I'd suggest you go for a
finance company to become a quant.
~~~
ragnese
Well, my location is definitely a limiting factor. I live in Florida- and not
even Miami. That's why I've been mostly trying to find remote postings. I'm a
great remote worker- my PhD work was as part of an international collaboration
where I mostly worked with a few people in California and Texas, and my
current job is remote.
Finding a quant position is probably what I need to do. Any suggestions on how
to break into that?
~~~
user5994461
First thing first. It's time for you to consider moving to a larger city.
There are only a few places in the world that have companies in need of these
skills.
I'd recommend you try to get in touch with finance companies through either
your university network, job fair or acquaintance. If not possible, try to go
through recruiters or apply directly.
------
rllin
The request of cover letters in certain fields are to me a red flag.
It seems very useful in some fields which require the skills a cover letter
shows off and could substitute for a screen or casual interview.
In many technical fields however, requesting cover letters usually suggests to
me a lower quality in their hiring process. This undoubtedly bleeds over to my
perception of the management, namely more into checking boxes than results.
------
rufius
Cover letters are largely a waste of time UNLESS you come for a notably
unusual background. For example - you have a PhD in Sociology and looking to
get a job as a software engineer.
General rules for resumes \- no more than 10 years experience listed \- no
more than 1 page listing job experience \- if you have another page, it should
only include things like talks given and/or published papers
------
vfulco
From the perspective of a professional resume editor/writer...make sure to
have a boilerplate version and then match each CL against the job description.
The "art" of the process is to provide just enough enticement, the appetizer
in other words, to make the reader want to move onto the resume. Also try to
be more creative in your writing so that you don't say the exact words from
the job description unless it is a highly specialized role. You want to stand
out from the crowd of applicants.
Try at all possible to find out if a cover letter is even necessary. Many
employers don't ask for them, don't want them, ignore or throw them away. I
have know individuals who have spent hours on theirs unnecessarily.
Regrettable the "rules" are all over the place because different employers
require different things. Try to do some legwork before hand by inquiring with
HR or referring employees.
HTH,
Vince Fulco, CFA, CAIA vfulco[@]weisisheng.cn
------
horsecaptin
Understand that applying to jobs where there are many other applicants is a
bit like playing the lottery: only a few will be picked up from the pile of
applicants.
Now say that you get past this round and that your application gets picked up
by someone in HR or the Hiring Manager. They have a pile of others they need
to look at as well. What would they prefer to read? This is a bit subjective:
some would like you to not waste their time - keep it short and sweet. Others
would like to read a love letter.
So, what do you do? I'd say keep it short and sweet for most jobs that you
apply to. Two, maybe three paragraphs with two to four sentences each with the
last paragraph being an invitation to read the resume and get in touch with
you for a meeting. One in ten.. maybe one in twenty jobs get a love letter. It
has to be a job that you feel strongly about. But even the love letter - don't
waste words - edit it well.
Good luck!
------
SmellTheGlove
I might be a little odd on this one, but I've been in large non-tech companies
for a long time, hiring tech (mostly finance technology and data engineering),
so here's my take -
I like cover letters. They're an opportunity for you to tell me how your
skills transfer to the position, why you're interested in it, and that you can
communicate clearly in writing.
The transferability piece is important because it's rare a candidate has all
of the bullets in the description, but we all know critical thinking and tech
skills are broadly applicable - or at least I know that, but I need to know
that you're looking at it that way. It also helps you avoid the HR filter with
me (more on that in a bit).
Your interest is important because I think there's a lot of flexibility
between tech skills and subject matter/domains. The issue is, we all like some
and all hate some, so tell me why you like this one. This is sometimes a tough
one because HR job descriptions sometimes are generic and don't explicitly
provide this info. In that case, take a broad view and tell me what domains
are interesting to you. If it doesn't align with your interests, you may get
rejected, but do you really want to end up in a role working with subject
matter you can't stand?
The cover letter as a writing sample is also great for me because we email a
lot. We write user stories. We document testing. We IM. I don't necessarily
need to hire Shakespeare, but I'd love for you to be able to communicate your
thoughts clearly and with an appropriate level of polish.
Now, on that HR filter, I don't know how common this is but I ask my recruiter
to pass through any application that includes a cover letter. So at least for
my vacancies, a cover letter guarantees the hiring manager will directly
review your materials. I think that provides an opportunity to candidates who
don't check all of the boxes, but might have some transferable skills to
consider.
------
scarface74
I only use recruiters and I have never written a cover letter. I also never
submit a resume blind through job boards or ATS systems.
As a person hiring, I would ignore them. I only care does the candidate have
the minimum skill set to be worth taking time to phone screen. I'll find out
everything else I think is relevant then.
------
pfranz
Don't waste your time on generic cover letters. If you're going to bother,
write a custom letter. Generic rewordings of your resume just waste everyone's
time.
In my experience, odds are good your cover letter won't get read or even make
it to the right person. So I don't spend too much time writing them. However,
a well written cover letter will help you and could be the difference in
getting a callback.
My recipe for a cover letter; rewrite their job description with your work
experience. Take each bullet point and tie it to something you've done. It
shows how your skills fit their needs in a way resumes don't. Bonus if you do
some research on the company (something not mentioned in the job description)
and also match that to your skills or interest. Also, keep it to less than 1
page.
------
_mrmnmly
My usual cover letter:
Dear Sir/Madam, in reply for Your job offer placed at <website> I would like
to apply for a <position>.
I'm <someone> with <x> years of experience. I <do stuff> and <do other stuff>.
My current tech-stack is: <my tech stack>
I've included my CV as an attachment for this message.
Looking forward for a reply from You.
Best regards,
<me>
Enjoy ;)
------
excogitationist
I think the best cover letter explains what you can do on day one, in three
months, six months, and 1 year for the company that may potentially hire you.
Attach the cover letter as a separate document. If you can, get the email of
the hiring manager and let them know that you've applied through the standard
HR interface. Tone should always be professional and cordial. If you can craft
this cover letter well enough you will stand out from others who don't
customize their cover letters. Do your research on the company and find where
your strengths can play to their business objectives and communicate why you
are the one they should choose (then you can link to GitHub projects
accordingly). Good luck.
------
jasonlotito
It literally doesn't matter. Every place and every person has their own
opinion, and because of that, the worst thing you can do is cater to any one
individual besides yourself.
I'm not joking. I haven't even read the comments here, but I'm willing to bet
people find them useful/useless. I bet people found it helped them/hurt them.
I bet people will talk about how they don't read them/read them, expect
them/ignore them, etc.
Personally, I'd write a generic one and submit it myself, and then I'll just
bring it with me (along with resume) to the interview to provide as necessary.
But that's me.
------
phaemon
I don't really customise my CV to a particular job, so I just use the cover
letter as a brief summary of why I'd be great for {advertised role}.
Not that this is advice. I have no idea either and would like to hear what
other folk do.
------
hacknat
I think in our industry a cover letter might send a negative signal. In other
fields a cover letter is a sign that you’re a “go-getter”. A good software
engineer is two things: in high demand, and a professional problem solver. A
cover letter sends the signal that you are the type of person who works harder
not smarter. I’d be much more impressed if you LinkedIn stalked me and sent me
a quick two sentence message about why you would be jazzed to work at my
company (I.e problem space and why or culture fit and why).
On the whole it doesn’t really matter though.
------
lgunsch
I always use the cover letter to sell myself to stand out with extra details
directly related to the position, or company. The resume doesn't give a lot of
detail at all.
------
Rapzid
Cover letter is email body, resume is role description and bulleted list of
accomplishments/value added in each role. I found a way to work languages used
in each role in without using a vertical list.
For the "cover letter" I try to match tone of whoever wrote job description
and convey excitement and cultural fit. I believe this to be very important in
hearing back when reaching out and will iterate until I get more responses;
though each is taylored.
~~~
kat
I agree! If you're including a cover letter, don't add it as an attachment to
your email, put the contents of the cover letter into the email body.
I think email messages are especially important if you're trying to
preemptively explain resume issues like career switches, geographical
relocation, taken a gap-year, etc
------
kkoppenhaver
I suppose my initial email outreach for my current gig (How-To Geek) could
qualify as a cover letter. It was in reply to a Stack Overflow Careers post.
Like some of the commenters here have said, just kept it light and mentioned a
couple things in the job posting that I really connected with. Happy to share
the full text if there's interest.
~~~
scabarott
Thanks. Please do share
~~~
kkoppenhaver
Full text below
"Your posting caught my eye because I've been a reader of How-To Geek for
years. In fact, I discovered your site through the article you wrote about
setting up a Raspberry Pi as an always-on downloading box. Thanks to that
article, I've now got 3 Pis sitting around my apartment doing various jobs.
I'm currently a Technical Architect with doejo, a digital agency specializing
in WordPress development and one of only 13 WordPress.com VIP partners
worldwide. What that basically means is that we work on enterprise-scale
WordPress. (See also a talk I gave at a local meetup detailing some important
considerations for large WordPress sites
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB_e7yZ4MCM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB_e7yZ4MCM))
I wanted to reach out because the position that you and How-To Geek are in
sounds like the position that Investor's Business Daily, one of our former
clients, was in a couple years ago.
When we were brought on with IBD, they were deploying code to production late
at night or on weekends because they were scared their deploys would break.
There were pieces of the site that just plain didn't work. And there was
technical debt all over the place that kept their developers from doing their
jobs effectively.
I led the team that took WordPress and bent it to our will to produce one of
the most custom digital publishing workflows I've ever seen. After migrating
100k+ pieces of legacy content and completing and documenting the new
WordPress build, we handed it off to their internal development team and got
to work on their DevOps situation. I helped their operations team architect
and deploy staging environments so they didn't have to be scared of production
deploys anymore. We helped them replace their out-of-date source control with
Git and put in place processes that worked with them instead of processes they
had to work around.
This whole re-launch and re-build resulted in a site that loaded 25% faster
and brought in a ton more traffic. Couple that with the fact that they now
trusted their developers and felt comfortable pushing changes to production in
the middle of the day, and it was a win all around.
As far as tech stack, I exclusively use Nginx these days and I've never looked
back. Javascript and jQuery are squarely in my wheelhouse. I know WordPress
actions and filters like the back of my hand and I'm not afraid to use them or
trace through someone else's use of them to get things back on track.
To sum up, I'm really impressed you've grown How-To Geek as far as you have
while still deploying to production from your laptop. I think it's great that
you see the challenges you have when it comes to infrastructure and technical
debt. I'm excited by these challenges and look forward to taking them off your
plate so you can get back to running and growing one of the best tech sites
online today.
I would love to talk more about the position and answer any questions you may
have for me.
(And yes, I won't pull punches when I see some particularly terrible code. I
have a library of facepalm GIFs at the ready.)
Talk soon, Keanan"
~~~
lawnchair_larry
major tl;dr
------
shusson
I think the most important thing in a cover letter is stating your motivation
in relation to the company you are applying to.
------
latenightcoding
No one is interested in reading a generic cover letter, they can be extremely
helpful if you "keep it real".
I always write very short cover letters that say who I am and what are my
interests (e.g: ML, Distributed systems) Then I write why I think I would be a
great fit for this position (e.g: I worked on something very similar)
------
telebone_man
Do it! You've got nothing to lose. Write stuff that wouldn't be appropriate in
a CV. Such as, why you want to work for them in particular. Have a look at
their job spec, try and understand their key motivation in wanting someone to
fill that role, and sell that you can do that.
------
Bahamut
I've been laughed at by HR at one startup where I mentioned I did it for every
job whenever possible.
I usually use it to explain my background, and how it relates to the position.
However...I find myself not having to do it much anymore since usually it is
the companies that are seeking me out, or I have referrals.
~~~
kevindqc
Why did they laugh? Often the job posting even asks for one...
------
LoSboccacc
I've couple catch all cover letter variations, built with interchangeable
paragraphs unless I really, really like the posting.
Never ever worked however. Found all my job trough networking except one
employee that found me randomly trough a social network and just decided to
send me a contract.
------
jackietreehorn
I look at a lot of cover letters. The best explain why you want to work there.
The resume will show the experience and background. Show some passion. Say if
you use the product. What you admire about it. It is a chance to speak beyond
the resume and show how you stand out.
------
mindhash
I use cover letters to share a short brief on myself, why I am interested and
ask questions about position. Asking questions is important. Think of this
process as both sides negotiating what works for each, instead of one sided
application for a position.
------
cranjice
When appropriate I'll write a _concise_ but friendly intro and bottom quote a
few key parts of the job description with questions, ideas, or an anecdote.
Try thinking about what could peak the curiosity of the reader and interest
them in talking to you on the phone.
------
rbetts
So few resumes indicate why the candidate applied. When triaging resumes, I
really appreciate a paragraph explaining motivation. I rarely read past
paragraph one of a long cover letter unless the resume itself is compelling.
Then I’ll read it in full.
~~~
Idontknowmyuser
They apply because they need a new job.
------
dennisgorelik
In your cover letter write 1 or 2 sentences about why you are a good match for
that specific position.
Obviously, your cover letter should be adjusted to that specific position.
That also allows you to attach the same unchanged resume to [somewhat]
different jobs.
------
matt_the_bass
One important queue is they demonstrate the candidate can communicate clearly
and effectively (assuming they wrote it themselves and one can often gleen if
this is true after reading).
For my company, effective communication is very important.
------
alfiedotwtf
To be honest, I go straight to your CV's experience section. I don't care what
you're into or what school you went to, I just want to know if you're able to
do what we need you to do.
------
balls187
Google's application form has a section for a cover letter. It says something
to the effect of `We think your experience speaks for itself. A cover letter
is not required.`
------
Spooky23
It’s an excuse to get more information about you in front of an employer. At
worst it’s a minor waste of time, at best it provides a hook for someone.
------
sincerely
I only include a cover letter if the way I found out about the job opening
/isnt/ through personal recommendations
------
the_rock_says
Here's my two cents. I usually write a cover letter when applying for jobs and
expect one when interviewing. As once a recruiter told me, think of cover
letter as an extended resume and mention those points that you think are worth
elaborating.
Instead of writing a long email, turn it into a document (cover letter) and
talk about your skills (add github link) and what makes you passionate about
the job. I keep it formal but not to an extend where it wastes my time.
------
rco8786
I've never written a cover letter
------
tytytytytytytyt
I don't write cover letters. HR people just look for keywords, afaik.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Removes pesky “?fbclid” parameter from Facebook outbound links - ashinayo
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/remove-fbclid/ckdelddlfikmibbgdamhbmlpalhhomkd
======
ChrisGranger
I use a similar add-on for Firefox that enables you to make all sorts of rules
for things you'd like to remove from URLs.
[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/addon/requestcontro...](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/addon/requestcontrol/)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Weather and Clock app for Kids - speeder
http://www.kidoteca.com/weather-and-clock-for-kids/
======
LVB
Here's one data point: I just started playing the demo video and my little boy
came running. He was smiling and really into it.
Definitely got something right with the sound effects and voices!
------
tjansen
First thought: Looks great, artwork is fantastic.
Second thought: I don't have kids and maybe I don't have a clue, but I wonder
whether kids will understand it, especially the concept of numeric
temperatures. What age group are you aiming this at? I could imagine that for
kids it would be more valuable to explain the weather ("It's gonna snow",
"Warm enough for T-Shirts", "Don't forget your umbrella"...). Or maybe explain
the numbers ("temperature is in the high 90s - that means that it's so hot
your going to sweat").
~~~
speeder
It shows the weather in the window, and graphics change (for example if it is
raining the character grabs a umbrella).
Also if you tap any text, speech happen.
The purpose of this is teach kids the meaning of the numbers on this context.
This is why it has two clocks too (one analog and one digital)
------
gadders
I was at my daughter's end of term assembly last week, and a younger sibling
from another family was getting tetchy.
I had your Matroska (sp?) game on my phone and she loved it, and I got to hear
the assembly :-)
~~~
speeder
Thanks :)
Right now we got suddenly bogged by OEM work (ie: some manufacturers want to
ship our apps on their stuff), but as soon as we finish that we will release a
new version of the Matryoshka (with 9 dolls instead of 3, plus a challenge
mode of sorts).
------
kbutler
Nice!
One comment: At :45, when the character clicked the clock at "02:28 pm" the
voice read it as "2 hours 28 minutes". Probably need a better time->text
conversion.
~~~
speeder
The non-formal english rules for time are absurdly crazy (At least to me), so
I went with normal rules that all other countries use...
Maybe one day I will take my time to figure how US people speak the time.
~~~
kbutler
In US English the example would be "two twenty-eight pm". This appears sane to
me. The only complexity is for a single-digit minute, in which case you
pronounce the 0 as "oh": "two oh-eight pm". I guess you have the exact hour,
too: "2 o'clock".
Is there really a country that says "2 hours 28 minutes" for 2:28 pm? Omitting
"pm" seems to leave it underspecified unless you have a locale that uses
24-hour time starting at noon.
If you want complex time rules, in colloquial Thai the day is broken up into
roughly 6-hour periods, with a flexible additional split in
afternoon/evening...
~~~
speeder
Oh, what you are complaining is the lack of PM.
I thought you was referring to crazy phrases (to me) of 3 hours and a quarter
Or half past 6 or something like that. (or 7 o clock)
There are no am/pm spoken because only US use am/pm format, in all other
countries the default is 24-hour actually. So I think I missed that.
Maybe in the future I will implement am/pm spoken :)
~~~
bpicolo
I think his complaint was that "2:28" would be said as "two twenty-eight" in
America, as opposed to "two hours twenty-eight minutes"
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Should e-Books Be Copy Protected? - parka
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/technology/personaltech/17pogue-email.html
======
parka
I guess the subject here can be replaced with any other sorts of digital
downloadable products lile mp3, music, movies and videos.
There doesn't seem to be any harm. Those who are already thinking of buying it
would continue to do so, and those who have no intention will just go for the
pirated version anyway. It's not as if the content can't be found on any other
websites other than the publisher/distributor.
~~~
michael_dorfman
_Those who are already thinking of buying it would continue to do so_
You sure about that? Sure enough to bet your livelihood (if you are an author,
or a publisher)?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: How do you successfully maintain your development narrative? - jonathaneunice
Every project has many steps, including preparatory motions, speculative forays, giant leaps forward, misadventures and dead ends, cleanups, rest phases, zig zags, et cetera.<p>I try to keep some degree of "cogent storyline" together about where I've come from, where I'm heading (at least, in what direction), and what issues I'm facing, fighting, or defeating along the way. It's not quite "Dear Diary," but I try to record intentions, expectations, plans, current findings, and thoughts about "next steps" to keep me us oriented and aiming toward the target. Writing these things down provides at least a "strawman" that others can critique and extend, leading to a more consistent shared view of where we stand, and what's important.<p>But this narrative gets naturally spread across disparate places--code comments, commit messages, documentation, to-do and patch lists, various design notes, status reports and change logs, agile/project management artifacts, etc. Like any story, the narrative should evolve as the plot moves along, but I find a lot of interesting/useful information churned into transient notes and artifacts. Both the historical and forward story arcs can be lost amidst the ever-present "what's happening RIGHT NOW?!" short-term view.<p>"Agile" techniques and version control systems tackled a lot of the problems we used to face in how we evolve code, but they're not specifically focused on helping maintain a project narrative. We haven't really achieved the project analog of "literate programming."<p>So I'm looking for successful techniques. Do you have any particular wins in how you maintain and evolve your project narrative?
======
angersock
I once had to explain to our executive team why a project had been such a
shitshow...it had ended in a two-week crunch to basically unfuck the work that
had been to that point, where I cleaned up a mess one of my devs had gotten
themselves into (and which, frankly, I had screwed up and let them fall into).
I used the emails, wiki revision history, and commit logs to piece back
together what actually had happened. It's a lot different looking at things
after the fact, and saying "Oh, I guess we really did take that long to do
something...oh, interesting, yeah, we never had direction from the biz folks
here, here, and here, and that's where this kinda went off the rails."
As for keeping together a cohesive narrative, as much as I'd love to be able
to look at a bound volume of "The Trials and Tribulations of Angersock,
Software Engineer", the only inarguable records are the grey hairs, the worry
lines, and the eye tics.
Everything else is basically reality-by-consensus, even if you've got the
paper trail to claim otherwise.
Just let it go.
------
jonathaneunice
One of the real problem areas I haven't solved particularly well: For complex
project I might have several cloned repos or branches, each forked off to
solve a particular issue, develop a specific feature, or try a particular
approach. There doesn't seem to be a very good or integrated way to keep track
of the purpose or intention of each branch/repo. It can be very confusion when
trying to switch between them. "What was I doing in THIS repo? Where was I?
Where was I heading?"
I've tried keeping a file `THISBRANCH` in each with just a one or two line
"what's going on here?" description. Better than nothing--but it's not well-
integrated into other repo commands/actions, and is a pain when merging back
toward a more upstream repo. In general, Mercurial and Git don't seem to do a
very good job tracking "intent" metadata about each repo/branch.
------
jonathaneunice
A couple of techniques I've found useful:
1\. "New and Notable" philosophy. Clear focus on documenting what is new and
notable about each update. Putting it in a larger context than just "this
branch/this sprint" and making it meaningful to those who may not be deeply
embedded in the project. (Learned/adopted from the Eclipse project).
2\. Tagged comments. Be disciplined about tagging comments for specific
purposes, such as `# TODO:` or `# FIXME:`, so that those working inside code
can quickly jot down their thoughts and observations as they have them, while
working, yet they can also be consolidated by IDE views or external grep
scripts into broader reports about outstanding issues and options.
3\. Labeled commit messages. I often include "ATP" in commit messages, meaning
"all tests pass." While you might rightfully assume that actual releases or
even pushes to upstream repositories pass all tests as a condition of
release/push, my projects follow a "commit early, commit often" protocol that
sees many intermediate stages committed to local repos. Unless you're
committed to regularly and extensively pruning/grooming repo history, even
minor commits are going to be pushed upstream eventually. So I try to embed in
the messages shorthand notes about testing status. (A variation on this theme
is to include urls to CI test runs.)
4\. Diffable formats. Encode as many design notes, change logs, and other
project narrative information into Markdown, YAML, RST, or other formats that
can be easily diffed and tracked by version control systems over time.
Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, and Google Docs also have built-in change
tracking and collaboration features, making them another evolvable option,
albeit with slightly less transparency than pure text formats.
5\. Constant vigilance. A disciplined, repeated return to, and updating of,
change logs, release notes, design notes, to-do lists, tagged comments,
architecture descriptions, and the other documents that form the project
narrative.
------
stephengillie
I'm sorry, but I don't understand the value in keeping such a narrative. Maybe
it's inspiring to you, but it just demoralizes me to think "Well I had a month
of solid progress...then 3 months of nothing. I'd be done by now if Life
hadn't happened to me."
When I look at my self-driving trash can frame, or my fridge monitor, I don't
want to remind myself that I haven't had time to work on them since 2012. I
just want to start making progress again and having fun.
~~~
jonathaneunice
"The truth will set you free--but first it will make you miserable."
Less cynically and more constructively: If you have projects or components
that you weren't able to touch for a long while, then orienting notes seem
even more valuable. They can help reset your context and get you back up to
speed, working in a productive direction more quickly than if you come back to
a project and have to relearn what you were doing and where you were heading.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
ODNS: Oblivious DNS - discreditable
https://odns.cs.princeton.edu/
======
andimm
Previous discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16741031](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16741031)
------
dangerface
I was hoping this would be DNS with oblivious transfer, but its just a silly
proxy.
If you can snoop on an authoritative dns server then you can probably just
snoop on the authoritative odns server and break the scheme with no real cost.
For the odns server to scale it would probably be implemented by the same
people implementing dns servers, like ISPs and governments, the same people
doing the snooping.
It just looks weak in theory and broken in reality.
~~~
deaps
It still seems to have the same problem as DNS over TLS - that is that
_someone_ in that pipeline sees your query.
In the case of 'standard' DNS (unencrypted port 53 traffic) - anyone can
'snoop' (ISP, internet routers, etc) and the resolver can retain that
information.
In the case of DNS over TLS - it's the box the performs the decryption that
can retain that information.
In this case, the ODNS Stub can retain that information.
The only question is _who_ do you want to be able to view your queries. AKA
who do you trust the most (or possibly, who do you trust the least).
~~~
detaro
That _someone_ in the case of the stub could be your local machine or a
trusted router though. If your operating system environment knows ODNS, it
doesn't even have to be an extra piece of software.
~~~
deaps
Let's take the case that it's a local machine - on your local network - acting
as the ODNS Stub. The DNS request is then encrypted from your machine to the
trusted ODNS Stub - but then from that ODNS Stub out to some resolver on the
internet, there exists the DNS query (whether encrypted or unencrypted) -
sourced from your same public IP that your machine would have sourced it from
in the first place, correct?
I'm certain I don't understand the entirety of ODNS - but the basics still
have to exist - something still needs to make a query on behalf of the initial
user to some authoritative server (unless the answer is already cached). I
guess, what I'm picturing in this case, is that if the trusted resource (ODNS
Stub) exists in your local infrastructure, then the source outgoing to the
internet might as well just be your local machine in the first place - because
that's how 'the internet' sees it anyway.
Anyway, I'm all for making DNS more secure...and this seems to be one way to
change where your trust lies, but not a definitive solution, to me.
~~~
detaro
> _The DNS request is then encrypted from your machine to the trusted ODNS
> Stub_
No. The stub is doing the encryption and sending the encrypted query to a
resolver in the internet.
> _but then from that ODNS Stub out to some resolver on the internet, there
> exists the DNS query (whether encrypted or unencrypted)_
Yes. But since it's encrypted, the resolver only knows that I have made a DNS
request, not what the query is in it. The resolver can't decrypt it, it can
only pass it on to a server that can decrypt it, but won't be able to see your
source IP then.
I think they overstate the usefulness against the kind of attacker they
describe though, since such a powerful adversary could correlate across
servers.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Google Sidewiki Allows Anyone To Comment About Any Site - onreact-com
http://searchengineland.com/google-sidewiki-allows-anyone-to-comment-about-any-site-26420
======
req2
Dup.
<http://searchyc.com/sidewiki>
~~~
onreact-com
What is this? A forum? A link dump?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Justice, Mercy, Data, Evidence, BLM and QAnon - richeyrw
https://wearenotsaved.com/2020/08/26/justice-mercy-data-evidence-blm-and-qanon/
======
bediger4000
This is an interesting article, well researched and well written and well
argued. But it absolutely misses the entire point of Qanon, as have most or
all mainstream reports.
Qanon, at its core, is servile Trump worship. I'm not using "worship"
sarcastically or hyperbolicly, but rather more-or-less literally. The core of
the Qanon belief system is that Trump is basically correct about everything,
can do almost no wrong, and is close to all-powerful.
The fact remains that even a generous evaluation of Trump has him looking
weak, ineffectual, self-dealing, corrupt, poor at leadership, bad at picking
underlings, and for those of us who listened to the House Impeachment Inquiry
back in February, almost certainly a traitor. It's very hard to escape the
conclusion that Trump is corrupt and not good at being a President.
Since Qanon worships Trump, they have to find someone worse than him to
revile, to blame for Trump's problems, to scapegoat for Trump's failures. It's
tough to do for someone who looks as corrupt and divisive as Trump. So Qanon
fantasizes about "elite pedovores", or Luciferian Banking Cabals or Our
Pleidian Friends so that there's somebody out there actually worse than Trump
for Trump to fight.
~~~
lordvon
Have you talked to anyone who is familiar with Qanon (e.g. investigative
reporter, member, etc.)? They believe they are exposing wicked people in high
places behind human trafficking rings. I don't think anyone would admit to
being a 'servile Trump worshipper', neither a 'servile <insert political
figure> worshipper'. Whether they are on to something is another issue. I am
not part of Qanon, but I know characterizations such as yours are just wrong.
You really believe Trump is a traitor? Can you name 1 or more specific pieces
of evidence? I do not think Trump is a traitor, in fact I think he has been a
great president by his merits (in 2016 I was neutral). I love how he talks
about specific issues and solutions rather than vague platitudes. He is a
breath of fresh air, and that is why he was voted for (though I did not see
this in 2016). If he is a traitor, I would love to be enlightened of this and
obviously I would not support him. I think most people (such as yourself)
don't spend time looking into the claims by his political opponents that he is
a traitor. Also, if you support Trump you risk being fired.
~~~
bediger4000
Yes, I have engaged Qultists several times via Twitter. Every single time I
got defletion, phrases like "Do your own research", "Not.My.Job." in response
to requests for sources of information. I did my own research and decided
Qanon beliefs are essentially 99.5% false. The "elite pedovore" stuff is
falsifiable with only a few clicks and some simple geometry and arithmetic.
As far as Trump being a traitor: I cite the House Impeachment Inquiry - Hill,
Vindman and Sonderland all testified under oath to Trump doing things that are
a direct betrayal of the USA. The Mueller report and the Senate Intelligence
community reports all indicate that the Trump campaign, and Trump himself, not
only knew about and welcomed Russian election interference, but actually
coordinated with the Russians about it. If you need a sword statement from
Donald J. Trump that he did it, I can't provide that, but between House
Inquiry, Mueller report and SSCI reports, everyone that's not a judge or a
jury member knows Trump did some treason. So read all that and change your
mind.
I personally listened to the House Impeachment Inquiry back in February, and
read parts of the Mueller report and the Senate reports. I'm insulted that you
think I'm just mindlessly repeating some anonymous source's vague assertions.
How dare you?!?
Also, please cite someone merely supporting Trump and getting fired. Sources I
can look up and examine myself or it didn't happen.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
RWW Hacker Poll: Is OSX Still Developer Friendly? - rodh257
http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2011/04/hacker-poll-is-osx-still-developer-friendly.php#more
======
jarin
I just spent $1000 on a MacBook, but damned if I'm going to spend 5 bucks on
developer tools.
_drinks 6 energy drinks a day, has 5 pages of iPhone games_
------
poutine
Who are all these developers that can't spend $5 on a interim release of
developer tools? Perhaps they should reconsider being developers, just stick
with XCode 3 or wait for Lion.
So many people just seem to want to bitch about Apple because it makes them
feel better about their technology choices.
~~~
bradleyland
I really wish the author had excluded the $5 issue altogether, because for me,
it's completely irrelevant. It's all the other factors that drive me nuts.
* Download a large 4.5GB file
* Spend a decent amount of time installing XCode
* Sacrifice 15GB of disk space to an app they likely won't use
I upgraded to a 256 GB SSD in January. This means that every GB counts on my
disk. I never launch XCode. There are a couple of utilities included that are
useful, but I literally never use any of the XCode tools, and I have no
intention of developing an iOS application.
Running DaisyDisk against my /Developer folder shows that 8.4 GB of the space
is occupied by "Platforms", which contains iOS related platform and simulator
files.
For developers who don't develop specifically for OS X/iOS, there is a lot of
baggage here. I'd still happily pay the $5 if I could get a trimmed down
"XCode Express" install that didn't include any of the platform target stuff.
As it stands now, I'm afraid to delete it because I don't want to go through
the hassle of downloading and reinstalling (however you do that) such a large
package.
------
makecheck
Xcode is $5 on the App Store, but included in either (Mac or iOS) annual
developer program's $99.
What's more, so far App Store software updates have been free. So even if you
paid $5, it may be the last $5 until Xcode 5, if ever.
If you've ever had to build GCC from scratch, you'd be willing to pay $5 just
for that. And Apple gives you an IDE and by far the best interface to
performance tools I have ever seen (Instruments).
------
fourk
$5 is annoying, but not so much that is going to impact my decision regarding
a $2000+ purchase in the slightest.
Honestly I think they should just include an xcode license with any of the Pro
models.
~~~
jarin
I suspect it will be included for free with Lion. The $5 charge is consistent
with Apple's interpretation of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
~~~
ugh
It has been included for free with past versions of OS X. (And, consequently,
with every Mac Apple has sold as long as the developer tools have existed.)
This might well change but we don’t yet know.
------
HaloZero
Initial setup is always a one time-cost, it takes maybe a day of your time to
setup things on any computer (maybe it be Linux, Windows, or Mac).
The point is Mac still blends a good combination of Unix terminal, nice GUI,
and less hardware problems. I have to admit though, it really depends on what
type of developer you are.
I do web, so I mostly stay in the browser and the app (RoR/Django/etc), so not
many issues. Perhaps other type of developers need to use Linux or Windows for
their specific environments.
------
dlsspy
It would cost me considerably more than $5 to download xcode over my ATT
wireless connection.
It's a bit easier over my DSL, but they just started metering that really
tightly as well.
------
tzs
You can still get XCode 3 for free, and I believe you can also download the
command line version of gcc for free from Apple. Also, there has been no
indication that Apple is going to stop shipping the developer CD with every
new Mac.
------
w1ntermute
It's rather silly how big of a deal people are making about this. IMO, this
doesn't change how "developer friendly" OS X is.
There's no such thing as one set of requirements for all developers that OS X
either meets or doesn't. For a specific developer, it either met or didn't
meet your needs prior to this, and nothing should have changed because of
this.
------
cloudhead
I don't think OSX was ever really developer friendly, at least compared to
Linux.
~~~
cloudhead
I feel sorry for everyone who down-voted me.
~~~
jarin
I feel sorry for everyone who thinks Hacker News is a good place to start OS
flamewars.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Making Something From Nothing - prakash
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/01/making-somethin.html
======
pg
Art is a good example of pure wealth creation, but in his examples the numbers
are misleading. At the high end, art prices are driven mainly by brand and
scarcity. There is only room in people's minds for a limited number of famous
artists; rich boneheads want to buy the work of whoever's famous; more rich
boneheads than famous artists; pipe through law of supply and demand; result:
prices are outliers.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How I Achieved a 95.9% Open Rate - NoahBuscher
http://noahbuscher.com/engagement/
======
NoahBuscher
Feel free to ask anything!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Tinder must stop charging its older California users more for “Plus” features - hvo
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/01/tinder-must-stop-charging-its-older-california-users-more-for-plus-features/?comments=1&start=40
======
detaro
duplicate, please check before submitting:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16274114](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16274114)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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Internet Architecture Board on the Australian Assistance and Access Bill [pdf] - walterbell
https://www.iab.org/wp-content/IAB-uploads/2018/09/IAB-Comments-on-Australian-Assistance-and-Access-Bill-2018.pdf
======
rasengan
We, the people, have already been empowered[1] with tools that allow us to
route around essentially any internet legislation (legally, too).
Encrypt everything.
We no longer have to be naked in the “Garden of Eden.”
[1]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer_(cipher)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer_\(cipher\))
~~~
nine_k
You can trust your software only as much as you can trust your hardware. If
the hardware (or opaque firmware that you can't control) is specifically
furnished with a government-imposed backdoor, secretly from _everyone_ , then
software encryption may give you little.
Transparency / openness of hardware gives you more chance, but it's hard to
obtain.
~~~
umvi
It seems like even with open source hardware, if the manufacturer is not
trusted they could still inject a secret backdoor into it.
I'm both amazed and terrified that hardware has gotten so microscopic that
it's essentially impossible to be 100% sure that what you designed is exactly
what is on the chip.
~~~
nine_k
I believe that inspection of chips is possible, but it's really really
expensive, and necessarily destructive, so you can only test a random sample.
I think the military can / have to afford this; consumers who want a few
megaflops for a few cents have to trust the foundry.
~~~
fipsboy
While not perfect, you should check out FIPS 140-2 (and the forever in
progress FIPS 140-3).
------
rstuart4133
The bill was in gestation for 2 years. It's over 200 pages. They allowed 28
days for comment.
If it was a tactic, it didn't work. They received 14,000 responses on Monday
(the last day for submissions), presumably additional ones on previous days.
They came from all over the world - MIT submitted one.
They are required (by law) to read them all before responding. The have said
they would respond in a week. Someone is going to working long hours.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
CTO Lunches - mooreds
https://ctolunches.com/
======
Roritharr
We had/have a group like this in my city. It's kept to a minimum of
interactions as it usually descends into war-story exchange quickly. It's a
great way to open up some backchannels that might come in handy, but I didn't
get anything more valuable out of it that reading some in-depth blog articles
wouldn't have given me.
~~~
1337biz
Sounds like it was a social group were people enjoyed having some peers
chatting with. Not a research group on cutting edge technology issues.
Contentwise the real world can rarely compete with the internet...
~~~
Roritharr
Oh indeed it was, it's just that at this point I can take any group of
friendly devs to chat and don't need much CTO glitz around it.
------
gregoriol
Stopped reading at "Group sponsorship by developer focused companies", this
sounds so bad when just before they said "no recruiters, no sales people, no
gimmicks." => pick one of these two, can't have both at the same time!
~~~
mooreds
I have been a member of the Boulder group for over a year and the sponsorship
is relatively new. Before then there was no website, just an email list, and
lunch was just pay as you go (which, with 15 people, was a bit of a pain when
we got the check).
As far as I can tell, the influence of the sponsor is limited to a thank you
at lunch and a shout out on the website. But I understand your concern about
the tension. This is something that every volunteer organization or meetup
group struggles with:
1\. It usually costs money to put on an event worth going to. Not a ton, but
food, beverages and space aren't free.
2\. People prefer free (and tech people tend to expect free).
I know another meetup that struggled for years trying to solve this problem,
and never found a satisfactory answer.
The answers I have seen work for groups are:
1\. Find sponsors and thank them
2\. Charge a membership fee
3\. Only do free stuff (meet in the library, or a park)
4\. Have the meetup organizer pay out of pocket (a different kind of
sponsorship)
5\. Be lucky enough to have already acquired some kind of income generation
(typically an older established gepup like a fraternal order)
It's a tough problem.
~~~
CamTin
These are all ostensibly people with high-upper-quintile incomes at minimum.
Is it really out of line to just have everybody pay their own lunch check?
~~~
mooreds
No, that's fine, and how things operated for years. Not sure how free lunch
really helps attract more folks. However, that doesn't help with other
infrastructure like the website, unless you want to ask organizers to pay out
of their pocket.
You'd have to ask Miles (who commented above) why he made the switch to
sponsorship.
~~~
miles_matthias
I replied directly above, but the other reason sponsorship is attractive is
because it's hard to host a group of 20-30 people for lunch usually.
We've lucked out in Boulder & Denver where we can make a reservation for that
big, but a lot of places I've talked to want event fees, so I'm still going to
avoid that, but it'd be nice to have the option.
------
aaronblohowiak
For a digital version, the Rands leadership slack is a nice virtual community.
~~~
miles_matthias
I'm a member of Rands too, and I do think it adds some value, but I started
this group as an email group because I generally don't think Slack works well
for communities. It's one thing for Slack to be used at the workplace where
people are usually "always on", but for a community, it's hard to have high
value, long form discussions.
The email list discussions have blown me away. People will literally write 10
paragraph emails about their decades of experience, and because it's not in a
chat format, all members can check their email whenever and see the thread.
------
seattle_spring
Is this for real CTOs, or "CTO"s of companies of 1, just out of bootcamp?
~~~
miles_matthias
It's for engineering leaders. We don't have anyone who is the "CTO of a
company of 1, just out of a bootcamp", but here are some of the profiles of
people we have:
1\. CTOs & VPs of Engineering of VC backed, bootstrapped, or publicly traded,
companies with employee counts of 10-5,000. This makes up the bulk of the
members (probably 90%).
2\. Engineers who have started their own companies as CEO. They're engineers,
have been their entire life, and still do some coding because they love it,
but now they happen to also be responsible for other stuff. (5%)
3\. CTOs of new startups, out of an accelerator (usually Techstars, Boomtown,
or YC). They're teams > 3, so this type of CTO still does a fair bit of
coding, but also manages a few resources (either FT, PT, or outsourced) to get
engineering done. Their goal is to learn from all the experience in the group.
(5%)
~~~
ChuckMcM
This is a better definition, the role of CTO changes dramatically as the
company grows. Steve Kleiman (NetApp's CTO) used to joke that a CTO was just a
VP of Engineering who failed at Managing people. And while it is funny its
also got a hint of truth.
But when you look at Engineering leadership, when you're small (one
engineering team) that means the CTO can talk to any engineer and understand
and advise them on the technical goals of the product and the processes by
which that product is being produced.
As you get larger the CTO needs to be able to explain to a customer's
technical staff why their product is the way it is, and how that relates to
what the customer wants to do with it. At this point you are probably
mentoring more people than managing them, having hired managers for the day to
day.
Larger still and the CTO is not only helping customer's see the value, they
are watching the changes in the technology that are going to make the current
products obsolete in 3 to 5 years. They spend a lot of time looking forward so
that they can warn the engineering leadership when it is time to swerve.
Once you're an "Enterprise company" there are now lots of people who are the
CTO of this, or the CTO of that. But the actual CTO is an integral part of the
executive staff who is keeping the enterprise value up by, most likely,
working with the M&A team to acquire companies that will shore up gaps in the
strategy.
------
miles_matthias
Founder of CTO Lunches here. (Thanks @moreds for submitting)
Ask me any questions you have!
~~~
pouta
Not really a CTO when I only have 3 people in my team, should I try to join?
~~~
gregoriol
CTO is just a title. I'm not in these groups but I think (and hope) it's not
about the title, but about the things you would talk about.
You could be CTO in a company of just 1 and having a lot of interesting things
to bring to a discussion, and could be a CTO in a company of 10'000 and be
dull and worthless in a discussion. You could even not be a "CTO" but a
skilled dev with experience and a lot of interesting things to say.
------
stereobit
Would love to have a London group
~~~
mothsonasloth
Dude there is already a tonne of things like this. Just go on Meetup for
London area (e.g. CTO craft London)
I'll be frank, most of the time these lunches / socials are a waste of time.
Why, well there are mostly two types of people that go to them:
* the wunderkids who are there to evangelize their amazing product that they built using Haskell and a C++ engine. They aren't really interested in anybody else (fair enough).
* the recruiters / poachers / ruby fanboys __, who are there to get you signed up.
__sorry Ruby fanboys /fangirls; I had to pick on someone.
~~~
miles_matthias
Preach!
This is exactly why I started this group though, to try to avoid this. I try
to avoid this with a few tactics:
1\. Every social event for developers or nerds like me has been awkward as
hell. No one wants to stand in the corner with a beer avoiding people, or
shouting over loud ass music. The lunch format has helped avoid that. I've
really found that breaking bread and sitting down with food in front of you
makes a big difference in the social interactions and the people that feel
comfortable coming. You end up making high value connections with the 1-2
people sitting next to you.
2\. Local captains are engineering leaders themselves, and they hand curate
the group, and kick people out if they're being all sales-y. I curate the
Boulder lunch, and it's all engineering leaders facing the same problems. No
one except engineering leaders are allowed to come. The only exception to that
is our first sponsor, name.com, who sends their 1 community outreach person to
eat lunch, chit chat (not a pitch to the whole group), and picks up the tab at
the Boulder lunch.
3\. The email list provides so much additional value to the group, and because
it's email (as opposed to group chat), people love writing long responses and
participating over time (sometimes hours, days, or weeks after the last email
in the thread has been sent), not just participating in the fleeting moment of
a group chat discussion.
~~~
tixocloud
Would love to join but the challenge being that I'm north of UK - would love
to connect with CTOs outside of the UK to get a pulse of things around the
world.
~~~
miles_matthias
That's what the email list is for :)
Join the waitlist!
------
andrew_
It would be great if this was open to people who want to make the leap to CTO.
Sounds like a good opportunity to learn from others who are already there.
~~~
miles_matthias
Apply with your background and we can take a look. That is one of the
intentions though.
------
jordanas
Hi all, Just posting to add depth to the dialogue:
I run a community called enrich (joinenrich.com), which connects
CTOs/Engineering Leaders with their peers to form more real connections - so
you can call folks on a whim.
Total focus is on developing more long-term, authentic relationships. No
sponsorship. Ping me if interested.
~~~
mooreds
Seems like a great idea. How often do people typically connect (weekly,
monthly, etc)? Who does the matching (you, random, the requestor)?
FYI, the hamburger menu on your mobile site is empty for Firefox and chrome.
~~~
jordanas
pardon the delay here! We do the matching - based on historical data on what
makes a match "work." Groups formally connect monthly, but folks meet in
between meetings at their leisure.
And thank you on the hamburger comment!
------
brokenwren
Let's be clear - CTO stands for Chief Technology Officer. If you break the
title into sections you'll have a clear picture of what that means.
Chief -> Top, big cheese, main dude (or dudette)
Technology -> Like computers and stuff
Officer -> Simple definition: "Officers are responsible for the management and
day-to-day operations of the corporation." You know, like making decisions and
helping the company be successful.
If you fit into that description, even if you don't have that specific title,
you are acting as a CTO. Lots of VPs of Engineering fit into that title. So do
lots of CEOs of software companies.
------
robertk
Hit me up if you’re in Chicago.
~~~
miles_matthias
Let's start a Chicago one :)
------
JohnnyConatus
NYC group?
~~~
miles_matthias
Shoot me an email!
------
dmak
Tokyo Group?
~~~
miles_matthias
Shoot me an email and we'll get it going!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Does a service that offers quick prototype/MVP creation interest anyone? - seanpackham
Using various automation techniques this service would offer web and mobile prototype or MVP development at a fraction of the cost and time. Would people thinking of going the startup route be interested in using such a service to test and validate ideas, have something to show to pitch to investors, cut costs and save time?
======
whichdan
What sort of pricepoints are you looking at?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Jet-Powered Flying Taxi Startup Seeks Safety Approval - pseudolus
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-17/jet-powered-flying-taxi-startup-lilium-seeks-safety-approval
======
kheyanne
It's exciting to see how startup redefines the world as we see it. If this new
mode of transportation pushes through then traveling has just gotten a lot
faster. Hopefully, it's going to be a lot safer as well.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Do employers pay for Open Source work? - tomaszs
Recruiters sometimes ask about open source project work. That leads to a question. Do companies designate a fixed ammount of paid hours per day/week/month to work on these? What is your experience? How many hours of open source work does your employer pay you for?
======
HiddenCanary
I've not come across any companies that pay for open-source work if thats not
your primary role.
The reason that many recruiters ask if you contribute to open-source projects
is because it shows you have a passion for software development, because you
work on it in your spare time even if you are not being paid to do it.
Therefore an employer is more likely to choose you rather than someone who
just does it for a job.
~~~
tomaszs
Several following question pop up:
\- Is requiring from a person doing a job after job instead of fulfilling
private obligations fair?
\- Is this a good measure of passion , and moreover responsibility? People
with private obligations are discriminated with this measure. They can be
passionate during work but can not prove it, because they don't have time
after work for contribution.
\- If someone really is passionate about contributing to open source and a
company also indicates it is a job qualifications measure - should't the
company also be passionate and designate paid time for contribution?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Simulate new name suggestions for software and company names - hedoban
https://pypi.org/project/sng/
======
hedoban
I started dabbling in neural networks and we had to come up with a startup
name. It took us 2 weeks per name, and they all were already taken.
This Python package learns the "style" of words (e.g. Celtic, German, Orcish,
Pokemon-style) through a supplied text corpus, then simulates new names in
that style.
It might help some of you in quickly finding a new name if you already know
the "style" it should sound like.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Developers should keep their team when changing jobs - mikeyanderson
http://blog.goelevator.com/developers-should-keep-their-team-when-changing-jobs/
======
mikeyanderson
I would love to here about more teams than the ones I mention here that have
done this. We've been finding tons of folks just in Seattle and I know there
must be dozens of stories.
------
imjakechapman
Signed up and adding my team.
~~~
mikeyanderson
Rad. Let me know if you have any feedback.
------
perryazevedo
Sweet idea!
------
jesseadam
Great read thanks Mike
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: With such fast changes in technology, how do you update your skillset? - ak93
AI/VR and slowly lot more. I am getting quite anxious if my skillset might go obsolete.
======
pjc50
To be honest, it isn't and I don't.
That sounds rather blunt, but most organisations _that aren 't startups_ don't
change technology quickly if at all. C++ has served me well for two decades; I
probably ought to adopt C++14 but on the other hand my current job requires
that the codebase build with a 2008 compiler.
I'm also extremely skeptical of the extent to which AI and VR are _new_ , as
opposed to incremental improvements to technology which takes it over an
adoption barrier. Have you seen the 80s VR headsets? SHRDLU? The "AI winter"?
If you're worried about this stuff then it's helpful to develop a level of
knowledge about it that's slightly higher than _Wired_ but lower than actual
implementation detail, in order to talk about it in interviews. You can then
pick this stuff up as you go. Machine learning in particular is maths-heavy,
matrix algebra in particular, and _that_ 's never going to go obsolete.
I also agree with the commentators who are saying that you should ignore the
latest flash-in-the-pan frameworks unless you really have to to get frontend
gigs.
~~~
riprowan
I completely agree with you.
I started in this field in 1992. I've seen the coming and goings of many
flash-in-the-pan technologies.
If you are a dev and are selling yourself on your skillset, ask yourself, "is
this sustainable?" The answer is "no." A fifty-year-old brain simply does not
absorb new technologies as fast as a 25-year-old-brain. If your plan is to
continually adopt new cutting edge technologies in order to stay marketable, I
politely submit you need to rethink your long term plan.
As an almost 50-year-old, I promise you that the world is not a gentle place
for older devs. Plan your exit into management, a related field, or some other
job altogether. If you expect to be a coder at age 50 you're going to be
disappointed.
As for me, I jettisoned the "technical skill set" war decades ago. I do not
sell myself on my technical skill set. I sell myself as the ultimate
generalist. This comes with its own set of problems. However, it has allowed
me to age more gracefully in my field, because I do not create the expectation
that my primary value-added is code generation.
~~~
jballanc
> Plan your exit into management, a related field, or some other job
> altogether. If you expect to be a coder at age 50 you're going to be
> disappointed.
I'd like to simultaneously disagree and agree with you. If you were a 50 year
old coder 10 years ago, then your only hope of remaining in the tech industry
would be to add "Manager" to your job title. If you are a 50 year old coder
today, that's still a sound direction to go, but increasingly becoming less
necessary. If you'll be a 50 year old coder 10 years from now...I think you'll
be ok.
Yes, at 50 you almost certainly cannot crank out as much code as you can at
20, but so what? As a coder it is important to understand that most problems
in technology are _not_ solved with more code, but less. That you will
generate less code at 50 should be seen as a benefit. The advantage you have
at 50 over someone who is fresh and new at 20 is that you can recognize that
there is very little that's happened in the last 30 years that is _genuinely_
new.
So, if you are 20, go ahead and spend your weekends on side projects learning
the latest frameworks. As you continue to do this over the years and decades,
shift to focusing more on patterns. By the time you reach 50, you might only
generate half as much code as your younger colleagues, but you should be able
to solve problems with a quarter of the code required, still making you twice
as efficient as them.
When coding was new, code was the only metric by which to measure coders, and
non-technical management types would view anyone who generated less code as
less valuable. If you're not writing 500 lines of code a day, the argument
goes, then you should be managing coders who can. But management and problem
solving are not a completely overlapping skill set. Some engineers make good
managers, but most do not.
Luckily, the more technically inclined individuals that populate the ranks of
company management, the more this is being recognized and the more these
companies are willing to hire the 50-year-old-coder-who-codes-less-but-solves-
more-problems.
~~~
bsenftner
I'm seeing a lot of mythic stereotypes here. I am a 52 year old full time
coder, and have been actively developing since taking a college pascal class
at age 11.
> If you were a 50 year old coder 10 years ago, then your only hope of
> remaining in the tech industry would be to add "Manager" to your job title.
People outside the startup bubble value delivering, regardless of age.
Developers outside the startup bubble work consistently in a few areas of
technology, they develop deep personal understandings with cookbook / solution
/ frameworks they personally authored enabling them to construct stable
solutions that expertly address the problems being addressed.
Essentially, if you remain a "coder" and you use your brain at all above
simply being a coder, you will become a software scientist. I never start
anything from scratch, as I have about a dozen application skeletons ready for
various specific purposes, plus similar libraries I wrote, plus a knowledge of
several large commercial SDKs, and developer experience in several major FOSS
applications. The work that I do now would give my 20 or 30 year old self a
heart attack with the large scope, number of complex technologies, and the
time frame I'm expected to deliver. But I've been writing code for 40 years
now, and I may bitch at my tools, but it will deliver, it will be well
written, fully documented, and so on because anything less just creates
technical debt.
If you like writing code, start acting like a scientist about it. Few
developers do, and in time you will accelerate away from your peers into a
truly enjoyable professional space very few seem to occupy.
~~~
morbidhawk
> I never start anything from scratch, as I have about a dozen application
> skeletons ready for various specific purposes, plus similar libraries I
> wrote, plus a knowledge of several large commercial SDKs, and developer
> experience in several major FOSS applications
I've had a project manager (very insightful guy) tell me something similar
before. He said "as you get more experienced you'll (ideally) write less code
and instead reuse code from libraries you've written in the past". I've always
wondered how that works for someone? I'm assuming certain projects will have
requirements where specific technologies would be used in the front-end and
persistent layers depending on the kind of project you are building and so
those wouldn't be as reusable but perhaps algorithms you've written before
might be reusable on the computational side of things. Like perhaps if you had
a library that handles very advanced moving cost calculations you could
ideally use that same library in different software forms (mobile, web,
desktop, command-line).
Edit: Git might be a good example of a library that can be reused a lot and
used within many kinds of applications (IE: inside web app, within IDE, from
command-line, desktop app, etc)
~~~
webmaven
Git is not a library, it's a program. There are, of course, libraries in many
languages for using git[0] from within many other kinds of applications.
Another example of a library would be libjpeg[1] for reading and writing the
jpeg image format and dealing with all the different ways the format can be
adjusted, which gets incorporated into many applications, for example
ImageMagick[2].
Basically, a library consists of code that is intended to be reused by calling
it from other code.
[0] It's astonishing how often this gets reinvented. Here are just Python
libraries:
[https://pypi.python.org/pypi?%3Aaction=search&term=git](https://pypi.python.org/pypi?%3Aaction=search&term=git)
[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libjpeg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libjpeg)
[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageMagick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageMagick)
~~~
morbidhawk
> It's astonishing how often this gets reinvented
Wow, I'd only heard of libgit2 before. I can't believe how many git-related
python packages there are. Yes git isn't a library, it's a program like you
said, good catch
------
throwaway6845
It may not be in the spirit of HN, but deliberately being 3 years behind on
the latest technologies is a really good way to stay employable without
driving yourself mad keeping up with the latest and greatest. After 3 years,
the flash-in-the-pans and the duds have been winnowed out and you can just
concentrate on the stuff which will earn you paying gigs.
~~~
oblib
I agree with that. I don't think it's counter to the spirit of HN. I build
apps for clients with the tools I know I'm proficient with but I play and hack
a lot too. Sometimes that leads to use with client software though more often
it doesn't, but learning is always good.
------
DanielBMarkham
Learn patterns and pop up the abstraction level.
There are only a few patterns in programming: imperative, OO, functional, etc.
Learn those.
There are only a few abstraction levels in problem solving: meta, business,
system, physical. Learn those.
There are only a few types of patterns in ML and Big Data. Looks like it's
time to learn those.
But the principle is the same. Learn the patterns of various _forms_ of
solutions, not actual languages or tech (they'll be required, of course, but
they're only a prop). Be able to move between these various patterns. Then
deep dive from time to time on various projects in each area.
We've passed the point where a person could keep up long ago. Now it's simply
about being both broad and deep at the same time. T-shaped people. If you want
to make a lot of money you can be that one guy who knows everything about some
tiny point -- but you'd better hope that point doesn't become obsolete in ten
or twenty years. I've seen this happen far too often in tech.
~~~
rubicon33
I've wrestled with this question virtually since the day I began coding
professionally:
Should I become an expert at one language/domain, or, should I constantly
learn new things and change roles?
I've done the latter, and I don't know yet if it will have been worth while. I
worry about being a "jack of all trades, master of none". Yet, as you point
out, a master of one trade had better hope it doesn't become obsolete in their
life time.
So my hope is that the investment in learning, and adapting, will pay off in
the long haul. I can write an iOS app, I can write an android app, I can code
a backend server in scala + akka, or I can write a backend server in PHP. Can
I do these things as well or as quickly as a master in each domain? Certainly
not.
~~~
d0m
You say "or" but it can be "and". Best is to be an expert in one, "and" having
a jack of all trades experience. I.e. you can specialize in front-end work
with framework X, but doesn't mean you can't have experience with optimizing
db queries. I think a big part of how to do that is just to stay curious and
learn new things for the fun, while having a go to language to get things done
efficiently.
~~~
webmaven
_> You say "or" but it can be "and". Best is to be an expert in one, "and"
having a jack of all trades experience._
Whether that is possible depends on the definition of "mastery" that you use,
and how broadly you construe "all".
TL/DR: Even generalists have become much more specialized over time.
Consider that "web design" circa 1996 used to include project management, end-
to-end development, PR, search engine placement, graphic design, copy
writing/editing, information architecture, browser testing, server
administration, domain registration, email configuration, etcetera, etcetera.
Over the past two decades, these tasks and many more besides have swollen to
bursting, splitting into entire subdisciplines (some of which have endured,
others not so much) and in some cases re-merging into new hybrids.
There is no way for anyone to maintain more than passing familiarity, much
less competency, with _every_ aspect of building and launching a non-trivial
website (much less a web application). At best, we'll wing it on personal
projects, or even skip major .
These days, what passes for a generalist is the "full-stack developer", which
pretty much leaves off everything that doesn't have to do with code, or
outsources tasks like design to 3rd-party services (eg. Netlify), libraries
(eg. Bootstrap), themes, and so on.
I expect this trend to continue and even accelerate, so don't drive yourself
nuts trying to keep up with the developments across everything you do today. I
guarantee that whatever you consider to be the set of skills a generalist
should understand now, it will get narrower over time (but not shorter), and
we will have as many kinds of generalist as there are specialists today.
I am pretty sure that the "serverless" trend will lead to a new breed of
"middleware developer" that works on various sorts of smart caching proxies,
for example.
My advice is to try and be strategic in the things you _drop_ and no longer
keep up with, and keep the things that you _do_ maintain competencies in
adjacent to each other and to one or two main areas of expertise.
------
twelve40
Have to do side projects. In my past life, I was getting sucked into becoming
a very conservative tech stack lifer at a huge, all-encompassing company. Most
people that surrounded me, even the good, hard-working ones, were 9-5 and
expressed surprise and hostility to learning anything outside of the company
bubble. Then one day a new, more active guy joined our team and whipped up a
complete REST-based service in a week. My mind=blown. I quit for the startups,
and moved on to using dozens of different stacks since and never looked back.
The best, most educating moments typically happened outside of work, when you
combine the patterns and observations from work with a different stack or a
smart outsider friend who chimes in on your daily struggles from a surprising
different angle.
Another enlightening moment for me was when I was working on a hobby machine
learning project, and shared my design concerns with a brilliant but very much
non-ML coworker, and all of a sudden that coworker laid out the whole design
in a pretty convincing detail, like he's been doing this work for years. After
the initial shock from his seemingly birth-given ML skills, I noticed that he
simply takes a lot of good online classes and goes through all the top ML
material on the web in his spare time, even though it was irrelevant to his
tech focus at the time. Well guess what, two years later he got promoted and
he's making that sweet data science money, and guess where he would have been
if he only focused on his old day-to-day instead.
------
xiaoma
My current strategy has a bit of complexity and might take an entire blog post
to explain clearly. The high level view is this:
Skills vary both in how much the market values them and in their durability.
There's often a trade-off between these two characteristics. For example, half
a year's worth of study in a foreign language or pure math is only somewhat
valuable to the market but that value doesn't tend to decrease over the years.
Learning AngularJS in 2013, on the other hand, was so highly valued by the job
market that it was a great way for junior programmers with no degree to break
into a software engineering career.
I believe it's best to generally focus most learning efforts on durable
skills, but occasionally when there's an opening, to flop and focus 100% on an
ephemeral skill that's highly valued and appears likely to be even more highly
valued in the near future. After capitalizing on the opportunity, return to
mostly focusing on durable skills.
------
itamarst
A lot of the technology on the bleeding edge will be gone in a couple of
years. AngularJS v1 used to be the next big thing, now it's obsolete. Who
knows if v2 will stick around.
So following the latest technology in _detail_ is unnecessary. Far more useful
is just having a broad sense of what tools are available out there; it takes
less time, and it's more useful since it gives you access to a broader set of
tools on-demand.
Beyond technology, the things that persist are much more fundamental skills:
1\. Ability to read a new code base, and ability to quickly learn a new
technology.
If you can do this you don't need to worry about new technologies since you
can always learn them as needed. E.g I just wrote a patch for a Ruby project
(Sinatra) at work even though I don't really know Ruby and never saw the
codebase before. It got accepted, too.
2\. Ability to figure out what the _real_ problem is, what the _real_ business
goal is. This makes you a really valuable employee.
Technology is just a tool. More fundamental skills are your real value.
More detailed write-up on how to keep up without giving up your life:
[https://codewithoutrules.com/2017/01/11/your-job-is-not-
your...](https://codewithoutrules.com/2017/01/11/your-job-is-not-your-life/)
~~~
cableshaft
While Angular 1 might be 'obselete', there's still a lot of corporations out
there with tons of Angular 1 code, and most of them are not going to be
upgrading anytime soon. Angular 2 is enough of a paradigm shift that it would
require rewriting those apps from scratch, pretty much, and there won't be a
business need to do so for another 5+ years for a lot of these companies.
We're still doing new apps in Angular 1 here, because everyone knows it, we
can reuse more code, we know most of its quirks and how to squeeze performance
out of it, and we can get the apps out the door a lot faster. Eventually we
will have a new project where we decide to use something more current, though.
~~~
itamarst
The point is not that Angular 1 is bad somehow.
The point is that trying to keep up with _all_ bleeding edge technology is a
waste of time, because it's constantly being replaced.
While at the same time you need to learn whatever technology you use at work,
which may _not_ be the latest-and-greatest.
------
Applejinx
Depends. I'm shepherding
[http://www.airwindows.com/](http://www.airwindows.com/) through a switch to
Patreon, by expressing new DSP ideas in a context of very, very old audio
plugin frameworks. The dev tools I'm using won't even work on current
computers. I code on a time capsule laptop and depend on the very simplified
plugin formats I've chosen (generic interface AU and VST) to remain
functional. They'd have to break the most fundamental interfaces to kill my
stuff (which doesn't make it impossible to do, just very user-hostile)
Don't confuse advances in technology with intentional churn generated by
vendors and platforms. The latter is a plague, and it doesn't only cost people
money, it costs them productivity. You may be getting confused and mistaking
skillset for toolset. Large companies will always be able to replace your
toolset and demand you learn a whole new one, because the more you do, the
more you'll be locked in to their toolset. If you can abstract out the
functions being implemented and express them in different ways, you can take
your skillset different places.
Whether you do that, depends on how good you are at finding niche markets. As
someone who's stayed in business for ten years selling GUI-less audio plugins
with no advertising and no DRM of any sort, I can tell you (1) niche markets
exist and they're loyal, and (2) they're small, which is what makes them
niche. :)
~~~
walterbell
_> Don't confuse advances in technology with intentional churn generated by
vendors and platforms. The latter is a plague, and it doesn't only cost people
money, it costs them productivity._
Do you think churn is intentional within a single vendor, e.g. to force
upgrades? Could churn be a by-product of competition between vendors, e.g. AWS
refactored most of enterprise computing into "low-end" services that steadily
improved, but were proprietary and increased lock-in.
_> The dev tools I'm using won't even work on current computers. I code on a
time capsule laptop and depend on the very simplified plugin formats I've
chosen (generic interface AU and VST) to remain functional._
Is the time capsule laptop for old operating systems or old hardware? COuld
the old operating systems work in a virtual machine?
_> They'd have to break the most fundamental interfaces to kill my stuff
(which doesn't make it impossible to do, just very user-hostile)_
Apple tried to get ride of files (!) entirely, but they are slowly making a
comeback on iOS, e.g. now you can insert an attachment within an email, with
the right application plugin. Social networks have done their best to replace
RSS push notifications with proprietary pubsub. WebDAV, CalDAV, CardDAV are
thankfully still supported by a few good apps.
_> niche markets exist and they're loyal, and (2) they're small, which is
what makes them niche. _
How do you market your services/products within your niche?
~~~
Applejinx
Yes, I do. Forcing upgrades is just another way to force sales, and that's
competition. Churn happens.
The old laptop is just the most convenient sort of virtual machine. At some
point it'll be easier to run a virtual time capsule laptop… however, the
physical time capsule laptop is from a time before intense spyware, so there
are security issues as well.
As far as niches, Airwindows doesn't market at all. It's only word of mouth,
for ten years, with few exceptions (notably, Console2 got reviewed in Tape Op,
a trade magazine). This is personal: I loathe getting harassed by marketers so
much that I won't even email, much less advertise. I collected a list of the
'Kagi generation' customers who specifically said they wanted to be on a
mailing list and hear from me that way. And then I haven't emailed anything to
them for months and months :) So, effectively, my business is 'for people who
hate marketing so much that they want to do business with someone who will
absolutely leave them alone and not bug them'.
By definition this is a niche to starve in, but it's sincere. I really do hate
most everything about marketing, so I simply will not do it. Sometimes when I
have a notable post or product I leave out the patreon link on purpose :)
~~~
walterbell
Haha, new marketing category: product only available for purchase in a 24-hour
period that happens twice a year, or on a date decided by the roll of a dice
in a youtube video, or by solving a puzzle, or .. :)
~~~
Applejinx
But you're still saying 'purchase', and my market sector is completely
dominated by software piracy to the point where it's choking on sketchy and
unreliable DRM.
More like, 'new' marketing category: Trust Building Exercise. Attempt to give
everything possible away, and see if social pressure can cause a lot of people
to go 'yay!' and throw money. Hence the Patreon with literally no tiers above
1$, with at least half the patrons from 2$ to 10$ on their own volition.
The trouble with that (speaking as someone who has some notion of marketing
but chooses to undermine it) is, it's one of those power-law relationships
where basically you have to be me to do it :) without ten years of sorta
grassroots presence in the industry and a large number of successful products
that perform well as software, you can't do it. You can't simply start up and
have a Patreon work on those terms, even if your products are exactly as good,
and this is a problem.
Solving that would be a very big deal but it's a bit beyond me for now…
------
avip
3 steps program (specially crafted for the aged)
===============
0\. Assume any "new" thing is worse than the "old" alternative - until proven
otherwise.
1\. Critically filter out hype/PR.
2\. You're left with much less to learn.
3\. Invest "out-of-work" time in something really valuable.
~~~
d0m
Yep, totally agree. And I think the more experience you have, the easier it
gets to filter out the crap.
------
sapeien
It depends on what you already know, I think embedded development with systems
level languages and hardware know-how is a very durable skill.
On the other hand, some fields like web development have peaked a while ago, I
would argue that 2012 was the high watermark. I think it's a very precarious
choice of career right now. It has been steadily going downhill since the
introduction of trendy front-end frameworks that don't offer any value to the
end user (including React, Angular, et al). The culture stopped being about
making usable and accessible interfaces for people, and more about "component
architecture", "server-side rendering", "tree shaking", that solve problems
created by the very tools they are using.
That isn't to say that web development is dead, but I think that the future
will be more specialized around certain features of the platform such as
WebAssembly, WebRTC, WebGL, Web Audio, et al. And these will be more readily
picked up by people with more durable skills, than those who only know the
most popular front-end framework.
~~~
webmaven
_> The culture stopped being about making usable and accessible interfaces for
people, and more about "component architecture", "server-side rendering",
"tree shaking", that solve problems created by the very tools they are using._
Speaking as a confirmed cynic, that seems overly cynical. ;-)
The problems being solved by the web framework hamster wheel are those of
rising bars for usability and speed, with measurable in $$$ effects (ie. an
extra 1s delay could increase shopping-cart abandonment rate by 1.5%). Which
matters a lot more at web-scale.
So, these trendy frameworks are solving problems that most developers
shouldn't worry about (it is premature optimization) but that matter a great
deal to the companies that release them (Google: Angular and Polymer;
Facebook: React and Flux; etc.). OTOH, it is tempting to tap into of all the
engineering effort that goes into libraries like these. You just have to know
where to stop before sinking into the HammerFactoryFactory mire. ;-)
------
wheelerwj
Just like you have to fight feature creep in your products, you have to fight
"shiny new tool / language / framework" creep in your skillset. Become an
expert in your topic of choice and use the best tools to get it done quickly,
whether its 20 years old or two. If you spend too much time learning new tech,
you won't get it done quickly, but you shouldn't force an old tool to do
something just because you don't want to learn something new.
As for the anxiety, turn off HN every so often and just focus on being a good
engineer with your current tools. Nothing changes so fast that you can't go a
few months or even a year without being in the know. When it comes time to
stsrt a new project, spend a week researching the current tools and see how
they fit into your stack.
------
AnthonBerg
Understand the principles behind things. Most stuff is reinventing the wheels
of implementation of a much smaller base of theories.
------
krasicki
To give you some context, I'll answer this as a [largely] life-long
consultant. As such, I don't chase technology, I anticipate the trajectory of
job growth. I want the project that I decide to work on next to propel me to a
project that will likewise broaden and deepen the experience and skillset I
have to offer. <p>I also try not to get trapped into working for clients whose
only interest in my experience is to recreate one of the last things I did.
The easiest way to kill your value is to do the same thing over and over -
even twice is too much.
It's true technology progresses in dog years. When you are working you are not
learning outside that bubble. When you are between assignments you absolutely
must treat that time as a sabbatical to learn something/anything new.
By broadening your skillset through selective project engagement, you are
better off than Skippy who has worked on the same application with great job
security for 5 years - Skippy will not be someone you will re-encounter 10
years from now unless you are buying a used car and they happen to be the
sales person. The industry is self-selective this way. The complacent "I got
mine" mentality is toxic to longevity in the industry.
Let me also dispell the meme that sticking to a specialty is a desirable
thing. The fact of the matter is that the ocean of legacy code grows
exponentially and there is always a need for someone who knows a legacy
language or technology. this kind of career trajectory is as desirable as
cleaning out septic tanks. There's job security to be had and you'll hear
plenty of "Ho, ho, ho - I don't need no stinkin' new fangled whatever" to be
indispensible. My advice is not to be that guy/gal.
It is a much harder and a much richer experience to navigate a career in the
flow of technology than to get myopically paralyzed by a desire to featherbed
where you are today. But your question is "how" to keep up. IMO, the answer is
to skim lots of material and only dive in at the last most relevant moment.
The generalist is far more qualified that the specialist these days because
most companies cannot afford a prima donna - they need people who can perform
many jobs and serve many needs.
------
oelmekki
For me, the answer is side projects. I keep playing with new ideas, and use
new techs by the way.
It not only allows me to discover the tech, it's also especially important
because I refuse to make first contact with a tech by implementing it directly
in a production project meant to stay around for years. The most projects I've
used a new tech in before introducing it in my main project, the more
comfortable I am that I did not do gross mistakes.
For me, it's not the amount of time using a new tech that matters, it's the
amount of projects I used it in (because each time, I can try a different
architecture).
------
crdoconnor
I developed a checklist to spot technologies that are in an early stage of the
hype cycle and avoid them.
The following are signals that a technology is in and early part of the hype
cycle:
* It has the backing of a major corporation or a startup with a marketing budget.
* There are a lot of rave articles/blog posts about building relatively simple or small self contained applications using this technology.
* There is a small but vocal contingent of users who are passionately against the new technology. Their arguments often link to bugs on the bug tracker, cite edge cases that occur under heavy usage and indicate fundamental oversights in the design as well as assumptions (and often arrogance) on the part of the architects.
* The benefits cited are either A) vague or B) explicitly aimed at beginners.
* Arguments in favor often appeal to authority (e.g. "Google uses it" or "XYZ company use it in production"), popularity ("everybody's containerizing these days") or cite benefits which were already possible.
* A high ratio of talk to action: the technology is talked about on Hacker News a lot but there appears to be very little real life stuff developed with it and a lot of the talk involves jamming it in where it's not really necessary.
* Sometimes I experiment with a technology for an hour or two and I see if there's anything obviously wrong with it or if the criticisms are valid.
------
huherto
\- Be aware of new trends. You don't have to learn everything. But pickup and
try those that are promising to solve real problems in your current position.
\- You should be able to move back and forth between management and technical
positions. They are not mutually exclusive. You can a skill set that allows
you to do either. It gives you greater perspective and flexibility. One piece
of advice that I was given in college is that even if you are the Director of
IT you should leave small (non-critical) pieces of software for you to work
on. So you never lose touch.
\- Try to work for good companies. My definition of good companies are those
where you can be productive every day.
\- Some skills will be helpful all your life. I learned Unix in 1989 and have
used it almost every day.
\- Learn the fundamentals. Data structures, algorithms, relational theory,
structured programming, object oriented programming, functional programming,
networking, Operating systems, theory of computation, et al.
\- Understand the business domain in which you are working. That makes you
extra valuable for your current company.
\- Develop your soft skills. [http://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/soft-
skills.html](http://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/soft-skills.html)
------
jaibot
Focus on the fundamentals. How do you find the write tools and libraries? How
do you translate requirements into projects? How can you communicate with
other people effectively? How can you learn what you need to know when you
need to know it? How do you recognize sunk costs? What makes good code good
code, regardless of language? What compromises should you make, and when? How
do you ask the right questions?
------
swah
Learn to learn, and focus on your current client/task first instead of
technology. People still get paid to write Cobol.
------
mfukar
1\. Relevant skills don't change. Your abilities to reason on problems are
never becoming irrelevant.
2\. New technologies are adopted, doesn't mean old ones quickly disappear.
Sometimes not even slowly.
3\. Area focus. If my area of expertise is networking, what do I care about
VR? We can't be generalists any more than we could be 20 years ago.
4\. If you feel like being a generalist, understanding & internalising (basic)
principles is more important than being familiar with specific technologies
5\. Critical, transversal thinking. You can weed out heaps of new technologies
by understanding _how_ they fit in a system and the tradeoffs they require,
before you have to become intimately familiar with them. Base your approach on
tangible end-to-end measurements to understand how technologies might fit in a
system, and after that you'll have to keep up with a lot less than the various
FOTM
------
luisehk
Well, a critical eye is a must. Just keep away from the noise and pay
attention to what would really make an improvement on your current
framework/workflow.
For example, I still do my web development in Django or Flask because they do
the job, I'm pretty good at Python and most projects don't really need the
concurrency Go or Elixir offer.
One of the best recent additions to my skillset was Docker... a lot of people
say containers are not a must but they really made my life easier and allowed
me to do cool things for clients from different industries.
It doesn't sound as cool as doing machine learning, computer vision or natural
language processing, but don't let the AI/VR hype make you anxious, just focus
on what you really want to do.
------
drtse4
I'm more worried about people constantly believing that every new framework is
a major advancement for programming and that it's not just something that
could be learned in an afternoon (e.g. React). Or about people following the
latest hyped trend without learning anything and without producing much other
than more hype.
AI,ML and VR are all really interesting, but as we all know they are not
completely new and will not likely account for the majority of the future
jobs.
Fundamentals are what matter, most of these "new things" are just something
that you can learn with relatively limited effort if needed. Classic
programming skills, analytical skills or things like the ability to reason
about concurrency issues never go obsolete.
------
johanneskanybal
I learned the hard way about 10 years ago what happens when your current skill
set becomes obsolete, since then I've become very focused (and lucky) and only
take on really enjoyable and unique projects. That way it's easy to be exited
and do a good job during a project, communicate your passion in future
interviews and transfer that enthusiasm in your previous projects to potential
future employers.
The exact tech choices doesn't matter that much it's more of the overall
direction (in my case analytics, in a bunch of varied sub-fields).
Although the top comment has some merit I'd argue c/c++ is an outlier here
rather than the norm.
------
pseud0r
I learn new skills at the job, but at the same time I find that it's not
enough. What works best for me to really get into new areas and update my
skill set is to regularly take MOOCs and then try to find ways to use the new
skills at my job.
At the moment I'm taking this course in Deep Learning
[https://www.kadenze.com/courses/creative-applications-of-
dee...](https://www.kadenze.com/courses/creative-applications-of-deep-
learning-with-tensorflow/info)
------
raverbashing
Beware of those that make it more important to follow the latest trend than to
follow their business model (or that just go "what's a business model?!")
------
mbrodersen
A great quote from Lambert about what software development is:
1\. Decide what the program should do. 2\. Decide how the program should do
it. 3\. Implement these decisions in code.
Only the last part is actually coding.
In other words, as a software developer, you are _not_ paid to type. You are
paid to _think_. And the deeper your knowledge and experience, the better
tools you have to actually do that. So focus on learning step 1 and 2!
------
voycey
I think having a good core is more important than the "latest flashiest
framework" / "New Language" / "whatever" at the end of the day it will be your
experience that gets you out of the shit, not some new tool! However saying
that I think it is important to not let yourself go stale. I worked with a
company that had about 6 devs that were doing things seriously old school,
they had no interest in upgrading their skills and for someone who likes to
keep on top of the new features on languages it was painful to work with them.
In the end however, when they left that company they probably found pretty
quickly that they were unemployable!
For me personally, I find that I generally have free reign to test out "new
(to me) technologies and my experience helps me realise quickly if they are
going to be helpful or a bust!
Take any opportunity you can to do a "little project" in something that
interests you and then apply it to problems in your work!
------
oblib
Like pjc50, for the most part I don't. Last year was the exception.
I've been making web apps since 1998. Last year I learned how to use CouchDB
and PouchDB. Before that I used a flat file database and the built-in
filesystem to manage data. I used Perl on the backend with just a bit of JS on
the front end to run the apps.
I never did learn how to use MySQL/PHP. I looked at it, decided it was a butt
ugly way to make websites, and apps and admitted to myself that I wasn't
qualified to design secure SQL apps and didn't want to learn because that is a
career all by itself.
So I waited for something better to come along and last year CouchDB along
with PouchDB hit the mark so I spent the year learning and using them. It was
worth it. With those tools I am faster and better.
The years in-between were spent getting stuff done with the tools I was good
at using, not trying to learn how to use a zillion other tools to do the same
things.
I looked at a lot of newer tools again last year with an eye towards what was
"best". There is a lot of cool stuff out there that does some really jazzy
stuff, but in the end I decided to take another look at what was "easiest".
I ended up with CouchDB, PouchDB, and JQuery. Easy to learn and incredibly
rich APIs with lots of support and example code. There's more than enough in
those to learn and keep up with and if I need to add something I'll look for
easy ways to do that too.
The truth is, it takes time to be productive with any language or tool or
framework you use. It's a scatterbrained approach to try to build software
with something new every time you start a new job.
Right now there are tools being built that will make "AI/VR" easier to
implement. Wait for the tools.
------
Insanity
Well about the ones you have said in specific, AI/VR, I do not think they will
be a requirement for the majority of jobs in the software industry for quite
some time.
I believe that even though technology changes fast, the things you need to
change do not move as quickly but that probably depends on the company and
technology that company is using in the first place.
Where I am working, we are writing software mostly in Java, some analysis on
the data with Splunk and SQL for the database.
Sure enough I had to keep up with Java development but it is not _that_
rapidly. Nevermind the fact that the company only now is switching to Java 8.
That being said, I do like learning new things in the field but they are not
the "latest cool things", for example now I am learning Haskell by reading
books on it and doing excercises, the normal way to learn a new language
afaik.
I do tend to check out things that tickle my interest, lately I have made a
small app in Angular2/Dart because it sounded interesting, but by no means
have I learned to use them in-depth.
------
mbrodersen
Don't until you need to. If you are planning to leave your current job then
look at job offerings in the market and learn the tech needed to get one of
those jobs. And since the technology _underlying_ whatever tech is currently
fashionable hasn't changed the last 50 years, it will be relatively easy to
learn enough to get a job. The rest you learn on the job when solving specific
problems. I would _instead_ focus on learning the core tech that hasn't
changed for 50+ years. Including functional programming, logic programming,
how a computer fundamentally works (NAND gates) etc. What you learn from that
will never become obsolete. You just need to translate what you learn into
whatever the latest fashion framework/language call it and ignore the false
hype.
~~~
mbrodersen
For example: people who learned lisp years ago are now laughing about the hype
higher level functions (lambdas etc.) are getting. It is ancient technology.
Same when Java introduced garbage collection. Yet another ancient technology.
However my argument is not that you should learn lisp today to get a job. You
should learn it to understand the fundamental technologies that future
fashionable frameworks/languages will use. Same goes for type theory. Rust is
also using ancient technology (linear types) that you would already have known
about long before Rust showed up if you learned type theory. The next step
after Rush is of course dependent types.
------
AnimalMuppet
When I was in college, I majored in math and physics. Only two math classes
gave me trouble. One was Real Analysis. There were just too many theorems. I
couldn't remember them all, and then I couldn't figure out what to use to
solve the problems on the test.
Eventually I realized that, out of maybe fifty theorems, only maybe three were
used to prove all the others. So I memorized those three, and worked out
anything else I needed for the test on the fly.
You don't need to keep up with the Hotness Of The Week(TM). You need to know
the fundamentals well, and you need to be able to learn the rest _when you
need it_.
------
trelliscoded
3D graphics math is all trig and linear algebra, with some signal processing.
You don't have to know that stuff to use unity to build VR apps, but it helps.
Those skills will never, ever, be obsolete. Even deep learning is rooted in
linear algebra.
The technology churn in other spaces like front end development can be
mitigated by learning to read really fast. I don't have deep experience with
any one front end framework, but I can inhale the docs and source code pretty
fast when I need to get my hands dirty with one. Again, speed reading is a
skill that will never be obsolete.
------
bsvalley
I think you're mixing 2 things. First, what investors are investing in
(AI/VR), then what kind of jobs will tech companies offer in a near future. I
think the second one won't change, what will change will be the visions and
missions of the future companies. There will still be software development for
a while, even if you work for an "AI" company. These are just hot keywords in
2016/2017
------
garysieling
I wouldn't let AI & VR worry you- that type of growth in the field means new
types of jobs.
As far as updating my skillset, I watch conference talks, and I built a site
that has a big index of them:
[https://www.findlectures.com/?p=1&class1=Technology&type1=Co...](https://www.findlectures.com/?p=1&class1=Technology&type1=Conference&talk_type_l2_Conference=Software)
------
bbcbasic
I'm concentrating on learning stuff that fascinates me. This also happens to
be computer science skills that won't go out of date for a while. Some of it
discovered before silicon chips! Even if it won't directly help me in my job
today or getting a new job, it Will help my career in the long term by making
me a better thinker and programmer.
------
jankotek
Do not update it. Technology is actually painfully slow. Maybe you need to
change technology once in ten years (such as moving from C++ to Java).
~~~
webmaven
Whoa there, let's not go overboard. Implementing a decadal cadence for
switching would require budgeting for about a year of reduced earnings while
you build competency in the new platform/language/ecosystem (and the
associated client base).
------
daw___
If you have the possibility then try joining larger and younger teams at work.
Also: be constantly aware of the current state of technology. You can't have a
deep knowledge of everything but at least knowing which problems a new
technology solves helps a lot.
~~~
tobltobs
What is the advantage of larger and younger teams in regards to staying up to
date?
~~~
daw___
You are right, I did not expand on that. Larger teams bring in a potentially
wider set of skills, and your "next" is probably some younger developer's
"current" already.
------
aruaru
Side projects
------
golergka
Fundamentals.
I'm a game developer who have worked in 2d social/mobile lately and am now
getting into VR. Turns out, if you know how rendering pipeline works, it's not
such a foreign land after all.
~~~
big_paps
Can confirm fundamentals. The longer i work as a developer, the more i see the
importance to have a grip of the basics. For me this is mysql, linux, math
rather than new frameworks, languages and build tools.
------
vorotato
Don't hold on to the bleeding edge so tightly and you won't get cut. It's fine
to ride the wave, but don't forget to polish your less specific skills.
------
samblr
Asking this question might help - how could I have learnt what I have learnt
already in very less time. Writing down steps or rules could help narrow down
to current scenario.
------
zxcvvcxz
Here is how it's going for me. For background, over the last few months I've
very quickly become adept in deep learning, being able to understand current
research papers, read through textbooks, implement my own models with
Tensorflow and other libraries, and train real models on remote servers (e.g.
AWS). For reference, I have an engineering background but no formal schooling
passed an undergraduate degree.
The situation: my early-stage startup is fundraising right now, which can be
kind of a time sink. Lots of accelerator/grant/angel applications. There's a
good chance we hit our seed round, but also a good chance I'm unemployed next
quarter when/if runway runs out.
In either case, I decided that AI, specifically deep learning, would be
incredibly important to my career. The startup will need the expertise in the
future (so I'll have to understand how to hire people with it), and should I
need to find another job in a few months, this is a pretty cool field to learn
and I find the work enjoyable (previously was a data scientist but foused more
on vanilla regression and convex methods).
Therefore since November I've portioned out 20 hrs/week to the startup
focusing on its fundraising and BD needs, which leaves a whole lot of other
hours for skills development. Here has been roughly my curriculum:
\- Mathematics review, and basic neural networks. For this I went over
multivariable calculus and lin alg, which I've always been fairly strong, by
essentially trying to derive the backpropagation derivatives for simple
vanilla neural networks. Then make sure I understand derivatives and matrix
data organization for convolution, which is a key component of modern ML.
Sources: pencil and paper, and lots of Google to answer any of my questions.
Time: 1-2 weeks.
\- CS231n online course:
[http://cs231n.stanford.edu/](http://cs231n.stanford.edu/) Great summary of
modern methods in deep learning, plus more foundational level stuff. I read
through all the lecture content and made sure I could work through
derivations, because for me at least this cements technical understanding.
Some of them are sort of tedious, e.g. manual RNN backprop. Also this course
has great and simple software examples, I read through the code to make sure I
understood the numerical computation and data organization parts. I also ran a
few software examples and played around with parameters for fun (and
learning). Time: 1 month.
\- Reading research papers (and online lectures) on applications that interest
me. For this phase, I found 10 initial research papers that interested me. The
topics for myself included image classification (starting w/ classic 2012
Hinton paper), reinforcement learning, robotics applications, video
prediction. This step was harder, can be like learning a new language. Not
every paper is going to make sense at first. But go through enough of them and
you'll build up familiarity. Sources: can start by searching through
reddit.com/r/machinelearning Time: 2 weeks.
\- Learning software frameworks. From the above step I came up with my own
small sample problem related to stuff I read that I could test even on my weak
laptop (remember, training these big networks requires big computing power).
So in this step I started researching different frameworks, and settled on
starting a small project with Keras. Sources: google around for deep learning
libraries, read up on them, see what you like, and most importantly, have a
motivating sample problem that you wanna code up. Time: 2 weeks.
\- Harder problems, more software, more papers. This is where I'm at now, it's
sort of like an iterative research loop where I 1) come up with new problems I
want to solve, 2) learn more about the software I need to implement it, and 3)
search more prior work to gain insights on how I can solve the harder
problems. In particular, I've switched over to learning and using Tensorflow,
and also learning how to use AWS for stronger computing. So I had to dust off
some linux scripting and command line skills too. Like I said, this is fairly
iterative and probably closer to "modern research" where learning from my
(virtual) peers and experimentation and production are closely linked. Time:
from the last month to present.
Overall, in the last 3 months or so at about 30 hrs/week I've added an
extremely powerful new skillset to my arsenal that I've been meaning to do for
quite some time. I can understand 90% of all modern research in the field, and
create useful software to solve data-driven problems. Completely for free as
well, aside from the $0.81/hr I pay to AWS for training some networks
overnight. This is the type of thing I'd have wanted from a Master's (or even
PhD) program, but who wants to go back to school...
Hope this helps someone :) Remember, AI/ML is more approachable than most
people think, you just need to start with a solid mathematics background.
After that you'll be flying, the field is relatively quick to learn,
especially if you like learning through doing.
------
pryelluw
What is your current skillset? Maybe we can help guide you and ease the
anxiety.
------
MichaelBurge
I'm taking a couple courses from Udacity. They have both AI and VR courses.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The College For-Profits Should Fear - blatherard
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/septemberoctober_2011/features/the_college_forprofits_should031640.php
======
herdrick
The key paragraph:
_"WGU’s answer to the status quo is to offer a degree that is based on
competency rather than time. By gathering information from employers, industry
experts, and academics, Western Governors formulates a detailed, institution-
wide sense of what every graduate of a given degree program needs to know.
Then they work backward from there, defining what every student who has taken
a given course needs to know. As they go, they design assessments—tests—of all
those competencies. “Essentially,” says Kevin Kinser, a professor of education
at the State University of New York at Albany, “they’re creating a bar exam
for each point along the way that leads to a degree.”"_
------
SkyMarshal
The one they should really worry about is Khan Academy:
1\. Free
2\. Gamification of learning (aka certification)
3\. Social web integrated into learning (a network to see your certifications)
4\. Inverting the traditional model - do your homework in class watch
vids/read at night at home.
KA is on the way toward replacing traditional degrees the same way
Stackoverflow and Github are replacing traditional resumes.
~~~
rimantas
Really? I guess I am in minotrity, but after watching a few lessons on KA I I
left with impression that quality of teaching is quite poor. Educational
videos may be one part of education, but they cannot replace all. Teachers are
there to stay for a long long time and it has nothing todo with technology.
~~~
tomjen3
I don't know about the quality of the other subjects (since I don't know
enough about them to judge him) but I do know that his economy lectures were
pretty good.
~~~
wiredfool
A halfway engaged HS physics teacher would do far better than the videos I
sampled on basic kinematics and newtons laws.
The stuff there is just _begging_ for in person demos.
From what I've seen, KA is better than nothing, or a really indifferent
teacher. But If you have a better than average teacher, they're going to far
surpass KA.
~~~
michaelchisari
Reminds me of the quote, "Any teacher that can be replaced by a computer,
deserves to be."
I love the quote, but of course, I am concerned that in our push to move to
computer-based learning, we push out the teachers who _can't_ be replaced by a
computer.
------
nazgulnarsil
The 30% profit margin University of Phoenix makes is a signal to other
investors to enter the field and innovate! This is a feature not a bug of
markets. Non-profit just means they are maximizing more opaque measures of
success. Of course the accreditation barriers to entry are still quite
innovation stifling.
also, I'd be shocked if WGU doesn't come under fire for 'disparate impact',
otherwise known as racism at some point.
~~~
mathgladiator
how does racism play into this?
~~~
nazgulnarsil
Sorry, talking about the history of standardized testing will get me
downvoted. Guess how I know.
------
buff-a
FTA: _Those fixed standards enable a world of variation. At Western Governors,
students aren’t asked to sit in a class any longer than it takes for them to
demonstrate that they have mastered the material. In fact, they aren’t asked
to sit in a “class” at all._
This article seems to suggest that at other US universities, you actually have
to show up to classes to pass them? Is that actually the case????
~~~
sixtofour
(Response to above, and most of its responses.)
I understand that you can not show up and pass a class, but why in the world
would you spend all that money and time on a physical university if you aren't
going to go to class? Why not just read a book and get a job?
~~~
eric-hu
Sadly, because of what a degree means. This goes doubly so for a degree from a
"big name".
I strongly disagree with this sentiment, but I can't deny that a majority of
people I meet will be impressed with someone who went to MIT, Yale or Harvard.
Likewise, I think a majority of people (albeit a lesser-majority) will have
reservations about someone with "only" a high school education.
In most industries, you won't find people saying "show me what you can do"
before you show them you have a degree. The tech industry is far more
egalitarian in this sense, which is awesome.
------
mechnik
WGU consists of 4 colleges: Teachers', Business, IT, and Health Professions.
All well and good but I wish quality online programs were also offered in
Math, Natural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Writing,
Humanities, etc... In my view a good College of Arts and Sciences is what
makes University good. A great Engineering program would be awesome too.
------
vishaldpatel
Seneca College in Toronto has a similar thing going for its Computer
Programming diploma. Or at least, this was the case when I went there:
1) You can take an exam for a class at the beginning of the semester if you
think you know the material. There is a cost of this exam, but if you pass,
then you save money on taking the whole class... and time too.
2) You must complete every single assignment to pass a given class. Your
assignments must work 100%. You'll be graded on style.
3) Every class was offered every semester - even during the summer semester.
And there was a section for most classes at night.
There's just one issue: I thought universities were supposed to teach you how
to learn, while community colleges were meant for specific job-related skills.
Shouldn't doctors, lawyers, nurses, computer programmers etc... all be getting
their job-specific diplomas, just like the mechanics and the electricians? And
shouldn't 'degrees' be more research oriented anyway? Why are degrees more
valued when whats needed in most cases is someone with a specific skill? Do
people with degrees really think that people with diplomas are incapable of
learning? Do employers feel this way?
~~~
barry-cotter
Re: your last paragraph
Degrees are less about learning than making sure you will do a certain amount
of work for at least two years and more usually four, even if the work is
dumb. So it signals intelligence and conscientiousness.
Having a degree tells people you're at least capable of being a member of the
middle class. You're intelligent and biddable enough. Elite university
graduates also got some implicit training in the social norms of the upper
classes, and by virtue of the intense competition to get in you can be sure
anyone who graduated from them is smart. More accurately, anyone they
accepted, the dropout rate for top tier US universities is very low (except
for Caltech).
And yes, people with degrees do think people without are dumber, and employers
likewise, because its true. And alternative certifications for different modes
of training/types of knowledge fall prey to the same problems. Having
separate, respected educational systems, rather than one for the real people
and one for the losers requires relatively low social mobility, or at least
hard social mobility.
Seneca College sounds real cool.
~~~
gte910h
> the dropout rate for top tier US universities is very low
The dropout rate for non-engineering schools is pretty low. Engineering
schools are all over the map. Caltech is a bit silly to compare to larger
schools due to the fact Caltech enrolls <1k undergrads.
------
aaronbrethorst
single page:
[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/septemberoctober_2...](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/septemberoctober_2011/features/the_college_forprofits_should031640.php?page=all&print=true)
------
amalag
I took a bachelors from WGU because I dropped out of college many years ago
and went out of the country. I came back and just wanted one to say I had a
bachelors. I can say I practically learned nothing from WGU and the coursework
was incredibly easy. This is for the IT degree. To be fair to them, most
courses were IT certifications. So the real problem was the IT certifications
were useless, I mean really, what use is Security+ and related certs. Anyway
that is my opinion. I did some IT admin work first, then got more into
programming with Ruby on Rails. Probably my path is a bit atypical.
~~~
TomOfTTB
As someone who has interviewed candidates from physical universities with IT
degrees I can say the same is probably true of them. I see candidates all the
time who can recite the OSI Model by heart but can't figure out a Windows XP
system isn't connecting to the network because it doesn't have an IP Address.
------
jeremyarussell
I found this article really interesting, Read all the way through it on my
phone and made sure to come online to comment.
I have to find myself agreeing that the competency based off of actual
employers is one of the best way to get stuff done. And now if KA can get
actual teachers and setup actual accreditation systems then all these for-
profit groups will be under even more pressure. As people that want these
services to thrive I feel the best way for us to allow this to happen is to
help them market their schools. Blog posts etc etc that link to the site will
hopefully make a google search for "online college" send WGU and Khan to the
top.
I for one may be signing up. (I already attend Khan to learn about linear
algebra.) Having a business degree from WGU would round out my current
repertoire rather nicely I think.
------
gte910h
WGU seems to be looked at askance from some googling by positions seeking MBAs
------
qrgnote
IS WGU the only college of this kind?
~~~
GBond
Some time ago I toyed with the idea of getting a grad degree for "resume
dressing" purposes optimized for price/prestige/convenience. I was pleasantly
surprised that there quite a few options after you get over the signal vs.
noise problem: finding legit, accredited schools in the sea of diploma mills
who spends a ton on marketing on spam (just google "online degree").
The best place I've found to do research on accredited programs (both
undergrad & grad) school that cater to adult students is
<http://www.degreeinfo.com/forum.php>. It is the home of a community of people
who are good at hacking the diploma game and share their info readily. Folks
there tend to favor schools that are in the spirit of this school in the OP
article (price/prestige/convenience) but there is quite a good range of
schools discussed (for example Duke U.'s MBA program tends to be reviewed
favorably as is Delaware for undergrad). There even intrepid individuals there
who had foregone the traditional 4 year, "physical seat" undergrad for 2 years
of working part-time and distance learning (can be with CLEP exams and the
right program).
~~~
qrgnote
Nice Link!
I've had experience with Baker College <http://www.baker.edu/> in the past,
Online Degree... but it was a time-based / attendance base system... WGU
"Competence" based accredited degrees seems pretty bad-ass...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Asia-Pacific is home to a rise in new self-made billionaires - pseudolus
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-08/american-dominance-in-tech-wealth-creation-upended-by-asian-wave
======
cromwellian
Count me skeptical about of some of these 'self-made' billionaires. Pinduoduo
for example, as with many Chinese companies, has been accused of falsifying
revenues to pump stock prices. Yes, this stuff happens in the US as well (we
all remember Enron and Theranos), but to what extent, are the statements of
these companies transparent and well-audited, and regulated by government
differs by region.
And Bitmain? Is it tech wealth creation to sell pick-axes to desperate miners
looking for a gold rush? This looks to me like instead, a zero-sum trade,
wherein someone got rich, and everyone else was left holding the bag for a
device that would be worthless in a few months.
Of all of those on the list, DJI looks like the most legit, self-made success
story, producing a very high quality, Apple-like experience in innovative
drone devices, devices now used extensively by the film industry.
~~~
xkcd-sucks
Xiaomi is another one, their build quality is good and they make a whole bunch
of actually useful non "tech" things like escooters, air filters, vaccuums. I
don't know if they're shady with finances or data collection though
~~~
sanxiyn
Xiaomi doesn't really make air filters and vacuums, they are made by their
partners. Xiaomi is providing retail service to those partners. Xiaomi also
provides partners other services, like pooling purchases to lower price and
pooling loans to lower rate.
One financial analysis of Xiaomi I read (it's in Korean, I couldn't find
anything in English) is that it is in part a lending company funded by float
from manufacturing partners. Xiaomi has a personal loan product which grew by
100x in two years to ~1 billion. Liquidity comes from delay between retail
sale to partner payment.
~~~
baybal2
To begin with, money in China are super duper cheap to begin with. I guess,
even "super duper cheap" was not enough for Xiaomi
~~~
sanxiyn
Isn't interest rate much higher in China compared to US?
~~~
baybal2
Nominally, yes... the "street rates" are completely random, and if you manage
to qualify for any government endorsement, state banks will be ready to
bamboozle any amount money on you.
------
jorblumesea
I often wonder how much of this is because of China's government sponsored
espionage and theft. It's a pretty clear pattern of APT hacks and then somehow
a Chinese startup is making "huge strides" in advanced metamaterials
manufacturing. Then they are subsidized with cheap (basically free) government
loans which undercuts the market.
If the Chinese government steals trade secrets for its business and rigs the
market in their favor, is that really "self made"?
Perhaps the title should be "party cadres and sons of the politically
connected get richer".
~~~
A2017U1
Do you truly believe they are the only country on Earth committing corporate
espionage?
Everyone is doing it, but in Western democracies you have to hide the fact
because voters on all sides frown upon such cheating. Especially stealing from
your closest allies who send their troops to die in your pointless wars.
The reality is China doesn't care about getting caught. Just like India shrugs
off rescinding billion dollar pharmaceutical patents and starts exporting the
generics around the world for huge profits despite never contributing a cent
to R&D.
~~~
jorblumesea
No, I don't think that at all. I just see it as ridiculous to pretend these
are "self made" entrepreneurs or innovators in the slightest.
More like, Knighted by the Party?
------
threatofrain
I think it's not good to frame wealth creation in terms of billionaires.
~~~
rdiddly
Came here to say that. Compared to making everybody richer, making one guy a
billionaire is easy. It costs $1 billion. Even giving each Chinese person $1
would cost more than that.
Edit: Which is not to be all "America Yay!" and "China Boo!" like some high
school rivalry. America's legendary wealth inequality objectively demonstrates
that it, too, leans closer to "making one guy a billionaire" than it does to
"giving everybody a dollar."
~~~
samatman
The median personal income in the United States is roughly 31,000 dollars.
So more like giving everyone 85 dollars a day, than one.
------
TonyBagODonuts
Spending months outside of Beijing in multiple island cities and seeing the
empty buildings and 90% built infrastructure everywhere I don't doubt China
will always be poised to userp American dominance, never actually do it, but
always close.
~~~
agumonkey
just saw a documentary about their international parternship efforts (middle
asia, africa and bits of Europe like portugal and greece) .. it seems they
might take the lead (unless large economic implosion)
------
RA_Fisher
Sure but China inflated its currency, that's a redistribution to asset
holders. The acomplishments are admirable all the same, but the accelerated
climb is probably boosted by inflation. I predict a correction in next year's
list.
~~~
BenoitEssiambre
It's not really a redistribution to asset holders. These people get about the
same in the long run. It's more like the removal of a subsidy on government
paper. This promotes private asset creation.
[https://medium.com/@b.essiambre/the-world-deserves-a-pay-
rai...](https://medium.com/@b.essiambre/the-world-deserves-a-pay-
raise-302f25efd82a)
There is no reason for a correction if they continue running a sufficiently
inflationary monetary policy.
~~~
RA_Fisher
That's a great article! I read about 3/4 and I'll come back for the rest. Your
arguement is the ying to my yang.
Where I depart is: wages adjust much more slowly than assets. Wages are
negotiated over long spans of time vs. liquid assets. Wage holders think
they're negotiating for real value X but it's eroded. Just look at baby
boomers. Their wage flows are ~ fixed. Sure many get the benefit of asset
appreciation but the ones that don't (get word) are crushed.
~~~
RA_Fisher
The assertion that the gov has the equilibrium interest rate (price of money)
set too high is unsubstantiated in the article. We've just been through
quantitative easing, so it seems unlikely we're above equilibrium. If only
we'd let the market choose!
~~~
BenoitEssiambre
The natural rate is hard to measure so this is a difficult one to answer. And
right now, in the US, my argument probably no longer holds that well (I wrote
the post a while back). It looks like the uncertainty surrounding the
aftermath of the 2008 crisis finally dissipated and unprecedented government
deficit spending has pushed the equilibrium up, making it easier to follow for
the Fed. This means there is enough private investment to keep the economy
running well and people employed.
Europe and Japan are still very problematic however.
The simple fact that people, businesses and banks hoard cash and government
bonds instead of doing sufficient investment to keep people employed is strong
evidence to me that the returns on government paper is above market. Excess
reserves are high into these parts of the world.
A more widely recognized sign is that they keep undershooting their inflation
target.
For arguments from real economists, look around these parts
[https://www.davidbeckworth.com/popular](https://www.davidbeckworth.com/popular),
[https://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/nic...](https://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/nick-
rowe/) or
[https://faculty.insead.edu/fatas/](https://faculty.insead.edu/fatas/)
One thing you can't rely on is the fact that central bank rates are zero in
the problematic places. Zero is a high, above market rate when the equilibrium
is negative. As I tried to emphasize in my medium post, negative rates can be
quite normal and natural. If marginal private assets don't have a positive
real rate on a risk adjusted, liquidity adjusted basis, the government
shouldn't provide an artificial substitute. If they do, it puts a gridlock in
large parts of the economy.
------
roenxi
It'd be interesting to be able to compare America and China through the lens
of capitalism; at the moment I don't think China is transparent enough to
really come up with anything meaningful.
America is a lot less capitalist than it once was [0, 1] total government
spending has gone from 10% GDP around the 1930 great depression (so, 9 private
dollars for every public dollar) to about 30% post 1950 including State &
Local government (2 private dollars per public dollar). I'm not sure how to
interpret it, but spending on military also seems to have plummeted since the
60s as a % of spending. The military spending was where the research for
things like the internet was done, so that might be meaningful. It seems very
reasonable that the impacts of research and tax impacts on savings play out
over 20-30 year timeframes (low risk capital investment pays itself back over
~15-20 years which sets up a natural cadence).
As the world becomes competitive for the first time since the end of the cold
war, issues of how to generate new wealth very rapidly become important.
America won't be able to harvest resources from foreign climes (eg, the Middle
East) as freely now that China is starting to move beyond its boarders; to say
nothing of potential changes in India or other Asian countries.
[0] [http://metrocosm.com/history-of-us-taxes/](http://metrocosm.com/history-
of-us-taxes/) [1]
[https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/breakdown_1930USpt_20ps...](https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/breakdown_1930USpt_20ps5n)
~~~
Spooky23
That’s why undermining US foreign policy is a big BRIC priority.
The era of stupid we are in now will have dramatic impact on the rest of this
century.
~~~
diogenescynic
Republicans will find a way to blame democrats.
------
rblion
What matters is durability and defensibility, not current market value which
is very speculative if you ask me.
When they produce something like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google I'll
reconsider my position.
~~~
mrnobody_67
Tencent and Alibaba are like those... and in many ways better.
~~~
seanmcdirmid
They aren't international brands. Alibaba gets some traction outside of China
for those who want to buy cheap Chinese goods, while Tencent has bought some
foreign game companies, but otherwise no one outside of China really knows who
they are.
~~~
rblion
This is about my familiarity with them to be honest. Brands I am aware of but
haven't given a dollar to. Yet, I end up using Apple, Alphabet, Amazon,
Microsoft services/products every day in one way or another. I don't agree
with everything each of them does but I support them because I respect them.
~~~
thecleaner
Maybe Tencent and Alibaba dont need to focus more outside of China. China in
itself is a huge market. Also the reason we dont hear about these services is
that HN is largely representative of the English speaking part of the world -
a big part indeed but not the whole.
~~~
speedplane
In addition, I wouldn't be surprised if HN is blocked in China.
------
adventured
This is of course an exaggeration by Bloomberg.
Six of the ten richest people on earth are US tech billionaires.
Out of the 63 technology billionaires in the top 500 global richest that
Bloomberg tracks in their billionaires list, 32 are in the US. China has 13.
Here's the breakdown of technology billionaires in the Bloomberg top 500 rich
list by country (the list cuts off at $3.7b):
US 32, China 13, Germany 5, Canada 3, India 2, Japan 2, Australia 2, Brazil 1,
South Korea 1, France 1, Taiwan 1
(Eduardo Saverin gets listed for Brazil, I'd probably list him for Singapore
however)
Over time you realistically can't have a China with an economy the size of the
US (the two economies will be larger than $30 trillion each before China
reaches parity, assuming they ever do), without them having an enormous amount
of tech wealth. The two will likely represent ~45% of the entire global
economy in terms of output over the next few decades. In terms of
millionaires, it'll be closer to 75% of all millionaires on earth between the
two giants (the US by itself as of just a few years ago had about 45% of all
millionaires; I assume China has taken a few more points in that time). The
last problem the US has right now, is a concern about an upending of its tech
wealth creation. Most of China's tech wealth is entirely isolated
domestically, the US was never going to be allowed to own that market, and
can't own that market going forward. China's tech companies can't own the US
market and never will. It's the rest of the globe that is up for grabs, and
the US will always win that battle because the rich liberal world trusts China
drastically less than the US. So long as China retains its current system (as
opposed to resuming the Deng liberalization path), that will remain true.
Would I rather use business software from Salesforce (US) or Atlassian (AU) or
SAP (Germany), or China? Or nearly any cloud software for that matter. Among
the more liberal nations, that remains a very easy decision. China can't
compete outside of its borders in most circumstances when data,
speech/expression/social/media, privacy, etc. are involved.
Out of the top 100 software companies by sales in the world, the US currently
has 73 of them.
Here's a short list of US tech companies which have either been founded or
seen most of their growth over the last 10-15 years:
Facebook $477b, Salesforce $120b, Uber ~$80b-$120b, Airbnb ~$40b, Workday
$41b, ServiceNow $41b, Square $30b, Stripe $23b, Twitter $23b, Palo Alto
Networks $21b, Splunk $19b, Lyft $15b, Fortinet $14b, Pinterest $12b, Snap
$12b, GoDaddy $12b, Twilio $11b, Dropbox $10b, Ultimate Software $10b, Okta
$9b, Nutanix $9b, Zendesk $8b, DocuSign $8b, Grubhub $8b, Instacart $8b,
Qualtrics $8b, Coinbase $8b, Slack $7b, Zillow $7b, Github $7b (acq),
Proofpoint $6b, Zscaler $6b, Etsy $6b, Hubspot $6b, Tanium $6b, MuleSoft $6b
(acq), Pivotal $5b, LogMeIn $5b, MongoDB $5b, Robinhood $5b, Carvana $5b,
RealPage $5b, DoorDash $4b, Pure Storage $4b, Snowflake $4b, Alteryx $4b,
Houzz $4b, Medidata $4b, Anaplan $4b, Credit Karma $4b, Qualys $4b, CarGurus,
Box, Cloudera, DigitalOcean, Cloudflare, Stitch Fix, ZocDoc, Eventbrite,
SendGrid, Reddit, Zuora, SecureWorks, etc.
You could add dozens of companies to that list. You could also split off AWS,
YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram as well, as large tech businesses whose growth
has soared over the last decade. Netflix was a still small $3b company just
ten years ago. Google has also seen the vast majority of its growth since
~2004-2005.
I don't see where there has been a slowdown or upending for the US in the last
10-15 years (which represents most of the China boom phase in terms of their
value creation). China's expansion has been heavily isolated to its own
territory when it comes to tech companies (Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, Ctrip,
ByteDance, JD.com, Didi Chuxing, et al.), leaving the US free to continue
doing what it has been in tech for decades without having to actually compete
globally with China in most tech segments. Their tech expansion hasn't come at
the expense of the US in other words.
~~~
starpucks
Can someone list the numbers adjusted for inflation? Because these days it
seems billions are so common for companies whereas just ten years ago a ten
billion dollar company was “super big”. Where did all this wealth come from?
Who lost in the zero sum game ?
~~~
jpatokal
Wealth is not a zero sum game, but more importantly, valuations are not actual
money -- they're just what the company would cost _if_ you bought the whole
thing at the same price as the last investment. If a company has a down round,
billions may be wiped off the valuation, but actual losses suffered by
previous investors are a small fraction of that.
~~~
starpucks
Right but I just meant doesn’t true wealth have to be injected at some point ?
Like at some point someone actually needs to mine new resources and inject the
resources into the economy ? I don’t really see the last ten years, countries
having mined a 100x increase (non inflation adjusted) in raw goods..?
So that leaves the investment. Then others are investing in all these tech
companies.. it is a cyclic dependency graph if you trace through the millions
of nodes (assuming you get through the offshore accounts which I presume
function as sinks). Then ... these companies are getting huge valuations
because everyone else is investing more and more into them? Including
themselves investing into themselves ?? When does the buck stop? Doesn’t this
wealth need to be backed up ultimately by some gold bars ? Even if it’s fiat
and fractional reserve .. so someone’s trust rating is ultimately taking a
hit? Is the us printing this money out of thin air on the back of it’s huge
credit ? I know the economy is too complex to be boiled down like this but
where are these 100x increases in billions coming from ultimately? People
credit ratings summed over millions of people ?
I never took any Econ courses so admittedly my Econ is terrible.
------
mevile
Is this a contest where we should be rooting for a side or something? What's
the significance of this? Is this some kind of national pride thing where I
should be rooting for my home country to win? I'm happy for people that found
success for what they've accomplished regardless of where they live. Good for
them.
~~~
whatshisface
> _Is this some kind of national pride thing where I should be rooting for my
> home country to win?_
What happens if Xi Jinping decides that he wants something that you do not
want? He will not let you vote if one day his foreign policy goals involve
nice Americans.
~~~
logicchains
Just like the Chinese got no chance to vote on America's unilateral sanctions
against Iran, but are still subjected to them.
~~~
rgbrenner
Iran was under UN sanctions at the time Meng violated those sanctions. China
is on the UN security council, and as a permanent member, they have a veto.
They did get a vote, and they voted yes.
Are you somehow not aware of this? They were a founding member of the UN, and
have been on the Security Council since it's beginning. They have abstained or
voted yes on every UN action that involves the SC (international peace and
security).
Meng violated additional US laws... which she is only subject to because she
was operating in the US. Just as a US citizen is subject to Chinese laws when
operating in China. Surely you're not suggesting that foreigners should be
allowed to go into another country and violate their laws without consequence.
~~~
tacon
Are you somehow not aware of this?
The PRC became a permanent member of the Security Council (with a veto) only
since 1971. Taiwan was the permanent member from 1945-1971.
------
11thEarlOfMar
An AirBnb IPO may tip it back towards the US.
Or Pinterest, Palantir, Uber, Lyft, Slack, Postmates, Asana, Casper.
Not really sure it should all be cast as a competition, but the wealth
creation engine of the US is alive and well.
~~~
ulfw
Matress Casper is a Tech company now?
~~~
xkcd-sucks
High growth data driven mattress sales is as much tech as high growth data
driven taxi rides
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Stripe vs. Paypal, which one you think is better (and why)? - expressboard
I just launched a marketplace for artists, designers, illustrators to showcase and sell their creative work and services, and many freelancers asked whether we take Paypal as a form of payment. I want to ask which payment processing is better for a marketplace that plans to expand to the global market?
======
feklee
A friend has stopped offering Stripe to customers of his Magento hosting
service. The reason, he told me, is that Stripe frequently delays payments.
You can find lots of articles about issues with Stripe on the web.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Why Let’s Encrypt is a bad idea - cconover
https://medium.com/swlh/why-lets-encrypt-is-a-really-really-really-bad-idea-d69308887801
======
fybe
TL;DR of the authors argument is that you could plant someone inside Lets
Encrypt to take over the KMS. No further mention of how, goes on bashing it
because its free and has no "skin in the game". And all of his worries are due
to the people managing certs in an organisation, not Lets Encrypt itself.
Follow by a careful pointer that you should buy certs from a CA and not trust
"free" stuff. And on top of that BUY CYBER INSURANCE.
Jesus, is this the new hot thing in online marketing? Love the name drop of
Digi Cert in it too. Gonna go buy some certs of them /s
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
70 tools no remote employee should do without - dudeedud
https://medium.com/@G___A/70-tools-no-remote-employee-should-do-without-84e42d4b6e06#.otos0riop
======
kafkaesq
Looks like an SEO hack. Just from the title.
~~~
EvanPlaice
Agreed, yet another example of somebody using Medium for 'link juice'.
At least most authors have the decency to cloak their advertising as an
interesting self-help narrative.
------
michaelbuddy
only 70 tools. They make it sounds so easy to work remotely. I'd go absolutely
insane if I had to open a fourth of these on a daily basis along with you know
doing actual work.
------
sergers
article not quite what i expected.
its just a list of 70 websites... "These resources will help you organize your
work, verify your employer and assess the possibility of future cooperation."
~~~
shapov
Not to mention that some of the tools link to the Russian version of the site.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Suicide prevention: large scale and small details - DanBC
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(17)30193-1/fulltext
======
DanBC
People on HN who disclose suicidal intent are frequently told, on HN and
elsewhere, to seek help.
That's correct, it's a medical emergency and those people deserve help.
But it's also important to remember that suicide prevention is struggling to
find effective evidence based interventions, and that some interventions may
increase risk of harm.
~~~
flukus
> But it's also important to remember that suicide prevention is struggling to
> find effective evidence based interventions, and that some interventions may
> increase risk of harm.
Do we know that for sure? Is it possible that suicide rates would have
exploded without current intervention methods?
~~~
Can_Not
One major issue with suicide prevention is there is a lot of focus on "don't
do it" and too little focus on "let's fix the cause". So for a lot of people,
the cause might be their local communities' religion, which may also mean that
the only available solution is not evidence based, let alone a solution.
------
kough
> The Lancet Psychiatry aims to avoid the excess of certainty currently
> afflicting the world.
Awesome opening line.
------
tomjen3
Maybe instead of physically trying to stop these people from killing
themselves, we should try to make them want to live. It is the only humane
answer anyway.
------
ianai
Society needs to be more inclusive. People aren't problems that need to be
treated. They need to feel a part of a large, functioning whole.
~~~
dwaltrip
I have a similar view, but with a slightly different angle. This is largely
conjecture, but it seems to me that in the modern age, as our vantage point
has expanded due to cultural and technological development, the bonds between
individuals have become diluted, and we haven't figured out how to fully
respond to that.
I would also make a case for a bit of a global existential crisis, as humanity
has begun to finally understand the true vastness of the universe, in which we
are an infinitesimally small flicker.
~~~
csydas
Heh, so the planet is having a quarter life crisis?
I'm not making fun of this it just sounds funny, and I'm sure the always
connected nature does have a large impact. Before, "keeping up with the
Joneses" meant a fairly small neighborhood community. Now you can see how you
stack up globally instantly to people world wide and I imagine it's hard to
not feel a bit lost in the face of everyone looking like they're living the
life, constantly one post at a time.
Consolidating that without there being a backdrop of "it's a magazine" or
"it's just advertising" probably has some sort of significant impact. It's
amazing people can browse Facebook endlessly without feeling a little like
they're missing out on something.
------
metastart
This is untested to my knowledge, but I feel like the best prevention for
suicide is mentorship...that every teen has someone they're attached to.
~~~
mistermann
Talking to someone _that understands where you 're coming from and what you're
feeling_ I think is helpful.....the feeling of being utterly alone and
completely misunderstood in the universe can weigh heavily on the depressed
psyche.
------
shams93
We are also seeing the longest extended economic depression now this has
lasted longer than the Great Depression of the 1930s, we have no WPA nothing
to soft the economic blows, foodstamps are being eliminated so that poor
people will be forced to steal to survive and risking landing in a Jeff
Sessions owned private prison, the level if stress we are placing on working
people is historically unprecedented.
~~~
bigbugbag
> the level if stress we are placing on working people is historically
> unprecedented.
Ever heard of that thing called slavery ? it was quite popular for while until
not so long ago.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Afari – decentralized social media app - avthar
https://app.afari.io
======
avthar
Hey HN,
Avthar, a co-founder of Afari here. We started working on Afari earlier this
year while still in college. We’re now working on it full time and are excited
to share the launch of our public beta with the HN community!
We built Afari to give people who value privacy, data ownership and censorship
resistance, an alternative to centralized social media like Twitter and
Facebook. In future, we plan to integrate a token network to help content
creators of all audience sizes monetize their content more easily.
This web app is the first step in our journey. You can read more about how the
app works here: [https://medium.com/afari-blog/introducing-afari-social-
media...](https://medium.com/afari-blog/introducing-afari-social-media-that-
puts-you-in-control-dde49d91eafa)
This is our first time launching anything and the app is still in beta, so
we’d love for you to use the app and offer feedback on features, UX and any
features you think would make Afari more appealing to you!
------
cryo
The headline made me click, but the landing page contains only 4 words:
afari Freedom Trust Ownership
No screenshots, no description, no content.
No offense but I see that often lately, is it just me or do people really sign
up for a app/service/product without prior information about what and how it
is?
Here is an example of what I consider a better landing page:
[https://www.notion.so](https://www.notion.so)
~~~
avthar
Hey cryo,
Thanks for the feedback -- we're in the process of putting together a better
app landing page. We have a more proper app landing page up at
[https://www.afari.io](https://www.afari.io) , while the app, for people to
try out is directly linked at [https://app.afari.io](https://app.afari.io).
Moreover, here's a link to a blog that describes our vision and the problems
we intend to overcome: [https://medium.com/afari-blog/introducing-afari-
social-media...](https://medium.com/afari-blog/introducing-afari-social-media-
that-puts-you-in-control-dde49d91eafa)
------
sabbakeynejad
Same, Headline got a click, I was interested. But the UI lacks and your needs
to have a feature set. What sort of Social media app? How do I use it? Who is
it for? Just some thoughts...
~~~
avthar
Hey sabbakeynejad,
Is there anything specific about the UI that you didn't like?
To answer your questions, we could be called a 'micro-blogging app' as Afari
supports posting short text statuses, links and photos. You use it in a manner
similar to twitter or facebook.
Regarding the who the app is for, "We built Afari to give people who value
privacy, data ownership and censorship resistance, an alternative to
centralized social media like Twitter and Facebook. In future, we plan to
integrate a token network to help content creators of all audience sizes
monetize their content more easily."
Thanks for your feedback. The app login page definitely doesn't do a good job
at explaining the app to people in its current state.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
179 Artists Urge Congress to Update DCMA - danem
http://pitchfork.com/news/66252-jack-white-trent-reznor-beck-more-join-petition-against-youtube/
======
nness
I can't imagine a web without the safe-harbour provision, it it is a
fundamental protection for services which would have no protection from
trolling users.
Although, I'm interested to see what can be down to improve artist protections
whilst retaining the intent of the original laws.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Lighter, Cheaper Radio Wave Device Could Transform Telecommunications - shitehawk
http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/11/10/radio-wave-device-alu/
======
aethertap
I had no idea what a circulator was or what purpose it served. The wikipedia
link has a good description of what it is, and the pdf link is a paper about
how to achieve full duplex radio operation, and shows where the circulator
fits into the picture.
1\.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulator)
2\.
[http://web.stanford.edu/~skatti/pubs/sigcomm13-fullduplex.pd...](http://web.stanford.edu/~skatti/pubs/sigcomm13-fullduplex.pdf)
------
_Adam
My initial impression is that this is a very significant advance; enabling
full-duplex on a single frequency band effectively doubles the communication
bandwidth. But, I'm not sure if this translates to the real world.
Can any RF engineers comment on this?
~~~
Aloha
No. The circulator itself is not a new invention, this is just a new way of
building them.
------
CamperBob2
Not clear how this is different from any other Wheatstone bridge-like
structure used for directional sensing at microwave frequencies. Lower loss,
presumably? Active circulators by themselves aren't new (
[https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=off&q=wenzel+active+...](https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=off&q=wenzel+active+circulator)
).
~~~
createacc123
This is not an active circulator, there are no amplifiers. It's a parametric-
modulated circulator - the capacitance is modulated. Not a new concept in
microwave engineering. Not very useful in real-life: the PR-heavy letter
neglects to mention (1) the poor instantaneous bandwidth <0.5% (figure 4c),
(2) the poor linearity / poor power handling: Vm and Vdc are few volts in
high-Q environment, which translates into maximum power handling well below
0dBm (3) the high sensitivity to analog component variation (fig 4c again) -
not something you want in mass-produced components operating at
commercial/industrial temperature ranges.
They neglected to mention the power level they used to measure the
S-parameters in the letter or the supplementary material. No self-respecting
RF engineer would forget to mention power levels - it again hints at very poor
linearity / poor power handling. Typical university "research".
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Mixtape Dating - joshzilla2017
https://mixtape-dating.herokuapp.com
======
sullyj3
It'd be cool to be able to re-order songs after adding them. The order I think
of tunes isn't necessarily the order of listening that works best.
------
ckirksey
Cool! I made a playlist. It would be neat to connect it to the Youtube API and
search for songs in the app
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Intel Programmable Systems Group takes step towards FPGA based system in package - zxv
http://www.newelectronics.co.uk/electronics-technology/intels-programmable-systems-group-takes-its-first-step-towards-an-fpga-based-system-in-package-portfolio/142701/
======
trapperkeeper79
I'm a newbie so pls excuse my ignorance .. Cypress has these had these things
for a bit .. they call them PSOC. Basically, an ARM core plus some
programmable logic. Is the difference here that the processor and PLD are both
beefier? I'm generally confused about the difference between PLD vs FPGA vs
CPLD. It seems there is no precise definition and it changes based on who is
talking.
~~~
rshm
I would consider Cypress's PSoC as an ARM kit with a small logic block
embedded. Except what is already present in the chip (DAC,CAN ..), it is
impossible to implement any complex solution on the limited logic cells
present in PSoCs.Basically glue layer between ARM and other components in
design.
Closest thing might be Xilinx Zynq or Stratix 10. Both are comparable PSoC,
comes with ARM core but with high density FPGA instead of small CPLD.
The MX series from article adds DRAM in larger size and with larger bandwidth
than what is available currently.
My understanding of PLD/CPLD vs FPGA is that the CPLD is based of EEPROM for
logic cells which are programmed before deployment (With exceptions), and they
are operational as soon they are powered up. They are generally small in terms
of number of logic cells they offer.
FPGA in other hands are based on RAM. They are programmed / booted at the
power on (Internal/External Flash). They become operational once the
program/design is transferred from flash to RAM based logic cells. They offer
large number of logic cells thus allows the implementation of complex designs.
------
Qantourisc
Hmm this made me wonder: what would happen if you made a system that supported
multiple architectures (ARC, PPC, x86, FPGA, ...) at the same time ?
~~~
wwwigham
A general purpose CPU paired with an FPGA to offload specialized workloads
onto seems like a really sweet deal - that is until you realize that
configuring the FPGA with a new bitstream is pretty slow (so live
reconfigurations would be irregular) and the toolchains for building code
which controls interoperation between the CPU and whatever you've placed into
the programmable fabric is poor (so designing good custom hardware
accelerators is a time consuming dev task).
I spent a semester working with a Xilinx SoC, and the experience was
enlightening. My computer engineering friends were very comfortable with gate
description diagrams and debugging with input/output wires and waiting literal
hours between test cycles. I was the only software engineer in the room, and
all I could do was ask myself how anyone could be OK with this awful tooling
situation. It really befuddled me - I was especially frustrated while using
high-level synthesis tools which take C++ and convert it into a functioning
hardware description (Alleviating the need to rewrite business logic in VHDL
or Verilog). It would take well-formed C++ code with a simple API and give a
pretty good hardware description (sometimes with better perf than a
handwritten equivalent, with a little optimizing), but fail to generate a
corresponding API for it on the associated CPU for anything beyond simple
register access (despite starting with what was likely the desired software
API)! IMO, FPGA tooling could use a lot of TLC, but maybe I just had a bad
experience.
~~~
samfisher83
When you think of c++ you think sequentially, but hardware doesn't work that
way. I think verilog or vhdl make more sense instead of trying to get c++ to
work for hardware or having to come up with more c++ code to account for the
way hardware works.
------
ianderf
This can be a real breakthrough in computing technology. Just in time, as the
improvement of desktop and server CPUs has stalled almost completely.
~~~
duhast
FPGA and CPU together is nothing new. AMD started offering Fiji + HBM in 2015
and recently nVidia joined with their Pascal + HBM2. Intel is lagging in
general due to lack of competition.
~~~
ianderf
HBM != FPGA
~~~
duhast
I never said that. Thanks for -1.
~~~
ianderf
That's not mine. You wrote about Fiji and Pascal, but AFAIK they have nothing
to do with FPGA.
------
unwind
Site seems down. I tried to find an alternative source but didn't come up with
much.
~~~
alt_
* Jordan Inkeles, Altera's director of product marketing for high end FPGAs
Speaking in 2012, Danny Biran – then Altera’s senior VP for corporate strategy
– said he saw a time when the company would be offering ‘standard products’ –
devices featuring an FPGA, with different dice integrated in the package.
“It’s also possible these devices may integrate customer specific circuits if
the business case is good enough,” he noted.
There was a lot going on behind the scenes then; already, Altera was talking
with Intel about using its foundry service to build ‘Generation 10’ devices,
eventually being acquired by Intel in 2015.
Now the first fruit of that work has appeared in the form of Stratix 10 MX.
Designed to meet the needs of those developing high end communications
systems, the device integrates stacked memory dice alongside an FPGA die,
providing users with a memory bandwidth of up to 1Tbyte/s.
“A few years ago,” said Jordan Inkeles, director of product marketing for high
end FPGAs, “we partnered with Intel for lithography and were very excited. We
also looked at Intel’s packaging technology and asked ‘can we use that?’. The
answer was ‘yes’. The combination has allowed us to do things we thought were
not possible.”
The concept is based on what Altera – now Intel’s Programmable Systems Group
(PSG) – calls ‘tiles’. Essentially, these are the dice which sit alongside the
FPGA. Tiles are connected to the FPGA using Intel’s EMIB – embedded multi-
interconnect bridge – technology. “It’s not a traditional silicon interposer,”
Inkeles explained. “It’s a little bridge chip which is used where you need to
connect two pieces of silicon.”
* Statix 10 MX is said to combine the programmability and flexibility of STratix 10 FPGAs with integrated 3D stacked high bandwidth memory devices
Stratix 10 MX devices are designed to help engineers solve demanding memory
bandwidth challenges which can’t be addressed using conventional memory
solutions. The parts integrate four stacks of HBM2 DRAM, each with up to four
memory dice. PSG says the parts are suitable for use where bandwidth is
paramount. Apart from providing 10 times more memory bandwidth than
conventional solutions, Stratix 10 MX devices are said to be smaller and to
use less power.
“This idea of integrated chips opens up things,” Inkeles said. “FPGAs are
trying to be everything to everyone. They have to support wireless, wired,
networking, radar and high performance computing, amongst others. We saw
divergence in what was possible.”
PSG started thinking about transceivers. “If we had transceivers in separate
tiles, we could come out with devices for different markets,” Inkeles
continued. “It also makes sense for analogue, which doesn’t move at the same
pace as digital, and for design reuse. So we could use a tile that meets
today’s needs – say a 28G transceiver – then come out in the future with a 56G
PAM4 tile and a 28G NRZ tile. In the same process node time frame, we can
deliver two very different types of product.”
This is the concept underpinning the MX. “Parallel memory is becoming a huge
challenge,” Inkeles observed. “You can continue to use parallel interfaces,
but with the memory right next to the FPGA to maintain signal integrity and
reduce power. But, while Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) is a good solution, it has
to be serial,” he continued, “as you can’t get signal integrity on a 72bit
wide datapath. Or you can put memory in the package.
“By providing up to four stacks of four DRAM dice, we’re providing a memory
bandwidth never seen before. Each stack can run to 256Gbyte/s, so four stacks
give 1Tbyte/s. That’s unprecedented and can’t be achieved with HMC.
“Power consumption is reduced because the memory is right next to the FPGA and
drive strength is much smaller – only pJ/bit – because you’re not driving
signals to a memory that could be 6in away.”
There is a downside, however; it’s an expensive solution. “You’re paying for
bandwidth,” Inkeles admitted. “But customers complain about the effort it
takes to do board layout and to get the DDR chips right. We’ve solved that
without using any I/O or transceivers. And if 16Gbyte of DRAM in package isn’t
enough, you still have transceivers and I/O available for use with external
components.”
Inkeles pointed to three broad application areas for the MX device. “There’s
high performance computing (HPC), cloud computing and data centres, but they
all look for different things.
“HPC says ‘give me everything, while cloud says it’s worried about the cost
per bit. Data centres can build algorithms in logic, which is quicker than a
GPU, but need the memory bandwidth to ‘feed the beast’.”
Apart from imaging applications, such as medical and radar, Inkeles says there
are applications in wireline communications. “Gone are the days of just
routing traffic,” he said. “Everyone is now looking to differentiate their
products, for example, by providing statistics on the data being handled. So
they need to hold a piece of traffic for a moment to analyse what it is, then
send it onwards. This couldn’t be done before because there wasn’t the
bandwidth.”
MX is the first implementation of PSG’s strategy and the interesting thing is
‘what comes next?’. It’s quite possible that optical functionality might
appear at some point in Intel PSG’s Stratix 10 parts.
Five years ago, Altera announced plans to integrate optical interfaces into
its FPGAs as a way to cope with increasing communications bandwidth. Despite
demonstrating the technology later in 2011, the idea remained on the shelf.
Inkeles said: “We have continued to evolve the technology, but haven’t gone
public with the developments.”
Inkeles noted: “Although PAM4 offers a way to stay in the electrical domain,
we will, at some point, run out of capability and we’ve been preparing for
that transition. Now we have transceivers on tiles, we can take out one tile
and replace it with an optical interface.
“We’ve been working behind the scenes,” Inkeles continued, “but the right time
to put a product into the market will depend on the economics.”
Altera’s acquisition by Intel also gives it access to silicon photonics
technology. “We have exciting capabilities,” Inkeles added.
* Heterogenous 3D system in package integration could enable a new class of FPGA based devices
Another potential step is integrating such components as analogue, ASICs and
CPUs alongside an FPGA. Intel PSG says EMIB offers a simpler manufacturing
flow by eliminating the use of through silicon vias and specialised
interposers. The result, it claims, will be integrated systems in package that
offer higher performance, less complexity and better signal and power
integrity.
Inkeles sees this as potentially a new market. “ASICs have become smaller and
faster, but not cheaper. Unless you’re going to sell millions, you will have a
tough time,” he said. “ASSPs are going away, unless you can find more
customers or more volume.”
Is it possible that Biran’s vision of ‘standard products’ might be close to
reality and could that even include custom versions of a Stratix 10? “Will we
do custom?,” Inkeles wondered. “It’s within our ability. It’s not something
we’re promoting, but we are engaging with customers.
“We have a range of options. Now we’re part of Intel, the ‘sky’s the limit’.
As Altera, we developed HardCopy and had an ASIC team, but it wasn’t our core
competence. But Intel Foundry can do ASIC,” he concluded.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How Goldman Sachs lost $1.2B of Libya's money - stevenj
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-goldman-sachs-libya/
======
ScottBurson
Matt Levine's take, discussed here a few days ago:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12610352](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12610352)
~~~
Overtonwindow
Matt Levine is brilliant, thank you.
------
arcanus
> From his hotel room, Kabbaj called Michael Sherwood, one of Goldman’s top
> London executives, who said the bank would do whatever it took to get them
> out. Goldman’s security team called back, telling Kabbaj it was looking at
> options for “extraction” and ordering him not to leave the Corinthia. The
> hotel housed the U.S. embassy and a complement of armed U.S. Marines, not to
> mention hundreds of foreign witnesses to anything unpleasant that might
> occur. The next morning, a Goldman partner called to say the bank’s security
> team was increasingly concerned about their safety. They hustled to the
> airport and a flight to London.
Goldman has an extraction team? Pretty cyberpunk.
~~~
api
Virtually everything has come true except 'trodes, razor blade implants, and
Rastafarians in space.
Wait...
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_direct-
current_st...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_direct-
current_stimulation)
Okay, so razor blade implants and Rastafarians in space.
------
sean_patel
This is a repost. See previous post from 3 days ago =>
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12605043](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12605043)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
A different kind of link sharing for programmers (weekend project), realtime - dhaivatpandya
http://dhaivat.webfactional.com/
======
dhaivatpandya
This was a weekend project for me, done in about 3 hours, and I'm still fixing
a few bugs, but, here it is.
Basically, I really love Hacker News, but, because there is a login and other
such restrictions, a lot of content gets filtered and downvoted so I never see
it, and I wanted something that would be almost too free to be useful, but, I
did it anyway.
And, being realtime is really cool so I can have it on another monitor while
working and not have to keep refreshing, and I also wanted to do it 'cause I
wanted to do a realtime app with Flask (<http://flask.pocoo.org/>)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Machine Bests Man in Jeopardy Practice Round - NonEUCitizen
http://mashable.com/2011/01/13/watson-jeopardy/
======
hoag
Did this give anybody else goosebumps too? In a GOOD way, I mean? This is
amazing.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
DataCleaner 3.6.1 – open source Data Quality toolkit for any datastore - kaspersorensen
http://datacleaner.org/newsitem/datacleaner-3.6.1-released
======
kaspersorensen
So much stuff in here ... Support for relational databases, CSV files, Excel
and even NoSQL databases like MongoDB, CouchDB etc... You can use it for
analysis, profiling, deduplication and even as a kind of lightweight ETL tool.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Fractons, for Real? - IntronExon
https://quantumfrontiers.com/2018/02/16/fractons-for-real/
======
hpcjoe
I like that they talk about their favorite tools and toy models. In grad
school, I had a number of toy models and I got to use some of my favorite
tools in my research/thesis write up.
For me, one of my favorite tools was a form of perturbation theory which I
could apply to all sorts of things. Didn't always work, and I think I annoyed
my thesis advisor with it.
------
kazinator
> _Back in the early 2000s, a question that kept attracting and frustrating
> people in quantum information is how to build a quantum hard drive to store
> quantum information._
In the early 2000s, there still existed "Quantum" branded hard drives, in very
popular use.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Corporation)
At first I thought the image was a joke.
Nope; you're just old now if you remember "Quantum Fireball".
~~~
Taniwha
I still want to know who turned a "quantum change" from the very smallest
change one can possibly make to something revolutionarily large (I bet it was
some marketting guy)
~~~
krastanov
This is an amusing meme/complaint, but it is not really correct. In physics
"quantum" does frequently imply very small, but its fundamental meaning is a
"discrete" change with no intermediate state. Hence, it is perfectly correct
to use "quantum leap" to describe a significant development.
P.S. There are now plenty of real-world quantum systems that are centimeter
sized. Check "cavity QED".
~~~
leggomylibro
So is it sort of like how we use 'atomic' to mean a single discrete operation
in programming?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearizability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearizability)
~~~
TuringTest
Yes. The name "atom" literally meant "indivisible" in its original greek form.
It's fitting for computations that go on undisturbed until completion.
------
zaroth
About halfway through TFA;
“Things start to get technical from here, but...”
Gee, thanks for the warning! </s>
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Why MasterClass Isn’t Really About Mastery - occamschainsaw
https://napkinmath.substack.com/p/why-masterclass-isnt-really-about
======
kiba
Seems to me that MasterClass is basically the Great Courses except much
slicker and is funded by venture vultures. We'll see how long they will last
until it get ruined.
Beside, I don't really care if the company is really selling X or Y. Clearly,
their product contain real valuable knowledge.
However, if you're in the pursuit of knowledge, just watching it will likely
result in jack-squat retention. I know this because I watched a whole lecture
about the industrial revolution, and can't retain anything beyond the basic
overview, if at that.
Master Class appears to have workbooks and exercises, so retention are going
to be much better than one of the series in the Great Courses.
Still, 90% of the value is gained by learners doing the work and putting in
the time.
------
ageitgey
If you have ever written an educational book or sold educational material, the
first thing you learn is that the market for actual mastery-level educational
material is infinitesimal. The only way to make money (without charging
astronomical, university-enrollment-level prices) is to make content that
appeals to a mass audience.
Imagine you wanted to revolutionize higher education, so you build a big-
budget website with excellent graduate-level CS content at an affordable
price. How big is that market? There are only about 2,000 CS PhDs and 40,000
CS masters degrees issued in the US each year. That's a tiny market compared
to the many millions of people who could benefit from learning basic
programming to automate a boring part of their non-programming job. There are
teenagers in India producing zero-budget PHP tutorials on YouTube in their
bedrooms everyday that easily reach 10x your total addressable market. It's a
business non-starter. And that's for a popular, lucrative field like CS -
imagine trying to launch an educational product in a smaller, less lucrative
field like Anthropology or Sociology.
The only viable way to make something like MasterClass work is to aim it at
adults with disposable cash who want to broaden their skillset while being
entertained but aren't trying to become an expert in the field. There's
nothing wrong with that. MasterClass (and the numerous similar products, from
ad-supported YouTube content to many providers of paid courses) are often
really great and entertaining.
------
cm2187
I don't think anyone could take it seriously as education. I see as an
interesting interview, where someone will discuss technical things about his
art, great for geeks. The one from Hans Zimmer where he discusses how he
progressively comes up with the music for a film is interesting, or Ron Howard
analyses an Indiana Jones sequence, etc. Don't think it is meant to make you a
composer or a director.
Kind of like a cockpit video for planes.
~~~
michelb
This rings true for me. The analysis of the craft, and looking over the
shoulder was really great. Hearing a 'grandmaster' talk about their profession
and giving a little demo is quite interesting. There are some real gems in the
catalogue.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Hooked.io – Instant Stripe Notifications - hookedio
Hi,<p>We're two young guys in Scotland who made this over the summer. In brief, you connect your Stripe account and get notifications via email (push, sms, Hipchat, Slack and others coming soon) of important events that occur.<p>We'd really appreciate any feedback or opinions on it: https://hooked.io<p>Thanks!
======
dang
Posts without urls are penalized. You'd be better off reposting this using the
url, then adding your text as a comment in the thread. Good luck!
~~~
hookedio
Oh hey, thanks for the advice :)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Drone crash-lands at US Open - stefap2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oII7XOicv0
======
georgemcbay
3DR Solo. Not the best bit of publicity for 3DR on multiple levels.
As a hobbyist quadcopter designer/pilot, I'm getting real sick of these idiots
flying in all sorts of stupid places you shouldn't be flying a 4 pound brick
with potentially skin-cutting blades attached. People already have enough of
an irrational bias against "drones", events like this sure aren't going to
help.
Good thing the stands in that area were empty.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Miami Will Be Underwater Soon. Its Drinking Water Could Go First - hourislate
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-08-29/miami-s-other-water-problem
======
fabricexpert
This article is kind of infuriating. Just bring the facts up and talk about
them, instead of describing people. I think this is one of the more critical
parts (along with the stuff about water supply getting contaminated):
> Barring a stupendous reversal in greenhouse gas emissions, the rising
> Atlantic will cover much of Miami by the end of this century. The economic
> effects will be devastating: Zillow Inc. estimates that six feet of sea-
> level rise would put a quarter of Miami’s homes underwater.
However, nowhere in the article does it say a six feet rise will happen at the
end of the century. So is that actually going to happen? How many models
project this and how many don't? What is the "stupendous reversal" required in
real terms? What are the options to combat this? Would a giant sea wall work?
If you come at this from the angle of "climate change is a myth" the entire
article reads as fluff. This makes it basically impossible to convince people
that this is a real issue that needs to be dealt with. The sensationalist
title distances people from the issue even further (it is sensational because
the article doesn't present any evidence that Miami will be underwater soon).
~~~
leereeves
According to NASA [1], global sea levels have been rising at a fairly steady
3.2 millimeters per year since 1993.
According to NOAA [2], the "relative sea level trend" in Miami Beach is 2.39
mm/year.
At those rates, in 100 years, the sea will have risen about one foot, not six.
1: [https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-
level/](https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/)
2:
[https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/](https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/)
~~~
pstuart
Only if that rate remains steady, and it very well may not.
~~~
leereeves
True. And some scientists believe that rate _is_ accelerating, for example
Steve Nerem et al:
[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180212150739.h...](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180212150739.htm)
That accelerating projection "has the potential to double the total sea level
rise by 2100 as compared to projections that assume a constant rate -- to more
than 60 cm instead of about 30".
Two feet instead of one. I still don't see where six feet is coming from.
~~~
mikestew
_I still don 't see where six feet is coming from._
I read $SOMEWHERE recently that the the worst case scenario predicted six
feet. But that's, IIRC, if we do absolutely nothing, the methane in the Arctic
is all released, and Greenland melts. The more likely scenario is somewhere
from 1-3 feet.
So unless memory fails me, the article didn't just pull it out of its arse,
but a source would've been nice rather than just throw a number out there with
no backing whatsoever.
~~~
nkoren
If Greenland melts, you get 6 _meters_ (20 feet).[1]
1:
[https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/quickfacts/icesheets.html](https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/quickfacts/icesheets.html)
~~~
wizardforhire
Greenland is melting.
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-
environment/wp/20...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-
environment/wp/2018/03/28/greenland-is-melting-faster-than-at-any-time-in-the-
last-450-years-at-least/?utm_term=.83fe975442cb)
~~~
credit_guy
Check this out for real time data about the Greenland ice mass budget.
(Spoiler: Greenland is not melting)
[https://www.dmi.dk/en/groenland/maalinger/greenland-ice-
shee...](https://www.dmi.dk/en/groenland/maalinger/greenland-ice-sheet-
surface-mass-budget/)
~~~
jerdimus
You are right, it's not losing mass through melting.
But it is losing mass when iceberg calving is accounted for.
"Over the year, it snows more than it melts, but calving of icebergs also adds
to the total mass budget of the ice sheet. Satellite observations over the
last decade show that the ice sheet is not in balance. The calving loss is
greater than the gain from surface mass balance, and _Greenland is losing mass
at about 200 Gt /yr_."
Edit: And i thought this article on the scale of a gigaton of water was
interesting as well:
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-
environment/wp/20...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-
environment/wp/2015/07/01/meet-the-gigaton-the-huge-unit-that-scientists-use-
to-track-planetary-change)
~~~
credit_guy
200 Gt = 0.007% of the ice mass of Greenland.
Or 0.5mm sea level increase (from your link).
------
chollida1
Start worrying when the banks stop offering mortgages to people trying to buy
property in south beach.
I remember when Katrina flooded New Orleans, lots of people were asking why
rebuild the city when it almost certainly will flood like that again. And the
answer was a simple, do you know how much it would cost to relocate everyone?
What does it do to the economy when almost everyones largest asset(their
house) is worth effectively zero and people still have 20 years on their
mortgage.
In my old city (Calgary, Canada) we had a pretty bad flood in 2013. The
government made, what I thought was a smart, deal with the home owners.
They would get some government assistence with the condition that this was the
first and only time that the governmnet would help.
Some owners rebuilt, others just bulldozed their homes. Now everyone knows
where they stand, the government helped shoulder the initial burden and the
people who moved helped lower the number of people living in a flood plain.
~~~
jdpedrie
> They would get some government assistence with the condition that this was
> the first and only time that the governmnet would help.
We'll see how well that holds up next time those people need assistance.
Somehow I don't see any elected politician telling his voters "sorry, we
already helped you".
~~~
craftyguy
That's a common problem with any elected government. Tough decisions like "we
need everyone here to move away right now" never get made because doing so
would result in some elected politician not winning re-election.
~~~
beat
Not necessarily. My mother lived briefly in Shawneetown, IL, on the Ohio River
(before I was born). After a particularly bad flood, the locals just packed
the whole town up and moved a couple of miles inland to higher ground. I took
her down to visit once, and she was totally weirded out. The house she lived
in still stood there, abandoned.
People move away when a location is no longer economically viable, period.
They won't move away until then, despite the risks. If they did, no one would
live in volcano or earthquake zones. Think San Francisco Bay is going to be
depopulated just because it's a dangerous place to live?
~~~
craftyguy
That's not my point. Obviously people will move away on their own accord if
living in a location is no longer safe/viable.
My point is, until a location is no longer safe, they will generally stay put
and resist any pressure to leave, even if all evidence points to it becoming
unsafe in the not so distant future. Elected officials live in the moment, and
will not make decisions that impact constituents today in preparation for a
future disaster.
~~~
beat
Remember, in _Jaws 2_ , the people had re-elected the mayor.
------
creaghpatr
Interestingly, the Miami housing market outlook for 2019 is excellent, in
spite of this news.
[https://gordcollins.com/real-estate/miami-real-estate-
foreca...](https://gordcollins.com/real-estate/miami-real-estate-forecast/)
It would appear that people who actually have skin in the game believe
otherwise.
~~~
dv_dt
Markets are great for short term simple extrapolative prediction. At long term
and/or non-continuous prediction they seem to have had significant failures.
~~~
siglesias
Citation? There seem to be cases in high technology where the market is very
patient for long term returns. Case in point: AMZN trades at a 320 P/E because
the market (thus far correctly) can’t see a plausible scenario in which it
cedes any e-commerce or AWS share.
Maybe this is optimism bias writ large? Another possibility is that even if
there is robust demand despite certain destruction, these houses are really
worth many millions for the short term (for cachet, status, etc.). Here we
model them as really expensive vacations.
~~~
nabla9
> very patient for long term returns.
High P/E in the case of AMZN is not measure of long term. It's measure fo fast
expected growth, low interest rates, shadow margins, and general short therm
overconfidence.
It took 10 years for AMZN stock to recover from the peak of 1999 crash. There
was nothing wrong with the company, markets just didn't want to wait.
------
ben509
Part of the problem here is exacerbated by all the flood insurance that
effectively subsidizes building in flood plains. In addition to long term
measures to mitigate climate change, we should have a tax on areas that are
threatened by flooding and water levels rising so that we can reduce the
immediate issues by incentivizing people to move away from them.
~~~
ryandrake
Should we also tax people living in earthquake-prone and tornado-prone areas?
How about blizzard-prone areas? Keep going with this and we will run out of
places (in the USA) where it’s ok to live.
Also, as someone who lived in south Florida, flood insurance is a joke and
unavailable near the coast anyway. Nobody expects it to pay out enough in a
major catastrophe, including hurricanes and flooding.
~~~
closeparen
Blizzards don’t typically level buildings, and a tornado’s path of destruction
is narrow enough that the lucky homeowners can sufficiently subsidize the
unlucky ones through insurance.
Neither of those risks are comparable to earthquakes and hurricanes/flooding,
which can be relied upon to thoroughly destroy huge swaths of cities,
regularly.
~~~
gamblor956
California regularly survives 6.0 earthquakes with minimal damage, because our
building codes require earthquake-safe construction. For example, the 2008
Chino Hills quake, at 5.5 intensity, caused almost no damage other than the
unsecured contents of store shelves falling onto the floor.
In contrast, a slightly stronger quake in DC (5.8) caused hundreds of millions
of dollars in damage to structures, including to the Washington Monument,
because the local building codes did not contemplate earthquakes.
------
jillesvangurp
There are technical solutions to all of this. I come from a country that has
been fighting back the sea for centuries (Netherlands) and that has been
exporting it's knowledge to do so for a long time as well. The basic consensus
is that we'll need bigger dikes and a few other things over the next decades.
Plenty of time to build that. Not a problem. At least not in places that can
afford to invest in solutions.
Basically build some dikes, desalination plants, pumping stations, etc. and
start planning which areas to protect and which areas to abandon. Problem
solved.
All of this requires money of course. Luckily, Miami is still a pretty rich
city in a relatively rich state; it can handle this.
If the worst happens, it will be because of ignorance and mismanagement and
not because of a lack of solutions or means. It may take a few minor incidents
before people figure this out but the smart thing would be to not wait for
that.
~~~
WhompingWindows
What is the bedrock of the Netherlands, geologically speaking? Pumps, dikes,
and the like won't help that much in Miami because the porous limestone
underlying the city allows water under and around these traditional methods.
~~~
sobani
Non existing. Basically every building in Holland is build on 'stilts'. 40-100
feet long beams of wood or concrete that reach through the 'bog' surface until
it reaches a stable layer of sand.
See [https://youtu.be/5GEGWP95HFw?t=2m0s](https://youtu.be/5GEGWP95HFw?t=2m0s)
for an example of how those stilts are placed. Note that until 2:30 it's
basically just using a big weight. From about 2:40 the machine starts to get
serious.
Beyond dikes we've had mills keeping ground water levels steady since at least
the 10th century.
------
DoreenMichele
I've had a class in hydrology. The article did a good job covering the actual
threats to the water supply. It ended on a note of "But the impact of people's
choices is the bigger threat to Miami's survival." I think that's true.
However, I feel it did a poor job of really spelling that out.
_Despite pockets of extreme wealth—one study estimated that the Miami metro
area has the nation’s eighth-highest number of millionaires—the county overall
is poor. Its median household income of $44,224 is almost one-quarter lower
than that of the country as a whole._
It's not uncommon for ocean front property to be very desirable and very
expensive. I'm guessing that a lot of those millionaires live near the beach
or on the beach and their homes may be some of the ones most at risk of ending
up under water as sea levels rise.
Rich people are typically the most able to up and move elsewhere. If the rich
people in waterfront property homes start leaving, you are left with a bunch
of relatively poor people and hard-to-solve, expensive problems.
This means you don't need sea levels to rise six feet to significantly alter
the city of Miami in ways that can spell Miami's doom in some sense. Like
Galveston, which was an important and rich city at one time and then was
devastated by a single hurricane, Miami could become a shadow of its former
self with no hope of recovery.
You only need it to rise however much would serve as some kind of tipping
point where rich folks would stop feeling it was a desirable place to be.
Maybe that's when their yard is inundated. Or maybe it will be determined by
some other metric entirely.
The reality is there may be no one who is capable of predicting where that
tipping point is. Once it's reached, there may be no reversing the problem.
Miami may be left with a poor population, a raft load of expensive problems
and no means to readily solve any of them as their poor population slides
deeper into debt to keep surviving.
Edit/footnote: It's a lousy title. Even the article itself is not actually
predicting that the entire city will ever be completely under water like the
title suggests.
------
tim333
For context the global rate of sea level rise currently seems to be 4cm a
decade so you could come back in 10 or 20 years and probably not notice much.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise)
~~~
monetus
I'd be surprised if the rise sticks to a linear progression. The ice caps are
caught in a feedback loop.
------
not_that_noob
This is one of the best articles I've seen on climate change. We are now
looking to a 3 degree rise in surface temps by the middle of this century -
well within our lifetimes. Miami is headed underwater. I wouldn't be buying
real estate in any low-lying area if I can avoid it.
"Three-degree warming is a prescription for short-term disaster: forests in
the Arctic and the loss of most coastal cities. Robert Watson, a former
director of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has
argued that three-degree warming is the realistic minimum."
[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/01/magazine/clim...](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/01/magazine/climate-
change-losing-earth.html)
------
hfdgiutdryg
The idea that it's 2018 and we don't have solar powered desalination plants
for some of our largest, sunny, water-limited southern cities boggles my mind.
Los Angeles has a nuclear plant just to the north, but no desalination, and
more sun than anyone wants. It's insane.
~~~
Synaesthesia
It’s still a really expensive way to get drinking water.
~~~
hfdgiutdryg
It's cheaper than having your economy collapse when the aquifers empty, and
it's only going to get cheaper if money is invested in it.
------
frequent
Always reminds me of Roisin Murphy "Dear Miami" (1997)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbX7ASDLwAk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbX7ASDLwAk)
"Behind these walls You can be so self-absorbed Behind those eyes, no disguise
Disguise, no you can't disguise
Behind this fortress of an address Stuck in the passion void With a little
style full and for a while But you can't turn back time
Dear Miami, you're the first to go Disappearing under melting snow Each and
everyone turn your critical eye On the burning sun and try not to cry
..."
------
golergka
> One morning in June, Douglas Yoder climbed into a white government SUV...
This again. I won't stop complaining about this tedious journalistic style
until it finally dies.
I don't want to hear a personal story of a random person that's related to the
issue in some way. I certainly don't want to read anything about how he spends
his day - I value my own day too much for that. I just want to read about the
issue itself.
That's why people don't read longreads anymore.
~~~
iamthirsty
Bloomberg writers definitely overuse this hook, but long-reads are more
narrative-focused, so it totally makes sense to introduce the issue this way —
just not every time.
~~~
golergka
I don't mind narrative, but I want narrative about technologies and science
instead of people. If you can't write a narrative without focusing on people,
may be you shouldn't write about science and tech at all.
------
southern_cross
Fun fact, kids. If you pump down an aquifer (any aquifer, anywhere) faster
than it is being replenished from above via rainwater, then any other water
sitting around it will eventually start to intrude. And if that outside water
is salty or otherwise non-potable, then problem! Meaning that saltwater
intrusion in coastal areas is a pretty much constant potential risk anyway,
regardless of any sea level rise.
------
frockington
At a rate of 0-3 mm/year or 1 foot/century its going to be hard to convince
anyone to care about the sea level.
[https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends.html](https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends.html)
~~~
christophilus
That's an interesting map. Any idea why there are down and up arrows
intermingled the way they are?
~~~
frockington
From my understanding the down arrows indicate the coast is expanding. The key
at the bottom says the down arrows are negative sea level growth
~~~
singularity2001
I read that tide patterns are changing so locally measuring climate sea rise
makes no sense yet, as tides superimpose ±8mm
So far you need the global integrate of all changes.
------
mrfusion
Have we seen any sea level rise in the US yet? I think people would buy into
it more once we have pictures of roads and buildings being hit by water at
high tide.
~~~
smacktoward
See this article from 2014, about the port city of Norfolk, Virginia:
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-
norfolk-e...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-norfolk-
evidence-of-climate-change-is-in-the-streets-at-high-
tide/2014/05/31/fe3ae860-e71f-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html?utm_term=.832e5ed3d2f3)
_At high tide on the small inlet next to Norfolk’s most prestigious art
museum, the water lapped at the very top of the concrete sea wall that has
held it back for 100 years. It seeped up through storm drains, puddled on the
promenade and spread, half a foot deep, across the street, where a sign read,
“Road Closed.”_
_The sun was shining, but all around the inlet people were bracing for more
serious flooding. The Chrysler Museum of Art had just completed a $24 million
renovation that emptied the basement, now accessible only by ladder, and
lifted the heating and air-conditioning systems to the top floor. A local
accounting firm stood behind a homemade barricade of stanchions and detachable
flaps rigged to keep the water out. And the congregation of the Unitarian
Church of Norfolk was looking to evacuate._
_“We don’t like being the poster child for climate change,” said the Rev.
Jennifer Slade, who added that the building, with its carved-wood sanctuary
and soaring flood-insurance rates, would soon be on the market for the first
time in four decades. “I don’t know many churches that have to put the tide
chart on their Web site” so people know whether they can get to church._
------
zackmorris
I'm getting the feeling lately that the freedom in speech and action that is
the foundation of the United States doesn't mean freedom from consequences.
Florida has a rather right leaning/libertarian persuasion, which as the
article pointed out, allowed the Miami Drum Services Inc. superfund site and
Lake Belt limestone mine to cause contamination of drinking water as recently
as 1997.
I'm from Idaho and am well aware of the environmental impacts from superfund
sites and mining. The corporations go in and make their millions, then
taxpayers are on the hook for the cleanup. Now we can't even fish many rivers
and lakes here because mine tailings have contaminated the water with mercury
(from gold mining) and other nastiness.
Due to a long history of this short term thinking where profits are privatized
and externalities are socialized, Miami is going to have to come to terms with
losing its drinking water and either pipe it in from far away or move to
desalinization. It's going to be expensive and unfortunate, but I wonder if it
will be enough for people to shift their politics. Judging by the political
stalemate in my state, I'm guessing not.
------
Iwan-Zotow
"Good news, everyone!"
------
erentz
I’ve never understood how the parts of the country most affected by sea level
rise have been so vociferously against it being real.
When the BP spill happened and they had all the local mayors and politicians
crying about the damage to their coast, I couldn’t understand why no one had
the cajones to ask them why they cared so much about their coast being damaged
now, when they were completely fine with it being gone and under water in a
few decades.
~~~
psychometry
I think there's been a brain drain happening in a lot of red states in recent
decades. The educated people who have the ability and will to leave often do,
leaving behind an increasingly ignorant population. It's coincidental that
this same geographic region will be most affected by sea level rise, although
nowhere on earth will be immune to the effects of climate change.
~~~
mancerayder
Funny, Florida is getting an influx of people exiting the Northeast due to the
local tax cap changes of the current administration and our high prop and
local taxes here. It's all over the press.
Thus I'm skeptical. And "brain drains" refer to skilled employees leaving, not
some intelligence or education level which you're implying.
~~~
lovich
I've always seen brain drain used to reference the educated leaving an area.
Frequently calling out professors and other educators leaving as part of the
brain drain
------
haha99
"by the end of this century" is quite an odd definition of "soon". By then
some of us won't even be alive.
------
dragthor
Hysterical headline and article.
In grade school it was dying from the ozone hole, acid rain, and global
freezing (new ice age).
Recycling, not being wasteful, and conserving water wasn't scary enough I
guess.
------
westurner
Now, now, let's focus on the positives here:
\- more pollution from shipping routes through the Arctic circle (and yucky-
looking icebergs that tourists don't like)
\- less beachfront property
\- more desalinatable water
\- hotter heat
\- more revulsive detestable significant others (displaced global unrest)
\- costs of responding to natural disasters occurring with greater frequency
due to elevated ocean temperatures
\- less parking spaces (!)
What are the other costs and benefits here?
~~~
westurner
I've received a number of downvotes for this comment. I think it's
misunderstood, and that's my fault: I should have included [sarcasm] around
the whole comment [/sarcasm].
I've written about our need to address climate change here in past comments. I
think the administration's climate change denials (see: "climate change
politifact') and regulatory rollbacks are beyond despicable: they're
sabotaging the United States by allowing more toxic chemicals into the
environment that we all share, and allowing more sites that must be protected
with tax dollars that aren't there because these industries pay far less than
_benchmarks_ in terms of effective tax rate. We know that vehicle emissions,
mercury, and coal ash are toxic: why would we allow people to violate the
rights of others in that way?
A person could voluntarily consume said toxic byproducts and not have violated
their own rights or the rights of others, you understand. There's no medical
value and low potential for abuse, so we just sit idly by while they're
violating the rights of other people by dumping toxic chemicals into the
environment that are both poisonous and strongly linked to climate change.
What would help us care about this? A sarcastic list of additional reasons
that we should care? No! Miami underwater during tourist season is enough!
I've had enough!
So, my mistake here - my downvote-earning mistake - was dropping my generally
helpful, hopeful tone for cynicism and sarcasm that wasn't motivating enough.
We need people to regulate pollution in order to prevent further costs of
climate change. Water in the streets holds up commerce, travel, hampers
national security, and destroys the road.
We must stop rewarding pollution if we want it - and definitely resultant
climate change - to stop. What motivates other people to care?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Interesting, dystopian, review of the Apple iWatch - marklittlewood
https://medium.com/message/upon-this-wrist-97cfc33c443c
======
samuraig
Hilarious
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
SoftLayer releases pay-by-hour EC2 competitor - sadiq
http://www.softlayer.com/press_2009_06_08.html
======
il
Slightly cheaper than EC2 and incoming bandwidth is free, which is huge for
some apps. Looks like a winner.
------
wmf
This appears to be slightly cheaper than EC2; someone will have to do
benchmarks to confirm.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Keeping the Pirates at Bay - ssp
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3030/keeping_the_pirates_at_bay.php?print=1
======
zach
More recently, the developers of the iPhone game BloodnGuns built an anti-
piracy level that would only be seen by those playing a cracked version. It
placed the player in an arena with a never-ending wave of killer chickens
armed only with the weakest weapon and no way to advance.
The forum posts went like: "Hi I can’t seem to get past the first level. I’m
too slow. Only a pistol. Too many chickens. Any help with that? Suggestions?"
It was great.
~~~
jrockway
Well, a few people probably bothered with the forums. Everyone else just
figured that the game sucked, and made a mental note to never buy (or pirate)
your games again. And they told their friends.
~~~
chrischen
They probably aren't very inclined to buy games in the first place, though I
do think they should be made aware they are using a crippled or demo version.
------
Apreche
The thing that struck me was that there was not a word about sales figures in
this article. Yes, it seems they gave the pirates a hard time with their DRM.
However, I think it is fairly obvious that those pirates had little to no
interest in actually playing the game. They just like breaking DRM, that part
is the fun for them.
I think it is also obvious that people who got the game from these DRM-
crackers, and actually did want to play it, would not have ever paid for it.
Even if the DRM was perfect, would sales have gone up? In all that time people
were waiting for a successful crack, how many people gave up on pirating and
bought the game? I'm betting the numbers were ludicrously small.
The developers would have been better off not spending any money whatsoever
developing this copy protection. Unless they can provide evidence of a large
increase in sales, I call BS. All they did was spend money developing a free
game of "crack the DRM" to a bunch of nerds.
~~~
rick888
"I think it is also obvious that people who got the game from these DRM-
crackers, and actually did want to play it, would not have ever paid for it."
You expect sales figures yet you say it's "obvious" that people that got the
game from DRM crackers would never pay for it? Where are your facts to back
this up? Do you really have any proof beyond a blanket statement?
"The developers would have been better off not spending any money whatsoever
developing this copy protection. Unless they can provide evidence of a large
increase in sales, I call BS. All they did was spend money developing a free
game of "crack the DRM" to a bunch of nerds."
Right. We see how well that works. You seem to forget that DRM was created
only recently, in response to mass piracy.
You would think that people would take the hint and stop pirating games. If
this happened, schemes like DRM would start to disappear because companies
would not want to waste the effort or the money.
The next step for game developers is software as a service, which has already
started to happen.
~~~
ThinkWriteMute
_Right. We see how well that works._
You need to research Eclipse Phase, the RPG.
Scratch that, your ignorance is startling.
~~~
rick888
"You need to research Eclipse Phase, the RPG.
Scratch that, your ignorance is startling."
How so? Because you don't agree with me and the only thing you can attempt to
do to silence me is to call me ignorant?
DRM did not exist during the Napster days. This is a fact. Piracy was rampant
during this time. The industry didn't make the right decision by trying to sue
everyone that shared a song, but people have no right to complain when
companies smarten up and start adding more and more protection.
you have given me one example of one game that may or may not even add
anything to our discussion.
Think of it this way: Do you actually think game companies want to add more
protection to their games? It adds more complications, costs more money, and
many times increases development time.
I don't believe that piracy is stealing. It's counterfeiting, which is much
worse than theft. If Toshiba starts getting televisions stolen, their product
value isn't really effected by that one product that is stolen (they can
always sell more at the original price and people won't expect it to pay
less). However, if a company's product is shared on the Internet, It can
eventually destroy the product line. Not only that, if it has a virus or the
crack doesn't work properly it can and will make the original developers look
bad. Also, people start to expect that the software will be free in the
future.
Everything digital is only worth what people are willing to pay. If most
people can do a simple Google search and find your product for $0, less people
will be willing to actually pay for it, devaluing your product over time. It's
funny how so many people say piracy has no direct relation to sales yet when I
disable a crack that I found for any app I am selling, my sales increases by
15-20% (and sales decrease over time when more and more cracks are available).
I have heard this from other software developers.
~~~
Naga
But how do you reconcile the fact that DRM only affects paying customers, such
as AC2's need for a constant internet connection or Spore's original maximum
installations, where pirates can easily just install the crack and not worry
about the DRM?
~~~
rick888
"But how do you reconcile the fact that DRM only affects paying customers,
such as AC2's need for a constant internet connection or Spore's original
maximum installations, where pirates can easily just install the crack and not
worry about the DRM?"
Criminals can get guns illegally. Would you say that because it's so difficult
for the average, law-abiding citizen to get a gun, that we should remove all
the restrictions?
Yes, it affects paying customers, but it's a result of the actions of the
pirates. It's a vicious cycle that's not going to stop until:
1) The pirates stop sharing and cracking illegal software 2) The company finds
a way to completely protect their software
AC2 is on the right track. They are releasing it as a service/app hybrid.
Eventually, all games will be this way.
------
whughes
_Note: This is a PlayStation game!_
It's a key fact which you have to keep in mind when reading this article and
considering it for use on PCs. Console copy protection is today important, but
not critical as PC copy protection is. Chances are, this protection would have
been instantly defeated on a reasonably high-profile PC game.
~~~
ajg1977
That's quite an assertion - care to back it up with your reasons?
FWIW I've written similar "time bomb" crack prevention techniques that were
used in a couple of reasonably high-profile PC games (e.g. 500k to several
million copies sold).
Some of the strategies were inspired by this article when it was originally
published in gdmag, others were based on certain benefits of being a PC title.
What helped a lot was that we had a surprisingly sensible publisher who
acknowledged that safe disc prevention was (at the time, I'm not sure about
now) virtually worthless and allowed us to ship without it. This gave us the
benefit of knowing ahead of time the hashes for various areas of our binary
and being able to use and layer those into different checks.
While non of these were crack-proof (or even close to it!) they did serve
their purpose and prevent any zero-day or launch window warez releases - which
as the author states in this article is about the best you can really hope
for.
~~~
viraptor
I always wanted to ask this to someone who makes the games/protections: do you
take into consideration the sales _lost_ because of the protection? I know
about games from friends mostly - if I can see it, I may be inclined to buy
it. That's the only reason for me to buy the game really, as I don't follow
the gaming news at all. Naturally they have illegal copies sometimes - that
means if the protection is good, they cannot show me the game, or show me only
something that suddenly breaks down (because of protection). That means I'm
not going to be impressed by the game and will never want to have it myself.
Example: I never bought Settlers (2? 3? - the one that exchanged production of
pigs and gold when you were playing a copy) - I've seen it and thought it's
just so buggy it's not worth getting. Learnt about the copy protection a lot
later.
I know many people who buy games this way - mostly grownups who want to have
some fun once in a while but aren't interested in gaming every day. They also
earn and spend their own money, so usually they're more ok with buying a good
game than teens who need to request it from parents / buy for allowance / ....
I've always seen advanced copy protection as games producers shooting
themselves in the foot. But maybe I'm just not part of the market that makes a
difference for producers. Do you remember if this was an issue at all?
~~~
ajg1977
To be honest no.
While there may be people who buy the game after being able to sample it,
there are far more who would happily pirate a game and never look back. Of
course, it's foolish to equate every pirated copy as lost sale (as the
RIAA/MPAA do), but I do believe many titles lose a respectable number of sales
through piracy.
It is important to ensure that any anti-piracy measure that affect gameplay
can be identified as such and not as bugs. This can be difficult to do in the
game since providing messages/warnings gives crackers a place to begin
backtracking, so at least on my games we would carefully seed FAQs
message/boards with questions/answers that if X occurred it was because you
were running a pirated copy.
As a developer my bigger concern, both at the time and ongoing, is ensuring
that any demo we release is produced in a manner that's both expedient and
forward looking. If you go back 5+ years it was fairly standard for developers
to release demos way in advance of a retail release - infact far enough in
advance that it was possible to make changes to the final game based on
feedback/metrics from the demo version.
This practice now seems to have all but died. Many games never release a demo,
and games that do have a demo version often wait until after the retail
version hits the shops to release it. I think that's a real shame and driven
largely by fear of possibly bad press for games that need to recoup multi-
million dollar investments.
------
micrypt
Perhaps approaching gaming as a streamed service in the manner proposed by
OnLIVE (<http://www.onlive.com/>) could be a viable means of reducing piracy.
It seems possible for a sizeable games publisher to move to a subscription
based business model.
~~~
javanix
Except games can't and will never be run off-site as a service - the technical
capabilities for OnLIVE are not and will never be available in the US.
More and more games will be moved to models that require a persistent internet
connection though - the article does a good job of pointing out that winning
the battle for just two months is nearly "good enough".
~~~
jsz0
It's very do-able today. The key is just having the server located close
enough for latency to not be a problem. ISP partnering would be their best
bet. Run the service and let ISPs resell it -- locate the servers in their
headends/datacenters. If you traceroute something and look at your first few
hops it's easy to see how it would work. <10-20MS should be fine.
------
teamonkey
For a more recent example of this technique, see Batman: Arkham Asylum
[http://www.neowin.net/news/deliberate-glitch-foils-batman-
ar...](http://www.neowin.net/news/deliberate-glitch-foils-batman-arkham-
asylum-pirates)
"It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code."
------
swolchok
Interesting despite its age, but the title needs (2001).
------
vilda
Methods used by Skype to protect its integrity is described in presentation by
Philippe Biondi and Fabrice Desclaux:
[http://www.blackhat.com/presentations/bh-europe-06/bh-
eu-06-...](http://www.blackhat.com/presentations/bh-europe-06/bh-
eu-06-biondi/bh-eu-06-biondi-up.pdf)
Definitely worth reading - actually the integrity tests consume more CPU than
VoIP itself.
~~~
binarray2000
This reminds me of Cubase 3 (software for music production). In 2005 the scene
group H2O needed 1500 manhours for cracking it, from their NFO (iNFO notice
from the scene group about the release) for Steinberg.Cubase.SX.v3.0.2.623:
H2O does it again.........!!!
Although everybody thought that Syncrosoft and Steinberg
had found the ultimate protection, we prove otherwise.
We admit that it's getting harder and harder to do and
this one may possibly be the last one we do.
Due to the complex nature of the protection we thought
of approaching it from another direction.
The Emulation is now done on driver-level, which means
that the Emu essentially mimics a dongle, look in the
License Control Center to view the applications the Emu
supports. By writing the Emu at driver-level we probably
went beyond cracking an application. The amount of
effort invested in this project is staggering, estimated
at over 1500 manhours during cracking, developing &
testing, and probably will never be done again.
(...)
Note to protection coders:
Unbelievable way you transform an application. We
estimate that between 30% & 40% of the application are
wrapped in the script protection. Protection is one
thing but this surely effects an application
performance. You probably could get a performance gain
of 50% without the protection!!
NFO for Steinberg.Cubase.SX.v3.1.1.944 has more details on the way the
protection works and its impact on performance:
Note to Steinberg/End-Users:
It seems that our prior Release Note stirred something
in the Audio Community (Yes, we can read). To get some
of the facts straight we're going to reveal some
secrets about the copy protection itself, and why we
stated that it severely impacts performance.
Info from Syncrosoft website:
[QUOTE] "Syncrosoft's protection solution is different
from mainstream software copy protection methods. It is
based on a secure executer, the eLicenser, and the
patented MCFACT technology"
"At runtime, the transformed program code does not
reveal its semantics. The eLicenser's crypto-services
are called from time to time by the transformed program
code."
"The transformed program code is represented as tables
in the computers memory. An adversary can not reverse-
engineer or debug the tables, because a reverse
transformation from the tables to original program code
is not feasible. If the tables are manipulated, the
transformed program code will crash or produce invalid
results."[ENDQUOTE]
So it's not crackable?...
Now here is the explanation for what really goes on:
Transformation is based on replacing ordinary machine
code into tables representing results from calculations
Example: Adding 2 numbers.
Normal machine-code would look something like:
Add eax, ebx
This will take 1 CPU cycle to execute.
Now comes MCFACT:
1) Transform the first number into a table
2) Transform the second number into a table
3) Do allot of manipulation of these tables
4) More manipulation
5) Transform the Tables back to the numbers
6) Add the 2 numbers
This entire piece takes up hundreds of machine code
lines and a lot of loops inside this code...estimated
CPU-cycles <insert number greater than 1 here> No
performance loss? We don't think so..........
And this code runs all the time!!......The dongle in
fact is only called 1 out of 10 times inside these
scripts.........
A good example is the protection build in the midi-
part. This is entirely wrapped in the script-crap. Try
moving a note and swirl it around.....you should notice
a sluggishness in the movement.
In fact u will notice an improvement in version 3.1
prior to the 3.0 release. This is not due to
improvements made by Steinberg (the midi-engine is
still the same) but improvements made by Syncrosoft!
(They optimized the script engine)!!!!!!!
To give the end user some peace of mind: the scripts
aren't built into the real-time audio-engine.....this
is impossible because of the performance loss u would
have from the MCFACT.
------
scotty79
Are there any research that indicates that presence or absence of copy
protection has any effect on sales?
~~~
teamonkey
All the major games publishers do it but they don't make the results public.
~~~
scotty79
How can you measure that? You can't make a grand premiere of the same game
with and without protection.
------
Tichy
"If YOTD follows the same trend, as it almost certainly will, those two to
three months when pirated versions were unavailable must have reduced the
overall level and impact of piracy"
Don't they know for sure? What a wasted opportunity.
~~~
Estragon
How would you do the experiment?
~~~
Tichy
I guess it's impossible to create a real test, but at least they should have
some numbers? I don't know enough about the gaming industry. Maybe if it sells
well, it could either be because it is one of the rare hit items, or because
of the reduced piracy. Or maybe they could see some obvious deviation from the
sales of "normal" games.
------
bediger
Is "keeping the pirates at bay" really really worth the effort, heartache, and
whatever you didn't go (opportunity cost) because you were working on
"protection" from something that will happen anyway?
If so, does the rest of society agree with having this cost imposed on them? I
personally never play these games anyway, so I don't care about the problems
with the games that arise from you guys spending your best effort on copy-
protection, but I do care if you want me to finance your idiocy via draconian
copyright laws.
------
jrockway
It is ironic that so much development time went into features designed for
people that didn't pay for it. If they used the time (and skill) to make their
game better, maybe more people would have bought it?
(The computing landscape has also changed significantly since 2001. With
hardware support for virtualization, techniques like debugger detection just
don't work. The attacker can make his computer behave however he wants, at a
level far beyond your control.)
It's probably best to just ignore piracy, because your game is going to be
pirated no matter how advanced you think your protection is. Remember, people
take their xboxes into expensive microprocessor fabs and use electron
microscopes to figure out how to bypass the piracy detection. And, there is
only one of you, but millions of people with plenty of time to spare that want
to break your copy protection just to spite you. You are going to lose, so why
even waste your time? The only people hurt by piracy protection are you and
your users -- and that's a pretty silly demographic to try and hurt.
If your game is good, plenty of people will pay for it. Don't worry about the
pirates; they wouldn't have bought your game anyway.
~~~
chrischen
He said their goal was to slow them down, not stop them. Also their piracy
protection didn't really hurt paying customers, while it massively decreased
value to pirates (2 month delay).
There will be times if you go out of your way to screw pirates and it will be
worth it, and other times it won't.
~~~
jrockway
_Also their piracy protection didn't really hurt paying customers_
Except for the CPU and programmer resources that could be used for something
else.
~~~
chrischen
That doesn't hurt customers. If anything that just doesn't give customers as
much as they could have. But if you read my (short) post you'd know about the
cost/benefit aspect too.
------
eli
I'm sure making your game suck if it detects a crack is annoying for the
pirates, but it also means that most of the people who play crack versions of
your game will just assume it sucks. That can't be good for its word of mouth.
~~~
Herring
You have to make it really obvious.
_> Some people even thought it was funny when the fairy character, who
normally offers players helpful advice, instead told them they were playing a
modified game._
I found that hilarious.
------
wedesoft
Looks like the computer game of the future will be played by both gamers and
developers: DRM.
------
grumpyfart
So how long did it take for crack to come out? He mentions 2-3 months but he
never says the actual time, or have I missed it?
Because he says they bypassed in a different way maybe it was only 2 weeks.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life (1977) - killjoywashere
https://govleaders.org/rickover-purpose.htm
======
playing_colours
Thank you for sharing this great piece of wisdom! Recently, I read Self-
Reliance by Emerson, and its modern “translation”
[https://www.youmeworks.com/self_reliance_translated.html](https://www.youmeworks.com/self_reliance_translated.html)
and try to base my way of living on that foundation.
As our existence seems ultimately meaningless, and there is no universal
compass to drive us through life, it is difficult for people and personally
for me to keep deeply motivated about my work and other activities. On the
surface, I may be driven by money, work achievements, desire to have a happy
family, having fun, but often I find myself facing the deep dark emptiness of
lacking a deeply ingrained purpose I would be happy to follow wholeheartedly.
I read an interesting thought from Jordan Peterson that a great purpose is to
reduce suffering in the world. It sounds deep and great, but I think it will
be hard for many people to connect their day to day activities to this noble
meaning.
I sometimes envy of people from previous centuries, when Christianity was
strong, and many found their purpose in serving God. God is dead in the
Western civilisation now, and it is very hard to fill the void.
~~~
RubenSandwich
"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort
ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of
all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will
wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What
festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the
greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods
simply to appear worthy of it?"
\- Nietzsche, The Gay Science, Section 125
I too look at the social coercion afforded to religion and envy. The idea of
moving almost anywhere and having a weekly community event with like minded
people is unparalleled.
~~~
raxxorrax
But Nietzsche probably broke down because of the expectations he imposed on
himself. At least that is what I take from how his writing changed over time
and the end of his biography.
I like coke and fatty burgers btw... I meant the drink...
~~~
RubenSandwich
From my understanding it's hard to know too much about his latter years
because while his health was deteriorating his sister took over his estate and
started publishing his fragments in an order that supported her antisemitic
worldview[0].
[0]: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Förster-
Nietzsche#Ni...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Förster-
Nietzsche#Nietzsche_Archive)
------
padobson
_To which he could have added, it takes talent to know that what counts is
condemning mediocrity not in others but in ourselves._
This is the money line for me. People who find purpose, who improve themselves
to pursue that purpose, are always looking at their failures and asking how
they can make themselves better so they can succeed on the next try.
Those who blame others don't get better, they stay where they're at.
This isn't to say that you can't be held back by circumstance or the mistakes
of others, just that you yourself won't improve if you focus on the things you
can't control.
Finding a trait in yourself that could have allowed you to succeed had it been
better developed can be difficult and requires creativity, but there's a lot
of purpose to be found in that difficult and creative work.
------
pmoriarty
Viktor Frankl[1] was a psychologist who wrote the remarkable book _Man 's
Search for Meaning_[2], where he recounted his experience as a prisoner in
Auschwitz and noticed that those who survived in such circumstances had a
strong sense of meaning.
He explored the question of meaning more fully in his later work, and came to
believe that the meaning of your life was a question that life asks of you,
and that you answer this question by the choices that you make.
[1] -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl)
[2] - [https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl-
ebo...](https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl-
ebook/dp/B009U9S6FI/)
------
HONEST_ANNIE
" Nothing in the world is the way it oughta be. It’s harsh…and cruel…but
that’s why there’s us…champions. It doesn’t matter where we come from, what
we’ve done, or suffered. Or even if we make a difference. We live as though
the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be. You’re not a part
of that yet. I hope you will be. "
\-- Angel, Season 4, Episode 1, “Deep Down“
~~~
Delmania
“If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do.”
------
vincent-toups
I know its cynical of me, but whenever I see people talking like this, all I
can think is how craven and cowardly they are.
The desire for some overarching sense of meaning is motivated by, in my
experience, simple fear. Fear and a lack of faith in one's character (which is
another kind of fear: what might I do if I didn't have a framework taking
control away from me?)
There isn't any final meaning we can pin down, and even if there were such a
thing, we pretty clearly are incapable of figuring it out.
There is lots of stuff we'll never understand, both personally and as a
species. True wisdom is, in my opinion, transcending the discomfort associated
with not knowing.
------
empath75
Man’s purpose is life’s purpose is the universe’s purpose which is to increase
entropy by extracting free energy from our environment and using it to perform
work, and thus generate additional waste heat that radiates into space.
~~~
AnIdiotOnTheNet
That presupposes that this isn't merely a side effect of the existence of the
universe, the reason for the existence of which we would be incredibly foolish
to believe we can actually ever know, if indeed there is one.
------
dredmorbius
"From the physicist's point of view, Man seems to have no function except that
of dissipating or degrading energy."
\-- Henry Brooks Adams, _The Degradation of the Democratic Dogma_.
[https://archive.org/details/degradationofdem00adam/page/216](https://archive.org/details/degradationofdem00adam/page/216)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Adams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Adams)
Similar thoughts from Aldo Leopold, Howard Odum, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen,
and many others.
~~~
dqpb
That's wrong though. Our function is to reproduce. That is literally the
reason life is a thing - and it is opposite of entropy.
~~~
Sinergy2
Reproduction is definitely a net increase in raw entropy. That's what is meant
by "dissipating energy", I imagine.
~~~
dqpb
Not information entropy
~~~
raxxorrax
It sucks that the intuitive interpretation regarding both applications is
completely inverted.
------
trabant00
These are easy to like answers. They sound right. The truth is ugly and not
really useful at all in making any decision: there is no purpose. Let me
explain my theory as brief and clear as I can.
Humans are not designed to work as individuals but as a whole population. If
you judge at the species level it makes the most sense to try and push in
every direction available and let natural selection take its course.
Is it better hard working than lazy? You get hungry if you don't go out to
hunt but it is better to set up traps than to fight animals hands on, or
better yet delegate the work to others. We wouldn't have progress in comfort,
security, etc without laziness. Laziness is not bad!
This applies to all qualities in human nature. A balance is better than any
extreme of course, but that balance cannot be deduced intellectually,
emotionally, morally, legally, etc. You can only try, "the road to hell is
paved with good intentions", etc. The right balance changes in time and space,
it varies from individual to individual.
On top of that there are lessons to be learned from individuals who do take
things to extreme.
For me it is clear we are doomed to be drones sacrificed in every direction
possible to explore by algorithms deeply embedded in our hardware. Any sense
of purpose, any rationalization of why our direction is better - an illusion.
An useful illusion ofc. If you don't manage to fool yourself jumping off the
bridge is the only option.
------
em-bee
_man(kind) has been created to carry forward an ever advancing civilization_
this is what i believe, and this is why i am a Free Software advocate, as that
is my way of making a (meager) contribution. i believe that humanity is
destined to advance as a society and technologically. the technical progress
we achieved in the last 150 years is just the beginning. our global society
too will progress to the point that we solve all the problems we experience
today.
------
gerbilly
My advice is to start from where you are right now.
Are you stressed out? Then try and calm yourself a bit.
What good could you do right now for someone else of for the world? Now go do
it.
How did it turn out? Reflect, and make note of what you'd do differently next
time.
Repeat.
Fancy philosophical musings can be a huge waste of time if they don't help you
perform the steps above. It doesn't matter if we have free will or not, or if
we live in a simulation, or if all of life is a dream or any of that bullshit.
------
matell
it seems to me the five principles - responsibility, perseverance, excellence,
creativity, courage - are actually surface terms describing deeper motivation,
which is our constant drive to improve our "mental model".
in our brain, we have a "mental model" of the world. it is imperfect, yet
allows us to make predictions. Our goal is to improve this model (aka
simulator, prediction engine) over the time. We seek for indicators which tell
us if our mental model is improving or not. One of the indicators is money one
our bank account, our praise of some master.
I'd be grateful if anyone of you can point me to some literature which
describes the approach I outlined above. I use the expression "improve my
mental model", but I guess philosophy is using some other (more established)
term.
\---
I am not trying to deal with the question why we actually strive to improve
our "mental model" :) though I like the idea that it leads to "less
suffering".
------
yters
Why are people so against belief in God and even becoming Christian, if, as
people see to believe, Christianity provides great benefit? There seem to be
plenty of good reasons to believe in God, at least, and Christianity's track
record has many positives along with the negatives. Plus, the historical
evidence for the New Testament's reliability is pretty good, if my
understanding is correct. I'm not sure what is the hold back:
\- big need: existential despair
\- big solution: Christianity
\- no obstacle: Christianity is intellectually viable in our modern world
UPDATE reply to replies since I'm rate limited on new comments:
I'm saying Christianity fits "Believe only that for which there is evidence,
and only for the time that there is evidence"
1\. Good scientific evidence God exists
2\. Good historical and archeological evidence the Bible is accurate
3\. Historical evidence of the tremendous benefits of Christianity (see Rodney
Stark), which flow logically from the principles of its founder Jesus, and
seemingly more successful than can be explained by human inspiration
I'd say at the very least Christianity holds up much better than the modern
mythos of materialism and purposeless evolution. Perhaps don't accept
Christianity, then, but certainly don't accept the modern secular narrative
which is even worse evidentially speaking. It makes little sense to accept a
bad explanation as default because you don't have a good explanation.
In general, I do not see a internally consistent reason based on any modern
criteria (enlightenment, postmodernism, positivism, etc.) for the widespread
dismissal of theism and Christianity, and the clinging to atheism and extreme
secularism.
~~~
playing_colours
I cannot make myself believe in God, particularly, in God who notices and
interferes, and dedicate myself to him; and I think it is the problem for many
of us.
Philosophically, Western society moved beyond good and evil, desecrated
Christianity, questioned the words of God, and Nietzsche nailed it.
Recently, I read the biography of Rockefeller by Chernow. It was stunning how
his strong faith drove and motivated him. He thought he was blessed by God to
build his business, he must fulfill this mission, and it justified some
questionable actions he did.
~~~
yters
I'm not talking about some particular conception of God, but there seem to be
decent philosophical and scientific reasons to believe that there is a
creative agency responsible for our universe. Furthermore, this agency seems
to have taken particular care for our wellbeing.
We've got to separate the question of existence from the question of nature.
That God exists seems very evident from all we know. What God's nature is is
more of a question mark, and we should not let this question mark about nature
obviate what we know about existence.
And belief in God is not a panacea, people do horrible things in the name of
God, and perhaps even more horrible things in the absence. However, people
have done very great things, perhaps the greatest things, in the name of God.
So there is that, too.
Also, in regards to your specific purpose you mention in the other thread of
eliminating physical suffering, it seems Christianity in particular has done
the most throughout history of eliminating physical suffering. Thus, insofar
as your goal is to eliminate suffering, Christianity seems to be the most
effective platform to do so.
UPDATE to reply to this post, b/c I'm rate limited:
It's one of those struggles you mention :)
At least this one is about resolving ultimate meaning instead of ignoring it.
------
nick0garvey
The author is known as "Father of the Nuclear Navy", it seems he wrote this
towards the end of his career.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover)
------
mapcars
Life is not a subject of thoughts and purpose, our imaginary thoughts and
imaginary purposes contained in it.
------
DantesKite
So I've been thinking a lot about this question of what I should do with my
life.
It seems like an obvious question to ponder, but I never seriously considered
it until I quit my job. I know this because after quitting my job, I had the
freedom to pursue a lot of my desires (at least for a little while) and found
that everything I pursued did not satisfy me. Not even a little bit.
I thought about it for some time and realized most of my desires were the
desires of other people. I had become infected with them and over the years
never really stopped to reflect what I wanted.
What are the odds I really wanted to become a physicist like so many others?
Or a social worker? Or a wealthy man? These were all lies I told myself
because I didn't know what to do.
Everything I pursued was because I saw someone else do it.
But when I stopped to reflect what I wanted to do, I found nothing. No voice,
no inner calling. I was blank.
I spent weeks and weeks trying to figure an answer and stumbled upon Robert
Greene's "Mastery" which would've been better titled "Man's Search For
Meaning".
I had hints of how I should conduct myself, of what I should do to find some
sense of purpose, but nobody ever set down the framework quite like Robert
Greene did.
Don't be fooled by the title.
Your life's mission is to find your life mission. And then, once found, pursue
ever specialized lines of work and skill to capture that primal inclination
deep within you.
You can imagine in a sense every brain on the planet is born uniquely suited
for capturing or expressing some pattern. You'll feel it as a kind of need.
It'll direct your life towards particular interests. But early on you lack the
skill to express it properly, in a way that deeply engages you.
With discipline and practice, you can bolster that inclination—you can learn
to deeply engage it. And as you do so, you'll cultivate a sense of
meaning—you'll be one the edge of what you're capable of doing.
That's where a human likes to reside. On the edge of what they know.
But it takes discipline. It takes time.
Humans are mimetic creatures. We forget about ourselves so easily. You have to
be aggressively persistent about the things you love.
And as you learn each skill that captures some inclination, you constantly
expand. You learn more and more skills. You never stagnate, because therein
lies the path of suffering.
And as you continue to add new skills, you not only increase your odds of
success, you begin to cultivate a series of skills no other human has in equal
measure. Because they're based off what you like—nobody else on the planet can
compete with you there. You stand outside all hierarchies.
But the journey is long, tedious, and sometimes painful. It takes discipline
to do the work that'll resonate with your deepest interests. Even Einstein got
bored sometimes.
But if you don't do this, if you don't take the time to figure out what you
enjoy doing, if you stagnate, you will stain your life with a bitter
melancholy. And you'll lament over what could've been and you'll spend the
rest of your days in an idle torment.
You must avoid this at all costs.
Move towards your highest calling. Move towards the pain.
You'll find peace waiting on the other side.
------
mms1973
This is the biggest question in Existence. I don't think I have the right
answer in 300K years of Homo Sapiens history.
But I would say:
1\. reproduce, have kids 2\. keep what your ancestors gave you and make it
better
Be a doer and a thinker. The Admiral was also right.
~~~
AnIdiotOnTheNet
If these are the purpose of existence, then we have already failed.
1) According to most cosmological models the universe will eventually end.
2) Even if it didn't, the problem with infinity is that anything that can
possibly happen will happen, including the extinction of everything ever
descended from ourselves.
One is forced to consider that the journey must be more meaningful than the
destination.
~~~
kd5bjo
> the problem with infinity is that anything that can possibly happen will
> happen.
Not necessarily. There are different cardinalities (sizes) of infinity. Your
statement can only be true if the cardinality of time is at least as high as
the cardinality of all possible events; I don’t know enough math (or physics)
to pin either of these down, but it’s not obviously true.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleph_number](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleph_number)
~~~
AnIdiotOnTheNet
That's an interesting point that, sadly, I also lack the requisite
understanding to properly consider.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Mathematician Eugenia Cheng: ‘Yes, I am an anarchist’ - btat1
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/feb/26/eugenia-cheng-interview-observer-nicola-davis
======
Red_Tarsius
Honestly, the article offers nothing of substance. It's a light piece designed
to spread awareness about Cheng's upcoming book.
[http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html](http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html)
> _" There’s only been one female winner of the Fields medal since it was
> first awarded in 1936 – Maryam Mirzakhani. Does maths suffer from an old
> boys’ club mentality?"_
> _" I am happy to say I have not experienced that."_
You can clearly see the invisible hand of _the Guardian_ trying to spin the
narrative, hoping to score identity points out of the interview. Thankfully,
she answers in a concise, drama-free manner. Still, the title they chose has
nil to do with the piece.
------
Koshkin
Catchy title, nothing more. On Cheng's part it was simply a joke about the
mathematician's mind being similar to the mind of an anarchist. In fact,
mathematics and anarchism do have something in common. It is being based on
strict laws of logic. Anarchism is no joke! Problem is, while mathematics is
extremely successful, anarchism will never succeed in achieving its goals. Its
criticism of the modern technological society is based on what looks like a
correct analysis of the effects it has on an individual and his freedoms.
Again, problem is, for better or worse, the technological and scientific
progress is irreversible, and there is nothing anarchists or anybody else can
do about it.
------
ue_
As an anarchist myself, how I wish the article lived up to its title.
Interesting nevertheless.
~~~
mordant
Advocates of anarchy are invariably those least-equipped to survive it.
~~~
ue_
Anarchy does not mean "anything goes", it is the rejection of the class system
and systems of _unjustified_ authority and people being free to make voluntary
associations with the abolition of money, private property and implementation
of direct democracy in those voluntary institutions.
I'm not quite sure what you want to get at.
~~~
simonh
If people are forced not to be able to use money, I don't see how that's free.
The reality is that most of the things Anarchists want to abolish, the vast
majority of people of their own free will actually want to keep.
~~~
ue_
>If people are forced not to be able to use money, I don't see how that's
free.
This along with other things are oft-repeated myths about Communism. The goal
is to eliminate money by eliminating the need that creates it: that is, wage
labour and artificial scarcity. You are free to use money. You are not free to
exploit people. That is to say, you would not be allowed to profit by the work
of others by collecting their surplus value. It is equivalent to stealing
(unless both parties give informed consent).
However there would be no _need_ for anyone to engage in wage labour, because
people would no lonver be forced to work for their survival.
~~~
simonh
It's a shame Marx never explained how those needs would actually be met.
~~~
ue_
If I'm correct, Marx always viewed his task as one to criticise the capitalist
system and analyse it in terms of the history leading up to it, rather than
define how a Communistic society ought to be implemented. Marx is quoted as
having said that Communism is an ideal to strive toward rather than one to be
implemented directly per se.
Fewer people would have to work under a post-capitalist mode of production. I
don't know how it's decided who works, but generally those with the
appropriate skill would share labour amongst themselves, and people would be
trained in the education system to do the jobs required by society. Again, the
number of these jobs will be relatively small due to massive automation, which
will occur at an increasing pace compared to the current capitalist system (in
which too much automation means less profit, because goods are bought back
using wages).
------
cechner
what is the point of this headline, other than to decieve? it is not the
headline of the article and is not a quote from the text in the article
edit: I hope I'm not just being a killjoy here - I actually thought this was
going to be some kind of political article.
~~~
0xcde4c3db
You're not the only one. I was half hoping for some discussion of how
mathematical theory illuminates, say, the writings of Bakunin or Goldman.
------
lochland
Cheng's definition of anarchism is "not having rules imposed on you". I'm
afraid this article leftist-triggered me.
------
theoh
The titles of her books are so childish. That's her prerogative, but it feels
like a real "Two Cultures" situation: I wish Cheng or someone else would span
recreational/popular math and serious culture where the world is not
considered as a _hilarious_ two-dimensional cardboard cut-out or slapstick
prop.
~~~
jonsterling
You (and I) are not in the target audience for those books. She does very
serious mathematics, which should be defended; she gave a very nice talk on
Trimble n-categories to my research group on Friday, for instance.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
MIT OpenCourseWare Turns 10: What's Next for Open Education? - Straubiz
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mit_opencourseware_turns_10_celebrating_a_decade_o.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29&utm_content=Netvibes
======
27182818284
For the next step I would love to see:
• A standard across multiple courses so that you don't have some courses
publishing assignments and recorded lectures while others just post
assignments.
• A new degree type. Not an associate's degree nor a bachelor's degree, but a
lesser degree that could be earned completely online from a solid institutions
like MIT.
~~~
tardis
There are Bachelor of Arts/Sciences (3-year General) that can be earned
completely online (I'm sure you've heard of Open University in the UK but
there's also University of Waterloo in Canada -
<http://de.uwaterloo.ca/undergraduate.html>). For UW, I know they offer
certificates too (you just need to complete X number of specific courses but
definitely less than what you need in a 3 or 4 year degree).
Unfortunately though, they do charge tuition.
------
emit_time_n3rgy
Communities of convergence, aggregation...students and educators communicating
more effectively, more foreign language translations of content, sharing &
combining what's been mentioned here as well as
Khan Academy + Bittorrent [http://www.hackeducation.com/2011/02/11/khan-
academy-and-bit...](http://www.hackeducation.com/2011/02/11/khan-academy-and-
bittorrent-partner-to-distribute-educational-videos/)
Gaming: [http://www.phibetaiota.net/2010/09/video-visions-of-the-
game...](http://www.phibetaiota.net/2010/09/video-visions-of-the-
gamepocalypse-possible-futures-waking-up-thinking-and-creating-a-better-
world/) \+
[http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~rich/courses/imgd404x-c11/playable.ht...](http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~rich/courses/imgd404x-c11/playable.html)
<http://hackety-hack.com>
<http://cnx.org>
<http://www.writework.com>
<http://www.fhsst.org>
<http://www.unclasses.org>
<http://www.coursehero.com>
<http://www.varsitynotes.com>
<http://www.livemocha.com> (language)
<http://openstudy.com>
Connecting educators & students to communicate more effectively using these
and more:
<http://edublogs.org>
<http://www.connectedprincipals.com>
<http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/blogs/index.html>
<http://piratepad.net>
<http://primarypad.com>
<http://typewith.me>
<http://sync.in>
<http://sketchpad.cc>
------
Straubiz
Knowledge is becoming a commodity thanks to this kind of initiatives
------
dwc
MIT OCW is very cool, and they were front runners.
What's next? Putting more course materials on the net isn't really it. What
_should_ be next is much more challenging, but has immense payoffs...
something like Khan Academy is doing with personalized learning.
How awesome would it be if MIT did something like that, incorporating some of
their incredible material?
~~~
filiwickers
Their first intent when creating OCW was actually for professors to connect:
"We set out to create a resource other faculty could draw on to improve their
classes..."
It seems independent learners were an after-thought. There is immense amount
of free educational content out there right now. The next step from here may
be challenging. All of the what is available is great for independent
learning. But the tools for engaging and collaborating with other students or
professors is lacking.
We need something to connect teachers, students, independent learners together
with the library of free material. Provide simple tools for collaboration
inside documents like notes, bookmarks, etc. Add more extensive tools for
authoring documents together.
The Khan Academy is great. But imagine giving the professor the ability to
weave those videos and exercises into a textbook built from a library of other
creative commons books. That would be exciting stuff.
~~~
Mizza
There are companies working on this! I wish I had a link, but there was a talk
about this at the 2010 Students for Free Culture conference in DC.
------
johndbritton
Peer 2 Peer University is what's next. Think of it as a social wrapper around
free educational content. <http://p2pu.org>
~~~
hallmark
I know this may sound as if I'm just trying to make a dirty joke, but I am
being sincere. To me, the domain reads, "pee 2 poo dot org" Yes it's a short
domain, but is it a good branding choice?
I see you work at Twilio, so if you aren't involved with P2PU, that's cool.
------
nickik
I would love to see more videos spezially the compiler and PL courses. That
would be awesome!
------
pinguar
Existing for 10 years doesn't mean it's perfect. I still cannot find video
lectures of many math & statistics course at MIT OCW (course slides as PDF's
are not really helpful).
What I would like to see is the entire curriculum of e.g. Computer Science
undergrad program at MIT (with video lectures). Of course, it is a dream.
------
woan
Congrats to MIT for such a valuable service!
------
Mizza
cough cough <http://noteshub.org> cough
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Removing E-Guven CA Certificate - yuhong
https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2015/04/27/removing-e-guven-ca-certificate/
======
breakingcups
Good to see browser vendors show some teeth, even if it is a small CA. I hope
the same kind of aggresive action is taken when a big CA screws up.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Solving the data application front end trilemma - d--b
https://solderless.io
======
ahartman00
Cool. Does this use f#'s type providers? If so that is something I would have
mentioned. Some examples, perhaps interactive, would have helped a lot. Right
now it's kind of unclear how it would be used, I'm just guessing.
Are there plans for 'recipes' that can be shared/sold? If I'm understanding
this correctly, being able to use nodes that others have made could make the
creation process much faster and less error prone.
If you have histograms, I should hopefully be contacting you in the next few
weeks :)
~~~
d--b
Hi!
Happy to see you're interested. We're still in the development phase and would
be thrilled to talk to you about what it is you are looking for in a tool like
ours.
Please do contact us at contact at solderless.io!
Very best The solderless team
------
d--b
Hi there, I am the author of Solderless. I am looking for feedback and/or
advice. Any comment or query would be very much appreciated.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Simpsons Fires Longtime Composer and ‘Secret Weapon’ Alf Clausen - daschaefer
http://www.vulture.com/2017/08/simpsons-fires-composer-alf-clausen-after-27-years.html
======
pavel_lishin
> _“We have 90 seconds more of commercials in the show today than we did 20
> years ago,” Simpsons music editor Chris Ledesma previously told me. “Think
> about it: a two-minute song, which by song standards is very short, but a
> two-minute song in The Simpsons today would represent nearly 10 percent of
> the entire air time. You’re not going to get a two-minute song like you did
> back then.”_
Then you better make that two minute song a damned good one, no?
~~~
kartD
I believe this is appropriate.
The Fall of The Simpsons: How it Happened
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqFNbCcyFkk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqFNbCcyFkk)]
~~~
taternuts
That's actually a pretty great video. I'll admit I don't hate the new simpsons
but there is something different about them that I couldn't put into words,
this video does a good job doing that.
------
raverbashing
Yeah the Simpsons seems to have jumped the shark a long time ago.
This will free Alf for more interesting assignments or maybe for a well
deserved retirement
~~~
foxyv
Possibly eating cats... >_>
------
breadmaster
Probably has a lot to do with the fact that you have 30 years of music queues
you can draw from now. Instead of having a 35 piece orchestra score each
episode, they can just re-use.
------
Stanleyc23
...because the music is the problem with Simpsons these days? smh
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Spot the fake smile - xtacy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles/
======
BigZaphod
I've always imagined myself quite good at this sort of thing but this is the
first time I've ever tested it. I got 18/20 and the 2 I missed were 1st and
3rd, so it was before I really got into it, I think. By the 4th or 5th one my
brain had remember what to look for and the rest were pretty easy.
~~~
Aron
Similar. I got 16/20 and 3 of my misses were in the first 4.
------
drdo
This test is unfair, a lot of people have a really weird face and i can't even
concentrate on the smile because i'm too busy going "WTF?"
Edit: Wow i still got 18/20, wasn't expecting that
------
ced
It's quite obvious that the "genuine" people were made to laugh. The giggles
give it away. It spoils much of the experiment.
------
davidamcclain
From the site: "Although fake smiles often look very similar to genuine
smiles, they are actually slightly different, because they are brought about
by different muscles, which are controlled by different parts of the brain."
I got 12 right out of 20.
------
tiffani
15/20. Always been told to watch the eyes.
------
dminor
15/20
------
lleger
19/20. I've done this before because Dr Eckman's work interests me. I always
misinterpret Asian smiles, for some reason.
------
tonakai
15/20
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How To Create Products With Hooks - nbashaw
https://medium.com/product-design/d36cd8fe4d18
======
drawkbox
The hook brings you back, I ain't telling you no lie.
A great brand can help be a hook or collection of hooks as well. i.e. Apple is
beyond just hooks, we're hooked up like Hellraiser with that brand.
New products definitely need the hook just like new artists. But after a while
the brand or artist take over as a collection.
------
stumpted
The hook of Toms is that they donate shoes to third world countries, quite a
few companies make shoes like Toms does
~~~
nbashaw
I agree, that's also an important part of their hook. But the sort of weird
look is I think the main one because it's immediately visually noticeable.
People make shoes that look like that now but they didn't before Toms made
that look popular.
The reason the weird look works so well with Toms is because of the Greenbeard
effect: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green-beard_effect>
------
chaselee
Short and sweet but lacking in examples.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
China Is Said to Use Powerful New Weapon to Censor Internet - coldcode
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/technology/china-is-said-to-use-powerful-new-weapon-to-censor-internet.html
======
sctb
Comments moved to
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9353785](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9353785).
------
jonawesomegreen
Like I said in the other [1] thread on this topic, I hope that this drives
home the need to be using HTTPS _everywhere_ we can be. It would make this
kind of wide scale man-in-the-middle attack much harder to pull off and easier
for users to detect. If only getting a certificate was an easier (less costly)
process.
[1] -
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9353785](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9353785)
~~~
forgottenpass
I hope this drives home the need to stop including 3rd party javascript on
websites. It makes visitors' browsers load and run code of variable
trustworthiness. The browser sandbox is entirely ill-equipped to keep users
safe and secure online or prevent their computers from being leveraged for
malicious ends. The sandbox allows everything but the most indefensible
exploitative actions.
HTTPS is great and all, and does change the threat model but the Chinese
government controls root certificates your browser trusts. And they weren't
worried about getting detected funneling traffic to github.
------
hacktavist
Crazy my friend Bill worked on this, he's the one pictured in the article
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Earth and Sun - davezatch
https://ciechanow.ski/earth-and-sun/
======
ColinWright
This is absolutely superb - just brilliant.
This is a personal reflection on the way it's presented. I'm sure that there
are people who already know some of the content, and I found myself skimming
over things, nodding, and thinking "Nothing new here." Then realised that
there was something I missed, or an explanation that was especially nice, and
I had to go back and re-read, wondering what else I might have missed.
So I found it all very smooth, clean, informative, but there was no story, no
arc, no narrative, nothing to make me want to sit with a coffee (or other
beverage of choice) and simply _read_ like a novel. There wasn't the "Hook;
Narrative; Reveal" structure that keeps the reader involved.
Which is a bit of a shame, because the bits I did take time over are really,
_really_ nice.
It's really nice.
------
bitpow
What a beautiful, well designed and informative explanation of the complex
earth / sun relationship. Well done!
One thing I would love to see is the path of the sun across the sky for
different times of year, and different locations on earth.
Here in Seattle, the difference is fairly dramatic between winter and summer,
and I've come to realize that the sun is never directly overhead, not even in
summer. It would be interesting to see the difference between polar regions vs
in the tropics also.
~~~
elliottkember
At my school we had this weird climbing frame called the "Pipehenge". I
climbed on it for years before we eventually did a class on it and learned
that it was an astronomic map:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM4d02tjTqk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM4d02tjTqk)
~~~
Tepix
Looks they are no longer made, or are they?
------
novaRom
It's like I just read an epic story, still under impression ...
Quote: One day we’ll colonize other planets, those planets will have different
suns, orbits, and rotations periods, yet a simple second will forever be tied
to Earth and Sun.
I would definitely give my 'best web page 2019' to it. Bravo!
------
sixQuarks
I’d like to know what tools were used to make these. Works great on mobile,
usually these things break pretty badly, I didn’t see any bugs
~~~
d6e
Looks like it's just hand written javascript and webgl
[https://ciechanow.ski/js/earth_sun.js](https://ciechanow.ski/js/earth_sun.js)
~~~
airstrike
One of the many ways you can tell how much passion went into this beautiful
piece
------
twic
I remember spending a lot of time playing with a planets-and-gravity simulator
on the Mac when i was a kid. I wrote a crappy clone of it as an applet for one
of my first jobs!
This is the best web-based equivalent i found with a quick search:
[https://hermann.is/gravity/](https://hermann.is/gravity/)
And this is a rather fine tutorial on writing your own:
[https://css-tricks.com/creating-your-own-gravity-and-space-s...](https://css-
tricks.com/creating-your-own-gravity-and-space-simulator/)
~~~
perl4ever
I played with a simple program like that for the Amiga when I was younger, and
then I discovered that there was an O(n log n) algorithm[1] rather than the
obvious O(n^2) one. Never was up to writing a program to use it.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnes%E2%80%93Hut_simulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnes%E2%80%93Hut_simulation)
------
disqard
I used it on an iPad. For me, this was a beautiful example of how to leverage
the strengths of a touchscreen to present information. (too often, I find
myself shaking my fist at how we’ve "bolted" a magazine onto a high-dpi
display)
Wonderful stuff... thank you for making and sharing!
------
novaRom
Very good made! I recently started astrophotography, it is a lot of fun. Just
learning all those different stars and galaxies, it's incomprehensible how big
is the space. Nice thing it's really doable to appreciate it live from your
backyard. A lot of technical things are still desirable, a big opportunity for
innovative ideas.
------
pacoverdi
Wow. What a great explanation. I'd love it to be translated in other languages
so I can have my younger kids spend some useful screen time on it!
------
folli
Very well made and very educational!
An often used algorithm for the calculation of the apparent sun position
(given a date and latitude/longitude of the observer) is SPA of Reda et al.
[1]. If you're interested, I wrote an Android app (Sun Locator [2]) that
implemented this algorithm.
[1]
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00380...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038092X0300450X?via%3Dihub)
[2]
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.genewarrio...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.genewarrior.sunlocator.lite)
------
macrael
This is what the web is for. Charming, intimate. Thank you
------
kwoff
Very nice visualization. It'd be interesting to see it extended to the galaxy,
as in [https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/orientation-of-the-
ear...](https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/orientation-of-the-earth-sun-
and-solar-system-in-the-milky-way.888643/)
------
oska
> The Earth rotates around its axis from west to east, or, when seen from
> above, counter-clockwise.
_North is not up._
When seen from above the South Pole, the Earth is rotating clockwise.
But really doesn't make much sense to talk about the rotation of a sphere by
analogy to a 2D clockface. The Earth rotates from West to East; that's all
that needed to be said here.
~~~
mathgladiator
Dont all maps have north 'up's? I'm curious if there are maps that invert
this.
~~~
oska
We're not talking about a map here, we're talking about the real thing, the
Earth, hanging in space.
(But yes, there are many maps that don't have north at the top).
~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
Your just using your preferred frame of reference.
It seems reasonable to call north up because that frame of reference is how
maps usually look.
To subsume your frame of reference, we could say the Earth isn’t _hanging_ in
space, it’s in free fall around the sun.
There are other frames of reference at progressively larger scales.
Edit: Also, the word ‘hanging’ usually implies an ‘up’.
~~~
oska
> Your just using your preferred frame of reference.
No I am not. What I said was that they should have left it as just that the
Earth rotates from West to East (no frame of reference). I only talked about
how it would look like from above the South Pole to show that the described
anti-clockwise direction of motion was _relative_ to the frame of reference
that was being, unnecessarily, assumed.
The Earth has two poles and they are equal, just like with any (approximate)
sphere. If you are going to describe how the Earth's rotation looks from above
one pole then you should also describe how it looks from above the other. But
once you describe it from both poles it becomes obvious that you're not really
imparting any useful information because, while it looks clockwise from above
one pole it looks anti-clockwise from above the other. Better to not use any
frame of reference at all. We _know_ that the sun rises in the East and sets
in the West. With just a little thought it is then obvious that the Earth is
rotating from West to East and that is all that needs to be said.
~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
> Better to not use any frame of reference at all.
Ok
> We know that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
You didn’t even try!
~~~
oska
Frankly, it's pathetic that you play games with the words I use - 'hanging',
'rises' \- which everyone understands are not actual descriptions of reality
and _don 't_ engage with the argument at all, which is about reality.
~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
You started it:
> North is not up
~~~
oska
You remain blind to, either willfully or unconsciously, my argument. Instead
you come back with puerile rejoinders.
Look at the original quote from the article - "when seen from above". There
was an assumption there that seen from above means seen from above the North
Pole. Thus an assumed frame of reference _when none was needed_.
I do not assume seeing the Earth from above means seeing it from above the
North Pole. Neither would an astronaut, who don't have to assume, they live
the experience of seeing the Earth from all orientations.
------
baxtr
I can’t upvote this enough. Beautifully crafted website
------
srigi
Last couple of months I started thinking about sidereal vs. solar year. The
first one is determined by distant stars, the second one by our Sun.
The thing I'm thinking of is if small deviations accumulate over years, how
night sky is changed at the same date across, let's say, 20 years?
~~~
beerandt
If you think that can get complicated, check out the different global geodetic
reference systems. Between the Earth's precession, plate tectonics, the Earth
_changing mass_ cyclically (collecting space debris and off-gassing
atmosphere), and the fact that the center of our planet is a freaking wobbly
blob of molten iron, well, things can get tricky.
Then there are the different eliosoidal (and soon geoid with NVD22) shapes
that are the basis for every other reference system, most based on similar,
but slightly different geodetic network adjustments. Some systems, like NAD83,
remain relatively fixed in reference to a particular land mass (North America
Datum 1983). Some will then progress with the land mass as it moves on the
Earth's plates, others will remain fixed based on a (the) prime meridian, or
in reference to the center of gravity of the Earth as it shifts, or in
reference to Polaris, etc.
So now you have multiple measuring systems each referencing different
geometric/geodetic/astronomic points/lines, and further it matters what time
it was when you defined those points/axises. WGS80 is the basis for many
modern systems, including NAD83. ITRF is similar, but defines a yearly amount
of progression since ~1980 to account for things like continental drift. They
coincided around the time when they were defined, and have been diverging some
number of millimeters per year since then.
Once you agree on a definition of a system, you further have to define _how_
to measure it. Will North be a point in time, or a rolling average? Will the
center of gravity of the Earth be based on changing rate of Earth's rotation,
or with respect to a geodetic benchmark or network, or maybe based on
millimeter fluctuations in deviations of the orbits of the NAVSTAR / GPS
satellites? Should Euro/ Chinese/ Russian / Indian versions of GPS satellites
be taken into account?
I'm over simplifying things, as there are additional layers of complexity
involving the actual tools for surveying and measurement, the precise steps
for any network adjustments or translations, rounding rules and certain
geometric assumptions made for different types of math, and way, way more.
(You can't actually stretch a tape measure around the equater.)
Take all of that, _and then_ contemplate how all of this is spinning around
arbitrarily in space. Sidereal vs solar is only one of 100s of aspects of how
we measure these things. _It 's not just time, but also geometric space_.
Everything's relative.
~~~
beerandt
Also, you can try to explain this to people, most of whom will complain that
it's way too complicated, and we don't need anything to be that precise. They
say it's ridiculous.
Then you can ask the same person for directions to their house, and they'll
turn around and text you GPS coordinates to 12 digits.
------
cosmosa
This is excellent. I had been wanting to see something like this for a long
time. It was difficult for me to imagine the orbit of earth around the sun,
and nothing I found showed it well. Thanks for making this!
------
excalibur
Amazing how he got the clouds to stand still for an entire year :)
------
lxe
This is excellent. Are all the interactions custom made?
------
carrozo
This is so excellent. Put it on school curricula!
------
m0skit0
Excellent visualization of these astronomy concepts, amazing job, my sincere
congratulations!
------
mrfusion
I’m not sure if it’s related but I can’t seem to understand the international
date line.
~~~
cuspycode
The international date line is needed when you use local times instead of UTC,
because the local date is incremented on midnight local time. So, if it's
October 19 just after your local midnight, every timezone to the east should
also have October 19, while every timezone to the west should still have
October 18 because they haven't had local midnight yet. But that doesn't work,
since east ultimately meets west when you track both directions far enough. So
by convention we have defined a line (or rather a crooked boundary between
timezones) where the date jumps back a day in the calendar when you pass over
it in an eastwards direction.
~~~
mrfusion
Thanks but that much I understand. I guess for people living in that border it
doesn’t make sense to me how they can jump back and forth 24 hours.
~~~
cuspycode
If I had to live there, I think I would campaign for using UTC only, and
forget completely about local time.
------
naringas
really good, I wonder if there's a "Earth and Moon"?
~~~
ryanseys
If you would like to make it yourself, check out my library!
[https://github.com/ryanseys/lune](https://github.com/ryanseys/lune)
------
trileansoftware
Are all the interactive infographics custom made? Amazing.
------
justajester
wow. Excellent read. much respect. Labor of love.
------
known
This is the best I've seen till date;
------
beders
This was fantastic! Thanks!
------
exiladodecapela
Excellent work!
------
olivermarks
this is wonderful
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
China Lays Claim to Fastest Supercomputer Title - anya
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/28/tech/main6999307.shtml
A leading Chinese research center has built the world's fastest supercomputer, an industry announcement said Thursday, underscoring the country's rise as a science and technology powerhouse.
======
RiderOfGiraffes
See also:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1844338>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1841807>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1843248>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1844336>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1846681>
None have any comments ...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Getting more members of your online community active - JayNeely
http://www.communityspark.com/get-more-members-of-your-online-community-active/
======
Scott_MacGregor
Good article, very thought provoking. Though I had to chuckle a little when I
read the author launched a Female Forum because he felt existing online
communities aimed at women were "far too complicated" to use.
I understand perfectly what he meant, but that statement reminded me so much
of Harry Enfield’s classic funny video _"Women know your limits"_ I had to
laugh.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZwNGU&feature=relat...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZwNGU&feature=related)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Why Wu-Tang Will Release Just One Copy Of Its Secret Album - nthitz
http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2014/03/26/why-wu-tang-will-release-just-one-copy-of-its-secret-album/
======
keeganpoppen
while interesting, i'd be much more intrigued if they shredded the cd after
the tour instead. it would be a pretty poignant statement about the fleeting
nature of time and our own experience (or what have you).
not quite as much money in that though.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
With advice from Steve Jobs, Disney plans overhaul of mall stores - mjfern
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/business/media/13disney.html
======
replicatorblog
It reminds me of one of PG's lines about hardware now being mostly software. I
think we are seeing the first wave of computerization of retail. Think about
how backward going to Barnes & Noble or Borders is compared to Amazon.com.
There is no cross sell or upsell, no way to easily get reviews, find
inventory. I am excited to see Jobs help move a massive company like Disney
into this direction. One more way to keep hackers in high demand.
~~~
apowell
At my local Borders, the checkout queue is lined with stuff to purchase. It
isn't contextual, but it's an upsell nonetheless. Also, the book I want is
physically next to other books I may be interested in - that's an effective
cross-selling technique (it works on me, anyhow!).
~~~
replicatorblog
Fair points, I guess I should have said "Personalized" cross sell or upsell.
I'd love a borders bar code scanning app so I could see if a book was well
rated without having to go to amazon, or to get a "people who like this..."
message based on a selection. Those ideas are just the start. I think the
startup ethos could be applied pretty heavily to the world of retail,
especially as more and more people are carrying around personal computers.
~~~
apowell
You're right, Amazon really nails the personalized upsell in a way that is
tough to do in a retail environment (short of having talented salespeople on
the floor).
As for the bar code scanning, isn't that what these folks are trying to
accomplish? <http://www.redlaser.com/>
------
mkinsella
Assuming Jobs influenced the current "Apple Store environment," this is
probably a good move by Disney. Apple's stores are always the most crowded at
the mall.
~~~
protomyth
article on the creation:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/19/technology/19apple.html?ex...](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/19/technology/19apple.html?ex=1305691200&en=0a5d2e724d58ac68&ei=5090)
\- also - the bizweek article on why it will fail:
[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_21/b3733059....](http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_21/b3733059.htm)
------
chanux
The article needed me signed up for free access. And "more", as they say.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
China's Hubei reports 103 new deaths on Feb. 10 - adventured
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-hubei/chinas-hubei-reports-103-new-deaths-on-feb-10-health-commission-idUSKBN2042IN
======
jonplackett
A lot of the reports are talking about this having a 1-2% mortality rate and
comparing it to Spanish flu from 1918 (which was much higher, I think ~10%).
But that was 1918 - they didn't have any modern medicine. I wonder how bad
this would have been if it happened back then.
~~~
rasz
Can you spot any meds?
[http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/11/c_138772235.htm](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/11/c_138772235.htm)
or even basic intensive care stuff like IV fluid bags or oxygen tanks? And
this is official Chinese propaganda photo story.
There is no medicine in temporary hospitals. They arent treating anyone, just
isolating, monitoring, feeding and waiting for one of two possible outcomes.
Lopinavir, ritonavir and remdesivir are reserved for party officials, even
doctors in China dont get those. There are telephone recordings circulating on
Wechat of well connected people turned away from hospitals with directors
telling them there is nothing they can do.
~~~
jonplackett
I thought that was just the initial stage where they wait to see how bad they
are affected, and then if they got worse then they would be helped more.
------
ncmncm
I see reports that the actual numbers of cases and of deaths within China, as
of last week, was more like 150,000 and 25,000. In the absence of plausible
official numbers, is there any point in reporting the officially approved
numbers at all?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Apple engineer reveals the real reason Jobs didn’t allow Flash on the iPhone - cft
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/apple-engineer-reveals-real-reason-steve-jobs-didn-202507266.html
======
stephenr
While it's somewhat interesting to hear first hand information from what's
arguably one of the defining moments of the last decade of the web, I can't
work out what crazy logic allows the following to make sense:
> Burroughs relays that Jobs’ vehement refusal to support the technology may
> have had less to do with security considerations and more to do with the
> fact that Adobe, as a partner, couldn’t be relied upon to address said
> security issues
The tweet's referenced actually compare the public "poor UI/power consumption"
reason to a "lack of open dialog" with Adobe, which meant Steve (and thus
Apple) couldn't count on Adobe to respond in a timely manner to security
issues.
That is the absolute definition of a security consideration. How/when the
vendor responds (if at all) to security issues is absolutely in and of itself
a security issue, when the answer seems to be "silently and with no
words/never".
------
mkhpalm
A good article from Yahoo.
“However, the decision was the right one based on both technical reasons and
that Adobe was a shi __y partner. Almost a decade later, it turns out that
Steve Jobs was right. Flash is dead and Adobe is a still a shi __y partner.”
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
New startup-friendly space "SOMAcentral" in SoMa $1000/mo for office - danielodio
http://go.DanielOdio.com/SOMAcentral
Blog post includes 7 minute video showing neighborhood & space.
======
danielodio
Pricing details also on blog; $1k/mo for windowless office or bullpen;
$1.5k/mo for window office.
------
danielodio
The blog has a 7 minute video showing the neighborhood & office.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Spacemesh blockchain open source project - spacemesh
https://github.com/spacemeshos/go-spacemesh
======
spacemesh
Looking for open source contributors small and large and collaborators!
Spacemesh is a free decentralized blockchain computer powered by a secure
consensus algorithm that doesn't involve massive energy waste. More info:
[https://spacemesh.io](https://spacemesh.io) . Chat w us on
[https://gitter.im/spacemesh-os/Lobby](https://gitter.im/spacemesh-os/Lobby) .
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How do you beat the lurker factor ? Got 1000-1500 uniques a month. Feels like two people. - teppefall
Google Analytics tells me I have 1000-1500 unique users a month. But it feels like I'm talking to myself.<p>Am I boring people to death ?
======
SwellJoe
Get more visitors, and it'll probably solve itself.
We get about 40,000 visitors a month, and have only a couple hundred unique
posters during the same period. Participating users are always significantly
less common than lurkers.
Of course, you might have more friction preventing participation than you
should. Is your signup process crappy? If you ask more than two or three
questions (username, password, optional email address), then your signup
process is crappy and needs to be fixed. Do you require all posts to parse a
CAPTCHA? Once during signup is probably enough--it's certainly enough until
you have a spam problem to deal with. Do you make people agree to a long
"terms of service"? Unless you really plan to enforce it in court, don't make
folks click through...just include it on the site somewhere so you can point
to it when you want to revoke someone's post privileges and need a fair reason
to do so.
And, maybe you are boring people to death. I don't know, and couldn't help if
you were. Just keep working on improving your site, making it sticky so people
stick around and tell their friends about it, provide good content so that
search engines send people your way, etc.
~~~
teppefall
Yeah, big spikes in traffic often equals more customers. But not always. If
you screw up the demographic data in an advertising campaign you just get
clicking monkeys who likes to install spyware.
People like my software, but are probably bored to tears by my web presence.
And therefore I get very few comments on my blog. I was hoping for more info
so I can tune my software. Maybe I have to build in some social stuff into the
main website ?
~~~
SwellJoe
Do you have forums?
A blog is just not useful to the vast majority of your users (or, even if it
is, they are not investing the time to read it). Our product website gets, as
I mentioned, 40k visitors per month...our blog gets about 2000. Our forums are
very active, because they provide a mechanism for people to get help and talk
about their problems and goals. People love to talk...but it sounds like
you're wanting them to only talk to _you_ (because commenting on a blog feels
like talking to one person--talking to a forum feels like talking to the
world), when what they really want is a range of experiences.
------
art_wells
Whether it's a blog or a network or a community tool addon thingy, what you
need most is to let people know that their contributions are both need and
likely not redundant to others. Polls can get the ball rolling, but they are a
gamble. Nothing is sadder than a three-day-old poll with two votes. Nothing is
stopping you from boosting those numbers behind the scenes, though.
Don't expect people to chime in in a reaction to a specifically popular or
unpopular opinion. "Me too" and "Screw you", despite their popularity in
popular spots, are no fun to write and won't be written, even if strongly
felt, in an empty room. Expressing a unique, rare, and non-antagonistic
opinion, and then asking for others, is more likely to get reactions than "I
like music, do you like music?" or "Taxes suck, am I right?"
Also, invite pride. If people have profiles or pages, let them create
something that they can point others too. Allow for long, weird contributions.
~~~
teppefall
My system is not very open. I get 100 000 spam comments on my blog per year. A
thousand or so get through the automated defense system. So people who comment
don't get a fluid conversation.
------
JacobAldridge
There's a good analysis at Trovus
[http://www.trovus.co.uk/blogs/137-community-contributor-
acti...](http://www.trovus.co.uk/blogs/137-community-contributor-activity)
It certainly supports that your experience is common, and more importantly
gives you a framework to improve (ie, make 'Groupies' 'Doers', and 'Doers'
'Stars').
~~~
teppefall
DZone whines about this problem every day now :)
------
noodle
well, that depends on what we're talking about here. blog? application? etc..
~~~
teppefall
I'm talking about my blog. I have one blog + sign up process for my paying
customers. I don't have the server capacity to go free. I sell software btw.
I'm trying to give my customers something extra by offering web login, license
control, bookmarking, whois, search, etc. It is probably way to boring though.
The blog thing is great. It has tripled my traffic and 25 percent of incoming
users are now from search engines.
~~~
noodle
blogs will definitely do that.
there are tons of great resources for blogging that will give you ideas on how
to get participation on your posts.
i'd suggest checking out problogger or something similar for ideas.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Many Angel Groups Have “Cheapened” the Reputation of Traditional Angel Investors - gscott
http://rochtel.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/many-angel-groups-have-%e2%80%9ccheapened%e2%80%9d-the-reputation-of-traditional-angel-investors/
======
echair
Wow, 16 uses of "these same."
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ecological Redemption: Ocean Farming in the Era of Climate Change - ph0rque
http://www.centerforneweconomics.org/publications/ecological-redemption-ocean-farming-era-climate-change
======
my5thaccount
"The old economy is built on the arrogance of growth at all costs, profiting
from pollution, and the refusal to share economic gains with 99% of
Americans."
This mindset is shared by many building the new economy. Peter Thiel said in
an interview that growth is necessary because otherwise "for my life to
improve, I have to take from you."
Even the most brilliant economic and entrepreneurial minds of _our_ day get it
wrong. We need limits on individual growth.
Our current economic system violates natural law.
------
cfontes
Awesome read!
Our oceans were so full of fish and other species, now a days it's
depressing... I think it's been 15 years since I've seen a Seahorse in a
random dive they used to be everywhere and I am sure it's not bad luck.
------
embro
This really was an interesting and eye opening read.
~~~
SixSigma
Agreed. I wasn't aware of of such a variety of ocean flora was untapped,
although I am not surprised. There are over 2,000 edible land plants but only
a few dozen under active cultivation.
------
alex_duf
fascinating read, I hope this leads to something
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Method of loci - SworDsy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci
======
walterbell
There's an active memory-improvement community at
[http://artofmemory.com](http://artofmemory.com) including forums and a wiki
of techniques.
Why bother? Because these techniques increase the capacity of "cache" that is
closer (low latency) to human "computation". This can lead to faster traversal
of the OODA loop,
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop),
which is relevant to lean startups, business competition, combat and more.
See the HN thread on AI as an enabler of IA,
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10373180](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10373180)
In addition, spaced-repetition techniques can be used to increase your
vocabulary, which is like gaining extra pixels for the expression of nuanced
goals, helping any compass which guides execution to a goal. Words are proxies
for dreams and dangers, especially in a software-constructed world. Greater
word capacity becomes greater visibility over a software-based terrain.
~~~
pcote
I can vouch for spaced-repetition being an excellent training tool. It isn't
just for words though. My uses for it range from individual terms to small
training exercises. When I find a new solution to a problem I have, I often
make a spaced-repetition card for it. You can learn a lot by making a daily
habit of it.
~~~
drivers99
(Adding to what you wrote.) Since you mention that it's not just for vocab,
here's an extensive article on how to formulate knowledge in general that goes
into a spaced repetition system. (There is also a summary at the bottom.)
[http://www.supermemo.com/articles/20rules.htm](http://www.supermemo.com/articles/20rules.htm)
It's part of a site for a closed-source client, but Anki[1] is a good open-
source one.
[1] [http://ankisrs.net/](http://ankisrs.net/)
------
Rainymood
Very very cool! Interested? Read 'Moonwalking with Einstein'
I recall being surprised (the whole class) by a surprise test for some people
who wanted to study us. We had 5 minutes to memorize 50 random words. I just
read Moonwalking with Einstein so I learned how to use loci. The average that
people could recall (N=25) was around 20 words. I was able to recall 49! 49!
That's almost perfect! I was pretty fucking baffled. I still know most of them
...
A JAMAICAN person jumped off a RAMP on the TITANIC and then flew in to SPACE
on the ISS where he saw a DOG which was playing the VIOLIN which then bit
TESLA, GHANDI was playing CHESS and then the iss crashed down into MILAN which
was covered in a huge OMELET, we flew over mount FUJI and ... etc
Bolded words are words that were on the list. It's pretty awesome for hardcore
memorization!
~~~
mdaniel
The one problem I've had with these "construct a story" mechanisms is that I
have just as hard of a time remembering the specifics of the story as I do
some of the things I'm trying _to_ remember.
In your example, "the ISS crashed down into $city" requires remembering the
city name, and that's just a few words in. By the time the novella gets to the
50th word, there are a __ton __of details one must remember, aside from the
story itself that houses them (which in your case seems custom made for those
words; I 'd be surprised if that was your general purpose loci).
This problem is compounded by the system described on ArtOfMemory's wiki
([http://mt.artofmemory.com/wiki/Method_of_Loci](http://mt.artofmemory.com/wiki/Method_of_Loci))
where they use a fixed story but with interchangeable items in the rooms. I'm
sure with enough reciting of that story, I could remember the corn and milk,
but the _second_ time I need that memory palace, only this time with different
items, I'm screwed because the two stories will bleed together.
I recognize this comment might sound like I'm deriding the method, but I
promise that's not the case. I just want to know if someone else has the same
"stories don't work for me" and to know if there is a twist or alternate which
makes them work for the kind of brain which isn't helped by loci.
~~~
JoshMnem
This is Josh from artofmemory.com. If you get ghost images, try waiting longer
between each use. You can have multiple memory palaces and rotate them to give
each palace a rest after use. After some practice, it should come more easily.
I haven't written a shopping list down in years.
There are more tips on the memory palace page
([http://mt.artofmemory.com/wiki/Memory_Palace](http://mt.artofmemory.com/wiki/Memory_Palace)),
and you can ask more questions in the forum.
------
odabaxok
There is a great TED talk about this:
[http://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_foer_feats_of_memory_anyone_...](http://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_foer_feats_of_memory_anyone_can_do)
~~~
dagurp
And a great book called Moonwalking with Einstein
~~~
pixelHD
Yes, it is a great read.
I heard about the "Memory Palace" on BBC's Sherlock. Holmes says that you can
theoretically remember everything (I think this was in the episode The Hounds
of Baskerville). I then happened upon this book via gatesnotes[0], and picked
it up.
The author is quite successful in learning and putting this technique to use.
He reaches the finals of the USA Memory Championship. However, he says this at
the end - "For all the memory stunts I could now perform, I was still stuck
with the same old shoddy memory that misplaced car keys and cars. Even while I
had greatly expanded my powers of recall for the kinds of structured
information that could be crammed into a memory palace, most of the things I
wanted to remember in my everyday life were not facts or figures or poems or
playing cards or binary digits."
It seems this method can help in memorizing things you consciously put effort
to remember. This becomes easier as you practice. But if you were thinking of
using this to remember every point of your life, as in where you placed your
car keys this morning, or where you left your phone, things get murky - like
what the Author mentioned. Although I do wonder how many people would try
doing that.
0: [http://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Moonwalking-with-
Einstein](http://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Moonwalking-with-Einstein)
~~~
gohrt
I can't find a reference now, but I read about a women who had a debilitating
mental illness -- she could remember very many of the mundane details of her
days, and it crowded out her ability to perform other mental tasks.
~~~
schoen
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthymesia#Cases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthymesia#Cases)
The person you heard about might have been
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Price](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Price)
These cases remind me very strongly of the Borges story "Funes the Memorious"
("Funes el Memorioso").
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funes_the_Memorious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funes_the_Memorious)
Edit: It was interesting to hear that Price rejected the interpretation of her
condition that was given in the Wired story about her (which was how I'd heard
about her).
------
mturmon
This came to my attention while reading the essays collected in Tony Judt's
book _The Memory Chalet_
([http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/feb/10/tony-
ju...](http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/feb/10/tony-judt-
distinctions/)). From the review:
"Physically unable to write [because of ALS], but with a mind as sharp and
active as ever, [Judt] plotted the twenty-five short essays that compose this
book in his head, while he was alone at night, using a mnemonic device taken
from accounts of the early modern “memory palace,” whereby elements of a
narrative are associated with points in a visually remembered space; but
instead of a palace, he used a small Swiss chalet that he had once stayed in
on vacation as a boy, and that he could picture vividly and in detail. He was
then able to dictate these feuilletons the next day from the resulting
structure."
------
zupreme
I took the Jonathan Levi Superlearner course on Udemy about a year ago and the
Loci method is a key part of this course.
I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in this topic.
I can say that it's extremely useful for remembering lists of things, but I
haven't had a lot of success in using it to retain or organize abstract
information.
~~~
Moshe_Silnorin
>I can say that it's extremely useful for remembering lists of things, but I
haven't had a lot of success in using it to retain or organize abstract
information.
I think the fact that these techniques have died out is some evidence that
they are not actually very useful.
~~~
edanm
Just as a counterpoint, in the book "Moonwalking with Einstein", the author
talks quite a bit about the fact that many of these methods survived for a
long long time, and people in the past considered memory an incredibly
important proof of someone being educated.
The methods seem to have been "lost" mostly when better options for external
memory (e.g. writing and printing) became more universal. (iirc - i'm probably
messing this up somewhat).
~~~
schoen
Yeah, it might be harder to convince people that classic memory techniques are
important when they carry smartphones. But the classic memory techniques may
still _work_ just as well as they ever did!
------
minimaxir
About halfway during an Introduction to Psychology exam in college (and this
was told to the class ahead of time), the professor told us to close our exam
booklets and listen to a list of 20 things, having the class using the Method
of loci to remember them. Afterwards, students had to write it down the list
_in order_ in their test booklet. The question was worth as many points, with
_any_ out-of-order mistake forfeiting the rest of the points for the list.
Somehow, I managed to get everything correct.
------
fatratchet
I'm really curious about building a virtual memory palace for VR. Seems there
would be many possibilities to make memorizing more effective.
Some common techniques like following a predetermined path through a palace
and imagining diffrent unique objects and scenes at fixed locations along that
path could be really nicely visualized.
I would think you could benefit a lot from actually beeing able to explore and
fully take in a memory palace while feeling like you're actually present with
VR.
~~~
EdwardCoffin
If you are a really visual person, perhaps. I would want all sorts of other
senses in addition though. Being able to lay my hands on the brickwork and
hear how sounds are affected by walls would be important parts for me.
On the other hand, a palace in VR has the benefit of not getting demolished,
and being accessible even if you move to another country.
I understand that fictional locales were used as palaces for this reason. For
instance, Dante's circles of hell.
Edit: corrected an inexplicable typo (had 'and' for 'hands')
------
archagon
Are most people able to just "picture a room" as required by this technique?
I've never been good at that. Whenever I try to picture a location, I just see
objects and landmarks with no real sense of place, kind of just floating in an
impressionistic aether.
~~~
tedmiston
For me it's not really about picturing a room, but coming up with the vivid
transitions between objects.
Ex. For wolf, orange, hail; I might picture: The wolf sitting on top of a
house, and when he opens his mouth it violently rains an infinite stream of
oranges, then when gravity kicks in the oranges start falling from the sky
turning into huge balls of hail.
The imagery like hundreds of oranges pouring out of a wolves' mouth, and
oranges falling from the sky like hail are what do it for me. I've used this
technique for lists of 20-30 somewhat unrelated items effectively.
------
pmtarantino
People who watch BBC Sherlock should be familiarized with it :)
~~~
hacker_9
Not sure why you're getting downvoted, the show led me to looking up memory
palaces too!
------
e19293001
There are a lot of methods that was developed by Harry Lorayne. I recommend to
read some of his books (The Memory Book).
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Are Scorecards & Metrics Killing Employee Engagement? - wbracken
http://iq.callme.io/2011/07/14/callme-quick-hit-are-scorecards-metrics-killing-employee-engagement/
======
absconditus
Submit the source article and I will vote for it.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Worth it to register a trademark for a software product that is being developed? - adziki
http://answers.onstartups.com/q/15198/4272
======
martinkallstrom
It might end up being worth it. In 2006 we registered twingly.com, while a
startup in the US registered twing.com. Twing and Twingly are similar enough
to sue for cease and desist, especially since our businesses areas overlapped
very much. Us being a search engine for blogs and them a search engine for
discussion fora.
By the time we found out about each other, we had registered Twingly as a
trademark in EU and Twing was pending registration in the US. Thus, we had
symmetrical leverage on each other and the negotiations for an agreement of
global, peaceful co-existance was hassle-free. It was in both our interests to
get it in place. None of us had in their minds to attack the other but didn't
know to trust the other in the long run. If you end up building the next
Google you don't want someone around with the ability to take an easy shot at
your business.
To conclude, I think both of our companies were happy we registered our
trademarks early on.
Since then however, Twing was deadpooled after their financers pulled the
plug. On another note, Twitter and Twine were also started in 2006, without
anyone of us being aware of each other until after some time. It was simply a
year for startup names starting with Twi, as it seems.
~~~
Keyframe
umm <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Twingo>
------
jfarmer
I would. My current company has a great product name. We got the .com domain,
but the Twitter name is taken by a person with 1 follower, 1 following, and no
tweets.
When I showed Twitter our domain and product and asked if we could have the
Twitter handle, I got a form letter response telling me they only hand over
names if we prove we have trademark.
For me, that alone would be worth it.
------
sovande
I was just thinking about this. From the linked discussion it seems to be
something a non-lawer can do. Does anyone have a pointer to how to best start
this process and the approximate cost in EU or in the US?
~~~
bananaandapple
You can file for an european trademark directly online on the european
trademark website.
It costs about 1300€ (as far as I can remember) for 3 categories, 150€ for
each category. It will take you some time however to fill out the forms, and
select the proper phrases.
You can always remove clauses from your registration, but never add clauses!
If there is a conflict (and there most certainly is one ;-)), be sure to hire
an expert.
You have to use it in the european union for it to be valid.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Requiem for GitHub - ingve
http://hintjens.com/blog:111
======
grandalf
The point about money attracting the wrong kind of people is (I think)
accurate. When a recently minted MBA looks at Github as a great career option,
it's probably too late.
Ironically, that's why the money was invested in the first place, to be able
to afford people like that, because the investors believe that creating a
gamified system for money-driven people will result in a payout.
Github could have continued to grow organically instead of taking $100M. Since
the $100M there hasn't been any significant new functionality on the web
version of the site, and there have been fewer blog posts from the early team
of people who many of us met and respected.
I assumed something was awry when Kneath left, he was a symbol of the culture
at GH that was a legit, bootstrapped startup culture. He loved the product and
evangelized it in a way that was clearly a labor of love.
The sexual-harassment stuff is unfortunate, but organizations of primates have
things like that happen now and then, it's just rare that the victims decide
to go public. This does not excuse it but it doesn't necessary say anything
about the culture (I've seen female-founded, progressive firms tolerate very
bad behavior from male employees).
Maybe Github should split into a corporate division and an open source
division. The OSS division could make all of its work and decision making
distributed and public, and the corporate division could do business
development and attack new market opportunities.
~~~
rntz
> The sexual-harassment stuff is unfortunate, but organizations of primates
> have things like that happen now and then, it's just rare that the victims
> decide to go public. This does not excuse it but it doesn't necessary say
> anything about the culture
Harassment _does_ say something about the culture in which it happens. What
you're pointing out, correctly, is that it's not _exceptional_ for this kind
of stuff to happen - that Github is probably not much worse than most other
tech companies in this respect.
As you say, this is no excuse. Change has to start somewhere; we can't keep
saying "oh, it just happens, you know, it's not worse here than anywhere
else".
> Maybe Github should split into a corporate division and an open source
> division. The OSS division could make all of its work and decision making
> distributed and public, and the corporate division could do business
> development and attack new market opportunities.
_I_ would like that, but how would it make investors money? If the answer is
"it doesn't", then it won't happen.
~~~
PieterH
Interesting how so casually you assume there was sexual harassment. As spangry
notes later in this thread ([https://github.com/blog/1826-follow-up-to-the-
investigation](https://github.com/blog/1826-follow-up-to-the-investigation)),
there was an apparently thorough investigation by a reputed external
investigator who found that the claims were false. There is/was no culture of
harassment in GitHub.
And yet this single person's claim was enough to force out the CEO and tar
GitHub with the "harassment" reputation.
We live in interesting times.
~~~
rntz
I had not seen that post about the investigation before; it's very
enlightening, and I upvoted spangry for linking it.
My default assumption is that when there are claims of harassment, there is
some substance to them, even if the specifics are wrong. Bringing forward
claims of harassment in the tech world turns your life (and that of the
accused, if their name is publicized) into a shitstorm; people don't tend to
do that without reason. But this is just a heuristic. It looks like Horvath's
claims of harassment might be unsubstantiated in this case.
It's hard to tell, though, because most of the things she complains about
(with the exception of the code-review stuff, which appears to be just false,
which is worrying) is unverifiable outside of he-said/she-said. Note the
noncommittal wording: "The investigation found _no information to support_
misconduct or opportunistic behavior by the engineer against Julie or any
other female employees in the workplace." _No information to support_ suggests
"neither evidence for or against". Which is natural. Harassment is hard to
prove or disprove precisely because it usually doesn't leave evidence.
> there was an apparently thorough investigation by a reputed external
> investigator who found that the claims were false. [...] And yet this single
> person's claim was enough to force out the CEO
Specifically regarding the ousting of the CEO, let me quote the investigation
you linked:
> The investigation found Tom Preston-Werner in his capacity as GitHub’s CEO
> acted inappropriately, including confrontational conduct, disregard of
> workplace complaints, insensitivity to the impact of his spouse's presence
> in the workplace, and failure to enforce an agreement that his spouse should
> not work in the office.
~~~
walterstucco
> My default assumption is that when there are claims of harassment, there is
> some substance to them
So, you think we are alle guilty of harassment, until proven innocent? I
wonder what my fellow countryman Cesare Beccaria
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Beccaria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Beccaria))
would think about this kind of mindset.
> Harassment is hard to prove or disprove precisely because it usually doesn't
> leave evidence.
But we live in a legal system that is based on proofs, not on suspects or
claims.
> and failure to enforce an agreement that his spouse should not work in the
> office.
Anybody knows that it's safer to jump in the mouth of a T-Rex than doing
something like that. I think this is the reason he resigned: to save his
marriage.
~~~
rntz
There is a difference between believing _some particular individual_ is guilty
of harassment and accepting that a harassment problem exists in an industry or
company. If we want to convict someone, either in the court of public opinion
or in a court of justice, we must hold ourselves to a high standard of proof.
Better a murderer go free than an innocent be hanged, and so forth.
But if we're interested in whether the industry itself has a problem, in
whether a problem _exists_ , then we should take women (or anyone else!) at
their word when they say they experience harassment, absent strong evidence
that they are lying or mistaken. Otherwise, we are violating the same rule:
assuming they are _guilty_ of lying until they _prove_ themselves innocent!
~~~
EvanPlaice
"There is a difference between believing some particular individual is guilty
of harassment and accepting that a harassment problem exists in an industry or
company."
You're right, and legal protections exist to protect individuals under these
circumstances. It's a primary responsibility of Human Resources department to
document such occurrences and justifiably fire bad actors when they occur so
things don't devolve into 'he said, she said' chaos.
Instead there was no documented attempt at intervention. The woman in question
reached out mass media to garner sympathy (a fireable offense in and of
itself); 'he said, she said' was accepted as fact, and the man was asked to
step down as a result.
"Better a murderer go free than an innocent be hanged, and so forth."
That's quite the slippery slope. The burden of proof exists to protect
individuals from unjust accusation. Libel is a crime for a reason.
It's the legal and ethical duty of an organization to prevent from blindly
taking sides in the absence of proof. Toxic, spiteful, aggressive, conniving,
manipulative personalities aren't exclusive to any gender, race, creed, etc.
Considering the evidence after the fact, it seems that this was an
organizational failure. As a result it set a bad precedent. GitHub lacks the
ability to protect the well-being of its employees and worse, protection is
exclusively granted to women.
To quote:
"Even so, we work in a world where inequality exists by default and we have to
overcome that. Bullying, intimidation, and harassment, whether illegal or not,
are absolutely unacceptable at GitHub and should not be tolerated anywhere.
GitHub is committed to building a safe environment for female employees and
all women in our community."
GitHub _should_ be committed to building a safe environment for _all_
employees. The resulting outcome proves that their neither willing nor capable
of protecting the well being of their employees absent of institutional bias.
\-----
As far as it concerns Tom Preston-Werner, he failed in his duty as the leader
of the organization. From all outward appearances it seems like he's well
aware of where things went wrong. Unfortunately, the damage is already done.
As much as we'd all desire to be friendly and personable with our colleagues,
leadership should always maintain a degree of separation from those they lead.
The military has clear rules about fraternization, well established businesses
usually have similar rules. Startups are, well... startups. Their greatest
strength -- to break common convention -- is also their greatest weakness.
------
arthurcolle
> The right size. 300 employees is too few. Yahoo! has 12,500 employees, and
> is worth $33bn on the stock market. GitHub needs at least 5,000 employees.
It seems like your heart is in the right place but the quoted statement reads
to me as a total non-sequitur. What model are you using to justify your calls
for GitHub to hire 9x it's current number of employees?
What would these 4.5K new employees be doing exactly?
At the end of the day they provide a useful way to store and version control a
code base, but the enterprise software market is very crowded and GitHub being
in vogue could be a fad that gets eclipsed by something else, just like how
HipChat was THE thing for teams until Slack.
Arbitrarily saying that "Google will birth AI and they need at least 1M
employees to make it happen" is something that, in my opinion, sounds
similarly vapid from any kind of quantitative or forecasting standpoint.
Would like to know how the figure was estimated, and how mentioning Yahoo is
relevant in the least. They have a huge stake in Alibaba, and yahoos business
model is a defacto investment company, with Yahoo standalone value [yhoo
market cap - (yhoo stake in baba)*(market cap of baba)] around -15B last I
checked. It's not even apples and oranges, it's like grapes vs dolphins -
meaningless comparison
Edit: fixed my yhoo/baba math for clarity
~~~
rntz
The author is being sarcastic. They are saying that, from the point of view of
the "wolves", Github doesn't _look_ like a $20bn company - so it will be
_made_ to look like one, by hiring more employees, changing the power
structure, and becoming more enterprise-oriented.
~~~
PieterH
Thank you for clarifying this.
------
hwstar
I think the new management at Github is going to eventually alienate all of
the users which have free open source accounts by introducing a monthly fee.
They'll do this for 2 reasons. 1: To drive away the open source users so that
the paying enterprise customers will feel better about using Github, and 2: to
extract a revenue stream from the open source users which remain to cover the
expenses of providing a repository.
I have several open source projects on Github, but if they try to extract a
recurring revenue stream from me, I'll move the projects to another platform.
~~~
hardwaresofton
I have a few projects on github and bitbucket, and find bitbucket a joy to use
(and free, even for private projects).
Obviously, bitbucket could decide to do the same shortly after github (as I'm
fairly certain they made free repos available to attract github's customers,
and free private repos to differentiate). In the case that it does, I'm not
sure what I'd do.
~~~
Macha
If both Github and Bitbucket drop free repos, there's still the option of self
hosted Gitlab CE (or Gitlab.com if it doesn't follow suit)
~~~
sytse
GitLab.com will be free forever, see the statement at the end of
[https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-com/](https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-com/)
------
kevin_thibedeau
You're sunk when you have an influential SJW who's going to enforce
unrealistic demographics and ultimately drive out the "undesirables" who made
the company work.
------
s986s
oracle is the only comparison I can remotely relate to what this individual is
talking about. But heres the issue:
\- githubs customer isnt opensource projects, its closed source. The masses
moving away is a good thing
\- as dependency on github increases, the larger of a liability for bigger
companies. Google needs java for android, walmart needs npm for its servers,
github likely has projects that are depended upon by bigger names though we
would never know
\- start ups and new comers likely hear about github before anything else. It
is usually at the top for SEO. As this trend continues, dependence will only
increase.
\- are you able to break from github? At the moment, my community is the js
community. There is a lot of crappy things happening in it but I cant stop
using github, npm nor node. These are essential and convienient for me. Even
if I agreed politically, realistically my workflow cannot change without
waisting time.
I believe Im a libertarian intelligent coding machine like the rest of you.
But this doomsday scenario sounds more like prayers than accurate predictions
~~~
nine_k
SourceForge was essential once, too.
The nature of git lets it migrate easily. (The rest of the infrastructure, not
so much.)
------
static_noise
What does GitHub have that makes it irreplaceable in a short time?
It has many many users that's for sure but unlike proprietary instant
messengers or social networks I don't see strong network effects.
~~~
mbrock
I think the social effects of GitHub are very strong. It's the de facto arena
for open source collaboration. By using it, a project signals that they choose
the most widely used community, and thus encourage participation. It's
familiar. Everybody has an account. There's built in GitHub support in package
managers, even, so the namespace of "githubuser/project" is valuable.
Personally I'm not interested in another clone of GitHub.com. Let's try
another model entirely. Something more distributed and federated. That way
lies diversity and immunity to lock-in. Let's collaborate in an open fashion
using open protocols and decentralized hosting.
~~~
dudul
Agreed. I also see very little value in simply cloning GitHubg, that's one of
my problems with GitLab. I like it, it's open source and the perfs get better,
but at the end of the day, it is a clone of GitHub. Not much innovation. I
would love to say a player take some risk and try to present a new model and
new way to leverage Git.
~~~
sytse
What kind of innovation would you like to see? We already added protected
branches, integrated CI and many other features. Our current plans are on
[https://about.gitlab.com/direction/](https://about.gitlab.com/direction/)
------
sebastianlett
Interesting comments . Coincidentally , if anyone has been searching for a a
form , We found a fillable form here <a
href="[http://pdf.ac/3hCVyQ"](http://pdf.ac/3hCVyQ")
>[http://pdf.ac/3hCVyQ</a>](http://pdf.ac/3hCVyQ</a>).
------
greenyoda
For those who missed it, here's the HN discussion of the recent article
discussing the ongoing changes at GitHub (which was cited in the present
article):
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11049067](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11049067)
------
wanda
I wonder if Linux will continue to live on Github.
~~~
davexunit
Only a git mirror is on GitHub. Linux lives on kernel.org.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Anyone else need to stop and smell the roses? - thefahim
I'm working on my own startup (as a junior in college) and one of my close friends told me to slow down.<p>I've definitely thought this a couple times in the past. Being an entrepreneur, and goal oriented, I sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses. There's more to life than this and sometimes I forget.<p>Anyone else feel the same way?
======
sgt
I always say... it's better to be too busy doing what you love than to have
too little to do.
------
samratjp
Sometimes, you just need to throw away your laptop and just do nothing. I find
that staring at clouds on a cool spring evening can clear your head real fast
:-) In fact, it's my best debugging strategy.
------
thibaut_barrere
I'm always keeping a balance between the two, yes, absolutely.
Sidenote: having reduced your expenses will help you ensure you can feel free
to smell the roses whenever you feel the need.
------
megamark16
Lets see, stop and smell the roses, I think I've got a user story for that
somewhere...I'll move it up in priority, but it'll still be sometime in late
May before it gets into a sprint.
------
tswicegood
Yeah. It's a constant battle. Friends and my wife help remind me when things
are getting too crazy. That and the length of my beard. :-)
~~~
samratjp
The beard indeed and the 5 a.m. shadows :-P
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Illinois House requires one Woman and African-American on public companies board - lettergram
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3394&GAID=15&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=119985&SessionID=108&SpecSess=&Session=&GA=101
======
lettergram
The debate: [https://capitolfax.com/2019/04/01/breaking-down-fridays-
most...](https://capitolfax.com/2019/04/01/breaking-down-fridays-most-intense-
house-debate/)
------
denkmoon
and the problem was solved once and for all....
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Just Scroll - koichi
http://www2.nissan.co.jp/SP/NOTE/SPECIAL/
======
se85
Interesting design concept - but a horrible implementation of it.
You can't just go and load a thousand divs and not expect a wide variety of
performance issues across all the different platforms.
You need to have a tile manager or something behind the scenes the same way
that Google maps does, especially when targetting smaller consumer devices
with limited hardware specs like tablets and phones.
* iOS5 - with an iphone 3gs (laggy to the point of being unusable)
* iOS5 - with an iphone 4 (laggy to be the point of being unusable, unless your patient). I don't have an iphone 4gs to test on, but I suspect it might be more on par with ipad 2 performance. The differences could be to do with retina display vs non retina display as well I suppose.
* iOS5 - with an iPad 1 - roughly same performance as an iphone 3gs - crappy
* iOS5 - with an iPad 2 - not too bad (but thats because of the gpu tile rendering in safari going on behind the scenes i suspect.
* Firefox 15 on a quad core i7 imac - massive ram spike, and crazy lag with the scrolling
* Chrome on a quad core i7 imac - no problem.
I'm not even going to bother trying this out in IE!
edit: Latest version of Opera has provided the poorest results yet, it keeps
lagging and pausing and reloading the images after they have already been
loaded (didn't check to see if it was actually downloading them again though)
~~~
ralfd
I presume Safari was the same as Chrome?
~~~
human_error
Safari 5.1 here. I viewed the site without any problems.
------
graue
I might just ditch Firefox because of this webpage. A fresh session of Ffx15
goes up to 1.5 GB memory usage, pushes everything into swap and brings my
whole OS to a grinding halt until I kill it. In other words this link is
basically a very effective DoS. In Chromium it works fine. Am I the only one
having this problem?
(Edit: I have several Ffx addons running and no Chromium addons, so the
comparison was unfair. Maybe I'll just ditch some of those addons...)
~~~
dbcooper
With today's Firefox nightly build I see a peak of 337MB with it. Image
discarding has improved recently.
<https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=683290>
~~~
Erunno
I doubt that the patch helps in this particular case as all images are present
in the DOM, so Firefox will merrily load all of the images, independent of
whether they are visible or not. This has been a longstanding architectural
problem.
------
001sky
Amazing visuals. I have no idea if the idea scales. Technically might be a bit
PITA. The sensation of time. Passing. Wait, what? The modular decomposition.
Birdseye flight sequnece. Functional redundancy. An innovation communication
language? Dunno. Pity about the ad-part =D
Edit: pls, though. not in the wrong hands.
~~~
bruceboughton
>> The modular decomposition.
>> Functional redundancy.
What?
~~~
lmm
I'm assuming the grandparent post has been machine-translated from Japanese
------
Kluny
People complaining about the scaffolding - oh well. It was probably built by
someone who had a bright idea but knows nothing about webdesign and learned it
on the fly. But the idea was great! I was delighted - I scrolled through the
whole thing, shared it on facebook, then looked up the wiki for the car since
the ad was Japanese. I had no performance issues, as I am using chrome on a
fast ethernet connection. For someone who doesn't know web design, they did a
great job!
------
DigitalSea
Wow, this is atrocious on so many levels. 30mb of jpg files? The inner web
development nerd in me believes there is a better more efficient way to do
this. The length of the page is ridiculously long to scroll and unless you
have a Mac with a Magic Mouse and smooth scrolling and not a Windows machine
(like I use) the scrolling is super jerky.
~~~
icebraining
_The inner web development nerd in me believes there is a better more
efficient way to do this._
Sure there is, it's called a video.
------
shuw
I don't think there is anything special about this "video" ad that lends
itself to scrolling. You can take any video (infographic, music video,
advertisement) and conceptually scroll through it using a mouse, but what does
that gain you?
If you could interact with the elements and there was more than 1 dimension of
scroll.. then that'd be going beyond.
~~~
Kluny
The thing is, I, and lots of other people, NEVER click on videos, and always
click on pictures. It's a weird thing, but it's true.
------
kevincennis
For anyone wondering, that's about 135 jpgs at ~100KB on average.
~~~
ars
It's 29.3MB according to firebug.
Which, in the age of video, isn't really that much.
~~~
potatolicious
A 29.3MB video runs multiple minutes - so long as your available bandwidth is
above a relatively generous minimum, the experience will be smooth and
uninterrupted.
I'd wager that the average person would burn through this 29.3MB faster than
it can be downloaded, considering how fast you'd be scrolling.
------
marginalboy
Classic case of "just because you can doesn't mean you should"...
------
fungi
save yourself the scrolly effort:
run:
setInterval(function(){$(window).scrollTop($(window).scrollTop()+10)},10);
in your console (f12 in chrome/firebug, crtl+shift+k in firefox)
~~~
edave01
Or you can click one of the links at the top to auto-scroll to a section.
~~~
fersho311
nope, the hacker in me likes the javascript better.
------
hcarvalhoalves
Now multiply by 120 million... and that's why download rates from .jp are so
damn low.
~~~
acgourley
would anything that popular be cached between me and japan?
~~~
syaramak
It's on Limelight's CDN
www2.nissan.co.jp is an alias for nissan.vo.llnwd.net.
------
manuscreationis
Inefficient? Sure
Cool to look at? You betcha
Not everything needs to be a technological marvel
~~~
gavingmiller
+1 it's playing like this that inspires ideas in others - should it be so
prominent, maybe not. Furthermore, it's going to get linked a ton which is
great for Nissan's brand.
------
saxamaphone69
Reminds me of that advertisement someone did on Pinterest, where you had to
scroll down quickly as well.
edit: Uniqlo, that was it. not on their Pinterest anymore. Video for same
effect - <http://youtu.be/e5FM-VcE7UA>
------
splatzone
Anyone care to explain how this works? It can't just be an endless array of
divs, can it?
~~~
calvinlough
It's not just an endless array of divs because then the grid lines would
constantly be shifting (that is, unless your browser happens to scroll in
increments that are exactly equal to the height of one of the cells).
~~~
recursive
They were constantly shifting to me. I was able to get it so that they were
barely shifting, but the best I could do made it look like the images were
ever so gradually drifting upwards due to a slight mismatch.
------
nu2ycombinator
You do not have to scroll down. Press on Menu buttons 1, 2, 3, 4 one after
another
------
eckyptang
This works pretty well in IE9 with no noticeable performance problems on a 5
year old machine.
Rather scarily, it also works fine on a Lumia 710 as well!
I don't care what anyone says - IE is not a stinking heap of poop.
~~~
m72
That's because it's been baking out in the sun to the point where the poop is
just dried and doesn't really stink anymore.
~~~
eckyptang
You can still make houses out of baked poop :)
I'm not sure of the relevance of that point though :(
------
LancerSykera
Best use of my freewheel Logitech "Marathon Mouse" M705 yet.
~~~
Splines
Probably the only time I clicked the "no detent" button on my Logitech mouse
as well.
------
yuliyp
I hope nobody ever thinks this is a good idea.
~~~
Dramatize
Why? I thought it was interesting.
~~~
potatolicious
An interesting exercise, but maybe not practical, considering how slow your
average home internet connection is, and how much data you're trying to stuff
through that pipe. It's IMO likely that most people will end up scrolling
faster than the page can load.
Not to mention, this will murder any mobile device or weaker laptops.
Cool piece of marketing, but ultimately if the goal is to deliver a cool
experience to as many people as possible, this implementation may not be
ideal.
~~~
harisenbon
Note the .jp.
As I mentioned above, our internet speeds are crazy fast. I downloaded the
whole thing in about 3 seconds on my home internet, 10 on my 3g ipad.
The only issue with the ipad was that you couldn't flick and have it just
scroll down.
~~~
m72
It's because of the way iOS captures scroll events. These scrolling sites
never look right on iOS.
------
madmax108
This is an interesting design concept indeed...
If I remember right, some apparel company used Pinterest's "revolutionary"
display (Masonry right?) to a similar effect. Perhaps a HN Search is in order!
:)
Memory issues apart,This is pretty cool!
------
madmikey
In countries like INDIA, the site takes about more than ten minutes to load on
an average indian internet connection.
~~~
sundarurfriend
I guess if you include dialup connections in the average? The page load seemed
pretty much instantaneous to me on a standard 2Mbps Tata Indicom connection.
At worst, I believe the average broadband connection these days would be 512
Kbps, and "more than ten minutes" is still too much of a stretch.
Edit: Akamai reports that the average Internet speed in India is 0.9 Mbps:
[http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=3042...](http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=30428).
~~~
Achshar
512 here, ten minutes just about fits the bill. I have been reading all these
comments but have _no_ idea what it is because it wont load for me at all. i
cant load 30 mb. It's bsnl and it wont even give complete 512. more like 400.
------
suyash
How does it perform on touch devices? This is a great use case for just
flicking thru on mobile and tablets.
------
manojlds
Of my latest versions of Opera, Firefox, Chrome and IE, only IE handled this
to perfection! (it was IE10)
------
ch
Try reverse!
~~~
snprbob86
Yeah, clicking that worked way smoother than me scrolling down myself.
------
sageikosa
Perhaps someone can patent this and save the rest of us from copycats.
------
Bjoern
Having open quite a few tabs before it killed my Firefox.
------
egze
The page could use some infinity.js
------
mp99e99
Really cool, thanks for sharing.
------
tomkit
The irregular intervals at which you scroll your mouse produces a stop-motion
type effect :).
------
gdubya
wtf!
tl;dr
;)
------
WagnerVaz
Sorry but the driving wheel is in the opposite side.
~~~
harisenbon
It's on the correct side when you're in Japan. Our steering wheels are on the
right, and we drive on the left, just like England.
~~~
robotmay
And we, the English, thank you for putting the indicator stalk on the right of
the steering wheel. Seriously; that's a major factor in me buying a car.
------
w0utert
Nice, but Volkswagen has had the exact same thing for months, but done a lot
better:
<http://beetle.de/>
~~~
kyberias
I don't see how that is "better", it's just totally different. I think this VW
version looks a total mess when scrolled. Nissan is much much simpler and
smoother.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Twitter Fast Growing Beyond Its Messaging Roots - peter123
http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/02/twitters-hackab.html
======
josefresco
I'd like to see that little 'dog emotion' collar widget that came out last
year tied into Twitter so when I'm not home I can tell how my dogs are
feeling.
But seriously, the technology for your washing machine to alert you, or your
plants to beg for water was around long before Twitter. Twitter is just the
'place', it's not the important part.
~~~
thwarted
The only difference that twitter provides is that the state of your washing
machine is publicly broadcast, for everyone to see. I'm not sure why that's
such a value add that encourages the creation and use of these kinds of
services more so than the ability for your washing machine to send you an SMS,
IM, or email and having it remain private.
I mean, if someone were to create a tool tomorrow that monitors various things
and notifies you of when they change (nagios for real-life?) would anyone use
it if it didn't have a twitterable component or twitter integration?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
China Can’t Sustain Its Debt-Fueled Binge, Moody’s Says - JumpCrisscross
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/business/moodys-downgrades-china-economy-debt.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_dk_20170524&nl=dealbook&nl_art=5&nlid=65508833&ref=headline&te=1
======
ryandamm
I think the best model to understand this is Michael Pettis's balance sheet
analysis. He covers it extensively, but here's his latest digest of the model:
[http://carnegieendowment.org/chinafinancialmarkets/66221](http://carnegieendowment.org/chinafinancialmarkets/66221)
It really makes clear how stark the choices are for China. The debt binge of
the last ~10 years has masked the flattening out of productive investment, and
there will need to be a reckoning. Hopefully it's a soft landing, but that
will depend on politics as much as anything.
~~~
drcode
It seems like smart people have been predicting that China's growth is
unsustainable on a regular basis for at least 15 years... it's tough for an
average HNer like myself to take the time to tell which "expert" is just
blowing smoke and which expert truly has a handle on the salient facts- Guess
all I can really do is simply wait and see who ends up being right...
~~~
hackuser
Agreed, to an extent (though not every 'expert' is equally reliable). Two ways
I look at it:
1) Generally, the nature of a bubble is that nobody knows when it will pop.
People knew about the U.S. asset bubble in the mid-2000s for years, but even
those not caught up in the bubble mass psychology couldn't accurately predict
when it would collapse. The same was true of the dot-com bubble around 2000.
You can be right that there is a bubble, but be far wrong about when it ends.
2) There was a stock broker looking for new business. He cold called 512
people (he must have been a quant); half he told to sell X stock, half he told
to buy. The next week he called the 256 for whom he'd made the right
prediction and did the same again: Half he told to sell, half to buy ...
several weeks later he was down to 16 people. He called all of them and said,
'look, I was right 5 times in a row ...'.
~~~
zeusk
> There was a stock broker looking for new business. He cold called 512 people
> (he must have been a quant); half he told to sell X stock, half he told to
> buy. The next week he called the 256 for whom he'd made the right prediction
> and did the same again: Half he told to sell, half to buy ... several weeks
> later he was down to 16 people. He called all of them and said, 'look, I was
> right 5 times in a row ...'.
Except, what you just described is a scam and not something a registered
broker can do.
~~~
ars
It sounds more like a parable, not an actual story.
The point is that if enough people make prediction, some of them will right
over and over and over - even though it's all random.
~~~
hackuser
> a parable
Ha, that's a great observation; I hadn't thought of it. On one hand, I'm very
uncomfortable with any implied comparison to the most well known practitioner
of parables. On the other, many others have used the form. Maybe I'll write
all my HN posts in parable form - 'those who have ears to hear' will
understand; the others I won't have to deal with. I could use it for business
emails too.
Coming up with that many parables might be challenging.
~~~
scandox
Gotta say (as a non Christian) nothing wrong with Jesus' reasoning and
storytelling skills. Just a case of one bad axiom I guess.
~~~
hackuser
To be clear, I wasn't uncomfortable with the implied comparison because I have
something against Jesus or the Gospels. I was uncomfortable because I don't
want anyone to think for a moment that I am comparing myself to him. (I'm
not.)
~~~
ars
If it helps, when I said "parable" I had no idea that Jesus would in any way
be implied. I had never even heard of his parables before your reply.
I actually replied to you ask who you were referring to, since I had no idea,
but then another comment said who it was so I deleted my reply.
I clearly am never going to be able to use the word "parable" again. I'll say
fable from now on, even though fables have animals in them, not humans.
------
cletus
China's development has really been fascinating.
10-20 years ago I can remember the analyses arguing China can only continue to
grow with liberalization, even outright requirements for democracy. Perhaps
these pronouncements are still being made.
I've come to believe that what's really useful to people isn't "democracy" or
"freedom" rather rather stability. That means political and economic
stability.
One thing I find fascinating is China's ghost cities. I remember reading some
report that said housing for 64M+ was sitting vacant, largely unaffordable to
locals. Now one can argue that such work is stimulating the economy by
providing employment.
But here's another view. As much as we might (rightly) deride Trump, there are
the (very) occasional nuggets of truth. Some might say even racist clocks are
right twice a day [1]. Whatever the case, the specific issue is
infrastructure.
Infrastructure in the US _is_ crumbling. What's more, a lot of infrastructure
exists now that would be completely uneconomic to build now. Look at the
Second Avenue Subway in NYC that apparently somehow cost $17B+ to basically go
50 blocks. What's more, a lot of this infrastructure has not and is not being
maintained.
So why is this unaffordable to build now? I suspect the answer is that labour
is simply too expensive as is real estate.
So what if China is simply building infrastructure now while it's relatively
cheap to do so? Obviously once built infrastructure depreciates but inflation
also works in your favour (assuming positive inflation).
Now I don't know if that is the Chinese government's thinking but I find it an
interesting thought.
[1] [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/133477/new-
patv-e...](https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/133477/new-patv-episode-
and-comic-for-monday-december-20th)
------
lucasschm
For this subject I would like to offer this counter view: Why China bears are
wrong: An interview with Andy Rothman ([http://supchina.com/sinica/china-
bears-wrong-interview-andy-...](http://supchina.com/sinica/china-bears-wrong-
interview-andy-rothman/))
As it is likely for someone to mention the Ghost cities, I recommend this
video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyBBQ-
wF87M&list=PLxh5xkC0W-...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyBBQ-
wF87M&list=PLxh5xkC0W-vABq5Eq7SL2z9-uD8J2OATf&index=4)
~~~
seanmcdirmid
Ghost cities are weird: first they talk about the ghost cities, then others
say the ghost cities are filling up. If you actually visit, say, Ordos New
Town, you'll really get that, no, those ghost cities really exist.
Some will fill up, like Pudong did, I get Tianjin's new financial district
will also. But those in areas with little economic hope in the near term
(Ordos and dying coal), they really aren't going to happen before the
buildings become substantially rundown (given Chinese concrete overbuilding to
make use of unskilled migrant labor, these buildings require a lot of
maintenance and will look decrepit sooner rather than later).
~~~
whazor
I wonder how much percentage of all buildings are empty in China. In my visit
I saw plentiful empty skyscrapers, especially next to decaying homes where
people would still live.
~~~
seanmcdirmid
Local governments have ways of telling, e.g. By electricity usage. You can
also try counting the lights on at night to get an idea of apartment occupancy
(a fun last time at the apartment complex I used to live in). Someone
definitely knows, but you can be damned sure that this information is
considered "state secrets."or
------
maerF0x0
All the fears around growth is from people not understanding the difference
between absolute growth and relative growth. Which is better growth of 1000 or
3% ? the developed world cannot grow at high percentage points because they're
so large.
This video more or less shows the insanity of trying to grow at a fixed rate
(say being an "emerging market" at 6% per year) for an indefinite timespan.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI1C9DyIi_8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI1C9DyIi_8)
------
paradite
China's response (English):
[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/24/c_136311925.htm](http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/24/c_136311925.htm)
------
melling
I hope China can continue their development of high-speed rail. They have
about 12,000 miles of track, more than the rest of the world combined, and
they should have almost 30,000 miles by 2030. They are trying to improve the
performance:
[https://www.rt.com/business/387089-china-high-speed-
trains/](https://www.rt.com/business/387089-china-high-speed-trains/)
They are continuing to maglev trains too:
[https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/05/more-high-speed-
rail-a...](https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/05/more-high-speed-rail-and-
maglev-lines-in-china.html)
Hopefully, it will encourage other countries to widely adopt the technology.
------
matheweis
Ok, this is probably a silly question, but who holds all the debt now? The avg
US citizen would say China holds much of the US debt, but now it sounds like
China is borrowing their way into trouble too... it's not any of these third
world countries... who is it?
~~~
wu-ikkyu
>The avg US citizen would say China holds much of the US debt, but now it
sounds like China is borrowing their way into trouble too... it's not any of
these third world countries... who is it?
The central banks, obviously. Many of them not being beholden to a nation but
to private individuals.
~~~
JumpCrisscross
> _The central banks, obviously. Many of them not being beholden to a nation
> but to private individuals._
Example? The largest countries' central banks are accountable to their
governments.
~~~
kadfasd4324
They are not. They are legally independent in many countries incl. the US,
Japan, India (de facto), S. Korea, and Thailand.
~~~
JumpCrisscross
> _They are legally independent in many countries_
We're saying the same thing. Most central banks, _e.g._ the Federal Reserve,
were created by law. The Congress giveth and the Congress taketh away. In any
case, the comment I was replying to seemed to imply central banks are
privately owned. That's what I was refuting.
~~~
kadfasd4324
Fair enough.
I think the comment was implying that their policies, not being entirely
democratically accountable - the effectiveness of these instruments themselves
being arguable - are very likely going to be swayed by private interests.
I know there exists a revolving door b/w FDR and major Wall Street banks, but
I'm not sure about other countries. I'd not be surprised if this were the case
everywhere.
Edit:
'Princes of Yen' is a documentary that I found did a good job of illustrating
the dangers of having such high powered unaccountable cabals (without all the
BS that is typical in this genre).
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ac7ap_MAY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ac7ap_MAY)
------
pankajdoharey
Here's the thing about China, if it doesn't pay up, the world at large can't
do anything to China. The world is dependent on Chinese export. If China sinks
it will sink the world economy with it. Too Big to fail actually applies to
China. If China falls short of paying up its mortgages or loans on time it
can't be recovered by anyone. The only thing one could do is wait. So all the
talk is useless, China gas got everyone by the balls. There is no way to
threaten China, nor can any sanction be put on China because the world trade
would suffer. China is indeed the world's factory. In my opinion, Moodys is
wrong this Debt-Fueled growth of China will and has to be sustained for
safeguarding everyone's investments, China cannot be sunk at this point at any
cost. Moodys is not the sole authority on rankings and their opinion matters
less and less in the context of China.
~~~
dgregd
China doesn't import that much goods from the west. So crisis there shoudn't
have big impact on US and Europe. Except real estate market. It seems that US,
European land/houses are the only thing Chinese are interested in.
~~~
kerbalspacepro
It will have an impact on resource-exporting countries though.
------
bitmapbrother
>The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission estimates that by April 2010, of all
mortgage-backed securities Moody's had rated triple-A in 2006, 73% were
downgraded to junk.
Anything Moody's says must be taken into context given their history of taking
money to lie to and cheat investors. Their executives should have gone to
prison and the company should have been liquidated a long timo ago.
~~~
mistermann
Didn't you hear, no one could find enough evidence to convict anyone.
------
theprop
Moody's also says that bundles of subprime mortgages are a AA+ investment.
~~~
justicezyx
Following that reasoning, that probably means China's economy situation would
be much worse.
~~~
ProfessorLayton
I believe the OP is putting the agency's credibility into question, which I
think is valid, considering their role in the financial crisis.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_rating_agencies_and_the...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_rating_agencies_and_the_subprime_crisis)
~~~
adrenalinelol
There was a financial incentive to look the other way. That doesn't exist in
this case.
~~~
r00fus
They failed their mission to instead chase profits to the detriment of the
public. What's to say they don't have a financial incentive here?
------
fludlight
Detailed press release from Moody's:
[https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-downgrades-Chinas-
rat...](https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-downgrades-Chinas-rating-
to-A1-from-Aa3-and-changes--PR_366139)
------
jonyt
Presumably this is the same Moody's that predicted the 2008 crash so well? Why
does anyone even listen to them anymore? They failed miserably at their role.
[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/14/moodys-864m...](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/14/moodys-864m-penalty-
for-ratings-in-run-up-to-2008-financial-crisis)
------
faragon
In my opinion, china GDP is under-valuated (despite government growth figure
cooking). So, I guess that debt will not be a problem. What could be a problem
is private debt, driving to fusion of similar companies, and public bail-out
of banks in case of Chinese housing bubble popping in major cities. Pretty
much what happened in Japan (1989, [1], [2]), EE.UU. (2007, [3], [4]), and
some places of Europe (2007-2009 [5], [6]).
[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_asset_price_bubble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_asset_price_bubble)
[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_\(Japan\))
[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis)
[4]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_housing_bubble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_housing_bubble)
[5]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_property_bubble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_property_bubble)
[6]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_property_bubble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_property_bubble)
------
daemonk
Do ratings agencies like Moody self sustain on the psychology of the people
who listen to them? People who take them seriously factors them into their
decisions. People who don't take them seriously has to still factor them into
their decision because of the people who do take them seriously.
There might be some kind of tipping point where the amount of people who do
not believe their ratings triggers a downward spiral in confidence?
------
salesguy222
Slightly off-topic, but in 2011 when Moody's downgraded the US credit rating,
we all were saying "well, Moody's is feeling a bit moody".
The US continued to struggle in fits and spurts in some industries. But
lately, it has been all "risk-on" for most traders.
We have been through a few "asian asset bubbles" before. Whether this is the
big one is anybody's guess, but sometimes the broken doomsday clock gets the
time right.
~~~
crdoconnor
That was S&P. It coincided with the SEC and the Justice Department
investigating them for fraudulently overrating mortgage back securities.
~~~
salesguy222
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_govern...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_government_credit-
rating_downgrades)
Moody's downgraded on June 2 2011... or should I say at least "changed outlook
to negative"
------
pasbesoin
What it's going to come down to, is whether the Chinese government has enough
control to tell the general public to eat the loses and to make them take it
(relatively peacefully).
If they do, this sets the basis of the play and outcome.
Yes, elites are escaping what they can of their personal assets -- and
eventually, if necessary, themselves or their next generation.
As I stop to think about it, that could actually prove to be something of a
safety valve, from China's perspective.
Anyway, with the Great Firewall and a thousand other things: It's not exactly
as if they haven't been (at all) preparing for this.
------
turingbook
Reactions from China:
[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/24/c_136311065.htm](http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/24/c_136311065.htm)
[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/24/c_136312043.htm](http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/24/c_136312043.htm)
------
stevesun21
This kind of article to me sounds like, an outside developer look at all the
charts of a system and tell the developers who are working on the system:
"well, this system's going to crash in a week based on the numbers on the
charts". If I'm going to argue with this "expert", I would say, you saw what
you can see, unfortunately, you are not the engineer see all the sh*t of how
the machine works.
------
theprop
What about the US's debt-fueled government? Sustainable?
~~~
alexbeloi
US debt to GDP ratio is half that of China, not claiming the trend is
sustainable but that (at least according to Moody's) China is more at risk of
a runaway debt-spend crisis than the US is.
~~~
Analemma_
Not only is our debt-to-GDP ratio lower than China's, it's lower than most
(not all) countries in Western Europe.
There is so much uninformed hysteria about the US national debt, it's
incredibly frustrating and blocking the implementation of better policy.
~~~
WillPostForFood
By what measure is the US ratio lower than China's? US is worse in the IMF
measure of gross debt to GDP by far. Looking at total debt (government,
corporate, and household), the US is worse: 331% to 250%. What numbers are you
looking at?
[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/16/chinas-
debt...](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/16/chinas-debt-
is-250-of-gdp-and-could-be-fatal-says-government-expert)
------
dis-sys
Moody's? Is that the same credit rating agency which intentionally inflated
credit rating for risky mortgage investment and eventually fined almost
$1b[1]? It is just so funny that an agency that has already destroyed its own
creditability is still running around and doing credit rating for others.
[1] [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-14/moodys-agrees-
settleme...](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-14/moodys-agrees-settlement-
over-pre-gfc-ratings/8182694)
~~~
mistermann
Surprised this sentiment isn't more popular, they've proven themselves to be
both dishonest and incompetent.
This could also be state propoganda, the modern US being what it is.
~~~
kybernetikos
> Surprised this sentiment isn't more popular, they've proven themselves to be
> both dishonest and incompetent.
Maybe because the question of whether they are dishonest and incompetent is a
less interesting ad hominem (ad companis ?) than the question of whether China
can or cannot sustain its debt-fueled binge.
~~~
mistermann
Whether or not it's "interesting", the trustworthiness of the source seems
rather important.
~~~
kybernetikos
> Whether or not it's "interesting", the trustworthiness of the source seems
> rather important.
Not really. If the question is about the popularity of a sentiment, then of
course the interestingness of the sentiment is relevant.
But as with every argument, it's the quality of the argument that is
important, not the arguer. The only way that the trustworthiness of the source
is important is if you are unable to evaluate their argument based on other
factors and were planning merely to trust them or key information they relied
on based on their perceived authority which I agree would be a bad idea.
~~~
mistermann
Economics is far more complicated than most other fields, and you very often
don't know the _real_ "quality of the argument" until years later. So yes, in
this case prior track record does very much matter.
------
osrec
Large seas of debt made sense when they were somewhat more underdeveloped, and
every additional unit of debt could be used for 'easy' value creation. As it
currently stands, I don't see their rate of value creation servicing their
debt. Similar dynamics, albeit to a lesser extent, are in play in India and
other countries in South East Asia.
------
known
Chinese currency manipulation tricks [http://www.economist.com/news/finance-
and-economics/21717997...](http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-
economics/21717997-government-has-been-pushing-price-yuan-up-not-down-china-
and)
------
kadfasd4324
Does anyone how much external debt is held by China ? I'd imagine their
generally (well-placed IMO) aversion to IMF/WB folk might help them plod along
with the help of their central bank. Money is fictional you know.
------
nihonde
How can anyone put any credibility whatsoever in Moody's ratings after 2008?
They defended their ratings on terrible debt at the time by basically saying
that no one should rely on them.
------
imron
We Rate These Sub-Prime Mortgage Bonds AAA, Moody's Says.
------
rhizome
You know what I'd like to see? What conclusions China's economics community
have had about the US environment.
~~~
siidooloo
The US economy will see a series of booms and busts. As all economies will. As
will China's. When? Who knows? But I wouldn't be the one to bet on never.
~~~
rhizome
Absolutely, but if the US (Moody's, even!) idea of China's cycle is valuable,
then so must theirs be of ours.
~~~
mistermann
Surely the analysis exists, but China isn't dumb enough to publish such
things.
~~~
rhizome
But Moody's is? I find this unconvincing. Could it simply be that it's
available but remains untranslated?
------
lacampbell
My countries economy is very closely tied to Chinas. I wonder what a Chinese
financial crisis would look like here.
~~~
toomuchtodo
Like a local financial crisis.
On the plus side, tier 1 cities are going to cool off (real estate price wise)
if a lot of Chinese money gets burned up instead of outflowed.
~~~
pfarnsworth
If by cool off you mean crash, then yes you're right. But it won't be a soft
landing by any stretch of the imagination.
~~~
toomuchtodo
Tomatoe tomahtoe. Toronto's RE market is already hitting the brakes within the
last week; buyers are walking from deposits, sales are down, listings have
shot up. Everyone is trying to get out the door at once.
------
JackPoach
I am pretty sure that the statement is free for USA as well. I doubt Moody's
will say that though.
------
ausjke
I will wait and see, China was said to be crashing soon since 20 years ago.
~~~
seanmcdirmid
I guess you weren't around when the stock market really did crash a couple of
years ago?
------
vijucat
The day after the Fukushima nuclear incident, the top-voted article on HN was
an extremely confident-sounding article by an expert about how this was a
minor incident, sure to be contained and forgotten. The comments in the
article were dismissive about alarm. I remember feeling a sigh of relief that
the experts had pronounced it a minor incident. As the days rolled by, the
news about Fukushima turned from bad to worse to horrible. Unfortunately, my
archive.org skills were not good enough to dig up the front page of HN around
that time to show you the article in question.
A closer tale about experts being wrong, and persistently so is the tale of
the Japan Bonds' "widowmaker" trade: apparently, a lot of smart people have
been wrong about this:
[http://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-feeling-
confident...](http://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-feeling-confident-
about-the-widowmaker-trade-in-japan-2012-12)
~~~
zeamaize
But Fukushima was a minor incident...
~~~
skookum
Not sure if you are trying to be sarcastic, but:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Nuclear_Event_Sc...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Nuclear_Event_Scale#Level_7:_Major_accident)
~~~
xrange
If Fukushima is a major event, with no fatalities, what does one consider the
Banqiao Dam event, with 170,000 fatalities?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banqiao_Dam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banqiao_Dam)
~~~
vkou
A sign that we should shut down every single hydroelectric power-plant in the
world.
Or, we could be reasonable about these things, and understand that power
generation at an industrial scale will kill people.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Stylate.com - Cheap, Brandable .COM's for Startups - wlsimmons
http://www.stylate.com
======
NYCtalk
Hello, I doubt you will get many programmers interested in buying domains, at
least until they are launching a project or something. Most of us think
domainers are hacks. $250 is very inexpensive but we don't want to support the
industry.
------
bdurham
Newbie advice: 1) I like the idea but it took me a few seconds to figure out
what the site was offering. Maybe clarify the VP? 2) The logo seems a bit
small and disjointed from the design 3) It needs an integrated cart.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
CodinGame – Games for Programmers - snake117
https://www.codingame.com/start
======
salex89
I'm playing the puzzles for some time now (when I can afford the time), and I
consider myself a relatively experienced dev (college + two years in the
industry) and learning a new language (Scala) and just using plain Java. It's
magnificent how I tend to overcomplicate everything with using lambdas,
pattern matching, options, stream operations on collections now, banging my
head on one liners, while some younger me would just make a couple of ugly
loops (maybe even more efficient than the elegant solution) and just continue
on. Not sure have I evolved or devolved.
------
pavornyoh
I signed up for this a while back and sent a message to their support. It took
5 days for them to get back to me. So I hope now they have raised money, they
can get someone to respond quicker if they want to compete as they are in
France and not San Francisco as it states on the website.
------
daemin
So I've seen an increase in programming puzzle games released lately (but that
may be just due to more indie games coming out in total). They are
entertaining but the latter levels tend to suck up so much time to complete,
and optimise!
Just to name a few: SpaceChem InfiniFactory Human Resource Machine TIS-100
Now I have to wonder how much time that could be devoted to actual programming
- building and solving real world problems - this is soaking up? How much of
it is useful training of logic and puzzle solving?
------
vvanders
Anyone else seeing a bunch of artwork that they might not have the rights
too(I'm pretty sure I saw Bastion on the homepage at one part)?
------
davidklemke
Went through a few of the puzzles on Friday last week, it's pretty great for
shaking out the cobwebs in languages you haven't used in a while.
I did have some issues with their IDE in the latest Chrome build when I first
started it though. Not sure if that was because I was using it as a guest but,
strangely enough, everything worked perfectly in Edge.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Teen created the largest Covid-19 tracker, rejects $8M to place ads - justhw
https://old.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/fwi83r/17_year_old_creates_the_largest_covid19_tracker/
======
Camillo
I don't think that's true.
~~~
skinnymuch
Turning down $8M? Like that offer never happened you presume, correct?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Automatic disambiguation of English puns [pdf] - franzpeterstein
https://www.ukp.tu-darmstadt.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Group_UKP/publikationen/2015/2015_Miller_Disambiguation_of_English_puns.pdf
======
foxhedgehog
I wonder how something like this might process ambiguous phrases or metaphors,
for instance, this passage in _Macbeth_ :
There's husbandry in heaven;. Their candles are all out.
Because the word "out" can take on two meanings, and because "husbandry"
refers both to putting out candles before bedtime and keeping a well-lit
house, the sentence is a metaphor that means its own opposite at the same
time. Compare:
1\. "There's husbandry in heaven, the stars are all out on display."
2\. "There's husbandry in heaven, the stars are all snuffed out."
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
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